Chapter 9: Kisuke: Aizen, You Schemed Against Me!

The steward was an old member of the Kuchiki Family and had met Yu Mikami a few times, becoming familiar with his character.

Upon seeing him, the steward didn't beat around the bush and directly mentioned the incident regarding the 11th Division capturing Fong Baigon in Rukongai.

He then continued, "Lord Sanshō, this matter reflects poorly on our ability to recognize people. We have already canceled the Kusajishi Family's affiliation with the Kuchiki Family, but how to proceed specifically still requires your stance."

Yu Mikami yawned, nearly falling asleep.

This kind of trivial matter was the last thing he enjoyed.

Seeing that the steward had finished, he replied, "Stance? What stance do I have? What did we do according to Seireitei's rules before?"

The Kuchiki steward patiently explained, "If we follow the old rules, this incident involving the Kusajishi Family can only be considered a minor error during their management and would not incur serious punishment. What do you think?"

The so-called "not too serious a punishment" was merely a euphemism.

Under normal circumstances, the Kusajishi Family would receive no punishment at all.

Though they were merely lower nobles, they were still part of the nobility, vastly different from the commoners of Rukongai.

Not to mention that this street was under the management of the Kuchiki Family; even without this affiliation, simply injuring a vendor wouldn't stir any significant trouble.

Nobles often did far more outrageous things, so this was nothing at all.

Having dealt with nobles for a long time, Yu Mikami understood the underlying implications of the steward's words. He stroked his chin and said, "I see. Then let's proceed according to the 13th Division's rules: if someone causes serious injury in a brawl... um…"

He paused, looking to Ōmaeda and Aizen for help.

He had forgotten the standards for punishment.

Aizen, with a resigned expression, interjected, "For causing serious injury in a brawl, the punishment is eighty strikes and a fifty-year sentence."

Yu Mikami nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, let's go by that standard."

The Kuchiki steward immediately understood and smiled. "I see, but since the Kusajishi Family has noble status, according to Seireitei's rules, this needs to be handed over to Central 46 for adjudication."

He pondered for a moment: "How about this? During tomorrow's Central 46 meeting, the family will accuse the Kusajishi Family of violating noble etiquette, which would lead to their noble title being revoked, and then there would be no issue."

Yu Mikami yawned and nodded.

The Kuchiki steward smiled and bowed to him, gracefully taking his leave.

This matter was not significant; to both Kuchiki and Yu Mikami, it could only be considered trivial.

If it weren't for the involvement of both parties, in the peaceful years of Seireitei, it wouldn't have caused even a ripple.

However, precisely because it concerned Yu Mikami, even the smallest issue required a formal inquiry.

This was dictated by the status he occupied; whether he liked it or not, he had to confront the circles drawn by these rules.

After sending the Kuchiki Family member away, Yu Mikami felt light-hearted again. With a smile, he said to Aizen, "Let's go! If we're late, that little brat Kisuke will run off again."

After saying goodbye to Ōmaeda, Aizen was pulled along by him toward the Technology Bureau.

This time, Aizen did not resist.

Upon arriving at the Technology Bureau, Yu Mikami stated arrogantly, "Where's Kisuke Urahara? Bring him out to see me."

Without needing to command, Kisuke Urahara, who had been waiting, swiftly emerged with a beaming smile and came before Yu Mikami, presenting an item to him as if offering a treasure.

Aizen looked over and found the item quite familiar.

"LSP2?"

He suddenly thought that this item was very similar to the LSP2 he had seen previously in Rukongai, though there were many differences in the details.

Handing the item to Yu Mikami, Kisuke Urahara said proudly, "Mr. Mikami, this is the culmination of my hard work; it's the latest LSP2 Pro!"

"To meet the deadline, I hadn't slept for three days and nights."

As he lamented, he also tried to take credit.

Talking about it, he hadn't actually slacked off this time; it was just that Yu Mikami's demands were excessive, with many being almost fantastical. Although he could manage most of them, there were numerous technical challenges to overcome, and he didn't want to wear himself out.

But that was a minor issue; based on his years of experience in cutting corners, Yu Mikami was quite easy to deceive in this regard.

He only needed to exaggerate the technical difficulties and express that he had given his all—he could likely pull it off.

The only issue was Aizen, who understood technology well and wouldn't be easily fooled.

However, based on past experiences, Aizen looked down on the development of the LSP series, considering it a waste of time, so the likelihood of him exposing Kisuke was very low.

Yu Mikami held the latest model of the LSP2 with great fondness, glancing around without being able to assess it, so he simply turned it on and started playing a game.

He might not understand the technology, but he knew games.

While playing, he furrowed his brow and said, "Kisuke, why are there still blurry areas in the graphics? The smoothness of the controls isn't up to standard either. You really didn't just fool me, did you?"

Kisuke Urahara was already prepared with his excuses; upon hearing this, he loudly protested and began a lengthy explanation.

He talked about material precision not meeting standards, the internal control software being inadequate, and needing to develop a graphics card from scratch. In short, there were problems everywhere.

To sum it up in one sentence: achieving this level of quality was already his maximum effort; no one else could have done better.

Unfortunately, Yu Mikami was also quite familiar with cutting corners and knew him too well, not paying attention to what he was saying as he handed the device to Aizen.

"Sōsuke, take a look."

Aizen took the device and began to study it in his hands. Having been ahead of this era by over a hundred years, even though it was his first contact with this item, he could see through many aspects of it at a glance.

In just a few minutes, he completely understood what it was and formed a concept in his mind.

Generally speaking, Kisuke Urahara didn't go too far beyond exaggerating the technical difficulties.

If it were the Aizen of this world, he would likely have made some vague remarks and moved on.

But he was different.

Just seeing Kisuke Urahara's lazy yet smiling face made him feel a surge of annoyance.

So, he cleared his throat and spoke, "Yu, this thing is made extremely crudely. I suspect someone didn't take it seriously at all. While there are some technical difficulties, they can be completely overcome without taking up much time…"

He began to explain as he spoke, while Kisuke Urahara's eyes widened at the first line he heard.

Sōsuke Aizen, you're framing me!

As Aizen continued his explanation, Yu Mikami's expression grew increasingly unfriendly. By the end, he turned silently, and an overwhelming pressure seemed to freeze time and space around them.

Kisuke Urahara broke into a cold sweat, repeatedly waving his hands. "Mr. Mikami, please let me explain; it's not what you think!"

Yu Mikami had already stepped forward, grabbing him by his collar and revealing a devilish smile:

"So you mean Sōsuke is wronging you? Heh heh, it seems you've been living too comfortably lately; it's time for a bit of pressure!"

Within the Technology Bureau, a series of dreadful screams echoed.

Aizen adjusted his glasses and suddenly felt exceptionally pleased.