Shiba Kaien knew that there were many little demons inside Aoto's Zanpakuto, each with a different personality.
Some loved bloodshed, some loved playing pranks, and some loved fighting...
Whenever Aoto needed them, he released these little demons from his Zanpakuto to serve as his doubles... They looked exactly like him and had the same Reiatsu.
But this calm little demon had to be the only Blue Oni!
Still, Blue Oni was... a little too conspicuous in battle!
Sure enough, the next second after "Aoto" entered the hospital, an intense blue light burst out from inside.
Of course, only souls or those who possessed Reishi could see this blue light.
Along with the blue light came the cries of numerous Hollows.
When the cries and the blue light vanished one after the other, "Aoto" flew out of the hospital again.
After nodding to Shiba Kaien in greeting, "Aoto" disappeared once more.
The other 13th Division members couldn't help marveling that a Seated Officer of the 11th Division truly lived up to his reputation. He killed Hollows so quickly.
Shiba Kaien said nothing... He actually thought the same.
Otherwise, the Central 46 wouldn't have transferred Aoto to the 11th Division in the first place.
Still, Shiba Kaien did the math. Even he couldn't kill so many Hollows that quickly!
One of the demons inside Aoto's Zanpakuto could do it... Just how wide was the gap between them now?
Shiba Kaien felt he needed to keep working hard!
Otherwise, he really wouldn't even be able to see Aoto's heels.
But for now, Shiba Kaien had to take care of the matter in front of him.
Shiba Kaien looked at the officer responsible for the hospital—a young man drenched in sweat. He'd let such a large group of Hollows form without reporting it. The man definitely deserved a severe punishment.
Urahara Kisuke was beaten up by the Visored.
Hiyori in particular kicked him right in the face.
That was because his proposal to Aoto had been to ask whether he wanted to undergo Hollowfication too.
Urahara Kisuke had already figured out how it worked!
He couldn't turn a Hollowfied Soul Reaper back to normal, but he could make a Soul Reaper undergo Hollowfication.
However, successfully completing the process without the soul collapsing required Reiatsu of at least the fifth level.
Aoto was a perfect fit.
But the Visored members wouldn't have it, even before Aoto could respond.
Though they could now Hollowfy at will, they were also the ones who found Hollowfication hardest to accept...
If not for what had happened, their lives would surely be different now.
Unless absolutely necessary, they didn't want other Soul Reapers to endure the same agony of Hollowfication.
Urahara Kisuke had hit a nerve!
But even after taking a terrible beating, Urahara Kisuke still hoped Aoto would accept his proposal.
Besides, the Hollowfication he was talking about wasn't exactly the same as what Hiyori and the others had experienced.
It was more like "temporary Hollowfication."
By briefly containing a Hollow's Reiatsu, a Soul Reaper could temporarily gain a Hollow's power.
"This would be a huge boost to your strength!" Urahara Kisuke took out a small black pill. "This contains Hollow spiritual pressure that I've compressed! Just take it and—"
"I refuse!" Aoto's voice rang out. He turned sideways toward Urahara Kisuke. "You don't consider how the other person feels. That's exactly why I dislike you."
With that, Aoto disappeared from where he stood.
Urahara Kisuke gazed in the direction Aoto had gone and raised his folding fan to cover his face...
Urahara Kisuke understood what Aoto meant: he hadn't considered Aoto's safety in Soul Society.
But Urahara Kisuke believed that was exactly what he was doing.
The more often Aoto came to the World of the Living, the more likely Aizen was to discover his connection to the Visored.
Aizen might not come after the Visored himself, but he could report them to the Central 46 or use other means to get the Seireitei—even other members of the Gotei 13—to take action.
And Aoto would become an obstacle to Aizen.
Temporary Hollowfication would give him greater strength and a better chance of escaping danger.
Urahara Kisuke had even tested it on himself. After temporary Hollowfication ended, there was absolutely no Hollow Reiatsu left behind.
Unfortunately, Aoto was still too hostile toward him.
And Urahara Kisuke didn't have many chances to spend time with Aoto.
Hiyori had forgiven him for changing the 12th Division during the time she served as his lieutenant.
Aoto still hadn't forgiven him.
What a shame.
There was one more thing Urahara Kisuke was certain of.
Even if Aizen hadn't discovered Aoto's connection to the Visored, he would still use some kind of trick against him.
After all, Aoto's Zanpakuto had been left behind by that esteemed person!
Two months later, after the 13th Division's patrols had wrapped up, Aoto appeared before them again, looking as though he'd put on a whole extra layer of muscle.
Shiba Kaien felt helpless.
He was sure that Aoto's Shihakusho was now stuffed with things he'd bought in the World of the Living.
Come on, couldn't he be a little less brazen about smuggling?
Aoto avoided Shiba Kaien's eyes completely... It wasn't as though he could come to the World of the Living and leave empty-handed!
The fact that he hadn't grown as huge as Zaraki Kenpachi was already a great favor to Kaien!
Shiba Kaien stared at Aoto for a long while, but after sighing, he opened the Senkaimon.
As they walked through the Senkaimon, Shiba Kaien and Aoto, with Kaien in the lead, started complaining.
Over the past two months, they'd called Aoto in six times... In just a few short years, the Soul Reapers stationed in the World of the Living had allowed six groups of Hollows to form. Shiba Kaien couldn't stop lamenting that this generation of Soul Reapers was useless.
But Aoto didn't see it that way.
"Maybe it's because so many people have died in the World of the Living over the past few decades! Even if the officers work themselves to the bone killing Hollows, their numbers will still rise in proportion to the growing number of ordinary people who die."
"And that's not even counting the Konso work your officers have to do for ordinary Plus. They're stretched even thinner."
"So, Kaien, pay a little more attention! Look past appearances and get to the root of the problem."
Shiba Kaien clasped his hands behind his head and glanced sideways at Aoto. "So, according to you, what should we do?"
"Recruit more officers! Assign each officer a smaller area to patrol in the World of the Living. Wouldn't that make their work easier?"
"And we need to do it soon!" Aoto looked back at the World of the Living beyond the Senkaimon. "The population boom is just beginning. In another ten or twenty years, even a small village in the World of the Living might have tens of thousands of people. The number of Hollows will definitely rise along with it."
"If the number of Soul Reapers can't increase, we might as well wait for Hueco Mundo to take over the World of the Living before we go attack Soul Society!"
Shiba Kaien's expression turned grave. "Is it really that serious?"
"It'll only get worse!" Aoto looked at Shiba Kaien. "After all, Plus who don't receive Konso in time can turn into Hollows too!"