Chapter 148: Intelligence Gap
Watching Aizen Sosuke's group walk away without a backward glance, Urahara Kisuke and the others stayed exactly where they were. They didn't move immediately.
Tessai's instinct was to give chase right then and there, drag Aizen Sosuke back, and make it stick.
Urahara's view was completely different.
"Rescue first."
The reasoning was straightforward enough.
"The way Aizen Sosuke looked just now, completely at ease with everything, he's prepared for this. He left contingencies behind... chasing him directly is exactly what he wants us to do."
He was holding Hirako Shinji, taking in the man's ragged breathing, and his expression was grim as he continued.
"Until we close the intelligence gap, I'm in favor of playing it safe."
Infuriating to hear. But impossible to argue with.
Tessai pressed his lips together hard. His right hand closed into a fist until the knuckles went pale.
This was, in fact, one of the fundamental problems Soul Society had always faced and would continue to face for a long time to come.
Whether it was the Ryoka invasion in the main story, or Hueco Mundo afterward, or the Quincy conflict further down the line... Soul Society had always operated from a position of natural intelligence disadvantage. Being blindsided in every direction was an ongoing and deeply frustrating reality.
Aggravating as it was to admit, the approach made sense. Because without resorting to these methods, the Gotei 13's actual depth was something else entirely. Their true strength went far beyond the thirteen captains visible on the surface.
Leave aside the fact that the seated officers alone were quietly stacked with talent. Among the vice-captains there were several people carrying concealed ability well beyond their rank, more than capable of running a squad. Numbers were irrelevant in the world of Bleach. Past a certain threshold, the gap between levels simply meant the stronger party ran over the weaker like they weren't there. Any debate between special mechanics and raw stats was a conversation with no answer, not in this setting.
On the lower end: lower-ranking captains covered a wide variety of styles, so there was always a match somewhere.
On the higher end: the top-tier captains were operating beyond what their ranks suggested, no further explanation needed.
And if you somehow worked through both of those? Heh. That was when the hidden route triggered, and the old man came at you with Ryujin Jakka.
The Gotei 13's bench depth was comprehensive in that sense. There was always someone at the right level, whatever level you happened to be.
Back to the matter at hand.
With Urahara's help, Hirako Shinji recovered his breath quickly enough. He reached up and grabbed the mask still covering his face, and with a raw, hoarse shout, wrenched it off.
"Hah... hah..."
He was breathing hard. He thanked Urahara for helping him stay upright, then immediately asked the question he had to ask.
"The others... the other captains, where are they?!"
The urgency on his face was visible from across the clearing.
The reason was simple. Matsushita Yusuke had walked away looking completely fine, which could only mean one thing: everyone who had faced him was down. Every single one.
Were they dead? Had it actually gone that far?
It wasn't just the years of shared history in front of him. This had been Hirako's operation. Even purely as a matter of responsibility, his reaction was exactly what you would expect.
Urahara offered a few words of reassurance. Then, not long after, Tessai's voice reached them from close by.
"No need to worry! They're all over here!"
He landed smoothly with shunpo, setting down one figure after another on the ground around him.
The three captains who had faced Matsushita Yusuke directly, and the vice-captains alongside them, all accounted for. Tessai ran a quick check, then spoke with complete certainty.
"Confirmed. None of them are in danger."
Calling the injuries flesh wounds would have been an understatement in the wrong direction, but none of it had come anywhere close to lethal.
"Is that... right..."
Hirako's relief came through clearly.
Tessai stood beside him and dropped into a half-crouch. At his height, even crouching, the effect was still somewhat imposing. He opened his mouth as if to say something. Then after a long pause, closed it again.
"Tessai-san, is there something you want to say?"
Urahara was in the middle of a closer examination, but he had always been sharp at reading people, and the slight shift in Tessai's expression hadn't gone unnoticed.
Being asked directly removed any remaining reason to hold back.
Tessai let out a slow breath, and spoke with something that sounded like it was lodged in his throat.
"These members of the Gotei 13... I wouldn't call it luck. The word I'd use is 'mercy.'"
Splitting hairs on phrasing for its own sake was pointless. But Hirako, now covered in cold sweat, caught the implication immediately.
His chest heaved. He tilted his head up and looked sideways, something lost moving through his expression.
"You mean... that these people are alive because... because..."
"Yes. Because Matsushita Yusuke held back."
Urahara stood, wiping blood from his hands with a handkerchief.
"Every burn, every cut, precisely placed to miss anything vital. Once the bleeding was dealt with, all of them were out of danger."
Some things were difficult to say, but this particular fact was blunt and uncomplicated.
"If he'd wanted to, Matsushita Yusuke could have killed every single one of them. That's what we're saying."
Hirako couldn't stop the way his breath came out. His whole body was shaking, cold sweat soaking through. Whether it was pure rage or something else entirely, it was hard to say from the outside.
"Why would he do this..."
Nobody answered. Urahara and Tessai clearly didn't have an answer either.
But if the person in question had been standing there, he would have told them without hesitation.
Why let them live? To collect the Visored cutscenes in the Arrancar arc, obviously!
Were they the least powerful faction in the three-way conflict that came later? Technically. But their style was through the roof, their scenes were well worth collecting, and there had to be achievement quests attached.
Play the long game.
This, naturally, was not something Urahara and the others could have worked out on their own. The three of them looked at each other and were about to leave it unresolved.
Then Hirako let out a sudden wretched sound and buried his face in both hands.
His body curled in on itself, and all across his skin, a countless number of milky-white outlines began forcing their way out.
The same transformation as before. Still continuing.
Urahara moved without thinking, getting the others under control, and called out to Tessai in a raised voice.
"Bring everyone. We're taking them to the Research and Development Department... I'll sort this out for them!"