"The Hogyoku? What is that?"
Hogyoku. This was a term Kurosaki Ichigo had never heard before. Now it was being spoken solemnly by his own teacher, who even said he was willing to go mad for it, which made Ichigo even more confused.
"Ichigo, I've told you before about the limits of Shinigami. Do you remember?", Aizen asked.
"I remember!"
Kurosaki Ichigo nodded and recalled,
"You told me, Sensei, that no matter how talented a Shinigami is, reaching the level of Captain Commander Yamamoto is already the limit. And strictly speaking in terms of spiritual pressure, Captain Commander Yamamoto is actually only at a normal first-grade spiritual pressure. It's only with the support of his strongest Zanpakuto's Bankai that he can unleash such overwhelming power."
"And for ordinary Shinigami, if their Bankai isn't especially strong, they'll never be able to surpass the limits of the captain level in their entire lifetime, or reach the level of Squad Zero or the Hollow King."
This was knowledge Aizen had once taught him. Back then, Ichigo could feel that when his teacher spoke of the limits of Shinigami, there was unwillingness in his tone and expression, and at the same time, he would look at Ichigo with envy.
Kurosaki Ichigo knew that Aizen was envying his background.
He was born without needing to worry about limits, because he was born a miracle where three powers were combined into one. That was why all sides paid attention to him, and why he possessed talent far exceeding even Aizen.
He could not fully empathize with Aizen's feelings, but even just imagining it made him feel that sense of powerless anxiety.
Especially in Soul Society, an environment that could not really be considered safe.
Perhaps power was the only thing one could rely on to survive here.
"Aizen-sensei, can that Hogyoku help you break through the limits of a Shinigami?", As a disciple personally trained by Aizen, Kurosaki Ichigo immediately thought of the Hogyoku's purpose.
For something to make Aizen-sensei this obsessed, it was enough to show just how powerful the Hogyoku was.
"That's right. The Hogyoku is a substance I researched and created. By fusing with it, one can achieve the effect of surpassing limits," Aizen nodded lightly, showing no intention of hiding anything, and took out the Hogyoku he had created back then right in front of Kurosaki Ichigo.
It was a dazzling purple gem, constantly radiating deep, multicolored light in all directions.
"So beautiful..."
Kurosaki Ichigo murmured unconsciously, but quickly realized something was off.
"Wait, Aizen-sensei, don't you already have a Hogyoku?"
Since he already had one, why did he still need to enter this whole scheme?
"This Hogyoku is incomplete. I created it by researching countless Hollows and absorbing their souls. And in Urahara Kisuke's hands, there is another Hogyoku. That Hogyoku is the tool he used to create the Hollowfication incident back then. I was only able to create this Hogyoku by studying his experiments from those years," Aizen spoke with a hint of reflection.
From Rosse, he had learned a profound lesson.
To gain someone's trust, what one needed was not blind emotional outpouring, but treating the other person as one of their own in every detail.
By continuously telling a good person about oneself, letting them truly understand and empathize, only then could that person genuinely stand on one's side.
In the process, the more sincere the words sounded, the higher the chance of success in the end.
Some words might seem mixed with lies, but even if someone else were to tell Kurosaki Ichigo the truth, he would not waver at all due to his preconceived notions.
After all, Aizen had told Kurosaki Ichigo everything.
At the same time, he was not worried at all that Kurosaki Ichigo would develop thoughts of his own.
The reason was simple. Kurosaki Ichigo did not need the Hogyoku's effects. The Hogyoku had absolutely no value to him. That was Aizen's confidence.
"So that's how it is... So Urahara Kisuke might have guessed that you were secretly researching it, Sensei, and used his own Hogyoku as bait to lure you into this situation?", Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly understood. He did not feel that there was anything wrong with Aizen.
Pursuing power, that was all. And it was a tool that already existed in the first place. If he were in Aizen's position, he might very well pursue it too.
After all, in this damn Soul Society, the only place where he truly felt safe was with Aizen.
Everywhere else was filled with deceit and scheming. He truly, truly hated this place.
After hearing the origin of the Hogyoku, he only felt more disgust toward Urahara Kisuke's actions, not toward power itself.
Inside his own body was the Hollow power that was called an evil force.
Back then, Aizen had taught him that power depends on the person using it, not on whether the power itself is evil. This was something he deeply agreed with.
Otherwise, what would that make him? A Hollow brat born evil?
"Sensei, where is that Hogyoku? You don't need to do anything. Let me go get it for you," Kurosaki Ichigo wore a bright smile on his face.
"You can't do it."
Aizen smiled.
"Huh? I don't believe that. How is that possible?", Kurosaki Ichigo was unconvinced.
"That Hogyoku was placed by Urahara Kisuke inside Rukia's body. That's also the real reason Rukia was unable to recover her spiritual pressure during those days in the World of the Living," Aizen said with a smile.
"Damn it! That scumbag Urahara Kisuke. If it weren't for that bastard, Rukia wouldn't have been discovered in the first place."
Kurosaki Ichigo's face immediately darkened as he cursed angrily.
With Aizen explaining it like this, everything suddenly made sense.
The reason Rukia was exposed was all because of that bastard Urahara Kisuke.
As long as the Hogyoku remained, Rukia's spiritual pressure would never recover. Even without that match between Ishida Uryu and himself, Rukia would have been exposed sooner or later.
"Sensei, is there a way to take the Hogyoku out without harming her?"
Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Aizen seriously. He knew that since Aizen said this much, there had to be a way. Otherwise, he would not be joking around with him like this.
"There is. But with your level of control over spirit particles, it's very difficult to reach that level. And with your current strength, you also can't resolve this crisis without exposing me," Aizen gently shook his head.
"Sensei, don't say all that. Just tell me what level I need to reach," Kurosaki Ichigo grinned, completely unwilling to listen to all that vague talk.
He just needed Aizen to tell him exactly what he had to achieve.
Backing down when things got difficult was not his style.
Aizen slowly raised his head and looked at Kurosaki Ichigo's stubborn face. The two stared at each other for a long time, and in the end, both of them smiled.
Aizen let out a light sigh.
"You really are impossible. If you want to protect yourself in this incident, you at least need to learn Bankai. And if you want to extract the Hogyoku from Rukia's body, you must possess Quincy-level control over spirit particles."
"Sensei, you should already be prepared, right?", Kurosaki Ichigo said eagerly.
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