Chapter 172: Why Not Just Kill Them All?
Two figures hurried through the Rukongai.
Under the cover of night, they made their way to the western border of the Rukongai.
Opening a door concealed with Kidō, Satoru slipped into the laboratory and removed his black hood.
Along the way, Aizen had explained the problem they now faced.
During his covert trip to the Great Spirit Book Repository, he had uncovered a document.
It revealed that if a Shinigami surpassed the threshold of third-class spiritual power and reached captain-level, their soul could no longer integrate into the cycle of reincarnation after death.
Just like the Reishi in the vial he had shown Satoru.
Dense, heavy, and indestructible.
If left untreated, these Reishi would remain in the Soul Society indefinitely.
The stability of the three worlds—the Soul Society, the living world, and Hueco Mundo—depended on the number and strength of the souls within them.
If one world accumulated too many powerful souls, it would exert pressure on the other two, even encroaching upon them.
The indestructible Reiatsu left behind by captain-level souls after death would continuously strengthen the Soul Society.
The corpse of one captain might not cause noticeable harm.
But two, three, or more… Sooner or later, these accumulated souls would push the Soul Society into the living world and Hueco Mundo.
The result would be the mutual destruction of all three worlds.
To prevent this, the Seireitei had devised a ritual.
The Soul Funeral Ceremony.
On the surface, it appeared to be a simple farewell ceremony, much like a funeral in the living world.
In truth, its purpose was to open the gates of Hell and dispose of the indestructible Reishi of captain-level souls—dumping them into Hell like garbage.
After hearing Aizen's explanation, Satoru was at a loss for words.
"How could this be... Shinigami work so hard, cultivating this Reiatsu, slaving away for the Soul Society all these years, only to end up like this?"
Satoru wasn't clear on what Hell looked like.
But judging from how the Hell Gate appeared in the animations, it was definitely nothing good.
"There must be something wrong here."
Satoru frowned.
Aizen also felt somewhat emotional.
When he first saw these materials, he had reacted similarly to Satoru.
But soon enough, he realized that compared to these distant matters, the two of them were facing an immediate threat.
"Satoru, during the Soul Funeral Ceremony, the ritual's power summons the Reishi of deceased captains and casts them into the Hell Gate."
"At that time, those presiding over the ceremony will inevitably discover that nearly all the captains they believed dead are actually still alive."
"If the Seireitei finds out that Rennosuke Kamikawa, Yasushi Takada, Kōga Kuchiki... all these people aren't dead, imagine what will happen."
Satoru thought for a few seconds.
Then he suddenly understood: "The Seireitei will use every means to search for these captains' Reiatsu signatures... to prevent their counterattack."
Aizen nodded: "Exactly."
He opened his mouth as if to continue speaking, but then stopped.
Given the current situation, the best approach would be to kill a few captains to make the Seireitei lower their guard.
Then move those who are more crucial and not worth killing to Hueco Mundo, making the Seireitei believe that Kōga Kuchiki isn't dead but is following Tsunayashiro Senzaemon, thus covering things up.
However, this method was somewhat cruel, and he wasn't sure if Satoru would agree.
Before, death to them simply meant reintegrating into the cycle of the three realms, nothing to fear.
Now that they knew about the Soul Funeral Ceremony, could Satoru really make the choice to kill some of these people?
While he was thinking, Satoru clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Sōsuke, such a simple problem has you so tangled up."
"It seems I need to reconsider whether to keep the title of second greatest mind after Satoru for you."
Aizen: "?"
Second greatest mind after Satoru—was this some kind of insult?
He pressed his lips together, suppressing the urge to retort.
"You have a solution?"
He was genuinely curious about what brilliant idea Satoru might come up with.
Under Aizen's gaze, Satoru crossed his arms:
"Just kill them all. When the old man sees all the heads are accounted for, he'll stop looking, won't he?"
"..."
Aizen fell silent.
He must have lost his mind to expect any good ideas from this guy.
He asked doubtfully: "You don't care about these people being cast into Hell? Just moments ago when you heard about this, you seemed quite unable to accept it."
Satoru gave him a strange look: "Why should I care? These guys are all enemies who once tried to take my life."
"Towards comra... towards friends, be as warm as spring breeze; towards enemies, be as ruthless as harsh winter!"
Aizen thought for two seconds, then nodded slightly.
Satoru's words, though somewhat crude, actually made a lot of sense.
Satoru continued: "Besides, being cast into Hell might not be worse than being your test subject, right?"
"That last part was unnecessary."
Aizen interrupted him irritably.
He looked toward several containers nearby:
"Kōga Kuchiki... such precious material, and you'd just kill him off? Should I go capture the next one for you?"
Selecting some to eliminate already pained him greatly.
This Satoru fellow actually suggested killing them all outright... Have some humanity.
Seeing that Satoru could accept the elimination approach, Aizen decided to fully disclose his plan.
Upon hearing this, Satoru stroked his chin.
"Transfer Kōga Kuchiki to Hueco Mundo? Then we'd need to establish a laboratory branch there."
"This isn't just troublesome—it's highly dangerous."
"We're already wanted by both the Tsunayashiro and Baraggan factions. Going to Hueco Mundo now would be walking into a lion's den."
Aizen gave him a surprised look.
This guy actually grasped the crucial point immediately.
Indeed, as Satoru said, the most difficult aspect of his plan was establishing a base in Hueco Mundo.
If Baraggan's subordinates discovered them during construction, the consequences would be unthinkable.
After pondering for a moment, he sighed inwardly.
Well, as long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood.
Though Kōga Kuchiki was valuable, it was better than having their scheme exposed and becoming wandering spirits.
His close relationship with Satoru was no secret in Seireitei.
If he were exposed, Satoru would undoubtedly be implicated.
Having reached this conclusion, he opened his mouth to agree with Satoru's proposal.
But before he could speak, Satoru grinned:
"However, since my good brother asked, I, Satoru, can't pretend not to hear."
"Building a base in Hueco Mundo? Leave it to me!"
Seeing Satoru's confident expression, Aizen blinked.
Suppressing his pleased feelings, he said solemnly:
"Satoru, this isn't the time for bravado."
Satoru snorted: "Bravado? That word doesn't exist in my dictionary."
"Just watch, Sōsuke! Whatever you want, I'll make it happen for you!"