Bai Ye asked curiously, "Is there a problem?"
Seth replied, "My identity as a proxy Shinigami only proves I'm not an infiltrator, but how do I explain my actions of placing the markers? Therefore, revealing I'm a proxy Shinigami offers me no benefit. On the contrary, if I can maintain my proxy Shinigami identity and escape successfully, I still have hope of completing my mission later."
Bai Ye nodded and asked, "So, is the mission still active?"
Seth nodded.
Bai Ye said, "Alright, then let's talk about our problem. If I help you escape this place, what benefits will you give me?"
Seth was angry at Bai Ye for tricking him earlier, but he wasn't angered by this question.
There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
If Bai Ye had directly offered to help, Seth would have suspected Bai Ye of planning to trick him again.
Seth asked, "What do you want?"
Bai Ye replied, "That depends on what you have."
Seth began to ponder. He did have some good items, but this wasn't a simple exchange of goods. The ultimate goal of completing a mission was the reward, and there was only one reward, which couldn't be split in half. Moreover, Seth couldn't offer something better than the reward, otherwise, wouldn't that mean he was foolish?
And this was the crux of the problem...
Seth didn't know how powerful Kidō #63 was.
Kidō was a type of ghost art mastered by Shinigami, with varying strengths. To know its power, one either had to obtain it or witness it firsthand. However, Urahara had never shown Seth Kidō #63.
After thinking for a while, Seth said, "I have a Zanpakutō."
Bai Ye asked, "What quality is it?"
Seth replied, "White."
"Isn't that trash?" Bai Ye rolled his eyes. "This is a hidden mission. You want me to help for trash? Does that make any sense?"
Seth asked, "How did you know it was a hidden mission?"
Isn't that obvious?
Seireitei was a forbidden zone, but now that they had entered Seireitei, it had nothing to do with the forbidden zone, nor were there any forbidden zone missions. It was clearly only possible to be a hidden mission.
Bai Ye asked, "Just tell me, is it or isn't it?"
Seth nodded helplessly, "It's a hidden mission, but what does a hidden mission mean? No one knows what the reward will be until it's obtained..."
Bai Ye directly interrupted, "Do you believe that yourself when you say that? That's a hidden mission. Apart from not having God Stone fragments, the rewards for many hidden missions are even better than forbidden zone missions."
Seth hesitated for a moment, then said, "Give me a definite answer, what kind of benefits do you want?"
Bai Ye replied, "It can't be lower than blue quality. The type of item doesn't matter, and whether I can use it doesn't matter either. In short, the minimum quality must not be lower than blue. How about that?"
Seth looked at Bai Ye with a strange expression and asked, "You don't want to take back the Golden Robe and get my Black Order uniform for free, do you?"
Bai Ye said, "It's fine if you want to trade the Golden Robe, but I really don't want the Golden Robe much right now. I can't wear a Taoist robe over my uniform, can I? Do you think I'm some kind of ancient philosopher!"
Seth shook his head, "Your demands are too high. My reward is likely only blue quality as well."
"But that's a Shinigami's Kidō, a technique, not an item," Bai Ye said with a smile. "You seem to have some strength and quite a few good items on hand. You should know that in the world battlefield, directly strengthening oneself is the top priority. Weapons, items, and equipment are secondary because they can be accidentally damaged or lost, and there are various possibilities for them to suddenly disappear or no longer belong to you. Therefore, only things that directly affect oneself can make you permanently stronger and are truly your own."
Seth pondered for a moment and then asked, "Are you sure you can really help me complete the mission?"
Bai Ye replied, "I'm sure."
Seth asked, "You'll give me the item afterward?"
"That won't do," Bai Ye said. "What if you run away?"
"And what if you run away?" Seth looked at Bai Ye with disdain. "Besides, you ran away once before."
Bai Ye said, "The situation is different. We are both imprisoned together right now. How could I take the item and run? Besides, if I were to run, you could just run with me, and wouldn't I be taking you out as well?"
As Bai Ye spoke, he walked to the栅栏门 (prison gate) and looked outside. "You have twenty-four hours to consider. It's almost dawn now, and we can't break out during the day. We have to wait for nightfall again."
Seth didn't respond but was truly deep in thought. After about half an hour, Seth seemed to have made up his mind and took out a Zanpakutō.
"A blue quality Zanpakutō!" Seth said. "However, just escaping here isn't enough. You must ensure I complete the mission."
Bai Ye replied, "Alright, it's just a small matter!"
Seth was also straightforward. Since he had made up his mind, he no longer hesitated and directly threw the Zanpakutō in his hand to Bai Ye.
Bai Ye casually took the Zanpakutō, and a light screen appeared before his eyes.
Senbonzakura (Zanpakutō) (Blue): A broad-bladed assault-type Zanpakutō. Depending on the strength of spiritual power, it can undergo Shikai, Bankai, and fully released Bankai. Effects: Shikai (transforms into a broad blade with a segmented, snake-like shape, the blade is covered with narrow edges and can freely extend to attack enemies). Incomplete Bankai (named Hiyori-ō Senbonzakura, a giant viper blade shaped like a baboon's head, its body has over a hundred segments, each of which can be freely detached and reconnected). Bankai (named Sōō Senbonzakura, the right hand transforms into a snake-head bone biting blade, and a giant snake tail wraps around the waist, while the left arm can transform into the giant left arm of the baboon king).
Bai Ye glanced at the description of the Zanpakutō and exclaimed in his heart, "Good stuff!"
After his exclamation, Bai Ye glanced at Seth again. This guy didn't understand the market!
But soon Bai Ye felt that the word "didn't understand the market" wasn't entirely accurate.
The correct way to put it would be that many things are understood gradually with time. The world battlefield has only been open for a maximum of two months, so even people who have been in the Rukongai for a long time are not sufficiently familiar with Zanpakutō.
But Bai Ye knew very well that within this area, the most valuable thing was the Zanpakutō.
And to distinguish the quality of a Zanpakutō, directly looking at its quality is certainly one aspect, but another is looking at its Shikai and Bankai.
Trash Zanpakutō only have Shikai, and their power and effects after release are relatively poor. Powerful Zanpakutō possess Bankai, and their power and effects after release are exceptionally strong.
Although this Zanpakutō is only blue quality, it has incomplete Bankai and a fully released Bankai form, clearly belonging to the top-tier blue quality Zanpakutō, an advanced item that can infinitely approach black quality!
But Seth clearly didn't know these details.
Therefore, if it were an ordinary blue quality item, trading it for a hidden mission reward that could enhance one's own strength would definitely be a profitable deal.
However, trading this Zanpakutō, it's really hard to say whether Seth made a profit or not.
But...
What does that have to do with Bai Ye?
...