Chapter 358: BSUS - 361: Let Me See What You Can Do

Ginjō bared his teeth in what could pass for a smile and said weakly, "Take whatever you want, but don’t ever think you can make me submit, hahaha..."

Hiroe scoffed coldly. "Then I’ll just kill you all." Immediately after, he shook his head and said with a sigh of pity, "But seeing you like this has actually made me more interested in you. Simply killing you would be far too boring. So, I’d much rather see the look on your faces when you finally submit, Ginjō Kūgo."

Before he could even finish speaking, a mouthful of bloody spit flew toward his face. Hiroe tilted his head slightly to dodge it, the corners of his mouth curving up into a smile.

"Do you hate me that much? Or could it be that you’re actually afraid of me?"

Ginjō’s gaze suddenly darted away, a subtle reaction that did not escape Hiroe’s eyes.

"There is hatred, sure, but it’s mostly fear, isn’t it? But what exactly are you so afraid of?"

Ginjō naturally wasn’t going to answer that question, so Hiroe immediately answered it himself. "Are you terrified of my power? After seeing such a massive gap between us, fear, confusion, and even despair are perfectly normal. But I think that’s only part of it."

"You’re actually... afraid of *me* as a person, aren’t you?"

Ginjō’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, but the unbearable metallic stench of blood in his mouth couldn’t help him swallow down the shock in his heart.

"You can’t see through my intentions. You think I’m a madman, yet not quite a madman. In your mind, dying is the easiest way out when facing someone like me, but as it happens, I haven’t wanted to kill you from the very beginning. That terrifies you, doesn’t it?"

"You’re afraid that I have too many unknown methods up my sleeve. Even more so, you’re afraid that you might actually submit to me in the end, gradually growing accustomed to being in my grasp, causing you to lose the very thing you fought so hard to reclaim from the Shinigami... your sense of self?"

If Hiroe’s previous display of martial prowess had shattered Ginjō’s stubbornness, these words completely pulverized his confidence and pride, striking directly at his deepest vulnerabilities.

This Shinigami named Chōzuka Hiroe had exuded an eerie strangeness from the moment he appeared. Bringing along only a little girl, he didn’t look at all like someone sent by the Seireitei to apprehend them.

Was he just that overconfident in his own strength?

Perhaps. When Hiroe revealed his identity as the Captain of the Fifth Division, Ginjō’s doubts had indeed been somewhat dispelled. But when Roka’s identity as a Hollow was exposed, those doubts came roaring back, bringing with them a chilling sense of dread.

Was discovering that Hollow truly Tsukishima’s doing? Ginjō put himself in the other man’s shoes; if it were him, he would never expose his dark side so prematurely. The fact that the man brought that Hollow along made it seem more like he *wanted* them to find out.

Hiroe’s subsequent actions only further verified this. If he hadn’t wanted that Hollow exposed, there was absolutely no way Ginjō and his group could have forced it out of its Gigai.

But what was the point of doing that? Ginjō couldn’t figure it out, and he guessed that Tsukishima, standing off to the side, couldn’t either.

Hiroe gave them the feeling of a space shrouded in thick fog. You couldn’t tell if the mist hid a treacherous swamp or towering mountains. It provoked curiosity, yet constantly emanated an aura of extreme danger.

What was even more terrifying was the fear that there was absolutely nothing in the fog at all—that it merely existed to drag you in, leaving you to wander aimlessly for a lifetime, only to realize you had given everything for absolutely nothing in return. And that was the very definition of a conspiracy...

"What... what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Oh? Didn’t I already tell you?" Hiroe said softly, as if afraid of startling Ginjō. "That former Captain of the Fifth Division is about to do something rather willful, and I need your help to stop him."

"I’m asking *you*! What exactly are *you* trying to do, tracking us down and bringing that Hollow along!" Ginjō roared, though halfway through his sentence, he broke into a violent coughing fit, leaving the rest of his words broken and breathless.

"You’re asking about Roka? Let me tell you a story. Of course, it would be best if you listened patiently; it’ll be good for your health."

With that, Hiroe swiftly pulled out Getsuren Reikiri. A dense cluster of fine Reiryoku threads surged from his palm, plunging entirely into Ginjō’s body in the blink of an eye.

"You’d better not make any rash moves. His internal injuries have been temporarily stitched together by my Reiryoku. If you don’t want him to die, don’t touch him. And, of course, don’t even think about launching a sneak attack on me."

Hiroe tossed the warning at Tsukishima, then turned his back and slowly began his tale. "Normally speaking, there are two ways a Hollow is born. The first is when a soul wandering the World of the Living is taken back to Hueco Mundo by a Hollow, where it is bitten and assimilated into a Hollow itself. The second is when a wandering soul’s various lingering attachments to the World of the Living slowly corrupt it into a Hollow."

"Between these two paths, the second is the primary cause. So, generally speaking, Hollows originate from humans, yet they also prey upon humans. Shinigami can slay Hollows, but we can never eradicate them completely. We can protect the World of the Living, but there will always be oversights."

"And there are always those who are dissatisfied with this status quo, who wish to completely upend this millennia-old balance." Hiroe sighed softly. "Azashiro Sōya was exactly that kind of person. Thinking about it now, it’s still quite a pity."

"You don’t need to know what kind of person he truly was. You only need to understand what an unparalleled genius he had to be to slay the previous Kenpachi and become the Eighth Generation Kenpachi. The solution this particular Shinigami came up with was to unify and assimilate all of humanity."

"And what does assimilation mean?" Hiroe turned back around, answering his own question. "Souls wandering the World of the Living become Hollows because of the obsessions in their hearts. But if all humans simply went through the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death without a single shred of desire, then they would never become Hollows out of obsession after they die, would they?"

"Madman!"

"There is only a fine line between a genius and a madman. I call him a genius, but I’ve never denied that he was a madman," Hiroe replied, continuing his story of the past. "The Seireitei, of course, would never allow such a lunatic to complete his plan. Therefore, his failure was destined. The one who struck him down back then was me, and it was then that he told me his detailed plan."

"To unify the personalities of all humanity, he relied on Roka’s ability. Azashiro called this ability ’Cognitive Assimilation.’ Though the name might be slightly different, the function is practically the same."

Hearing this, Ginjō sharply drew in a breath of cold air. He finally understood why the man had brought this Hollow named Roka along.

"You!"

"Relax, I have no intention of turning the humans in the World of the Living into desireless robots. Of course, you could also just take it to mean that I don’t possess such lofty ideals."

Hiroe interrupted Ginjō’s wild speculations and continued, "How boring would this world be if we had to coexist with a bunch of people who all thought exactly the same way? My reason for finding Roka was actually quite simple: just in case I ever needed her. Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. When dealing with people like you, aside from leaving you as corpses or keeping you as people, I now have the extra option of turning you into pawns. It’s as simple as that."

"As for why I would want so many ’pawns’... well, for example, after this war is over, with Hueco Mundo, the World of the Living, and Soul Society all in the palm of my hand, playing the role of the Soul King might be pretty fun, right? Or, of course, maybe I want to carry on Azashiro’s dying wish and find a different way for Hollows, Shinigami, and humans to coexist? I haven’t figured out the method yet, but I have plenty of time anyway. Or maybe..."

"Madman!"

"A madman?" Hiroe paused his rambling nonsense, nodding as he replied, "When I was young, my teacher once said I was a genius. So, it’s entirely possible that I unknowingly turned into a madman along the way. There are quite a few folks in the Seireitei right now who share your exact opinion, Ginjō."

"But none of that means anything to you, and don’t think you can try to provoke me this way." Hiroe held up a single finger, smiling as he said, "You only need to understand one thing: the thing you are most afraid of losing, this madman right here can easily take it away. If I don’t want you to die, you won’t die, no matter what."

Ginjō gritted his teeth so hard they audibly cracked; any harder, and they would likely shatter. Seeing him like this, Hiroe smiled even more brightly.

"I have always believed that the changes brought about by a person’s personality, experiences, and so on are what make them unique. And I am utterly fascinated by that uniqueness."

"So, if possible, I don’t want to strip away the uniqueness of people like you. By the same token, this is also an opportunity for you, isn’t it, Ginjō?"

Hiroe stroked his chin, speaking thoughtfully. "You hate me. You hate me immensely, yet the thought of defeating me in a head-on clash is so impossibly out of reach."

"But if you come to my side, it seems your options open up. Sneak attacks, assassinations, or perhaps exposing my conspiracy to the other Captains of the Seireitei? Just like how I killed Azashiro over two hundred years ago and became the Ninth Generation Kenpachi, if you manage to bring down a madman like me, you’ll be heroes of the Seireitei. With that status, your revenge against the Shinigami wouldn’t be entirely impossible."

"Ginjō..." Tsukishima prompted in a low voice. The way he saw it, this might actually be a viable opportunity.

However, Ginjō remained completely silent. Just then, Hiroe’s voice suddenly closed in on him. "Are you doubting yourself? Do you feel like you can’t beat me, yet you can’t bring yourself to say the words ’I yield’?"

"No..."

"Then I am incredibly disappointed, Ginjō Kūgo. A man with absolutely no drive, who can’t even muster up his own hatred, is a massive letdown! It seems I can’t see a future in you anymore, Ginjō..."

"No!" Ginjō roared at the top of his lungs. He didn’t want to admit defeat. He refused!

Hiroe paused for a moment, then raised his hands and actually began to clap slowly, the applause growing faster and faster.

"Good! Then try to cause some trouble for me. In all my life, I’ve never been successfully schemed against by anyone. Will you be the first? Just thinking about it is amusing, hahaha."

"Will I be the one to slowly snuff out your hopes and ambitions bit by bit, or will you be the ones to beat me to a pulp in the end, leaving me as pathetic as a drowning dog? Or perhaps, we might even become good friends."

Hiroe crouched down in front of Ginjō, studying him with keen interest. "Can you bring an unexpected twist to my carefully calculated life? And what kind of twist would that be? You’ll give it everything you have to show me, won’t you? You definitely will, right?"

"Let me see what you can do, Ginjō Kūgo."

"Let’s see just how far you can go!"