Two days later, under warm sunlight and drifting clouds, Old Man Yamamoto led Asano Kiyoshi to the Great Spirit Book Archive deep beneath the Central 46 Chambers — the very heart of Soul Society's authority.
It was Kiyoshi's first time stepping into this core of power — and the atmosphere was… far from welcoming.
Before entering the Archive, he'd been blindfolded and escorted by special guards to the judgment hall of the Central 46.
When the blindfold was removed, blinding white light stabbed at his eyes, making his vision go black for a moment. Then an utterly arrogant voice rang out:
"So you're this year's top student from Shin'ō Academy? You look rather… green."
At first, the words sounded harmless. But listening closer, the sneer was clear enough:So you look like this and you're number one? Has Shin'ō fallen so far they let a child top the class?
Hearing the contempt in that voice, Kiyoshi simply wore a mild, obedient smile — like the most docile lamb in the pen:
"Yes, my lords."
Several soft, disdainful tchs came from the platform above. They were full of boredom at how this boy didn't even dare protest, scorn for how self-aware he seemed, and smug superiority at the feeling of standing so far above him.
But under those cold, arrogant gazes, Kiyoshi's face never twitched. He kept that faint, harmless smile. Showing any real emotion now would be foolish — even reckless. From the moment he'd stepped into Yamamoto's squad, he no longer represented just himself; every word and gesture showed the hidden stance of the entire Gotei 13.
Seeing how obedient he was, the Central 46 gradually lost interest in toying with him. After a brief deliberation, they granted him access to the Great Spirit Book Archive.
Just before stepping through, Kiyoshi caught sight of Yamamoto's face — wearing that rare, soft smile. The old man's lips moved as if to say: "You did well."
Kiyoshi drew a deep breath, gave Yamamoto a smile in return, then clenched his arm so tightly it left a scratch that oozed blood. Being humiliated for so long — even if you expected it — still made it hard to swallow.
Before he could fully steady his thoughts, a surge of spiritual particles enveloped him. It felt like being swept up in a current made of reishi. When the dizziness faded, he found himself standing in the Archive.
He blinked, glancing around in wonder.
The Great Spirit Book Archive was shaped like an octagonal prism, each face covered with shelves of ancient books. Even from the spines alone, Kiyoshi could feel the weight of centuries, a quiet, timeless gravity.
Then a voice echoed through the silent space — distant and hollow, its source impossible to sense even with his spiritual perception:
"From now, you have two hours to browse any and all records and tomes. When those two hours are up, you will be forcibly transferred out."
The moment the words fell, the Archive sank back into silence. Kiyoshi looked up at the countless books stretching off into the dark. He let out a faint, helpless smile. So many volumes… Even if you managed to get in here, finding what you needed in this ocean of words would take centuries, not hours.
Luckily, Yamamoto had given him some private tutoring beforehand — telling him exactly where some critical texts were kept: hidden clan histories, lost kidō manuals, ancient sword styles from a thousand years ago.
"If I remember right… the lost kidō should be on the fourth wall, two hundred and seventeenth shelf from the top, bookshelf number sixty-eight…"
Even with those hints, it still took Kiyoshi quite an effort to cross the vast distances between shelves.
But when he reached around the two-hundredth level, he suddenly felt an intense heat stirring deep within him. The sensation wasn't exactly overpowering — but it carried something special, a tug that felt like a voice calling to him from the depths of his soul.
He could tell at once: this was the gift Tsunayashiro Koshiro had passed to him — no doubt the thing the Tsunayashiro clan so desperately wanted back.
The Archive's presence seemed to notice the surge of power — but before it could react, that force faded again. When it cast its gaze over, all it saw was Kiyoshi standing quietly before a shelf, seemingly absorbed in reading.
Huh? What's he looking at so intently? If I recall… that's just an old story about some captain's romance with a noble lady… Not bad gossip, but to waste time here on that? What a fool.
Kiyoshi, though, was anything but calm inside. His heart hammered in his chest as he fought to keep his face composed.
Just now — in less than a split millisecond — Koshiro's "gift" had pierced into him. He'd had no time to react before his zanpakutō scroll devoured it. Now, golden script flickered on the scroll, proof of how extraordinary it was:
Detected special object! Compatible with host's unlocking ability! Absorbing automatically!
Item Name: Ōin (Royal Seal) (Hollow Form)
Item Status: Non-physical; all power condensed in the vessel. The physical component retains only basic reishi structure.Item Effect: In a certain range, by the wielder's will and spiritual pressure, it can bypass all constraints and perform spatial-temporal transfer — ignoring barriers between Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human World! Also, since it carries a fragment of the Soul King's power, absorbing it will automatically remodel the host's body. With your current spiritual pressure, the estimated enhancement rate is 1.3% per day. At this rate, your reiryoku will reach the next tier in 77 days!
Note: This item is unpredictable and may cause special phenomena.
Reading the text on his scroll, Kiyoshi's heartbeat sped up. He forced his breath to slow, willed the flush from his cheeks to fade.
To the Archive's presence, though, it looked like something else entirely…
Tsk tsk… what a green kid. Getting so worked up over something like that? Pathetic.
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle