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Chapter 277 B
🕑 Added 2025-03-04 16:05:01 +0000 UTCChapter 277
2-In-1 chapter
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“Ehehehehe! Kisuke, where do you think you’re running off to?”
“Little Kisuke… you were born to be eaten by your Captain!”
High in the air, Urahara Kisuke’s face was ashen as he fled for his life. Behind him, the roar of an oncoming demon echoed closer and closer, an oppressive spiritual pressure bearing down on him.
He twitched his fingers, preparing to cast a stealthy Kidō to trip up the monster.
“Bakudō No. 61: Rikujō—”
“Rikujōkōrō.”
Boom boom boom boom!
Several panels of light formed out of thin air. Under Kisuke’s stunned gaze, they clamped firmly around him. Trapped by the powerful restraints of Rikujōkōrō, he lost his foothold in midair and plummeted straight downward.
Crash!
He slammed into the ground from a height of several dozen meters, letting out a muffled groan. He was just trying to get up when Kaelith dropped out of the sky and landed on him with a resounding thump.
Wham!
“Guh…!”
Kisuke’s eyes bulged. That impact from Kaelith’s landing on him hurt even worse than hitting the ground.
“Kehehehe! Kisuke, run, keep running! I’m curious to see exactly where you plan on going!”
Seated on Kisuke’s stomach, Kaelith folded his arms, chin held high, wearing a thoroughly triumphant grin.
From a nearby patch of shadow, Aizen emerged. It was he who had remotely cast Rikujōkōrō just moments ago. He might have started his chant a heartbeat later than Kisuke, but he’d launched the Kidō itself far faster.
His training with Kaelith had forced him to hone his casting speed to an absurd level—otherwise, Kaelith’s unpredictable strikes and shadow would catch him the instant he slowed down.
Pinned under Kaelith, Kisuke knew at once he’d stepped right into their trap. He sighed, closed his eyes, and said,
“I’m prepared. Kill me.”
“Hmph. You think I don’t dare end you?” Kaelith’s snort rang out with all the flair of a classic villain—or, well, a righteous hero in his own mind.
Aizen shot him a nearly imperceptible glance, as if to see whether Kaelith was truly going to kill Kisuke. But Kaelith only leaned down with a grin, meeting Kisuke’s gaze at close range.
“Just killing you wouldn’t begin to satisfy my grudge. I hear Mayuri has come up with a new invention—a half-organic, half-mechanical worm that can be inserted into someone’s brain. Its limbs and antennae link directly to the frontal lobe, sending unique signals that control a person’s thoughts and actions.”
“If I handed over a nearly Captain-level Shinigami as a test subject, don’t you think that would make Mayuri dance with delight?”
“How’s that sound to you?”
Kisuke’s eyes went wide, unable to tell if Kaelith was serious or joking. He stammered, “Ka-Kaelith, I don’t recall any real grudge between us…”
Kaelith gave a scornful sniff. “You think I didn’t notice you slacking off every day? A project that should take one month ends up dragging on for three. One that should be done in three months gets stretched to an entire year! I’ve been keeping track in my little ledger, waiting for the day I could settle it all.”
At first, Kisuke went pale. So his boss was really this petty. But upon reflection, there was nothing surprising about that at all. What else could he expect?
He realized then that Kaelith was wielding an enormous syringe, tapping around on Kisuke’s body as if to find a suitable spot.
“Kaelith, what… what are you planning to do with that?”
Kisuke was aghast at the size of the needle. Was he about to drain Kisuke’s bone marrow?
Kaelith threw him a baffled look. “I’m giving you anesthetic, obviously—knock you out before hauling you in for the experiment.”
“Who uses a needle that thick just for anesthesia?!”
“Blame Aizen. He’s the one who gave it to me.”
A silent scream of rage erupted in Kisuke’s head: Aizen, you scheming wretch!
Desperate, he tried to stall Kaelith. “Kaelith! Isn’t there room for reconciliation? I’ve shed blood for the Technical Bureau, for your ‘Kaelith’s Paradise!’ Don’t you care about my accomplishments—my effort?”
Aizen noted that if Kisuke had stayed defiant, Kaelith might have subjected him to further torment. But now that Kisuke was basically groveling, it was obvious what would happen next.
Sure enough, Kaelith burst out laughing, then casually drove the syringe into the ground, rising to his feet.
“All right, enough teasing. Let’s go. Aizen and I didn’t come out here so late just to scare you.”
Kisuke’s expression turned grave. He knew they were about to let him see the core secrets the two of them had kept hidden. If he could accept their ideas and walk the same path, great; if not, no amount of pleading would save him a second time.
Before long, the three of them arrived at Aizen’s lab, on the outskirts of the Rukongai. Kisuke swallowed hard at the sight inside.
Rows and rows of high-grade equipment filled the room, likely worth more than the entire sum of his salaries over the years. If Kaelith’s Technical Bureau hadn’t existed, Kisuke would be forced to cobble together sub-par contraptions in his barracks—truly a miserable thought.
Watching Aizen idly press a few controls and open a Garganta to Hueco Mundo, Kisuke felt another surge of envy. If he’d had such easy access to Hueco Mundo, he’d have used it to gather thousands of Hollows for experimentation by now.
Stepping onto Hueco Mundo’s silver-white sands, his wariness gave way to curiosity. This was the realm whose secrets he’d glimpsed in Aizen’s files—Kaelith and Aizen had claimed it not too long ago and were in the process of reconstructing Las Noches. If it was anything like Aizen’s local lab in the Rukongai, he couldn’t imagine how grand it might be. Maybe five times bigger? Twice as many machines? He almost drooled at the thought.
Ten-odd minutes later, that excitement turned into something else entirely.
Kisuke bit his lip, nearly drawing blood. He stood in silent shock at the sight before him—a secret laboratory in the depths of Las Noche’s main citadel. The place spanned nearly three thousand square meters, bursting with all sorts of equipment. Scores of Arrancar in white coats bustled back and forth, jotting down data, operating devices.
Several of them rushed over when they saw Kaelith and Aizen arrive.
“Lord Kaelith! Lord Aizen!”
“Lord Aizen, please take a look. We’ve finished screening candidates for the fourth batch of Arrancar. They can undergo experiments anytime!”
“This selection process is stricter than ever—just as you instructed, all are powerful, resolute Hollows devoted to Lord Kaelith!”
Aizen nodded in satisfaction. “Have them stand by. I’ll begin after I finish here.”
Eager smiles on their faces, the Arrancar researchers hurried off. Kisuke stared, his throat parched with disbelief.
“Correct me if I’m wrong… but that was a Hollow?”
Aizen inclined his head. “Indeed. She’s part of the third batch of Arrancar. She gained enhanced memory during her transformation, so we assigned her to assist with research.”
Speechless, Kisuke could only gape. In his mind, newly formed Arrancar were the ultimate research specimens. If he could have just one, he would cling to them in tears of gratitude. For Kaelith and Aizen, though, Arrancar were now so plentiful that they could even staff white-collar positions. The sheer thought of the Three Grand Generals and Seven Hollow Blades left him trembling.
Following Aizen’s lead, Kisuke toured the operating area, archives, and more. He even got to witness a live Arrancarization, during which Aizen wielded the Hōgyoku to transform multiple Hollows. Kisuke had to fight the urge to blurt out, “Let me try too!”
Finally, the three of them took seats in a side room. Kaelith wore an unabashedly proud expression as he asked, “So, Kisuke, how do you like it?”
Even though he didn’t entirely want to admit it, Kisuke nodded firmly. “Amazing. Truly amazing. Being able to do research here must be paradise for any scientist.”
“Heh heh! Then sign this contract—uh, I mean, cooperation agreement.” Kaelith grinned, sliding a document toward him.
Kisuke grabbed a pen without hesitation, then caught himself and put it down. He frowned at both of them.
“Kaelith, Aizen—I want to know what you’re planning. Exactly what is this all for?”
Aizen answered quietly. “We intend to change this pitiful world. Kisuke Urahara, someone as bright as you must have realized the problem at some point. Those with ability can lead the Soul Society to a brighter future, yet the Central 46, dominated by the Five Great Noble Clans and lesser aristocrats, keeps a stranglehold on everything as countless array of rules and limits lock the social hierarchy in place.
A strong individual can only train until they’re a Captain—a brand-new blade for the nobles to wield. A brilliant mind can only strategize until some trumped-up charge lands them in the Muken.
Do you honestly think a world like that makes sense?”
Kisuke said nothing. Of course it was irrational, but it was at least stable.
This system, for all its ugliness, had survived for a million years. Any drastic upheaval ran the risk of causing more suffering than it solved—overthrowing the nobility might well drag everyone into endless violence, the powerful devouring the weak. People like Kaelith and Aizen wouldn’t mind, but to ordinary souls, that would be catastrophic.
Noting Kisuke’s hesitation, Aizen smiled. “You’re worried that I’d push for extreme, unbridled equality, driving the entire world into a savage battle for survival, aren’t you? Admittedly, the old me might have done exactly that. But I’ve come to realize that every phenomenon needs its own process.
Whether the World of the Living or the Soul Society, a reformer only sees a minuscule section of the great river of history. Even so, that small shift might inspire those who come after to imagine new possibilities. I’ve abandoned my desire to force the realm toward extremes.
“As things stand now, the first step is to break the line of noble succession. Let these aristocrats vanish from history. After that, Soul Society can look to the World of the Living for a model—adapting what we learn to create our own unique path.”
Kisuke listened wide-eyed. To hear such a gentle, moderate approach from Aizen felt strangely off.
He glanced at Kaelith, who was yawning in apparent boredom. So it was Kaelith who had guided Aizen to this mindset. Kaelith was never one to cling to elaborate courtesy, and his fighting style was raw and unrestrained, but deep down, he was impossibly kind—far too kind for a cruel world like this.
Kisuke mulled it over for a long while. Kaelith and Aizen waited patiently. At last, Kisuke let out a long breath and lifted his gaze. “I want in on this Hōgyoku project, as an assistant or whatever else you need. I need to see for myself how far it can be pushed.”
Aizen agreed right away. “No problem.”
“I need the freedom to leave whenever I want. If you two stray from what you’ve said tonight and threaten the three realms, I’ll stop you—even if it kills me.”
“That’s fine,” Kaelith answered.
“And one last thing!” Kisuke’s face turned deadly serious. “I demand a lighter workload—especially all those console projects for the arcade system!
It’s too much. My personal life is suffering!”
“Request denied.”
“At least pretend to think about it for half a second!”
“Eheheh, Kisuke was born to toil away for the boss! Get back to work!”
Amid Kaelith’s uproarious laughter and Kisuke’s plaintive wails, the Soul Society’s most cunning schemer formally joined Kaelith’s banner.
Comments
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Sorry Kisuke, you can't escape your fate as a pack mule...
