Activating Feng Hou Qimen! Ruler of Space! Soul Society's Strongest Barrier! (Continued)

From then on, Kyōsuke Kuchiki's position in the Kidō Corps was unshakable, and his prestige rivaled the Kidō Chief's.

At Shin'ō Academy, Kidō became popular.

Many students who saw Kyōsuke Kuchiki as their goal and idol devoted themselves to Kidō, hoping to join the Kidō Corps and see for themselves what kind of presence Kyōsuke Kuchiki, who had outshone a host of geniuses, possessed.

Just when everyone thought Kyōsuke Kuchiki would make a major move next...

Kyōsuke Kuchiki, at the center of it all, refused to let fame hold him hostage.

He spent the following days at his leisure.

Every day, he ate, drank, had fun and slacked off, handled Kidō Corps assignments, sparred with Kenpachi Zaraki from time to time, and ground up his proficiency in the Eight Extraordinary Skills.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed just like that.

Seireitei, Great Spirit Book Gallery.

Located beneath the Central 46 Chambers' underground assembly hall, it was an enormous, systematic repository of records.

It documented a series of major events and secrets from Soul Society's ancient past to the present, and ordinary people had no way of entering.

But at that moment, a boyish-looking figure sat cross-legged on the floor, his eyes quietly closed.

A translucent blue bagua diagram spread out from him, filling the vast Great Spirit Book Gallery.

It seemed to shift constantly with the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power.

The next second, he seemed to sense something, and his eyes snapped open.

His once pitch-black eyes were now somewhat translucent, clearly reflecting everything before him.

In an instant, the bagua diagram in the room vanished, and his eyes returned to their normal color.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki rose unhurriedly, his gaze already fixed on a certain spot, and spoke with a smile.

"You're here?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a familiar figure appeared.

It was none other than Gin Ichimaru!

"Is it just my imagination?"

Gin Ichimaru raised an eyebrow slightly, a teasing smile on his face.

"I keep feeling that, for the past few years, you've known where I was every time before I even started coming near you, haven't you?"

"Heh, once you get familiar with someone, you naturally know where they'll show up."

Kyōsuke Kuchiki smiled faintly.

By now, ten full years had passed since Kenpachi Zaraki joined the Gotei 13!

During that time, both Kyōsuke Kuchiki's Reiatsu and his strength had risen considerably.

Over the years, he had long since ground his proficiency in Feng Hou Qimen to one hundred percent, successfully unlocking the fourth of the Eight Extraordinary Skills!

Grand Luo Insight!

Just as Feng Hou Qimen was the pinnacle of Qimen, Grand Luo Insight was the pinnacle of observation techniques!

It could see through every change in a pattern and could even alter the connection between an individual and the pattern of fate!

It was an exceedingly terrifying ability.

However...

There were far too few opportunities to use it, and grinding its proficiency was painfully slow.

If Aizen hadn't used Kyōka Suigetsu on nearly everyone in Seireitei, Kyōsuke Kuchiki could never have ground Grand Luo Insight's proficiency to forty-seven percent over these years, reaching the level of minor mastery.

Given his proficiency, he naturally couldn't use Grand Luo Insight to alter an individual's pattern of fate.

Even so, Grand Luo Insight was more than enough for his needs!

Now, he no longer feared Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu in the slightest.

Even if Aizen performed the Shikai release ritual face-to-face, or even used Kyōka Suigetsu's legendary Bankai... he was confident he could see through it!

Of course, Gin Ichimaru knew nothing about any of that.

He only felt that, as time passed, the man before him had become even more unfathomable than before.

Even when facing Aizen, he had an unhurried, composed air, as if he were the one above everyone else, seeing through everything.

Without probing too deeply into Kyōsuke Kuchiki's abilities, Gin Ichimaru got straight to the point.

"Aizen is getting ready to make his move."

"If he hasn't lied to me, then Shinji Hirako and his group are very likely the targets!"

Hearing Gin Ichimaru's words, Kyōsuke Kuchiki raised an eyebrow slightly.

Over those ten years, not only had he grown considerably, but so had Gin Ichimaru!

After graduating, he immediately joined the Fifth Division and, following Kyōsuke Kuchiki's hint, killed the Fifth Division's Third Seat outright.

Such outrageous behavior quickly attracted Aizen's attention.

Aizen concealed the fact that Gin Ichimaru had killed the Fifth Division's Third Seat and extended an olive branch to him.

Just as in the original story, Gin Ichimaru accepted, and over those ten years, he had done many shady things for Aizen.

By now, he had long since earned Aizen's trust, and the intelligence he provided had grown increasingly specific and accurate.

"Shinji Hirako and his group?"

Kyōsuke Kuchiki stroked his chin, a slight flicker in his eyes.

If all went as expected, Aizen was probably going to use the captains in a Hollowfication Experiment!

It was because of this incident that Shinji Hirako, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin and the others defected from Soul Society, setting the later story in motion.

After mastering the power of Hollows, Shinji Hirako and his group also formed the Visored, secretly assisting Kisuke Urahara in his work.

As he was thinking, Gin Ichimaru spoke again. "Should we stop him?"

Kyōsuke Kuchiki came back to his senses, but his expression didn't change in the slightest. He still wore a calm smile.

"Why?"

Although he was a member of the nobility himself, he had to admit that some nobles deserved to die.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki thought that, in all of Seireitei, his Kuchiki Clan and a few other noble families were more than enough.

Of course, it wasn't convenient for him to act himself, so killing with a borrowed knife was the best approach.

Besides, Kyōsuke Kuchiki wanted the perfect Hōgyoku too.

It would be far too wasteful to seal away something so wonderful forever.

"..."

At that, Gin Ichimaru froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"Is that so...?"

"I understand."

"Everything Aizen has planned will happen smoothly..."

Hearing Gin Ichimaru's words, Kyōsuke Kuchiki waved him away and reminded him, "You should head back."

Once he sensed that Gin Ichimaru's presence had vanished completely, his expression grew leisurely.

Ten years as Kidō Chief had made his presence even more elusive and difficult to fathom.

Kyōsuke Kuchiki certainly wasn't going to stop the Hollowfication Incident!

Only if Shinji Hirako and his group successfully broke through their limits and were infected by the power of Hollows...

Would Kisuke Urahara bring out the Hōgyoku in an attempt to cure them.

Although that meant Yoruichi Shihōin would defect as well, she had always preferred a free and carefree life, so Kyōsuke Kuchiki didn't dwell much on her.

His attention was fixed entirely on the Hōgyoku!

Having read the original story, he knew perfectly well that there was more than one Hōgyoku.

First was the Hōgyoku created by Kisuke Urahara. Then there was another Hōgyoku Aizen had created through experiments using the souls of hundreds of Soul Reapers he had gathered, as well as those of people in Rukongai with the potential to become Soul Reapers!

But neither Hōgyoku was complete. Only by fusing them could the true Hōgyoku be produced!

At that point, the Hōgyoku would develop a consciousness of its own and could absorb the hearts of things around it and give them form.

Simply put, the Hōgyoku could make wishes come true within certain limits.

In response to a powerful desire from deep within its host's heart, it would draw out the corresponding potential and evolve in a particular direction.

No matter how small the possibility, the evolution could succeed, but it couldn't create something out of nothing.

For example, the Hōgyoku could allow a Soul Reaper to perfectly fuse with the power of a Hollow and evolve to a higher level, or allow a human to awaken the power of a Quincy.

Those were all powers they had the potential to master in the first place.

But the Hōgyoku couldn't give a pure Soul Reaper the power of a Quincy or give a human Hierro, because they lacked that potential.

The perfect Hōgyoku could even protect its host's body from death and destruction. When the host's abilities reached their limit or their life was threatened, the Hōgyoku could also make the host evolve to the next realm!

It could not only help with evolution but also protect its host. The Hōgyoku could be called the most powerful item in the original story!

If he could get his hands on something like that, Kyōsuke Kuchiki really could lie back and be a salted fish from then on.

Visored, Espada, Aizen—none of them would pose any threat at all!

Though they weren't much of a threat now, even if there were only a one-in-a-million chance of things going wrong, Kyōsuke Kuchiki would nip that possibility in the bud.

He was so cautious!

With that thought in mind, Kyōsuke Kuchiki left the Great Spirit Book Gallery.

Aizen wasn't the sort to drag things out, so his plan would probably begin soon.

A few days later, Rukongai.

"Why do we have to come?"

Mashiro Kuna pouted, boredom written all over her face.

Glancing at her, Kensei Muguruma suppressed his irritation and explained:

"Over the past month, people in Rukongai have been disappearing one after another, without a trace."

"As members of the Ninth Division, it's perfectly reasonable for us to investigate, isn't it?"

Mashiro Kuna kicked a stone on the ground, looking as though she didn't want to take another step.

"Ehh—?"

"But didn't you already send ten people from the advance party to investigate?"

"Couldn't we just wait for their report?"

"You're just too impatient, Kensei, and you love showing off!"

The green-haired girl complained loudly, paying no heed to Kensei Muguruma's status as captain.

A vein throbbed on Kensei Muguruma's forehead, and his expression turned into a teeth-gritting grimace.

"You little...!"

"Did I tell you to come? Didn't you follow me here on your own?"

Seeing this, the other members hurried forward and stopped him.

"Captain, calm down!"

"Isn't the lieutenant always like this? Don't start a fight here!"

"Everyone in Rukongai is watching, you know. Mind your image!"

"..."

As the group argued noisily, a dark-skinned man with curly purple hair suddenly looked into the distance.

It was Kaname Tōsen, the Ninth Division's Fifth Seat!

"Captain, something's coming."