On the platform, the head of the Yokota family kept rambling on, going on and on about how unfair the world was.
They'd been given endless wealth and honor, and yet—somehow—the powerful spiritual talent that should have belonged to them had been taken away.
Meanwhile those humble, lowly souls from Rukongai kept becoming Academy students one after another, learning heaven-shaking Kidō and receiving unique Zanpakutō.
Things that should have belonged to them.
In the crowd, Sui-Feng's eyes flashed with disdain, but she said nothing.
Even though she was technically a noble too, she had no desire to be lumped into the same class as people like this.
To become Yoruichi-sama's direct corps member, she had sacrificed nearly all her leisure and rest time. As long as her body could hold up, she trained nonstop until she reached her goal.
These people in the manor, on the other hand, only knew how to shout slogans and complain—without putting in a single ounce of actual effort.
Did they really think raw talent alone made a strong Shinigami?
Naraku, for his part, didn't pay the speech any attention at all.
The Yokota clan head's delivery was terrible—nowhere near even one percent of Aizen, who could move hearts with nothing but words.
Naraku's eyes kept drifting toward the quieter corners, searching for the source of his unease.
Nothing.
"Then I pray to the gods, so that we too may stand above Yamamoto Shigekuni!"
The Yokota clan head wore a fanatical expression, like some extremist zealot.
"As long as we offer enough sacrifices, we'll gain unparalleled spiritual talent, become the supreme beings of Soul Society, and even replace Yamamoto Shigekuni!"
As soon as he finished, two Yokota clan members pulled back the wide curtain behind the platform.
A shocking scene appeared.
Dozens of ragged Rukongai residents, shackled in chains, were locked inside an enormous iron cage.
Sui-Feng's brows knitted.
Most of her missions involved Shinigami. She rarely dealt with ordinary residents—let alone something this inhumane.
The other nobles, however, looked like they'd long been used to it. Even those who showed a flash of surprise quickly replaced it with other emotions.
To them, Rukongai residents were nothing but expendable material.
If sacrificing a few useless things could buy spiritual talent, then it was an unbelievably profitable trade.
Under countless eager gazes, the "ritual" the Yokota clan head spoke of began.
But the ritual's procedure was nothing like what Naraku had imagined.
There was no buildup at all.
A huge, ancient-looking gate opened on the platform. Beyond it lay a pitch-black, bottomless void. As heavy Reiatsu poured out, a gray-white limb stepped through.
Naraku's expression shifted into sudden realization.
So this was the source of his unease.
The "god" the Yokota clan head worshiped… was a Hollow.
Oppressive pressure spilled out of the garganta-like gate. The solid platform sank slightly as the inhuman creature forced its way out and fully emerged before everyone.
Unlike the savage, mindless monsters Naraku had met before, this Menos was eerily humanlike—even its gestures and posture were almost human.
But its building-like height, steel-spiked claws, and horned skull shattered any sense of normality.
Perhaps to show off its might, it released its Reiatsu freely. The heavy presence poured down like a mountain flood, blanketing the entire manor.
The platform and ground trembled. The nobles' faces twisted into ugly flattery as they dropped to their knees, prostrating themselves in hopes of earning their "god's" favor.
Watching them bow and scrape, Naraku felt a flicker of bleak pity.
While the Gotei 13 fought tooth and nail against powerful enemies to maintain a fragile balance, these lofty nobles were groveling before a Menos.
It was disgusting.
Staring at the terrifying figure on the platform, Sui-Feng's forehead beaded with sweat. Her body trembled.
This was the first time she'd faced a Hollow this frightening.
After a quick comparison of Reiatsu, she could already feel despair creeping in.
They weren't even in the same league.
No doubt about it—this was a Menos, and not just any Menos: a mid-tier Adjuchas.
"N-Naraku Sixth Seat…"
Even though her voice shook, Sui-Feng still forced herself to stand in front of him, trying to sound steady.
"I'll buy you enough time. Break out and call for reinforcements. This kind of enemy isn't something we can—"
She didn't finish.
A savage gaze locked onto the two people who stood out from the kneeling crowd.
"You do not bow before me. You're nothing like those weaklings… Gotei Shinigami?"
The Hollow's mouth unfolded like petals, revealing countless fine, razor-sharp teeth, making it even more horrifying.
"Yokota—did you leak word of this?"
The Yokota clan head turned deathly pale, stumbling over his words.
"M-my lord, I never told the Gotei 13. They must have investigated on their own…"
The Hollow gave him a cold look, and the noble instantly fell silent, trembling.
"I care nothing for the process. Only the result. Our cooperation with 'the great one' must not be exposed to those dogs."
"Per our agreement—seal the manor. I'll deal with the two of them."
The Yokota clan head nodded rapidly, relief flooding his face.
As he released the Kidō procedure, a massive barrier unfolded at once, swallowing the entire manor.
Judging by how practiced he was, this was clearly not his first time.
Sui-Feng's face twisted with anger. She was about to move—
When a hand pressed down on her shoulder.
In the next instant, scorching heat erupted beside her. A flash of blade-light—
And a meteor-like sword-pressure slash tore through the Kidō barrier just as it was about to close.
And it didn't stop.
It kept going, crashing down toward the platform.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion swallowed the figures on the platform. Fire surged upward from the ground, the entire manor shuddering as it groaned under violent destruction.
Hadō #31: Shakkahō, released in the form of sword-pressure.
With layered multipliers, the blow nearly erased the entire platform. The shockwave swept through the nobles in front—killing them so fast they didn't even have time to scream.
When the dust cleared, a huge crater had replaced the platform. Molten soil flowed over blackened earth.
The Menos was nowhere to be seen.
Even its Reiatsu had vanished.
It looked as if it had been completely killed by that overwhelming slash.
Just as Sui-Feng was about to ask what happened—
A thick, viscous Reiatsu erupted from underground, forming an enormous pillar of light—
Shooting straight into the sky.
~~~
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