"Lord Aizen!"
Just as Haruki and Aizen were speaking, Tōsen suddenly interjected, "Look, White seems to be undergoing a ge."
Both Haruki and Aizen turheir attention to the Hollow. They noticed that White, which had previously been pale, was now vulsing.
A dark substance began to flow out from the Hollow hole in its chest, rapidly spreading and turning its entire body bck. At the same time, a dense, white material began to grow on its face, eventually c it pletely.
Aizen immediately walked over, his eyes filled with a mix of shod intense curiosity about what would happe.
Haruki observed the Hollow and realized it was transf into the White he was familiar with from the manga.
Aizen murmured softly, "Fasating, truly fasating."
"Though it was named 'White,' it has now turned pletely bck. A Hollow created from a Shinigami's soul—it certainly hasn't disappointed me."
Haruki was also stunned because he noticed that White's favorability toward him had increased again, now reag 61.
Wow, had he just effortlessly gaihe Hollowfication ability?
This was amazing!
Haruki couldn't help but smile. "It seems I have a e with White. I arrived just in time to withis spectacle."
"Indeed," Aizen aowledged, not shying away from giving Haruki credit. He carefully observed White's transformation before quickly moving to the instruments to monitor its soul data.
Finally, White pleted its evolution. Hrew on its head, and its appearanow perfectly matched the White from the manga.
Haruki also walked over and took a closer look.
It seemed that White, having just pleted its evolution, had gained a tremendous amount of power, enough to sharpen its sciousness. As Haruki approached, White opes eyes.
"Hey, looks like it's awake," Haruki said to Aizen. "Captain Aizen, what do you pn to do with it ?"
"Testing."
Aizen's eyes still held a trace of astonishment at White's birth, and even a hint of excitement.
For someone like Aizen, it was rare for anything to stir his usually calm and posed heart.
The look in his eyes reminded Haruki of the se in the manga where Aizen, upon seeing White asaki Kurosaki as its host, had that same 'uedly excited' expression.
In truth, Haruki was also excited. After all, he had just gained a new soul ability almost effortlessly. Who wouldn't be thrilled?
Of course, it wasirely effortless—he had tributed his own soul fragments.
However, Aizen, in order to test White's capabilities, had decided to let it start killing.
Of course, it couldn't do so within the Soul Society.
"Tōsen," Aizen said, "release White into the human world. Let it start with the Shinigami statiohere."
"...Uood," Tōsen nodded ao make the arras.
"...I'm not really ied in this kind of se," Haruki said at this point.
He had no i in watg Aizen's schemes against the Shinigami.
"I'll go keep Captain Kyōraku pany instead."
Aizen didn't mind.
His focus had already shifted to White, so whether Haruki stayed or left didn't matter.
Haruki nodded a.
After spending so much time in Aizen's b, the outside world had grown dim.
The sun was setting, and the streets were tinged with a sense of decay.
The b behind him seemed like the source of this decay, its silhouette twisting like a demoy uhe fading sunlight.
Haruki walked away from the b, distang himself from that den of darkness.
He had made pns to drink with Kyōraku Shunsui today, and he couldn't break that promise.
Kyōraku Shunsui was a busy man—well, perhaps not just busy.
He was more of a VIP, an upper-oble.
Although Shunsui himself didn't care much about his status, others wouldn't casually invite him out for drinks.
Usually, it was the vice-captains or third and fourth seats who drank together. Who would invite a captain to join them?
Having a captain at the table would make the drinking less enjoyable.
People don't often drink with those too far above or below their social standing.
Even though the differeween a vice-captain and a captain is just one rank, that one rank is something many 't bridge even after years of effort.
Onaster Bankai and bee a captain, your name is etched into the million-year history of the Soul Society!
That's why, even now, Haruki hadn't been able to obtain Shunsui's soul ability. His favorability was stuck at 50.
This just goes to show how guarded these tury-old captains are. You think you befriend them? Who do you think you are?
Just because you've shared a meal or a drink doesn't make you friends. If that were the case, they'd have friends everywhere.
A noble who's lived for turies has walls thicker than a fortress around their heart.
Especially someone like Kyōraku Shunsui, a master of the art of subtlety. He's not only long-lived but also a ing old fox. People like him aren't easy to befriend.
If it were Jūshirō Ukitake, it might have been simpler.
Unfortunately, Ukitake is a sickly man, and Haruki hasn't even had the eet him yet.
What a shame.
Today, only Haruki, Rangiku, and Shunsui were drinking. The usual drinking buddies hadn't e.
Hisagi and Iba had retly been promoted to vice-captains and were sed with work, so they hadn't been able to join for drinks tely.
Only he and Rangiku, carefree as ever, had the time to drink every day.
Today, they were drinking in the Sixth District, only known as the reet. The restaurants here were naturally high-end, luxurious, and cssy.
Of course, even such pces have their hierarchies.
In the Sixth District, there are both high-end and ordinary eateries.
This time, they chose a retively ordinary izakaya in the Sixth District called "Daruma-ya."
But "ordinary" in the Sixth District doesn't mean it's truly ordinary.
"Haruki! You're te!"
As Haruki entered Daruma-ya, he heard Rangiku's voice.
He walked into the private room and saw that Rangiku and Shunsui had already started drinking.
Haruki couldn't help but twitch his lips, saying with some exasperation, "Hey, you two, really?"
"I'm the oreating today, a you two started eating and drinking without me, the host. Is that really okay?!"
"Ah, don't worry about it!" Rangiku ughed, pletely unbothered. "Besides, you're the one who was te. You 't bme us for that."
