Infinite Anime [320-321] (Patreon)

Chapter 320: The Power of the Fairy Spirit Seed

Under the gray moonlight, a few figures moved across the silent sands of Hueco Mundo.

Gusion closed the journal Aizen had left him and thought to himself, "So that's how it is. No wonder that Soul Singer guy is so strong."

After reading Aizen's "Notes on Using Reiatsu," Gusion felt he'd gained new insight into manipulating spiritual pressure.

Honestly, he'd only studied at the Shin'ō Academy for a few months. Most of that time was either learning Kaidō from Captain Unohana or getting iron-fist lessons from the Commander-Captain. In terms of reiatsu application, he was still half-baked.

Besides, because students generally had low reiatsu, Shin'ō Academy didn't teach advanced spiritual pressure techniques.

Normally, once students graduated and joined the Gotei 13, they'd be trained by seated officers or vice-captains; if lucky, they might even receive one-on-one guidance from a captain to further grasp the mysteries of reiatsu.

Gusion already knew the difference between specialists in the reiatsu system and those who developed their stats more evenly. His own attributes were fairly balanced for now, so in battle he had no glaring weaknesses—strong across the board.

Reiatsu-specialists' power is easily influenced by mindset, control, and mental focus, making it unstable. But conversely, with good mastery, they can erupt with far greater combat strength.

Although the Soul Singer was a Tier-4 Pioneer, Gusion didn't feel the man's physical base stats were vastly superior. In fact, when Gusion opened his Sixth Gate, their physical stats were roughly equal.

Yet on the surface, he was still completely suppressed by the Soul Singer, and his detection skills couldn't quite read the man's stats.

That was because the Soul Singer used Quincy-style reiatsu techniques. With Blut active, his apparent physical ability got a dramatic boost.

Gusion was beginning to grasp the essence of reiatsu. Reiatsu is affected by attributes, but what manifests and is perceived by opponents in combat is the portion you release outward; the higher the output of externalized reiatsu, the stronger you appear.

So for Explorers, what is reiatsu directly tied to?

Gusion concluded it actually ties directly to the soul source. Put simply, the ability to manipulate reiatsu is the ability to manipulate one's soul source.

If an Explorer can fully control his soul source and apply outward attachment via reiatsu techniques, he can significantly enhance physical ability.

The scaling is interesting—similar to the power increase Arrancar get after breaking their masks.

For example, in the original, there were Adjuchas-class nobodies who, after becoming Arrancar, could pressure a Vasto Lorde-class Harribel. That shows a huge increase. But Vasto Lorde-class Hollows who become Arrancar, though very strong, don't gain as much as the Adjuchas do.

It's the same with reiatsu buffs. Gusion analyzed that the lower your original physical base, the higher your soul source, the more pronounced the gains from reiatsu manipulation.

For instance, an Explorer mage with 50 Spirit, but only ~30s in physical stats, could, during a burst window using outward reiatsu coating, present physical stats exceeding 60.

But this effect is less pronounced on him. If Gusion opens Eight Gates or activates Dragon Transformation, pushing his base physical to the 80–90 range, then using reiatsu coating would only add a few points externally—maybe two or three.

So at first he wondered why the Soul Singer's boost was so big.

While Quincy power relies on the allegiance of reishi—borrowing ambient reishi to enhance oneself—the ability to mobilize reishi is tied to an Explorer's Spirit stat.

In other words, someone with average Spirit won't learn Quincy skills and suddenly become world-ending. Yhwach's apocalyptic power was because his Spirit was absurdly high, allowing him to command the world's reishi to kneel.

The Soul Singer's displayed power was abnormal. Not only was he using Quincy skills to control ambient reishi, his own reiatsu output was also large. With both stacked, he achieved that leap in apparent power.

Putting this all together, Gusion could roughly guess the Fairy Spirit Seed's function—it's probably related to the soul source, or to conversion of external energies.

Compared to the two seeds he holds, this seed likely doesn't have complex abilities—just pure amplification. Precisely because of that, in the early game, such a seed would seem even stronger.

After all, skills and bloodlines usually scale harder late-game. He can't fully draw on the Origin Seed or Chaos Seed yet. But a Fairy Spirit Seed of this type maintains its stage-dominant trait at any phase.

Of course, if we compare growth ceiling and late-game potential, seeds vary in quality. The ones he holds will clearly be stronger later—assuming he lives to Tier 9.

"No wonder he wants to enter the Bleach world…"

Gusion mused.

Whether or not the Soul Singer hunts him down, coming here is profitable. These reiatsu techniques suit his seed perfectly.

Before Explorers can access those legendary native cultivation worlds, the Bleach system is undoubtedly something that can raise the Soul Singer's cap further.

And as a Pioneer, the Soul Singer's base stats won't be low. Once he matures, he'll basically have no weak points, and he won't be easily ambushed and killed like ordinary Shinigami or Quincy.

After analyzing his opponent, Gusion realized he couldn't fight a war of attrition here. In this world's developmental race, shockingly, he might fall behind.

The Soul Singer's seed will make him progressively stronger in the Bleach world as his reiatsu control improves. Eventually, breaking the apparent 100-point cap in external stats isn't impossible.

By then, even if Gusion masters high-end reiatsu techniques, he won't out-grind someone with a Fairy Spirit Seed on this track.

With that in mind, Gusion decided not to settle it on this track. He should find a way to learn Bankai and end things with a straightforward, massive power spike.

Of course, he could ask Aizen to kill the Soul Singer. But Gusion felt the Soul Singer was cautious and unlikely to confront Aizen head-on. And even if Aizen did manage to kill him, the Fairy Spirit Seed would transfer to Aizen.

Gusion definitely wouldn't kill his friend, so the Fairy Spirit Seed hunt would end there.

It's not that he'd find it unacceptable for the seed to go to Aizen, but from another angle, he wanted to reclaim his pride personally from the Soul Singer—especially after all his boasting.

With his thoughts in order, Gusion decided he should hone his reiatsu techniques and push his extreme attributes higher.

Besides that, his most important task was still to learn Bankai and figure out the secret within his soul.

"Mr. Gusion, it's just ahead."

Ulquiorra, traveling with them, spoke up, breaking Gusion's thoughts.

Gusion looked up. On the horizon, a mountain peak peeked out.

A bit farther, they saw it wasn't a rocky mountain at all, but a range formed from piled Gillian corpses.

Looking for someone in Davao City today

"Gusion, looks like a dangerous one."

Nel said, then looked at Ulquiorra. "Ulqui, how do you know this place?"

After that battle the other day, she'd warmed up to Ulquiorra. Since his real name was too long, she followed Gusion's lead and shortened it.

Ulquiorra didn't care about being addressed that way and accepted the nickname.

"I'd left the herd and was wandering in the desert when I stumbled on these mountains of corpses. I analyzed that a powerful Hollow was there. To avoid unnecessary conflict and ensure survival, I circled around."

Ulquiorra explained without expression.

"So like you."

Nel quipped. If it were her, she might not have resisted peeking out of curiosity.

"Let's go have a look. If it's a Vasto Lorde, we should be able to talk."

Seeing the mountains of Hollows, Gusion knew Ulquiorra had found the right place. This was likely Coyote Starrk, the future first Espada.

The guy really couldn't pick a good campsite. This wasn't far from the Great Forest of Menos near the edge of Hueco Mundo—a remote place overall.

If Starrk had moved toward the center, at least he might've run into Baraggan.

Emm… though running into Baraggan probably wouldn't be good. Starrk might want to make friends, but Baraggan would likely think about killing someone who threatened his claim as Hueco Mundo's king.

Anyway, judging by the number of corpse-mountains, Starrk had probably shut himself in during his long travels, staying put and becoming a local "landmark" ringed by piles of corpses.

"Gusion, we should be cautious. These mountains of Hollow corpses outside don't look like the work of a friendly fellow."

Nel warned. Baraggan had given her a bit of a Vasto Lorde trauma. Though she always believed rational beings should understand each other instead of fighting like beasts, Baraggan's existence reminded her that malice is part of sentience, too.

The mountains outside unsettled her.

"These bodies don't look eaten, and there aren't visible wounds. The cause of death is peculiar—maybe not his intention."

Gusion smiled and didn't slow down.

Seeing his mind was made up, Nel didn't press further. Ulquiorra, as usual, followed quietly.

Crossing a few corpse-mountains, they reached the inner area. On a gray dune sat a man in a heavy wolf-fur coat, rags wrapped around his torso, arms around his knees, staring blankly ahead.

What shocked Nel was that the man had almost no mask—just a mask-like eyepatch over one eye.

He had short, slightly wavy dark brown hair. The visible eye was gray-blue. He wore a bit of stubble on his jaw—he looked just like a human middle-aged man.

Perhaps due to prolonged solitude and self-isolation, he'd lost sensitivity to external stimuli. Or perhaps in Hueco Mundo, nothing warranted vigilance. Even as they approached, he continued to stare blankly ahead, lost in thought.

Only when Gusion stepped in front of him and cast a shadow did he slowly raise his head. A bit of light returned to his gray-blue eyes.

"Hello, I'm Gusion. Did you kill these Hollows?"

Gusion greeted the unreadable Hollow politely.

"No. They came on their own and died."

The man's voice was calm. It seemed he hadn't spoken to anyone for so long that his speech was a bit stiff.

"Are you alone? What's your name?"

Gusion glanced around but didn't spot Lilynette, which puzzled him.

"Coyote Starrk."

The man tugged the rag tighter over his chest, as if warding off a chill.

"We're looking for companions. Want to come with us?"

Gusion invited. He didn't know if Starrk would accept—on the surface he looked much weaker than Aizen.

Starrk looked at Gusion, then at Nel and Ulquiorra by his side. His eyes held a bit more life.

"What a coincidence. I'm looking for companions too."

Starrk said, "But you look like you'd die easily."

That stung a bit, though it wasn't unexpected. Starrk hadn't said Ulquiorra and Nel looked fragile because, as Hollows, both were a step away from Vasto Lorde—he could easily see their level.

If Gusion didn't go all out, he only looked Adjuchas-level. No wonder Starrk said he looked easy to kill.

As he drew nearer, Gusion felt Starrk's overwhelming reiatsu. It was so strong that even he couldn't fully suppress and conceal it; the faint leakage alone could annihilate ordinary Hollows.

Even Adjuchas would wither and die if exposed long-term.

You could imagine that plenty of Adjuchas had tried to follow Starrk over the years, only to weaken and die after a while near him.

Chapter 321: Captain Sōya Azashiro

"Uncle, my name is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. You can call me Nel. And by the way, Gusion isn't weak."

Nel spoke up, her gaze at Starrk filled with awe.

She hadn't expected such a powerful Hollow to exist in Hueco Mundo. Though he seemed gentle and calm, the naturally leaking reiatsu told her instinctively how strong he was—this was a Vasto Lorde stronger than Hueco Mundo's so-called king!

"Ulquiorra Cifer."

Ulquiorra introduced himself and added, as he saw it, "Mr. Gusion is the strongest among us."

Starrk looked at Gusion in surprise. "I hope you can live a little longer."

He could tell whether people were lying. From their positions and the way Nel and Ulquiorra spoke, he could tell they meant it.

This seemingly frail human might be the strongest of the three, stirring his lonely heart.

To him, it didn't matter whether someone was human, Shinigami, or Hollow. He just couldn't stand the endless solitude. He wanted companions.

If he couldn't find anyone who could endure his reiatsu, he'd even thought of creating a companion himself.

"Welcome to the team, Starrk."

Gusion, ever friendly, called him by name, reached out, and pulled him to his feet.

Starrk let the rag fall, exposing the hollow hole in his chest beneath the wolf-fur. Ulquiorra took a longer look, intrigued.

"Aren't you going to ask what we're planning?"

Gusion observed Starrk. He hadn't split yet. Judging by looks alone, it was hard to tell if he was pre- or post-Arrancar.

Visually, his current appearance resembled his future Resurrección form, suggesting his power was fairly intact.

And since he didn't have anything like a Zanpakutō yet, Gusion guessed he hadn't become an Arrancar.

"I just want to act with companions. I'm fine with anything."

Starrk seemed to have few principles—or perhaps his principle was simply not being alone.

"Looks like you like a crowd, Starrk. We'll have more and more companions."

Gusion smiled. With Starrk on board, they no longer had to fear surprise attacks in Hueco Mundo.

Even if the Soul Singer came again, facing Starrk's bottomless Cero spam would be a headache.

"Are there more strong companions like Nel and Ulquiorra?"

Starrk asked curiously.

"For now, just us. But I'm sure there are other Vasto Lorde or near-Vasto Hollows."

Gusion said, "I want to gather strong companions and rule Hueco Mundo with a new order."

Starrk didn't seem interested in Gusion's goal, nor curious why a Shinigami wanted to rule Hueco Mundo. He simply nodded. "If we can meet more companions, that would be nice."

"Good thing I didn't bring Pesche and Dondochakka…"

Nel whispered. "You're too strong, Starrk. Ordinary Hollows can't be your friends."

She was already thinking of moving them out of their temporary cave. If she spent time with Starrk daily, her friends would die from his reiatsu.

"So being strong brings troubles, too."

Ulquiorra mused. He could tell Starrk longed for companions. He was beginning to understand what comrades meant to the heart, so he sympathized.

To crave companionship yet, by being too strong, end up killing any Hollow who came near—what a cruel irony.

"Mm… for daily life, it's actually manageable. Starrk, your reiatsu is too strong. But I've seen people with even stronger reiatsu. If you can't control it yourself, you can rely on external tools."

Gusion thought aloud.

"External tools?"

Starrk was curious. He knew his solitude was because of his reiatsu. If it could be controlled, he'd welcome that.

He didn't look down on the weak or refuse to befriend them. He was just constrained by his nature and could only associate with the strong.

"I'll ask friends in Soul Society if we can make a device to suppress reiatsu—like an eyepatch accessory—to help control your outward leakage. Then you can interact and act with anyone you want."

Gusion said, recalling Kenpachi Zaraki's eyepatch. If they made one for Starrk, it should curb his uncontrolled ambient reiatsu.

After all, if he wanted to help Aizen set up a base in Hueco Mundo, the staff wouldn't all be Vasto Lorde or Espada-level elites. They'd need ordinary researcher-Hollows and workers.

Although Starrk's area of effect was limited, there could still be logistical issues. Best to prep a little invention in advance.

"That's possible?"

Starrk was pleasantly surprised. If he'd known earlier, he might have stormed Soul Society years ago to steal one.

"Should be. Look forward to it."

Gusion smiled, then turned to lead them away from the mountains of corpses. "Let's go. We still need to recruit more companions."

…

Soul Society, Rukongai, East District 79.

The blazing sun baked the earth. The streets were almost empty; the few passersby panted, drenched in sweat.

In this heat, even the usual brawls had stopped. People just wanted to find shade and never come out.

The air stank of filth and rot, made worse by the heat.

And in such a place, a man whose presence clashed with the setting strolled down the street, drawing the hidden eyes peering from shadowed windows.

Long black hair tied with a crown, twin locks framing his face, the rest flowing over his shoulders behind the crown. Over his black shihakushō, he wore the white haori reserved for captains.

He emanated noble grace and a strong man's composure. What was he seeking in this remote fringe of Rukongai?

Only when he reached the edge of town and stepped into the forest did his gaze shift slightly, toward a man leaning behind a large tree.

"You're the Quincy who slipped into Soul Society, right? You look like you were waiting for me. Why didn't you run?"

As he spoke, the long-haired man walked forward. His haori fluttered, and the "Eleven" on the back revealed his identity—the Captain of the 11th Division.

"I just wanted to see who would chase me—and it turns out to be the one I wanted."

The Soul Singer pressed a hand to the brim of his hat and peered through the shadow between his fingers at the 11th's captain. "Captain Sōya Azashiro, I've been waiting."

"You want something from me? I've nothing to say to a Quincy."

Kenpachi's voice was flat. His zanpakutō slowly slid from its sheath. "The campaign against the Quincy in the living world is about to begin. Cutting you down here makes for a good start."

"Hahaha… Captain, if you truly wanted to kill me, why say so much? You'd strike the moment we met. Since you haven't, you must be at least interested in hearing me out."

The Soul Singer smiled. "I'm here to cooperate with you."

Sōya's hand paused; the half-drawn blade stopped. "What do you know?"

"I know a lot. I'll start with something you care about."

The Soul Singer pointed behind Sōya, toward Rukongai. "I know this is your testing ground."

Sōya's eyes stayed calm, with no visible ripple. "What are you talking about?"

"Captain, don't pretend. You think your experiments are covert? Your plan to transform Rukongai residents into weapons to crusade against Hueco Mundo has already reached Central 46's ears. Even a Quincy like me knows. Your operational security isn't great."

He was bluffing. In truth, Sōya's security was solid—but he needed a plausible source for his intel.

"You tell me this and aren't afraid I'll cut you down now?"

Sōya's tone rose slightly, and a powerful reiatsu burst from him.

"So scary, so scary…"

The Soul Singer smiled without a hint of fear. "I don't care how the top brass view me. I came to you because I recognize your ideals. Think about it: you want to eradicate Hollows. We Quincies want the same."

Rather than retreat from the pressure, he stepped toward Sōya. "And I don't want you to ally with the Quincy—just with me. I'll help you fulfill your vow without hindering Soul Society's campaign in the living world."

He knew Sōya was an extreme thinker, but not disloyal to Seireitei. He simply wanted to annihilate Hueco Mundo. So he'd still participate in the campaign against the Quincy, Soul Society's current enemy.

He'd come to Soul Society to seek Sōya's cooperation because, by his timeline, Sōya was close to being exposed.

Soon, Zero Division and Gotei troops would surround him; he'd surrender and be imprisoned. If the Soul Singer waited until then, it would be too late. Better to cooperate early so both could get what they wanted.

"Interesting. What do you offer, and who do you want me to deal with?"

Sōya said, "I won't do anything that threatens Soul Society."

The Soul Singer gave him a strange look. "Relax. As partners, I won't ask you to violate your principles. I just want you to block someone in an upcoming war. In return, I'll help you destroy Hueco Mundo."

"Who?"

Sōya didn't ask how he'd destroy the Hollows—just which target warranted this risk.

"Aizen Sōsuke, current Lieutenant of the Fifth. He's dangerous. Believe me, he'll threaten Soul Society and the three realms in the future. Acting against him now won't violate your principles."

He laid out his goal.

In the Hueco Mundo battle, he'd seen Aizen, summoned by Gusion, beat a retreat, and he felt stifled.

But he hadn't given up on hunting those two seeds. He believed the Space wouldn't issue impossible missions; that applied to seed-hunting, too.

Others might complain that Gusion hugging Aizen's thigh was cheating and an unwinnable early-game checkmate.

The Soul Singer disagreed. Beyond the hidden transcendent forces that rarely act, even among standard, public forces, there were captains who could check Aizen at this stage.

After all, the plot proper was still 200 years away. Aizen hadn't reached his Shinigami ceiling. Right now, several people could deal with him.

Never mind Zero Division's monk—within the Gotei 13, there were captains who could effectively counter Aizen and cooperate.

The man before him, Sōya Azashiro, was one. He didn't appear in the original manga's main story but did in later special animations: his power was extraordinary.

When sent to the lowest level of Muken, his sentence was longer than Aizen's initial term before Aizen mocked Central 46—19,200 years.

Of course, sentence length doesn't strictly equal strength. Aizen with the Hōgyoku is stronger than Sōya. But right now? That's another story.

Based on his judgment, at this point in time, Sōya might actually be stronger than Aizen.

He'd seen a scene where Aizen told Sōya: "You overestimate me, don't you? From Muken, you still know everything in Seireitei, and you're unaffected by my Kyōka Suigetsu illusion. What could I possibly tell someone like you?"

While Aizen's words weren't always trustworthy, that was high praise. If even Hōgyoku-era Aizen couldn't control Sōya with Kyōka Suigetsu, then the younger Aizen surely couldn't now.

His aim was simple: have Sōya handle Aizen—not necessarily kill him, just keep him from interfering at a critical moment.

"Aizen Sōsuke… interesting. Hiding that deep. I'll keep an eye on him."

Sōya pondered, then asked, "So, how will you help me exterminate all Hollows?"