Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 450 Aizen Sousuke, Bane's Personal Disciple!

"Thank you for your forgiveness, Spirit Lord." Aizen said happily after hearing this.

Previously, he had secretly concealed his terrifying power. Concealing power wasn't a big deal; Zanpakuto is a very personal matter. Bane's question was actually a bit impolite, but their relationship was different, so it was a different story.

Throughout the Soul Society, there are many people who hide the abilities of their Zanpakuto.

To this day, only a very few people know about Bane's Bankai; the rest are completely unaware of it.

That's what hiding is.

But hiding is one thing, but if you make things up, that's wrong. Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu is currently in violation of the rules because he used the real Kyoka Suigetsu power to construct a false Shikai to deceive the others.

He can't handle this. Once he's discovered, he'll definitely be punished. Plus, with his Shikai ability and this deception, it's like mud falling into his crotch—even if it's not excrement, it's still excrement. He'll be caught red-handed. There's no need for trial; he can just be sentenced directly.

But once Bane found out about this, the situation changed completely. It became a matter of Bane's guidance. Aizen's current status couldn't handle such a thing, but Bane could. Not to mention whether Aizen, with his level of skill, would be discovered, even if he was, Bane would be there to back him up, and things wouldn't escalate to an unmanageable point.

As mentioned before, Bane's test of Aizen was to determine his future attitude and arrangements towards Aizen.

If Aizen had concealed all of this, Bane wouldn't have exposed him. But continuing to train Aizen afterward would have meant treating him as a tool, training him with impure motives.

Now, after considering various factors, Aizen finally confessed his Kyoka Suigetsu to Bane. Whatever the reason, it was enough for Bane.

After taking a sip of tea, Bane placed the teacup on the table, took out a waist token from his pocket, and tossed it aside.

Aizen caught the waist token with perfect precision, looking at Bane with a slightly surprised expression.

"What is this?" Aizen asked hesitantly.

"I personally possess one of only two waist tokens in Soul Society. One is the one you have, and the other is in Orochimaru's possession. From today onwards, with this waist token, you can freely enter and exit the Shinigami Academy. In Soul Society, except for a few places, no one will stop you," Bane said casually.

"Orochimaru-sensei and I each have one?" Aizen Sousuke pondered for a moment before looking at Bane and saying, "Lord Spirit Lord, are you going to take me as your retainer?"

The fact that Orochimaru was a retainer of Bane was widely known within the Seireitei, which is why Orochimaru was occasionally able to "cross the line" without being punished.

"What? You don't want to?" Bane asked casually.

Aizen didn't immediately agree just to please Bane. Instead, he stroked his chin and thought for a while before saying, "Whether I'm willing or not, I don't have a feeling yet, but at least I'm not opposed."

He was a high-ranking member from Rukongai, with no background or powerful connections. If he could become a retainer of Bane, it wouldn't seem like such an unacceptable thing.

However, before Aizen could finish speaking, Bane waved his hand and said, "Not a retainer."

"Huh?" This question startled Aizen, who looked at Bane with even greater confusion.

"From this day forward, I will accept you as my personal disciple." Bane looked at Aizen and said in a solemn tone.

Bane has many students, after all, he is the teacher of the Kido Institute of the Shinigami Academy. In the Gotei 13, many people now call him "teacher" after meeting him. For example, Byakuya Kuchiki used to call Bane that.

It wasn't just him; Yamamoto Genryusai, Unohana Retsu, Shutara Senjumaru, and others were all like that.

However, none of these can be considered true master-disciple relationships. They were merely teaching at the academy. The only true master-disciple relationship was between Yamamoto Genryusai and Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Kisaragi Hata.

Therefore, Kyoraku Shunsui, Ukitake Jushiro, and Kisaragi Hata were all direct disciples of Yamamoto Genryusai.

Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro need no introduction. As for Kisaragi Hata, he has a relatively low profile. He is currently the captain of the First Division and is under the command of Yamamoto Genryusai. You might not remember him. However, his son is worth mentioning. He is Amagai Shusuke, who later succeeded Aizen as the captain of the Third Division after Ichimaru Gin defected to Hueco Mundo.

In short, the status of a direct disciple is extremely important; in the Soul Society's view, it's equivalent to a father-son relationship.

Bane, as the teacher, has to take responsibility for Aizen, who is his direct disciple.

Aizen seemed taken aback by this turn of events; his expression shifted from shock and confusion to a complex mix before finally settling on joy. He respectfully filled the teacup Bane had placed on the table with tea, then raised it with both hands, offering it to Bane and saying, "Master."

"Just call me teacher, calling me master makes me sound old." Bane raised his hand and took the tea.

"Yes, teacher. I hope you will take good care of me in the future," Aizen said sincerely.

"Now that I've become your teacher, you should consider me more when you do things in the future. You are a genius. In my 160 years of service at the Shinigami Academy, I have never seen a more outstanding talent than you. You will definitely achieve great things in the future." Bane first acknowledged and praised Aizen's talent.

Not to mention his 160-year teaching career, throughout the entire history of Soul Society, there are few people more talented than Aizen Sousuke.

"I won't say anything myself, lest I sound boastful. As for how you conduct yourself and do things, you should learn more from the Captain. Observe his words, his actions, and his character. I have always admired the Captain's character," Bane said simply.

Aizen, who later aspired to stand in the heavens, was indeed excessively pursuing power in Bane's eyes, thus becoming obsessed with it and ultimately falling into the trap of the Hogyoku.

It's not that the Hogyoku is bad, nor is it that pursuing power is problematic. It's just that, judging from Aizen's behavior at the time, he was somewhat driven by power.

In terms of mastering power, Bane felt that Yamamoto Genryusai was a model of strength!

Some say he's pedantic, some say he's stubborn, and some say he's hypocritical.

But in Bane's view, Yamamoto Genryusai possessed an extremely resolute and calm mind. His greatest strength was not the Ryujin Jakka, which was said to be able to burn the three realms, but the powerful heart that could bring the Ryujin Jakka back into its sheath!

To have power, but not to be arrogant about it.

Staying true to oneself and always maintaining one's individuality is the highest form of strength!

These are some of the things that Bane has learned from Yamamoto Genryusai over the years since he came to Seireitei.

Back in the ninja world, he felt somewhat superior and his ego was undoubtedly inflated. However, after becoming acquainted with Yamamoto Genryusai in the Soul Society and establishing a friendship between them, Bann learned a great deal from this Captain-Commander.

His previously restless heart in the ninja world has gradually settled down over the past 160 years.

He still pursued power, but not excessively, and he was no longer so ruthless.

What was that saying again?

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

On my first day as Superman, I will protect the Earth and uphold justice.

On my second day as Superman, I will protect my Earth.

On the third day of becoming Superman, I don't eat beef.

Day four of becoming Superman, oh my, you really ate it?

Bane's current mindset should be that of Day Five, which means he's back to eating beef, while Yamamoto Genryusai should be back to Day One, where he's determined to uphold justice.

The principle of seeing a mountain as a mountain again is nothing more than this.

For Bane, this mental boost was a way to prevent himself from becoming a slave to power.

"Yes, teacher, I will follow your teachings." Aizen immediately agreed.

At the same time, I was also a little curious: what exactly makes the captain so outstanding that he is so highly regarded by the Spirit Lord?

"As for your illusion, it's a good thing that you can tell me this. In the future, I can use this as an excuse to help you protect yourself. As for hiding it, to be honest, if something really big happens, you won't be able to hide it. I've talked to you a bit about the Spirit King Palace, but I haven't properly told you about the Zero Squad." Bane said, taking a sip of tea.

After clearing his throat slightly, under Aizen's curious gaze, Bane continued, "Within Soul Society, everyone except myself wields a Zanpakuto that started as an Asauchi. And all Asauchi originate from one person: Nimaiya Oetsu, the Western God General of the Zero Division. All abilities that are based on Asauchi and evolved into Zanpakuto cannot escape his observation. In other words, if he wants to know your Zanpakuto's abilities, he can find out. Do you understand?"

"You mean he already knew from the day Kyoka Suigetsu was born?" Aizen asked in surprise.

He really didn't know these secrets, and at the same time he was even more curious as to why the Spirit Lord's Zanpakuto was different.

"He might know, but he might not. There are countless Zanpakuto in Soul Society. If he had to keep an eye on them all day, how would he live?" Bane said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

"I understand," Aizen replied, as if he had finally grasped the meaning.

Without discussing these matters with Aizen, Bane quickly began to examine Aizen's recent academic progress.

After a conversation between master and disciple, Bane gained a better understanding of Aizen's current situation; this guy was indeed a genius among geniuses.

Shiba Kaien was already quite impressive to have earned six years' worth of credits in a single year, and Aizen has now achieved the same feat. However, compared to Shiba Kaien, who constantly strives to preserve the remaining glory of the Shiba family, Aizen Sousuke is much more low-key.

But earning credits is one thing; credits are merely a measure to ensure that the Grim Reaper meets the basic standards for graduation.

Even if Aizen could complete all his credits right now, he didn't plan to graduate on the spot. In his words, he intended to continue to immerse himself in the academy.

"It's good that you can calm down, but don't be too demanding. My fourth subordinate will be going to the Twelfth Division as a vice-captain tomorrow. I'll reserve this position for you. After you graduate, you can come work for our Ninth Division," Bane said after thinking for a moment.

Although Aizen hasn't caused any major problems yet and is within the normal range, in fact, thanks to Bane's deliberate guidance, things are probably developing better than in the original story.

But Bane still felt he had to keep an eye on him regularly.

So that you won't accidentally get hurt and he'll do something big.

(End of this chapter)