Summer neared in Seireitei—warm, humid.
Standing among the pavilions of the 4th Division, Higashino Shuuichi stretched his body in comfort.
As the saying went: a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water.
That described his state of mind now.
When the weight pressing on him grew too heavy, instead of panic, he felt oddly relaxed.
There was no rushing it.
Half an hour later, after his shift, he left Seireitei and returned to his home in West Rukongai, District 2—still the second floor, still the same spot.
"Speak."
Aizen wasted no words, straight to the point.
"Aizen-dono, can we begin hollowfication experiments ahead of schedule?"
Shuuichi asked just as bluntly.
He had requested this meeting himself.
He'd originally chosen their usual ramen shop in Seireitei, but Aizen insisted they meet in Shuuichi's home.
"Early?"
Aizen's interest was piqued.
He had considered hollowfication ever since creating the Hōgyoku and experimenting with Adjuchas hollows, forcing them into arrancar.
He had even mentioned the idea before to Shuuichi and Tōsen—but had said the time was not yet ripe.
Unlike extracting a bit of reishi from shinigami or harvesting promising souls in Rukongai, hollowfication required large-scale abduction of shinigami. Too blatant, too dangerous.
If Soul Society grew wary, any future move would become vastly harder.
So Aizen had chosen to prioritize provoking the Zero Division first.
He hadn't said all this aloud—but he trusted Shuuichi's intelligence to understand.
"Yes, ahead of schedule. And this time… we may gain a powerful ally."
Shuuichi's voice was firm.
"Kasumiooji Masasuke? Not Kumoi Gyoukaku."
At the word "ally," Aizen instantly guessed.
Masasuke was ambitious, but as a high noble dreaming of becoming the Sixth Great House, he would never touch such a taboo.
But Kumoi was different. Shuuichi had long since revealed that the Bakkōtō project had been Kumoi's idea.
And anyone who knew the Bakkōtōs understood what they were.
To seize the family for himself, Kumoi would stop at nothing.
"How do you plan to do this?"
Aizen realized he may have underestimated his subordinate.
This man, lacking talent for research, had nevertheless shown unmatched cunning in battle. Many with greater reiatsu had fallen before his tactics.
Perhaps in strategy as well, he was proving capable.
"The Soul King's heart—the Cocoon of Hollows."
Shuuichi spoke slowly, seven words heavy in the air.
"Interesting."
Clever men never needed many words.
Aizen knew what he meant: use the legend of the Soul King's heart as bait, a false Cocoon of Hollows.
And what was such a cocoon if not a metaphor for hollowfication?
Whether Kumoi believed it was not Aizen's concern.
If Shuuichi dared propose it, he must have planned how to carry it through.
And if not—he would pay the price himself.
"How should I cooperate?"
For the first time, Aizen asked someone that. But he felt Shuuichi was worth it.
After all, what could be sweeter than making an enemy count your coins as you robbed him?
"You only need to let Kumoi Gyoukaku see in the Great Spirit Book Gallery exactly what he should. Leave the rest to me."
Shuuichi's confidence was absolute.
"Very well."
Aizen agreed.
Shuuichi was, undeniably, his most dependable and efficient subordinate.
If only his reiatsu potential wasn't so limited…
Then Aizen remembered. Some time ago, Shuuichi had reported finding a peculiar commoner in Rukongai—one whose body held fluctuations far beyond others, a fragment of the Soul King.
At the time, Aizen had been too focused on shaping arrancar to bother.
Fragments of the Soul King's body—useful to ordinary shinigami, helping them surpass limits. But for one already wielding the Hōgyoku, they were of little value.
So he had left it aside.
But now—why had Shuuichi chosen this moment to bring it up back then?
The answer was obvious.
Aizen's gaze pierced into his eyes.
"You want that fragment, don't you, Shuuichi?"
He didn't say it aloud, but his stare reached into Shuuichi's heart.
Ambition in a subordinate was fine—so long as he had the power to match.
And Aizen was eager to see whether Higashino Shuuichi did.
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