The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

"When I accepted the mission, I didn't expect that Lord Night Fate's partner would be a Hollow, and there were two other Hollow companions as well. With your strength, how could I possibly protect you? I can only relay my superior's words to you. I really have no ill intentions towards you."

...Are these Grim Reapers crazy?

A question mark slowly appeared above Gu Shi's head. It was one thing to misunderstand that he was cooperating with that madman Saito Yoru, but judging from Tendo Ibuki calling Saito Yoru's subordinates traitors, the Soul Society did indeed harbor malice towards Hollows who "attempted to collude with Shinigami".

But why was the second order that Tendo Ibuki received to protect the target of their malice?

Is not this contradictory?

Or is it that Ibuki Tendo is lying, and that his actual order was to kill Hollows who colluded with Shinigami, but he found that the Hollows were stronger than expected and that he couldn't defeat them, so he fabricated a mission that didn't exist in order to save his life?

Gu Shi made no attempt to hide the suspicion in his eyes, and Ibuki, startled, quickly offered a vague explanation.

"Ahem, there is competition even among nobles."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shi suddenly realized what was going on.

Indeed, although the nobles of Soul Society are all called "nobles," they are not a monolithic entity, and the competition between them can be described as bloody.

Even the Shiba family, which was originally one of the four noble families and should have been one of the most prestigious families in Soul Society, was forced by other noble families to relocate their clan territory to Rukongai, where "outcasts" lived. In the end, apart from two young descendants who did not become Shinigami, no one else in the entire family survived.

It is conceivable that the competition among nobles below the four great noble families must be even more brutal. As a superior noble family, the Saito family, to which Saito Yoru no Mikoto belonged, must have had many people who coveted the resources and status they occupied and tried to overthrow them.

Now that the Saito family heir has made contact with Utsuro, they must be colluding, whether they were or not.

The Hollow that could prove the Saito family heir guilty and could take a huge chunk out of the Saito family, as "evidence," naturally had to be well protected. If the opponent was weak, they would be arrested and "protectively imprisoned," and if the opponent was strong, they would be reminded to protect themselves.

In short, we cannot allow the Saito family and the interest groups led by the Saito family to eliminate us prematurely.

The stealth movement is a weapon in the hands of nobles, but this weapon has more than one owner, and there are conflicts between them. Therefore, the order that Ibuki received actually came from a noble who was hostile to the Saito family.

Is the so-called "malice of Soul Society" actually from the noble group led by the Saito family? What reminds me is the noble group that is opposed to the Saito family?

……

I'm already in the virtual world, why would I want to drag in the power struggles of you damn nobles?

Where's Lan Da?! Lan Da, hurry up and grow up so you can sweep all this stinking shit into the dustbin of history!!

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Chapter Sixty-Six: Helping Out

Having figured out the intricacies of the situation, Gu Shi's gaze towards Ibuki suddenly turned somewhat unfriendly.

Although Gu Shi himself had no experience in power struggles, as someone who grew up in a country where dragon-slaying techniques were included in textbooks, the movies and novels he had watched since childhood were enough for him to guess a lot of things.

[If I hadn't evolved into a Hollow and still possessed the same easily manipulated strength as before, I'd probably already been captured by this Shinigami and "protectively imprisoned" as a bargaining chip. I'd only be waiting for the Saito family to hand over enough benefits before being sent to them by his old man as part of a deal, or perhaps as a gift to show "sincerity."]

Indeed, in such a world, no matter what ideals or goals one has, strength is the most important foundation. Without sufficient strength, everything is nothing.

Even Tianpeng, wasn't he only started talking to us about goals and ideals after being beaten down by Erlang and me?

[Forget it, I already knew that, there's no need to dwell on it again. The important thing now is to kill these Grim Reapers, isn't it?]

Gu Shi's bloodshot eyes swept over the four Grim Reapers one by one, a hint of hesitation in his heart. He had just set a goal for himself a few days ago to make as many friends as possible. So, was there any possibility of these Grim Reapers becoming his friends?

It should be... unlikely, right?

The Shinigami were taught from their student days that "Hollows are evil creatures that devour souls, and killing Hollows is a righteous act." And indeed, most Hollows are filled with various negative emotions, just as the Shinigami's textbooks say, and enjoy killing and destruction.

Therefore, without the immense pressure of the later-stage Wandenreich, the idea of ​​making Shinigami and Hollows coexist peacefully is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Furthermore, if we really delve into it, those who allied with the Shinigami during the Wandenreich era weren't exactly Hollows, but rather Arrancar.

There are huge differences between Hollows and Arrancars. Not only are Arrancars more powerful and have human appearances, making them seem like “kindred spirits” that Shinigami can communicate with, but most importantly, Arrancars no longer eat people.

In terms of the spiritual power level of the Arrancar, the souls of ordinary people are far too "bland" to even bother eating. For them, the best targets for consumption are other Hollows or Shinigami who have accumulated a large amount of spiritual power.

The fact that they no longer eat people is the key reason why the Grim Reaper can team up with the Arrancar.

Although Gu Shi never eats people, it might be easier for these Death Gods to believe that a Hollow doesn't eat people than to convince them that the Soul King has been destroyed.

Since we can't be friends, should we kill them?

A murderous intent quietly grew in Gu Shi's eyes.

What benefits would killing them bring me? First, the information about my becoming a Great Hollow, and having Jiro and Tianpeng as companions, would not be leaked, thus increasing my safety to some extent.

Secondly...

It seems there's no other benefit; this is the only advantage of killing them.

Gu Shi rolled his eyes and saw that the two Death Gods behind him had finished searching the corpses of the Sparrow People and seemed to be planning to make a sneaky escape. After giving Erlang a wink, the killing intent in his eyes eased slightly, and he continued to think.

"Then, what benefit would I gain if I didn't kill them?"

First of all, I'll definitely be in a better mood if I don't have to kill anyone.

Secondly, if Ibuki brings back the news that I'm still alive, and the nobles who oppose the Saito family confirm that the "evidence" still exists, they'll definitely be even more ruthless when they attack the Saito family, perhaps...

Glancing at the two Shinigami who had been caught by Jiro and thrown to the ground, Gu Shi ignored them and looked seriously at Ibuki, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat, and asked with deep malice.

"Tendo Ibuki, right? Tell me, if I provide testimony that Saito Yoru-no-Mikoto murdered other Shinigami, killed ordinary people in his own territory, and used their souls to cultivate Hollows, how much damage could your superiors inflict on the Saito family? How much of a blow would it have on Saito Yoru-no-Mikoto?"

Gu Shi's question clearly surprised Ibuki. He was stunned for a moment before realizing that the relationship between this Great Hollow and Saito Yoru no Mikoto didn't seem to be a friendly collaboration. However, since the people above had already confirmed that the two sides were "cooperating," he didn't dare to say anything more. He could only frown and think seriously for a moment before giving an answer with some uncertainty.

"For nobles, killing other Shinigami is not a big deal. In Soul Society, young Shinigami often lose their lives because they offend nobles and are secretly assigned dangerous missions."

"However, if it is someone who directly killed other Shinigami and the person who provided the testimony was a Hollow, there is a good chance that it could be used as an important reason to attack the Saito family."

As he spoke, Ibuki carefully observed Gu Shi's reaction. However, since the mask concealed his expression and Gu Shi's eyes did not change, he could not discern anything and could only continue explaining based on his guess.

"Lady Yoru is the only heir of the Saito family. Other nobles are very likely to forcibly convict Lady Yoru and send her to the underground prison for a period of time. According to the past practice of noble struggles, the sentence should be between two hundred and five hundred years."

"During this period, whenever negotiations with the Saito family were necessary, the nobles could use the reduction of Lord Yoru's sentence as a bargaining chip to obtain concessions from the Saito family."

"If the old head of the Saito family gives birth to and designates a new heir before Lord Yami's sentence ends, the other nobles will stop their encroachment on the Saito family and release Lord Yami, who is no longer of any value."

"If the Saito family does not produce a new heir for a long time, the nobles will find other reasons to further increase Lord Yami's sentence and continue to use it as a bargaining chip with the Saito family."

"In short, the situation you described will definitely be a significant blow to the Saito family, but how much of a blow it will be to Lord Yami depends on whether the head of the Saito family can survive."

After speaking, Ibuki waited nervously for Gu Shi's reaction. He wasn't sure if he had guessed correctly. If this Killian was not actually hostile to Saito Yoru, but had truly established a friendly cooperative relationship with Saito Yoru, he would probably be beaten to death on the spot for saying those words.

But if he's right, Saito Yami and this Killian don't have a good relationship, then...

"So, even if the Grim Reaper isn't a noble, he doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people at all?"

Gu Shi's sigh made Ibuki frown in confusion, but before he could think about what was going on, Gu Shi skipped over the topic.

“Very good! Whoever it is, as long as they can strike a blow against that madman Saito Yoru, I don’t mind throwing some stones from the sidelines!”

"Tendo Ibuki, listen carefully to what I'm about to say. If you have any devices that can record sound, you'd better take them out and record them. I will describe in detail how Saito Yoru killed Oniki Ryo!"

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Chapter Sixty-Seven My Friend

"...That concludes the entire process of Saito Yoru's murder of Oniki Ryo."

Gu Shi patiently recounted the entire process of how the bearded Grim Reaper was killed.

Of course, in the narration, Gu Shi concealed his own existence, only saying that he had reached a tacit understanding with Saito Yoru by chance and traveled with him for a period of time, and witnessed this process.

As for why Saito Yoru was targeting him because of his special qualities, Gu Shi didn't say a word about it, lest other nobles be like Saito Yoru and become obsessed with him.

Ibuki nodded solemnly before putting away the jet-black butterfly that had been resting on her fingertip.

As an important communication tool for Shinigami, the Hell Butterfly has the function of storing language. After leaving Hueco Mundo, as long as the Hell Butterfly is released, the things that Gu Shi had said will be quickly transmitted to Soul Society. The information stored in the Hell Butterfly can also prove that these words were indeed spoken by a Hollow.

Having finished collecting the testimonies, Ibuki paused briefly before resuming her harmless smile.

"Haha, thank you for your help. Well then, we'll take our leave now?"

As she spoke, Ibuki straightened up as if to leave, but her eyes were fixed on Gu Shi, and she didn't dare to actually turn around and leave immediately.

"Don't leave in a hurry."

Gu Shi, of course, would not let them leave so easily. He raised his paw, pointed at one of the Grim Reapers, and spoke slowly and authoritatively.

"You took the bottle from the corpse's hand, didn't you? Please hand it over to me."

The Grim Reaper, who had been targeted and was being stared at by the three Hollows, suddenly shuddered and immediately pulled out the spiritual energy tracking device from his pocket. He respectfully bowed and placed it on the ground, then slowly took a few steps back.

This Shinigami followed Yuto into Hueco Mundo out of loyalty. At that time, he was surrounded by Hollows and was a warrior who could still fight despite being seriously injured. With a heart full of gratitude and for the sake of justice, he dared to draw his sword and charge forward even though he knew he would face a battle that would surely end in death.

But Ibuki proved with facts that his so-called gratitude was just foolishness, and that it was Yuto himself who almost killed him. The upper echelons of Soul Society knew that Yuto had problems, but they still did not hesitate to use their lives to test Yuto, without considering their own lives at all.

It seems that as long as they collect evidence of Yu-jin's crimes, these Grim Reapers don't care if they all die.

The harsh reality left this Grim Reaper bewildered. He didn't know what he had been fighting for over the past century. Had he really charged into battle time and time again with the belief that he was going to die, just for the "protection" that his superiors spoke of?

Or is it for the ugly struggles of the nobles?

Those colleagues who sacrificed their lives in my memory, did their sacrifices really have meaning?

He couldn't understand it, he couldn't comprehend it. His former beliefs and convictions had long since crumbled, and now all he wanted was to live, to live only for himself.

Is bowing to the void a betrayal of the dignity of death?

But who betrayed us first?

We, the pawns discarded at will by the nobles, probably never had the luxury of dignity from the very beginning.

If nobles can cooperate with the powerful for their own benefit, why should we fight to the death with them?

What difference is there between groveling before nobles and groveling before the Great Void?

Live!

As long as I can survive, it doesn't matter who I have to bow down to!

The Grim Reaper who lost his faith was no longer a warrior; he became an ordinary person who cherished his life. He didn't even dare to touch the Zanpakuto at his waist, as if it were not a "comrade-in-arms" he had fought alongside for a hundred years and entrusted with his complete trust, but a poisonous insect that could take his life.

With his hands pressed tightly against his thighs, the ordinary man, resembling the Grim Reaper, bowed his head respectfully as if meeting a superior or nobleman, awaiting Gu Shi's next instructions.

Although Gu Shi was somewhat surprised by the Grim Reaper's obedience, he didn't think too much about it. He picked up the small bottle, brought it close to his eyes to examine it, and smiled at Ibuki.

"This thing must be some kind of tracking device, right? You found me using it? As a friend, you shouldn't mind telling me how to use it."

As soon as Gu Shi asked the question, before Ibuki could even consider it, another Shinigami who had also lost faith immediately rushed to answer it. It seemed that only by being so proactive could he highlight his harmlessness and save his life.

This Grim Reaper had once worked as the vice-captain's assistant for a period of time. Organizing documents and explaining situations were his strengths. He quickly explained the use of the tracking device in concise and clear language. After finishing, he didn't forget to give Gu Shi a flattering smile, looking as harmless as could be.