Restricted Death

Chapter 204 Arrogance
"It seems that Captain Aizen underestimated your abilities."

Gin Ichimaru said quietly that these people had obtained information about them without their knowledge, and that their ability was beyond his expectations.

Moreover, so much time has passed since those events, and these people had long since faded from his sight.

Kisuke Urahara then began asking some important questions: "How many Vastodes do you have in total?"

Gin Ichimaru pretended to be deep in thought and said, "There should be no fewer than five."

This somewhat perfunctory answer immediately made Hirako Shinji's gaze grow even colder. Ichimaru Gin seemed to be frightened by him, shrinking back but still smiling as he said, "Hey, Captain Hirako, don't look at me like that. What if you scare me so much I wet myself?"

Kisuke Urahara seemed to be deep in thought, gently waving his paper fan in front of him, and said, "Please explain their identities and strengths in detail."

His words were polite enough, but Gin Ichimaru chuckled a few times, sounding somewhat puzzled.

"Captain Urahara, have you ever seen a Hollow of Vasto Lorde's level?"

Kisuke Urahara was taken aback by the strange question. To be honest, he had never seen one before. Not to mention Vastodes, even Adjuchas-class and Gillian-class Hollows were extremely rare to see.

These Hollows stay in Hueco Mundo year-round and rarely appear in Soul Society or the human world on their own initiative. The Hollows that cause trouble in Rukongai on a daily basis are mostly lower-ranking Hollows. Kisuke Urahara has lived for so long and served as the captain of the 12th Division, but he has only seen Adjuchas-class Hollows a very few times in total.

"Why do you ask that?" he asked calmly, his expression composed.

“How arrogant, Captain Urahara.” Gin Ichimaru’s signature foxy smile seemed to deepen. “I heard you use the word ‘they’ to describe them, but those who have actually seen Vastod should use ‘they’. Although you are wary of Vastod’s power, deep down you probably just regard ‘they’ as the same as ordinary Hollows.”

These words caused everyone present to frown.

Gin Ichimaru continued, "Even Captain Aizen, though equally arrogant, never considered himself superior to Hollows in terms of the level of existence. This shows a deeper and clearer understanding of the difference between Shinigami and Hollows. Captain Urahara, however, you still regard them as beings inferior to yourself. How is this condescending thinking any different from that of the Central 46 who sentenced your friends to death?"

"You bastard!" Kensei Muguruma roared angrily from not far away, strode towards him, grabbed Gin Ichimaru by the collar, and slammed his fist into Gin's face.

They became like this because of Aizen and Gin Ichimaru!
A red mark instantly appeared on Gin Ichimaru's face, but his smile remained unchanged. Kensei Muguruma's anger did not intimidate him: "Hueco Mundo is actually a very barbaric yet pure place. The rules there are very simple: the weak obey the strong. Even the highly intelligent high-ranking Hollows follow this ironclad rule. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it's a paradise. At least there won't be the filth between people in Soul Society. The strong prey on the weak, and only the fittest survive. Compared to us, they are just more primitive. Those who regard them as inferior beings are nothing but ignorant and arrogant fools."

Kensei Muguruma grabbed him by the collar and roared, "Are you saying that Hollows are a good thing?"

Gin Ichimaru countered by asking him, "Captain Rokkaku, aren't you a kind of Void now?"

Hearing this, Kensei Muguruma was stunned for a moment, and then a greater rage rose in his heart. The murderous intent and hatred in his eyes seemed to want to devour Gin Ichimaru alive.

At this moment, Rojuro Fengqiao stepped forward and grabbed his arm, stopping him from his potential impulse to kill.

After being released, Gin Ichimaru regained his footing and said, "When Hollows were first created, they acted only to satisfy their 'appetite,' just like humans search for food to survive. What's wrong with what Hollows do? They only think about treating other creatures as food, without any awareness of being eaten themselves. Isn't that too willful?"

Kisuke Urahara stood there stunned for a moment, then, with a flicker in his eyes, he put away his paper fan.

"You seem to have great respect for Aizen?"

Gin Ichimaru said with a smile, "After all, I am his 'lackey.' As his follower, how can I not revere him?"

“You’re right.” He sighed softly. “My understanding does indeed carry a kind of ignorant arrogance.”

“But Aizen,” he paused, “I can guess what his purpose was in causing that upheaval more than forty years ago. It was to evolve to a higher level, right? Doesn’t that behavior also carry a kind of top-down condescension towards the outside world?”

Gin Ichimaru opened his narrowed eyes slightly and silently grinned.

"Ah, as expected of Captain Urahara."

Kisuke Urahara looked at him and said calmly, "You actually share the same understanding of Aizen, don't you?"

Gin Ichimaru reverted to his signature foxy smile: "Captain Urahara, don't try to sow discord between me and Captain Aizen."

Shinji Hirako observed coldly, and after Kisuke Urahara stopped asking questions, he continued, "Can you continue answering your previous question?"

Gin Ichimaru sighed, "It's a pity. All I can tell you are the names and appearances of these Vastodes. As for their strength, since I've never seen them use their full power, I don't have a clear understanding of it."

"What do you mean?" Hirako Shinji frowned.

"When Captain Aizen went to Hueco Mundo, he easily suppressed everyone. Those Vasto Lordes didn't even have a chance to use their full strength. They were in awe of Captain Aizen and naturally came under his command."

As he spoke, he glanced at everyone present and continued, "However, I have some guesses about their strength. Some of them may be stronger than everyone here."

These words made everyone's hearts tighten.

Shinji Hirako and Kisuke Urahara looked at each other and fell silent.

They never had a clear idea of ​​how strong Aizen truly was.

More than forty years ago, they only had a brief encounter with each other once, but that battle was enough to confirm that Aizen had already reached the level of a captain or higher.

However, there is still a significant gap between the captains, and they have never been able to verify the upper limit of Aizen's strength.

Therefore, when Kisuke Urahara first learned from the letter that Aizen had taken control of Hueco Mundo, he was extremely shocked and incredulous.

How powerful would someone have to be to control Hueco Mundo through force?

It's probably only someone as strong as Captain-Commander Yamamoto!
However, Urahara Kisuke quickly rejected this idea in his heart. Captain-Commander Yamamoto was a unique existence in Soul Society, or even in the entire Three Realms. No one could compare to him.

Aizen's control over Hueco Mundo was not solely based on force.

Broken jade.

More than forty years ago, Aizen used the Hogyoku to turn Shinji Hirako and the others into Hollows. What if such power were used on Hollows?

Kisuke Urahara had always thought so; in his view, it made more sense.

However, Gin Ichimaru's sudden statement that Aizen controlled Hueco Mundo purely through force inevitably shocked him once again.

#
Tessai Wakashi remained outside the barrier, monitoring every movement in the outside world. He and Hachigen Ushōda had made thorough preparations for today's operation. If anything went wrong, he would immediately activate the barrier around them to relocate the copy space containing Kisuke Urahara and Shinji Hirako to another location. It's always good to be cautious; no one can be completely trusted.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he looked in one direction and then instantly moved away from where he stood.

Shin stood in front of Urahara Store, wearing a Gikai. His spiritual pressure fluctuations were not obvious. However, Tessai was able to detect his presence because Kisuke Urahara had set up a special spiritual particle sensing device in the store. Once a spirit with a certain intensity approached, the device would emit a special frequency wave.

"You came."

Upon hearing Tetsuzai's voice, Shin turned around and saw that he was the only one there. He then said, "It seems that you have already succeeded."

Tessai nodded slightly: "Ichimaru Gin has been captured. He didn't even put up a fight and surrendered without resistance."

Xin smiled calmly: "It seems you're being sensible. By not immediately launching a fatal attack, you've already conveyed to the other side that you want to talk."

After pondering for a moment, Wo Ling Tiezhai asked, "Is it really possible to turn him to the other side?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Lead the way."

Meanwhile, Tessai Wakashi took out the black cloak that could conceal spiritual pressure.

This time, however, Xin didn't accept the letter as he had last time. Instead, he said, "We've already come this far, and you still trust me so little? I've already said that as long as I don't want to, no one can find out where I am."

"..."

Wo Ling Tiezhai remained silent for a while, his gaze fixed on Xin, before he quietly put his cloak away.

"follow me."

Led by Tetsuzai Woriya, Shin and Tetsuzai arrived at an open area. Tetsuzai Woriya used his demonic arts to open a barrier. Unlike the location of their last meeting, this time a special space was revealed.

At this moment, everyone's gaze, as if drawn by invisible threads, turned in unison in the same direction.

Gin Ichimaru, sitting cross-legged on the ground, was moved by this sight.

Is it the mastermind behind this?

Before this, he had been speculating and pondering. Logically speaking, this person must be quite powerful to be able to connect with Urahara Kisuke and Hirako Shinji, and to offer advice and assistance.

They must hold a respectable position in the Soul Society.

You might know them.

Who could it be...?

He suppressed the urge to turn around and look immediately, maintaining his outward composure. As he pondered, the footsteps of two people approached from afar. One of them was very heavy, which should be the Great Ghost Daoist, Wo Ling Tie Zhai.

The other person was very soft, so soft that it was almost inaudible.

Kisuke Urahara opened his paper fan and said with a smile, "We thought you weren't coming back."

A clear, calm voice, even with a hint of gentle laughter, pierced through the stagnant air: "If I hadn't come, you wouldn't have been able to persuade him."

Upon hearing this voice, Gin Ichimaru was deeply shaken, as if something had exploded in his mind.

He couldn't resist any longer and quickly turned his head to look, meeting a familiar face with a faint smile.

"What a coincidence, Vice Captain Ichimaru."

Gin Ichimaru stared intently at Shin, who happened to be looking at him as well. He swallowed hard, stared at Shin for a long while, and then regained his composure.

“It is indeed a coincidence, Captain Tachikawa. I never expected that you would be standing with these people.”

His voice was calm enough, yet carried a strange hint of flippancy: "I think Captain Aizen would never have imagined this."

“Aizen would never have imagined this.” Shin chuckled and approached him.

"Aizen doesn't care at all, just as he doesn't care whether you are truly loyal to him. And often, what makes a person suffer the most is these things that they don't care about."

Gin Ichimaru's fox-like smile looked somewhat stiff, making him appear even more dangerous and sinister.

"I think I'm just starting to understand... Captain Tachikawa and the others went to great lengths to prepare this meeting in order to turn me against Captain Aizen, right?"

He suddenly remembered that during the most recent campus cultural festival at the Shinigami Academy, he had met Shin Tachikawa. At that time, Shin strangely took the initiative to explain the true abilities of his Zanpakuto to him.

He had never understood this before. If he could hide the Zanpakuto's abilities before, why would he specifically tell him, someone with whom he had a very ordinary relationship and almost no interaction?
Gin Ichimaru felt that Shin Tachikawa was too strange and he couldn't figure him out.

Shin shook his head slightly: "You can't say that. You've never been loyal to Aizen, so how can it be considered a defection? We just want to bring you into our camp."

Gin Ichimaru's gaze swept over everyone present. Including Shin Tachikawa, there were already seven captain-level combatants. Moreover, more than forty years had passed, and the strength of those vice-captains must have improved as well. With the power of Hollows, they might even reach the captain level.

Such a concentrated force is absolutely terrifying for the Soul Society.

But would it be a threat to Aizen?

His expression remained unchanged as he fixed his gaze back on the letter.

"I don't quite understand Captain Tachikawa's reasons for doing this."

Xin chuckled upon hearing this: "What's so hard to understand? Don't you know best what you've done to me?"

"...So you knew all along. No wonder Captain Aizen kept trying to test you. His concern was justified."

(End of this chapter)