novelblue
Chapter 157
Chapter 157
Chapter 157
With both of them watching, several figures gradually emerged in the distant sky.
Three Menos.
Two resembled insects, and one resembled a pterosaur.
All three excelled at flying, moving at extremely high speed.
The direction from which they approached happened to be the same direction Kaelith’s Zanpakut? had come from.
In almost an instant, Aizen drew a conclusion.
These Hollows had discovered the Zanpakut? Kaelith had left behind and had been lying in wait there. They hadn’t expected that Kaelith wouldn’t come for it himself, but that the sword would return on its own. In desperation, they had sent these flying Hollows ahead to confirm the situation.
Without a doubt, a larger force would be following behind.
In the worst-case scenario, there might even be a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow.
A few days ago, Kaelith’s power had been on full display. If Baraggan had any intelligence, he wouldn’t rely on just a few Adjuchas to contain him.
With that in mind, Aizen waved his hand and closed the Garganta.
Before long, they returned to the Soul Society.
On the way, he shared his reasoning with Kaelith.
“Hueco Mundo is now more dangerous than ever.”
“Baraggan already knows about us… no, to be precise, he knows about you. The next time you encounter him, he definitely won’t underestimate you.”
Aizen did not hesitate to remove himself from the scenario.
After all, the one who’d revealed himself was Kaelith alone. Aizen had always hidden himself well, so it had nothing to do with him.
“In addition, the Tsunayashiro family also hates you to the core. If they meet you, they’ll never let you off.”
“Oh, and by the way, they hold no grudge against me whatsoever, they don’t even know I exist.”
“Kaelith, be careful if you go to Hueco Mundo again. There may come a day when you won’t return.”
Aizen smirked, as though envisioning a scene worth celebrating.
Kaelith nodded. “No problem, then I just won’t go. I’m not conducting experiments, so I don’t need to capture Hollows.”
Aizen: “…?”
His smile gradually disappeared.
Now he faced a tough choice.
Either give up an excellent labor force and rely on himself for all the work from now on, or bring along a trouble magnet who attracted endless aggro, threatening to provoke everyone into attacking them?
Why, when Kaelith caused trouble all over, did Aizen end up suffering as well?
Suddenly, remembering something, Aizen asked Kaelith:
“Kaelith, earlier, inside the Garganta, when you suddenly looked in the direction those Hollows were coming from, was it because you sensed their spiritual pressure?”
This mattered a lot to him.
If Kaelith truly relied on spiritual pressure detection, it meant his perception far surpassed Aizen’s. Until now, Aizen had great confidence in his own perception. He never expected in actual combat to be outclassed by Kaelith by such a large margin.
Hearing this, Kaelith shook his head.
“At that moment, I didn’t feel any spiritual pressure. It took more than half a second before I sensed it.”
Aizen was puzzled. “Then why did you look that way?”
“Instinct,” Kaelith shrugged. “I felt there was danger over there, so I looked.”
Aizen: “?”
Instinct, my foot.
For a moment, he suspected Kaelith was joking. But seeing Kaelith’s sincerity, Aizen felt conflicted.
By relying on some vague “instinct,” Kaelith detected the approaching enemy before Aizen’s meticulous perception. Just what kind of monster was this guy…
Seeing Aizen silent, Kaelith assumed he was worried about Hueco Mundo’s situation.
Kaelith reached out and patted Aizen’s shoulder:
“Don’t worry, S?suke, this is good news.”
“Senzo Tsunayashiro has gone to Hueco Mundo, so Enra Ky?ten is now ownerless. As soon as he dies, that blade is ours!”
“A mere Tsunayashiro, a mere Baraggan—once you…uh I mean once we grow strong, they’re nothing but paper tigers!”
“When I get Enra Ky?ten and become King of Hueco Mundo, I won’t mistreat you!”
“Hmm, how about I make you the Crown Prince of Hueco Mundo when the time comes?”
Aizen gave him a long, quiet look.
At this moment, he wished he could be more like Kaelith and lose all decorum, so he could at least flip him off.
Having manners was sometimes a debuff.
He sighed and waved a hand:
“Enough, if there’s nothing else, hurry up and leave. Don’t get in the way.”
Kaelith looked around at the dark, eerie laboratory.
He said worriedly, “S?suke, you should go out and get some sun once in a while. Being in this environment every day might worsen your… mental state.”
“Don’t worry, my mind is quite healthy.”
Aizen’s expression was calm.
“People with fragile minds, when stuck with someone like you, end up with two possible outcomes.”
“Either they become hardened, or they go insane.”
“Since I’m not insane, I must be the former.”
Before Kaelith could retort, Aizen continued:
“I’ll be busy for the next few days and might not be in the division.”
“If anything comes up, try to solve it yourself. If you really can’t, go find Kisuke Urahara.”
After issuing these instructions, he kicked Kaelith out.
Closing the door, Aizen lightly placed his hand on Ky?ka Suigetsu’s hilt.
As much as he wanted to focus on his experiments, to dissect Kuchiki K?ga thoroughly a hundred times, right now there was something else he was even more curious about, something he wanted to pursue first.
He wanted to investigate what the Soul King really was.
The history books in the academy were vague. The more detailed ones leaned toward myth and legend.
Compared to the academy, he had a better option now.
The largest database in the Soul Society, managed by the Tsunayashiro family:
The Shin’? Great Spirit Book Gallery.
In the past, the Tsunayashiro family guarded it strictly. Even with Ky?ka Suigetsu, infiltrating it wasn’t easy.
But now things had changed.
The Tsunayashiro family was shaken, too busy dealing with internal affairs to pay proper attention to the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
If he wanted to act, now was the time!
………
……
“Kuchiki K?ga? I don’t know where he went… At that time, I fought with all my might, all four limbs broken, and barely managed to defeat him.”
“Just as I was about to kill him, several Hollows rushed over and carried him off.”
“That Kuchiki K?ga not only betrayed the Kuchiki family, but also cooperated with Hollows, utterly disgracing the Shinigami!”
“Oh right, and he also beat up my dear senior brother into this sorry state!”
“Teacher, dealing with someone like him requires a heavy hand!”
Inside Yamamoto’s study in the First Division barracks.
Yamamoto, Kuchiki Ginrei, Shunsui Ky?raku, and Kaelith sat facing each other.
After listening to Kaelith’s account, Kuchiki Ginrei sighed.
Even now, he found it hard to believe that K?ga would do such a thing.
Shunsui Ky?raku, sitting to the side, was still covered in bandages.
At the moment, he wore a gloomy expression.
Although he had been influenced by Muramasa and acted against his will, the fact that Katen had turned on him was truly heartbreaking.
Compared to their regret and sorrow, what Yamamoto focused on was entirely different.
He looked at Kaelith, his eyes bright.
“Kid, you beat Kuchiki K?ga?”