"Ulquiorra, go wake Yammy up and tell him the person he's been waiting for has arrived in Hueco Mundo!"
"Bring those two women over while you're at it! They've gotten so used to being logistics chiefs that they've forgotten they're warriors!"
"Also, have Starrk bring Picaro back from the front lines! We can ease up on the war over there for a while!"
Ulquiorra's long, slender, pitch-black hand rested against his chest. After receiving his orders, he vanished from the spot in a cloud of smoke.
With his orders given, the King of Hueco Mundo leaned back against the armrest of his throne and settled in to watch the show again.
It was another beautiful day. Aoto stretched beneath the rising sun.
Aoto's daily life didn't really vary much.
Home, the 11th Division's barracks, Rukongai... He spent his days wandering between those places.
Unless his main body gave him orders, he rarely got involved with Aizen's side.
Of all the divisions in the Gotei 13, the one least affected by Aizen was the 11th Division!
Thinking about it carefully, Aizen had never tampered with the 11th Division.
The captains of the 4th Division, 8th Division, and 13th Division had all been fooled by Kyoka Suigetsu.
But Aizen had never used Kyoka Suigetsu on the 11th Division.
It was probably because of Zaraki Kenpachi's beastlike instincts. Maybe that was one way to counter Kyoka Suigetsu?
So Aoto was able to take things easy, too.
Every day, he wandered around, teased Shiro, and checked how well he was learning.
The only thing that annoyed Aoto was that whenever he taught Shiro, he'd spot Rangiku Matsumoto watching from the sidelines.
That woman just wouldn't give up!
No wonder she and Gin Ichimaru made a pair. She sure was persistent.
Speaking of which, what Aizen had stolen from Rangiku Matsumoto back then must have been a fragment of the Soul King's fingernail, right?
Even after losing that piece, Rangiku Matsumoto's life hadn't been affected too much... It was just that her talent, which might have easily made her a captain, had dropped to the level of a lieutenant.
Gin Ichimaru would eventually lose his life over this. It was hard to say whether it had been worth it.
But when it came to talent, even a soul without a Soul King Fragment could far surpass one that had one.
Shiro was a perfect example.
His rate of progress had truly taken Aoto by surprise.
His spiritual pressure had already reached the tenth level after only a little training!
With the wooden sword Aoto had carved himself in hand, Shiro could emit waves of freezing air whenever he swung it.
It seemed that if he gave Shiro an Asauchi, the boy could immediately begin awakening his Zanpakuto.
Had Hyōrinmaru chosen Shiro as its future vessel long ago?
People said a Zanpakuto was the embodiment of a Soul Reaper's inner self, but that wasn't entirely true.
Some Soul Reapers awakened Zanpakuto that had once appeared in Soul Society.
And they were almost always powerful Zanpakuto with recorded Bankai.
It seemed that even after the Soul Reapers who wielded those Zanpakuto had died, the Zanpakuto themselves could continue to exist in Soul Society, searching for another vessel they were perfectly compatible with.
That was how Aoto had gotten his Zanpakuto, too.
Otherwise, as a Hollow clone, even if he'd used a special method to fill in his Hollow Hole and become a Plus, he still couldn't have awakened a Zanpakuto on his own.
"Keep putting your back into it!" To Shiro, Aoto's voice sounded like a demon's. "Your biggest weakness is still your age. You're too small and weak! We won't move on to the next stage of training until you cut this piece of iron in half."
Shiro felt like his rotten master was just making things difficult for him.
He expected him to cut iron with a wooden sword... Was that even possible?
Oh, he wasn't human... But that still didn't make it possible!
Still, even if he was angry, Grandma was watching from the side. Shiro couldn't let her down.
He struck the iron again and again, maintaining the proper form each time. The recoil made his arms go numb with every blow.
Even with spiritual pressure protecting him, the wooden sword in Shiro's hands would crack if he wasn't careful.
But Aoto, leisurely eating peaches nearby, always had another wooden sword ready to replace it.
And when Shiro's arms hurt too much to go on and his spiritual pressure was nearly depleted, Aoto would take out a fragrant slice of some unknown meat and give it to him.
It was delicious and nutritious.
One slice brought Shiro back to full strength.
It tasted great, but sometimes Shiro would have preferred not to have anything so delicious.
After all, instead of recovering instantly, he'd rather have a proper break.
But this rotten master of his didn't act like a human at all!
Oh, he wasn't human... He really wasn't!
When Momo Hinamori, who was about to graduate and had already decided to join the 5th Division, came back to visit Shiro and his grandmother, this was what she saw.
"Momo!"
The moment he spotted Momo Hinamori, Shiro happily tossed aside his wooden sword and sprang in front of her in two quick steps.
Momo Hinamori was startled... That Flash Step.
Aoto watched with a deeply troubled expression.
It looked like Shiro's "Momo curse" was here to stay!
Before Momo Hinamori even reached Aoto, Shiro had quickly explained the situation to her.
Momo Hinamori thought it was a good thing.
But the 11th Division... Wasn't it too dangerous?
Momo Hinamori didn't yet know how much potential Shiro had. She just felt that the 11th Division's combat unit wasn't suitable for someone as young as him.
The 5th Division would be the best choice!
Captain Aizen was so kind. He would surely teach Shiro better.
Momo Hinamori hadn't even graduated yet, but she was already a devoted member of the 5th Division!
Seeing this, Rangiku Matsumoto hurried over... She'd been plotting in secret to have Shiro apply for a transfer to the 10th Division after Aoto brought him into the 11th Division.
Soul Reapers could apply to transfer divisions freely. As long as the division they applied to was willing to accept them, they could transfer right away.
This rule had been established to ensure that if a Soul Reaper offended someone in their division's leadership and was constantly oppressed with no way out, they could leave.
Otherwise, how had Aoto transferred between twelve divisions in two hundred years?
And once Shiro transferred to the 10th Division, he could regularly return to Rukongai to visit his grandmother as a patrol officer.
Rangiku Matsumoto had planned it all out, but she hadn't counted on Shiro having an older sister who'd just graduated from Shino Academy... If he could transfer, wouldn't joining her division be better than joining Rangiku Matsumoto's?
The little brat wasn't even old enough to be tempted by her figure!
Aoto had seen Rangiku Matsumoto "teaching" Shiro in private before. Now that he saw her rushing over, he knew she was getting anxious.
Hahaha, this was fun.
But Aoto didn't think Shiro was the sort to have no ideas of his own.
Although he was still just a little kid, he already had quite a bit of poise!
After talking with Momo Hinamori for a while, Aoto was sure that Aizen had completely bewitched her.
That guy sure knew how to bewitch young girls!