Infinite Anime [316-317] (Patreon)

Chapter 316: Aizen, the Soft-Hearted

"I'm handling things pretty carefully. I won't claim it's flawless, but it should pass muster."

Aizen said earnestly, "If all goes well, you'll be able to return to the 5th Division soon."

Hearing that, Gusion joked, "So you've been waiting here for me, Sosuke? Doesn't that mean I'll be working under you from now on?"

"With someone as sharp-edged as you, Gusion-kun, I'm afraid you'll be promoted to captain in no time."

Aizen smiled with narrowed eyes.

Gusion waved his hand. "Let's not joke around. This kind of thing is too risky for you. Didn't you say before, Sosuke, that you hid your strength for personal reasons? I don't want to drag you down because of my problems and sabotage your ideals."

He straightened his expression. "Why don't we talk about another plan?"

"Oh?"

Aizen's heart stirred, and he was curious that Gusion could tell he had a plan B. "Gusion-kun seems more thoughtful than before."

Gusion felt a bit miffed. "I've always been thoughtful, okay? It's just that you're too smart, Sosuke. I figured it's more convenient to ask you directly about some things."

"Sigh, that's why I say you trust me too much, Gusion-kun. Doesn't that just dump all the pressure on me?"

Aizen looked at Gusion speechlessly.

He knew that most beings tend to believe in someone superior to themselves. Thus, those who are trusted, in order to escape that heavy pressure, pursue a higher existence; and those higher up desire an even higher, trustworthy strongman.

In that way, kings are born.

He had never asked Gusion to trust him—yet now, he didn't want to say "don't trust me," either.

"Trust is mutual—confidence and reliance. It looks like the weak leaning on the strong, but I believe real friends can rely on each other. So don't feel pressured, Sosuke. I'll work hard to get stronger so you can rely on me too."

Gusion grinned.

Aizen paused, then raised a hand to adjust his glasses. "We're getting off-topic, Gusion-kun. Let me tell you the other plan."

Gusion sat up straight to show he was listening.

"Earlier you mentioned limits for Shinigami and Hollows. I've noticed this, too. While I don't think I've hit my limit yet, it's only a matter of time. Given your talent, Gusion-kun, it's the same for you."

Aizen continued, "So I wondered how to break those limits. After long study, I've reached a preliminary conclusion: Hollowfication of Shinigami, and Shinigamification of Hollows."

Gusion put on an exaggerated look of surprise. "So that's what it is."

In a good mood—and perhaps relaxed in front of an old school friend—Aizen quipped, "Gusion-kun, your surprised face is so fake… Looks like you'd thought of it too."

"Yeah. I'm very interested in Hollow evolution, so I teamed up with little Ulq and the others to observe the process of an Adjuchas evolving into a Vasto Lorde."

Gusion spread his hands. "That's the interesting thing I wanted to show you."

"A Hollow about to evolve into a Vasto Lorde… Rare research material. It might help my work. It's just a pity I can't stay long in Hueco Mundo. I'll trouble you to keep records after."

Aizen met Gusion's eyes. "Right—this second plan is based on you staying in Hueco Mundo for now."

Gusion wasn't surprised. If he couldn't return to Soul Society, his options were Hueco Mundo or the World of the Living.

Compared to the thin reishi in the living world, he preferred Hueco Mundo. At least training was more convenient.

After driving off the Soul Singer and with Barragan subdued by Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu, Hueco Mundo had become a temporary safe zone—not inferior to Soul Society as a training environment.

"Fine. I'm used to it here anyway. What can I do for you, Sosuke?"

Gusion agreed and asked about next steps.

"It's a bit of a hassle for you, Gusion-kun, but I'd like you to bring Hueco Mundo under control—fold it into our management—and build a research institute."

Aizen said casually, words that could shock the world. "Operating in Soul Society is inconvenient for me. The 12th Division's Technology Bureau was disbanded years ago. It's hard to borrow equipment. If I'm to continue my research, I need my own base."

Gusion pondered. He knew about the Tech Development Bureau: canon says it was founded by Urahara Kisuke, but actually it had existed earlier and was disbanded at one point. Urahara merely reestablished it, recruited top researchers, and made it famous later.

It was obvious—standing before him, Sosuke had grown stronger, glimpsed the truth of the three worlds, and his ambition had begun to show.

In that case, research was a must, but within Soul Society he needed to hide his strength while plotting—very inconvenient. Hueco Mundo was his only real option.

This idea probably came to him years ago when he subdued Barragan. Meeting Gusion simply moved the timeline up.

"Of course. But I'm no researcher. I can help you administer things, recruit talent, and source research specimens."

Gusion knew there was a Vasto Lorde named Szayelaporro in Hueco Mundo, who later became Aizen's chief researcher. He could look for him.

"Even better."

Aizen nodded. "By the way, Gusion-kun, aren't you going to ask what I'm researching for?"

"To get stronger, obviously. You're already strong, Sosuke, but in my view, the pursuit of power never ends. And you'll need enough strength to support your ideals."

Gusion added, "As your friend, I'm just lending a hand."

"Even if my ideals might destroy Soul Society's existing order?"

Aizen countered.

"As long as you don't kill my friends and those who've helped me, I don't really care. From what you've said, Soul Society's upper echelons are rotten anyway."

Gusion stretched. "If I'm to return someday without getting hunted by everyone, the Central 46 and their entrenched systems are better off gone."

Aizen smiled. "Gusion-kun, you always say shocking things. How come I never noticed you were so 'traitorous' back in school?"

"Hey now—you've been plotting a rebellion for years, and you're calling me traitorous? Even if I've changed, it's because you led me astray, Sosuke."

Gusion laughed. He wasn't worried about clashing with Aizen on fundamentals.

From what he knew, Aizen, as a "villain," was remarkably half-hearted. In truth, he was quite "soft."

Hundreds of episodes went by, and in all the battles related to Aizen, among the Gotei 13 and the Visoreds—those opposing him—none of the named characters… actually died!

Instead, Kaname Tōsen, who followed Aizen, died with a finishing blow, and Gin Ichimaru was killed by Aizen for betrayal.

Even Hinamori Momo, the Lieutenant who sincerely adored Aizen, didn't die.

When Gusion watched the anime, he always wondered: Aizen Sosuke is so overwhelmingly strong—how did he stab Hinamori right in front of everyone and still not kill her?

After meeting Aizen in the Bleach world, he started to understand. Sosuke isn't truly cold-blooded; he just doesn't open his heart to others, living alone in his genius.

If he'd really wanted to kill Hinamori, would he have botched it? He wouldn't even need to draw his blade—there would be ten thousand ways to instantly kill her.

But she didn't die. That makes that stab very intriguing.

In the end, Gusion could only conclude that Aizen disdained Hinamori's combat ability and soft character, but he also didn't want his adoring Lieutenant to die.

Think about it: as 5th Division Captain, after making such a huge commotion with his defection, would Soul Society spare Hinamori, his Lieutenant?

Even if she claimed ignorance, the higher-ups wouldn't believe it. As Lieutenant, she was theoretically by Aizen's side every day.

In that case, if Aizen wanted her to live and remain in Soul Society, he had to stab her—to draw a clear line.

He even laced his words with cruelty, drew Hitsugaya's hatred, and staged another Hinamori incident in the Karakura showdown.

The result? Hinamori was never prosecuted by Soul Society—she was even treated as a victim and protected.

After thinking it through, Gusion started looking at Aizen differently even in their dorm: behind that cool exterior was a "gentle" heart that never surfaced.

There were other clues in the original, too. For example, after the Espada kept losing, the demoralized No. 3 Harribel was struck down by Aizen with a single slash, while he quipped about how "so many of you together are still inferior to me alone."

But Aizen thinks things through. By that point in the battle, he couldn't be 100% sure of victory. On the surface he discarded Harribel, but essentially he gave her an escape route.

In the end, among the Espada who fought—including the 10th—most died, but Harribel survived and later became the ruler of Hueco Mundo.

As for the captains opposing Aizen in the Karakura battle, it's absurd—none of them died. Gusion thought that was nuts when he watched it.

He first wondered whether Aizen's blade wasn't sharp enough, or whether he just couldn't be bothered to kill them. But those theories didn't really hold.

After spending more time with Sosuke, he formed a hypothesis—absurd yet plausible: those he recognized—captains who'd earned the title as "geniuses"—if they posed no mortal threat to him and didn't truly enrage him, he didn't particularly want to kill them.

And from his ideals, perhaps he envisioned, after becoming the new king, letting those captains continue to run Soul Society for him.

In short, Gusion didn't think his request was something Aizen would refuse. Even if their actions later pitted them against Soul Society, they could choose not to kill certain people in battle.

Yes—only certain people. Gusion set a narrow scope. He wasn't close with every captain—he only had ties with a few.

"Gusion-kun's gotten pretty glib after living in Hueco Mundo for years. When did I ever lead you astray?"

Aizen smiled. "Back at the Academy, you were the real problem child."

"You were just more of a dark schemer and hid it better."

Gusion teased, then remembered something and grew serious. "Right—Sosuke, research the Shinigami-Hollow boundary if you must, but don't use Rukongai residents as test subjects."

Aizen looked puzzled. "Do I seem like that kind of person to you, Gusion-kun?"

"Not right now. But when people hit obstacles, they look to break their limits. I'm not smart, but I know Hollowfication research will need live testing."

Gusion said. He didn't mind Aizen's ideals much, but he couldn't accept experimenting on innocent commoners.

After all, many souls in Rukongai's outskirts are pitiful to begin with—snatching them for experiments felt wrong.

"You have a point. I haven't reached that stage yet. But you also know this research can't succeed without experiments."

Aizen didn't call Gusion naive. At least for now, he understood his insistence.

He himself was from Rukongai, and he knew where Gusion came from. Asking them to prey on their birthplace's poor would carry a psychological burden.

"There's a more discreet way, isn't there?"

Gusion suggested, "Use the souls of scum from the living world after they die. Smaller footprint, and less likely to draw the Gotei 13's attention."

Aizen's eyes lit up—this time genuinely shocked. "Gusion-kun, you actually came up with a solution like that!"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Aizen's look made Gusion uncomfortable—like he was saying, "This exceeds your expected IQ."

"Of course it's a compliment. It's a good idea. It's hard for Shinigami to police the living world—much safer than experimenting in Soul Society."

Aizen mused, "It's just a bit more troublesome. But since you've reminded me, I won't touch Rukongai's residents."

From his tone, Gusion could tell: without his reminder, Sosuke would likely have used Rukongai souls. He had some scruples—but not many.

Chapter 317: Sosuke, Hypnotize Me

In the Dangai, the Soul Singer—walking atop the void—halted, frowned, and looked at the girl ahead.

"Blood Rain, showing up before me now isn't very wise."

The Soul Singer spoke.

The girl let out a playful giggle. "Just bad intel. I never said my intel's 100% accurate. In fact, you did run into the Mazuko, didn't you?"

"But he could call in Aizen—that's a crucial info gap."

The Soul Singer said. He was wary of Aizen's abilities—even Aizen from two hundred years before the main plot.

He had no confidence of ending a fight without ever witnessing the opponent's Shikai. Once controlled, Aizen and the Mazuko would find a way to finish him instantly.

"Hahaha… Soul Singer, you're so confident, yet you ran off with your tail between your legs when you saw Aizen?"

Blood Rain laughed, the paper umbrella on her back slowly spinning.

"No need to provoke me. Your intel chain is still useful to Heaven's Will, and I still need it. So I won't kill you."

The Soul Singer's tone was calm as he walked forward, passing the red-dressed girl.

"So what next? Skulking back to the Wandenreich to cling to Haschwalth's leg and cry?"

Blood Rain's eyes were amused. "I wouldn't recommend that. The Mazuko grows fast."

Even though they'd known each other a long time, the barbs in her words grated on him. He frowned. "I won't return to the Wandenreich. I'll find other allies."

He paused, then said, "As for growth—in this world, my metamorphosis has only just begun."

"Oh, I nearly forgot—you have a Sprite Seed. Then I wish you triumph in battle."

Blood Rain tiptoed across the void, each barefoot step rippling with reishi, and drifted away.

The Soul Singer's face smoothed over. He headed for the Dangai's exit. He was indeed going to slip into Soul Society—but not to return to the Wandenreich. He was going to find someone who could counter Aizen's ability.

He didn't need that person to defeat Aizen—only to create space for a one-on-one with the Mazuko. Then he could take those two spirit seeds.

And next time, he would hold nothing back—abandon his bad habits, and kill the Mazuko with full force.

…

"Oh? Gusion-kun, sometimes I really wonder whether you've been roaming Hueco Mundo—or off adventuring in some other fantastical world."

Aizen looked with great interest at the trinket Gusion handed him.

"Who knows? I just stumbled upon it by chance. Maybe it really is from another world."

Gusion smiled. He'd given Aizen a communicator from the End Space, cheap at only 1,000 End Coins but highly effective.

As long as they were in the same mission world—at least at his current stage—it could transmit signals across the entire world, enabling zero-latency conversation even if he was in Hueco Mundo and Aizen in Soul Society.

This item was meant for adventurers from different parties who formed temporary teams in-world. Considering his drop point and circumstances in Bleach, Gusion bought a pair. It was cheap anyway.

"Impressive tech. Even if some Hollows dabble in research, I can't imagine them making something like this."

Aizen examined the communicator, fascinated by its function and mechanism.

"Sosuke, stop fiddling with that toy. It's not helpful to our plans. I've developed some new skills over the years surviving in Hueco Mundo. Want a look?"

Gusion smiled.

"New skills? Looks like you're already preparing to break the Shinigami limit."

Aizen's interest was piqued.

Gusion didn't waste words. He entered Sage Mode, absorbing the natural energy—reishi—in the atmosphere, and transformed into a half-draconic state.

"Hollowfication? No… Although your appearance changed, Gusion-kun, this isn't Hollowfication."

Watching Gusion's scales emerge and his aura surge, Aizen analyzed, "It's like a reishi-affiliation technique—absorbing reishi for your own use—but not quite like a Quincy."

"You're right, Sosuke. What I developed doesn't directly manipulate atmospheric reishi. It draws it into the body to directly fortify the flesh, and the influx boosts my spiritual pressure as well."

Gusion intended to share Sage-Form Dragonization with Aizen. It was a cultivation-style technique—if you had the talent and grasped the theory, you could learn it in-world.

Aizen might not learn it; even using it as reference to broaden horizons and advance his research was fine.

"An excellent technique. If I'm not mistaken, it should scale with training, yes?"

Aizen carefully observed Gusion's physical state and the flow of reishi.

He didn't consider it inferior to Quincy abilities. While Quincy reishi control is convenient and powerful, in Aizen's view it has a fatal flaw: as individuals, Quincies lack strong innate spiritual pressure. Without Blut Vene and Blut Arterie, their bodies aren't much tougher than ordinary souls.

Which means if a Quincy is ambushed unguarded, they can die easily.

Based on his current, limited understanding of Quincies, that seemed true.

So he hadn't delved into Quincy abilities. From the start, he was thinking about breaking the Shinigami-Hollow limits. If possible, he wanted to transcend both—stand above Shinigami, humans, and Hollows.

Gusion-kun's technique was novel. His intuition told him it might be a way to break limits. Training might be slower, but its ceiling was much higher than the standard Shinigami path.

"Exactly. I'd rather call it a cultivation method. As a method, I'm probably just getting started."

Gusion rated Dragonization highly. He'd found it in a hidden Fire Country map in the Naruto world, an unknown-tier high-end technique in the Space's records, with a ceiling that wouldn't be low.

It was slow to practice. Since getting started, he hadn't advanced much—partly because he'd learned too many things recently, delaying progress.

"Interesting. You really are a genius, Gusion-kun—developing such a technique alone in Hueco Mundo."

Aizen praised him sincerely.

"Here—the original method. You can read it, right, Sosuke?"

Gusion wove lightning into a net and branded the full Dragonization method onto the ground.

But Aizen didn't look at the contents right away. He stared curiously at the electricity sparking off Gusion. "Strange—did you mutate in Hueco Mundo? That doesn't seem like spiritual-pressure-born lightning, nor kidō-produced power, but closer to natural electricity."

Gusion grimaced. He'd developed abilities awkward to explain in the Bleach world, and his old roommate was too sharp for easy lies.

"I'm not sure. It was an accidental gain while studying different powers. My physiology changed, letting me command lightning. Unfortunately the power's limited for now."

He fudged it. He couldn't exactly say he ate a Devil Fruit in another world.

"I see…"

Aizen caught the evasion but didn't pry. "It may be your Zanpakutō's influence. You can probably Bankai now, right, Gusion-kun?"

He had reason to think so. Based on his research, Soul Society occasionally produced natural prodigies whose Zanpakutō attributes manifested even before they learned to control their spiritual pressure—sleeping and exuding cold, igniting fires, even calling down lightning.

He guessed Gusion's Zanpakutō was likely lightning-aspected, hence the sudden awakening of lightning manipulation.

"Bankai…"

Mentioning Bankai made Gusion awkward. He scratched his head. "I was just going to ask you about that. How do I achieve Bankai?"

"You still can't Bankai… Given all the new tricks you've been tossing around, I can understand."

Aizen mused. He wasn't too surprised. Back then, even Shikai had been a hassle for Gusion-kun—achieved under Aizen's hypnotic guidance.

He felt Gusion, as a Shinigami, was a very special case—his path had gone a bit crooked.

Ordinarily, a Shinigami focuses on spiritual pressure, using it in battle to boost speed, strength, attack, and defense. Essentially, their physical bodies, while stronger than ordinary souls, are limited. They don't reach top-tier purely on physique.

In battle, without spiritual-pressure techniques, their bodies aren't impressive.

But Aizen felt Gusion was balanced in a different way: his bodily capability wasn't being propped by spiritual pressure; his raw arm strength, speed, endurance, and resistances were inherently high.

He suspected that, lacking reference and wandering Hueco Mundo alone, Gusion had deviated. If not, his current spiritual pressure should be close to Aizen's.

Gusion had developed comprehensively, leading to comprehensive mediocrity—but he couldn't call the path wrong.

Given Gusion-kun's environment—Hueco Mundo filled with enemies, constant battles, surprise attacks—comprehensive development granted adaptability, great for survival.

At least Gusion-kun wouldn't relax his outward reiryoku and get instantly killed by a weaker foe's sneak attack.

For a normal Shinigami, that could happen. The gap between tense and lax spiritual pressure—between serious and casual states—is huge.

Even a captain could be pierced by a Lieutenant or seated officer's strike if caught relaxed.

Personally, Aizen felt both routes had pros and cons. Pure reiryoku growth is faster and yields higher battle peaks—but also lower troughs, easier to counter.

He hadn't emphasized physical reinforcement, focusing on reiryoku—his talent made that more "cost-effective."

Gusion's path might be fine: he'd devised many new abilities to temporarily raise his overall physical capacity and spiritual pressure. Though his ceiling seemed lower than Aizen's for now, if comprehensive development reached its limit, he'd be comprehensively invincible.

The Dragonization method Gusion-kun offered was likely his core technique—boosting not only reiryoku but all stats, including base physique, when used.

Aizen thought he should study it—it might be another way to break limits and shore up his weaknesses.

Only one minor blemish: dragon scales weren't his aesthetic. But evolving creatures are often ugly; he believed that once the technique completed its metamorphosis, it could become the ultimate beauty.

"'Tossing around'… My baseline reiryoku is indeed lacking, and I do have a lot of new abilities. But that's not why I can't Bankai."

Gusion was a bit stung by the "tossing" remark. He admitted he'd collected a mess of powers, but he was trying to fuse them into something truly his.

"I can't achieve Bankai mainly because I've run into resonance issues with my Zanpakutō again."

Aizen gave him a strange look. "Gusion-kun… don't tell me, after seventy years, you still can't communicate with your Zanpakutō properly on your own?"

Gusion grinned. "That's exactly it."

"So what do you want to do?"

Aizen was speechless. He hadn't expected Gusion-kun to have made zero progress with his Zanpakutō in all these years.

"I figure the resonance problem stems from being unable to reach that abyss within my soul anymore. It might be my subconscious resisting. If I had external guidance, I might finally see what's inside."

Gusion's expression turned solemn. "So, Sosuke—hypnotize me."