novelraw Chapter 481 481: Kugo Ginjo's End
Chapter 481 481: Kugo Ginjo's End
Driscoll Berci had merely used the stolen medallion to channel the lightning of Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū against Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, prompting the Captain-Commander to declare that he had defiled Vice-Captain Sasakibe's Bankai.
However, it was understandable.
How could someone who had acquired a Bankai through external means, possessing it for only a few days, possibly unleash its full potential compared to those who had spent decades or even centuries mastering it?
Did they truly believe these Quincy were like Ailin, possessing an ability like "Synchronization" that allowed them to read the memories of a Zanpakutō?
In Ailin's eyes, these Quincy who stole Zanpakutō and used their Bankai were nothing more than weaklings unworthy of the stage.
If the Quincy possessed the strength to face the Shinigami head-on, why would Yhwach have distributed his ability to steal Bankai, allowing his subordinates to seize the Shinigami's ultimate techniques?
Quincy capable of matching the Gotei Thirteen captains, such as the Visionary Gremmy or the members of the Schutzstaffel, had not used the "Usurpation Medallions" to steal the captains' Bankai.
Of course, this might also have been related to the captains ingesting the small black pills created by Kisuke Urahara, which contained Hollow spiritual pressure, rendering the Quincy medallions ineffective.
Even if Byakuya Kuchiki's and Toshiro Hitsugaya's Bankai were stolen, with their current strength, they were more than capable of defeating Quincy who couldn't skillfully wield the stolen Bankai using only their Shikai.
As for Rukia, Ailin wasn't worried.
Without the support of Data Kendo, any Quincy who dared use Rukia's Bankai would meet their end.
It was a Bankai only Rukia herself could wield.
…
Ailin looked up at Kugo Ginjo falling from the sky.
Although Ailin hadn't spent much time with Kugo Ginjo, he hadn't held back in his teachings.
He had even taught Kugo Ginjo techniques like Getsuga Tenshō.
Now, seeing Kugo Ginjo severely wounded by a single blow from Ichigo Kurosaki, Ailin wasn't sure how he should react.
Smack!
Just as Kugo Ginjo was about to hit the ground, Ichigo Kurosaki's figure suddenly appeared beside him. Ichigo caught Kugo Ginjo's hand and guided him gently to the ground, sparing him the secondary impact.
As Ichigo carefully lowered Kugo Ginjo, his body suddenly stiffened.
But he quickly relaxed.
Because the one who appeared behind him was Captain Ailin.
"Ginjo, it's been a long time."
Ailin stepped forward, looking at Kugo Ginjo, who had been forced out of his Hollowfied, Bankai, and Fullbring triple-enhanced state by Ichigo's single Bankai strike.
"Cough cough, cough cough..."
"Pfft..."
"Cough cough..."
Hearing Ailin's voice, Kugo Ginjo opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something.
But the severe injuries made him choke on the blood welling up in his mouth, dissolving into a fit of coughs. Only after spitting out most of the blood did he manage to speak.
"Teacher Ailin, long time no see... It's been over forty years since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Yes, forty-three years."
Ailin nodded, giving a more precise number than Kugo Ginjo.
"Heh heh..."
"Then Teacher Ailin, forty-three years ago, when I escaped from your grasp... did I disappoint you?"
"No, Ginjo, I wasn't disappointed in you. On the contrary, it was truly good that you managed to escape from me. After all, I really didn't want to kill a student I had taught with my own hands."
"Heh heh..."
Hearing Ailin's words, Kugo Ginjo gave a bitter smile.
To think he and the others had thought themselves so remarkable for escaping Teacher Ailin's attack back then.
It turned out Teacher Ailin couldn't bear to strike them down, intentionally letting them go?
Thinking about it, it made sense. Teacher Ailin's strength was such that even now, with the power absorbed from Ichigo Kurosaki and his triple amplification of Hollowfication, Bankai, and Fullbring, Kugo Ginjo didn't believe he could survive an attack from him.
"Teacher, was I wrong?"
On the verge of death, Kugo Ginjo asked Ailin this question.
"..."
Ailin remained silent.
Was Kugo Ginjo wrong?
Not necessarily.
Ultimately, the conflict between Kugo Ginjo and the Seireitei was merely a matter of differing standpoints.
This world operated on the cycle of spirit particles.
Spirit particles permeated the Shinigami world. Weaker Hollows or Shinigami, upon death, would have their souls dissipate into spirit particles, returning to the cycle.
However, powerhouses at the captain level and above possessed spiritual pressure so immense that even upon death, their bodies wouldn't dissolve into spirit particles and rejoin the world's cycle.
This was where Hell played its role.
Besides dragging heinous sinners into its depths, after captain-level powerhouses died, their bodies were incinerated, allowing the spirit particles composing them to disperse.
But even so, the spirit particles from these captains did not rejoin the world's cycle; they were taken by Hell.
Perhaps, for Hell, absorbing so many spirit particles from this world without ultimately returning them could itself be considered a "heinous crime."
Among the three realms—the World of the Living, the Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo—the World of the Living was the true conduit for the cycle of spirit particles.
Whether in Hueco Mundo or the Soul Society, deceased Hollows or Pluses would transform into spirit particles, aggregating in the World of the Living to be born as new souls.
Because the living beings in the World of the Living were "alive," their souls grew rapidly, far surpassing the souls in Hueco Mundo or the Seireitei, which had already experienced death.
Once humans in the World of the Living gained Shinigami powers, they could, in just a few years, achieve progress that would take Hollows and Shinigami in Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society hundreds of years.
After these empowered humans died, they could continue to grow stronger in the Soul Society, at minimum reaching captain level.
Ordinary Shinigami were unaware of this truth, but over the Soul Society's million-year history, some had touched upon the world's reality and passed it down as a "prohibition."
An increase in captain-level powerhouses would only accelerate the world's demise.
Of course, the current Seireitei was different from when it was entirely ruled by nobles.
Before Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto founded the Gotei Thirteen, if the Seireitei nobles discovered someone privately granting Shinigami powers to a human in the World of the Living, that person would inevitably be sentenced to death.
It was only later, when Yamamoto entered the Seireitei and, with his unparalleled strength, established the Gotei Thirteen, stripping the nobles of their monopoly on power, that he overruled Central 46's demand to execute Kugo Ginjo in the aftermath of his incident, and exceptionally allowed Ailin to guide Kugo Ginjo's training.
Of course, because Kugo Ginjo was only a "Substitute Shinigami," among the four Shinigami skills—Zanpakutō, Hohō, Kidō, Hakuda—only swordsmanship could be taught.
Later, when Kugo Ginjo defected and the Ichigo Kurosaki incident occurred, Aizen was able to control Central 46 to sentence Shino Madarame to death without hindrance from the Gotei Thirteen.
After all, Central 46 had already compromised during the Kugo Ginjo incident, but the final result was that the Substitute Shinigami proved untamable.
It was only thanks to Ichigo Kurosaki's subsequent actions, which earned the captains' recognition, combined with Sōsuke Aizen slaughtering Central 46, that both Shino Madarame and Ichigo Kurosaki ultimately emerged unharmed.
Both Kugo Ginjo and Ichigo Kurosaki discovered the fact that they were being monitored by the Seireitei under accidental circumstances.
Kugo Ginjo, being more independent and self-important, couldn't accept being monitored and defected immediately.
Ichigo Kurosaki, however, was just a seventeen-year-old boy with no grand ambitions or desires. As an ordinary person, he felt that as long as he harbored no ill intentions towards the Seireitei, being monitored was acceptable.
Their different perspectives led them to drastically different actions, resulting in their ultimately different fates.
"Ginjo, your power was still a bit lacking."
In the end, Ailin didn't answer Kugo Ginjo's question about whether he was wrong, instead changing the subject, stating Kugo Ginjo's strength was insufficient.
Indeed, the relationship between Substitute Shinigami and the Seireitei ultimately boiled down to a matter of strength.
If Kugo Ginjo possessed strength surpassing Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, then upon discovering the Seireitei's monitoring, he wouldn't have needed to flee. He could have directly stormed the Seireitei and demanded an explanation, and the Seireitei would have had no choice but to accept it.
In some respects, the Seireitei did adhere to rules.
Just like now, regarding Ichigo Kurosaki, the Seireitei knew Ichigo was aware of the monitoring.
But even so, the captains and vice-captains of the Seireitei agreed to infuse their spiritual pressure into the Zanpakutō created by Kisuke Urahara to restore Ichigo Kurosaki's power.
They would only move to kill Ichigo Kurosaki if, after regaining his power, he made choices detrimental to the Seireitei.
As for Kugo Ginjo's defection, if he hadn't killed those few Shinigami back then, the Seireitei likely wouldn't have pursued him.
Of course, Ailin wouldn't explain this to Kugo Ginjo.
Given Kugo Ginjo's pride, knowing the Seireitei hadn't paid him much mind would probably be more agonizing than death.
Ending things like this was perhaps for the best.
"Power, huh..."
Kugo Ginjo reached his right hand towards the sky, as if trying to grasp something. But before his hand could fully clench, the spiritual pressure surrounding his body completely dissipated...
Thud...
His limp hand fell on the ground.
"Sigh..."
Ailin sighed softly, reached out, and gently closed Kugo Ginjo's wide-open eyes.
Suddenly, Ailin's hand paused.
"Ichigo."
"Teacher Ailin."
"Kugo Ginjo was a Substitute Shinigami. I won't take his body back to the Seireitei. As the second Substitute Shinigami, you should arrange Ginjo's final affairs."
"Yes, I understand, Teacher Ailin."
Ichigo Kurosaki nodded.
Even if Teacher Ailin hadn't mentioned leaving Kugo Ginjo's body in the World of the Living, Ichigo would have requested it.
After all, from a human perspective, Ichigo Kurosaki and Kugo Ginjo were kindred spirits.
Both were human, both possessed Hollow powers within them, both wielded Shinigami powers, and both could use Fullbring.
The only difference was that Ichigo Kurosaki possessed the Quincy Power inherited from his mother, Masaki Kurosaki.
Both of them were beings qualified as "Soul King Candidates."
"Ichigo!"
"Kurosaki!"
At that moment, Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado ran worriedly to Ichigo Kurosaki's side.
"Are you alright?"
Shukuro Tsukishima had been killed by Ailin, so naturally, the memories of Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado affected by the Book of the End were restored.
However, the memory of them nearly attacking Captain Ailin because of Shukuro Tsukishima hadn't disappeared.
Therefore, while asking about Ichigo Kurosaki's condition, both Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado averted their gaze slightly when looking at Ailin.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"What about you two? Are you alright now?"
Black spiritual pressure dispersed like smoke from Ichigo Kurosaki's body as he released his Bankai state, sheathing his Zanpakutō on his back and hip before answering them.
"Mm."
Orihime Inoue nodded. "Although Tsukishima is still in my memories, my actions are no longer affected by those memories."
"Mm."
After Orihime Inoue finished speaking, Yasutora Sado nodded, indicating his situation was the same.
"I see, that's good."
Hearing his companions' words, Ichigo Kurosaki felt a sense of relief.
He didn't want Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado to remain under the control of Shukuro Tsukishima's Fullbring forever.
Finally, some good news after all this time.
No, perhaps two pieces of good news!
"Welcome back, Zangetsu, Old Man Zangetsu..."
…
"Teacher Ailin, aren't you staying a bit longer?"
Before the Senkaimon, Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida saw Ailin and the others off.
"Ichigo, if you knew what our mission to the World of the Living entailed this time, you'd probably wish we'd leave immediately."
Seeing Ichigo Kurosaki trying to persuade them to stay, Byakuya Kuchiki spoke coolly.
"Haha, haha..."
Ichigo Kurosaki scratched his head and laughed dryly.
He wasn't particularly smart, but he wasn't stupid either.
Restoring his spiritual pressure was a monumental event for him.
But for the Seireitei, it was likely a trivial matter.
Yet, for this minor affair, the Seireitei had dispatched four captain-level powerhouses, including Captain Ailin who had defeated Sōsuke Aizen, along with Shino.
Ichigo would have to be fooling himself to believe there wasn't more to it.
Based on what he learned from Kugo Ginjo, who had been hunted by a captain dispatched by the Seireitei after they discovered his knowledge of the monitoring, Ichigo would be a fool not to guess the purpose of Captain Ailin and the other three captains coming to the World of the Living.