The moment I saw the expression on the guy's face—as if he didn't know a thing—my primal instincts reached a dramatic compromise with my reason, and I ended up threatening him before we even had a chance to talk.
No matter how precious, valuable, cute, and lovely my daughter may be, one must draw a line between business and pleasure.
Time to reflect.
I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath to quickly settle my boiling emotions, and opened my eyes again.
"My apologies. My time with my family was interrupted, so I suppose I became overly emotional before I knew it."
As I said that, the man with the wooden doll-like expression jolted and nodded lightly.
"I understand. Having one's precious time with family interrupted... it is certainly something that would cause anger."
Looking at his face and demeanor, he seems like a wooden puppet devoid of emotions, but apparently, he has a sense of familial love after all.
I raised my assessment of him by a notch and continued the conversation.
"I was in such a rush to state my business that I didn't even catch your name. What is it?"
"My name is Azashiro Soya."
"Right, Azashiro Soya. Now then, is that woman behind you your sister?"
"…!!"
As I spoke, looking at the woman who had been cackling in an annoying fashion behind Azashiro Soya, Azashiro shuddered, and the woman hovering behind him snapped her head toward me.
"Can you see me?"
"Judging by your state, you aren't exactly 'normal,' and since you're already dead, it's not like you can be killed again. Is she a Zanpakuto? It's been a while since I've seen a materialized Zanpakuto."
Seeing her like this, I can feel it clearly. It's the same sensation I got from those kids I met when I went to the Phoenix Hall to have my Asauchi forged back in the day.
Of course, they were Tsukumogami and this woman is a Zanpakuto, but they're similar enough, so it's fine.
"Keehahahaha! Oh my, oh my! Did you hear that!? He saw me! If he can do that, aren't things truly hopeless!? No, wait, they were hopeless from the start! I don't know why the predictions made by that brilliant brain of yours always go wrong~ Truly amazing! Keehah!"
"…."
"Trying to act like you don't see anything or hear anything is meaningless, you know? Since they can see me, they can obviously hear my voice, can't they? Why don't you just give up and answer? Or what, did you faint while standing up? Keehah! Keehahahaha!"
"Be quiet. You're making me restless."
At first, I wondered what kind of bastard he was, but seeing this, I realized he was living a heavily burdened life, which made me feel a bit sorry for him.
To think he's not even under his wife's thumb after marriage, but under his own Zanpakuto's. What is this, some kind of master-servant role reversal world?
I lowered the threat level of the man—no, Azashiro Soya—by two notches in my head.
"Was it Azashiro? For now, this situation might be an accident born of a simple misunderstanding, so let's start by clarifying things. That okay with you?"
"I have no objections."
"Right, then let's start with this. What exactly are you trying to do by merging with the Seireitei? What is your objective?"
"The eradication of all Hollows."
I scratched my head at the answer that popped out without a single second of hesitation.
The eradication of all Hollows... depending on how you look at the objective, the feasibility splits between 'possible' and 'impossible'.
If the goal is the eradication of Hollows that exist at this very time, in this very moment, it's possible.
If the goal is to pull out the existence of Hollows itself—the very root—it is impossible.
The former is something I could accomplish alone right now, and if all the Shinigami in the Seireitei started an occupation of Hueco Mundo, it would be achieved in less than three days.
But the latter is impossible. One cannot say it's possible if one truly understands the cause of how Hollows come to be.
Of course, if you disregard all human ethics and aim solely for the complete extermination of Hollows, it isn't impossible, but….
No, let's stop thinking for myself and try talking it out.
That's what I came out here for.
"Let's not be vague; be precise. Do you mean annihilation or eradication?"
"Eradication."
"Can't do it."
To reward the guy who answered without a sliver of hesitation, I also firmly shut down the idea without any hesitation.
As soon as I did, the woman hovering behind him poked her head next to Azashiro and cackled.
Azashiro didn't get disappointed or angry; he just stood there with his eyes quietly closed.
I don't know what he's thinking, but he's probably racking his brain so hard his forehead is heating up.
"The existence of Hollows brings only ill effects to both Shinigami and ordinary souls."
Once I waited for a moment, he launched into a long-winded explanation about Hollows, the harm they cause, and the damages that arise from it.
It was long, but simply put, he was explaining 'the reasons why Hollows must be eradicated'.
The only silver lining is that he isn't some dim-witted idiot screaming 'Hollows are bad! Kill all Hollows!'
However, the unfortunate part is that his brain is so sharp he ends up getting trapped in his own logic.
"You're wordy, so let me summarize: you're saying Hollows are entities that harm others of their own will, so they must be eradicated?"
"That might be an oversimplification, but yes. That is one of the reasons."
"So? How do you intend to achieve that?"
"Hollows are entities born from the corruption of souls. In that case, it is merely a matter of cutting off the roots. Namely, by remodeling the brains and souls of humans in the Human Realm."
Yes, that is exactly the inhumane act I was referring to.
Of course, besides that, there's also the mass extinction of humans, the end of the world, etc., but I'll skip over those.
"Eradicating Hollows by surgically excising human emotions... the premise is good. If you wipe away all the evil in the world, the world would be filled purely with goodness. The birth of a perfect world where everyone could be happy. Incredible."
"Do you believe my plan will fail?"
"I believe your plan itself is the problem. What meaning is there to humans born that way? Can you really call humans who cannot feel sorrow, despair, anger, or jealousy 'alive'?"
"…."
"Human progress is the realization of human willpower, and that will comes from emotion. Anger at not being able to live like this, despair at the fact that one will die like this, jealousy that one wants to live like someone else—those things become will, turning into the resolve to survive at any cost, and eventually becoming hope."
Have you ever imagined what a society that excludes all of those would look like?
Have you ever considered what kind of life humans with their free will castrated would lead?
"It would be a society where everyone is happy, but everyone is miserable. At the very least, it would be much more terrible than what you are imagining."
When I finished speaking with a deep sigh, Azashiro cast his eyes down without a word.
He had understood it with his head, but his heart hadn't accepted it yet.
How do I know that?
...I didn't particularly want to know that, either.
"Looks like you understood it in your head. If you've understood it in your head, that's enough for now."
Honestly, it's not that often you find a human capable of instant enlightenment and practice, and I don't lack enough conscience to expect that from a brat whose inside has rotted so much he doesn't even know his own condition.
"I don't know what you went through in the past. Still, something terrible must have happened for you to conceive of such a plan. Surely you didn't decide to do this for no reason just because this method was 'effective'."
If he had, he would have died by my hands.
"This is what I can say to you: think about it again before you commit to it. And don't get buried in your objective. If you run while looking only at the stars in the sky, you won't lose your way, but you won't be able to see what lies on the ground beneath you."
Wait, why is it so bright around here? Is it noon?
I frowned at the light that was almost blinding and looked up at the sky, but the sun was hidden behind the clouds.
Then, where the hell is this light coming from?
I looked back, but the light was still behind me.
"Oh, holy shit, you scared me—what is this?"
I brushed my hands behind my head and shook off the halo of light.
I wondered if it would even come off by shaking it with my hand, but luckily, it dissipated quickly.
"Anyway, that's that. You get it?"
"Yes."
He responds well, at least.
Honestly, I didn't trust him, but I decided to let it slide just this once.
I need to go back quickly and watch our daughter playing the instructor secretly.
Ah, wait, before that.
"Release the fusion. Judging by how things look, it seems like you can see and hear everything wherever you've fused, and if it's not released by tomorrow, I'll come back for you, so keep that in mind."
"The fusion…."
"No. Won't let you. Won't negotiate. Sneaking around and spying on other people's homes, the audacity."
"Keehahahaha! He's suddenly become a voyeur... no, a peeping tom! Keehat! Keehahahaha! Though, I suppose our master does look a bit sinister. If he just relaxed his expression and smiled a bit, he wouldn't get that kind of misunderstanding, right?"
"I do not do such things."
"Then I'll be watching you all day from tomorrow, so why don't you feel it for yourself? Once you feel how shitty it is to be constantly observed by someone else, you'll stop doing it."
After saying that, from the next day, I used my spiritual sensing that could cover the entirety of Soul Society to monitor Azashiro Soya alone.
Watching a disgusting guy eat, shit, sleep, and even seeing every individual cell move was quite stomach-turning, but I gritted my teeth and waited. Sure enough, not many hours passed before he gave up and came to me to release the fusion himself.
"I have released it."
"Good. Then I'll let you off, too."
Honestly, I thought he'd last at least a week, but he gave up sooner than I thought.