Bleach: No cheat codes, he joined Aizen's side.

Chapter 47. The Cocoon of Emptiness Project

As summer approaches, Seireitei is warm and humid.

Standing between the pavilions of the Fourth Division, Higashino Shuichi stretched comfortably.

As the saying goes, a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water.

That's exactly what Shuichi Higashino is like right now.

When the burdens on his shoulders reached a certain point, Higashino Shuichi actually began to relax.

You can't rush it.

About half an hour later, after finishing get off work, Higashino Shuichi walked out of Seireitei and returned to his residence in the second ward of West Rukongai. It was still the second floor, and he was still in the same spot.

"Go ahead."

Aizen didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

"Lord Aizen, could we conduct the Hollowfication experiment ahead of schedule?"

Shuichi Higashino also stated it directly.

Today, he took the initiative to contact Aizen and ask the latter to meet him.

Originally, Higashino Shuichi had chosen the ramen shop that the two of them frequented in Seireitei, but Aizen changed it to Higashino Shuichi's house.

"in advance?"

Aizen's interest was piqued by Higashino Shuichi's answer.

Regarding the Hollowfication of Shinigami, he had this idea after creating the Hogyoku and testing it on the Adjuchas-class Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo.

He had indeed mentioned it to Shuichi Higashino and Kaname Tosen before, but he also made it clear that it was too early to conduct the Hollowfication experiment.

The Hollowfication experiment is different from the previous experiments that only extracted a portion of the spirit particles from the Shinigami or extracted the souls of ordinary people in Rukongai who had the potential to become Shinigami.

The Hollowfication experiment involves capturing a large number of Shinigami and conducting experiments on them. This is no longer a small-scale operation like before, and if things go wrong, it could attract the serious attention of the Soul Society.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Aizen decided to prioritize the plan to force out the Zero Division.

The Grim Reaper can be captured at any time, but once the Soul Society becomes wary, the difficulty of making any big moves increases exponentially.

Aizen didn't say this, but he believed that with the wisdom that Higashino Shuichi had always shown, he wouldn't be unaware of it.

"Yes, earlier, and this time, we might even find a very reliable ally!"

Higashino Shuichi nodded firmly.

"Kasumi Masashi? Not Kumoi Yosuke."

Upon hearing the word "ally," Aizen instantly guessed Higashino Shuichi's thoughts.

Kasumi Ōji Mayu is ambitious, but as a top noble in Soul Society, and with the dream of becoming the sixth noble in Soul Society, or even replacing one of the original five nobles, Kasumi Ōji Mayu would never touch this taboo in Soul Society.

However, Yunjing Yaojue is different. Through Higashino Shuichi's inquiries over the years, Aizen already knew that the Baku Yao Dao plan was originally proposed by Yunjing Yaojue to Kasumioji Mayu.

As for what the Mo Yao Dao is, those who know it are well aware of it.

Therefore, Yunjing Yaojue is absolutely willing to use any means necessary to achieve his goal of replacing the Kasumi Oji family.

"What are you going to do?"

Aizen realized that he had underestimated Higashino Shuichi's wisdom.

His subordinate, whose talent was not particularly outstanding, may indeed be insignificant in scientific research, but he had proven his combat wisdom countless times. Few people whose spiritual pressure was close to or even exceeded his own would likely be no match for him in a true life-or-death battle.

Now, perhaps he has also made some achievements in strategy.

"The Soul King's Heart, the Cocoon of Emptiness!"

Higashino Shuichi slowly uttered seven words.

"That's interesting." Conversations between intelligent people never need many words.

In the original storyline, Aizen only learned about the Soul King after Kiryu Hikifune, the captain of the 12th Division, ascended to the Zero Division.

However, now that Aizen has entered the Great Spirit Book Corridor ahead of time, he has learned about the Soul King's information and the despicable things the five noble families did to the Soul King in ancient times.

At the same time, Aizen didn't keep anything to himself, and he briefly mentioned these things to both Higashino Shuichi and Tosen Kaname.

Therefore, they all knew that the Spirit King had been turned into a human pig.

Is it just the Soul King's heart?
The location of this thing is not even recorded in the Great Spiritual Library; no one knows where it is.

However, Higashino Shuichi deliberately brought up the Soul King's heart, and even added the concept of a Hollow Cocoon later on.

Has Higashino Shuichi lost his mind?

No.

Aizen knew that Higashino Shuichi was telling him that he could use the Soul King's heart as a gimmick to create a false Hollow Cocoon.

As for what the Cocoon of Emptiness is?
Needless to say?
The cocoon that hatches Hollows, doesn't that refer to the Hollowfication of Shinigami?

Whether Yunjing Yaojue will believe this is not a question Aizen himself needs to consider.

He believed that since Higashino Shuichi dared to specifically call him out and propose this idea, then Higashino Shuichi must have already made his own plans.

It's okay if you don't have one; we'll just have to see if Higashino Shuichi can afford the consequences.

"How do we need to cooperate?"

This was probably the first time Aizen had asked this question to anyone else, but he felt that if Higashino Shuichi could really do it, then the latter was worth it.

Because it's such a fun thing.

What could be more pleasurable than having your enemy help you count your money without even realizing you've been betrayed?
"Lord Aizen, you only need to ensure that Yojue Kumoi sees what he is supposed to see in the Great Spirit Book Corridor, and leave the rest to me!"

"Issue," said Higashino Shuichi with great confidence.

"can."

Aizen nodded in agreement.

It has to be said that Higashino Shuichi is indeed the most convenient and worry-free subordinate he has ever had.

If it weren't for the fact that Shuichi Higashino's spiritual pressure aptitude was really low.
Thinking of this, Aizen suddenly remembered that some time ago, Higashino Shuichi seemed to have reported to him that he had discovered an interesting commoner in Rukongai.

The commoner's body seemed to contain far greater fluctuations than any other commoner's body fragments that had been encountered before.

At the time, Aizen was experimenting with how to create Arrancar with specific abilities and didn't have time to deal with matters in Soul Society.

In addition, Aizen had already studied the Soul King's body fragments. They were indeed very useful to ordinary Shinigami, helping them to break through their original spiritual pressure limits to a certain extent and acquire new power.

However, for Aizen himself, having already obtained the Hogyoku, the fragments of the Soul King's body were somewhat of a waste, neither useful nor worth discarding.

Therefore, he temporarily put aside the matter of how to deal with that civilian.

Looking back now, why did Higashino Shuichi choose this particular time to report this matter to me?

The answer to this question is almost self-evident.

Aizen knew very well this old subordinate who had followed him for almost a hundred years. The latter had always possessed the heart of a strongman, but his talent limited him.

"You want this fragment of the Spirit King's body, don't you, Shuichi?"

Aizen stared directly into Higashino Shuichi's eyes, not uttering the words he had just said, but his gaze seemed to reach deep into the latter's heart.

For Aizen, it doesn't matter if his subordinates are ambitious; what matters is whether Higashino Shuichi has the ability to match his ambition.
He was looking forward to it.

(End of this chapter)