Chapter 362: BSUS - 365: Variables

"Just kidding!"

Yukio swatted away the hand on his head, saying unhappily, "Not only is that Kidō you taught us hard, but it’s not cool at all! How does this even count as Kidō?!"

Hiroe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He poked Yukio’s head again. "What do you know, you little brat? How does that not count as Kidō?"

"Earlier you were shooting fire and pinning me to the ground, but what you’re teaching us is how to condense some kind of thread. You call it Kidō, but it’s more like some technique for using power."

Hiroe nodded. "You’re not wrong about that."

Hearing this, Yukio grew even more animated. "Right? How could such a delicate technique be learned in a short amount of time? It must have taken you a long time to reach this level, right?"

"It did take quite a while."

"So, you’re just holding out on us! You said we could learn Shinigami Kidō and Zanjutsu from you to our hearts’ content, but it was all a lie!"

Hiroe didn’t refute Yukio’s accusation. Resting his head on his hand, he asked in return, "If you think this isn’t Kidō, then what is?"

"Like... magic in a video game?"

Yukio expressed his opinion in his own unique way. Hiroe pressed further, "And what is the essence of magic in a video game?"

"That’s..."

"Some kind of conversion?" Yukio guessed, somewhat curious.

Hiroe withdrew his right hand. "When some people cast Kidō, it’s as if they are placed in another world. The higher the level of the Kidō, the vaster the boundaries of that world. Some people see pure black and white, some see animals, and others think of gods and Buddhas. What do you see, Yukio?"

"Me? I don’t see anything, it’s just..." Yukio rubbed the back of his head, saying uncertainly, "I just feel like there’s a controller in my hands. It’s just a feeling."

"So you see, the conversion process perceived in people’s eyes and feelings is rarely exactly the same. This is also the deepest secret of Kidō. If one could completely see through this secret, they would probably be omnipotent."

If such a person truly existed, they could summon blizzards or scorching heat with a single thought. Mountains could be raised with the flip of a hand, and rivers parted with hands behind their back. Even the creation of the world would be nothing more than this, right?

Thinking of this, Hiroe shook his head to himself, a gesture that did not escape Yukio’s eyes.

"What about you? How many secrets have you seen through?"

"I’ve only just set off on the journey. I’m still far from it," Hiroe mocked himself. Suddenly, Roka came running over from a distance in a frantic hurry.

"Chōzuka-sama!"

"What’s wrong?"

Roka leaned in close to Hiroe’s ear and softly relayed the message Resen had just sent. Beside them, Yukio also quietly inched closer, hoping to catch a few words.

Espada? Kurosaki Ichigo? Betrayal? Yukio couldn’t hear everything, but from the limited information, he could tell this didn’t seem like good news.

He looked at Hiroe with a wicked grin, taking a bit of schadenfreude in the situation. However, Hiroe merely nodded with a calm expression, indicating that he understood.

Roka, on the other hand, had all her thoughts written on her face. She knew Hiroe’s upcoming plans, which meant she understood that the events in Las Noches had already shattered their original scheme.

"What should we do now, Chōzuka-sama?"

Resen being discovered, the target being changed, and all the Espada being mobilized—while these were bad news, they weren’t enough to make Hiroe panic.

Of course, facing an enemy like Aizen, he absolutely couldn’t relax, especially since the man seemed to be breaking away from established history.

Aizen’s target had changed to Ichigo? Combined with his sudden move against Resen, this felt more like false intelligence deliberately leaked to him; its credibility was truly low.

But the troublesome part was that he couldn’t completely ignore this information. Even if there was a ninety-nine percent chance Aizen hadn’t changed targets, there was still a one percent chance he really intended to take Ichigo away. Not to mention, with all the Espada mobilized, forcibly taking Ichigo was not just a fool’s dream.

"Have them all prepare to enter the World of the Living at any moment. Resen needs to come over as well."

"But..." Roka hesitated. Hiroe said sternly, "If you have something on your mind, say it."

"With all the Espada mobilized now, the Shinigami in the Seireitei will surely react soon. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for us to still proceed with the original plan?"

Roka had hit the nail on the head. According to their previous deductions, Aizen wouldn’t initiate a large-scale conflict with the Seireitei too early. To take Inoue Orihime, he would only send a small fraction of his forces, and correspondingly, the Seireitei’s reaction wouldn’t be too drastic.

But if all the Espada were mobilized, one could foresee just how swift and forceful the Seireitei’s response would be. At least five Captains would likely arrive to reinforce Karakura Town before long.

They were supposed to reap the benefits while their enemies fought each other, but now things were fast-forwarding straight to a war between gods and demons. How were they supposed to fish in troubled waters and pit their enemies against one another now?

"I have to find a sufficient excuse to return to Hueco Mundo. This is our last, and only, chance."

Hiroe immediately thought of this most fatal problem. But just as he said, if he missed this opportunity, he probably wouldn’t have another chance to go to Hueco Mundo before the great battle in Karakura Town.

"The Hōgyoku is at most half-awakened by now; Aizen absolutely has no intention of starting the final battle early. Therefore, even if all the Espada are mobilized, it must be a surprise attack, striving to achieve his goal in the shortest possible time. Letting the Seireitei’s reinforcements arrive? He wouldn’t dare drag it out too long."

Indeed, Hiroe didn’t want the final battle to happen early, and neither did Aizen. Even if it meant delaying the pace of Soul Society’s reinforcements, that was a headache Aizen should be dealing with.

"But the appearance of the Espada will inevitably fill this surprise attack with variables. If they have more than one target, the battlefield will become even more chaotic. Tell Resen and the others that they are not to act without my orders!" Hiroe commanded Roka. "You must put all your effort into maintaining the neural network so I can stay in constant communication with Resen and the others. Do you understand, Roka?"

"Understood!"

"Contact them and begin the operation."

"Yes, sir!"

Roka quickly bowed, her figure vanishing from the spot in an instant.

"Where did she go?" Yukio finally dared to ask. Even though Hiroe hadn’t shown any emotional fluctuations just now, the atmosphere had been inexplicably tense.

"Hueco Mundo," Hiroe replied straightforwardly. Suddenly, as if thinking of something, he tilted his head and scrutinized Yukio with profound meaning.

Compared to Hiroe’s eerie smile from before, this look was completely normal, but for some reason, it gave Yukio the creeps.

"W-What kind of bad idea are you cooking up now?"

"Want to come with me and see a grand spectacle?"

Yukio shook his head desperately, his face screaming *’No thanks, mister!’* What grand spectacle? It was obviously going to be a bloodbath!

"You want to go that badly? Then I’ll give you all a day off today."

Hiroe narrowed his eyes and flashed a ’radiant’ smile. "Have Ginjō gather everyone and wait for me at the entrance. Since the weather is nice today..."

"Let’s all go take a look at the Karakura Town you’ve been dreaming about."