Chapter 243: The Right Candidate
After a round of basic adjustments and one final check that nothing would come loose unexpectedly, Matsushita Yusuke set the device aside for the time being.
The results weren't quite where he needed them yet. Further calibration would come later. For now, the important part was done.
With the main business wrapped up, the meeting drifted into something easier.
Work wasn't the whole of life. Beyond the professional relationship, everyone here had chosen this path for their own reasons. That made them, in some sense, people with shared convictions. Worth getting to know properly.
"Matsushita, have you gotten a lot stronger again recently?"
Tosen's tone carried genuine uncertainty.
From his perspective, the changes in Matsushita Yusuke were consistently beyond what he could track or measure. They had stopped being in the same tier a long time ago, and Matsushita Yusuke showed no signs of being bothered by that fact. He answered with the same easy energy as always.
"Probably a bit stronger, yeah. Though I don't have a great reference point to compare against, so I don't think about it too hard."
"You still say whatever comes into your head, don't you."
Tosen laughed quietly.
The rhythm of this kind of exchange was familiar enough by now that neither of them had to think about it. The back and forth was comfortable.
What was unusual was that Aizen hadn't joined in.
He was sitting with his mouth closed, head tilted slightly upward, one hand working slowly at his chin.
The expression of someone with something on their mind.
"Aizen-sensei, is something the matter?"
Ignoring it entirely would have been too obvious. Matsushita Yusuke asked.
Aizen seemed to come back from somewhere. A soft sound of acknowledgment, then a slight blink.
"My apologies. Did I look strange?"
Once he had confirmed the answer was yes, Aizen let out a quietly resigned sound and touched the corner of his mouth.
"That was careless. I don't usually do that."
Letting his expression show wasn't typical for him. So why had it happened here? Was this environment making him too comfortable? Or had he simply decided that maintaining his usual composure in front of these two was more effort than it was worth?
He wasn't sure. Either way, he set the thought aside.
"I was just thinking about some upcoming arrangements."
"...?"
Both of the others looked at him with the particular blankness of people waiting for more.
Aizen's expression carried a faint amusement at that before he continued.
"The research into the special individual."
Tosen put it together first.
"The special individual from before? The one Matsushita brought in?"
The bull-head, in plain terms.
Aizen exhaled quietly, adjusted his posture, and let a somewhat complicated expression settle onto his face.
"That's the one. Previously the progress was slow but manageable. At least within an acceptable range."
That had changed.
"Its development has essentially stopped."
"But that doesn't make sense. I remember the special individual's appetite being extremely strong when we last assessed it. It should have the capacity to keep growing."
"If I could figure that out, I wouldn't be sitting here with this headache, Tosen."
"...You're right. I'm sorry, I was being too simplistic."
During the exchange, Aizen shifted his attention toward Matsushita Yusuke, who had been sitting with a thinking expression throughout.
"What do you think should be done, Matsushita-kun?"
Before asking, Aizen provided context for the question.
Right, here it was.
The reason Matsushita Yusuke had been staying quiet about this particular topic was one of positioning. As he had established before, the goal was to keep Ichigo Kurosaki's birth on its natural trajectory without unnecessary interference. Let things develop on their own terms wherever possible. Only apply pressure when something genuinely needed a push.
This seemed like one of those moments.
"Aizen-sensei, what specifically is the problem?"
Aizen didn't answer immediately. He sat with the question, looking down, turning it over, until he was sure of what he actually wanted to say.
"The rate of growth is too slow."
He said it again, more deliberately.
"Compared to before, the special individual's development has slowed dramatically. By too much."
The line between his brows deepened, and something faintly impatient entered his voice.
"At this rate, it doesn't justify the time and attention we've continued to put into it."
A calm, rational statement. Also accurate. For Aizen, research was defined by its objectives. Investment without return wasn't patience, it was poor planning.
Tosen looked quietly concerned.
"Is it possible the special individual has simply reached its own ceiling?"
Aizen removed his glasses and pressed two fingers gently against the bridge of his nose.
"I can't rule that out. Which is part of why I'm considering scaling back the focus on it for now and shifting resources toward other projects."
Even well-funded operations had limits. The Club operated under the constant constraint of secrecy, which meant every research direction took longer to establish than it otherwise would. Hitting a wall was part of the process.
But it was still exhausting to consider that recent effort might have produced nothing.
"Though with that said, I do think continued observation for a while longer makes sense. The possibility of a temporary plateau can't be dismissed."
"I agree."
Matsushita Yusuke made a small adjustment to his posture.
He needed to get the framing right.
The goal was to get Aizen genuinely interested enough to push the research further, without steering him away from the existing direction. And the approach had to account for what was happening on the living world side as well as Isshin's current situation.
Not the simplest thing to navigate.
He was still working through it when he felt Aizen's attention come back toward him. He cleared his throat and straightened.
"Matsushita-kun, do you have any other thoughts on what we've been discussing?"
Of course he did.
He chose his words carefully.
"I think feeding it something stronger might be worth trying."
In the original story, the bull-head's next significant development had come from its encounter with Isshin Shiba. The stimulus was a high-quality spiritual body, and the response had been dramatic.
Hunting that caliber of prey was functionally equivalent to going after someone at lieutenant level or above.
A brief flicker crossed Aizen's expression. He settled into thought.
"Introducing a large quantity of high-quality reiatsu in a short window and then observing the response. An interesting direction. I hadn't considered it from that angle before."
He smiled and asked:
"Do you have anyone specific in mind, Matsushita-kun?"
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