Help! I am bound to Aizen!-Chapter 288

Chapter 288

2-in-1 chapter:

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Flowing flames flared up along Ryūjin Jakka’s blade as Yamamoto gripped the hilt and slashed downward toward Kaelith.

Kaelith neither dodged nor reacted—he simply stood there. Ryūjin Jakka’s tip swept past, stopping just in front of his chest, and an intense surge of heat poured into him. The rush lasted about three seconds before subsiding. Yamamoto gave his wrist a twist, dispelling the fire as he sheathed his sword once again.

Curious, Kaelith tugged his shirt open, only to see a flame-shaped mark now imprinted on his chest. After staring at it for a couple of seconds, he jerked his head up in surprise.

“This is…a ‘Heavenly Master last Transmission’ kind of thing? Did you pass all your knowledge and power on to me?!”

“Old ma—er, Teacher! If you gave it all to me, how will you survive? Do you only have days left? Teacher, nooo—ah!!”

Those first cries were heartbreak; the last one was a scream. Kaelith, hands braced against the floor, had to yank several times before freeing his head. He ended up with a ring of floorboard around his neck, like some sort of frilled lizard. Yamamoto couldn’t help feeling a little exasperated.

“That is a sensing mark, created with Ryūjin Jakka’s flames,” he said curtly. “If you ever face an enemy you cannot defeat, pour your spiritual pressure into that mark and stall for time by any means—flee, surrender, whatever it takes until I arrive. Even if Squad Zero tries to strike you down, I can at least get you out of there.”

Kaelith’s eyes widened. Of everything Yamamoto had said so far, this shocked him the most. For Yamamoto, duty and the law were paramount. He had once been willing to blind himself to all sentiment just to obey Central 46’s orders—yet now, he was saying he would cross Squad Zero itself to rescue Kaelith.

“Teacher…”

“Mm?” Yamamoto arched an eyebrow, somewhat satisfied at how moved his disciple appeared. At Kaelith’s deep sigh, though, an uneasy feeling stirred.

“I’m truly a sinful man,” Kaelith lamented. “Even someone like the Demon Yamamoto has been captivated by my charm, willing to risk turning Squad Zero into an enemy for my sake. Just imagining the entire Soul Society, or even all three worlds, locked in strife because of me…my heart aches—”

“…?”

Yamamoto’s blood pressure spiked.

Outside the First Division barracks, a patrol squad was making its rounds when a thunderous explosion shook the area. Startled, they turned to see a massive fiery cloud erupting from the First Division. A figure hurtled away through the sky, vanishing in the distance.

“Oh, it’s just Captain Kaelith,” someone observed.

“Pass a message to the engineering team to fix the Captain-Commander’s study,” another added. “Everyone else, back to patrol!”

Relieved, they kept walking with smiles, the glow of flames reflecting off the sky behind them.

…

While Kaelith was eagerly preparing for his trip to the Royal Palace, Aizen quietly stepped into a certain room. Half of it lay hidden in shadow, where vague shapes could be seen. Aizen shut the door, then turned to those figures. The reflection off his lenses hid his eyes.

“Kaname, Gin…Sajin …Mayuri,” he said softly. “And…Isshin. Welcome to the domain belonging to me and Kaelith.”

“Domain?”

They exchanged glances at Aizen’s choice of words. Shiba Isshin and Komamura Sajin both looked confused, while Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tōsen seemed contemplative.

“Aizen,” Komamura said bluntly. “I don’t understand. This place is in the Rukongai—under Soul Society’s rule. In what sense is it your domain?”

Aizen was about to reply, but Gin interrupted with a quiet laugh.

“Aizen-fukutaichō, all that aside, I just want to know one thing. You told me I’d get to see what Captain Kaelith is really up to. What did you mean by that?”

Tōsen nodded almost imperceptibly; he wanted the same answer. With everyone’s attention on him, Aizen’s lips curved upward.

“No need to rush, Gin.”

“The question you posed and the one Komamura asked are really the same.”

He raised a hand, pointing toward the sky. At once, a spatial rift split open behind him with a tear, then yawned wider like a beast’s maw. Darkness welled from within.

“A Garganta?!” Komamura blurted, hand flying to his sword hilt. Mayuri let out a derisive snort.

“Pretentious. I can open a Garganta too.”

Without rebutting, Aizen simply turned around and stepped inside. “If you want answers, come with me.”

As he walked on, most of them hesitated. The Garganta was a void between worlds; a single misstep could cast one into endless chaos. But seeing Aizen pause and look back, they heard him speak:

“If you don’t trust me, trust Kaelith. I’m the one person in this world…who will never betray him.”

With that, he continued onward. The first to follow was Isshin, brows raised, aura determined. Of everyone present, he’d spent the most time with Aizen—longer even than Mayuri, who conducted frequent joint research with him. Isshin respected and admired Aizen, so even if it turned out to be some terrible deed, he’d stand by him and repay his debt of gratitude.

Right behind Isshin came Tōsen. Though he personally didn’t trust Aizen, he knew Kaelith placed absolute faith in him. That was reason enough to follow. One by one, the others stepped into the Garganta. Mayuri trailed behind them, and Gin brought up the rear, smiling faintly while keeping a hand on his Zanpakutō, certain that if Aizen attempted anything, he could strike in a thousandth of a second.

They traversed the dark corridor for quite a while before a pale light appeared. Stepping out, they found themselves bathed in silver moonlight reflecting off white dunes, a haunting glow.

“This is…Hueco Mundo?” Isshin said in surprise. Komamura took in the strange scenery, fur standing on end until he looked almost bulkier than usual.

“Aizen, what exactly do you want us to see?” Mayuri asked, eyes narrowed.

Aizen chuckled softly. “It’s already here.”

At his words, there was a crackling tear in the air, and a figure appeared in front of them: Starrk of the Three Commanders. Another figure materialized behind them: Tier Harribel, also one of the Three Commanders. Then more and more overwhelming spiritual pressures flared into being. In the blink of an eye, white-uniformed Hollows with swords at their hips dotted the dunes and filled the sky. The sheer weight of their reiatsu made Komamura gasp. Even the weakest among them felt roughly vice-captain level, and quite a few easily matched captain-class.

This was Hueco Mundo? Could it truly be so fearsome?

Cold sweat gathered on his brow. He turned to Aizen, who ascended a nearby dune, arms spread wide.

“I’ll say it once more: welcome, everyone…to the domain belonging to me and Kaelith.”

…

Early the next morning, Kaelith woke from a restless night—he was too excited about heading to the Royal Palace. He hurried to the First Division barracks, only to be told they’d gather at the Shiba residence instead.

“Huh?” he muttered. “Why Shiba’s place? They’re not about to host some grand send-off, are they?”

He strolled into the Shiba compound with casual arrogance. It was a small courtyard, far less grand than places like Kuchiki or…others of similar standing. It was no wonder many nobles privately considered the Shiba name “disgraceful.”

“Isshin! Isshin!” he hollered. “Where are you? Can’t spare the time to greet an old friend from the sticks, huh? Relax, we had a good harvest this year—I’m not here to sponge off you!”

At his call, a young Shinigami hurried out.

“Captain Kaelith!”

Turning in surprise, Kaelith saw a bright, energetic young man with spiky black hair that resembled a hedgehog. One glance, and Kaelith immediately thought of “Kurosaki Ichigo.” From that, he guessed the newcomer’s identity:

“Shiba Kaien… Hmm, not bad. Your reiatsu is at vice-captain level. Must be the noble blood.”

Kaien blinked. “Captain Kaelith, you know who I am?” He grinned happily.

“Of course I do. I even know what you’ll look like once you fuse with a Hollow…” Kaelith laughed, brushing aside the last part. “Why are you the one greeting me? Where’s Isshin?”

“Uncle Isshin went to the Fifth Division for training. He’s not at home today,” Kaien answered respectfully.

Kaelith made a distracted sound of acknowledgment, then suddenly did a double take.

“Wait—did you just call Isshin your uncle?”

“Yes, he’s the son of my grand-uncle from the branch family.”

“But you two are close in age—are you sure you’re not just cousins or something?”

Kaien gave a wry chuckle. “Rank is rank. Even if we’re nearly the same age, an uncle’s still an uncle.”

Kaelith shrugged. He’d seen stranger generational gaps in families before. Following Kaien deeper into the residence, he finally understood why he’d been summoned there.

To travel from the Soul Society to the Royal Palace, they had to use a special transport device—a giant pillar known as the Tenchū-Ren. The pillar itself was nothing fancy. It had room inside for passengers, but lacked any propulsion. To shoot it skyward through the dozens of layered barriers until it landed in the Royal Palace, they needed the Shiba clan’s ancient super-cannon.

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“Tch, what kind of transport is that? If they misfire, won’t we crash into the Royal Palace?” Shinji Hirako approached, hands tucked in his sleeves, obviously skeptical. He glanced over at Kaelith to gauge his reaction.

Kaelith’s eyes sparkled with excitement, his breathing quickening.

“A people-launching cannon? Who’d have guessed the Soul Society had something so entertaining! When we fire off, I’m definitely planting myself by the window to soak in every detail!”

Kaien gave an awkward laugh. “Sorry, Captain Kaelith—Tenchū-Ren doesn’t have any windows…”

Kaelith froze in shock, disappointment plain on his face. An enclosed pillar? How was that exciting in the least? Even a gourd stuffed in a furnace for alchemy had it better. His goodwill toward the Royal Palace dropped by five points.

While he sulked, a white haori came drifting over.

“Well, if it isn’t the brash little brat,” came Shutara Senjumaru’s voice.

“And hello to you, Outerwear Auntie,” Kaelith replied.

“…?”

Furious, Senjumaru whipped the haori at him. Kaelith merely grinned.

“Perfect timing. My heart aches, so I’m craving a good fight!”

Kirio Hikifune was about to greet them when she saw Kaelith tangling with the haori in an instant scuffle. With a deft maneuver impossible for a human body, Senjumaru twisted around Kaelith’s offensive, snapping the haori tight around his head.

“Oh? Think blinding me will make you the victor?” Kaelith scoffed. “We old Asura warriors won’t fall for that!”

He raised both hands to tear the cloth away, but paused when he heard Senjumaru’s cool voice in his ear:

“Listen, brat. When you reach the Royal Palace, don’t say or do anything you shouldn’t—especially regarding the Soul King and the operation of the Three Worlds. If they question you, you must act satisfied with the current order, claim you want nothing more than to protect it. This isn’t really my place to say, but after meeting you a few times…well, you’re interesting enough that I’d hate to see you die too soon.”

Before Kaelith could respond, the haori released him with a whoosh, zipping away. Moments later, Shiba Shōta announced that the cannon adjustments were complete. Kaelith, Shinji Hirako, Kirio Hikifune, and the haori driven by Senjumaru’s consciousness all piled into the massive pillar.

The Shiba clan joined forces to load it into the giant cannon. With an earthshaking boom, the Tenchū-Ren shot straight into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.

Beneath the First Division’s eaves, Yamamoto grasped his cane and gazed upward, watching the pillar streak away, trailing white smoke. The early autumn wind ruffled his haori, and his eyes were dark with concern. Standing nearby, Sasakibe silently observed the man he served.

Please, let everything go smoothly…

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