Chapter 11: Old Friend
Crack, crack...
The sound of glass shattering echoed in Su Xiao's ears. He was struggling to suppress the derivative effect of [Blade Grandmaster]. This was difficult; he needed to ensure that Aizen had already left, but he was still in a hypnotized state and couldn't confirm whether Aizen had gone far.
After a full ten minutes, Su Xiao could no longer suppress the derivative effect of [Blade Grandmaster]. With a crash, the world around him shattered like a mirror.
The fact proved that spiritual-type abilities like Kyoka Suigetsu were completely ineffective against Su Xiao.
Don't think that being able to break Kyoka Suigetsu means you can fight Aizen. Even without the Hogyoku inside him, Aizen's strength was still among the top in the Gotei 13. Without that ability, how would he dare to openly confront the Soul Society?
The surrounding world returned to normal, but Su Xiao's eyes remained tightly shut. He was sensing, sensing whether the world around him was normal.
After confirming several times, Su Xiao could be certain that he had broken free from the hypnotic control of Kyoka Suigetsu. However, there was one troublesome point: the next time Aizen tried to use his hypnotic ability to control Su Xiao, it would be very awkward. Of course, the awkward one would be Aizen.
Currently, Su Xiao belonged to the Gotei 13 faction. As for whether he would join forces with Aizen, that was still under consideration.
The biggest advantage of colluding with Aizen was that Aizen was not a righteous gentleman. Even if Su Xiao's methods were extreme, Aizen could easily accept them.
On the other hand, the benefit of joining the Gotei 13 was having a strong backing. The Soul Society was not something Aizen could shake. Even with the power boost from the Hogyoku, Aizen couldn't easily shake the Soul Society.
In essence, the Shinigami were not good rulers, and neither was Aizen. The difference between them was like coal and charcoal.
Su Xiao didn't care at all about the future of the Soul Society. But there was an indisputable fact: joining Aizen's side was definitely the most profitable choice.
If Su Xiao killed a captain of a certain division, he would be in an irreconcilable conflict with the Gotei 13. But with Aizen as a scapegoat, it was different. When Aizen betrayed the Gotei 13, he would form his own faction, and the Gotei 13 would have trouble dealing with him. This was exactly the result Su Xiao wanted.
Of course, it was still too early to consider these things. If Su Xiao wanted to join Aizen, he would directly reveal his hand. With Aizen's intelligence, he would soon discover that Kyoka Suigetsu was ineffective against Su Xiao. At that point, there would be only two outcomes: recruitment or elimination.
When Aizen betrayed the Gotei 13, two captain-level Shinigami followed him. One was named Ichimaru Gin, and the other was Tosen Kaname.
Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu was very strong, but it had a weakness: it was ineffective against the blind. Coincidentally, Tosen Kaname was blind, and Aizen chose to recruit him.
Su Xiao needed to determine Aizen's reaction upon realizing that Kyoka Suigetsu had been broken, and then consider whether to join or ally with the Gotei 13 to besiege Aizen.
However, Su Xiao could be sure of one thing: Aizen had already noticed his disguise.
Before entering the Sixth Division's barracks, Su Xiao contacted Bubu Wang. The reason for doing this was that Bubu Wang had already infiltrated the protagonist's team and was constantly monitoring Ichigo Kurosaki's movements. When Ichigo Kurosaki was about to enter the Soul Society, Su Xiao would definitely be the first to receive the news.
The Sixth Division's barracks were different from other divisions. The buildings here were noticeably taller, the streets wider, and they exuded an air of wealth.
During his three days in the Soul Society, Su Xiao had already figured out the location of the reputation shop, which was the logistics department of the Sixth Division.
After winding through several streets, Su Xiao arrived at a courtyard. Shinigami were constantly entering and exiting the courtyard.
[Hunter has arrived at the reputation shop area. Reputation shop has been activated.]
[Tip: The reputation shop is an absolutely neutral point.]
Su Xiao entered the building in the courtyard. It looked somewhat like a pawnshop.
Behind the counter in the room, a thin, withered old man was sleeping soundly.
Thump, thump.
Su Xiao lightly tapped the wooden table. The old man behind the counter sat up and casually wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"This... sir, welcome."
The thin old man looked at Su Xiao with a smile. Su Xiao also looked at the thin old man. For some reason, the other party gave Su Xiao a very strange feeling.
He could be certain that this old man was definitely not from the Bleach world. He didn't need to use the [Apostle's Eye] to detect it; he could feel it just by intuition.
The thin old man handed over a list, a meaningful smile on his face. Seeing this cunning smile, the sense of familiarity grew stronger.
Su Xiao could be sure that he had definitely seen this old man before, and in another world. As for which world, he couldn't recall at the moment.
Judging by appearance alone, Su Xiao was seeing this thin old man for the first time. But the other party's treacherous, cunning aura felt very familiar to Su Xiao.
"Have we met?"
Su Xiao took the list. He didn't rush to check the items in the reputation shop but kept staring at the thin old man.
"Hehehe, sir, you're overthinking. This is our first meeting."
"Is that so."
Su Xiao's eyelids drooped. When the other party laughed, the familiar feeling was particularly strong, but he still couldn't remember where he had seen him.
Although he couldn't recall who the thin old man was, the good news was that the thin old man was an absolutely neutral party and wouldn't favor anyone. Thinking of this, Su Xiao focused his attention on the list in his hand.
A virtual screen appeared before Su Xiao's eyes. It was an item list.
[Soul Remains]
Origin: Bleach
Quality: Legendary
Type: Special Consumable
Effect: After use, can summon a captain-level Shinigami to assist in combat. Duration lasts until the Hunter leaves the Bleach world.
Tip: This item can only be used within this world.
Rating: 510 points (Legendary item rating ranges from 400 to 530 points)
Price: 10,000 Gotei 13 Reputation Points.
...
[Peerless Elegance]
Origin: Bleach
Quality: Legendary
Category: Zanpakuto
Durability: 105/105
Attack Power: 173~198
Equipment Requirement: Shinigami ability, True Intelligence attribute 85 points or above, Basic Blade Weapon Ability Lv. 40 or above.
Shikai Ability: Visible after exchange.
Introduction: Elegance in appearance, peerless in the world.
Price: 10,000 Gotei 13 Reputation Points.
...
[Shihakusho (Soul Left Knight)]
Origin: Bleach
Quality: Gold Set.
...
The list contained a large number of equipment, items, etc., available for exchange. However, in Su Xiao's view, only two items were worth exchanging: [Soul Remains] and [Peerless Elegance].
Considering the pros and cons, spending 10,000 Gotei 13 Reputation Points to exchange for a Zanpakuto, only to have [Dragon-Slaying Flash] devour it, was very wasteful. The Bleach world was not short of Zanpakuto. Moreover, after [Supreme Blade] broke its limit, it could be devoured raw. He had done this in the Akame ga Kill world.
So-called raw devouring meant defeating or killing a Shinigami and then directly using [Dragon-Slaying Flash] to devour the opponent's Zanpakuto, rather than obtaining it through a treasure chest first and then devouring it. Doing this yielded fewer edge values but was more convenient and didn't rely on luck.
[Shihakusho (Soul Left Knight)] was also quite good. It was a Gold set, but its attributes weren't suitable for Su Xiao. Plus, the exchange price for the five-piece set was as high as 39,000 Gotei 13 Reputation Points, so Su Xiao directly ignored this item.
A single piece of Gold set equipment was indeed inferior to Legendary equipment. But if the five pieces were collected, it would be equivalent to two to three pieces of Legendary equipment. An equal number of Legendary equipment would surpass a Gold set in all aspects.
After making a decision in his mind, Su Xiao turned and left the reputation shop. Watching Su Xiao's retreating figure, the thin old man behind the counter stood up and rubbed his hands.
"Old friend, long time no see. Be careful, someone is monitoring you from two kilometers away. Unfortunately, I'm a neutral party now, so I can't give you a warning. I really miss those days of 'mutual harm.' I wonder where Bubuteni has gone. After you left, Kaisa was very lonely, hehehe..."