Chapter 208: Back to the Grind
That caught Matsushita Yusuke completely off guard.
You actually know how to play along with a joke?
"Ahem... so next time, do you think you'd have a shot?"
The alt didn't respond immediately. It thought for a moment before answering.
"Hard to say. I can't guarantee I'd win."
The alt's combat experience stacked, as previously established. The experience gained from fighting opponents became fuel that allowed it to grow rapidly.
That was also one of the reasons Matsushita Yusuke had chosen to move in the first place.
Aizen needed Yamamoto's data as a reference for developing future countermeasures. And Matsushita Yusuke needed the combat experience to feed back into the alt, while also potentially influencing his other Zanpakuto abilities.
Everyone was getting something out of it.
As for the smaller matter... Matsushita Yusuke hadn't been entirely truthful with Aizen about something.
The alt's ability wasn't "accumulation and recovery" as he'd described it. Its real ability was something else. The main reason it could survive was that it and Matsushita Yusuke were two aspects of the same whole.
As long as the main account was alive, the alt was fine. If the alt died, it respawned at the nearest checkpoint. The account could never be deleted.
"How long would it take to get back to full strength?"
The alt answered without thinking.
"Don't know."
That's a remarkably casual attitude about not knowing.
"Just sitting here won't do it. I need to go back to Hueco Mundo and grind my way back up."
Understood. So dying once cleared the levels back to zero.
That said, Matsushita Yusuke glanced at the alt's panel and got a clearer picture of the actual situation.
The panel data hadn't been wiped. It was all showing in a grayed-out, unactivatable state.
According to the alt, before leveling back up to its original strength, those abilities would remain preserved as locked content, waiting to be reactivated.
The intelligence was preserved, at least. That part wouldn't need deliberate re-cultivation.
At least he wouldn't have to run the whole new-player-area grind with his partner twice.
"I can't get to Hueco Mundo for a few days. Use this formation to get by in the meantime. I'll arrange to bring you over once things settle."
"Fine."
After all, this was his own in every sense. Remarkably easy to deal with.
After fully exchanging views, Matsushita Yusuke arranged for his partner to sleep in his wardrobe.
The alt didn't care about trivial details. It just wanted to get back home and grind. A few days off for now.
With sufficient time, Matsushita Yusuke finally had space to make a concrete assessment of his own situation and evaluate what the last engagement had actually produced.
Right.
While he had lost to Yamamoto, that was entirely within expected parameters in its own way.
And the quest judgment reflected this accordingly.
[Quest complete... rewards acquired]
[You lost to Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, but you kept your life. Strange as that sounds... surviving an encounter with Yamamoto is itself no easy thing. And for you, this is not an end. The current defeat is only a winding turn on the road to success. Steel yourself for the next 'challenge.']
[Rewards: Zanjutsu +3, Kido +3, Hakuda +3, Hoho +3, Reiatsu Level +15, Elemental Zanpakuto +5]
The quest summary screen is actually quite motivational.
As for the actual rewards, for Matsushita Yusuke at his current level, the improvements were genuinely substantial.
Still a comprehensive across-the-board improvement, continuing to raise the weaker areas and reduce his current gaps.
While there was theoretically still a long way to go to reach Yamamoto, the progress was visible. In the not-too-distant future, a second encounter might be on the way.
Matsushita Yusuke wasn't the battle-maniac type, but honestly, at this moment he felt some genuine anticipation for the next confrontation.
A major experience source and an ultra-limited boss all in one. The old man was genuinely captivating.
With that thought settling, Matsushita Yusuke washed up and went to sleep.
Soul Society's search for the inside element continued to come up empty, and Squad 11 returned to relative calm.
Quickly, another week passed in the blink of an eye.
As the day approached to organize the teams for the Hueco Mundo expedition, Matsushita Yusuke also needed to lead his squad to the destination.
Unexpectedly, Ukitake showed up for it in a remarkably full-of-energy condition. The perpetually unwell captain had not dropped the ball this time.
With the two captains meeting, the customary pleasantries were naturally necessary.
"How are you feeling, Captain Ukitake?"
"Thanks for asking... things seem to have eased up considerably lately."
Considering Ukitake Jushiro's health situation, his condition was essentially Schrodinger's cat in terms of what to expect.
In good condition, he was among Soul Society's top combat strength, comparable to his peer Kyoraku Shunsui, who would eventually succeed to the top position.
And when his condition was poor?
Unable to do anything as he watched Shiba Kaien die in front of him.
This kind of massive variance between ceiling and floor was, in a certain sense, a setting that gave the original author considerable headaches.
Writing him as strong created problems; writing him as too weak was undignified. Too much trouble. Just write him out entirely, then.
Of course, that was partly a joke.
Because when Aizen made his move, if not for Ukitake stepping forward to speak with him, that famous line about standing above the clouds would have had no opportunity to land.
From the perspective of setting up Aizen's reveal, he was in the most literal sense the only choice.
But then again.
'Without actually fighting him, there's no way to predict what his real strength is.'
Would fighting him produce a quest reward?
This thought had barely surfaced before Matsushita Yusuke quickly pressed it back down.
Even if there was theoretically something to gain from it, you couldn't just act on that directly. It had all the feeling of going out of your way to kick the one good leg of someone who was already struggling to walk.
That would be a bit inhuman.
"Captain Matsushita, you look a little off... are you feeling unwell?"
A voice beside him brought him back.
Matsushita Yusuke shook his head and spoke in a slightly apologetic tone.
"Nothing, nothing... I'm sorry, I just got caught up in something for a moment."
"Something from the past?"
Ukitake Jushiro was genuinely enthusiastic.
Probably because of his health, he rarely made it to captains' meetings. Which meant in practice he hadn't had much contact with Matsushita Yusuke.
Now that he had the opportunity, he asked questions in every direction with a thoroughly animated expression, leaving Matsushita Yusuke somewhat at a loss.
"Tell me about your experiences in the Gotei 13 over these years! And... what made you decide to become Kenpachi?"
Are you a child? Ukitake Jushiro.
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