"King of Hueco Mundo... well, let's just call you that for the time being. Do you wish to listen to our words now?"
Sosuke Aizen asked the question from his high vantage point.
Baraggan, already gasping for breath and on the verge of death, raised his head slightly. That intense rage had not diminished in the slightest, even as he faced his end.
Now this was a little interesting.
"Do you want to kill me? Do you want to kill us?"
"If you're going to kill, then kill."
The Skeleton Emperor responded hoarsely after barely recovering a shred of strength.
"Let us make a deal. I can grant you power. This is an opportunity for you to continue becoming stronger. However, this opportunity does not have a one hundred percent success rate. Do you wish to try this power?"
"Are you truly not afraid that I will kill you?"
"That is precisely the content of the deal. After granting you power, you may challenge me once again. But as long as you remain unable to defeat me, you must obey my orders. How about it?"
Sosuke Aizen never cared about the degree of loyalty of his subordinates; as long as they could obey orders, that was enough.
Baraggan did not speak. He simply stared at Aizen with those empty eye sockets, as if trying to see through him completely.
After a long while.
"Good!"
A smirk appeared at the corner of Aizen's mouth. He took out a spherical bead from his bosom. That wave of special power instantly attracted Baraggan's gaze, and even Suzuki Makoto sized it up with some curiosity.
Is this the Hogyoku?
"Next, I will use this Hogyoku to transmit the power of a Shinigami to you, breaking the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow. After this boundary is broken, unless you can consistently maintain your original heart and preserve your will as a Hollow, you will instantly dissolve into Reishi and disappear from this world completely."
After explaining, Aizen paused, merely giving Baraggan a moment to comprehend, before he acted without hesitation.
Suzuki Makoto could clearly feel that the heavily injured Hollow before them instantly gained a mass of incompatible Reiatsu. These two types of Reiatsu should have violently repelled each other, yet they weirdly maintained a calm state, and then unexpectedly began to slowly dissolve into one another.
This was likely the breaking of the soul's boundary. The fusion process was irreversible; only a soul that maintained its integrity after fusion could successfully complete the Hollow's Shinigami-fication. Otherwise, they would only become free Reishi drifting between the heavens and the earth.
"Suzuki-kun, I will stay here and watch over this. There is still some time; perhaps you can go wander around other places. Just in case you find a decent opponent."
Aizen knew that Suzuki Makoto had come to Hueco Mundo to find opponents. However, facing Baraggan's power of time, it was obviously not the ideal opponent for Suzuki Makoto, who enjoyed clashing blades. Thus, he very considerately proposed this idea.
"That works too. I assume there isn't just one Vasto Lorde Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo."
Suzuki Makoto stretched his waist. He didn't necessarily have to find a Vasto Lorde Menos Grande; as long as the fight was interesting, he didn't mind suppressing his own Reiatsu level.
Moreover... the current Hueco Mundo should have two Hollows who had already completed autonomous Arrancarization. If he could find the Starrk siblings and Ulquiorra, he could probably experience a somewhat interesting battle.
His figure disappeared from the ruins of Las Noches, while Aizen withdrew his attention and continued to observe and record Baraggan's changes.
Hopefully, this fellow wouldn't die so easily. Otherwise, the research into that power of time would regrettably have to be put aside for now.
Early the next morning, Suzuki Makoto pushed open the door while yawning.
Last night, he hadn't managed to find anyone interesting. Hueco Mundo was simply too vast, after all; it wasn't a place one could fully explore in a day or two. Meanwhile, the experiment on Baraggan's side hadn't ended yet. Aizen chose to use Kyōka Suigetsu to deal with affairs in the Seireitei, and Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen did the same, as they were currently busy preparing to move house.
However, Suzuki Makoto's side couldn't be resolved by Kyōka Suigetsu. After all, as soon as Retsu Unohana got hands-on, she would definitely be able to sense whether the Suzuki Makoto in front of her was the real article or a fake. And he wasn't willing to give up on the First Kenpachi before him just to search for a needle in the haystack of Hueco Mundo.
Unohana's Eight Thousand Styles couldn't be fully gleaned in a mere half-month, let alone the insights she had gained over these past thousand years.
"Lieutenant Suzuki, did you come to find the Captain again?"
"Yes, Isane. Is the Captain not in?"
Suzuki Makoto had a very good impression of this dutiful 3rd Seat before him. This tall girl was unexpectedly very timid and shy, but her talent in Kaido was genuine, and she was very serious in her conduct and work. During the time Suzuki Makoto and Retsu Unohana were 'exchanging Kaido,' this 3rd Seat was the one responsible for all affairs, big and small, within the 4th Division.
"Yes. It seems the Captain-Commander convened a Captain's meeting earlier. After the messengers from the Inner Court came to notify her, the Captain left in a hurry and hasn't returned yet," Isane Kotetsu replied.
"Is that so? Then I'll wait here. If there are any patients who need help with treatment, let me handle it."
"Eh? But I was just about to hand over all these administrative duties to you, Lieutenant."
"Cough, cough, cough—um, Isane, you must understand. I was just an ordinary Wandering Soul in the Rukongai before. How could a mere half-month be enough for me to learn all of Kaido? It wouldn't work even if the teacher is Captain Unohana. So, my Kaido ability still needs continued training. I will leave all squad affairs during this period to you."
Suzuki Makoto immediately took off his Lieutenant armband and put it directly on Isane Kotetsu's arm.
"Externally, you just need to conduct the handover with the duties and identity of the Lieutenant. If anything happens, I will take responsibility—let's leave it at that. I'll go check if there are any patients inside who need treatment first. Goodbye!"
"Eh—"
Isane Kotetsu only had time to reach out her hand, but Suzuki Makoto was already gone, leaving only a 'goodbye' drifting in the air. The man had long since vanished from the spot, and the girl could only stiffly retract her arm.
"Really! When Captain Unohana comes back, I definitely have to ask the Captain to have a good talk with Lieutenant Suzuki!"
At this moment, the Captain Unohana she was thinking of was in the 1st Division barracks, facing a Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto whose face was full of fury, and a Kenpachi Zaraki whose face was full of indifference.
"Explain yourself clearly! What do you mean you want to go to the 4th Division?! You are the Captain of the 11th Division! Not some Seated Officer or ordinary squad member!"
"Isn't it that only Kenpachi can be the Captain of the 11th Division? I have already lost to Suzuki Makoto. He is the Kenpachi now. So, let him be the Captain. I will just happen to take his position as the 4th Division Lieutenant—that way, it will be more convenient to challenge him."
With that last sentence, the dagger was revealed—his true intentions were laid bare.
____
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