After learning that Aizen had already researched the Hōgyoku, or at least had an idea about it...
This statement is also incorrect. The discovery of the Hōgyoku was extremely mysterious; even Aizen and the Shopkeeper didn't know how it appeared. They both obtained the Hōgyoku in a state of inexplicable confusion.
So, while the Hōgyoku appears to be a research and invention, it's actually a very special case. Rather than saying they invented the Hōgyoku, it's more accurate to say the Hōgyoku chose them.
There are two Hōgyoku! This is important. The one inside Rukia's body was created by Urahara, while Aizen's has always been inside him and has never been removed.
The Hōgyoku that enabled the Hollows to become Arrancars was Rukia's piece, which was ultimately placed inside Aizen's body. The fusion of the two Hōgyoku created the nearly invincible Aizen at the end.
Therefore, this thing shouldn't be something that can be made out of pure material; Aizen and the Shopkeeper must have come into contact with something.
There are quite a few of these inexplicable things in Soul Society. Later, after Sōya Azashiro killed Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, he became the captain of the 11th Division. His plan was to use the entire Rukongai to lure Hollows into a counterattack on Hueco Mundo. Was this plan intended to directly attack Baraggan and end the war? Or wait, maybe he was after the title? We'll consider that later.
Returning to the original timeline, he suddenly sensed the Soul King's will—who knows what that is? Then he confessed, revealing his plans and was thrown into the First Division's secret the Jail, Muken.
So, judging from this, it seems that Sōya Azashiro truly sensed the Soul King's will. Otherwise, how do you explain her actions? Did she suddenly have a change of heart and turn herself in, just to experience the horrors of the Jail in the Muken?
It doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it, so the only explanation is that he really sensed something. As for whether it was the Soul King's will, that's still debatable.
Therefore, there really are many inexplicable things in Soul Society; ghosts and spirits do exist.
So, returning to the issue of Aizen, Jun is currently somewhat conflicted.
According to the information I've gathered, tens of thousands of people died during Aizen's research on the Hōgyoku. Aizen used hundreds of years, the lives of over a hundred serving Soul Reaper, and tens of thousands of Rukongai with the potential to become Soul Reaper, to power his Hōgyoku.
We're currently less than 500 years from the original story. Aizen only abandoned his research a little over 100 years before the original events, meaning there are still over 350 years left. Assuming he ultimately used 35,000 souls, that's 100 souls per year. That death toll isn't actually that high, at least not for the current Rukongai of over 100,000.
However, what Junichi always criticized about Soul Society is this inhumane practice. Generally speaking, if he can stop it, Jun will try to find a way to do so.
So now, facing Aizen, should Jun stop him? If he does, all his efforts will be in vain, and he will lose Aizen as a natural ally. If he doesn't stop him, Jun feels he's being incredibly hypocritical, essentially no different from the hypocrites of Soul Society.
Chun is faced with a choice again, but this time, she can't choose the adult way; she can't have it all. So what should she do?
"So, I guess I have no choice but to indulge myself. Ah~ How far can my perseverance go? In less than two hundred years, I feel like I'm almost assimilated by Soul Society. It seems changing the world isn't something just anyone can do."
You can't get anything done by always standing on a moral high ground. People just need to find their own so-called justice; what they should do is deal with the facts on their own merits.
This was purely a way to convince myself, and so time started turning again, Kōga and Aozumi graduated together.
During the graduation assessment, this golden couple recreated Chun's original Kidō clearance method —using words. Because Kōga was about to chant the 81st Kidō right from the start, the team captains quickly stopped them.
By the way, the graduation requirements for the Shin'ō Academy haven't been raised, but since the default study period is sixty years, very few people can truly fail to meet the graduation requirements. Therefore, any lowerable requirements for each team's selection criteria, except for the 11th Division, have been removed.
However, the impact is not significant. Most of the concessions are made regarding Kidō). For example, the Tenth Division could make concessions on Kidō, but now they can't. Kidō is unacceptable, you can only choose the 11th Division. Take it or leave it. If you're so capable, why don't you Soul Reaper?
Even in this environment, the young couple's achievements were equally outstanding. Over sixty years, the average achievement was to cultivate to the 55-65 range; those who reached 70 were considered talented, those who reached 80 were geniuses, and those like Jun and Aizen, who reached 90, were practically monsters.
Thus, Kōga and Aozumi added another icing to the already impressive reputation of the Kuchiki Clan, worthy of a grand celebration. This is because the Kuchiki Clan is currently dwindling in size; neither Sōjun Mino Meina are attending the Shin'ō Academy, hence their lack of such remarkable achievements. Of course, they are indeed somewhat lacking in talent.
Thus, the wedding of this young couple caused quite a stir throughout the Soul Society. Jun and Isuzu attended the wedding as the groom's parents, which was a formal announcement to the entire Soul Society of Jun and Kōga's master-disciple relationship.
The Kuchiki Clan, being a large clan, certainly didn't have the disgusting custom of wedding pranks. However, the young couple did have the custom of visiting their elders the next day to express their gratitude. Although Kōga was marrying into the family, Japan customs weren't as strict. In the afternoon, Kōga and Aozumi arrived at the Shimizu Family.
"Congratulations~", Chun said, standing at the door.
"Thank you, Master!" The young couple bowed deeply.
Looking at the two little ones, especially Isuzu who had grown from a child into a husband, Kōga was filled with emotion. She pulled the newlyweds inside, saying, "Oh, we don't have so many formalities in our family, come on in."
"It's not like I'm going to bother learning about etiquette; you want me to perform the whole thing?"
"Aozumi, you go in first. I'll stay and act with Master."
"You're messing with me again, aren't you?"
Haha~
Chun truly doesn't care about these things. The young couple can also set aside all the formalities with Chun. Among them, Aozumi is the most comfortable.
"Master and Mistress, let me tell you something~ I really feel uncomfortable at home right now, I'm even thinking of moving out and having a small courtyard to live in," Aozumi poured out his grievances as soon as he arrived.
"What's wrong?" Chun asked Kōga.
Kōga slapped his forehead. "Ah~ I'd better not talk about it. The Kuchiki Clan has so many rules that they could fill Master's house if written down."
"Where are there so many?!"
"Then fill in half."
"Hmm, that's more like it."
Jun and Isuzu exchanged bewildered glances. So this wasn't a joke; it was real! Jun really didn't want to know anymore.
The young couple knew why they were there; they first offered tea and performed a full set of kneeling greetings in gratitude, and then they were free to do whatever they wanted.
It had been quite a few years since they'd last seen each other. Jun and Isuzu hadn't gone on any more academy missions in their final years, precisely to avoid disturbing the young couple's life. So, upon seeing each other again, they had a lot to discuss.
They started by reminiscing about embarrassing moments from their school days. Aozumi complained about how dense Kōga was, a sentiment Isuzu deeply understood. Jun then realized she still wasn't quite good enough for her sweetheart, exchanged a glance with Kōga, and sighed, "Women are so troublesome!"
However, as the conversation progressed, they got down to business. Kōga eventually entered the West Wall and saw a vast collection of Soul Society Secret History.
"Sure, you found out about Aozumi too?"
"Yeah, I feel like I should do something. I'm always bound by the rules and regulations of the Kuchiki Clan, and I've really lost myself."
"Master, what exactly did you do to Aozumi back then?"
Hmm~?
Kōga's words particularly bothered Isuzu. Jun pouted and produced the String Puppet again. However, this time, Jun and Aozumi exchanged a smile.
Chun nodded with satisfaction, "It seems you've completely moved on from what happened back then."
"Yes, Master, back then I felt like I had nothing left, so I figured I might as well just give up. I thought, well, I'm just Dolls anyway, not someone to play with. Since my father gave me to Kōga, and I have no power to resist, I might as well just throw myself at him."
"Huh!?" Kōga looked completely bewildered. "That's not what you said back then!?"
"That's something I changed later," Aozumi. "After I started competing with you, we found those Journal and insights, as well as the teachings of our Master and Mistress. In particular, our master encouraged me to broaden my horizons, to connect with more people and share more ideas. That's when I realized, 'This is who I truly am!'"
Chun smiled and clapped her hands, "Well said. You understand this and actually do it, so you're no longer that Dolls, nor have you become a new Dolls."
"What new Dolls?" Isuzu sensed a hidden meaning in Jun's words. "Wouldn't it be better if you broke free?"
"Of course not. Some people think they've broken free of their shackles, but they're actually just targeting those shackles and then using other shackles to resist them. It seems like they're rebelling, but in reality, it's a complete collapse. They rebel for the sake of rebelling, without considering what they gain from it. Without strengthening themselves, the rebellion is meaningless."
"Aozumi did a great job. With her own power, she has more choices. She still has countless shackles on her body, but these cannot truly affect her. Those shackles are just things that help her hide her true self, a protective layer for biding her time. When she gains true power and breaks free of these shackles one day, it will be completely impossible for those people to put shackles on her again."
"That's it!" Aozumi's face flushed with excitement. "I absolutely never want to go back to the past, even though the husband my father chose for me is not bad."
"What do you mean 'not bad'?! It's already pretty good!!" Kōga was about to cry.
"Okay, okay, very good, very good~"
You have no sincerity at all!
"Are you even a man?! Why are you so petty?!"
"Does this have anything to do with whether I'm a man or not!? You already rated me as 'not bad'! Then who's the really good one?!" Kōga suddenly stared at Chun, "It's not Master, is it?"
"Tsk~ You two, stop messing around."
"How could it be Master?" Aozumi shook his head, Kōga felt relieved. But then Aozumi said, "Master is an exceptionally good person! I wouldn't even dare to hope to meet a man as good as Master. Kōga, compared to Master, you're better off not even thinking about it."
With a blank expression, he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if you two got a divorce in front of me today. Aozumi, say what you have to say. I've already agreed, okay? If you keep talking like this, I won't be able to live like this anymore."
Seeing that Isuzu's knuckles were white from clenching her fists, Chun wondered how much strength she must be using. Aozumi grinned slyly.
"Master, this is what you said."
Yes, yes, yes.
"Then I'm going to see that Starrk; I want to see the Arrancar."
"Tsk~ Can you accept this?" Jun stroked his chin. Isuzu wasn't jealous this time. This topic was the Shimizu Lineage, its biggest secret.
Aozumi tilted her head; the little girl was still at an age where she could act cute. "I guess so. To be honest, I was quite shocked when I heard the news, but I found myself surprisingly not that surprised. I guess it's because I'm not very knowledgeable."
"Has living in seclusion for so long made you less afraid and more curious?"
"Yes, yes, Master, you understand me best."
Can you handle all of this?
I think I can.
"Okay, when the opportunity arises, I'll take you all to broaden your horizons. Be prepared; there might be more than one of you."
Aozumi was beaming with excitement, Kōga looked completely bewildered, finally seeing the difference between the young couple now.
Although Kōga comes from Rukongai and seems arrogant, he is a proper Soul Society person at heart, which is why he met such a tragic end in the original work.
Miss Aozumi, on the other hand, is a true hothouse flower, a precious and delicate bloom. She's seen nothing before and is naturally curious; it's perfectly acceptable to treat her like a child of a few years old. It's a dangerous age, but also an age of limitless possibilities. She's a deformed product of the Kuchiki Clan's education, yet it's just right.
"Perhaps of this couple, Aozumi is the one who can best inherit my ideas. It's really unexpected that Kōga is regressing more and more as he grows up. Sigh~ Education is indeed a very difficult thing."