Chapter 281: Azashiro's Ambition
"Hah!!"
Under Azashiro's astonished gaze, Satoru charged right up to him and threw a punch!
Bam!!
Satoru's fist instantly pierced through Azashiro's body.
Azashiro's entire body lifted off the ground, arching slightly backward.
Then, with a pop, he dissolved into Reishi particles and vanished into the air.
"Oh…?"
Satoru looked at his own hand.
The sensation of hitting Azashiro still lingered on it.
Judging from the feedback through his fist, he had definitely struck a human body just now.
But upon closer reflection, something felt different.
The opponent's muscle density was too low, like that of a dying old man.
The bone strength and skin resilience weren't normal either, more like a crude imitation.
"I see, it's an ability like a clone or something."
Satoru crossed his arms and analyzed.
That last move seemed very much like an illusion technique.
But… having known Aizen for so long, the two of them had sparred countless times already.
When it came to illusion techniques, Satoru had a special intuition.
Even without consciously trying to sense it, just a glance was enough for his intuition to tell him whether what he was seeing was an illusion or not.
This ability had given Aizen quite a few headaches.
Not far away, Azashiro's body reformed.
He frowned slightly, a look of confusion in his eyes.
A few seconds later, he suddenly looked to the side:
"Shut up!!"
"?"
Satoru tilted his head.
Had this kid… gone crazy from being locked up in Muken?
Azashiro looked at him:
"Satoru, your strength is greater than I imagined."
"If it's you, you certainly qualify to be the captain of the Eleventh Division."
"But, that's all."
"To become the 'Kenpachi,' you're still missing the crucial final step."
Under Satoru's gaze, he gently placed his hand on his chest.
"The Kenpachi succession requires defeating the previous Kenpachi."
"Gosuke never defeated me, so even if you beat him, it doesn't count as inheriting the Kenpachi title."
"As a swordsman, you should understand what I mean."
"No, I don't."
Satoru shook his head.
He was quite satisfied with his current name; it shared a fortunate connection with a certain esteemed, virtuous, and talented teacher.
The thought of changing his name to Kenpachi Satoru gave him a strong sense of incongruity.
This was also why, despite having been the captain of the Eleventh Division for so long, he persistently refused the title.
He was about to say something more when he suddenly felt as if there was another figure beside Azashiro.
Satoru looked in that direction.
"Is there… someone next to you?"
Hearing this, Azashiro showed a surprised expression.
From the day he learned Bankai, his Zanpakutō had always been by his side in a materialized form.
However, no one but himself could see it.
For over two hundred years, he had maintained his Bankai state, uninterrupted even after being imprisoned in Muken.
This was the first time someone had been able to sense the presence of his materialized Zanpakutō!
Beside him, a woman wearing a kimono with a black leather strap tied across her face also exclaimed in surprise:
"Sōya, this guy can actually sense me!"
"How amazing!"
"See, this is the difference between you and him!"
"?"
Azashiro couldn't help but glance at her.
Satoru just sensed you, and you're this happy? I can see you every day, why don't I ever see you this happy about that?
Though speechless, he didn't say much more.
He had long known how unreliable his Zanpakutō was.
He looked at Satoru.
"What you sensed was my Zanpakutō."
"In fact, you are the first person to discover her existence so far."
"Satoru, you truly are an extraordinary Shinigami."
"But... your actions are leading the Seireitei in the wrong direction."
Hearing this, Satoru raised an eyebrow.
Could it be that this guy who spent all day sitting in prison already knew about his plans?
Under his gaze, Azashiro slowly continued:
"A Shinigami's divine duty is to maintain the stability of souls across the three realms, guide spirits, and eliminate Hollows."
"For a Shinigami, the ideal state is to become an indifferent gatekeeper of hell, focused solely on their duties without distraction elsewhere."
"Originally, while the Seireitei wasn't perfect, it largely operated according to this principle."
"Until your appearance caused problems in this system."
His voice deepened slightly: "The most obvious change is undoubtedly in Lord Genryūsai."
"In the past, he firmly adhered to the rules, always making obedience to orders his primary principle of action no matter how unwilling he might be."
"But through his contact with you, Lord Genryūsai has clearly developed inappropriate emotions."
"These emotions have severely compromised his judgment and behavioral patterns."
"In the Tsunayashiro case, he even openly opposed Central 46, threatening decision-makers with force."
"With such behavior, what qualifications does he have to remain in the position of Captain-Commander?"
Satoru narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, but he said nothing.
Azashiro continued: "Besides the Captain-Commander, other captains have also been influenced by you to varying degrees."
"Originally, there was little interaction between divisions. Everyone minded their own duties, and aside from Shunsui Kyōraku, few would contact other divisions."
"Now, because of you, interactions between divisions have become increasingly frequent. Inappropriate friendships have formed between captains and between division members... This will greatly impact the execution of orders."
"Satoru, your willful actions will eventually bring trouble to the Soul Society."
"Of course, you haven't only done wrong."
"Without you, no one would have known about the Quincy army hiding within the Seireitei. Had the disturbance erupted, it would have been catastrophic."
"If the Seireitei suffered heavy damage from the Quincy attack, the order of the three realms would inevitably be disrupted..."
Watching Azashiro speak so self-assuredly, Satoru nodded.
"I see. I completely understand now."
"Hmm?"
Interrupted, Azashiro wasn't angry and instead adopted a posture of attentive listening.
Satoru grinned.
"You're a complete paranoid, a mental capitalist."
Demanding that the company strictly follow regulations, forbidding employees from making friends, discussing salaries, or office romances...
Even the risk management department isn't as extreme as you.
"Even though you're just a captain, working for Central 46, all you think about is how to make the leaders comfortable, how to make the company comfortable..."
"To be honest, it's truly strange that someone like you would be imprisoned in the Soul Society."
"A guy like you, who's completely biased towards the boss, should've been promoted as a trusted aide instead."
He rubbed his chin.
"Speaking of which, why were you locked up?"
"Was it because... you planned to transform all the civilians of Soul Society into war weapons to flatten Hueco Mundo, so you got imprisoned?"
Azashiro shook his head:
"I didn't intend to curry favor with the decision-makers. I simply believed that doing so was the most fitting approach for a Shinigami."
"As for my plan... when I was first imprisoned, that was indeed the case. But now, I've realized my mistake and have a new plan."
Satoru nodded: "Go on, I'm listening."
"During all these years in Muken, I've pondered extensively on why my plan was rejected by the Zero Division... by the Soul King."
"Eventually, I understood the reason."
"Hollows are born from the negative emotions of humans. As long as humans exist, Hollows will continuously emerge."
"Even if I led an army into Hueco Mundo and slaughtered every single Hollow, it wouldn't stop new ones from appearing."
"Thus, the goal of eradicating Hollows would remain unachieved, while pointlessly sacrificing countless souls. This was indeed wrong."
Hearing this familiar opening, Satoru chuckled.
"Your current plan wouldn't be to eliminate all of humanity to completely sever the source of Hollows, would you?"
Azashiro's thought process was so typical of Japanese chuunibyou teenagers.
Though, considering his age, he could be called a chuunibyou young adult, or even a chuunibyou middle-aged adult.
Azashiro shook his head: "While your proposed method is feasible, it ultimately disrupts the order and stability of the three realms."
"If all humans were killed, the living world would lose its foundation of souls, causing it to collapse and self-destruct."
"My plan is far more stable and gentle than that."
Under Satoru's curious gaze, he raised his hand and pointed to his own forehead.
"In the living world, there's a surgical procedure called a lobotomy."
"After a lobotomy, humans lose most of their desires."
"Without desires, humans won't generate the various negative emotions stemming from them... If all of humanity could undergo this surgery, we could prevent the birth of Hollows at their very source!"
"At that time, Hueco Mundo would be completely purified, becoming an unnecessary world. The three realms would only retain the living world and Soul Society, engaging in a clean cycle!"
"Unfortunately, I've spent a hundred years thinking about it and still haven't figured out how to perform lobotomies on all of humanity as quickly as possible... This remains the greatest obstacle before me."
Listening to Azashiro's words, even with Satoru's strong heart, he couldn't help but be shocked.
Cutting off the prefrontal cortex of all humanity to eliminate the generation of Hollows?
What kind of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest nonsense is this?
He couldn't help but laugh.
At first, he thought Azashiro was a capitalist with peculiar thought processes.
But now it seemed this guy wasn't a capitalist at all—just a pure lunatic.
"Whether humans should have their prefrontal cortex removed, I'm not entirely sure."
"But... Azashiro, your prefrontal cortex would definitely be better off removed."
The moment his words fell, Satoru's eyes suddenly widened.
Rinbo: Hengoku!
Shadow swordsmen abruptly materialized around Azashiro, slashing their blades into his body.
As the sword light flashed, Azashiro shattered and dissipated into the air, just like before.
"I told you, your attacks are useless. I've merged with the entire Seireitei. Attacking me is equivalent to attacking the whole Seireitei."
"Unless you have the power to destroy the entire Seireitei, you can never defeat me."
"Rather than wasting your energy here on meaningless combat, I'd suggest we sit down and talk."
"Satoru, I've carefully observed your behavior... In my view, you're someone who values emotions deeply—friends, teachers, family are all your greatest concerns."
"But your emotions only exist for these people."
"Towards those unrelated to you, you rarely extend this care."
"In that case, my plan shouldn't conflict with you at all... The humans in the living world should be no different from ants to you. Why fight this meaningless battle for ants?"
"With your resources and abilities, you could very likely help me complete this plan."
"When the time comes, I can completely relinquish all credit, attributing everything to you."
"Completely eradicating all Hollows... With such an achievement, it wouldn't be strange if you were directly promoted to the Zero Division, or even to a position above the Zero Division."
"Why not seriously consider it?"
Under his gaze, Satoru extended a finger and tasted the Reiatsu in the air.
After a few seconds, he nodded.
"I see, I understand now."
"Understand what?"
"I understand why you've been chattering away, saying all these things."
Azashiro shook his head. "Everything I said is true. I genuinely wish to cooperate with you, nothing else."
"Let's not discuss your foolish plan any further. Talking too much about it lowers the strategic prestige I maintain as one of Soul Society's top three tacticians."
"I've been wondering since earlier—someone like you, who wants to destroy Hueco Mundo and cut out all human brains at the slightest provocation, why don't you just use force to make me submit?"
"After all, you didn't hesitate to kill the former Eleventh Division captain."
"Someone like you probably doesn't care about human sentiments or morality, right?"
"Just now, I sensed the trajectory of your dispersed Reiatsu after shattering your body, and finally understood."
"Azashiro... here in Muken, while your Zanpakutō's ability still functions, it has been greatly weakened, hasn't it?"
He grinned, revealing a somewhat sinister smile.
"After I shattered you, your Reishi did indeed merge with the surrounding environment."
"But... after that, the body that reformed—most of the Reishi composing it still came from the batch I scattered earlier!"
"Kekekeke, Azashiro, the Reishi you've spent over a hundred years dispersing across the Seireitei... I'm afraid you won't be able to recall it all in such a short time."
"As long as I completely destroy the Reishi you've left in this prison, I can utterly erase your true body, wiping you from this world!"
"By then, the Reishi you've fused with the Seireitei will become ownerless, absorbed by its grass, trees, walls, and buildings—becoming one with nature!"
"In that light, you're even more eco-friendly than an ordinary Captain. When other Captains die, the dense Reishi composing their souls can't return to the cycle and must be sent to Hell."
"But you're different. Your Reishi has long been divided by yourself into ordinary Reishi that nature can absorb..."
"If you hadn't done this, you could never have fused with other matter without being detected by others!"
As he spoke, he grinned and raised a hand, pulling off his Captain's Haori.
Then, he tore open the upper part of his Shinigami Uniform to both sides.
BOOM—
Blue flames erupted from his shoulders and back!