Clear-Eyed Yet Ignorant

A vast spiritual pressure spread across the entire area. Tsuna accepted everything Decimo had bestowed upon him, and his power rose once more. In his status panel, the Bleach entries had been completely unlocked, forming a long chain with no end in sight.

After Decimo handed his power over to Tsuna, he lost his strength as well, reverting to the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device and falling to the ground.

Tsuna glided down in a handsome flight and landed before Urahara and the others, marking the end of this Bankai training session.

"My, I didn't expect it to end so quickly. I thought it would take at least three days, so I specifically told you to come on Friday," Urahara Kisuke said.

"It was thanks to the shopkeeper's Zanpakuto Manifestation Device," Tsuna said modestly.

"Enough, kid. It's fine as long as you don't blame us." Yoruichi jumped onto Tsuna's head again and lay down. Having just gained such benefits, Tsuna simply let her remain there.

"It's still early. Would Mr. Tsuna care to join us in the tea room for a chat?" Urahara asked. Tsuna had already acquired sufficiently powerful abilities, and accordingly, Urahara wished to ask the question he had long been curious about.

In the tea room of the Urahara Shop, Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai sat around a small round table, watching Tsuna with solemn expressions. They could all roughly guess what Urahara wanted to ask.

Urahara spoke first. "Mr. Tsuna, thank you for the intelligence you've provided during this time. There is a question I would like to ask for your opinion on."

"Oh?" Tsuna had not expected Urahara, who always presented himself as so frivolous, to be this serious. He unconsciously adopted honorific speech as well. "Please, go ahead."

"What is your opinion of Aizen?" Urahara's hand tightened around his teacup. If Tsuna had not known so much information, they never would have mentioned that name to him at this time.

"Sosuke Aizen?"

The eyes of all three people present narrowed. Just as they had guessed, Tsuna knew of Aizen.

"How should I put it? Since he hasn't affected me, it's hard for me to have much of an opinion on him. As long as he doesn't set his sights on Karakura Town in the future, I don't particularly care what happens to him," Tsuna said honestly.

"Another person deceived by Aizen's appearance."

Yoruichi curled her lips, unable to hide her disappointment. It could be said that everyone present had been driven out of Soul Society by Aizen and forced to make a living in the World of the Living. They were wanted by Soul Society, and even when they occasionally wanted to return home, they had to sneak around.

"Sosuke Aizen, Vice-Captain of the 5th Division. His Zanpakuto is Kyoka Suigetsu, an Illusion-type Zanpakuto. A hundred years ago, he used Captain-level Bleaches as experimental subjects. In that incident, you and the others, Shopkeeper, were implicated and forced to leave Soul Society." Tsuna took a sip of tea and spoke leisurely.

That immediately stirred Yoruichi's emotions. She jumped onto the tea table and asked, "Since you know how terrifying Aizen is, do you know just how dangerous he—"

"Yoruichi." Urahara picked her up and held her in his arms. "Mr. Tsuna's premise was that Aizen had not affected him, correct?"

"But if Aizen succeeds, the World of the Living will be in danger too," Yoruichi retorted.

"Mr. Yoruichi, first you need to understand Aizen's goal. His goal is the throne above the void—the Soul King," Tsuna said.

"As expected, then the Hogyoku..." Urahara's voice grew lower and lower.

"The Hogyoku is merely one means for him to achieve self-evolution. Simply put, it is for the sake of obtaining greater power." Tsuna thought carefully, then commented, "If I have to say what I think of Aizen, I'd say he's someone clear-eyed yet ignorant."

"Clear-eyed? Ignorant?" Urahara savored those two words.

"He is clear-eyed because Aizen had long grown weary of Soul Society's millennium-old, unchanging system. He clearly understood that the Gotei 13 system supposedly protected the interests of the nobles. As time passed, Soul Society's system became increasingly bloated and began to rot."

"Yet beneath this rotten system, Aizen remained exceptionally clear-eyed. He wanted to make changes and set Soul Society's old windmill turning again. But as someone of low standing and little influence, who would listen to his ideas? Central 46, which represented noble interests? Or the Captain-Commander, who had upheld this unchanging order for a thousand years?"

"For that reason, Aizen began walking the path of becoming stronger. Only supreme power could grant him a true voice. He spared no effort in reviewing all kinds of materials and conducting all sorts of experiments, all to break through the limits of what was called a Bleach."

"During that process, he developed a semi-finished Hogyoku and uncovered part of the Soul King's information. He believed the Five Great Noble Houses had betrayed the Soul King and turned him into a puppet, so he concluded that the throne in the sky stood empty. That only strengthened his resolve."

"Afterward, he began experimenting with breaking through the limits of Bleaches: Captain-level Hollowfication, artificial Hollows, and so on. Shopkeeper, you and the others were driven out of Soul Society by him during that incident. With Captain-level Bleaches missing, he could also more easily promote his own people."

"Aizen truly is impressive. Whether in strength, strategy, or research, he is among the very best. But the one thing he failed to account for was that the Soul King, whom he believed had been betrayed by the great noble houses, had done it willingly."

"That is why I call him ignorant. He calculated everything, yet failed to calculate the Soul King's wishes. In order to maintain the stability of the Three Worlds, the Soul King voluntarily became the keystone."

"The empty throne Aizen believed in was actually abandoned willingly by someone else. Shopkeeper, what kind of expression do you think Aizen would have if he learned this truth? It would definitely be quite a sight."

"From the very beginning, Aizen's goal had no meaning. Ascend the throne above the void and become the new king of the Three Worlds? Wouldn't he merely become another artificial Soul King, treated as a keystone to stabilize the Three Worlds?"

After saying all that in one breath, Tsuna was parched and hurriedly took a drink of water.

In Urahara's arms, Yoruichi was utterly stunned, her mouth hanging open. Even as one of the Five Great Noble Houses, she had not known so much. "Kid, where did you learn so many secrets?"

"There's nothing to be surprised about. Didn't the shopkeeper know too?" Tsuna shrugged and pointed at Urahara.

When Yoruichi turned around, there truly was no surprise on Urahara's face. Instead, he looked deeply contemplative.

"Kisuke? You really knew all of this?"

"No, I only knew some pieces of information. After hearing Mr. Tsuna's words, I have finally connected the scattered clues," Urahara said.

"Wait, you knew about the Soul King too?"

"Through your family's connections, it was possible to guess a little."

"Why couldn't I guess it?" Yoruichi muttered.

"Mr. Yoruichi, you should keep a close eye on the shopkeeper. In my view, the shopkeeper's intelligence may even surpass Aizen's. He simply isn't as radical as Aizen." Tsuna advised, "Mr. Yoruichi, make sure you keep watch over the shopkeeper and prevent him from becoming someone even more terrifying than Aizen."

"Is that true, Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked.

"Ahahaha..."

Urahara Kisuke merely responded with an awkward laugh. His assessment of Tsuna rose another level.

Urahara himself feared his own intellect. What he feared was that one day he might do something outrageous, like destroying the world. He had silently made Yoruichi the restraint upon his talents. He had never told anyone of that thought, not even Yoruichi.

Yet Tsuna had accurately spoken Urahara's thoughts aloud. Sawada Tsunayoshi, what exactly were you?

"Stop looking at me, Shopkeeper. I have no inclination to destroy the world, nor do I want to rule it. If this world didn't have Hollows, and if there weren't people trying to destroy it, I wouldn't seek power at all," Tsuna said.

"Hehe, then how does Mr. Tsuna think we should deal with Aizen?" Urahara asked.

"Shopkeeper, what you are worried about is merely that Aizen has his eye on your Hogyoku and that he might use it to do something even more outrageous." Tsuna said, "Haven't you already hidden the Hogyoku away? Aizen will make the first move himself. You only need to take more precautions."

"The timing?"

"Probably around when I start high school?" Tsuna said. He was not entirely sure of the exact timing either.

"I understand. What are Mr. Tsuna's plans from here on?"

"Familiarize myself with my Bankai, train the power of my other blade, and unite every ally I can." Tsuna said, "Personal strength is the foundation for dealing with all kinds of events."

"Obviously." Yoruichi rolled her eyes.

"I have a suggestion for you, Shopkeeper. You could try researching the powers of Hollows and Bleaches."

"You want me to conduct experiments like Aizen's? Is that necessary?" Urahara recalled the group that had been driven out of Soul Society because of the Bleach Hollowfication experiments. Even after gaining Hollow powers, they did not seem especially strong.

Tsuna said solemnly, "Shopkeeper, you need to understand that our true enemy is the Quincy. The Progenitor of the Quincy wants to destroy the world, while Aizen merely wants to become the world's king and remake its order. By comparison, the Progenitor of the Quincy is clearly far more dangerous."

"And everything about Hollows is poison to Quincy. It is necessary to jointly research how Bleaches can master Hollow's power. Of course, not that half-baked Hollowfication research Aizen conducted a hundred years ago. If Hollowfication cannot be used alongside Bankai, then Hollowfication is meaningless," Tsuna said.

Tsuna's words also made it clear to Urahara that he knew of the Visored. Urahara secretly decided that it was time to get in touch with them. Just as Tsuna had said, Shikai combined with Hollowfication really was not enough.

After finishing his conversation with Urahara, it was time to go home. Tsuna's departure did not return the tea room to peace.

"Kisuke, where did this kid get such a huge grudge from? Why is he so dead set on targeting the Quincy?" Yoruichi asked in confusion.

"Mr. Tsuna is not someone who meddles in other people's affairs. As he said, Aizen's matters did not involve him, so he had no particular opinion about them. In contrast, the Quincy threaten his life, so he will do everything possible to target them." Urahara commented, "Mr. Tsuna is someone who cares deeply about his family and friends. For their sake, he would not hesitate to face danger alone."

"Who wouldn't?" Yoruichi said with a curl of her lips.

(PS: When Aizen was defeated and Urahara told him the truth about the Soul King, he truly broke down. I also believe it was the truth about the Soul King that made Aizen willingly remain in Muken, too lazy to cause any more trouble.)