When Yoshio pressed his hand to his face, he felt a force surge from the depths of his soul.
That force was dismantling his soul, causing another power of opposing nature to emerge.
A white mask slowly formed on his face and rapidly spread until it covered him completely.
In an instant, a sinister black-and-red spiritual pressure burst from Yoshio!
Boom!
At that moment, Yoshio felt his spiritual power expand severalfold, but this expansion didn't make him lose reason; he felt no different than before.
Others hollowfied by staking their lives against Hollow power, lest they lose themselves. Yoshio was different; he was using a Souls Ability. Unless the ability's description mentioned side effects, it wouldn't harm him.
[Hollowfication] duration depends on soul strength; the stronger the soul, the longer it can be maintained.
With his current soul strength, he could probably maintain it for five or six minutes. Not as good as the top Visored, but better than Kurosaki Ichigo.
After hollowfication ended, the mask on Yoshio's face disappeared.
However, the mental boundary between Shinigami and Hollow had been permanently broken.
In the future, as time passed, Yoshio would eventually be able to hollowfy at will.
But that hollowfication wouldn't be a Souls Ability; it would be like the Visoreds', with a risk of losing control during the process.
Unless he could raise Hollow White's favorability to eighty—then he could use hollowfication with no risk.
"Not bad."
Yoshio smiled. He had been in this world for only a year and already had enough power to protect himself.
Even if the Quincy invaded in the future, he was confident he wouldn't be cannon fodder.
Are you kidding? If I can't beat the Sternritter, can't I at least beat the Quincy foot soldiers?
Do I, a Lieutenant, have to fight Sternritter?
Or should I fight Sternritter?
Or rather…
Really?
Am I fighting Yhwach?
Thinking this, Yoshio smiled again and fell asleep.
…
The next day, on his way to the squad, Yoshio saw a familiar face and greeted her.
"Miss Nanao, good morning. Here at the Fifth Division so early—what's up?"
Yoshio waved.
Indeed, he saw Ise Nanao, Lieutenant of the Eighth Division.
Nanao seemed surprised and said, "Lieutenant Yoshio, please check the time. It's past reporting time; you're late."
"Huh?" Yoshio scratched his head awkwardly. "Captain Aizen won't mind something this trivial anyway."
"Since you're here, you must have business, right?"
"I have some materials to deliver to Captain Aizen, and I also need to borrow some books from the Fifth Division library."
"Going to the Fifth Division library?" Yoshio rubbed his chin and remarked, "As expected of Lieutenant Ise! Even the obscure academic books there are within your reach."
Each Gotei 13 squad's jurisdiction had a mid-sized library.
Libraries were directly managed by the squads, so they typically collected books of interest to that squad.
For example, the Fourth Division had many medical texts; the Sixth Division had books on noble etiquette and clan rites; most of the books in the Fifth Division library had been placed there by Aizen.
Aizen had somehow procured a pile of serious academic works, leading to few people reading in the Fifth because they simply couldn't understand them.
"I'm an honorary librarian at the Central Fine Arts Academy library; don't underestimate me."
That librarian title was awarded to Shinigami who borrowed over a thousand books in a year, so Ise Nanao truly was a book lover.
Because Yoshio occasionally drank with Kyōraku Shunsui, he and Ise Nanao were fairly familiar, though his impression of her wasn't great.
Ise Nanao hated Kyōraku drinking, while he insisted on taking Kyōraku out for drinks—touching a sore spot.
Yoshio understood, but there was nothing he could do except raise Kyōraku Shunsui's favorability.
Still, he also wanted to raise Ise Nanao's favorability; he'd coveted the Souls Ability ["Mirror Reflection"] for a long time.
So after a moment's thought, he asked, "Lieutenant Ise, what books are you looking for?"
"Mm?" Nanao was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Yoshio to ask, but she still said, "I'm looking for books on Kidō techniques. The Eighth Division library doesn't have relevant volumes, so I thought the erudite Captain Aizen might."
"I see. Then I recommend 'The Ethereal,' 'The Birth of Kidō,' and 'On Abandoning Incantations.' All three are on the second floor, Area B, of the Fifth Division library. Lieutenant Ise should find them easily." Yoshio smiled faintly.
!
Ise Nanao froze. She hadn't expected Yoshio to say that.
In her impression, Yoshio was just a lucky guy who happened to become a Lieutenant after killing an unfamiliar Menos Grande.
And this lucky guy also followed Captain Kyōraku around drinking; rumors said he was unlearned and shirked work in the squad every day.
To someone diligent and responsible like her, Yoshio didn't inspire much goodwill.
But now, Yoshio showed a completely different side from the rumors.
"Th-thank you…"
After a moment, Ise Nanao quickly thanked Yoshio. "I'll go take a look."
"Glad to help, Lieutenant Ise. Alright, I've got to get to the squad. Any later and Captain Aizen might have words."
Yoshio waved with a smile and hurried toward the squad.
He was a model student!
Don't think transmigrating means you can avoid studying. How could you not study? Don't you know technology is the primary productive force?
Don't you know scientists get special treatment in this world?
Look at Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi—because they're scientists, when have they not fought with immense strength and inexhaustible trump cards?
Yoshio was envious.
Study can change your fate!
The books Aizen brought to the Fifth Division library were incomprehensible to others—and at first, to Yoshio as well.
But that's fine; if you don't understand, read more!
Read enough and you'll understand!
Did they really think he slacked off every day in the squad?
Wrong!
I'm going to surpass all of you in secret!
I'm a workaholic!