Inside Ippū unassuming ramen shop called Rukongai.
Sōgo is eating ramen with gusto.
"Hey bro, I bet you've become Soul Reaper by now in Soul Society, right? Your salary must be pretty good, right? It's really touching that you'd still come to our house for ramen."
The boss looked at Sōgo, who was sitting at the counter eating ramen with gusto, and said with a smile.
"I already said it! The boss's noodles are the best in Soul Society!"
Sōgo ate his noodles one bite at a time, looking completely satisfied.
"Are you serious, buddy? I thought you were just trying to save face by praising me like that every time!"
After hearing what Sōgo, the boss was first taken aback, then couldn't help but smile.
"Of course, it's not out of consideration for you; I'm just stating the facts."
Sōgo smiled and spoke to the boss.
"Ring ring..."
Just as Sōgo was talking to the shop owner, accompanied by the sound of wind chimes, a seemingly ordinary Soul Reaper with glasses and short brown hair walked into the small shop that could only seat fewer than ten people.
"Um?"
The brown- Soul Reaper stared at Sōgo, who was sitting at the front desk chatting with the boss, for a moment, then put on an innocent smile and sat down next to Sōgo like a friendly older brother.
"Uncle, the same as always."
After sitting down next to Sōgo, the brown-haired Soul Reaper first greeted the boss.
"Yo~ Isn't this Aizen- kun?"
"Hahaha... what a coincidence!"
" Aizen- kun and Sōgo- kun, you two have been eating ramen at my little shop for decades, and you're both Soul Reaper, so you should know each other, right? But this should be your first meeting at my ramen shop~"
"How should I put it? Should I call it our first meeting at the ramen shop?"
The boss was a talkative and chatty person. He usually chatted with customers while making ramen. When he saw Sōgo and Aizen sitting directly opposite him, both dressed in the same black Shihakusho, he became interested and started talking more.
"Uncle, there are many Soul Reaper squads and many people. It's perfectly normal not to have met before."
After hearing what his boss said, Aizen smiled slightly at him.
"Oh! Really? Hahaha... Sorry!"
"But I think since you two both love my ramen so much, you'll have a lot in common, right? After all, people who love ramen are rarely bad. Alright, you two chat, I need to go cook some noodles..."
Upon hearing Aizen's words, the shopkeeper blushed with embarrassment. His lack of understanding of the Soul Reaper system had led to this embarrassing situation, making him feel somewhat ashamed. He quickly tried to save face by going to the kitchen to cook noodles.
"Haha, boss, really... By the way, hello team member, I'm Sōsuke Aizen, the Third Seat of the Fifth Division."
Aizen watched his boss's hasty escape with a slight smile, as if they were quite familiar with each other. He watched his boss leave, sat there for a few seconds, and before the atmosphere became completely awkward, he extended his hand to Sōgo beside him and introduced himself with a smile.
" Third Seat? Judging from your Spiritual Pressure, I thought the vice-captain had arrived."
Sōgo laughed after hearing Aizen's words.
"Haha, I'm still a long way from being a vice-captain."
Aizen smiled gently and said humbly to Sōgo.
" Sōgo Shihoin, an unnamed member of the Second Division."
As Sōgo extended his hand and clasped Aizen's, he carefully 'examined' Aizen.
" Shihoin... Sōgo, you belong to the Shihoin Family."
Upon hearing Sōgo's words, Aizen immediately stood up from his seat in fright, beads of cold sweat dripping from his forehead. His panicked appearance seemed genuine.
"..."
Sōgo was slightly taken aback by Aizen's surprised expression. He had thought Aizen was the kind of Soul Reaper who was deliberately investigating him and getting close to him in order to climb up to the Shihoin Family, but judging from Aizen's surprised look, it seemed like a coincidence.
"Hahaha... Don't worry about the reputation of the Shihoin Family. I'm just an ordinary customer like you, hoping to enjoy a delicious meal. Hurry up and sit down! Otherwise, the owner might think I'm bullying his customer, and he'll get angry."
Sōgo, sitting in his seat, waved to Aizen, signaling Aizen to sit down quickly.
"Thank you Shihoin Family..."
Aizen bowed slightly to Sōgo, expressing his respect.
"Hey!"
"Don't call me 'Master of the Shihoin Family,' just call me Sōgo. And you don't need to call me 'Master.'"
Sōgo gently waved his hand at Aizen, indicating that Aizen should not call him Shihoin.
"Okay, I Sōgo..."
Aizen sat somewhat awkwardly beside Sōgo, nodding slightly.
" Aizen- kun, your noodles are ready."
Just as Sōgo and Aizen were chatting, the shopkeeper came over carrying Aizen's ramen.
"Thanks! I'll start eating now!"
Aizen took the ramen from the owner, picked up his chopsticks, and prepared to eat it heartily.
"Etc!"
Just as Aizen was about to devour his noodles, Sōgo suddenly stood up from his seat.
"Hey! What is this?"
Sōgo took a new pair of chopsticks and picked up a shriveled, pickled mustard green-like thing from Aizen's bowl.
"Ah! You mean dried bamboo shoots!"
"This is good stuff!"
Aizen looked at the food resting on Sōgo's chopsticks and smiled gently.
"No, I'm not asking what this substance is. I'm asking why you would put this strange thing in ramen?"
Sōgo looked very serious and angry; this was something that deserved to be taken seriously.
"Um... what's wrong?"
Is there anything wrong with me eating dried bamboo shoots?
Aizen gently adjusted his glasses and asked Sōgo, puzzled.
"Heh, there's nothing wrong with you eating dried bamboo shoots, but adding them to tonkotsu ramen is a big problem! Boss, give me another bowl of Sōgo's Special Tonkotsu Ramen. I want to teach this ignorant kid what real ramen is all about."
Sōgo shouted at the boss.
"Okay, one bowl of Sougo's special Sōgo!"
The boss watched the two men's rivalry with great interest; after all, he was the one making the money.
With its rich broth, noodles, and final plating, a bowl of fragrant tonkotsu ramen was served on Sōgo's table.
"See that? This is real ramen!"
Sōgo pointed to his bowl of chashu tonkotsu ramen, which had not a single bamboo shoot in it, but instead was filled with a large amount of fish cake, and said proudly.
"Dried bamboo shoots are bright yellow and tender, rich in protein, fiber, amino acids, and other trace elements. Low in fat and sugar, and high in dietary fiber, they aid digestion, stimulate appetite, prevent constipation, and have cooling and detoxifying effects—truly the most perfect side dish in the world! And your fish cakes... haha, garbage made from compressed minced fish! Not only do they completely destroy the nutrients in the fish, but they also ruin the taste and texture... I really don't know what those people who love to eat fish cakes in ramen are thinking. Eating more dried bamboo shoots is the way to go." (Assuming the Soul Society's technology is advanced and its food research rivals modern times)
Aizen seemed like a completely different person when food was mentioned; he pointed at the fish cake in Sōgo's bowl with a look of disgust.
"What?! You dare call my fish cake garbage? Apologize to everyone in the world who loves fish cake! You bastard!"
Sōgo was furious after hearing Aizen's words.
"Please allow me to refuse, I simply cannot love this stuff that tastes awful and has so little nutritional value..."
Aizen shook his Sōgo slightly at Sougo, sticking to his principles.
"Say that again if you dare?"
Sōgo glared fiercely at Aizen and threatened Aizen.
"Even if I have to say it a few more times, my choice won't change: fish cakes! Garbage!"
Aizen spoke coldly to Sōgo, as if no matter how Sōgo treated him, he would not change his choice.
This is similar to the debate over whether tofu pudding should be sweet or savory! And is it better to eat zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) with meat or sweet fillings?
This is a choice that directly involves one's life, a choice from which there is absolutely no room for compromise. Neither Sōgo nor Aizen would ever bow down to the other.
"..."
Silence! Inside the small noodle shop, the two masters stood facing off, neither willing to give an inch, as if an epic battle was about to unfold.
Until five minutes later...
"Pfft, hahaha..."
"Hehehe, hahaha..."
Sōgo and Aizen both burst into laughter.
You really love ramen, huh?
Sōgo addressed Aizen.
"It was alright! I just visited every ramen shop in Seireitei... But to be honest, those ramen shops were really far inferior to this one."
Aizen picked up the ramen and started eating it in big mouthfuls, speaking indistinctly as he spoke.
"Indeed! Indeed!"
Sōgo's eyes lit up after hearing Aizen's words, and he nodded repeatedly.
"Slurp~ Slurp~"
Then the conversation between the two ceased, replaced only by the sound of them eating ramen.
"Another bowl, please."
"Boss, me too."
Ten minutes later, the two of them spoke to the boss, one after the other.
"OK!"
The owner gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel wrapped around his neck. A few minutes later, two more bowls of ramen were served.
"You can eat quite a lot, can't you?"
Sōgo smiled at Aizen.
"So-so. You seem to have a good appetite, be careful not to overeat."
Aizen still maintains his sunny, approachable older brother demeanor.
"Hehe..."
Sōgo smiled dismissively and began to eat the ramen in his bowl with gusto.
Haha~
Aizen ate noodles at a speed that was no less than Sōgo's.
moment...
"Boss, continue!"
"Boss, I'm still okay!"
The two smiled at each other, secretly competing with one another.
"Um, if you force yourself to eat ramen, the taste of the ramen will be completely changed. I really don't recommend you eat it that way."
The boss, seeing the two arguing, spoke up to offer a reminder.
"I didn't force you, I love to eat it!"
Sōgo wiped the soup that had spilled from the corner of his mouth and emphasized.
Me too.
Aizen nodded, his face somewhat pale.
"All right."
The boss nodded helplessly as he watched the two arguing.
Fight! Fight! Fight! As the bowls beside them rose higher and higher, the two finally came to a conclusion.
"Including the bowl I ate before, I win."
Sōgo, with his protruding belly, addressed Aizen.
"I wasn't competing with you, I just love to eat."
Aizen covered his mouth, which was about to vomit, and spoke.
"You won't admit defeat? You can't handle losing, can you?"
After hearing Aizen's words, Sōgo asked a question.
"Hehe, next time, next time let's have a proper competition, and I'll show you what real strength is!"
Aizen smiled dismissively and extended an invitation to Sōgo.
"Alright, if I can beat you once, I can beat you a second time. Let's have a proper match next time."
Sougo nodded slightly in agreement after Sōgo Aizen's words.
"That's not necessarily true. I wasn't prepared for today."
Aizen shook his head at Sōgo.
Let's go!
Sōgo ignored Aizen's words and walked away into the distance.
"Goodbye!"
Aizen gently waved his arm towards Sōgo's retreating figure, then turned and walked away in the opposite direction without looking back.
After Sōgo completely disappeared on the other side of the street, Aizen turned around, looked at the desolate street with only a few residents of Rukongai walking around, and smiled slightly. Then he rolled up his sleeve, where a layer of black gauze was wrapped. It was a Spiritual Pressure limiting device made of the same material as the eye patch on Sōgo's face.
"Did you think it was the vice-captain?"
"Heh, what keen senses."
Aizen neatly folded his sleeves and walked deeper into Rukongai.
First of all, Aizen did not use Kyōka Suigetsu on that boss; he was genuinely very familiar with him.
Secondly, Aizen doesn't actually like ramen, but his "eyes" saw that Sōgo loves it. So, for their epic meeting today, he chose to eat at Sōgo's favorite ramen shop, a place Sōgo has been eating at for over thirty years. Also, his earlier statement that he'd eaten at every ramen shop in Seireitei was true. He never likes to leave any flaws, and thanks to his efforts, the entire Fifth Division now knows that Sōsuke Aizen is a ramen-loving madman.
As for dried bamboo shoots, Aizen hated them the most, much like Sōgo. However, in order to create conflict with Sōgo, a member of the Fish Cult, and thus smoothly create a reasonable opportunity for their next meeting, he ate chashu tonkotsu ramen with dried bamboo shoots as a side dish for over thirty years.
"First, you get to know each other, then you strike up a conversation, then you create conflict to give them another chance to meet, and finally you become 'friends'..."
"Hmph hmph haha..."
Aizen chuckled softly at this thought.
Everything is going very smoothly.
"Then there's the issue of experiments. At this rate, in a few decades I'll need to use those Captain-level Soul Reaper for experiments, and at that time I'll have to ask my 'friend' to leave Soul Society for a while."
Aizen walked quietly down the street, his eyes reflecting a glint of light. He was calculating everything in his mind, and all his plans were proceeding smoothly under surveillance.
Sōsuke Aizen, truly a man worthy of Tite Kubo's keyword "god"! A man who holds the "script" and will ultimately stand in the heavens! If he hadn't encountered any overpowered characters...
(End of this chapter)