Chapter 454 - 454: Aizen’s Shock! The Location of That Object

Of course, Aizen still believed that sooner or later, he would regain control of the situation.

For now, he was merely taking the necessary steps to reach that point.

Cyrus thought much the same way.

He had absolute confidence in his own strength.

Whatever complications appeared later, he believed he would be powerful enough to deal with them when the time came.

The two walked at the front, while Tosen followed behind with Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5.

"This is Rukongai, the outer district surrounding Seireitei."

Aizen began explaining their surroundings as they walked.

"People aren't equal in the World of the Living, and death doesn't magically change that."

He gestured ahead.

"Of course, anyone with sufficient talent to become a Shinigami may eventually be accepted into the central part of Soul Society."

Far beyond the uneven maze of buildings, an enormous wall rose prominently above everything else.

"There."

Robin looked around the streets.

"This is different from what I imagined."

The people around them looked almost like walking corpses.

Their bodies were thin and withered, their eyes lifeless, and some barely seemed to possess enough strength to keep moving.

"Once people arrive here, lifespan is rarely their immediate concern."

Aizen smiled as he explained.

"Ordinary souls can survive for a time with little more than water, but those who require spiritual nourishment still need food containing Reishi to sustain themselves. Out here, obtaining enough of it isn't always easy."

"Captain Aizen is correct. Surviving in Rukongai can be extremely difficult."

Something in the subject seemed to strike a nerve with Tosen, and he nodded firmly.

"What happens if they can't get enough?"

Robin asked.

"They disappear."

Aizen's answer was simple.

"Or they become Hollows."

"So those monsters really are transformed human souls…"

Robin had already heard the explanation from Cyrus, but receiving confirmation from someone native to this world still felt strange.

Human souls could actually deteriorate into creatures like that.

"Every world has its own rules."

Cyrus sounded unconcerned.

"There's nothing particularly surprising about it."

The misery around them didn't move him much. He had known about places like this long before arriving.

As far as he was concerned, it was simply another version of Mary Geoise, only spread across a much larger area.

"Has no one ever tried to change this?"

Robin asked curiously.

She wasn't volunteering herself for the job. She simply wondered whether a society this unequal had ever produced people willing to rebel against it.

"Yes."

Tosen answered with a single word.

Then he fell silent.

"It's difficult."

Cyrus glanced back at him and smiled.

"But that has nothing to do with us. We didn't come here to reform Soul Society."

Aizen smiled faintly and led them into a narrow alley before entering a modest house.

"We'll stay here briefly. It won't take long."

He looked toward Robin and the others.

"I need time to arrange their admission into Shin'ō Academy—the Shinigami school you mentioned."

Cyrus nodded and took a casual look around the sparse interior.

"What does Soul Society intend to do about Hueco Mundo after what happened?"

"That…"

Aizen's eyes shifted slightly behind his glasses.

"It would be inconvenient for me to interfere too heavily with whatever happens next."

He paused.

"Besides, I doubt you care much. Hollows die all the time."

"You're wrong about that."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow.

"I went through the trouble of recruiting those subordinates."

There was something pointed in the way he said it.

Aizen's attitude was entirely in character, though.

Even in the original story, he had never cared much about the Arrancar serving under him. If they accomplished their purpose and died afterward, so be it.

"I see."

Aizen shook his head.

"But my answer remains the same. I can't become too involved. It would interfere with my plans far too much."

Cyrus smiled.

"What if I take the little girl from the Kuchiki family away?"

Aizen's smile vanished instantly.

His eyes locked onto Cyrus.

"Don't look at me like that."

Cyrus remained perfectly relaxed.

"You still haven't answered the question."

"The timing isn't right."

Aizen finally replied.

"Oh, right."

Cyrus suddenly looked as though he had remembered something.

"You still haven't confirmed where that thing is, have you?"

"I have now."

Aizen's face went completely blank.

"I see."

Cyrus thought for a moment.

"Then I want it."

Aizen's lowered hand moved slightly.

Tosen's hand also settled on the hilt of his Zanpakutō.

"If you feel like dying, go ahead and draw it."

Cyrus's voice remained light.

Tosen's hand stopped immediately.

Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5 also noticed the change in atmosphere and quietly prepared themselves.

"That object is extremely important to me."

Aizen took a slow breath, and the gentle smile gradually returned to his face.

"It should be considered part of our cooperation."

His eyes remained on Cyrus.

"You leave it to me. Whatever results I obtain from studying it, I'll share with you."

"To be frank, I don't believe you."

Cyrus looked at that pleasant smile and shook his head.

"I don't believe that once you obtain what you want, you'll willingly hand over everything you discover."

He paused.

"But never mind. I'm not especially interested in owning it myself."

Cyrus studied Aizen for another moment.

"Actually, I'm more curious to see what you eventually manage to create with it."

"Then we agree that this is part of our cooperation?"

Aizen pressed the point.

"You won't change your mind later?"

Inside, however, he was far less calm than he appeared.

The Hōgyoku.

It was the object he valued above almost everything else, the centerpiece of years of planning.

The Hōgyoku created by Urahara Kisuke had vanished after Urahara fled Soul Society.

Aizen had never been able to determine exactly where it had gone, only that it should still be somewhere within Soul Society.

But the moment Cyrus mentioned the young girl connected to the Kuchiki family, everything clicked into place.

Aizen immediately understood what Cyrus was referring to.

As for how Cyrus knew where the Hōgyoku had been hidden?

Aizen didn't care.

What mattered was that he finally had a lead.

"Go deal with your arrangements."

Cyrus waved dismissively.

"Just don't do anything that puts me in a bad mood."

Aizen smiled, glanced toward Tosen, and left with his subordinate.

Only after they were gone did Robin speak.

"That man…"

"I told you."

Cyrus smiled.

"He's one of the major villains."

He leaned back casually.

"For all I know, he's already thinking about whether he can use this opportunity to make us fight the other Shinigami to the death, then take what he wants and disappear while everyone else is distracted."

Robin's expression tightened.

"Would he really do that?"

"I'm not completely sure."

Cyrus shrugged.

"Maybe he would. Maybe he wouldn't."

"But until he gets the result he wants, he'll follow through on what I asked."

He looked toward Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5.

"As for the three of you, you'll go to Shin'ō Academy and see whether you can learn to use Shinigami powers."

Robin looked back at him.

"And you?"

"You're not seriously planning to cause chaos in Soul Society, are you?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, probably not."

Cyrus smiled.

"I'll be doing the same thing you are."

"I want to see whether I can learn to use the power of a Shinigami too."