Bleach: After Retiring From Zero Division, Aizen Came To Study

The war between the Shinigami and the Quincy raged on, but as Arima once told Kyoraku Shunsui in a tavern, this conflict could not last forever.

He was right.

When Central 46 initiated the war, it had done so under the pretext of protecting the balance of souls. The Quincy, with their destructive methods of eliminating Hollows, were deemed a threat to that equilibrium. The Shinigami were given the directive to exterminate them entirely.

For a time, it seemed that goal would be achieved. The Shinigami gained the upper hand, driving the Quincy to the brink of annihilation. Victory appeared inevitable.

Then came the unexpected: an armistice order from Central 46.

The sudden reversal left everyone stunned. The council that had so vehemently advocated for the Quincy's destruction was now calling for peace. To many, it seemed absurd—a decision that turned the war into little more than a game.

Yet the Gotei 13 had no choice but to comply.

The Quincy, now a shadow of their former strength, were no longer a threat. Central 46 mandated their survivors be placed under strict supervision, ensuring they could never rise again.

Arima wasn't surprised by the news of the ceasefire.

His time in the Zero Division, coupled with his studies of the Soul King, had given him a deeper understanding of the forces governing their world. Unlike most researchers who analyzed fragments of the Soul King, Arima had been directly exposed to the King's power.

The experience left an indelible mark on him. Even though his King Key had been revoked, and the Soul King's influence withdrawn from his body, the memory of that power remained vivid.

He had also stood in the Soul King's presence.

That encounter gave him insight into the true nature of the Soul King: a being whose will transcended mortal comprehension, guiding the fabric of their existence like the hand of fate itself.

When the Zero Division became involved in the war, Arima immediately understood what was happening.

Although the Quincy genocide was initiated by Central 46, the arrival of Kirinji Tenjiro in Seireitei signaled a shift. The Soul King, through his emissaries, did not wish for the Quincy—his distant descendants—to be eradicated entirely.

The Zero Division's involvement changed everything. While the Gotei 13 was bound to obey Central 46, the Zero Division followed the Soul King's will. Their priority was not simply maintaining balance but preserving the integrity of the world itself.

Faced with this higher authority, Central 46 had no choice but to relent. The ceasefire was inevitable.

Arima observed these developments with detached amusement. To him, the conflict between Shinigami and Quincy was trivial—merely a prelude to the real war yet to come.

But his musings were interrupted by the sharp chime of his spirit communication device.

He reached into his robes and retrieved a small, phone-like device, a product of his own ingenuity.

Back when Arima first joined the Gotei 13, communication in Soul Society relied on archaic methods: Kidō spells and Hell Butterflies. Determined to modernize these systems, Arima had revolutionized their approach during his tenure as the 12th Division captain.

Borrowing concepts from the living world, he developed Reishi-based technology. Fax machines replaced handwritten reports. Base stations and "soul phones" allowed instant communication across Soul Society.

One of his greatest innovations was integrating these devices with the Kidō technique *Tenran Kongō*—a spell that linked spiritual energy across vast distances. By constructing Reishi transmitters that acted as base stations, Arima created a network capable of facilitating real-time, one-on-one conversations.

The device in his hand was his latest creation: a phone capable of cross-dimensional communication. Only two of these prototypes existed—one for Arima and the other for Aizen.

When he saw the caller ID, he smiled faintly. "Sōsuke," he answered. "What's so urgent?"

On the other end, Aizen's smooth voice relayed his findings from the world of the living.

At first, Arima listened with mild curiosity, but as Aizen continued, his expression grew serious.

By the time the call ended, he was silent, deep in thought.

"So," he murmured to himself, "it seems I'll need to visit the world of the living after all."

His initial plan had been to stay out of the Shinigami-Quincy war entirely. But Aizen's discoveries intrigued him. There were forces at work in the human world that defied explanation, and Arima's curiosity got the better of him.

To travel to the human world, he would need a Senkaimon—a gateway between realms.

The 13th Division maintained a large-scale Senkaimon for their missions to the living world. Nobles also possessed smaller, private gateways.

Arima, however, had no need to rely on others. Years ago, he had secretly constructed his own compact gateway. It was one of many tools he had built in preparation for the day he might need to operate outside the watchful eyes of Soul Society.

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800 words

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