*Clap, clap, clap!*
When Naraku Sora finished speaking, Nimaiya Ōetsu immediately began to applaud. His expression was rich and emotional, and he was so deeply moved that he even wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Well said, bro! That is the correct way for a Soul Reaper to communicate with their Zanpakutō!"
"Although you're an anomaly, only an existence like you is worthy of possessing a Zanpakutō."
Aizen was speechless.
He suddenly lost all hope in the members of the Zero Division. To not even be able to see through a certain someone's true colors, yet still vainly call himself the God of the Sword.
If Aizen remembered correctly, this guy had used his Zanpakutō to roast sweet potatoes, boil tea, and even keep warm in the laboratory on more than one occasion.
If that was considered the correct way to communicate, then Kurotsuchi Mayuri could also be a model Soul Reaper for cherishing his Zanpakutō.
Beside them, Ukitake Jūshirō listened to their exchange, then looked down at his Sōgyo no Kotowari with a thoughtful expression.
It seemed he still had a lot to learn.
Nimaiya Ōetsu highly approved of any Soul Reaper who cherished their Zanpakutō. As a veteran who had lived for an unknown number of years, he could see the sincerity in Naraku Sora's words at a glance.
Therefore, even though he couldn't communicate with Vajrayati, Nimaiya Ōetsu still believed that this disciple of Yamamoto Shigekuni was a fellow sword lover just like him.
Such a person was much more interesting than the Monk.
Once the official business was concluded, he definitely had to invite him to the Phoenix Palace as a guest to thoroughly exchange their insights on Zanpakutō maintenance.
Just as he was about to speak, Nimaiya Ōetsu suddenly thought of something, and his expression turned bizarre.
In a flash, he appeared beside Naraku Sora, familiarly slinging an arm over his shoulder with a conspiratorial look.
"Bro, are you interested in learning how to forge Zanpakutō with me?"
Naraku Sora was bewildered. *'?'*
*'What kind of development is this?'*
*'Could it be that Nimaiya Ōetsu has taken a liking to my robust physique and wants me to stay behind as free blacksmithing labor?'*
*'I already have Vajrayati now; those flirtatious tramps out there can't attract me in the slightest.'*
Just as he was about to open his mouth to refuse, several figures suddenly descended from the sky.
A violent gust of fists immediately followed, swiftly knocking the boasting Nimaiya Ōetsu to the ground. Several pairs of bare feet unceremoniously stepped on the God of the Sword.
Despite being a key member of the Zero Division and an existence second only to the Spirit King in the Soul King Palace, he appeared to have absolutely no dignity at this moment.
"Hey, hey, you girls, at least give me some face when we're outside," Nimaiya Ōetsu said in a booming voice as he lay flat on the ground.
A red-haired tomboyish girl stomped her foot down. "You idiot, I told you to do the routine check on the cooling water every day. Why did it suddenly malfunction today?"
"Perhaps he forgot because he was busy welcoming the guests to the Soul King Palace?" a hearty woman with blonde braids and a generous chest explained.
"So troublesome. Lord Ōetsu, please hurry back and fix it."
"If we delay any longer, it will affect the Phoenix Palace."
Naraku Sora's eyes widened, staring at the scene before him in shock.
Although he was mentally prepared, seeing Nimaiya Ōetsu's Zanpakutō bodyguards make their entrance still made him somewhat envious of the man's lifestyle.
*'Speaking of which, if I learned how to forge Zanpakutō, could I be like him too? Build a Zanpakutō paradise?'*
At this thought, Naraku Sora narrowed his eyes.
"Alright, alright, I get it."
Nimaiya Ōetsu struggled to his feet, then, surrounded by his Zanpakutō, waved to the people beside him.
"Little bro Naraku, if you're interested, you must come visit the Phoenix Palace!"
As his voice faded, the figures instantly vanished from the spot.
From their hurried departure, it wasn't hard to guess that the problem the Zanpakutō bodyguards mentioned was likely no small matter.
Watching Nimaiya Ōetsu leave, Ichibē Hyōsube grinned.
"Everyone must be exhausted from the journey today. Please rest at the Detached Palaces for a day; we can discuss other matters tomorrow."
"Tenjirō, why don't you arrange for the guests to stay at your Kirin Palace?"
Tenjirō Kirinji curled his lips but said nothing.
The Kirin Palace was quite expansive, and its streets were bustling with activity, with no shortage of burly, robust individuals coming and going.
Tenjirō Kirinji provided an explanation for this.
Due to some special circumstances, heavy objects needed to be moved frequently, so they selected strong and sturdy individuals from the royal districts.
As for the exact reason, they would find out after dinner.
Harboring their curiosity, the group finished their dinner and followed Tenjirō Kirinji into a valley.
Massive boulders were piled around them, forming towering peaks. Thick metal pipes were arranged in an interlocking pattern, continuously discharging hot spring water of different colors into the pools below.
Tenjirō Kirinji changed into a bath towel and wrapped a strip of cloth around his pompadour to keep his hairstyle intact. He used Flash Step to arrive at the edge of the hot spring and said in an annoyed tone, "Even though I'm really annoyed by a cocky brat like you, since it's Ichibē's intention, I'll give you a brief explanation to prevent you from dying on my turf."
"This is the core technology of the Kirin Palace, and also one of the main reasons I was promoted to the Zero Division."
"The White Bone Hell and the Blood Pond Hell!"
"The former squeezes out the bather's Reiatsu and blood. If a patient is soaked in the water, their injuries and illnesses will be expelled along with their Reiatsu and blood."
"The latter enters the bather's body through the skin, replenishing their blood and Reiatsu."
Ukitake Jūshirō tightened his bathrobe and was just about to take the lead and try it out when a large hand directly stopped him.
Naraku Sora looked at him with disdain and a face full of disgust. "You've finished talking about the benefits. What about the downsides?"
"Are you taking me for a fool?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tenjirō Kirinji stopped hiding the smile on his face and admitted frankly, "That's right. The White Bone Hell will drain a normal person's Reiatsu until nothing is left but a pile of white bones."
"As for the Blood Pond Hell, if the bather's Reiatsu and blood are already sufficient, the pool water will cause them to over-recover, resulting in their body rotting from the inside out."
"Brat, everyone knows Yamamoto Shigekuni is peerless in his bravery. As his disciple, you wouldn't happen to be a coward, would you?"
Hearing this, Naraku Sora sneered disdainfully and forcefully tugged at the bath towel around his waist.
"A joke? You think I'm scared?"
Under Tenjirō Kirinji's expectant gaze, his robust body slowly sank into the white hot spring water. He voluntarily lowered his defenses, allowing the effects of the White Bone Hell to act upon his body.
The reason he was so confident was entirely due to Aizen's words.
Just moments ago, a voice had transmitted into his ears.
*"If my guess is correct, these two special hot springs should be effective for you."*
*"Although High-Speed Regeneration can heal your wounds, because you have experienced too many battles in a short period, some hidden injuries have accumulated. You can take this opportunity to heal them."*
Hearing this voice, Naraku Sora's eyes widened.
He often felt out of place with Aizen because he wasn't audacious enough.
While he was still at the stage of verbal mockery, Aizen had already started pulling little tricks right under the Zero Division's noses.
*'What unorthodoxy! What sheer audacity!'*
*'As expected of my godson!'*
Harboring his trust in Aizen, Naraku Sora let the White Bone Hell take effect. When he released his Reiatsu defenses, the hot spring water seeped into his pores.
Warmth surged in from all directions.
Soon, dark red blood and Reiatsu were continuously expelled from his body.
Seeing this, Tenjirō Kirinji froze for a moment, a look of incomprehension flashing in his eyes.
*'This isn't right!'*
*'Under normal circumstances, if a Soul Reaper had accumulated this many hidden injuries in their body, they would have been bedridden long ago, or even dropped dead.'*
*'But how is this brat acting like nothing's wrong? Just how exaggerated is his physical body to reach this level?!'*
After expelling nearly a third of his blood and Reiatsu, Naraku Sora finally stood up from the hot spring pool and stretched a little.
Although he felt a bit weak, his body was much lighter, as if he had been carrying a heavy load all this time and had finally cast off the burden.
*Splash!*
As he leaped into the Blood Pond Hell, the red hot spring water began to replenish his depleted blood and Reiatsu, and his empty body gradually began to fill with vitality.
Naraku Sora narrowed his eyes in enjoyment, already calculating how to fleece the formulas for these two great hot springs.
*'Such good stuff is a bit wasted sitting here in the Soul King Palace.'*
*'If I could set up an exact replica in the squad barracks, the squad members' training results could easily multiply several times over.'*
Seeing the guy's contented expression, Tenjirō Kirinji shook his head, no longer dwelling on the issue of his physical strength.
*'I'll just let Ichibē Hyōsube get a headache over that.'*
"You distracted me, I almost forgot the main business."
Tenjirō Kirinji looked at the two curious people beside him. "Hey, your name is Aizen Sōsuke, right?"
"Do you want to go down and give it a try?"
Aizen immediately declined politely. People's constitutions were different, and his body hadn't accumulated any hidden injuries.
Tenjirō Kirinji nodded. He didn't force the issue, but instead looked at Ukitake Jūshirō and said seriously, "Captain Ukitake, if you please."
"The Monk specifically instructed me to bring you here to experience it."
Ukitake Jūshirō was taken aback. Then, his brows furrowed tightly as if he had thought of something, and his eyes suddenly widened.
"Could it be..."
Hearing their conversation, Naraku Sora curiously raised his gaze.
He knew a little about Ukitake Jūshirō's condition. Aside from the memories in his head, Yamamoto had also discussed such topics before.
At the age of three, he contracted a lung disease and nearly died on the spot. Later, his diseased lungs were sacrificed to Mimihagi, an indigenous god of the Rukongai, fixing his lungs' condition at that current stage.
They would no longer deteriorate, but they couldn't improve either.
He looked sickly all day long.
Yamamoto had once considered having Unohana Retsu treat him, but after an examination, even this Soul Reaper with the most masterful Kaidō was helpless against it.
Originally, Naraku Sora had planned to squeeze Urahara Kisuke for a favor, making him manufacture a set of artificial lungs to replace the diseased ones.
However, while the ideal was beautiful, reality was cruel.
After Urahara Kisuke examined him, his conclusion was that Ukitake Jūshirō's internal organs were entwined with Mimihagi's power. If this power wasn't stripped away, they couldn't be replaced at all.
And if it was forcibly stripped away, Ukitake Jūshirō would die within seconds.
It was an unsolvable dilemma.
Left with no choice, they could only give up.
He just hadn't expected that Ichibē Hyōsube, the leader of the Zero Division, would actually care about this matter.
Whether it was out of goodwill or a calculated scheme, it didn't matter anymore. They were in the Soul King Palace and couldn't run away anyway, so it was better to just get him cured first.
Just as Ukitake Jūshirō was deep in thought, a large hand suddenly reached out and unceremoniously shoved him into the White Bone Hell.
Intense pain instantly surged over him like a tidal wave, causing his vision to go black as he immediately lost consciousness.
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