The Art of Language

"I see. Thank you for your guidance, Captain Kuchiki. Even as an observer, I now have a few more grounds on which to make a judgment."

Aizen gave a slight nod, the smile on his face unchanged. He seemed quite pleased with Byakuya Kuchiki's reasoning.

He paused for a moment, and a trace of reminiscence entered his eyes, as though recalling a long-buried memory:

"Then, as repayment for the information you just shared, there is one final matter I would like to remind Captain Kuchiki of. Consider it a small insight and conjecture I arrived at after hearing your words."

Aizen lowered his voice and slowly asked:

"Captain Kuchiki, do you still remember the major event from a century ago that reshaped the balance of Soul Society?"

"A century ago?"

Byakuya Kuchiki's eyes flickered, his thoughts instantly drawn back to that time.

Back then, he had still been young. He was not yet the Captain of the Sixth Division and had only recently joined it.

Of the old events from a century ago, there was only one he could recall that qualified as a major incident and still cast ripples into the present.

"Are you referring to the Hollowfication tragedy that caused multiple captain-class Shinigami to suddenly undergo Hollowfication, only for it to be hastily branded as Kisuke Urahara's betrayal?"

That was the only event he could think of.

"Precisely."

Aizen nodded lightly. A cold gleam flashed across his lenses, and his tone carried both regret and gravity.

"Through my private investigations and reviews over the years, I have found that the tragedy of that time was riddled with inconsistencies. Every piece of evidence seemed deliberately aimed at an overly perfect scapegoat. I have reason to suspect that another unseen hand had been directing everything from behind the scenes."

"Someone