Blaming the failure of one's research on outsiders was an absolutely foolish thing to do. Szayelaporro never considered himself a fool, nor did he take pride in such behavior, but the current situation really was tied to Ao—that is, Kōe.
This matter had to be traced back fifty-two years, to when Las Noches changed hands.
At that time, Kōe had directly killed Baraggan to eliminate any future troubles. For a guy whose head was filled with nothing but status, neither martial force nor negotiation could ever make him submit.
Anyway, Hueco Mundo only needed one Las Noches. Whether its master was the stubbornly ignorant Baraggan or the exquisitely cunning Szayelaporro made absolutely no difference. Looking at the grand flow of history, its master would ultimately be a man named Aizen Sōsuke.
Of course, Kōe wouldn't mind changing the master's name to his own. Having a faction wholeheartedly dedicated to searching for the Wandenreich on his behalf was definitely a good thing.
But even if there was to be a change in regime, it absolutely could not happen before Aizen defected from the Soul Society. Giving up the chance to be the fisherman reaping the rewards just to play the part of the struggling crane—no normal person would... well, generally wouldn't do that.
In Kōe's eyes back then, a temporary confrontation with Aizen in the future was unavoidable. It came down to the positions they both held. One was a madman seeking to overthrow the old world; as a member of that old world, Kōe couldn't exactly just offer his neck to the slaughter, could he?
Furthermore, as one of the Seireitei's top brass and the supreme commander of the Sternritter Fortress war, there was no way in hell Old Man Yama wouldn't drag him along to defend Karakura Town to the death.
Then, imagining the scene of being sliced up by Aizen cut by cut—no, wait, it would probably just be one single cut—and then being lectured on the philosophy of life...
Kōe decided he couldn't think about it. That was just too damn brutal.
Herein lay the contradiction. In his past life reading the manga, he could just be a bystander eating popcorn. He didn't need to worry about exactly how to fight Aizen; he only needed to know that plot armor conquered all, and cheering from the sidelines was enough.
But now, it was literally "you're up." As a visible member of the vanguard cannon fodder squad, willingly buying time for the protagonist, the pressure was simply too immense!
He still had to worry about it. After all, this was directly tied to how much suffering he would endure, and it might even save his life. In his past life, the Seireitei side hadn't paid the ultimate price, but if the river of history decided to course-correct and actually kill someone off in battle, that would be a tragic joke.
Therefore, for a very long time, Aizen had been the second biggest threat in Kōe's mind, right behind the Wandenreich. During his time in Hueco Mundo, he had come up with two plans to deal with this.
To cross swords with Aizen, intelligence was an unavoidable factor. A large part of why Baraggan had to swallow his pride was due to a lack of information—or more accurately, his inability to deal with Kyōka Suigetsu. He had power but nowhere to apply it.
If he wanted to eliminate Aizen before his defection, there was only one way: catch him the moment he bared his fangs and seized the Hōgyoku on Sōkyoku Hill.
Only at that exact moment would the Hōgyoku not yet be fused with Aizen, while Aizen himself was still in the Seireitei, at a massive disadvantage. It was the perfect opportunity to resolve this hidden danger.
At the same time, this timing was incredibly difficult to grasp. The Negación—the unique ability Menos used to rescue their comrades—was truly uncounterable. As long as that pillar of light descended as scheduled, there would be zero chance of catching Aizen early.
But thinking about it from another angle: if the Negación didn't descend on time, or didn't descend at all, wouldn't Aizen be completely screwed?
Based on this line of thought, Kōe decided to first disrupt Aizen's rear base, cutting off his escape route and severing his lifeline! Las Noches became crucial at this point. Whose name it bore didn't really matter; what mattered was that Kōe could extend his reach there at any time.
At the same time, having his own people inside Las Noches was also for the possible—or rather, highly probable—Plan B. When dealing with someone like Aizen, keeping a double insurance policy was absolutely vital.
Kōe called this second plan "Operation Fisherman." Its core philosophy was to thoroughly implement the principle of sitting back and reaping the rewards. The inspiration came from his friend, Urahara Kisuke.
If Aizen successfully escaped the Seireitei as history dictated, then how to handle the Karakura Town battle became a question worth pondering.
On this issue, Urahara had practically handed in a perfect answer sheet. He decisively struck right when Aizen was at his most arrogant, having just defeated the first wave of the Visored and Seireitei allied forces, and used that opening to plant a Kidō inside Aizen's body.
After that, he handed the main stage over to Ichigo, only reappearing when both fighters were completely exhausted to thoroughly seal Aizen away. It was a masterclass in kill-stealing, taking the "fisherman spirit" to its absolute peak!
If Urahara Kisuke could do it, then he, Kōe Shihouin, could do it too! As long as he wasn't on the Seireitei's side during the Karakura Town battle, he wouldn't be cannon fodder!
The key to this operation was finding the right moment to defect from the Seireitei. The execution couldn't be too clumsy, otherwise Yamamoto wouldn't allow him to clear his name later. The best opportunity was obvious: hitching a ride with Urahara and leaving together.
To this end, Kōe had specifically made contact with Urahara before heading to Hueco Mundo, giving him a pendant to use as an SOS signal in emergencies.
"The Shiba clan's tragedy makes me very uneasy. Perhaps this is a conspiracy targeting the Five Great Noble Families. If anything happens to the Shihouin clan, I will return to help as quickly as possible. You must ensure Yoruichi's safety!"
"Also, there's a hidden Senkaimon in the East Rukongai. I hope you never have to use it."
He couldn't speak too plainly, but Kōe felt that with those instructions, Urahara would definitely contact him when necessary—like when he was being framed by Aizen.
He had the script all written out: while Urahara and Yoruichi were fleeing from pursuers toward the East Rukongai, he would swoop in like a divine savior to repel the enemy, declaring his absolute trust in Urahara. He would conveniently scoop up Kaien along the way, and the four of them would head to the World of the Living together, leaving behind a legend in the Seireitei.
Just thinking about this plotline made his blood boil with excitement. Didn't everyone need one epic, earth-shattering escape in their lifetime?
Unfortunately, Kōe's wishful thinking was useless. Urahara's level of calm in a crisis was no joke. He didn't even need to go looking for a Senkaimon; he could just build one himself. Tech geniuses were truly overpowered—even their escape methods were hardcore.
However, Kōe could only blame himself for this. As a stray fish that had leaped out of the river of history, he actually didn't know the exact time the event would occur. He was barely better than a dead fish floating downstream.
The only foolproof method would have been to not go to Hueco Mundo at all, staying in the Seireitei to wait for the day of Urahara's exodus, and pulling off an even more thrilling execution-ground rescue.
But the trip to Hueco Mundo was imperative. Opposing Aizen was only a temporary matter; uncovering the location of the Wandenreich was the absolute top priority.
Even setting that aside and focusing solely on dealing with Aizen, Kōe still had to strive for influence over Las Noches. The main reason was intelligence.
As mentioned before, the avenues for obtaining intelligence on Aizen were exceedingly rare. Las Noches would be Aizen's future stronghold, making it the easiest place to gather information.
To Aizen, Las Noches might just be a temporary palace to rest his feet. But to Kōe, it was a strategic stronghold—crucial for dealing with both Aizen and the Quincy.