"You're leaving?"
"Why so suddenly?"
Naraku Sora chewed on special snacks modified from Hollow Bait, frowning deeply as he looked at Shutara Senjumaru, who was tinkering with precision instruments.
"Yes, a message came from the Soul King Palace. I am to report there in three days to confirm my seat, and there are a few matters that need to be addressed," Senjumaru said softly, a smile playing on her lips.
"I don't know the exact details myself. I suppose I'll find out once I reach the Soul King Palace."
"It will be very difficult for you to see me from now on. Don't you have anything you want to say?"
Sora curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Once you're gone, I'll call the others to celebrate. Without a wicked woman persecuting me, who knows how wonderful my days will be."
"Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at Squad 2; Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at Squad 4. Occasionally strolling through the pleasure district... it'll be absolute bliss."
Senjumaru's expression froze. Then, without any hesitation, she reached out her fair hands, pinched Sora's cheeks, and said viciously, "Do I really not have a single good image in your heart?"
"Don't forget, I sewed this Shishakushō with my own hands."
"And the haori..."
As for the haori, back when Sora fought Szayelaporro and Baraggan, he had casually tossed it far away to avoid being caught in the power of senescence.
As a result, after the battle, he had no idea where the shockwaves had blown it.
In the end, with Aizen's help, he had to mobilize the remaining Menos Grande in Las Noches to search for it, taking quite a long time to finally recover it.
Fortunately, the haori was durable enough to remain undamaged.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to bluff his way out of it.
Compared to the haoris of the Gotei 13 Captains, Sora's was actually a bit more precious, considering it was hand-sewn by the Great Weaver herself.
However, its symbolic meaning far outweighed its practical use. He planned to store this one away and have Urahara Kisuke make eight or ten high-quality knockoffs later.
Then he could just wear one and throw it away whenever.
Speaking of which, Urahara Kisuke's Bankai for Benihime seemed perfectly suited for tailoring work.
If it could complete bodily modifications in an instant, sewing a haori shouldn't be a problem.
"I treat you with absolute sincerity, yet you consider me someone entirely dispensable."
The sorrow in Senjumaru's voice practically overflowed. If Sora wasn't so acutely aware of this wicked woman's true nature, he might have actually sympathized with her for a second.
"So, is this the only reason you called me over?"
"Is that not enough?"
"It's enough, but knowing you, things are definitely not that simple."
Hearing this, a beautiful curve formed at the corners of Senjumaru's mouth.
"As expected of the silly boy I've taken a liking to. Although you act foolish most of the time, you always manage to accurately see through the essence of things at crucial moments."
"Alright, jokes aside."
"There is actually a much more important matter."
The smile faded from Senjumaru's face, and her voice took on a more serious tone.
"Aside from me going up to report for duty, you and the Captain of Squad 13, Ukitake Jūshirō, are to ride the Tenchūren to the Soul King Palace together."
"Oh, and don't even think about refusing. This is a direct decree from the Spirit King himself."
Sora's pupils quaked, his heart racing.
The first thought that popped into his head was—
*Crap, I've been exposed.*
But he quickly tossed that thought aside.
Setting aside his diligent protection of justice and defense of the Soul Society's stable order as the Prison Warden of Shino Prison, he hadn't committed any major mistakes.
Didn't he just kill a few insignificant noble members?
If they really tallied it up, the Spirit King ought to be thanking him.
Since he hadn't been exposed, then what was the reason?
Sora suddenly recalled the selection criteria for the Zero Division. Generally speaking, one had to create something of monumental significance for the Soul Society to become a member.
In his view, aside from the original Zero Division members, there were quite a few Soul Reapers qualified to be selected.
For example, the mysterious Soul Reaper who created the concept of Kidō.
Yamamoto had specifically mentioned this point during his teachings.
Whether in the records of the Spiritual Arts Academy or the archives of the Great Spirit Book Gallery, the name of the Soul Reaper who created the concept of Kidō was never mentioned.
But without a doubt, all existing Kidō were optimized and improved upon the foundation they developed.
Based on qualifications alone, this nameless, mysterious Soul Reaper was absolutely eligible for promotion to the Zero Division.
Of course, this standard wasn't fixed.
It was said that the Captain of Squad 11 from a century ago, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi—the one Gosuke followed before—had also received an invitation to head to the Soul King Palace and join the Zero Division.
Although he hadn't created anything of monumental significance, his outstanding martial prowess still qualified him to become a member of the Zero Division.
It was just that he declined it due to his duties as Kenpachi.
In short, the bottom line was quite flexible.
However, if judged by the former standard, Sora realized he seemingly had the qualifications to be promoted to the Zero Division and become a member.
Setting everything else aside, his perfect Hollowfication alone had already made history in the Soul Society.
Shutara Senjumaru had assured him more than once that throughout the million years of development, there had indeed been many audacious Soul Reapers who attempted to research the power of Hollowfication.
There were even a very few successful ones.
But without exception, their research and development of Hollowfication remained at the primary stages.
A perfect Hollowfication to Sora's extent was absolutely unprecedented.
But thinking about it this way, he seemed to run the risk of inheriting the throne of the Spirit King.
A powerful Soul Reaper's intrinsic strength, plus seventy percent Hollow power, and a negligible bit of Quincy power.
Rounding it up, crowning himself a miniature Spirit King wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.
He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.
*Could it be they actually want to stick me on the throne?*
Thinking of this, Sora shivered, subconsciously feeling a trace of repulsion toward this so-called Soul King Palace invitation.
Just as he was fretting over his gains and losses, Senjumaru shot him an exasperated glare. She reached out and forcefully pinched his incredibly thick skin, which even ordinary Kidō struggled to pierce.
"There's really no need to overthink it. Since I'm taking you up there, I will naturally bring you back down."
"Relax."
Speaking of which, had this silly boy's Hierro gotten even tougher than before?
Skin that used to be easy to pinch now didn't even leave a mark, even when her knuckles turned white from the effort.
Wasn't this speed of growing stronger a bit too absurd?
She originally thought that the modified Shishakushō would accompany this kid for a very long time, but looking at it now, she had still somewhat underestimated her silly boy's growth rate.
At this pace, could he possibly become the second Soul Reaper in history to be promoted to the Zero Division based on martial prowess?
Hearing her words, Sora looked up, only to see a beautiful curve on Senjumaru's lips. She blinked at him, giving him an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
"Relax, my ass!"
Inside the Squad 1 barracks, Naraku Sora vehemently relayed Shutara Senjumaru's words, adding his own artistic embellishments and exaggerations.
"The way I see it, the Spirit King suddenly issuing a decree for me to go up is definitely harboring ill intentions. He's preparing to forcibly keep me in the Soul King Palace to sit on that cold, damp golden toilet for him."
"Teacher, you can't just watch me go to my death!"
These treasonous words made the veins on Yamamoto's forehead bulge. He nearly drew Ryūjin Jakka from beneath the brazier to clean house.
As a Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13, their fundamental duty was to protect the Seireitei.
And above the Seireitei was the supreme Spirit King.
When other Soul Reapers who knew the inside story mentioned the Spirit King, they always adopted a respectful posture, not daring to have even a hint of overstepping in their minds.
In contrast, this bastard child opened and closed his mouth with nothing but slander.
What 'harboring ill intentions,' what 'golden toilet'—he simply didn't take the Zero Division seriously at all.
It was as if he was afraid he wouldn't die fast enough.
"If I sewed your mouth shut, this trip to the Soul King Palace would certainly have far fewer disasters."
Yamamoto glared at him in exasperation, reaching out to take the teacup Sora had filled.
"There is nothing to be afraid of."
"After all, firstly, you haven't severely violated the laws of the Soul Society; secondly, you haven't negatively impacted the Soul Society; and thirdly, you haven't threatened the Spirit King."
"You will go up openly and honestly, and come down fair and square."
Sora shook his head. "Hard to say."
Yamamoto: "?"
What shady things had this bastard kid done behind his back again?
The old man took a deep breath, controlling his spiking blood pressure, and said crossly:
"Aside from your extraordinary cultivation speed, there is actually nothing about you that warrants the Zero Division's attention."
"However, once you truly reach the Soul King Palace, there are two people you need to watch out for."
"One is the God of the Sword who created the Zanpakutō, named Nimaiya Ōetsu. He has existed even longer than I have, and his strength is immense."
"No one cares more about Zanpakutō than he does, and your Zanpakutō, even among the many Captains, is considered to be in a very powerful tier."
"Therefore, he will likely take an interest in you. Be sure not to say anything that might anger him. Otherwise, being so far away in the Soul King Palace, even I won't be able to save you."
Sora nodded.
Speaking of which, as the God of the Sword who understood Zanpakutō best, if he built a good relationship with him, could he extract some useful knowledge?
For example, how to master Bankai faster.
To his shame, ever since he was struck down by Vajrayati in a single blow, he had tried the optimized version of the Tenshintai a few times.
He made progress each time, going from instantly dropping to his knees at the beginning to now being able to hold on for a few breaths. It seemed he wasn't far from truly mastering Bankai.
But in reality, even Sora didn't know how much he was still lacking.
All he could do was work as hard as possible in that direction.
Yamamoto took a sip of tea and continued:
"The second person is the absolute most important figure of this trip to the Soul King Palace."
"The original namer of all things in the Soul Society, the leader of the Zero Division, an ancient lifeform said to have existed even before the Soul Society appeared."
"Strictly speaking, he cannot even be referred to by the species of Soul Reaper."
"As the Spirit King's original guard, he witnessed the separation of the three realms and the establishment of order."
"The Monk Who Calls the Real Name, Ichibē Hyōsube."
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