As Aizen in Naruto and Joined a Chat Group

Soul Society, near the White Road Gate in West Rukongai.

"All this just to hunt down some leftover rebels… do we really need this many people?" Soi Fon glanced around at the other captains gathered and asked in confusion.

She had gotten a message from the Internal Affairs Squad that morning, but didn't think much of it.

"Leftover rebels" didn't sound like anything worse than those criminals who escaped from the Maggot's Nest, right? But now that she saw this many big names gathered, she was honestly shocked.

Aside from her, the 2nd Division Captain, there was 5th Division Captain Aizen Sosuke, 7th Division Captain Komamura Sajin, 9th Division Captain Tosen Kaname, 11th Division Captain Zaraki Kenpachi, his lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, and the weird-looking 12th Division Captain Mayuri.

Half the Gotei 13's captains were here, and standing at the end of the group—Uchiha Madara.

How dangerous were these leftover rebels supposed to be to need this many captain-level Soul Reapers to deal with them?

"If the Head Captain made this decision, our job is simply to carry it out," replied Komamura Sajin, the one with the iron helmet on his head.

"To bring justice, proper preparation is a must," Tosen Kaname added.

"Hey, you're the one who killed Kamakura, right?"

Unlike the other captains who were focused on the mission, Zaraki Kenpachi had his eyes locked on Uchiha Madara. "Fight me!"

Kamakura was one of the Maggot's Nest criminals from East Rukongai, and had fought Kenpachi briefly a few decades ago. They had fought to a draw.

But now that Uchiha Madara had taken Kamakura down, that meant he had to be the kind of strong opponent Kenpachi was always looking for.

"Kenpachi, don't forget what we're here for!" Soi Fon frowned and warned him.

To her, Uchiha Madara was her lifesaver. Even if the guy was a bit annoying when he talked, she didn't want him getting dragged into a fight with a beast like Kenpachi.

Kenpachi ignored her completely. His eyes were locked onto Uchiha Madara and he wasn't letting go.

To him, missions didn't matter at all. What really mattered was fighting strong opponents—and enjoying the fight.

"Talk to me again if you make it back alive," Uchiha Madara said, slowly opening his eyes, his tone cold.

He did plan to fight Zaraki Kenpachi, but not for the thrill of it—it was because of Unohana Retsu. That is, if Kenpachi could even make it back alive from the Wandenreich.

"Hah, then it's settled!" Kenpachi didn't care about Madara's tone. As long as the guy agreed to fight, nothing else mattered.

This kid… looks like he knows the truth behind this mission.

A glint of curiosity flashed in Aizen's brown eyes.

Of course he didn't believe that so many people were gathered here just to fight off some rebellious group. That didn't match the Head Captain's usual style at all.

The Head Captain always followed the rules. No matter how serious something was, he'd first report to Central 46 and ask for permission. But this time, he skipped Central 46 completely and sent out seven captains. No way this was just about some rebels.

So what kind of threat could've made him go this far?

Aizen didn't have to wonder long—Mayuri cleared things up. "I'm sure you're all confused, but the truth is, this mission isn't about rebels at all."

"Not rebels?" Soifon's eyes went wide with shock. "Then why call us all here?"

"That's why I say—having a brain is a good thing. I really hope all of you have one." Mayuri curled his lip in disdain and said in his usual mocking tone, "We had to be careful to avoid being watched. Watched, you hear?"

"You bastard…" Soifon was clearly pissed, practically grinding her teeth. "What kind of enemy could spy on Soul Reapers inside the Seireitei? Go ahead and explain!"

"Enemies hiding in the shadows." Mayuri didn't hold back. He spoke plainly: "Those enemies are hiding inside Seireitei's shadows. They used reishi to build a massive space inside the shadows that's just as big as the Seireitei itself."

What?

The captains all looked stunned and confused.

Komamura spoke in a deep voice, "Is this true? Enemies hiding in our shadows?"

"Yup." Mayuri was clearly pleased with their reactions—the disbelief on their faces made him smile. "I only noticed because of a tip from Captain Unohana. The amount of reishi in the shadows was one-fourteenth higher than anywhere else."

One-fourteenth. By Soul Society's standards, that's just a tiny difference—no wonder nobody caught it before.

Unohana discovered it?

Aizen frowned slightly and glanced at Uchiha Madara without thinking.

Combining what Mayuri just explained with what he had found in the Great Spirit Book Gallery, he was almost certain… the ones hiding in Soul Society's shadows were the Quincy from a thousand years ago.

But wasn't the timing a little too perfect? Why did Unohana just happen to discover this right after Uchiha Madara joined Squad Four?

Aizen didn't like making wild guesses, but he couldn't help feeling something was off. If he could figure out the link, maybe he'd uncover another interesting truth.

"Everyone, take one of these," Mayuri said, pulling out a few weird-looking boxes from his sleeve. "These will help you enter the shadows of the Seireitei."

"How do you use this?" Kenpachi took one and fiddled with it for a second. There was a soft "click," and he suddenly vanished.

"Ah, I forgot to mention," Mayuri said with a light chuckle. "I've already set up the teleport function. Just turn the little button on the box, and it'll send you right into the shadow space."

You totally left that part out on purpose!

The captains kept a straight face, but all of them were silently cursing him out.

---

Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon

patreon.com/GustinaKamiya

---