— — — — — —
Ryo hesitated for a moment before trying again to extract the Hōgyoku from within Rukia's soul.
But as he attempted to remove it, he quickly realized the truth: forcibly pulling it out would destroy not just the Hōgyoku, but Rukia's very soul core as well. So, he gave up.
In truth, Ryo had already expected this.
If the Hōgyoku were that easy to extract, Aizen wouldn't have gone to the trouble of using the Sōkyoku at Sokyoku Hill to force it out.
Everything was going exactly as Ryo had anticipated. He'd only tried in the first place to see if his divine authority could bypass that limitation.
But then, the Dimensional Forum gave him an unexpected surprise.
With a simple thought, he accessed the Hōgyoku's data via the forum—and saw that the system was actively enhancing it.
[Hōgyoku (Perfect Version)]
Stage 1: Removes the Hōgyoku's own will, allowing the host's will to take full control. ✔
Stage 2: Eliminates the Hōgyoku's demand for the host to have unshakable conviction. ✔
Stage 3: Increases the Hōgyoku's power to awaken latent potential. ✔
Stage 4: Boosts its regenerative capabilities. ✔
Stage 5: Cancels out the Hōgyoku's tendency to amplify negative emotions. ✔
Stage 6: Limits the Hōgyoku's ability to interfere on a large scale—its power now responds only to the host's core will. ✔
...
As Ryo read the upgrades, a thought flashed through his mind.
Jackpot.
The so-called Hōgyoku was a result of research by Aizen and Kisuke Urahara—essentially a "wish engine" made by harvesting immense amounts of Shinigami soul energy and fusing it with fragments of the Soul King.
Its core ability? To guide the evolution of its host toward their desired form of power.
To put it simply: if Ryo wanted to ascend into the four-digit rank in his system—and had a clear path in mind—the Hōgyoku could make it happen.
And not gradually, either. It would rapidly accelerate that evolution.
Of course, this came with a condition.
Ryo needed to have the potential for such a leap. If he had the power and the foundation, the Hōgyoku could skip the long grind and take him straight to the result.
So in the end, the Hōgyoku's true strength depended on its host.
Take Aizen, for example. He already understood the method to surpass the limits of a Shinigami and had pushed himself to the very brink. Once he forced the Hōgyoku to acknowledge him, he broke through entirely.
In other words, the Hōgyoku was a shortcut—but only for the strong.
Luckily, Ryo didn't have to go through all of Aizen's hoops—no death-defying stunts, no risking his soul to conquer the Hōgyoku.
And he didn't have to worry about that one fatal flaw either.
The original Hōgyoku had a nasty tendency to magnify even the tiniest shred of doubt in its host. That flaw was ultimately what doomed Aizen.
When he began to wonder, even slightly, if he might lose to Ichigo Kurosaki—the Hōgyoku made it reality.
Later, when he started to fear that Urahara might successfully seal him, the Hōgyoku responded by guiding Urahara's abilities and actually sealed Aizen.
Sure, Aizen survived thanks to the Hōgyoku's insane regeneration, but the cracks in its logic had already been exposed.
Now, all those negative effects were gone—cleaned up by the Dimensional Forum's enhancements.
"HAHAHAHA"
"Just this one Hōgyoku alone is worth the entire trip to this world. Everything else? Pure bonus."
Even Ryo couldn't help but smile with genuine joy.
At the same time, he realized just how much more the Dimensional Forum could offer—functions he hadn't even scratched the surface of yet.
Case in point: if he hadn't gotten curious and reached out to Rukia just now, he might've missed this enhanced Hōgyoku entirely.
This version wasn't just powerful—it was optimized to work even at Ryo's current five-digit level and could still assist as he broke into four-digit territory.
Which meant it was probably on a whole different level than Aizen's so-called "complete" Hōgyoku. That one might be useful for five-digit beings, but it probably wouldn't do much once you reached four-digit.
Ryo's, on the other hand, was still effective even then.
And what did that mean?
It meant that at least until he hit the triple-digit ranks, Ryo's path was going to be smooth sailing.
Suppressing his excitement, Ryo reminded himself that his silence was probably making Rukia anxious.
He quickly reined in his emotions and looked back at her—just as he withdrew his hand from her forehead.
"...Why?" Rukia's face had gone pale as she stared at him.
That suffocating feeling from earlier—like standing face-to-face with Death itself—still hadn't left her.
And yet, just like that, Ryo had pulled away.
"You were trying to take the thing inside me, weren't you?" she asked.
"If I took it, you'd die."
Ryo gave a light chuckle, then turned his back on her.
"Besides, I've got something even better. So I don't need what's inside you."
"And more importantly, I'm not interested in killing a stranger."
Rukia was stunned silent.
Before she could respond, Ryo had already started walking away, adding with a smile:
"Oh, and just so you know—that thing inside you? Urahara Kisuke put it there himself."
Rukia's face went even paler.
Nearby, Orihime glanced between Rukia and Ryo. After a moment of thought, she gave Rukia a slight bow—then turned and followed after Ryo.
Rukia stood alone in the Cell, her expression complicated.
— — —
Outside the Cell
Orihime hurried to catch up until her steps matched Ryo's pace. Only then did she breathe a little easier.
Walking ahead, Ryo spoke without turning around.
"Color me surprised. I didn't think you'd follow me."
Orihime took a deep breath. Her tone was serious. "I think... you need me more than they do."
Ryo paused mid-step, looking back with mild curiosity. "We barely know each other. You sure about that?"
Orihime nodded slightly, her voice steady.
"If what you said is true, then everything about the Soul Society is a good enough reason."
She hesitated, then added with a pained expression: "My brother passed away recently. He was sent here, to Soul Society."
Her voice dropped. "I thought... that was the best outcome."
"...I see," Ryo murmured, starting to understand.
Her brother had probably entered what she thought was paradise—only to land in an even deeper hell. No wonder she looked like that.
Maybe she came here partly to see how he was doing in the afterlife.
But clearly, her hopes had just been shattered by Ryo himself.
"I should warn you," he sighed. "Getting involved in this stuff could get you killed."
"But pretending I don't know anything—that's worse," Orihime replied softly.
Ryo blinked, then chuckled. "You're an interesting one, you know that?"
"Fine. Stick with me for now."
"Mm." Orihime nodded, her mood visibly lifting. Then, jokingly: "Since we're comrades now, Ryo-san, I've got a teeny-tiny favor. Would you mind?"
"Let's hear it," Ryo said with a smirk.
"Can I see your real face?" she asked carefully.
She'd been dying to know what Ryo really looked like behind Ishida Uryu's features.
"...Sorry. No can do," Ryo said cheerfully.
"Aww, come on! Why not~?" Orihime pouted.
"Hey, I never said yes to your request in the first place," Ryo said playfully.
Before she could protest more, he added: "Alright, let's go rest. Tomorrow, I'll show you a hell of a show."
"Huh?" Orihime blinked, curiosity immediately piqued.
---
The Next Morning
In the walkway between the two main buildings of the 5th Division
Carrying a stack of files, Hinamori Momo looked absolutely exhausted after a full night of patrol. She turned to her childhood friend beside her.
"Hey, Shiro-chan... don't you have your own 10th Division stuff to do? You scared the crap out of me showing up out of nowhere like that."
"I handed everything off to Rangiku," said Hitsugaya Toshiro, his young face calm, Zanpakuto on his back.
"Poor Lieutenant...like me," Momo said with a tired smile.
Then Hitsugaya frowned slightly.
"Momo. I was actually following Captain Gin Ichimaru last night."
"Captain Ichimaru? From the 3rd Division? Why were you tailing him? And why would he go to the 5th Division?"
Hinamori stopped in surprise, staring at Hitsugaya.
"I..."
Hitsugaya started to explain—but then stopped.
A single drop of blood fell from above, landing between them.
Drip—
The blood hit the ground with a soft splatter.
"...Rain?" Hinamori looked up, puzzled—only for her pupils to dilate in horror.
There, hanging from the third floor window of the 5th Division's main hall—
Aizen Sōsuke.
A rope around his neck, a Zanpakuto rammed through his heart, his body suspended in the air like a grotesque puppet.
Rustle.
The files in Hinamori Momo's hands scattered across the floor.
She clutched her head and let out a broken, anguished scream.
"C-C-C-CAPTAIN——————————!"
.
.
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