Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Discarding the highly complex elemental attributes and shape transformations of advanced Kidō, retaining only its ability to recompress Reiatsu outside the body, along with simple attack methods like explosions. This was exactly what Kōe had done to seize the initiative during his duel with Zaraki.

Sound familiar? That’s right—this borrowed a portion of the theory behind Shunkō, developed by Yoruichi. Whether as her best friend, someone who had personally participated in Shunkō’s development, or simply as a transmigrator, Kōe was intimately familiar with its mechanics.

Of course, calling this method a flexible application of Kidō wasn’t wrong either. In fact, the way Kōe saw it now, Shunkō was essentially the complete sacrifice of Kidō’s versatile functionality in exchange for guaranteeing sufficient destructive power and an extremely fast casting speed.

And power and speed were precisely what the majority of the Onmitsukidō members lacked. He believed that this simplified, close-range, instantly cast Kidō would open up some new avenues of thought for Suì-Fēng, allowing her to begin her own development of Shunkō.

Admittedly, Yoruichi had originally been inspired by observing her own combat style during the Sternritter Fortress campaign, which sparked the idea of using Kidō to compensate for the shortcomings of Hakuda.

But one had to remember, this was Shihōin Yoruichi. She might seem unreliable, even acting like a comedian at times, but anyone who ignored her sheer talent was hopelessly naive.

Furthermore, having been saddled with a Zanpakutō that possessed such flashy visual effects, Yoruichi had spent no small amount of effort trying to fulfill her dream of being an assassin. That level of sheer willpower wasn’t something a natural-born assassin—or rather, a half-natural-born assassin—like Suì-Fēng could compare to.

Therefore, whether or not this endeavor would ultimately succeed was something Kōe—who had already left Squad 2 and was heading toward the Shin’ō Academy—couldn’t say for sure. It wasn’t like he was a true prophet.

If everything followed its original, normal trajectory, Suì-Fēng developing Shunkō would happen within the next few years anyway. Whether he intervened or not wasn’t actually critical.

However, Kōe’s very existence had already caused some changes to history. While it couldn’t be called earth-shattering, he had still made some waves.

Not to mention, his actions were never meant to let everything proceed step-by-step according to the original plot. With the destined Thousand-Year Blood War looming, making early preparations was undoubtedly a good thing.

This didn’t just apply to himself, but to the other people in the Seireitei as well. The stronger their future combat power was, the more confidence Kōe would have when facing the Quincy. Take Suì-Fēng, for example; the sooner she came up with the idea to develop Shunkō, the fewer detours she would take.

Unfortunately, due to the inherent issues within the Seireitei, Kōe couldn’t just bring these matters out into the open. In fact, he wouldn’t be able to do so for a very long time.

Whenever he thought about this, Kōe couldn’t help but feel a twinge of dissatisfaction. *’If I had just been given a Zanpakutō similar to Kyōka Suigetsu, would I be this mentally exhausted?!’*

He had indeed been given a cheat, but after truly becoming a cheat-level existence, he had started to complain that his cheat wasn’t as good as others’. The greed and competitive nature of humanity truly knew no bounds!

Kōe shook his head, freeing himself from his meaningless complaints. Suì-Fēng was only a small part of his plan; she wasn’t the only person he was counting on to grow.

There was Zaraki Kenpachi, for instance, as well as a certain white-haired brat who had yet to appear. The latter, especially—as long as that kid walked through the gates of the Shin’ō Academy, wouldn’t how he was trained be entirely up to Kōe’s whims? A genius as traditional as they came surely wouldn’t fail to get into Class 1, right?

But overall, these were just some of the hidden cards Kōe was preparing, not his trump cards. The key to ultimate victory did not lie in the present, nor did it lie right at his feet.

”Good morning, Mr. Shihouin.”

A familiar voice rang out from the entrance of the Shin’ō Academy. This was already the fifth time this month that Kōe had met the owner of that voice. Waving back at the man, Kōe quickened his pace to greet him.

”Good morning, Captain Aizen.”

”What time is it right now, Gin?”

Ichimaru Gin subconsciously looked up. A crescent moon hung high in the sky. Was it nightfall? No, this wretched place always looked like this. At the very least, in the time he had been here, he hadn’t noticed any changes in the sky.

”I’m not entirely sure, Captain Aizen,” Gin replied helplessly. Beside him, a dark-skinned man with a stern expression added in a deep voice, ”If we were in the Soul Society, it should be around nine in the morning.”

”Tōsen’s internal clock is as clear as ever,” Gin teased with a smile. Tōsen Kaname offered no response, his expression not shifting in the slightest. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Squad 9 Captain Tōsen Kaname—a blind man entirely devoted to upholding justice. Or perhaps, upholding his own self-righteous version of justice would be a more accurate description.

If not for that ”self-righteous” aspect, Tōsen would undoubtedly be the most loyal ally to the Seireitei and Central 46. But as things stood...

Gin looked at the back of the man standing a short distance ahead of them. It was precisely because they all harbored various pasts they could not let go of that they chose to follow Aizen. It was why they had come to Hueco Mundo—the homeland of the very creatures that had, to some extent, brought them misfortune.

Perhaps only someone like Aizen, whose eyes were fixed solely on the future, could treat all things with such absolute equality. Shinigami, humans, Hollows, or any other existence that could serve as a stepping stone—he could utilize them all without investing a shred of emotion. In a way, that too was a form of equality.

Did that list of stepping stones include the names Tōsen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin? Without a doubt, it did. Gin didn’t believe for a second that a man like Aizen had any external attachments he couldn’t discard.

He just wondered if Tōsen actually understood that reality. Gin stole a glance at Tōsen. He might understand, or he might not. But Gin figured that deep down, Tōsen probably preferred not to understand it.

*’I only wish to walk the path with the least bloodshed.’* That was something Tōsen had once said. Thinking about it, didn’t that imply that in Tōsen’s mind, sacrifices were already a foregone conclusion? A justice fueled by hatred was truly, terrifyingly stubborn.

But Gin knew he had no right to criticize Tōsen. After all, in his own heart, minimizing sacrifices was something he had never even considered.

In any case, Aizen hadn’t issued any new orders yet. Rather than dying of boredom, he might as well let his thoughts wander. Still, he had to admit, staring at the scenery of Hueco Mundo for too long really made a person sleepy. Gin couldn’t help but yawn. He still felt the scenery of the Soul Society was much easier on the eyes.

Aizen, however, seemed quite satisfied with the place. Gin rubbed his eyes. The man had been standing there, looking down at the landscape, for at least half an hour now, hadn’t he?

The scenery? Aizen admitted that Hueco Mundo possessed a unique charm—monotonous yet mysterious. But he hadn’t slipped away from the Soul Society just to admire the view.

”We finally managed to get these ignorant pieces of trash under control, boss!”

”Let’s send them to Las Noches right away. If we keep Lord Szayelaporro waiting too long, we’ll be the ones in trouble.”

*’Las Noches? Is that an organization established by the Menos? It seems it has already begun to take shape and holds a certain degree of influence. Szayelaporro? Is he the leader of Las Noches, or perhaps...?’*

Aizen smiled. Calculating the time, classes at the Shin’ō Academy should be starting soon. He needed to get moving as well.

”Let us go and take a look at this Las Noches.”