"Are you… really a shinigami?"
Ichibe stared at Cole with an unusually grave expression.
He knew the true names of every zanpakuto.
He knew the powers of every zanpakuto.
Because of that, he could claim to hold a natural advantage over all shinigami.
Just like in his fight with Aizen just now—
He had directly understood Kyōka Suigetsu's ability without ever needing to witness its release.
But his battle with Cole was completely different.
He could not see the true name of Cole's zanpakuto at all.
He couldn't even determine its ability.
That was something that should have been nearly impossible.
If Cole were not a shinigami, however, that impossibility suddenly made sense.
Because his ability did not work on other races—
Hollows, Quincy—
Against them, he could not discern their powers.
Just like Starrk and Ulquiorra here.
Even if they possessed Resurrección, or even held zanpakuto-like blades similar to shinigami, he could not perceive those blades' true names.
The shinigami around them were stunned by the question, their expressions turning oddly complicated as they looked at Cole.
If he wasn't a shinigami, then what was he supposed to be!?
Thinking this, they couldn't help glancing at Ichigo as well. After all, the two had awakened together.
Following everyone's gaze, Ichibe also looked over at Ichigo.
With that single glance, the corner of his mouth twitched violently.
Because he could see the true name of Ichigo's zanpakuto—
And the true name he saw was completely different from its current form. It was an utterly absurd zanpakuto.
Cole didn't care about any of that. He grinned and said, "Big monk, if I were you, I wouldn't keep picking a fight with me."
Ichibe came back to his senses. His expression eased only slightly, but his gaze remained ice-cold as he said in a deep voice:
"Don't speak nonsense. Invading the Soul King Palace is a grave crime. If Seireitei cannot judge you, then you will receive punishment here, by my hand."
"So what?"
Cole raised an eyebrow.
He was honestly a little curious how Ichibe intended to punish him.
Beat him up?
Then they'd just have a fight.
Other than that, what could the monk do to him?
Ichibe spoke in a low voice. "Join the Zero Division. Form a blood oath seal, and become one who safeguards the Soul King's reiatsu."
This was the best method he could think of.
Just from that brief clash just now, he had already determined that Cole's strength absolutely met the standard for joining the Zero Division.
Leaving a monster like that wandering freely in the outside world was a massive threat to the Soul King Palace.
Only by forcing him to join the Zero Division and bind him with a blood oath—
Restricting even his bankai—
Could anyone truly rest easy.
"I… join the Zero Division?"
Cole repeated the phrase, then let out a helpless laugh and waved both hands.
"You're really overthinking this. I don't even plan on joining Seireitei. How could I possibly join the Zero Division?"
Seireitei was already rigid and dead-serious enough as it was.
No variety of food.
No entertainment.
Not even basic things like televisions.
The whole place looked like something straight out of the Warring States era.
He was already bored to death just staying in Seireitei. Joining the Soul King Palace on top of that? No way.
Just look at the Soul King Palace—such a huge space, yet only five people lived there, along with the manifest forms of a few zanpakuto.
It didn't even qualify as a village.
If one were to obtain immortality here, it wouldn't be eternal life at all, but an endless torture that lasted right up until the end of the world.
"This is not something you, a criminal, get to decide…"
Ichibe spoke, cold light flashing in his eyes as he swung his brush and wrote:
"Tetsu (Iron)!"
"Fū (Seal)!"
The moment those two characters manifested, Cole suddenly felt the sky darken. He couldn't help but look up.
The sight stunned him.
A gigantic mountain peak was falling from the heavens.
But unlike an ordinary mountain, this one was completely silver-white, heavy beyond measure and overflowing with an uncanny, high-tech feel.
On its surface, dense black patterns crawled like runes.
Just as everyone was wondering what exactly this was, the silver-white mountain came crashing down, striking squarely on top of Cole's head.
"Boom!!!"
With a thunderous roar, Cole's figure was swallowed up beneath the silver-white peak.
The mountain, heavy as tens of millions of tons, did not stop even after engulfing him—
It continued to descend, slamming hard into the ground.
Accompanied by that rumble, nearly half of the silver-white peak sank into the earth.
Under that terrifying weight, the Zero Division Palace shook violently, rising and falling as if it were about to be knocked out of the sky entirely.
Only then did everyone finally understand the nature of the silver-white mountain.
Rukia couldn't help but suck in a cold breath, staring at it in shock.
That wasn't made of stone.
It was iron.
Steel.
A silver-white mountain formed entirely of steel.
Its surface was etched with kido patterns, making the mountain even heavier. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to shake even the Zero Division Palace.
Thinking this, everyone's gazes turned to Ichibe, their eyes full of raw shock.
This big monk was absurdly strong.
Just one character, and he had forcibly created a steel mountain peak.
That weight alone was probably enough to crush a captain to death.
Ichibe snorted coldly and tightened his grip on the brush.
"Senjumaru, weave garments for these two and have them taken away—
Confine them in Muken."
Senjumaru nodded, stepping forward to prepare the garments, but then she suddenly glanced at Rukia and the others with some surprise.
"Isn't Cole your companion? Why aren't any of you begging for him? He's about to be thrown into Muken."
Muken was the place where Soul Society carried out the harshest punishment for souls whose crimes were unimaginably severe.
Once a soul stepped into that place, it meant they'd been abandoned by Soul Society forever. Their existence would gradually vanish into the dust of history.
Throughout the several thousand years of Seireitei's history, the number of souls that had qualified for confinement in Muken did not exceed nine.
These nine—
The weight of their sins was enough to shake Soul Society to its core.
Their existence was a scar in history.
A warning etched into law.
If Cole were locked away there, he would never emerge again for the rest of his existence.
The shinigami looked at one another.
In the end, it was Shunsui who scratched his head with a troubled look and said,
"Um, Senjumaru… are you sure a seal of this level can really suppress Cole? Aren't you underestimating him a little?"
Rukia, Byakuya, and the others all nodded unconsciously.
They did feel Ichibe was extremely powerful, but it was only a single iron mountain. No matter how they thought about it, it didn't feel like enough to keep Cole pinned down.
Senjumaru let out a helpless little laugh.
"You're all underestimating Ichibe. He's a lifeform born from chaos itself, his power second only to the Soul King…"
Before she could finish, the distant silver-white mountain reflecting the sunlight suddenly let out a series of cracking sounds.
The scene instantly drew everyone's attention. Even Ichibe, who had been about to take his leave, stopped in his tracks.
Under everyone's gaze, the silver-white mountain began to slowly rise, its speed increasing faster and faster.
Finally, with a thunderous crash, the Zero Division Palace shook violently. The very earth seemed to heave, and most of the shinigami almost lost their footing.
"W-What…"
Ichibe's face changed dramatically.
A deafening roar rumbled up from the ground.
The silver-white mountain shot straight into the sky—
And at the base of the mountain, there was now a golden pillar, constantly thickening and rising.
As the golden pillar extended higher and higher, it pushed the silver-white mountain to an even greater height, nearly sending it into the clouds.
Shunsui and the other shinigami could only smile bitterly.
They had known it—
That level of suppression could never hold Cole.
Senjumaru was momentarily dazed. She had never imagined that the human boy from back then would grow to such a level.
"How… did you even train…"
That brat from the past—
His strength had reached this kind of realm.
Murmuring to herself, Senjumaru suddenly seemed to realize something. Her body trembled as she stared in horror at the golden pillar.
"Where did that tremor just now come from!?"
A bad premonition welled up in her chest.
She immediately released her spirit threads.
Invisible waves spread from her body, extending down toward the base of the golden pillar—
Downward, downward, downward—
Until the view suddenly opened up.
A vast land, covered in lush green grass, appeared before Senjumaru's perception.
The scenery was beautiful and peaceful, suffused with a strange warmth.
But seeing this, Senjumaru only felt her vision go black, as if she might faint at any moment.
Oh no!!!
Her Zero Division Palace!!!
It had been punched straight through by that brat's staff!!!
Forcing down the urge to cough blood, Senjumaru completely lost her usual calm and gentle demeanor. She glared at Cole with fierce eyes.
"You little brat, you actually punched a hole through my palace. How do you want to die!?"
After she had become a member of the Zero Division, her body had been reforged into a Ōken. In reality, her "heart" was the Zero Division Palace itself.
Cole's action was practically no different from punching straight through her heart.
Cole, not far away, heard this and wore a brilliant smile. He raised his hand and formed his fingers into the shape of a gun, pointing at Senjumaru.
"Senjumaru-nee, that was Cupid's arrow for you—
Filled with my love, piercing right through your heart."
Senjumaru almost laughed herself to death from sheer anger. She looked at him with a half-smiling, half-furious expression.
"You brat, you still dare tease your beloved?"
She'd long forgotten how many years she'd been alive.
Yet this kid—who wasn't even old enough to match a fraction of her age—actually dared to flirt with her like that.
Cole immediately shouted his innocence, spreading his hands with a helpless look.
"Senjumaru-nee, you can't blame me for this. It's your Zero Division Palace that's too fragile. It's what made me get smashed all the way down there."
When the iron mountain had hit him just now, he'd originally been completely capable of holding his ground.
But the ground beneath his feet hadn't been able to take it.
So he'd crushed the floor, and both he and his staff had been smashed straight down by the iron mountain.
Senjumaru couldn't hold back a chuckle, but she quickly pressed her lips together and shot Cole a glare.
"Don't think you can talk your way out of this. You're fixing everything you broke. Every last bit."
The structures of the Soul King Palace were formed from inconceivable levels of compressed spiritual power. Their hardness also meant they were extremely difficult to repair.
If Cole didn't help her, she would have to clean up the mess herself, slowly and painstakingly.
Hearing this, Cole thumped his chest confidently.
"Senjumaru-nee, just leave it all to me. If I can't fix it, I'll just move in here and never leave."
At that, Senjumaru finally couldn't keep a straight face. She burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth with her golden skeletal arm.
"You little brat, you really thought this through, didn't you? Planning to live together with your beloved, is that it?"
She had been to Seireitei herself, so she knew all about Cole's little "quirks."
If they actually left him in the Soul King Palace, it wouldn't take many days before even the Soul King's inner sanctum ended up completely drained by him.
Seeing how cheerfully the two of them were chatting, Ichibe's brows furrowed tightly. His voice was heavy.
"Senjumaru, why are you talking so much with this brat who invaded the Soul King Palace? Hurry and assist me. We're going to suppress him."
Normally, his temper was quite good.
Only when facing threats to the Soul King did he reveal such a cold attitude.
And Cole's actions had undoubtedly stepped right onto his bottom line.
Senjumaru hesitated.
She wanted to say a few good words for Cole at least—
At the very least, they couldn't just throw him into Muken.
That place was true hell.
Being locked inside was more painful than death.
But before Senjumaru could speak, Cole had already curled his lips into a smirk and looked at Ichibe.
"Big monk, you couldn't even manage to suppress me, and yet you think you've sealed Aizen?"
Ichibe froze.
Everyone present froze.
And in that very instant, a figure appeared behind Ichibe.
The newcomer's voice was indifferent as he spoke:
"Human, you talk far too much."
As he spoke, the figure suddenly swept his arm.
A wave of pure-white sword pressure slashed in from behind Ichibe.
White light spilled across the ground like moonlight.
"Aah—"
Blood spurted forth.
Ichibe's pupils dilated.
Everyone could clearly see blood spraying from his back, staining the earth behind him bright red.
And the figure behind him was none other than Aizen, who had supposedly been sealed just moments ago.
He shook his hand lightly, looking coldly at Ichibe. Then he raised his right hand again and, in a rare moment, began to chant aloud:
"Filthy surging waves, vessel of madness; boil! Numb! Flicker! Sleepless!"
"The princess of steel corroded, the hall of clay dolls collapsing!"
"Gather! Face the enemy!"
"Flood the land and let them know their own powerlessness!"
"Hadō no Kyūjū: Kurohitsugi (Way of Destruction No. 90: Black Coffin)!!!"
A completely different chant echoed through the air as a jet-black coffin symbolizing death manifested, swallowing Ichibe's figure whole.
Everyone watching felt their pupils dilate to the limit.
Senjumaru, unable to believe what she was seeing, cried out:
"Aizen, you were clearly sealed just now—how did you get out?"
Aizen lowered his hand and spoke in a faint voice:
"Foolish woman… when did you start having the illusion that I would be sealed?"
(End of Chapter)
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