He had staked his future on Aizen.
The next day, a meeting was held at the First Division. Every captain of the Gotei 13 attended, and Shinji Hirako officially became the Fifth Division Captain. He had finally joined the upper ranks, though his laid-back nature was never going to change.
As expected, Aizen became the Fifth Division's lieutenant. After a century of honing his act, he had reached the point where no one could tell whether he was pleased or angry. His face gave nothing away.
To him, being a captain or lieutenant meant nothing.
Over the past century, he had assembled an army of Arrancar in Hueco Mundo.
Yet even after a hundred years, he still had not fully unraveled the Hogyoku's secrets.
The Hogyoku was like a black hole. The deeper he studied it, the more it drew him in, until he could no longer pull himself away.
The Hogyoku Yamabuki Chidori had created seemed to hold boundless power. Decades ago, Aizen had successfully developed Hollow Soul Reaperization. Coyote Starrk, Baraggan, Tier Harribel, and Nel Tu had all become Arrancar, raising their strength to a new level.
One on one, they were every bit as strong as the captains of the Gotei 13.
Many lower-ranked Arrancar were not to be underestimated, either. After a century, the Hollows had grown used to Aizen's rule and saw it as only natural.
But Aizen could never have dreamed that a spy at his side was recording his every move in Hueco Mundo, compiling the information, and sending it to Yamabuki Chidori.
And even after a hundred years, Aizen still had no idea how deep his teacher's power ran.
It was a bottomless abyss, like a tiny living creature gazing up at the stars.
Nothing but unknowns, as far as the