Asano Kiyoshi's name had, at some unknown point, left an indelible mark deep in Aizen's heart.
He was truly trying to change the filthy, corrupt Soul Society in a way completely different from his own.
Moreover, the actions he had taken had indeed brought a fresh, warm breeze into this decaying Soul Society.
But that alone was not enough! Soul Society's very essence was an existence built upon sin. Such an existence could not be changed by the gentle methods Asano Kiyoshi had displayed so far!
He needed to see greater resolve from Asano Kiyoshi, needed to see a firmer attitude from him.
And as it happened, the matter of road construction had created an almost irreconcilable conflict between the nobles and Asano Kiyoshi.
He wanted to see Asano Kiyoshi's attitude when facing such a problem and confronting the nobles. He also wanted to see whether the Gotei 13, which had existed since the founding of Soul Society, had truly decayed beyond recognition.
Thus, he had drawn in those hyenas that seemed to scent blood—the endlessly greedy nobles.
Even the Gotei 13 members who had charged exorbitant tolls had been carefully selected by him.
And, as expected, those men had not disappointed him. On their very first day in office, they had chosen to raise the tolls without authorization.
In just one day, they had earned extra income equivalent to two or three months of their original wages.
Tempted by such horrifying profits, their greed had swelled further and further. They began constantly raising the tolls, sometimes demanding fees amounting to fifty percent of the cargo's value!
Furthermore, thanks to Aizen's meticulous arrangements, no one had exposed what those men were doing.
The ordinary civilians had no idea where to seek help. Go to Central 46? Impossible. They would only