After turning off the gravity device, the pressure on my body lightened. Although he had experienced it countless times, every time he still felt the illusion that he had become much stronger.
He stood still for a while to recover, then took off his vest and wiped his face with it like a towel before carrying it out of the training room.
Compared to the training room in the 10th Division, this newly built gravity room was much larger. In addition to several training rooms that could be used at the same time, there were also separate changing rooms and bathrooms.
After leaving the training room, Ethan went straight into the bathroom. The bath inside was an improved version of the healing hot spring that Urahara had made in the secret base. It could not only heal injuries but also had an excellent recovery effect on fatigue and damage after training.
Decades had passed since he left Soul Society and came to the Human World. Ethan rarely left the house, spending all his free time on training.
Training so hard naturally brought huge results. His current strength was completely incomparable to what it was back then. Urahara, Yoruichi, and the others who could originally train with him were gradually left behind. Now, they rarely sparred with him.
However, he was still not satisfied and continued to spend a large amount of time training every day. It was not until recently, when his Zanpakutō suddenly shattered into its most basic spiritual particles during training and was absorbed into his body, that he ended his daily training early for the first time.
"I didn't expect my mission in this world to be like this."
His Zanpakutō had not disappeared. It had only returned to his power. If he wanted, it could appear in his hand with a single thought. Or rather, with a single thought, he could create his own Zanpakutō.
Reaching this level meant that he had regained some of his power, and at that moment he understood how he should act in this world to complete the test of this stage.
Not only did he know, he was even certain that he could complete it now. The key was not whether he could do it, but whether he should.
"What a headache."
"What could possibly give you a headache?"
Yoruichi's voice suddenly sounded, followed by the sound of her entering the water. Ethan felt a bit speechless as he watched her get into the pool without any hesitation.
"You're a bit too casual."
"What do you mean?"
Yoruichi ran a hand through her now longer hair, casually tying it up so it would not fall into the water. She also glanced at herself, wondering if there was anything strange.
"You don't mind?"
"Mind what?" She followed Ethan's gaze and grinned knowingly. "If I minded, I wouldn't have waited until now. Don't think I don't know, every time you tore my clothes back then, you chose different spots."
The implication was that he had already seen everything, so why act shy now.
"As long as you don't mind."
Ethan rolled his eyes. Since Yoruichi did not care, he certainly did not either. Speaking of which, her figure seemed to have improved compared to back then. Could it be that she was still developing after all these decades?
Continuing to soak in the bath, feeling the fatigue in his body gradually dissipate, he inwardly complained about his body made of spiritual particles. Fortunately, he had not turned into a muscle monster from the gravity training.
Not just him, even Yoruichi, who had undergone the same training, had not developed exaggerated muscles. If you only looked at her physique, you would never imagine how strong she was.
"You still haven't said what's giving you a headache."
"I'm thinking about a problem."
"What problem?"
As Ethan's strength grew stronger, Yoruichi felt that even Aizen would not be a problem. Although she was not sure exactly how strong he was now, she believed that he could definitely defeat Aizen.
The main reason she and Urahara had not immediately returned to Soul Society to expose the truth was not because they could not defeat Aizen, but because Urahara had not found a way to restore Hirako and the others to normal. If this problem could not be completely solved, then they would still not be accepted by the Seireitei.
So if Urahara had a headache, she would not find it strange. But what could trouble Ethan? What kind of problem would make him look so conflicted?
"Whether or not to destroy this world."
"?"
Yoruichi was stunned for a moment. Her first reaction was that Ethan was joking. However, after so many years together, she had gradually come to understand his personality. Looking at his thoughtful expression, she felt that what he said might be true.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
Her golden pupils suddenly contracted. In that instant, she wondered if Aizen had contacted Ethan. Could he have been hypnotized by him?
After thinking about it, she realized this was unlikely. Ethan was not afraid of Kyōka Suigetsu even when he was weaker than Aizen back then, so there was no reason he would be controlled now that he was stronger.
So what reason would make him think like this?
She could not help but think of Aizen again. That man's strength was already near the peak of a Shinigami, yet he had done so many insane things.
Now Ethan's strength was undoubtedly even greater, and this equally powerful Shinigami had come up with an equally terrifying idea.
"Does reaching the peak of a Shinigami make you go crazy?"
In fact, her strength had already reached the ceiling for Shinigami, especially after she completely destroyed her Zanpakutō during training ten years ago and reclaimed the power that should have belonged to her.
Although she lost her Zanpakutō and its miraculous abilities, her surging spiritual pressure meant she did not lack powerful combat methods. The various techniques she developed with Ethan's help were also becoming more refined. A Zanpakutō was no longer very useful to her.
It was only because she had a monster like Ethan by her side that she did not realize she was already standing at the peak of Shinigami strength. No matter how much she improved, the gap between them did not narrow but instead continued to widen, giving her the illusion that she was still far from the limit.
"You don't need to worry. I'm still very rational."
Ethan wiped his face with the hot water, then leaned back in the pool with only his head above the surface.
"Besides, destroying the world severely conflicts with my personal style."
The familiar feeling returned. Yoruichi could now be sure that he was neither controlled nor going crazy.
"Tch, saying something like that out of nowhere, is it fun?"
"It's alright."
The fatigue had mostly faded. He sat up again and glanced at Yoruichi, who was lying there like a starfish.
"Are you going to keep soaking?"
"No."
"Speaking of which, did you just finish training too?"
"No, I just went out for a walk and got covered in dust, so I came to wash up."
He naturally knew why she would come back covered in dust after going out.
"Went out to play in cat form again?"
Ever since her control over spiritual power reached a certain level and she successfully developed her envisioned combat stance, she could transform into a cat whenever she wanted.
"What? Isn't it more discreet this way?"
By the time he got out of the pool and walked out, her voice had changed to a rough male tone. He looked back and saw a pure black cat with golden pupils climbing out of the pool, standing at the edge and vigorously shaking off the water.
"..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
After putting on clean clothes and leaving the training room, he walked through the underground space that resembled a park, all the way to the stone wall on the opposite side. Then he opened a very ordinary door, walked up the stairs for a while, and returned to the general store that Urahara had opened as a disguise.
"Oh dear, Ethan, Yoruichi, you've returned right on time. I was just about to ask Tessai to call you for dinner."
Perhaps because he had used the general store owner identity for so long, Urahara's speaking style had become increasingly exaggerated over the years.
However, his words hinted at something. No matter what, he would never send someone to call Ethan for dinner. The fact that he would ask Tessai to do so meant something had happened.
"Did you know? An old friend has come to visit."
"Old friend?"
Ethan was startled for a moment, then noticed a familiar spiritual pressure nearby.
"Oh, it's Isshin."
Urahara gently adjusted the hat on his head and opened his fan to cover half of his face.
"Aren't you going to catch up with your old friend?"
He was holding a can of soda and drinking it. Hearing this, his movements paused.
"Haven't seen him in decades. I wonder what he looks like now."
Had he already become the weathered middle aged man of the future? Probably not yet. He had not started dating Kurosaki Masaki, Ichigo's mother. Shiba Isshin was still a young man when he began dating her.
"His spiritual pressure has become much stronger."
He was not sure about his appearance, but his strength should have improved significantly.
"It wouldn't hurt to say hello." Ethan put down the drink and looked at Urahara. "Why do I feel like you want to see Isshin more than I do? Want to go together?"
"No, I won't disturb you and your former subordinate catching up."
"Aren't you worried he's here to capture us?"
"In that case, I'll have to ask you to hold him off. I'll pack the luggage during that time."
"..."
Ignoring the increasingly shameless Urahara, Ethan left the general store and strolled in the direction where he sensed Shiba Isshin. Soon after, he felt a burst of spiritual pressure from Isshin.
"Ran into an enemy?"
(To be continued.)