Chapter 214: To Grow Stronger
My subordinates?
Oh, right. That would be Zaraki's crew.
"They've been quite active lately?"
"It's past the point of just 'active.' They've cleared out several Menos Grande gathering points in a row, and it's caused considerable disruption to our normal research process."
Matsushita Yusuke had a reasonably clear picture of what Zaraki running loose in Hueco Mundo looked like by now.
Not really his fault, strictly speaking. But he was the captain, which meant this kind of thing landed on him in the end.
"Understood. Leave it to me. I'll sort it out."
That was secondary business. The main purpose of this particular visit had been getting Aizen interested in the bull-head.
So he steered the conversation back.
"Aizen-sensei, in your view, what role could this specimen play in future research?"
Aizen rubbed his chin, considered it briefly, then said: "It should be able to contribute quite meaningfully to the soul fusion segment."
Right on target.
Exactly the outcome he had been hoping for.
Watching Aizen's interest catch and draw him in with quiet satisfaction, Yusuke got his final few instructions from his boss and then left the facility.
His thoughts were on the current state of things, and the various expectations and ripple effects that stretched ahead...
Matsushita Yusuke rubbed his chin and quietly tallied the gains and losses of this trip.
'The bull-head has been handed over. And based on Aizen's reaction, he's definitely quite interested in it.'
That was enough. Aizen's research already covered an enormous range of territory. Once the specimen was in his hands, he would find the right direction for it.
Which meant?
'The soul fusion between Shinigami and Hollow should be a natural progression from here.'
With the bull-head's related research in play, the stability research for Arrancar form would inevitably be influenced as well.
After that, it would also help with improving Arrancar performance overall.
And after that?
Matsushita Yusuke raised an eyebrow slightly, musing over what came next in the sequence.
Once the bull-head stabilized, it would continue hunting Shinigami. Through hunting and devouring it would absorb large quantities of souls and completely stabilize its own state.
The bull-head was going to be eating people.
'Based on the original story's power level, it must have grown for quite a while before it was capable of successfully ambushing Isshin Shiba and demonstrating that level of combat ability.'
Of course, matching up to Isshin Shiba after his Bankai was a different question — probably still a fair few notches short for a long time yet.
But being capable of reaching that point at all, for an ordinary Hollow, was already an astonishing degree of growth.
That said.
'Isshin Shiba hasn't even become a captain yet. That's nowhere near the horizon. Getting worked up about it now would be meaningless.'
Better to put that attention somewhere else.
Somewhere like, say...
Advancing his own strength.
Carrying these thoughts with him, Matsushita Yusuke left Aizen's territory and returned to his own base.
After working through the verification procedures, he came to stand in front of something like an isolation door and looked inside.
In there...
His Hollow alt was sitting cross-legged, spacing out.
It apparently heard movement from outside. Its body gave a brief shudder, and it slowly raised its head partway.
"It's... you."
Matsushita Yusuke gave a noncommittal nod, shrugging off his outer coat while checking the monitoring instruments nearby.
"Mm, it's me. How are you feeling now?"
The alt didn't respond immediately.
It slowly got to its feet, head still lowered, gazing down at its right hand.
"I feel... better than I've ever felt!"
There was probably some exaggeration in that, but at the same time, Matsushita Yusuke could genuinely hear something in it — a barely-contained note of excitement.
The alt's emotions almost never fluctuated visibly. The last time it had been this obvious was when Yamamoto's slash broke through its composure.
Right now, clearly, it was because what it had gained had exceeded all expectations.
"The flesh you gave me... after digesting it... I was able to get enormous amounts of energy!"
Right.
Within the permitted range, Matsushita Yusuke had stripped as much flesh from the bull-head as he could manage.
The portions not needed for dedicated research purposes — the vast majority — had all gone directly to the Hollow alt.
As noted before: Hollows didn't have many methods for increasing their strength, and the most efficient one, the one that played most directly to their nature, was always the straightforward approach of eating it.
Matsushita Yusuke couldn't take apart the whole bull-head and feed it to his alt, but using it as a power-up supplement — giving the alt a solid meal — that was no problem at all.
As for the result?
"I've restored my original strength... and what's more, I feel a bit stronger than before."
He had accelerated the recovery process and gotten the alt back to its original level ahead of schedule.
Good news all around.
As for feeling stronger than before?
Well. You took Yamamoto's post-Bankai slash and didn't die, came back from recovery with your fighting spirit completely intact — you're definitely something else.
People's comprehension of power worked differently for everyone. The weak each had their own reasons for falling short. But the strong tended to share a certain subtle common quality.
Understanding the behavioral logic of someone vastly more powerful by taking a thorough beating from them — knowing their specific attack patterns and thought process — that was also a genuinely effective path toward growing stronger yourself.
What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.
In any case.
After confirming the alt's improved state, Matsushita Yusuke let a contemplative expression settle across his face.
With efficiency up, he could also start making some advance arrangements for the next phase.
Of course, all of that had to be broken down step by step. There was simply no rushing it.
These thoughts rolled through his mind, and he couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh.
Progress came bit by bit, but standing where he was, Matsushita Yusuke could genuinely feel himself getting stronger.
But the moment he thought about his eventual target being Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, who had treated him like a block of butter and cut through him without a second thought — a helpless kind of exasperation washed over him, almost enough to make him laugh.
Growing a meter taller every day, and my goal is someone who stands eye-to-eye with the heavens themselves.
After sitting with that for a moment, Matsushita Yusuke could only shake his head helplessly, sigh, and reach out to pat the alt on the shoulder.
"Bro. The road ahead of us is very, very long."
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