"What... are you talking about?"
Naraku Sora crossed his arms, looking utterly bewildered.
"Why the sudden talk about seizing Hell's authority?"
Aizen: "?"
"Didn't you develop the Impure World Reincarnation technique specifically for that fertile ground known as Hell?"
"Third-class Reishi cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation, which means those deceased captain-level powerhouses must fall into Hell."
"And since the founding of the Soul Society, a million years have passed. Even if only a tiny fraction of them can still exist, it's an incredibly substantial number."
"As long as we can seize Hell's authority, we will gain a power that rivals the Soul Society itself."
"Of course, that is the best-case scenario."
"As it stands, we still know far too little about Hell. The specific plans will have to wait until we have new research results."
Naraku Sora listened, dumbfounded.
While he was still feeling smug about his own unorthodoxy, Aizen was already calculating how to pack up and take the entirety of Hell.
"Sōsuke, I suspect you might be a little too extreme."
Aizen ignored him, simply starting up the equipment and bringing out a certain former Captain of Squad Three, Yanbara Hideyuki, whom he had fished out of the Shino Underground Prison.
He casually released the seal.
Although this man had served as a Captain, he possessed absolutely none of the responsibility a Soul Reaper Captain should have.
Initially, Aizen thought he had been persecuted by the nobles or framed, which was why he was locked up on the eighth level of the Shino Prison.
Later, after investigating, he discovered that Yanbara Hideyuki had secretly engaged in human trafficking, using extreme methods to elevate the Yanbara family from a lower noble house to an upper noble house in one fell swoop.
His crimes were too numerous to record.
Being locked in Muken was completely justified; he wasn't wronged in the slightest.
If it weren't for the fact that when a Soul Reaper cultivated to third-class Spiritual Power or higher, the Reishi composing their body could no longer enter the world's cycle—thus affecting the balance between the three realms—an execution order would have been issued the moment he was arrested.
Fortunately, he now had a better destination.
Sensing the Bakudō seals binding his body being released, Yanbara Hideyuki was just about to beg for mercy when he was suddenly locked down by an utterly terrifying Reiatsu.
The heavy coercion crashed down like an overturning ocean. His sturdy bones let out groans of being overwhelmed, and his flesh caved in. He couldn't resist at all.
He could only watch helplessly as this evil brat named Aizen pressed a faintly glowing gem against his forehead.
Making the best use of everything.
Before dying, he would exert his final bit of residual value.
The moment the Hōgyoku touched his skin, Yanbara Hideyuki instantly felt an indescribably terrifying power surge into his body from his forehead.
An unprecedented feeling of strength continuously erupted.
It was as if it was going to catalyze him into the most powerful Soul Reaper in the world.
This feeling was incredibly wonderful, making one unable to help but immerse themselves in it, unable to extricate themselves.
But very quickly, his own tolerance reached its limit, and the initial enjoyment turned into agonizing torture.
Yanbara Hideyuki opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to let out a wail to vent this unbearable pain, but no sound came out.
Viscous, white chitinous liquid gushed from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, the gurgling sound incredibly eerie.
Under the effect of his Reiatsu, the liquid rapidly solidified, gradually forming a hard layer of bone.
From top to bottom, it encased his entire face and half of his torso.
This time, Yanbara Hideyuki could finally make a sound.
But it had already deviated from that of a human, forming a beastly roar mixed with multiple overlapping echoes.
His vibrating figure, mixed with his rioting Reiatsu, spread out in all directions, turning into visible sound waves that viciously crashed against the Kidō barrier prepared in advance.
Aizen calmly observed the scene unfolding before him, recording every change in Yanbara Hideyuki's body while continuously analyzing the level of his Reiatsu.
A massive amount of data flowed smoothly from his pen without the slightest hesitation.
As Yanbara Hideyuki gradually approached second-class Spiritual Power, Aizen's mood clearly became much more cheerful.
Although the success rate of the Hollowfication experiments was still not very high, relying on the results of multiple trials, he could already attempt to optimize some details.
If the Hōgyoku could be completely perfected, the success rate would surely reach a satisfactory number.
That's right, the Hōgyoku was a semi-finished product.
After a period of research, Aizen finally realized this.
Because there was no prior experience to draw from, he discovered it a bit late.
Fortunately, the impact wasn't significant.
As long as he used the parameters obtained from the research, he could improve the Hōgyoku.
Moreover, a certain someone had also suggested letting Urahara Kisuke participate in the Hōgyoku's research.
Aizen didn't care much about this at first, but during their subsequent collaborations, he suddenly discovered that Urahara Kisuke's talent in this field was not inferior to his own in the slightest.
And even under the premise of having an insufficient understanding of the power, he still proposed several highly valuable suggestions for improvement.
It could only be said that tying Urahara Kisuke to the same boat was absolutely one of the most correct decisions a certain someone had made.
When he realized that Yanbara Hideyuki's consciousness had completely lost control and was heading towards soul suicide, a sharp arc of electricity seemed to flash through Aizen's eyes.
His terrifying Reiatsu materialized, forcefully crushing that sturdy outer layer of bone.
Next was the epidermis, flesh, nerves, and bones.
One second, he was a complete person; the next, he had shattered into fine Reishi, scattering into the air.
Seeing this scene, Naraku Sora, who had been guarding the equipment, casually pressed the button.
To accommodate a certain someone, Aizen had specifically designed the equipment with an idiot-proof operation mode. From top to bottom, there were only two buttons: one to start, one to stop.
Even a Gillian could operate it.
It was impossible to make a mistake.
A strange fluctuation expanded. The Hōgyoku placed on the instrument bloomed with a brilliant light, instantly covering the surroundings like a lighthouse, completely enveloping the Reishi left behind after Yanbara Hideyuki shattered.
"Recently, I specifically studied the difference between the phosphorus Qi of Hell and the Reishi of the Soul Society, and I found a certain connection between them."
Aizen explained with a calm expression.
"Based on this connection, combined with the power of the Impure World Reincarnation technique, we can achieve the conversion of third-class Reishi, forcefully stripping away the Reishi that belongs to Hell, and allowing the dead who originally fell into Hell to return to the embrace of the Soul Society."
"We can also directly activate the Impure World Reincarnation technique. As long as a Gigai is provided, the dead can be resurrected."
"This is the first step in seizing Hell's authority."
The moment his voice fell, a rumbling sound echoed from the sky above.
Interwoven colors of black and red resembled coagulated blood. Thick clouds shrouded the entire sky, as if doomsday had descended.
An ancient door slowly appeared, pulled open by skeletons on both sides.
A massive black vortex emerged, electric arcs twisting madly within it, and a tremendous suction force erupted from inside.
However, despite sucking for a long time, it gained absolutely nothing.
It was as if what rightfully belonged to it had been intercepted halfway.
What happened?
The eyes of the skeletons on the Gates of Hell bloomed with red light, and an indescribably powerful pressure instantly descended upon the mountains and forests.
The ground let out cracking sounds, and abyss-like fissures continuously appeared.
Aizen stared intently at the door in the sky, simultaneously attempting to capture it with his Reiatsu.
It was exactly as he had guessed.
Yanbara Hideyuki was a heinous criminal, and his Spiritual Power had reached the third class or higher. Therefore, when he died, the Gates of Hell would be summoned.
However, Aizen had already taken a step ahead and purified his Reishi, causing what should have belonged to Hell to directly return to the cycle of the Soul Society.
This also resulted in the Gates of Hell being unable to capture Yanbara Hideyuki's Reishi.
After a fruitless search, the terrifying commotion slowly dissipated. The Gates of Hell shattered like a bubble, completely vanishing from the sky.
"It succeeded."
Aizen breathed a sigh of relief. "Next, we just need to continue delving deeper in our current research direction, then inversely affect Hell, and snatch away all the captain-level Soul Reapers who have fallen into it."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora pondered for a few seconds:
"Does doing this count as us NTRing Hell?"
Aizen: "?"
After pulling a fast one on Hell alongside Aizen, it seemed no strange events occurred. The Soul Society remained the same as always.
The air revealed a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, just like usual.
One day, a few months later, Naraku Sora received an unexpectedly good piece of news.
Ichimaru Gin and Kuchiki Byakuya had both graduated early at the same time.
And they immediately submitted their enlistment applications to the Shino Prison.
Looking at the two people in front of him who were only slightly shorter than himself, Naraku Sora scratched his head.
It was fine for Ichimaru Gin to choose the Shino Prison, but why was Kuchiki Byakuya joining in on the fun?
You're a man of Squad Six in life, and a ghost of Squad Six in death.
If that old man Kuchiki Ginrei found out he had abducted his precious grandson, wouldn't he come to the Shino Prison with a sword to fight for his life?
But an old man simply didn't understand what bonds were.
With Kuchiki Byakuya staying here, spurred on by Ichimaru Gin and the others, he would only become stronger and fiercer.
Naraku Sora cheerfully took the two under his command. The Shino Prison had gained two more fierce generals.
The future was looking bright.
After casually tossing the two to Komamura Sajin and the others, Naraku Sora returned to his office.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Urahara Kisuke working at his desk, which was already piled high with a mountain of documents.
"Kisuke, have you found any traces of the Wandenreich recently?"
Naraku Sora made himself at home. He casually opened a file and, after a quick glance, found that it was an architectural modification plan related to the Quincy.
As a world composed of Reishi, the Soul Society allowed Soul Reapers living here to cultivate quickly and improve their strength, but at the same time, such an environment would become the home court for the Quincy.
Quincy, possessing the ability of Reishi Gathering, could easily manipulate the Reishi in the environment to change the course of a battle.
All this intelligence had been seen from Quilge Opie's mind.
Although this man of steel had a firm will and was very difficult to crack regardless of the torture, Kurotsuchi Mayuri simply didn't play those empty games with him.
He directly poured a dose of medicine down his throat, and he confessed everything.
To prepare for a war that could happen at any time, they had made quite a few preparations.
Such as altering the Reishi structure of the buildings.
The only fly in the ointment was that there seemed to be no news of the Wandenreich.
Urahara Kisuke put down his pen, raised his head, and shook it with a distressed expression:
"Lord Naraku, Captain Kyōraku and I have already observed most of the shadows in the Seireitei, but we haven't collected a single piece of useful intelligence."
"I suspect that the Quincy have already left the Seireitei and are lurking in the shadows of the Rukongai or the World of the Living."