The Secret of Kyōka Suigetsu

Liu Hao continued, his voice unusually clear in the space isolated by the barrier. "Rukia and her older sister Hisana ended up in Rukongai at the same time. Conditions there were harsh, and it was difficult for two vulnerable women to survive. In the end, Hisana was forced to make a painful choice... She abandoned Rukia and survived on her own."

His voice was filled with deep pity. "After that, Hisana lived in regret. Later, she married into the Kuchiki Clan and became Byakuya Kuchiki's wife. From then on, she devoted all her energy to searching for her sister. She wore herself out day and night, eventually falling ill from overwork. She died with regrets before she could find Rukia."

Unohana listened quietly. She had heard some of this herself. Hisana Kuchiki, that gentle woman, had indeed passed away with a wish unfulfilled.

"The following year, Captain Kuchiki found Rukia at Shin'ō Academy," Liu Hao continued. "He defied the Kuchiki Clan's rule against adopting commoners from Rukongai and took Rukia in as his adopted sister, fulfilling his wife's dying wish. That was the path their fates originally took."

He raised his head and looked at Unohana. "But I didn't want them both to be left with regrets. I didn't want Captain Kuchiki... that deeply devoted yet prideful man, to bear guilt and pain he shouldn't have had to. So I found a way for Lady Hisana and Rukia to meet earlier."

Unohana nodded slightly. "If that were all, it really couldn't be called a tragic fate. Arranging for them to meet earlier was an act of kindness instead."

"Yes, if that were all, it certainly wouldn't count as a tragic fate." Liu Hao's voice grew low. "What happened next was the real reason Rukia carried that pain, unable to let it go even after the Aizen incident."

He paused, his tone growing graver. "This concerns the fate of Kaien Shiba and his wife. It also concerns... the greatest schemer in Soul Society... No, I should say the greatest schemer in the Gotei 13."

The moment he said it, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

A sharp light flashed in Unohana's eyes. She spoke slowly, her tone carrying a note of certainty. "The greatest schemer in the Gotei 13... You mean Captain Aizen."

It was not a question, but a statement.

"Yes." Liu Hao nodded, his expression serious. "Sōsuke Aizen... a genius who outshines every other genius in the Seireitei."

Unohana narrowed her eyes slightly. "You rate him that highly?"

"If anything, I'm understating it." Liu Hao's answer was decisive. "Aizen reached the pinnacle of Soul Reaper strength a long time ago. Apart from Captain-Commander Yamamoto, I'm afraid no one in the Gotei 13 could defeat him in a direct confrontation."

He paused, then continued revealing the astonishing truth. "But he wasn't satisfied with that. To grow to a higher level and break past the limits of a Soul Reaper, he kept conducting all kinds of forbidden experiments, trying to use outside means to become a higher-dimensional being."

Unohana's expression grew grave. "The Hollowfication Incident involving the captains a hundred years ago... was that Aizen's doing?"

The question pointed directly at one of the greatest mysteries in Soul Society's history.

"Yes," Liu Hao answered firmly. "The Hollowfication of Soul Reapers and the transformation of Hollows into Soul Reapers... both lines of forbidden research stemmed from Aizen's ambition. He hoped to gain power on a higher level by breaking his shackles at the level of the soul."

His voice carried suppressed anger. "Kaien Shiba and his wife were victims of those experiments. And in the original course of fate, Kaien Shiba would have been controlled by a Hollow Aizen created as a test subject... Metastacia, and ultimately... killed by Rukia's own hand."

Unohana's pupils contracted sharply.

"That also became a lifelong burden for Rukia." Liu Hao's voice was low, but every word was clear. "She couldn't forgive herself for killing the lieutenant she so deeply respected with her own hands. That guilt tormented her for many years."

A brief silence fell over the room.

Unohana absorbed the information, and only after a long while did she speak slowly. "So you approached Kaien Shiba, influenced his decision, and got Shiba Miyako away from the front lines... all to prevent this tragedy?"

"Yes," Liu Hao admitted. "But that can't solve the problem completely. What truly determines everything is Kaien Shiba's future battle with that test-subject Hollow. Only if nothing goes wrong in that battle can the problem truly be resolved."

"Then when... will this battle happen?" Unohana asked the crucial question.

Liu Hao shook his head with a bitter smile. "I don't know either. I only know it will happen. I can't be sure of the exact time or place."

It was an answer that left one feeling helpless. Knowing the future but not the details—such partial knowledge could sometimes be more torturous than complete ignorance.

Unohana pondered for a moment, then asked another crucial question. "As for the Hollowfication Experiment a hundred years ago, Kisuke Urahara, the former captain of the Twelfth Division, once accused Aizen. How did Aizen get Captain Kyōraku and the others to testify for him?"

That question went straight to the heart of Aizen's scheme. What method had he used to create a perfect alibi under everyone's watchful eyes?

Liu Hao took a deep breath and spoke the name:

"Kyōka Suigetsu."

"Kyōka Suigetsu?" Unohana frowned slightly. "Isn't that a flowing-water-type Zanpakuto? Its publicly known ability is to manipulate water vapor to create illusions..."

She suddenly realized something, and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh... it seems some of that Zanpakuto's abilities have been concealed. What is its true ability?"

Looking at Unohana's astonished expression, Liu Hao spoke the truth slowly and deliberately. "Kyōka Suigetsu isn't a flowing-water-type Zanpakuto as Aizen claims. It's a... Rule-type Zanpakuto."

"Rule-type?" Unohana repeated the unfamiliar term, confusion flashing in her eyes.

It was a classification she had never heard of. Zanpakuto abilities came in countless forms: elemental, healing, Kidō-type, special-type... but "Rule-type"?

"That's right, Rule-type," Liu Hao explained. "Its ability is Complete Hypnosis."

The moment he said those words, Unohana's expression changed completely.

"Complete Hypnosis..." she murmured, shock flashing deep in her eyes. "You mean the reason Captain Kyōraku and the others could testify for him was that... they had been hypnotized?"

"Yes." Liu Hao nodded. "Anyone who has ever seen Kyōka Suigetsu's release will fall under Complete Hypnosis. After that, whenever Aizen releases Kyōka Suigetsu again, everyone who has been hypnotized will fall under his hypnosis again and see whatever he wants them to see."

He paused and added the most crucial detail. "And the triggering condition is... seeing the moment Kyōka Suigetsu is released."

Unohana's breath caught slightly.

Images flashed rapidly through her mind... Aizen's composure at captains' meetings, his gentleness while teaching at Shin'ō Academy, the way he demonstrated his Shikai on various occasions...

"So," Unohana said, her voice growing grave, "his demonstrations of his Shikai release at Shin'ō Academy were actually... hypnosis rituals?"

"Yes." Liu Hao smiled bitterly. "I had no way to counter that ability of his, so I could only avoid his classes where he might use his Zanpakuto as much as possible. But perhaps that deliberate avoidance was exactly what drew his attention instead."

That was his greatest dilemma: he had tried to avoid danger, only to fall into it because of the act of avoiding it.

Unohana remained silent for a long time, absorbing the astonishing truth. Then she asked her next question. "In that case, Kaname Tōsen... is he one of Aizen's people too?"

It was a perceptive question. Kaname Tōsen, the Captain of the Ninth Division, held "justice" as his creed and conducted himself so rigorously that he was almost rigid. If even someone like him was Aizen's subordinate, then the extent of Aizen's infiltration was terrifying.

"Yes," Liu Hao answered firmly. "I imagine you know something of Kaname Tōsen's past. Because of his twisted obsession with 'justice' and his desire for revenge, Aizen recruited him."

He paused, his tone growing heavier. "And another man... chose to go undercover at Aizen's side for revenge. He was determined to accomplish his goal even if he fell into darkness himself."

"Another man?" Unohana pressed. "Who?"

"Gin Ichimaru." Liu Hao spoke the name.

Unohana's brow furrowed deeply. Gin Ichimaru, the Third Division Captain, always smiled with his eyes narrowed, making him impossible to read. If Tōsen's position could still be understood in terms of his beliefs, then Ichimaru's motives were even more complicated.

"During his experiments, Aizen created something called the Hōgyoku." Liu Hao began explaining Gin Ichimaru's motives. "The Hōgyoku is a dangerous object with far too many uncertainties. Its core is said to be a fragment of the Soul King—though that's only a rumor, of course."

He paused, then continued. "Aizen kept refining the Hōgyoku by having it devour all kinds of souls... Soul Reapers, Hollows, even ordinary souls. In the process, Aizen's subordinates took... something from Rangiku Matsumoto when she was still a child."

Liu Hao's tone grew uncertain. "It was said to be the Soul King's fingernail, but it could have been something else. Gin Ichimaru, who was Rangiku Matsumoto's companion at the time, discovered what had happened."

Unohana listened quietly. Rangiku Matsumoto, the Tenth Division's lieutenant, did have a vague childhood memory, but even she could no longer remember the details.

"To get back what Rangiku Matsumoto had lost," Liu Hao said, his voice carrying a note of respect, "Gin Ichimaru came to the Seireitei from that moment on and became a Soul Reaper. He deliberately approached Aizen and went undercover at his side. After nearly a hundred years, he finally learned how to avoid Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis..."

He sighed. "Unfortunately, he failed in the end. As for what happened to him... I don't know whether he lived or died. I only know that after that, he never appeared in Soul Society again."

It was a tragic, heroic story. To reclaim something belonging to someone important to him, a man had spent a century undercover at the side of the world's most dangerous schemer, only to fail at the very end.

Unohana was silent for a long time before she spoke slowly. "I see... Then why haven't you thought of changing Gin Ichimaru's fate?"

It was a practical question. Since Liu Hao knew so much and wanted to change others' fates, why not help Gin Ichimaru?

Liu Hao smiled bitterly. "As I am now, I might not even be able to beat him. How could I change it? Besides, even if I wanted to, the opportunity would come in the future, not now."

That was the helplessness of reality. Knowing the future did not mean having the power to change it. The gap in strength, the limits of timing, and all kinds of uncontrollable factors... these were obstacles that had to be faced.

Unohana nodded to show she understood. Then she asked the most crucial question. "You said Gin Ichimaru learned how to avoid Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis... Do you know what that method is?"

The question directly concerned how they could fight Aizen in the future.

Liu Hao took a deep breath and answered slowly. "I do."

His gaze sharpened. "To avoid Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis, you have to touch its blade... in the moment before Aizen releases it."

Unohana's pupils contracted sharply.

That condition... was far too demanding.

"And given Aizen's strength," Liu Hao continued, his tone helpless, "the possibility is nearly zero. That method can only work if you have an overwhelming advantage in strength or catch him by surprise."

It was a dilemma with almost no solution. Aizen's own strength had already reached the peak of Captain-level, so the difficulty of touching the blade in the moment before he released his Zanpakuto was easy to imagine.

But Unohana did not give up. She thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke. "Still, I can't help feeling... there should be more than one way to counter it."

Liu Hao was slightly taken aback. "Captain, what do you mean?"

"I was considering Kaname Tōsen's Bankai, Enma Kōrogi," Unohana said slowly. "That Bankai draws its enemy into a space of complete darkness and deprives them of their five senses. But there is a way to counter it: holding Tōsen's Zanpakuto, Suzumushi, allows one to avoid being swallowed by the darkness."

She looked at Liu Hao, a thoughtful light in her eyes. "So I think that even under Kyōka Suigetsu's Complete Hypnosis, as long as you can touch its blade, you should be able to recover from the hypnotized state."

It was a bold deduction, but it made logical sense.

A Zanpakuto's ability often had its own core rule, and the way to counter it was usually related to the nature of the ability itself. If Kyōka Suigetsu's core was "Complete Hypnosis," then touching the sword itself might be the key to breaking the hypnosis.

Liu Hao pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "That is indeed a possibility. But... it's only speculation. We can't be certain until we've tested it."