Mirage

Seireitei, Squad 5 barracks.

Before a dim oil lamp, Sosuke Aizen slowly closed the book in his hands and placed it on the desk before him, his voice gentle as he asked, "Gin, is there something you need, coming to see me so late?"

Gin Ichimaru's figure appeared suddenly before Sosuke Aizen. His fox-like, slit eyes glanced at the book on the desk, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

The cover of the book bore the bold title: Epic of Gilgamesh.

Gin Ichimaru knew of this book.

A day ago, Gin Ichimaru and Sosuke Aizen had secretly traveled to Naruki City in the Human World to conduct clandestine Hollowfication experiments on Bleach, while simultaneously hoping to see if they could locate Shinji Hirako and his group, who were hiding in the human realm.

They were Sosuke Aizen's test subjects, having been rescued by Kisuke Urahara after the incident.

Sosuke Aizen knew that Kisuke Urahara would certainly be able to resolve the Hollowfication issues plaguing them.

At the same time, this meant that if they could be captured, it would surely yield a massive harvest, perhaps even elevating his research on the Hogyoku to the next level.

Thus, Sosuke Aizen had never given up on searching for them.

This time, the reason Sosuke Aizen chose Naruki City as the experimental site was because he had gathered intelligence suggesting traces of their activities there.

Conducting Hollowfication experiments on Bleach in their territory was undoubtedly a provocation, a way to pick at their old wounds; if they were to be consumed by rage, they might very well walk right into the trap.

Originally, Gin Ichimaru had assumed Sosuke Aizen would remain behind the scenes as he always did, manipulating everything from the shadows.

But he hadn't expected that after arriving in Naruki City, Sosuke Aizen would send him to capture the Bleach stationed in the Human World while he himself went to the largest local bookstore.

By the time they met again, Sosuke Aizen was already holding the Epic of Gilgamesh and reading it.

He had even become so engrossed in the book that he paid little attention to the Hollowfication experiments, leaving them entirely to Gin Ichimaru.

This made Gin Ichimaru extremely curious; he couldn't fathom what kind of book could possess such magic as to captivate Sosuke Aizen.

Sosuke Aizen did not hide it, telling Gin Ichimaru the title and content directly.

Upon learning the title was the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gin Ichimaru had frozen, his slit eyes widening in sheer disbelief.

He certainly knew of Gilgamesh; he was the top student of this year's Shin'o Academy and the most talented pupil since the academy's founding.

But what was the deal with this Epic of Gilgamesh?

And what was the deal with Sosuke Aizen?

Could he possibly believe that the Gilgamesh currently at Shin'o Academy was the same King of Heroes, the oldest human king recorded in the Epic of Gilgamesh from over 6,000 years ago?

The various doubts that had flashed through his mind at the time remained unanswered even now.

Gin Ichimaru had tried to probe, but Sosuke Aizen had only offered ambiguous responses.

With his thoughts swirling, Gin Ichimaru quickly reined in his mind and looked at Sosuke Aizen, saying, "I just saw something interesting."

Sosuke Aizen's gentle expression remained unchanged as he asked with interest, "Oh? What is it?"

Gin Ichimaru did not hold back, stating, "Captain Isshin Shiba returned to the barracks a short while ago. Judging by his appearance, it seems he just went through a major battle."

"Not only that, he has decided to head to Naruki City personally to investigate the deaths of the Bleach stationed in the Human World."

Sosuke Aizen's brows arched slightly at these words, and he asked a critical question: "Will the Captain-Commander allow him to go?"

Gin Ichimaru's slit eyes opened just a fraction, a dangerous glint leaking out as he chuckled, "No. It seems he intends to go in secret."

"Captain Aizen, do you think we could manipulate this situation to our advantage?"

Sosuke Aizen knew that the "manipulation" Gin Ichimaru spoke of was not about reporting him.

While reporting him would result in punishment for Isshin Shiba, the final outcome would surely be trivial and meaningless.

Gin Ichimaru's intent was to turn Isshin Shiba into a test subject for the Hollowfication of Bleach.

If this had been a short while ago, Sosuke Aizen would have agreed with Gin Ichimaru's proposal.

Since Shinji Hirako and his group remained elusive, Isshin Shiba would serve as a perfect substitute.

But the current Sosuke Aizen had his reservations.

Sosuke Aizen was not only incredibly meticulous but possessed terrifying insight.

He had sensed that ever since the appearance of Gilgamesh, many things had gradually slipped out of his control.

This displeased Sosuke Aizen and stirred a sense of crisis within him.

He knew that he had not yet spread his wings; it was not the time to expose himself.

At the same time, Sosuke Aizen was becoming increasingly curious about Gilgamesh.

In his memory, he seemed to have heard the name Gilgamesh mentioned in the Human World, which was the very reason he had specifically gone there to search for relevant books.

Right now, for Isshin Shiba to secretly head to the Human World alone over a mere low-ranking Bleach was clearly illogical and inconsistent with Isshin Shiba's lazy nature.

Clearly, Isshin Shiba's anomaly had also slipped out of Sosuke Aizen's control.

And to rashly strike at someone who had slipped from his grasp would undoubtedly increase the risk of exposure.

Of course, what concerned Sosuke Aizen even more was whether Isshin Shiba's anomaly was also related to Gilgamesh.

Lost in thought, Sosuke Aizen fell into deep contemplation, offering no answer to Gin Ichimaru.

Seeing this, a look of surprise could not help but appear on Gin Ichimaru's face.

Based on his understanding of Sosuke Aizen, Aizen should not have let such a perfect opportunity slip by.

However, Gin Ichimaru did not disturb Aizen's contemplation and waited in silence.

While waiting, Gin Ichimaru couldn't help but pick up the Epic of Gilgamesh resting on the table and began to flip through it.

This was the first time Gin Ichimaru had ever read this book.

He wanted to see what kind of magic this book possessed that could make Aizen so fascinated.

Once he started reading, Gin Ichimaru found himself unwittingly drawn in, even beginning to project the image of Gilgamesh into the narrative.

Aizen had stopped thinking at some point; watching the engrossed Gin Ichimaru, he did not disturb him, but instead offered a faint smile before rising to leave.

There were some matters he had to verify personally.

The next day, Aizen "coincidentally" ran into Isshin Shiba.

Watching Isshin Shiba's back, Aizen smiled with his usual gentleness and said, "Captain Shiba, I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence to run into you here."

Upon hearing Aizen's voice, Isshin Shiba felt a jolt in his heart.

On the surface, Isshin Shiba remained calm, turning his head with a smile to greet him: "Yo, Captain Aizen, where are you headed?"

Aizen replied, "I have some business to attend to at the Twelfth Division."

Isshin Shiba didn't care where Aizen was going; after exchanging a few polite words, he left directly.

After Isshin Shiba departed, Aizen's smile gradually faded, and his brow furrowed slightly.

Although Isshin Shiba had hidden it well, Aizen, with his keen insight, could still perceive the wariness directed toward him.

This was interesting.

He had originally only intended to probe and see if Isshin Shiba's abnormality was related to Gilgamesh.

But now it seemed that Isshin Shiba's abnormality was related to him instead.

Then, who could be the cause of Isshin Shiba's strange behavior?

As he pondered, a gentle smile suddenly returned to Aizen's face, and he thought to himself: Gilgamesh, it seems I must meet with you after all.

And it will be the perfect time to let you see my Kyōka Suigetsu...