"All right, I get it. You're impressive. Let's talk business."
Tsunayoshi was being honest. Aizen truly was impressive. Even after being capped by his Zanpakutō's sword spirit, he had still found a path to become stronger.
But when those honest words reached Aizen's ears, they sounded wrong no matter how he listened to them. They were clearly words of praise, yet they did not make him happy at all.
"It is good that you understand. Also, you were clearly the one who dragged the topic off course." Whether Tsunayoshi's words were meant as denial or affirmation, they sounded strange either way, so Aizen could only respond in a flat tone.
"I didn't drag the topic off course. Your strength is related to the content of our upcoming transaction. Clearly, the weight on my side has increased a little."
Seeing Tsunayoshi tap his own chest, Aizen knew he was referring to the progress of his fusion with the Hōgyoku. But Hōgyoku fusion was not like Bankai, something one could learn just because one wanted to.
Simply getting the Hōgyoku to accept him as its host had already cost Aizen tremendous effort. As for deeper fusion afterward, Aizen could not rush it at all. He knew there was still a long road ahead.
"A transaction? I don't know of anything you possess that would interest me."
Actually, there was something. For instance, Aizen was very interested in the Zanpakutō fusion training method Tsunayoshi had mentioned earlier. However, first, he had no sword spirit. Second, he had just claimed that his own method suited him better. Even Aizen felt too embarrassed to immediately ask Tsunayoshi for the details.
"Of course we came to you because we have some confidence." Tsunayoshi nodded toward Kisuke Urahara. "Manager."
Kisuke Urahara took out a small jar from inside his clothes and tossed it toward Aizen. Aizen did not catch it with his hand. Instead, he used his dense Reiatsu to suspend the jar in front of himself.
"Don't worry. There aren't any traps inside. Surely Lord Aizen isn't afraid to open a mere jar?" Kisuke Urahara mocked him with a smile.
"Ridiculous."
A cold flash passed. Aizen cut open the seal of the jar with one stroke, and a small clump of earth floated out from inside.
Dense Reishi clung to the piece of soil. Even within Aizen's Reiatsu, its presence was still distinct and unmistakable.
"A Jūreichi?" Aizen immediately understood the bargaining chip Tsunayoshi and the others had brought. "You found a new Jūreichi?"
A large amount of Reishi was the key material for creating the Ōken, and the protective garments made from the Ōken were the means of passing through the barrier between Soul Society and the Royal Palace.
To complete the Ōken in the shortest possible time, the simplest method was to use a Jūreichi as raw material. That way, one would not need to spend a great deal of time gathering Reishi.
Originally, Aizen's target had been Karakura Town in the World of the Living. However, because of the deal he made with Tsunayoshi on Sōkyoku Hill, he had no choice but to find another way.
During his time in Hueco Mundo, all of Aizen's energy had been devoted to fusing with the Hōgyoku. Now that the Hōgyoku had undergone its initial fusion with him, he was preparing to search for another Jūreichi during the long period of fusion ahead.
Even if he could not find one, it was not a serious matter. His deal with Tsunayoshi had only been a verbal agreement. Once he completely fused with the Hōgyoku, a mere Sawada Tsunayoshi would no longer need to be taken seriously.
At least, before meeting Tsunayoshi, that was what Aizen had thought.
But what Aizen had not expected was that Sawada Tsunayoshi seemed to have mastered the power of Zanpakutō fusion, and now they had even brought him a lead on another Jūreichi.
"Are you using Karakura Town to fool me?" Aizen questioned.
The reason he asked this was because Kaname Tōsen had already set out to search for a new Jūreichi. At present, however, the best location was still Karakura Town.
Tsunayoshi rolled his eyes. "Do I look so bored that I'd come here just to mess with you? I'll tell you a little more. This was discovered in your Hueco Mundo."
"Impossible!"
Aizen immediately denied Tsunayoshi's claim. Kaname Tōsen had practically searched all of Hueco Mundo and had still not found a suitable place. As for Tōsen, Aizen trusted him unconditionally.
(Seriously, this is absurd. If Tōsen can use binoculars to observe the Forest of Menos, then is he blind or not?)
"There's nothing impossible about it. This is a sample the manager and I newly converted," Tsunayoshi said.
"Converted?" Aizen immediately caught the key point. "How much can you provide?"
Aizen did not ask about the core technology. Since Tsunayoshi had come to make a deal, it was enough to directly ask about the goods being traded. He certainly did not want Tsunayoshi to provide a Jūreichi that was not even enough to make a single protective garment.
Tsunayoshi silently calculated in his heart. The Forest of Menos was buried deep underground, so he truly did not know its exact range. "It shouldn't be much worse than Karakura Town."
"Shouldn't?"
Aizen was somewhat dissatisfied with that wording, but as long as it could be compared to Karakura Town, that was enough. It would be sufficient as long as it could complete one person's Ōken.
"The thing you're trading is the Jūreichi, correct? State your conditions."
Since Tsunayoshi and Kisuke Urahara could provide a Jūreichi, Aizen did not mind making a deal with them. The main reason was that Sawada Tsunayoshi's strength was somewhat troublesome.
One Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was already enough to give Aizen a headache. Add Sawada Tsunayoshi on top of that, and he was not so confident that he could seize the land of Karakura Town.
"The conditions are easy enough."
"First, hand over that fox under your command. Second, the Soul King's fingertip. Third, after you complete the Ōken, Las Noches and the Espada will be handed over to Soul Society for management."
Aizen narrowed his eyes, his fingers continuously tapping on the armrest. Without any hesitation, he directly rejected Tsunayoshi's conditions.
"One Jūreichi in exchange for three conditions? Sawada Tsunayoshi, aren't you being far too fanciful?"
Although he said that, Aizen was silently calculating the reasonableness of the deal. The fox undoubtedly referred to Gin Ichimaru. As for the Soul King's fingertip, that was probably also something Tsunayoshi was requesting for Gin Ichimaru.
To be honest, Gin Ichimaru was merely a rather useful subordinate under Aizen. He was different from Kaname Tōsen. Aizen had long known that this fox had approached him with his own purpose.
But just like with Sora Inoue, as long as someone was useful to him, Aizen did not care at all whether Gin Ichimaru had ulterior motives. No matter what purpose they carried, none of it could defeat him while he possessed the Hōgyoku.
As for the Soul King's fingertip, Aizen had originally integrated it into the Hōgyoku when researching the Hōgyoku. Now that the Hōgyoku was complete, this fingertip had become dispensable.
Even if the fingertip were removed from the Hōgyoku, the Hōgyoku could manifest new power at any time to fill the gap left behind.
As for Las Noches and the Espada, they were merely by-products of Aizen's research. After Aizen fused with the Hōgyoku, these Arrancar had only one remaining value: to delay the Shinigami from obstructing him.
In other words, whether it was Gin Ichimaru, the Soul King's fingertip, or the Arrancar organization, all of them were things Aizen could abandon.
Aizen had to admire Tsunayoshi's thinking. He was using a group of useless things to exchange for a Jūreichi that was extremely important to Aizen. This struck directly at his sore spot.
"Strictly speaking, there are only two conditions. The first and second can be combined. That fox came here for the fingertip in the first place. If I take it away, he'll naturally follow the scent and come after it." Tsunayoshi held up two fingers as he explained.
From three conditions to two, the degree to which Aizen could accept it suddenly fell much lower.
With Tsunayoshi's reminder, the image of that voluptuous Squad Ten lieutenant flashed through Aizen's mind. So Gin Ichimaru had approached him for Rangiku Matsumoto. He was not merely a fox, but a venomous snake, one that had always deeply hidden his true purpose.
Aizen could not possibly remember the relationship between Rangiku and Gin when they were children. To him, taking away the Soul King's fingertip had been an utterly insignificant matter.
Because the Soul King's fingertip had been taken from within Rangiku's body, it had originally carried Rangiku's Reishi. Back when he was in Soul Society, Aizen had recognized Rangiku.
Aizen had only sensed that Gin Ichimaru would surely betray him one day, but he had not known why Gin would turn against him. In the Seireitei, Gin and Rangiku had always kept their relationship at a distance, so he naturally had not connected the two. Now, the clues had linked together.
"What? Is that fox worth you helping him this much? Or have you taken a liking to Rangiku Matsumoto?"
Aizen was in the rare mood to make a joke. Tsunayoshi's conditions were practically nothing to him. Gaining a Jūreichi for almost free had put him in such a good mood that he had even thrown the matter of Tsunayoshi mocking his progress to the back of his mind.
Aizen's casual little joke did not stir any waves in Tsunayoshi, but it did shake the heart of a certain fox hiding in the shadows.
A faint tapping sound rang out against the wall. Everyone present was strong. Such a small noise could not possibly escape their ears.
"Stop joking. That woman who loves getting drunk and making a scene doesn't get along with me." After saying this, Tsunayoshi turned toward the shadows and called out, "Since you're here, come out and have a stroll. We were just talking about you."
A series of solid footsteps sounded. Gin Ichimaru, wearing the uniform of Las Noches, walked out from the shadows. His eyes were still narrowed, but the smile had already vanished from the corner of his mouth. His emotions were extremely complicated.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, why are you doing this?" Gin Ichimaru asked.
"Who told me I can't stand seeing women cry?" Tsunayoshi said helplessly. "I promised Rangiku that I'd bring you back intact. She may look bold and uninhibited, but her heart has always been tied to you, you troublesome fox."
The hand Gin kept clenched into a fist beneath his long sleeve trembled. Of course he knew Rangiku's feelings. But in order to protect Rangiku, he had never dared face her affection, afraid that Aizen might discover it one day and use it as a tool to threaten him.
"Don't overthink it. Your idea of stabbing him in the back is meaningless. You'd bet your own life on it, yet still fail to take back what's important to Rangiku." Tsunayoshi patted Gin Ichimaru on the shoulder and said, "Just honestly take the fingertip back with you. There's still a woman waiting for you in Soul Society."
In Tsunayoshi's view, using Gin Ichimaru's life on an ambush against Aizen would truly be a waste. His Kamishini no Yari, like Rukia's Hollowfication ability, had an extremely terrifying first-strike kill effect.
When it came time to fight the Quincies, as long as Gin Ichimaru hid himself properly and suddenly unleashed Kamishini no Yari, he could at least take down one member of the Sternritter. If they were bolder, it might not even be impossible for him to take out one of the Schutzstaffel.
Such a useful assassination genius was not someone Tsunayoshi was willing to leave beside Aizen as a mole. Wouldn't it be better for him to return to Soul Society early, receive intelligence on the Quincies, and start researching assassination plans, rather than doing odd jobs here under Aizen?
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