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Chapter 42 - Chapter 42: White

The Soul Society celebrates the New Year as well.

It's just that Yoshio no longer has any family.

He used to spend the New Year alone, but this time he had a few companions.

Kira and Renji also had no family, so they simply spent it at Yoshio's place.

Hinamori and Hitsugaya returned to Junrinan District for the New Year because their families were still there.

Rangiku and Shuhei also visited Yoshio, but in the end they went back to the Tenth Division and Ninth Division respectively.

Aizen didn't come looking for Yoshio; instead, Yoshio went to pay his respects to Aizen.

This was Yoshio's first New Year in Seireitei.

He wasn't sure if he could relax like this in the future.

After the New Year, everything went back to normal.

In June, the Shin'ō Academy held its graduation. Kira, Hinamori, and Renji successfully joined the Fifth Division, while Hitsugaya didn't graduate early and chose to remain at the Academy.

 Yoshio also obtained six permanent soul abilities.

These included Kira's [Bird-Killer], Hinamori's [Ultimate Defense], Renji's [Star Chaser], as well as the Fifth Division officer's [Fireball] and [Game Expert], plus Jidanbō's [Gatekeeper].

He also obtained some other one-time abilities.

You could say he had a lot of tools at his disposal now.

During this period, his own strength also grew significantly.

Right after Renji and the others joined the Fifth Division, Yoshio received an order from Aizen as he was clocking out and heading home, like any other day.

Damn it, why are you taking up my downtime?

Even though he was unwilling, Yoshio still went to Aizen's secret base.

Aizen had a secret laboratory in Seireitei. The place was absolutely confidential, beyond the reach of any surveillance.

 Yoshio had only been there once, brought by Aizen. He hadn't done anything after arriving.

As soon as he walked in, he saw Aizen and the others were already there.

Aizen sat in front of computer equipment, looking at lines of data. Tōsen Kaname stood guard over Aizen, while Ichimaru Gin sat on the huge computer desk, back turned to the other two.

Upon entering, he saw Ichimaru Gin's perpetually narrowed eyes.

 "A rare guest,"

Ichimaru Gin said with a squinting smile.

Tōsen Kaname also turned to glance at Yoshio but said nothing.

 Yoshio greeted the three.

 "Captain Aizen, Captain Ichimaru, Captain Tōsen, good evening."

 "Yoshio-kun, come take a look at our research results."

Research results?

 Yoshio walked over curiously and found a fairly large cultivation tank in front of him. Inside lay the corpse of a Shinigami.

Except…

Weirdly, there was a black hole in the Shinigami's chest. The skin was pale; who knew how long he'd been dead.

 "This is…?"

 "A soul transformed from Shinigami into a Hollow," Tōsen Kaname said proudly. "So far, this is the only successful case."

 Yoshio was startled. A Shinigami turned into a Hollow? It sounded absurd, but there were indeed such cases in the manga.

Hollow White!

The Hollow within Kurosaki Ichigo was also created by Aizen!

Why has "Hollow White" emerged so early?

 Yoshio examined the Shinigami-Hollow carefully and couldn't help saying, "This is way too crude, isn't it? Captain Aizen, a product like this won't do."

 "!" Tōsen Kaname's brow furrowed; he immediately said coldly, "Who do you think you are, to speak to Aizen-sama like that!"

 "It's fine, Tōsen."

Aizen wasn't angry. He stood up, walked to the cultivation tank, and looked at the Shinigami-Hollow.

Without looking back, he said, "Yoshio-kun is right; this kind of product can't be presented."

 "It's only just metamorphosed into a Hollow; completing the transformation may take more time."

Aizen smiled. "Still, even if it's not in its final form, this already represents a technical breakthrough."

 "Yoshio-kun, do you know how I did it?"

How would I know? The manga never explained your method!

 "Captain Aizen, please just tell me. I've got drinks with Captain Kyōraku tonight."

Aizen turned and smiled. "Yoshio-kun, you're quite busy."

Then he placed one hand on the cultivation tank, and light blossomed inside the Hollow's body.

 Yoshio watched that light, finding it strangely familiar.

He couldn't help but smile. "So this guy has something to do with me."

Seeing the light and Aizen's look of inquiry, he knew there was a [The Animals] he had created in Hueco Mundo within the Hollow.

He had originally made the [The Animals] and handed it to Aizen, thinking Aizen would use it himself or inject it into the Hōgyoku. He hadn't expected it to be used in the Hollow White experiments.

So this was his biggest impact on the plot?

Even the protagonist's cheat had been infiltrated by him.

His [The Animals] helped Aizen complete Hollow White ahead of time?

Thinking of this, Yoshio couldn't help saying again, "Captain Aizen, can I name it?"

Hearing this, Tōsen Kaname's killing intent surged again.

He considered Hollow White Aizen's creation and naturally thought it should be named by Aizen. Yoshio's words were clearly overstepping!

But Aizen still smiled. "Such as?"

 "White," Yoshio said. "Look how white this Hollow's skin is. Let's call it 'Hollow White.'"

 "White…" Hearing the name, Aizen couldn't help looking back at Hollow White.

Then his smile deepened.

 "That's a good name."

 Yoshio looked at Hollow White. Although they were unlikely to become friends, Hollow White had its own Souls Ability as well.

 ["Hollowfication: Grants a Shinigami's soul the properties of a Hollow, thereby gaining Hollow power."]

He'd already obtained Quincy training methods before, and now he'd encountered a way to gain Hollow power.

Fitting for a Hollow crafted from a Shinigami base, and even the blood that would later hollowfy the protagonist. Possessing such an ability was only natural.

However, something else surprised Yoshio.

Hollow White's initial favorability toward him was shockingly high!

It didn't even have fully formed self-awareness yet, but its favorability toward Yoshio had already reached fifty-six!

Was it because he used the [The Animals]?

My God, it looked like he really could obtain the hollowfication ability from this.

 Yoshio's lips curled as he looked back at Aizen and said, "Captain Aizen, if White can move, could I come by more often to observe and interact? You know, I'm most interested in beings like this."

 "Of course." Aizen pushed up his glasses. "Since it was built using fragments of your soul, you naturally have the right to handle it."

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