Everyone became quiet with each of them considering Kisuke's words.
About a minute later, Mayuri voiced out his concerns, "In other words, there's nothing concrete aside from the fact that we don't know anything about him aside from his obvious connection with Hell and those maggots."
"And would answering that question yield us good information to stop the invasion?" Ouetsu also added, "Regardless of what he is, the issue at hand is still stopping those things from consuming everything."
"Well, maybe there's an important piece of information that could reverse the situation, but it's also true that dedicating more effort to this is counterproductive." Kisuke easily agreed with the two of them before turning to Mayuri, "So Kurotsuchi-san, what do you think of those insects?"
"Why are you asking me? Aren't you the one who observed them?"
"Geez, did you really think that you could hide the fact that you created a tiny gateway to send and receive information from the outside?"
But despite being caught, Mayuri didn't close the microscopic hole he created within his arm that he uses to send and receive data from his lab. However, he also didn't deny what he was doing and told Kisuke what he wanted to know, "Those maggots seem to move as one if you look at them from the top. and despite large distances, it seems that they are capable of communicating with each other."
"So what's the probability that this constitutes them having a hivemind?"
Mayuri thought about it for a moment before answering, "Around 90%. Their behavior is consistent with them having connected minds. However, instead of the normal hivemind, I spotted a few of what looked like flies that seemed to control the flow of information and command of the maggots around them. If this is indeed a hivemind, then those nodes are probably protection against information overload and a countermeasure in case they are disconnected from the hive."
"Any chance of us infecting this hivemind?"
"If you want an immediate answer from my observations, then no. We could spend more time looking into this, however."
"No. Don't bother. Let's just confirm if we can use those nodes to trace the brood mother, if it has one."
Mayuri also thought of dealing with the main mind if this is truly a hivemind, "Considering that they're doing this, the probability is high. Though it won't be easy to reach it."
Inserting himself into their conversation, Ouetsu said, "Our goal is clear it seems. Defend the three worlds and a special attack force to strike down the brood mother. That, of course, if you're reading the situation right. We also still don't know where Ichibei went and what he's doing right now."
Kisuke sighed and added, "We also don't know the reason for his sudden transformation. Nevertheless, it's inevitable that he'll resurface once we start counterattacking."
"So what's the plan?" Tenjirou asked. He knew that they didn't have much time so they had to start moving as soon as possible. It now became clear to him and Senjumaru that they have no choice in this matter, "I think having Aizen Sosuke as part of the attack force will increase the chance of success tremendously." He suggested but also thought, 'He's too much of a hot potato. It's a lot better for everyone to have him move away as far as possible.'
Naturally, Aizen immediately guessed his hidden intention but he only chuckled at his attempt, "What are you talking about? I made it clear from the beginning. I won't be offering my strength. Things have become very interesting so I'd rather watch where this will bring us." Now that he knows about the existence of the other worlds, his motivation to protect the current ones has decreased, 'Besides, Urahara and Kurotsuchi working together will bring changes that I wouldn't like to miss.'
"I already have something in mind regarding the division of work."
"So the problem will be who is going to be on that suicide mission and convincing them, huh? I don't mind going but I think I can contribute more if I were to stay behind." Ouetsu muttered while resting his arm on the table.
"Ah, that won't be a problem." Kisuke replied with a big smile on his face, "The 'special attack force' will consist of me... And me alone."
Everyone in the room except for Ophis was shocked at his words. One thing is that no matter how strong he is, he's essentially going to throw his life away. And two, everyone thought that he was going to include Ophis in that attack force. After all, it was she who pushed Ichibei to the limit without much effort.
Kisuke didn't explain his decision any further and continued delegating tasks, "Kurotsuchi-san will clean up all the mess, especially the mess that the nobles left behind. You're also free to use my lab and read any information that you can access."
Mayuri was about to rant about him cleaning the mess but changed his mind the moment he heard Kisuke's second statement, "I hope that you don't regret that."
"It's fine. You'll help me stabilize everything so that's the least I could do."
Kisuke then turned to Senjumaru, Tenjirou, and Ouetsu, "As for you guys, please assist Kurotsuchi-san in case he needs to do a somewhat forceful 'convincing'."
"...Just what are you trying to pull here?" Tenjirou asked. Although their immediate goal is the preservation of the world, they still don't know what Kisuke was aiming for.
"You can ask Ouetsu-san later. He'll have your answers." After that, he ignored them and looked toward Aizen, "I won't ask you to fight, but I do have another favor."
"..." Aizen didn't outright reject him so Kisuke was relieved.
"Please teach Ophis-chan how to use her Zanpakuto."
Aizen's eyes narrowed but there was a glint of interest within, "I've heard of her strange ability to be anything she could think of which includes being a Shinigami, but how about we make it more interesting?"
Kisuke became instantly guarded, "Like what?"
Aizen pointed his thumb at the person who was just silently observing all this time, "Let him teach her how to become a Quincy."
Kisuke was silent for a moment before asking, "You want to create another instance of 'Kurosaki Ichigo'?"
"I'll only help out if you agree."
Of course, Kisuke didn't agree immediately as it was too risky, but before he could even weigh his options, he felt Ophis tugging on his sleeve and when he turned to her, Ophis was making this reassuring expression, "It's fine. I'm strong."
Kisuke stared at her with his eyes wide open for a moment before he started chuckling and patting her head, "Isn't that right? You're the strongest. You'll be fine."
Ophis nodded. However the real reason why she wanted to agree with Aizen is because she wanted to brag to Baka Red' that she had learned a new trick.