The Death of Aizen

The next day, Ichigo still hadn't woken up and was sleeping peacefully. With Orihime Inoue taking care of him, he was fine.

"Kid, where are you planning to go today? Old Man Yamamoto has already ordered a search for Hollows within Seireitei, and the defenses of Seireitei have been raised several levels again," Yoruichi said. As the head of the Shihōin family, she had her own channels for obtaining information about Seireitei.

"I'm not going anywhere," Tsuna said, stretching. "Unless someone else is in danger, I'm staying at your house. Now all I have to do is wait, wait for someone to jump out on their own."

"Aizen..."

Yoruichi's expression darkened. She immediately thought of that name. Aizen hadn't shown up at last night's captain's meeting. As for kidnapping Aizen, Yoruichi knew that her friends couldn't possibly do it. The reason Tsuna wasn't going anywhere was to clear his name in front of her.

After enjoying a delicious breakfast at the Four Great Noble Clans, Tsuna received a call from his communications system.

"Hey, Tsuna?" A furtive voice came from the other end.

"Yes, I'm listening."

"I just heard Ukitake say something else: Sosuke Aizen, the Fifth Division Captain, died in their barracks!"

The speaker was none other than Kugo Ginjo from the 13th Division. While following Jūshirō Ukitake, Ginjo also pretended to be Ukitake's spy. Now that he had just obtained some valuable information, Ginjo found an excuse to come and tell Tsuna.

However, Tsuna wasn't too keen on Ginjo's espionage activities. "Ginjo, please tell Ukitake that I understand, and that this has nothing to do with us."

"No, I finally found an opportunity to share information, and you want me to tell Ukitake?" Ginjo said incredulously.

Otherwise, why would Tsukishima say that Ginjo's personality is similar to Ichigo's? When they don't like to use their brains, they really don't.

"Don't underestimate Ukitake. If he hadn't deliberately leaked the information, would you have gotten it so easily?" Tsuna advised. "Go ahead and tell Ukitake. There's no need for us to keep it a secret."

"Damn it." Ginjo cursed under his breath, and when he opened the door to the small room, he saw Jūshirō Ukitake with a gentle smile and Tsukishima following behind him with a helpless expression.

"So, what did Sawada Tsunayoshi say?"

Kugo Ginjo's fists trembled uncontrollably. He glared fiercely at Ukitake, then steeled himself, ripped off his earphones, and tossed them to Ukitake. "You two can talk your minds!"

Tsukishima quickly caught up with the sullen Ginjo; a stubborn mule always needs to be soothed.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, can you hear me?"

"You say."

"Just recently, I received a message from Tenteikūra the First Division. 5th Division Vice-Captain Momo Hinamori discovered that Fifth Division Captain Sosuke Aizen was nailed to the high wall of the Fifth Division Barracks. According to the Fourth Division's investigation, Captain Aizen lost vital signs in the early morning." Ukitake quickly recounted the situation to Tsuna. "I'd like to ask, in the early morning..."

"It has nothing to do with us. We're at the Four Great Noble Clans. As for the others who are scattered, they'd have a hard time taking down a captain. It's impossible for them to kill a captain quietly." Tsuna denied it.

"What exactly is going on? And what you said earlier about the stage making a grand entrance..." Ukitake pondered.

"Don't overthink it. He'll show up when the time is right." Tsuna thought about it carefully. It seemed that Aizen's defection this time hadn't hurt any innocent bystanders. Oh, maybe it hurt Momo Hinamori's feelings.

How could he not think about it? As a member of the Gotei 13, Ukitake couldn't help but care about such a major event as the death of his captain.

"The Fourth Division will continue investigating Captain Aizen's cause of death. Shunsui and I will go to the scene and check it out. We'll contact you again if we find anything." Ukitake thought for a moment and made the follow-up arrangements.

"Sure, just bring Ginjo and contact me." Tsuna didn't care about Ukitake's arrangement. Given Aizen's cautious nature, it was practically impossible for Ukitake and Kyōraku to find anything of value.

After hanging up with Ukitake, Yoruichi came over. "Stealth Force received news that Rukia's sentence has been moved up."

"You're quite fast," Tsuna commented.

Based on the currently known timeline, Aizen disappeared last night. During that time, he should have already taken control of the Central 46. Sure enough, he started to advance his plan at daybreak, bringing forward the time for Rukia Kuchiki to suffer the Sōkyoku Execution.

Tsuna rolled over like a worm next to Ichigo and kicked Ichigo. "Hey~ Ichigo, if you don't wake up soon, Rukia's going to be in trouble!"

Tsuna's words seemed to reach Ichigo's heart; Ichigo's brow twitched slightly before returning to its calm state.

"Inoue, keep Ichigo. It looks like he should wake up soon," Tsuna said to Orihime Inoue.

"Are you ready to take action?" Yoruichi asked.

"It's about time to go out for a stroll..." Before Tsuna could finish speaking, two more spiritual pressures erupted in the Seireitei. One of them was very familiar to Tsuna; it was Yasutora Sado.

"Who did Chad encounter?" Tsuna asked. Having never fought anyone before, he didn't know Chad's spiritual pressure, but judging from it alone, Chad was definitely a formidable opponent.

"He's a newly promoted captain within the last hundred years," Yoruichi said. She wasn't very familiar with this spiritual pressure either; he must have been promoted to captain after their defection.

"Chad, do you need backup?" Tsuna immediately asked over the communicator.

"Seventh Division," Chad said, staring at the enemy. It was just a short sentence, and the enemy couldn't tell that he was requesting backup.

Tsuna was able to identify Chad's enemy based on the information he received. "Sajin Komamura, he's quite a suitable opponent for Chad."

Sajin Komamura's fighting style is wide-open and powerful, with both his attack power and strength being extremely strong. Chad also relies on strength, so a fight between these two would be very valuable for Chad.

Yoruichi thought the same thing, and she said directly, "Go ahead and fight, Chad. Tsuna cover for you."

Yoruichi thought that at Yoruichi, they could just do what Ichigo did last night: lose the fight and then go with Tsuna to bring Chad back. After receiving a reply, Chad focused all his attention on Sajin Komamura.

"Let's go," Tsuna said, as he was also planning to visit the Seireitei.

After Orihime Inoue saw Ichigo again, Tsuna and Yoruichi slipped out of the Four Great Noble Clans. They hadn't gone two steps when they were stopped by a white-haired, spiky-haired guy wearing Captain's Haori and carrying a long Zanpakuto. Beside him was an unforgettable orange-haired guy named Dairai.

"As expected, you're here. We've been waiting for you for a long time." Despite looking quite young, he spoke in a mature tone.

"Oh, it's Hachi. We have an urgent matter. Can we pass through?" Tsuna asked in a friendly manner, recognizing the person opposite him at a glance as the current captain of the 10th Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya! Don't act like we're old friends!" Toshiro roared, veins bulging.

"Pfft, Hachi, that suits you perfectly, Captain."

"Rangiku, once we get back, you'll be handling the squad affairs!" Toshiro said, the one making fun of him being his Vice-Captain Rangiku Matsumoto. These two were also outcasts, with Toshiro handling most of the 10th Division affairs, while Rangiku, as the Vice-Captain, was either slacking off or drinking.

"No, Captain!" Rangiku pleaded with Toshiro like a child.

Tsuna and Yoruichi exchanged a glance, then used Flash Step to leave together. "You two talk first, we're leaving."

"Stop!"

Toshiro and Rangiku worked together seamlessly, each taking one of their men and blocking Tsuna and Yoruichi's path.

Last night, Toshiro and Rangiku followed the disappearing Hollow Spirit Pressure all the way to this area. Since it was within the Four Great Noble Clans's territory, the two of them did not rush in. Instead, they chose to wait for them to come to them. Finally, in broad daylight, they met the people they were waiting for. How could they let Tsuna leave?

The way Toshiro positioned themselves was also a tacit understanding between them. They knew Yoruichi Shihōin quite well. Although she was wanted by the Seireitei, she was basically harmless, so they sent Rangiku to stop Yoruichi Shihōin.

In contrast, Sawada Tsunayoshi, a guy he'd never met before, posed a greater danger, so Toshiro personally came to stop Tsuna.

Tsuna was having a bit of a headache. Toshiro Hitsugaya was at least a captain-level fighter, and he couldn't be easily defeated in a short time.

"Ryoka, come with me regarding the Hollow invasion of Seireitei and the death of the Fifth Division Captain." As he spoke, Toshiro had already drawn his Hyōrinmaru.

"Hachi, is it really necessary to fight like this?" Tsuna's hand touched the Zanpakuto on his back.

"Enough talk, surrender!"

Toshiro Zanpakuto and attacked Tsuna. Tsuna drew his sword in the same instant, but instead of blocking Tsuna 'Toshiro attack, he used the launch of Fullbring Light to strike Rangiku.

"Careful!"

With Toshiro's warning, Rangiku managed to parry Tsuna's sneak attack in time, but Yoruichi Shihōin, whom she was guarding, took the Flash Step.

Tsuna and Yoruichi worked together seamlessly. Since Chad needed someone to go, Tsuna simply stopped Toshiro and the other person himself.

"Seated serenely amidst the frosty sky, Hyōrinmaru."

After its Hyōrinmaru Shikai, a crescent-shaped Chains appeared on the hilt of Hyōrinmaru. The Chains that Toshiro threw followed closely behind Tsuna and wrapped around Tsuna's Zanpakuto, briefly controlling Toshiro 'Tsuna attack.

"Matsumoto, go after Yoruichi Shihōin!" Toshiro ordered.

"But..." What made Rangiku hesitate was the order from the First Division that the captain and Vice-Captain must act together.

"Don't forget, there's another idiot around here. Don't worry about me."

In the morning, when Toshiro and Rangiku were monitoring the Four Great Noble Clans, they unfortunately discovered a certain guy wandering around the Seireitei.

Rangiku immediately remembered that person, her eyes lighting up as she said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Captain."

Tsuna wanted to make a move to stop Rangiku Matsumoto, but Hyōrinmaru's Chains locked his Zanpakuto tightly, so Tsuna up.

"What? Hachi, you really think you can stop me? Wash away all things, rain."

Tsuna formally Shikai the Shikai incantation to Toshiro, Asauchi -like Zanpakuto transformed into Rain Flame, reforming itself into Shigure Kintoki in Tsuna's hand. Due to this change, Toshiro's Chains lost their effect.

How will you know if you don't try?

Toshiro retracted the Crescent Moon Chains, and a chilling aura emanated from the Hyōrinmaru blade. An ice dragon spun out from the Hyōrinmaru and charged towards Tsuna.

"Seated atop the frosty sky, Hyōrinmaru!"