— — — — — —
Hollow. Shinigami. Quincy.
When all three appeared together in one sentence, only one world ca to mind for Ryo.
Bleach. One of the "Big Three" shonen manga of its era.
It was the only world where those three labels referred to specific and powerful factions.
A human who possessed all three—Hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy traits?
"...Kurosaki Ichigo? The main character of Bleach?" Ryo muttered, looking at the post with a puzzled expression.
〚If a human were to acquire the powers of Hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy… what kind of future would they have?〛
Soone was asking about Ichigo's future?
The tone of the question made Ryo guess—was it Kisuke Urahara? Shihoin Yoruichi? Or perhaps... the mastermind himself, Sōsuke Aizen?
Out of the three, Aizen seed the most likely. After all, he was the one who paid the most attention to Ichigo's potential.
If it really was one of them, how should he answer without giving away too much?
He recalled that Ichigo was considered a top-tier combatant in the Bleach universe, largely because of his unknown and unpredictable potential.
After thinking for a mont, Ryo decided to give a vague but intriguing reply:
〚Maybe... they might possess the potential of a god.〛
As soon as he submitted the reply, his points ticked up by ten. But Ryo ignored that for now. He was focused on what ca next.
He clearly rembered how quickly "Kocho Shinobu" replied after he answered her question before.
If that was a pattern, he'd likely be getting a response from the Bleach world soon, too.
So, he waited.
— — —
Soul Society – Seireitei, Fifth Division Barracks, Underground Chamber
A hidden door slowly creaked open beneath the barracks. The flicker of candlelight silently lit the dark chamber within.
It looked like a private library—bookshelves lined the walls, packed with texts and docunts. At the center was a single, antique wooden desk.
A man stepped inside, wearing the standard Shinigami uniform with a captain's haori draped over his shoulders. His tousled brown hair and the black-rimd glasses gave him a calm, approachable look.
"Momo, I don't think I've ever brought you down here before, have I?" he asked gently as he entered.
This was Aizen—captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13.
Following closely behind was a girl with her hair neatly tied up, looking delicate and slightly flustered.
This was Hinamori Momo, his lieutenant.
"No, this is the first ti, Captain Aizen," she answered softly, cheeks tinged red. She glanced around curiously.
Bookshelves, ink scrolls, and calligraphy hung neatly on the walls.
"I didn't know there was a room like this under the barracks."
Aizen pushed up his glasses with that ever-present gentle smile.
"This was a storage room originally. I converted it into a study after I beca captain."
"That makes sense," Momo said thoughtfully. "The captain's office upstairs is kind of small—if you have a lot of books, it'd get cramped fast."
She was always aware of her captain's love for calligraphy. Whenever he wasn't handling division duties, he'd be in the study, reading or practicing brushwork. It was one of the reasons she admired him so much.
To her, a man who loved books and calligraphy was the picture of charm.
But Aizen didn't respond to her comnt this ti.
"Captain? Are you feeling okay?" she asked, concerned.
He didn't reply imdiately. Instead, his lips curved slightly, making her heart flutter.
"I'm fine," he said in that sa soothing tone.
"That's a relief... there's been so much going on lately. Division workload's gone up, and I heard there's been a spike in Hollow appearances. Lots of injuries, too, and we're short-staffed because of it."
"Also, didn't I hear about an intruder in Rukongai recently? Almost broke into Seireitei... even Captain Gin had to get involved, but they still escaped."
Momo continued chatting, unaware that the spot she was looking at—the space where her beloved captain stood—was actually empty.
Even so, she smiled softly, speaking as if soone were standing right in front of her, listening attentively.
anwhile, Aizen silently sheathed his Zanpakutō, Kyōka Suigetsu.
Its power—Complete Hypnosis—was still active. Unless Aizen chose to break the illusion, Momo would never realize anything was amiss.
He needed uninterrupted ti alone.
Walking calmly to his desk, Aizen picked up a docunt—sothing that shouldn't have existed in this room.
[What kind of future awaits a human who inherits the powers of Hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy?]
〚Maybe... they might possess the potential of a god.〛
Aizen stared at the line of text. His glasses caught the candlelight, hiding his expression in a shimr of reflected fla.
After a pause, he murmured, "Urahara, was that you?"
Kisuke Urahara—the only man in Soul Society whose intellect rivaled his own.
That fool, that failure who bowed to the Soul King.
Was this his challenge?
Did he think that boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, would be enough to stop him?
But how could Urahara possibly know—he had been paying attention to Ichigo's potential long before anyone else. Long before the boy was even born.
Another pause. Aizen gently placed the paper back down on the desk.
"...So it wasn't Urahara."
A faint smile ford on his lips. No one had told him the answer, but sohow he just knew—this wasn't Urahara's doing.
This was soone else.
Soone unknown.
Soone who had not only slipped into his private chamber, but also dared to leave him a ssage.
A third party.
"Looks like this decaying Soul Society just got a little more interesting."
He casually picked up a brush and wrote a line beneath the mysterious ssage:
['God' is just a mask worn by humans skilled at pretending.]
Finishing the sentence, Aizen placed the paper back exactly where it had been—no more, no less.
Then, he turned toward Momo.
But just as he took a step forward, he stopped.
His eyes, calm behind his glasses, shifted back to the page.
There, new words were starting to appear.
On their own.
.
.
.
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