"Good morning, Master."
Ikaros knelt gracefully on the ground, staring straight at Shin.
"Uh... morning."
"Ikaros, don't you need to sleep?"
Seeing Ikaros fully dressed and checking the time, Shin couldn't help but ask.
Ikaros tilted her head. "Sleep?"
Ikaros neither slept nor dreamed.
Shin slapped his forehead. He still treated Ikaros like a human, just like them. Robots probably didn't need to sleep, right?
"Like this, lying down with your eyes closed, not thinking about anything."
"Like this, Master?"
Ikaros mimicked him and lay down on the bed.
"Mhm."
Shinohara thought, even if she couldn't sleep, this counted as rest.
So, the two lay there for a while longer.
...
Shin noticed Ikaros's learning ability was very strong. She learned to cook instantly, and she did it superlatively.
He was starting to believe that, just as Ikaros herself said, she was an entertainment-use all-purpose angeloid.
However, he still wanted to test Ikaros's abilities.
Therefore, the group went to the underground space.
Shin looked at the massive wings on Ikaros's back and asked curiously, "Ikaros, how fast can you fly?"
"Master, Mach 24."
"Uh… Mach…"
Shin couldn't remember how to convert Mach numbers.
Riruka said in shock, "Mach 1 is 340 meters per second."
"Doesn't that mean it's 8000 meters per second?!"
Shin was also startled, this speed was too fast. His Teleport was only 500 meters.
He was now certain that Ikaros definitely had combat capabilities, she just didn't know it herself for some reason.
"Ikaros, give me a hard punch."
"Master?"
"That's an order. Punch me, and make it hard."
So, Ikaros followed Shin's command and threw a powerful punch.
Shin felt a bad premonition as she threw the punch and quickly blocked with his hand.
Bang!
He was sent flying by the punch.
Teleport!
He returned to his original position, feigning calmness, and healed his broken arm with Reverse Cursed Technique.
"Good, very powerful."
Yoruichi stifled a laugh as she looked at Shin. "Ikaros's strength is not simple. Just this power and speed are terrifying."
Shin nodded, then looked at Ikaros again. "Do you have other abilities, like missiles or lasers?"
Ikaros shook her head upon hearing this, she had no memory of such things.
"Alright, let's leave it at that for now."
"Yoruichi, Riruka, go buy some casual clothes for Ikaros today. She's a bit too eye-catching like this when going out."
...
In the afternoon.
Shin went out with Ikaros, who had changed into casual clothes. He had planned to go out alone because he was going to Hueco Mundo. But Ikaros insisted on following him.
Ikaros wore a camisole with a jacket, covering her wings, making her look no different from an ordinary person.
Arriving at the agreed location on the outskirts of Karakura Town, Kaname was already waiting.
"Nohara-san, who is she?" Sensing more than one person, and no Reiatsu from Ikaros, Kaname asked.
Shin explained, "Oh, this is Ikaros, my friend."
Kaname nodded and asked no more questions.
Shin said, "Captain Tōsen, Tokinada has been sentenced to the lowest level of Muken."
Kaname's body stiffened. "Thank you."
—
The group soon arrived at Las Noches.
Ikaros simply followed Shin, her expression unchanging no matter what scene she witnessed.
Shin met the remaining four Espada again. It's worth mentioning that Grimmjow had evolved from an Adjuchas to a Vasto Lorde.
Aizen had been experimenting on the four of them during this time. However, he didn't see any signs of experimentation on them, so he didn't know what else had improved.
Entering the main hall, Shin saw that Aizen was already sitting on the sofa, waiting, with two cups of tea on the table.
Aizen hadn't expected Shin to bring someone, and seemingly an ordinary person at that. "Kaname, get this young lady a cup of tea as well."
Kaname went out to instruct Aizen's two attendants, Loly Aivirrne and Menoly Mallia.
Shin introduced to Aizen, "This is Ikaros."
Aizen didn't mind. "Shin, how was the gift I gave you?"
"Very good, a pleasant surprise." Shin knew Aizen was referring to the matter of Yamamoto.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong already."
Previously, when Shin came to Hueco Mundo, Aizen hadn't shown his strength.
"Before, my fusion with the Hogyoku evolved in the wrong direction. It's thanks to Kisuke's final seal that I truly fused with the Hogyoku."
Shin thought to himself, 'So he had been evolving in the wrong direction. No wonder he became more like a Hollow the more he evolved.'
"Let's not talk about that. Shin, I wonder if you felt anything unusual while you were in Seireitei, as if someone was secretly observing."
Aizen added, "That wasn't Azashiro's ability, I didn't detect any unusual Reiatsu."
Shin was somewhat surprised, he hadn't expected Aizen to be able to detect the gaze from the Wandenreich.
Shin nodded. "Indeed, I've had this feeling all this time while in Seireitei."
"I suspect someone might be lurking within Seireitei. To be able to hide under the noses of the Gotei 13, their ambitions must be significant."
"Perhaps, all information about the Shinigami in Seireitei has been acquired."
Aizen smiled indifferently. "No matter what, they are just rats hiding in dark sewers."
"Ahead of us, no foe can stand."
Listening to Aizen's domineering declaration, Shin smiled.
Indeed, with Aizen by his side, what did the Wandenreich matter?
Then, Shin took out Kugo's corpse from Yogasa and said, "This is the 'Soul King' that Tokinada created by fusing a large number of Soul King fragments, along with Quincy, Shinigami, and Hollow corpses."
"Are you interested in this research material?"
Aizen was quite interested in research now. "Oh? How strong is it?"
Shin explained, "Because he fused with the Ōin, he couldn't be killed while the Ōin's power was active, which was quite troublesome."
"Moreover, he can use Quincy and Hollow abilities. As for Shinigami abilities, it's currently unclear, but he should be able to use them, he just hasn't."
"However, because he was born recently, his intelligence is quite low, which limits his strength."
Aizen said, "Even you find him troublesome? Interesting. If he can develop new intelligence, he might make a good toy."
Hearing the word "toy," Shinohara could only think, 'As expected of Aizen, treating a potential Soul King as a toy.'
(End of Chapter)
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