Exposed

The ground had been cleared with exceptional thoroughness. Only a few tree trunks snapped in half and the faintest trace of Reiatsu lingering in the air silently testified that a battle, not a particularly fierce one, had taken place here.

Aizen crouched down and gently ran his slender fingers over the rough break in a trunk, his brows knitting slightly.

"There are no Hollow claw marks on the break, and no scorch marks from a violent clash of Reiatsu. Even that lingering, murky Reiatsu seems far too deliberate."

Aizen stood and pushed up his black-framed glasses. From those few incomplete clues at the scene, his terrifying mind had already raced through a deduction.

"This was no ordinary Hollow attack. If Hollows had attacked, this place would have been devastated, not full of signs of deliberate restraint and manipulation like it is now."

Just as Aizen stood there, preparing to search the area further for any traces of Reishi structures he might have missed—

A calm, gentle voice, seemingly right beside him, sounded without warning from behind him:

"Well? Did you find anything interesting?"

In that instant, a tremendous wave surged through Aizen's normally composed eyes!

His heart seemed to skip a beat, and every muscle in his body tightened at once.

Yet before the voice spoke, he had not caught the slightest sound of wind, sensed the faintest fluctuation of Reiatsu, or even noticed any change in the flow of air behind him!

It was as though that person had sprung into existence out of nothing!

Aizen reacted instinctively, his right hand snapping back to grip the hilt of the Asauchi at his waist. His thumb had already pushed the blade half an inch out of its sheath.

But in the thousandth of a second before he drew, Aizen regained his composure and forcibly suppressed his body's instincts.

He forced his racing heart to calm down and slowly released his sweat-soaked hand from the hilt.

Then Aizen turned around. The wariness on his face had vanished without a trace, replaced once more by his signature humble smile.

"Forgive my display, Teacher Shihoin."

Aizen stood up and looked at Xuanxin, who had appeared behind him at some unknown point, then bowed slightly in a courteous greeting.

In the moonlight, Xuanxin's long silver-white hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

He was not wearing the conspicuous Captain's Haori of the 11th Division, but an ordinary black Shinigami uniform. His arms folded across his chest, he quietly watched the black-haired youth before him.

Hearing Aizen's greeting, Xuanxin nodded calmly. Rather than expose the youth's momentary instinctive defense, he returned to the previous subject:

"So, have you reached any conclusions in these empty ruins?"

At that, Aizen's expression grew a little more serious. He knew that excessive deception would only be foolish in front of this wise teacher.

So Aizen spoke frankly about the deduction he had just made:

"Teacher, I don't think this looks anything like a simple, unexpected attack on wandering souls by a group of Hollows. Judging by how deliberate the traces at the scene are, it seems more like..."

Aizen paused, then looked into Xuanxin's eyes, apparently hesitant about something.

Seeing this, Xuanxin pressed him no further and merely nodded. In the end, neither of them spoke the answer they both knew.

At Xuanxin's reaction, a difficult-to-conceal glint flashed in Aizen's eyes.

As I thought, Teacher Shihoin saw the truth of this matter long ago too.

Xuanxin then nodded and said, "Those Stealth Force members on the perimeter are just a smokescreen Yoruichi and I put out to confuse the enemy. The real investigation moved away from here long ago."

Hearing that explanation, the last question in Aizen's mind was finally answered.

No wonder those hidden sentries had been deployed so rigidly. They were part of a play within a play, staged for the mastermind behind the scenes.

But another question, the one he cared about most at the moment, immediately surfaced in Aizen's mind.

Aizen looked at Xuanxin beside him and saw that not only did he show no intention of arresting him for sneaking into the restricted area, he was instead talking to him as though they were discussing coursework.

Aizen took a deep breath and asked Xuanxin, a rare note of persistence in his voice:

"Teacher, there's something I can't understand. Before entering, I examined every inch of the surrounding area with the utmost care. Why is it that I still failed to notice your presence?"

At Aizen's question, a knowing smile curved Xuanxin's lips. He turned to look at the dark woods ahead and began his on-the-spot lesson in a low voice:

"Aizen, you must understand that, at its core, a battle between Shinigami is a battle of Reiatsu.

"Your Reiatsu is far stronger than that of the ordinary squad members around here, and your use of it is more refined than theirs.

"That's why you were able to sneak in without them noticing. That is the result of overwhelming them with Reiatsu."

Listening to Xuanxin's analysis, Aizen frowned slightly.

Of course he understood that. It was precisely what had allowed him to walk in so openly. But what he wanted to know was why he had not detected Xuanxin.

Seeing the puzzled look in Aizen's eyes, Xuanxin slowly took a small black metal object the size of a fingernail from inside his robes and waved it in front of him.

Then he said, "This is the second lesson I want to teach you."

"In this world, Reiatsu is indeed the foundation of everything. But remember, there are times when Reiatsu isn't entirely all-powerful. If you put too much faith in your senses and your Reiatsu, you'll eventually suffer a major setback because of it, unless your Reiatsu can completely overwhelm every living being in the three realms."

With that, Xuanxin flicked his wrist and tossed the little black object to Aizen.

Aizen instinctively reached out and caught the metal object, which still held a trace of warmth.

"Boom—!!!"

The instant Aizen's fingers touched the object, Xuanxin's Reiatsu appeared in his senses without the slightest concealment.

"This... what is this?" Aizen held the inconspicuous black object in his hand, a searching look flashing in his eyes.

Sure enough, without the object, Xuanxin could no longer completely conceal his immense Reiatsu, which was now plainly revealed to Aizen.

Xuanxin withdrew the Reiatsu he had released, looked at the astonished Aizen, and said casually:

"This is a little concealment device made by a friend of mine who likes inventing things. He based it on some special equipment."

Seeing Aizen staring fixedly at the device in his hand, his gaze full of curiosity and inquiry, Xuanxin smiled slightly and continued:

"But the one you're holding is only an unstable initial version, and it has many flaws. Once he's finished his research, I'll give you one! All right, that's enough extracurricular teaching for tonight."

Xuanxin stepped forward, took the concealment device back from Aizen, and returned it to his robes. Then he raised a hand and patted Aizen gently on the shoulder like an elder, speaking in a warm voice:

"The night wind in Rukongai is too cold. You're a student, so go back to the academy and get some rest. You have classes tomorrow."

"...Yes, Teacher."

He bowed respectfully, then turned and disappeared back into the night, his steps steadier than when he had arrived.

Chapter 47: Exposed

As the days passed, the invisible gloom hanging over Seireitei did not lift. Instead, it grew heavier.

The deadline for the next Golden Seal Conference drew ever closer.

Yet Xuanxin, one of the central figures in this storm, acted as though he had nothing to do with it at all.

Every day, he went to the 11th Division on time to handle division affairs, and in his spare time he appeared punctually in the classrooms of Shin'ō Academy, as though nothing had happened.

This unusual "laxity" left many of those secretly watching the new Kenpachi utterly baffled.

But while all was peaceful on Xuanxin's side, the Tsunayashiro Clan was in an uproar.

The reason was simple: the Tsunayashiro Clan's soul fusion experiment, which absolutely could not be exposed, had gone out of control.

The experiment's original purpose had been to imitate, or even replicate, the plan Sōya Azashiro had left unfinished.

After all, once they mastered this technology, the "Five Great Noble Clans" and the "Thirteenth Division" would all become dust in the annals of history.

Then, throughout Soul Society and even the three realms, there would be only one supreme ruler: the Tsunayashiro Clan.

But cruel reality dealt them a vicious slap. At this critical moment, an unexpected problem arose in the experiment, which had been progressing steadily.

The Tsunayashiro Clan had never understood the experiment in the first place. Everything they had now was the result of reverse-engineering a few of the findings Sōya Azashiro had provided to Central 46.

The most direct consequence was an extremely high failure rate.

This meant the Tsunayashiro Clan needed more experimental material, and that so-called material was the living civilians of Rukongai.

The disappearance of large numbers of Rukongai residents was bound to attract the Thirteenth Division's attention. Otherwise, the Tsunayashiro Clan would never have needed to push that proposal, which offered them no "benefit" at all.

Under the original plan, they could have transferred suitable "material" to the clan's laboratory during the population registration, without anyone knowing.

But the Tsunayashiro Clan had not expected that its own costly actions would instead alert the other two clans.

With too few test subjects to allow for failures, and the clan head having issued a strict order that they "must pick up the pace and produce results,"

the technicians in charge of the research could only grit their teeth and force the unstable experiment forward.

The result was, naturally, disastrous.

Just last night, a violent, chaotic surge of Reiatsu had erupted from a secret base buried deep underground in an extremely remote area on the outskirts of Rukongai!

Like a bomb detonating in the deep sea, the surge instantly drew the Gotei 13's attention.

The Thirteenth Division, responsible for purification and defense around Seireitei's perimeter, quickly assembled its members and rushed to the scene.

But when the Thirteenth Division's Shinigami dug through the surface, they found nothing but a massive underground crater, covered in scorch marks and traces of an explosion.

The site had been picked clean. Not a single corpse remained, nor was there any clue sufficient to prove that a laboratory had once stood there.

Yet beneath the ruins, where everything seemed to have been perfectly erased, Yoruichi Shihōin, commander-in-chief of the Stealth Force, made a major breakthrough.

The next day, the 11th Division's dedicated training ground.

The sunlight was somewhat harsh. Holding a heavy wooden sword, Xuanxin led the squad members under his command through their daily sword-swinging practice.

"One thousand and one! One thousand and two..."

As the squad members moved in perfect unison, their wooden swords cut through the air with sharp whistles.

Fine beads of sweat gradually formed on Xuanxin's forehead as well, reflecting a healthy sheen in the sunlight.

Just then, a petite figure in black suddenly darted through the gates of the training ground.

The newcomer's steps were so light that she seemed not to disturb even the dust on the ground. She passed straight through the squad members drenched in sweat and hurried to Xuanxin's side.

With a clear call, the short, short-haired girl dressed in black night clothes dropped to one knee before Xuanxin and respectfully lowered her head:

"Lord Xuanxin. Lady Yoruichi has a matter to discuss and would like you to come over."

Xuanxin stopped, casually placed his wooden sword in the weapons rack beside him, and wiped his sweat with the towel around his neck. He nodded casually.

"Understood. What's so urgent?"

The girl did not answer immediately. Only after making sure no one else was nearby did she raise her head slightly and quickly speak in a lowered voice that only the two of them could hear:

"Lord Xuanxin, Lady Yoruichi also told me to tell you... 'Found it.'"

The moment he heard those words, a flash of joy appeared in Xuanxin's deep, tranquil eyes.

After a brief moment of pleasant surprise, he calmly lowered his head and took a close look at the capable little girl before him.

"You're... from the Fon Clan? I think I've heard Yoruichi mention you. If I remember correctly, your name is Shaoling Fon," Xuanxin said calmly.

The girl was visibly taken aback, apparently not expecting Lady Yoruichi to have mentioned her to Lord Xuanxin!

But she quickly regained her well-trained composure and nodded firmly:

"Yes, Lord Xuanxin."

Having confirmed her identity, Xuanxin knew where things stood.