In the end, under Higashino Shuuichi's reasoned persuasion, Aizen ultimately did not ruthlessly kill that Kurosaki couple.
He even abandoned the idea of continuing to gather information on Quincy in the Human World.
Because this time, Higashino Shuuichi had spilled the information about the future Quincy Vollständig.
In short, the way the remaining Quincy in the Human World currently used their power was vastly different from those Quincy hiding in the shadows of Soul Society.
For Aizen to research only these Human World Quincy and from that develop a method to deal with Yhwach was basically impossible.
However, the idea of having Aizen immediately head into that shadow world to stir up trouble with the Quincy of the Invisible Empire (Wandenreich) didn't interest him either.
The Invisible Empire was different from the Human World. In the Human World, Aizen could use Hollows to gather intel, but the Invisible Empire was a purely human realm. The moment a Hollow or a Shinigami appeared there, even an idiot would realize something was wrong with the Invisible Empire's secrecy.
And Aizen had no intention of letting the Quincy of the Invisible Empire realize they had already been exposed. Otherwise, once Yhwach reclaimed his consciousness, there would undoubtedly be far less fun to be had.
Thus, in the end, Aizen left with the Arrancar that had collected some data on Human World Quincy abilities, leaving behind the severely injured Kurosaki couple.
"Takuya, did you see it? That was a Hollow, the enemy of us Quincy. In the future, if you ever run into that kind of Hollow whose mask is shattered on its face, promise me you'll run away immediately!"
After seeing "Takuya" walk over to treat their wounds, Kurosaki Mai still took the time to give Higashino Shuuichi this warning.
What a hopeless do-gooder…
Higashino Shuuichi didn't respond. He merely pulled his consciousness out of Kabuno Takuya's body, then issued Kabuno Takuya—this low-intelligence A.I.—the order to treat the Kurosaki couple and protect their lives.
With no Hollow threat remaining, a simple rescue no longer required Higashino Shuuichi to personally take the field.
Higashino himself didn't know whether this kindhearted personality was some sort of Kurosaki family tradition, just like with the Shiba family, and whether that was the reason those two families would eventually come together.
However, thanks to the wholehearted instruction of Kurosaki Yuki and Kurosaki Mai, the strength of Higashino Shuuichi's current Quincy avatar was advancing at a tremendous pace. Aside from being limited by his own spiritual pressure—which greatly restricted his manipulation of Reishi—Higashino could almost regard this Kabuno Takuya as a fully qualified Quincy.
This was also something Higashino Shuuichi had not anticipated when he fabricated Kabuno Takuya.
Originally, he had thought that this Quincy avatar of his would need at least over ten, even dozens of years to fully master Quincy abilities.
Now it seemed that his decision back then to use Yhwach's body as the imagined template when constructing Kabuno Takuya had really been a happy accident.
But that brought a new problem—should Higashino Shuuichi now reclaim Kabuno Takuya's body or not?
After all, according to Higashino's previous analysis, as long as his Quincy power also reached a certain level, once it returned to his body there shouldn't be a repeat of that mutual-destruction scenario from before. This new Quincy power ought to, like the Hollow power he had obtained earlier, settle quietly in a corner within his body.
However, Higashino quickly dispelled that notion.
Because bringing it back was easy; trying to separate this Quincy power from his body again later would be difficult.
And Quincy power was fundamentally different from Shinigami power and Hollow power. If Higashino wanted to keep raising the upper limit of his Quincy abilities in the future, basically the only path was to fuse fragments of the Soul King's body into it.
And once the Quincy power returned to his main body, which of his powers would the Soul King body fragments he fused into himself end up belonging to?
Higashino wasn't certain, but there was an eighty-percent chance they would be classified under the Shinigami power that currently made up the overwhelming majority of his spiritual makeup.
And that would in fact be a waste of resources.
After all, ever since the first time he obtained a fragment of the Soul King's fingernail, Higashino had known that fragments of the Soul King's body didn't directly raise a Shinigami's spiritual pressure limit, but were equivalent to opening up an entirely new track outside one's original framework.
Now that, thanks to his Hollowfication, Higashino Shuuichi had more or less solved the problem of his spiritual pressure cap, the Soul King body fragments only meant one thing to him: gaining new abilities.
The spiritual pressure increase they brought to his Shinigami power was basically meaningless.
And as for which of his powers those new abilities were housed in—what difference did that make to Higashino?
In the end they were all his own power; as long as he needed them, Higashino could call on any of them at any time.
Therefore, for Higashino Shuuichi, everything now circled back to that old question from decades ago.
He needed to quickly fuse new fragments of the Soul King's body into this Quincy body of his. That way he could sooner let this Quincy power return to his main body and once again raise his overall strength by a major step.
Yet within the current Soul Society, besides the Quincy of the Invisible Empire, who else still possessed fragments of the Soul King's body?
As for the Fullbringers in the Human World, they had basically all fled into the territory controlled by the West Administration.
As this question surfaced in Higashino Shuuichi's mind, a frail silhouette surfaced along with it.
Ukitake Jūshirō.
Inside this man's body resided the Soul King's right arm—a power that held dominion over stillness and cessation.
However, he was still the captain of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13, and personally speaking, Higashino's impression of Ukitake Jūshirō was actually quite favorable.
Or maybe I should quietly sneak into the Invisible Empire myself? There seem to be a great many Soul King body parts there to choose from…
Just as Higashino Shuuichi was agonizing over which part of the Soul King's body he ought to target next, he unexpectedly received a contact request from Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
Higashino Shuuichi did not refuse Tokinada Tsunayashiro's request for a meeting.
"I'd started to think you'd forgotten about me. It's been over a month since I became Grand Chief of the Katana-gari-shū, and this seems to be the first time you've contacted me?"
Compared to the cautious care he had shown at their first meeting, Higashino Shuuichi was much more casual this time, even lacing his words with a bit of teasing.
This didn't quite fit Higashino's usual manner of speaking, but in truth he was doing it deliberately.
Because compared to the bosses Higashino had followed in the past and was following now, Tokinada Tsunayashiro only matched them in ambition. In terms of actual strength, all he had going for him was the advantage of being a noble of the Tsunayashiro family.
Before obtaining the Tsunayashiro clan's hereditary sacred treasure, the Kyūten Kyōkoku (Nine Heavens Mirror Valley), Tokinada Tsunayashiro had merely possessed a strong spiritual pressure with nowhere to properly wield it. Even now, if the two of them were to face each other, Higashino figured his current self could crush Tokinada using just one hand.
Thus Higashino felt he ought to act somewhat domineering in front of Tokinada Tsunayashiro; only that would match the power dynamic between them on the surface.
After all, as Grand Blade-Hunting Chief he only nominally answered to all the nobles; in reality, he needed only obey the orders of a single man—the Tsunayashiro family head, Tsunayashiro Kamihara.
Given that he had no idea what astonishing deeds Tokinada Tsunayashiro might pull off in the future, Higashino Shuuichi, on the surface, had every reason to show a certain arrogance toward a branch-family bottom-seater like Tokinada.
And Tokinada Tsunayashiro truly didn't harbor any dissatisfaction toward Higashino's attitude. In Tokinada's eyes, this was exactly how someone like Higashino Shuuichi ought to behave.
The humility Higashino displayed in front of those foolish Shinigami outside was nothing but hypocritical pretense. Only in front of him was this side of Higashino the real one. And what did that signify?
It signified that Higashino Shuuichi already trusted him completely!
"I've seen your attitude and actions toward those Shinigami of the Gotei 13 a while back—excellent. I can tell you're very clear on what position you currently occupy in the eyes of the nobles."
It was obvious that when it came to recruiting a Shinigami whose strength far exceeded what he could control, Tokinada Tsunayashiro was still a bit green and lacking in confidence. Otherwise he wouldn't have opened their second meeting with such a textbook display of mutual business flattery.
"You don't need to waste breath on flattery, Tokinada Tsunayashiro. You should understand our relationship better than I do.
"I'm only working with you because I'm interested in the beautiful future you painted for me. Otherwise, from any angle you look at it, Tsunayashiro Kamihara would be a far more suitable choice than you.
"If you're calling me here, you'd better have something concrete to say."
Higashino Shuuichi rudely cut Tokinada off, not worried in the slightest that the latter might resent him for it.
Because Higashino knew that for a pervert like Tokinada Tsunayashiro, the more domineering you behaved, the more it proved your value.
Sure enough, sitting across from Higashino, Tokinada narrowed his eyes; in his gaze toward this version of Higashino there was nothing but appreciation.
"Very well, then. Just as we said from the beginning, Shuuichi-kun—you've now obtained a status that can go toe-to-toe with the Gotei 13, and your performance that day at the captains' meeting was indeed brilliant. But it's still not enough, because you're only one person, and what you face is an entire Gotei 13 full of Shinigami!"
"I've noticed that problem as well, but right now there really isn't any better solution. You should know the reason why too. Still, judging by your expression, it seems you have one?"
Higashino Shuuichi frowned slightly and looked at Tokinada Tsunayashiro as he asked.
As for his own plan to recruit defecting Shinigami, Higashino had, for the time being, told no one except Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Yushima Ōko. And Higashino firmly believed that for a top-class scientist like Mayuri, the surveillance methods of the Eizō Hall absolutely couldn't reach the underground laboratory that Mayuri had meticulously set up.
Therefore, in theory, Tokinada Tsunayashiro had no way of knowing his plan.
"Of course. Don't underestimate the Tsunayashiro family's Eizō Hall. In addition to most areas within Soul Society, there are also portions of the Human World and Hueco Mundo that it can observe!"
Tokinada Tsunayashiro took the chance to brag about the Eizō Hall's capabilities in front of Higashino, clearly hoping to raise his own weight in Higashino Shuuichi's mind in this way.
Unfortunately for him, this was doomed to be in vain. To a transmigrator like Higashino, Tokinada Tsunayashiro could only ever earn permanent negative scores. If it weren't for the fact that personally taking action on certain matters would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble, and that Tokinada at present posed no real threat to him, Higashino might have already considered dealing with this pervert himself.
"So? What exactly are you trying to say?"
Higashino pressed him further.
"There are some things you might not know, Shuuichi-kun, since you've been away from Soul Society for so long. Among the many Hollows, there's a particularly special form. I wonder if you still remember it?"
"You mean that special type of Hollow that attacked the nobles' hunting tournament back then and caused considerable damage to Soul Society—the ones we later named Arrancar?"
Higashino pretended to think back as he spoke.
"Exactly, Arrancar. If my memory serves, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's assessment back then was that they were special Hollows whose strength was enough to rival captains, even surpass ordinary captains. Because of that, after that incident the Gotei 13 specially issued a new decree: in the future, whenever any Shinigami encountered such a special form of Hollow, if their strength was below captain-class they had to immediately retreat and alert nearby Shinigami.
"And even captain-class Shinigami were forbidden from recklessly engaging alone; they were to wait for other captains to arrive as support before attempting to encircle and eliminate them."
"Everything you're saying, I already know. But what does that have to do with me right now?"
Higashino could vaguely sense what Tokinada was getting at, but he still didn't quite dare confirm it—because the idea was simply too bold.
"Heh… You know, Shuuichi-kun, the other people of the Tsunayashiro family possess a treasure like the Eizō Hall yet have no idea how to use it. Only I have discovered its enormous value. For example, over the past dozen or so years, in my boredom I noticed that the number of Arrancar in Hueco Mundo has been increasing at an astonishing rate. Can you imagine it?
"In less than twenty years, through the limited observation footage of the Eizō Hall, I've already seen no fewer than a hundred different Arrancar.
"And if each and every one of those Arrancar possessed strength far beyond an ordinary captain, just as Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni described them…"
A strange, indescribable smile spread across Tokinada Tsunayashiro's face.
He planted both hands on the table and leaned his entire body toward Higashino Shuuichi.
From the corner of his eye, Higashino could even see Tokinada's chest rising and falling unevenly.
It was obvious how excited Tokinada Tsunayashiro was after saying all this.
"How is that possible? How could Hueco Mundo suddenly produce so many Arrancar? If that's the case, and they were to launch an attack on Soul Society…"
Of course, Higashino Shuuichi knew exactly what the actual situation was. Of those Arrancar, nine out of ten were failures created by Aizen using an incomplete Hōgyoku. Forget exceeding a normal captain; aside from the current Espada, most of those Arrancar would be lucky to even reach lieutenant-level.
But Higashino had always been a "good person" in that sense; his favorite pastime was playing along with other people's performances.
He even went so far as to widen his eyes in feigned shock.
Tokinada Tsunayashiro was very satisfied with Higashino's reaction, savoring the thrill of shocking someone else.
"But you know what? For some unknown reason, ever since their birth these Arrancar have behaved with extreme low-key restraint. Forget attacking Soul Society—it's rare to even see them in the Human World. The vast majority of Hollows attacking Soul Society and the Human World are still those ordinary Menos-class Hollows from before. And what does that imply, Shuuichi? Do you know?"
Tokinada reveled in this sense of having reversed their roles. With a smile at the corner of his lips, he gazed proudly at Higashino opposite him, waiting expectantly to see confusion appear on the other's face.
As expected, a puzzled look did indeed appear on Higashino Shuuichi's face. "What does it imply?"
When Higashino uttered that question, Tokinada knew he was about to leave a bold, brilliant highlight in the small theater of Higashino Shuuichi's heart.
"It implies that these Arrancar are different from the Hollows of the past that only operated on the most basic animal instincts. They have their own logic and thought, and their actions can be controlled!
"And if their actions can be controlled, what does that mean? I trust I don't need to spell that out for you, do I?"
"Hiss…" Higashino drew in an exaggerated breath of cold air. "You can't be thinking of having me capture Arrancar from Hueco Mundo and make them members of my Katana-gari-shū, right? That would be way too outrageous. I bet not only Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, but even your own family head, Tsunayashiro Kamihara, would never agree to it!"
"Heh."
Tokinada Tsunayashiro let out a dismissive chuckle.
As expected, this was the difference in vision. Higashino Shuuichi was, in the end, still a Shinigami. Even though he'd undergone Hollowfication, once he gained control over it his heart still reverted to the Shinigami way of thinking.
To Tokinada Tsunayashiro, was there any real difference between humans, Shinigami, and Hollows?
There was no difference at all!
Knowing Soul Society's history, he understood that in the primordial world, humans, Shinigami, and Hollows had originally all lived in the same world. It was the Soul King who, by his own power, split them into three separate worlds.
"I never said I wanted you to recruit Arrancar as members of the Katana-gari-shū, did I?"
"Then what do you want to do?"
Tokinada Tsunayashiro stood up and looked down at Higashino Shuuichi as he asked, "As far as I know, the current ruler of Hueco Mundo is an Arrancar named Baraggan. But no one has ever said that the so-called ruler of Hueco Mundo must be a Hollow, have they?"
"You want to become the ruler of Hueco Mundo?"
"No."
Tokinada Tsunayashiro shook his head. It seemed Higashino still couldn't comprehend his ambition. What he desired was far more than just the throne of Hueco Mundo.
"It's you, Higashino Shuuichi. You can become that ruler of Hueco Mundo!
"Don't forget, you can Hollowfy. Compared to those pure Shinigami, the fact that you can turn into a Hollow makes you naturally more likely to be acknowledged by them. Not to mention, with your current strength, conquering those Arrancar in Hueco Mundo shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
"...Your idea does have some merit. It's just that I'm still only one person. Trying to subjugate that many Arrancar…"
Higashino Shuuichi still seemed somewhat hesitant.
But Tokinada Tsunayashiro, unconcerned, simply continued to raise the stakes. "You're not alone. As long as you're willing to act, I can immediately start spreading the news and let Tsunayashiro Kamihara and Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni know about those Arrancar. In your opinion, with their personalities, what would they do?"
"If it's Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, he should immediately organize an investigation squad to head into Hueco Mundo. As for Tsunayashiro Kamihara…"
Higashino trailed off here, genuinely unsure what to say. To him, Tsunayashiro Kamihara was a "beyond-scope" existence, one that hadn't existed in his original memories.
Thankfully, given Higashino's current identity, he indeed wasn't supposed to know such things. So Tokinada Tsunayashiro filled in the rest of that gap for him.
"If it's Tsunayashiro Kamihara, he'd also have you try to capture some obedient Arrancar to see if they could be put to use.
"After all, there are some things that, if they can be handed off to Hollows, are certainly better done by them than by Shinigami, don't you think?"
Looking at the utterly self-confident Tokinada Tsunayashiro before him, Higashino Shuuichi had a faint feeling that in the days to come, Soul Society would very likely welcome yet another bloody storm it was never meant to endure.
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