Although he had unfortunately been invaded by fragments of White's soul—
with his own overwhelming willpower,
and with the twin sword spirits of Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara residing within him—
even if Hollowfication truly began soon afterward,
Bai Chen was certain he would be able to suppress it and bring that power under control.
In Bai Chen's memory,
after that battle, Kurosaki Masaki's condition had deteriorated rapidly.
A hole had appeared in her chest,
and the Hollow's influence had continued devouring her soul.
Back then,
if Urahara Kisuke had not understood Hollowfication well enough—
and if Shiba Isshin had not been willing to give up his Shinigami powers—
then before long, Masaki's own consciousness would have vanished forever beneath the torment of Hollowfication,
and her body would have been permanently taken over by the will of the Hollow.
But Bai Chen did not have that problem.
With the power he possessed now—
strength already comparable to the very peak of the Shinigami world—
even if the Hollow born inside him because of White ended up equally monstrous in strength,
Bai Chen was not worried in the slightest.
If anything,
he hoped the Hollowfication would flare up sooner.
That way,
he could master that power as quickly as possible.
And once Hollowfication was combined with Sage Mode—
just how great would the increase in power be?
Tenfold?
A hundredfold?
Or something even more outrageous—
enough to directly break into the realm of a transcendent being?
At that thought,
Bai Chen's eyes burned with anticipation.
If he really could use this opportunity to break through the limit of the Shinigami race in one leap,
then he would completely overtake Aizen—
and become the first to cross that boundary and step into an even higher dimension.
Just then,
a rush of wind sounded.
Shiba Isshin arrived at his side, looked him over from head to toe, and asked with concern,
"Bai Chen… are you alright?"
"That explosion just now… it didn't leave behind any aftereffects, did it?"
Hearing that,
and seeing the worry written all over Isshin's face,
Bai Chen felt a flicker of warmth.
He patted Isshin on the shoulder and replied with an easy smile,
"…Captain Shiba, you're overthinking it."
"If something were really wrong, would I still be standing here this casually, chatting with you like this?"
Isshin froze for a moment, then nodded in realization.
Since Bai Chen himself could say that so calmly,
then there was nothing to worry about.
"Right…"
"Now that the Vasto Lorde monster and Tōsen Kaname, the man secretly working with it, have both been killed…"
"If there's nothing else urgent, then I think we should return to the Soul Society as soon as possible."
"The intensity and scale of that battle just now must have already alarmed the entire Gotei 13."
"And to avoid causing any further misunderstandings…"
Isshin spoke in one breath.
The urgency in his tone was unmistakable.
After all,
he had entered the Human World in secret,
using the black cloak as cover.
Now,
with the commotion from that battle being so huge,
his unauthorized crossing was definitely no longer something he could hide.
So to avoid making one mistake after another—
and drawing the Head Captain's wrath, or even the judgment of the Central 46—
the only thought in Isshin's mind now was to return to the Seireitei immediately and explain everything from beginning to end.
Bai Chen glanced into the distance.
The conspiracy and turmoil really had come to an end for now.
Then he said lightly,
"Don't worry."
"Something like this… probably won't happen again any time soon."
As he spoke,
he deliberately looked toward the far-off direction—
toward where Aizen and Gin were hiding.
On the surface,
those words were for Isshin.
In truth,
they were a warning aimed at Aizen.
If they ever tried again to lurk in the shadows and scheme against him—
then Tōsen's fate would be their future as well.
"Then let's go."
"As for the cleanup afterward, once I explain everything clearly to the Head Captain, I'll order the Tenth Division to handle the battlefield."
And so,
at Isshin's insistence,
Bai Chen, Isshin, and the few Tenth Division soldiers serving as witnesses
quickly returned to the Soul Society through the Senkaimon.
Only after confirming that they had completely left
did the two figures hidden in the distant sky finally relax—
if only slightly.
And because of that brief glance Bai Chen had cast their way,
the emotions Aizen and Gin Ichimaru had only just managed to steady
began to churn violently again.
"…I didn't imagine that, did I?"
"He just now… deliberately looked this way, didn't he?"
Gin's tone was full of shock.
That instant—
when Bai Chen had glanced across the distance—
Gin had felt his scalp go numb.
His skin had erupted in goosebumps.
It was like a voyeur who had been hiding in the dark, convinced no one could possibly detect him—
only to look up while preparing to leave
and suddenly realize there had been a surveillance camera right above his head the entire time.
And that every bit of his sneaking and peeping
had been recorded from the very beginning.
That was exactly how Gin felt now.
He truly had not expected
that Bai Chen had discovered them all along.
"Gin," Aizen said, turning slightly and looking at him from the side.
"Are you shaken?"
"Or… are you afraid?"
Under Aizen's direct gaze,
Gin's mood grew even heavier.
Still, he forced a smile and answered lazily,
"Now, Captain, I never said anything like that."
"I'm just curious why he didn't expose us directly."
"Expose us? You're overthinking it."
Aizen shook his head and said with cold confidence,
"With Kyōka Suigetsu's power in play, even if Bai Chen openly said it and Isshin testified for him, no one in the Seireitei would believe him."
"Since we've already been completely exposed…"
"then from now on, we simply won't provoke him again."
"Just as Bai Chen said—"
"we stay out of each other's way."
Though he sounded indifferent and unconcerned,
in truth,
Aizen's mood was anything but calm.
Because in the past several hundred years,
this was the very first time he had been forced into such a passive position.
The only thing that gave him any comfort
was the fact that he had also confirmed one crucial point—
when White self-destructed,
the remnants of its soul had indeed invaded Bai Chen's body.
And that had been one of Aizen's goals from the very start.
Seen from that angle,
Aizen did not consider this operation a total failure.
At the very least,
he had achieved what he wanted.
And next—
once the power of Hollowfication erupted,
if Bai Chen proved unable to control it—
then there was still a chance to turn everything around.
◇ I'll drop one bonus chapter for every 10 reviews (leave a review/comment!)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon: patreon.com/KageNaruto