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Soul Society.
Seireitei, Squad Twelve barracks.
Night had already settled in, but the lights inside the Technology Development Bureau were blazing bright.
On the third floor—the surveillance department.
Dozens of massive screens streamed different scenes in real time, running twenty-four hours a day to keep Soul Society safe.
"Done! The first edited video is finally finished!"
In a corner of the monitoring room, James let out a long sigh of relief as he typed the final subtitle.
He was a transmigrator.
Six years ago, he had inexplicably crossed over into the world of Bleach, becoming just another resident in Rukongai.
Later, he applied to the Shin'o Spirit Academy.
After six years of training, he smoothly graduated into a full-fledged Shinigami and ended up assigned to Squad Twelve, joining the Technology Development Bureau.
But…
Three days ago, his cheat ability suddenly awakened.
A system called "Video Editing."
The function was simple:
James could clip together scenes from the Bleach anime.
Then, by "uploading" the video, it would be broadcast everywhere in the Bleach world. Shinigami, Arrancars, Quincy—everyone could see it.
Not only that, once a video was uploaded, he would receive rewards.
Views, likes, favorites, comments, heat… all the stats could be used to exchange for abilities in the system shop.
Which basically meant…
As long as James made videos that sparked enough discussion, he could keep getting stronger.
And tonight, after three days of work, the very first video was finally ready.
"Top Fifteen Strongest Characters in the Bleach World!"
Looking at the title on the screen, James couldn't help smiling in satisfaction.
Ranking videos were one of the most common—and most controversial—formats. After all, everyone had their own standards for strength, and nothing started arguments faster.
Comment sections for these kinds of videos always turned into war zones.
Not that any of that concerned James.
His job was just to edit and upload.
"Scheduled upload: tomorrow at noon, twelve o'clock."
He set the timer and clicked upload.
Ding!
"Congratulations, Host. Upload successful."
"Earnings from the first video will be settled twenty-four hours after release. Please check back then."
The system's voice chimed as the upload completed.
"Finally done… I can actually sleep tonight."
James stretched lazily.
Fortunately the Tech Bureau was a restricted area, and the monitoring department was even more tightly controlled, so no one bothered him while he edited at his desk.
Now all he had to do was wait for the video to go public…
…and then lie back and enjoy the rewards.
—
The next day.
Squad Five barracks.
A hidden underground chamber.
A tall man stood with his hands behind his back in front of a glowing, wall-sized screen.
Over his black shihakushō hung a spotless captain's haori marked with the number "5."
A warm autumn breeze drifted through a narrow window, brushing aside the fringe over his forehead and revealing a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses.
Aizen.
Captain of Squad Five. Everyone in the Gotei 13 saw him as the gentle, reliable type.
Right now, he stared calmly at the screen.
His handsome face showed no expression at all, giving nothing away.
"Captain Aizen…"
"Rukia Kuchiki has already left the Thirteenth Division. The plan is moving forward," said the slender man standing behind him, his eyes thin and sly like a poppy flower in bloom.
"Is that so? Then let's wait and see." Aizen's voice was cool enough to lower the room temperature.
A little farther away, Tōsen shifted uneasily beneath his black blindfold, sensing the pressure radiating from Aizen.
Yes.
The three figures standing before the monitors were none other than the secret villains of the Gotei 13—Aizen's trio.
A few months ago, using Kyōka Suigetsu's complete hypnotic control, Aizen had quietly slaughtered the entire Central 46.
Their century-long plan to defect from Soul Society was now only one step away.
Outwardly he was still calm, but inside, a faint tremor of excitement lingered.
That was why he had come here today—to personally check the surveillance feed from Karakura Town.
But…
He hadn't been watching long when static suddenly flooded the huge monitor.
Then—
The surveillance feed vanished.
"Hm?" Aizen frowned. "A malfunction?"
"Impossible. In all these decades, these systems have never failed," Tōsen said firmly. He was the one in charge of maintaining every device here.
"Alley-alley…" Gin drawled in his Kyoto accent, his smile narrowing even more. "Don't tell me someone found out we're spying on them?"
Aizen ignored the joke.
His black eyes stayed locked on the snowy screen.
The air grew heavy as no one dared speak.
Then—
With a sharp flicker, the screen came back.
But it wasn't Karakura Town anymore.
It was… a video.
A video neither of them had ever seen.
"What is this?"
All three stared in surprise.
Aizen's brows knit even tighter.
He detested unpredictability. Anything outside his control felt like a warning.
This was giving him a faint sense of danger.
"Oh…?"
"'Top Fifteen Strongest Characters in the Bleach World'? Sounds fun," Gin said with interest, grinning at the title.
Strength rankings.
That sort of thing happened all the time among regular Shinigami—petty rivalries, bragging, trash-talking, even brawling. It wasn't unusual at all.
But among captains?
Almost never. They all knew each other's power too well.
A ranking like this… was unheard of.
"Shall I cut the power?" Tōsen asked respectfully. To him, this looked like a prank, and shutting it down seemed safest.
"No."
To his surprise, Aizen rejected the idea without hesitation.
"No. Leave it."
Aizen's gaze didn't move from the screen. There was a subtle ripple in his calm eyes.
"Keep watching. This might not be as simple as it looks."
His instincts screamed at him that this video was no coincidence.
Driven by curiosity, he decided to watch.
Sure enough…
Right after he spoke, the screen shifted again.
A new line of text appeared.
[NO. 15]
[The Ultimate Brain—Kisuke Urahara]
"...""
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