Could Ginjō realize the gravity of the situation and put aside his prejudices?
Perhaps it was possible, and Hiroe certainly hoped things could be that simple, but thinking about it rationally, he knew that was a bit naive.
The past was like a thorn lodged in Ginjō's heart; even if Ukitake came in person, it couldn't be erased with just a few words. Not to mention, Hiroe didn't think he possessed Ukitake's natural affinity. Even if he talked until his lips bled, it would probably just sound like a load of nonsense to the other man.
Rather than doing that, it was better to be a little 'perfunctory.' Sometimes, winning people over didn't necessarily require clearing up misunderstandings, did it?
Of course, such an arrogant attitude would inevitably provoke resentment from Ginjō and the others. As for what they would do once provoked...
"Do it!"
Ginjō suddenly shouted, displaying what was undoubtedly the strongest possible attitude of refusal.
Naturally, he would be resolute. Or rather, from the moment he vanished from the Shinigami's sight, he had never once considered the possibility of reconciling with them.
The humiliation of being treated like a mere tool in the past—was he supposed to experience that all over again? What a joke!
Even if it meant death, Ginjō refused to return to those days of being deceived. His right hand viciously yanked the cross necklace from his neck. A massive two-handed greatsword materialized out of thin air, and he swung it without hesitation.
*Strike first and gain the upper hand. A Captain isn't completely unkillable!*
Faced with this sudden attack, Hiroe seemed unable to react. He was cleaved in two by the greatsword, as fragile as a piece of paper.
Was it that easy? Of course not. The instant Ginjō swung his blade, Hiroe slipped out of his Gigai. He didn't choose to counterattack immediately; instead...
"Watch out for Tsukishima!"
Tsukishima had chosen to attack at almost the exact same time as Ginjō. Pulling a katana from who knew where, he didn't move to pincer Hiroe alongside Ginjō, but instead targeted Roka, who had been standing to the side without making a move.
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong? Hiroe didn't think the man was that kind of person. Recalling Tsukishima Shūkurō's unique ability, it wasn't hard to guess his intentions.
This man, whom Byakuya had evaluated in his past life as a 'shameless scoundrel who was utterly despicable and deserved to die,' actually possessed a commendable, level-headed mind. *What an interesting little guy.*
Roka had no idea how highly Hiroe was praising Tsukishima in his heart. If you asked her, these humans were just stupid—utterly stupid! That included this guy who dared to attack her.
There might be many entities in Hueco Mundo she couldn't defeat, but a mere human dared to try and bully her? She would show him a thing or two!
Before Roka could break Tsukishima's arm, Hiroe used Shunpo to close the distance and yanked her out of her Gigai.
Roka felt touched in her heart, but her mouth hurriedly offered an explanation. "I didn't intend to kill him, Chōzuka-sama." She then muttered her true thoughts under her breath, "At most, I was just going to break his arm..."
"Hm?"
Hiroe didn't say much else, simply glancing forward.
Roka followed his gaze, only to see that the katana in Tsukishima's hand had already pierced the Gigai she had just shed. Bizarrely, not only did not a single drop of blood flow out, but there wasn't even a wound on the Gigai.
"An interesting ability. Could you explain it to me in detail?" Hiroe praised, then asked sincerely.
"Of course not." Slowly drawing his blade from Roka's Gigai, Tsukishima replied with a smile, "No matter how interesting my sword is, it can't compare to the... *thing* beside you, right?"
"A Hollow, hahaha!" Ginjō, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Tsukishima, suddenly burst into laughter. "The former Captain of the Fifth Division controlled Hueco Mundo, and the current one is involved in some shady business with a Hollow. Is this some sort of inheritance in your Fifth Division? Or even a tradition of the Seireitei? You're all just a bunch of bastards!"
If the group's gazes had been wary when Hiroe first revealed his identity, their eyes were now filled with absolute disgust.
"How could you short-sighted ants possibly understand the benevolence in Chōzuka-sama's heart!"
Hiroe reached out to stop Roka's defense. "The squad flower of the Fifth Division is the Asebi, and its flower language is sacrifice, danger, and pure love."
"Sacrifice warns us that if we wish to take, we must be prepared to give something up. And treating our opposing enemies, the Hollows, as equals—is that not also a kind of pure love? It is precisely because of this love that we can correct the mistakes of the past, let go of our wariness toward you, and reduce unnecessary conflict. I don't find anything laughable about such a tradition."
Hearing this, Ginjō laughed even louder, as if deliberately trying to antagonize Hiroe. "Then why don't you bring her in front of your Captain-Commander and see if he also possesses such 'pure' love."
"That is why there is also danger. Danger is sometimes a two-way street. People view venomous snakes as dangerous, little knowing that the snakes also view humans as dangerous. It's better to keep certain secrets from them for now."
Hiroe shook his head helplessly. Let alone getting the Seireitei to acknowledge the existence of Arrancars, even getting them to acknowledge people like Ginjō would be a long and arduous road.
But with Aizen, there was an opportunity to win them over ahead of time. And with him, Chōzuka Hiroe, those overly cautious old fogeys in the Seireitei wouldn't restrict Ginjō like they had before; they might even let them run wild.
After all, relying on these unstable elements associated with him to gradually backfire on him would be much easier than directly trying to suppress him, and it would be a better way to win people over.
Because of this, Hiroe was confident that he could offer equality and trust to his future colleagues not just within the Fifth Division, but across the entire Seireitei.
Things that the trustworthy and rule-abiding Ukitake couldn't accomplish might actually be achievable by a rebellious and ambitious guy like him.
"It's just that now you've discovered this secret, which makes things a bit tricky..." Hiroe stroked his chin as if deep in thought, but looking at his beaming smile, he didn't seem the least bit troubled.
"So, how do you plan to deal with us?" Tsukishima asked calmly. He actually felt somewhat relieved now.
If the other party truly intended to hide the existence of his Hollow subordinate, he could have simply not brought her along. Now, not only had he brought his secret with him, but it was also 'unfortunately' discovered. It was hard to say this was due to carelessness.
Therefore, it was almost certain that bringing the Hollow and letting her be discovered was done on purpose by Hiroe. Most of his previous rhetoric was likely just empty talk. His true target was them—not for the sake of the Seireitei, but for himself!
This also meant that, aside from the Shinigami and Hollow before them, there were likely no other Shinigami reinforcements. With their diverse range of abilities, they might not be entirely without a chance of survival.
At the very least, they could feign compliance for now, and perhaps later play one enemy against another. However, given the other party's confident approach, he surely had matching countermeasures prepared. If things really came to that, it definitely wouldn't be a situation they could resolve just by snitching on him.
There were still things he couldn't figure out, namely, why the other party would lay his cards on the table like this. Even if he wanted to recruit them for his own use, he could have done it secretly, without needing to expose his relationship with a Hollow.
Was it purely out of confidence? Or was it because, according to the Seireitei's plans, he wouldn't be given the chance to contact them secretly later on?
Before he could think any further, Hiroe seemed to have finally reached an answer. "I'll give you two choices. Submit to me..."
The domineering lines of countless overpowered protagonists from his past life made him feel a bit ashamed to say them out loud now, and the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.
"Or..."
It was just that, pairing these words with his current expression, if Yoruichi were present, she would probably say, "You're acting like a creep again, aren't you?"
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