Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 436

After the fight, Fujimoto Tōma stayed behind to talk.

If he was going to seriously consider the Masked Corps’ corruption state, he needed details. Not rumors. Not secondhand theory. Actual experience.

Aside from the former captains, the rest of the group consisted of:

Sarugaki Hiyori, former Research Division Vice-Captain and head of a development lab. She looked perpetually irritated, sharp-eyed, and carried herself like someone who’d bite first and ask questions later.

Yadōmaru Lisa, former Eighth Division Vice-Captain. The braided, glasses-wearing sailor-uniform girl whose gaze had a habit of drifting in directions it shouldn’t.

Hachigen Ushōda, former Vice Chief of the Sealing Corps. A round, gentle-looking middle-aged man with an unsettlingly deep understanding of barrier techniques.

And Kuna Mashiro, former Ninth Division Vice-Captain. A small girl dressed like a mascot hero, smiling innocently in a way that made her seem... slightly off.

Tōma glanced at Hachigen.

So that explained it.

No wonder he’d never noticed a massive underground space beneath this house. Someone with that level of sealing mastery could bury an entire fortress under the city without leaving a trace.

Which was exactly why relying purely on chakra perception in this world was unreliable.

Too many techniques. Too many tools.

"So," Tōma said, turning back to Hirako Shinji, "you were forcibly corrupted. Start from the beginning. I’m curious."

Shinji sighed.

"You know Aizen Sōsuke, right?"

"Of course," Tōma replied casually. "He tried pretty hard to recruit me when I graduated. I wasn’t interested."

The room went quiet.

Shinji stared.

Then, slowly, relief crept into his expression.

If Tōma had joined Aizen back then... this conversation wouldn’t exist.

"...Yes," Shinji said finally. "Aizen was my vice-captain. I picked him because something about him felt wrong. Turns out I underestimated just how wrong."

Shinji explained everything.

The corruption hadn’t been voluntary.

It spread like an infection.

Muguruma Kensei was the first, ambushed by Tōsen Kaname during a mission. A blade coated with something unnatural pierced him, and the corruption took hold immediately.

From there, it spread to anyone who came to help.

One by one.

By the time reinforcements arrived, nearly everyone had been infected.

Only Mizuno Kagetora and Takeda Jūzō escaped.

Tōma nodded.

That lined up.

Whatever that substance was, it clearly originated from the same core artifact.

He was mildly interested in it.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t a researcher. And neither Kagetora nor Aizen would ever let him "borrow" something like that.

"One more thing," Tōma said. "When you were first corrupted... were you like this?"

"No," Shinji replied. "At first, we were closer to actual corrupted entities. Violent. Unstable. Strong, but barely conscious."

"It was Kagetora who stabilized us. After that, we could use our original techniques again... along with the corruption state."

That made sense.

If it had been all upside from the start, the Council wouldn’t have hunted them like animals.

They’d have been too dangerous to confront directly.

Shinji hesitated, then asked carefully, "You’re interested in corruption power, aren’t you?"

Tōma didn’t bother denying it.

"Yes."

Shinji frowned. "It’s not a clean power."

"Power isn’t clean or dirty," Tōma replied calmly. "Only the people using it are."

Kensei scoffed. "We’re different."

"Are you?" Tōma glanced at him. "You’re not attacking civilians. You’re not slaughtering indiscriminately. That’s a choice, not a nature." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Silence followed.

Then Tōma added, "Don’t worry. I’m not Aizen. I won’t defect to experiment on myself, and I won’t chase power without limits. If you find an opportunity, tell Kagetora. He can reach me."

With that, he left.

"Hey," Hiyori muttered once he was gone, arms crossed. "That guy... can we trust him?"

Shinji exhaled.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "But if he wanted us dead, we’d already be gone."

What bothered Shinji wasn’t fear.

It was confusion.

Tōma was already absurdly strong.

Why risk everything for more?

Corruption power wasn’t something you played with.

Tōma returned to his lakeside home.

As usual, he stood at the center of the water, letting the surface remain perfectly still beneath his feet.

Today’s encounter had given him a lot to think about.

The Masked Corps.

Kurosaki Ichigo’s origins.

One thing was clear.

Shinobi power and corruption power could coexist.

Perfectly.

But the archer bloodline was out of reach for him. That power wasn’t something you acquired. You were born with it.

Which left corruption.

"So what," Tōma muttered, "do I shove a corrupted entity into myself?"

His eye twitched.

That sounded way too familiar.

He shook his head.

No.

This wasn’t the same thing.

A host and a beast were still two separate existences.

Ichigo was different. The corruption had fused with him from the beginning.

And stuffing some random entity into his body was a terrible idea anyway.

Even setting aside preference, there were very few corrupted beings strong enough to interest him.

And without understanding the mechanism, forcing it would just end badly.

Just look at Shiba.

Weak will. Weak power.

Consumed completely.

Masaki only survived because Isshin intervened.

And even then, that outcome relied on external stabilization.

Which led back to the core question.

Was that artifact the only solution?

Tōma lifted his gaze.

"...Do I really need to ask Kagetora for help?"

He doubted Kagetora would agree.

Which left one other option.

Become a corrupted entity outright.

Then regain control.

Risky. Permanent. And guaranteed to make him an enemy of the entire system.

Not ideal.

His eyes dropped to the sword at his waist.

Still-Mind Mirror.

He remembered something.

There had once been an incident involving weapon spirits manifesting physically.

Independent consciousness.

Independent will.

Some had even turned on their wielders.

If a weapon spirit could possess awareness... could it be corrupted?

If so—

What if the one undergoing corruption wasn’t him...

But the blade?

Still-Mind Mirror was already formed from his chakra.

Bound closer to him than anything else.

If he couldn’t trust that—

Then what could he trust?

The blade trembled slightly.

"...You don’t want to?" Tōma asked quietly.

For a moment, the world blurred.

That woman appeared again. Dressed in formal court robes. Watching him.

She shook her head once.

Then spoke.

"If you wish, I can attempt corruption at any time."

Tōma nodded.

He wasn’t surprised.

The sword reflected him.

His hunger for strength.

His willingness to walk dangerous paths.

"Not yet," Tōma said. "We’re not there."

He still needed answers.

Conditions. Triggers. Fail-safes.

If it proved impossible, he’d stop.

Preparation came first.

The sword said nothing more.

But its silence carried something else.

Because Tōma didn’t know this—

But the sword did.

It had never been entirely normal to begin with.

From the start, it had been closer to a corrupted entity than a pure weapon.

Only lacking awareness.

Only lacking identity.

Until Tōma’s chakra, day after day, etched part of his own soul into it.

Giving it will.

Giving it form.

Giving it a name.

When Tōma opened his eyes again, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Another concept.

Arrancar.

Entities that moved in the opposite direction.

Corrupted beings that gained discipline. Awareness. Structure.

How different were they, really?

Different origin.

Same result.

Stronger than before.

He exhaled.

Too many unknowns.

Which meant only one thing.

Eventually, he’d have to visit the corrupted realm itself.

Experiment directly.

Break masks.

Observe outcomes.

For now, he closed his eyes.

Drew his consciousness inward.

And once again crossed blades with Still-Mind Mirror inside his own mind.

As he did every day.

Waiting.