After wandering around for several years, Kazuma, Batsu'unsai, and the others returned to Karakura Town.
This journey had not given Kazuma the answers he wanted.
More than once, Kazuma had asked Hokushin about the truth, but Hokushin either remained silent or brushed him off with a few irrelevant words.
It left Kazuma extremely helpless, but he still refused to give up and continued pestering him.
Then, one day, Hokushin finally lost patience after being questioned too many times.
He shot Kazuma a glare and said, "When you've grown strong enough to kill the Soul King, I'll tell you the truth you want to know."
After saying that, Hokushin threw him straight out of the inner world.
When Kazuma heard those words, a powerful surge of emotion rose in his heart.
He finally understood why Hokushin had never been willing to reveal the truth.
It was because he was still too weak.
Kazuma knew very well that defeating the Soul King would not be easy.
After all, the Soul King was the ruler at the center of the three worlds, and compared with him, Kazuma's current strength was still worlds apart.
Faced with such a terrifying existence, Kazuma had no intention of bringing trouble upon himself.
After receiving Hokushin's answer, Kazuma decided he would no longer question him about the truth as frequently as before.
Originally, he had been determined to uncover the facts behind everything, but now he realized something.
As someone who liked slacking off, he had never possessed the ambition to become king of the three worlds, nor did he have any desire to obtain power beyond the Soul King.
To him, what mattered more was living a peaceful life with Batsu'unsai, drinking every day, fishing, and enjoying himself. That was enough.
What he needed to consider right now was Yhwach.
After all, a thousand years ago, Yhwach had tricked him once.
Kazuma had long since sworn that he would beat the man until shit came out of him.
Everything he had arranged up until now had been prepared for Yhwach's eventual return.
He simply had not told the Captain-Commander, Batsu'unsai, or the others about it.
However, the current situation was somewhat complicated.
Yhwach had not fully recovered yet, while Ichigo Kurosaki had already been born.
Although Ichigo was still only a baby, that did not stop Kazuma from observing him.
Kazuma knew that Ichigo Kurosaki would become a key figure in the future battle against Yhwach.
Because of that, he had to keep watching Ichigo's growth and ensure that he could smoothly walk the path of becoming a Shinigami.
At the same time, Kazuma also needed to continue refining his own plans in order to deal with any other threats Yhwach might bring.
...
Soul Society.
The position of Ninth Division captain was still vacant, and Captain-Commander Yamamoto was nearly at his wit's end over it.
Inside the Eleventh Division, Renji was still earnestly trying to persuade Ikkaku Madarame to take up the position of Ninth Division captain.
"Ikkaku-senpai, with your strength, you're fully qualified to become captain of the Ninth Division. Haven't you already learned Bankai?"
Ikkaku replied irritably, "Renji! I've already told you, I don't want to become a captain. Why else do you think I told you all to keep the fact that I learned Bankai a secret? I only want to follow Captain Zaraki and cut down enemies behind him. That is my pursuit."
Renji continued, "But even after becoming captain, you could still fight on the front lines. And you'd leave your name in Soul Society's history. What a great honor that would be."
Ikkaku immediately retorted, "Renji, aside from our Eleventh Division, how many captains from other divisions actually carry out frontline missions? Besides, the Ninth Division is a prison division. Where would I get the chance to go to the front?"
Renji was somewhat helpless.
"But…"
Ikkaku cut him off.
"Don't say any more. I will not apply to become captain of the Ninth Division. Also, don't you dare go around telling people that I can use Bankai!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
...
Meanwhile, in the Captain-Commander's tea room in the First Division, a mysterious Senkaimon suddenly appeared without making the slightest sound.
A figure then walked out from within.
It was Kazuma with a shameless grin still hanging on his face.
As it turned out, he had long ago set a Senkaimon anchor point here for emergencies.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto sat there, glaring at Kazuma with a face full of anger.
Sparks of fury seemed to burn in his eyes.
"Hmph! So you still remember how to come back? You disappeared for so many years, I thought you had already died in the World of the Living!"
His voice was full of reproach and dissatisfaction.
Faced with the Captain-Commander's questioning, Kazuma did not take it seriously at all.
He kept wearing that carefree smile and answered cheekily, "Captain-Commander, now that's not fair. Look, haven't I come back? How could I die so easily?"
He seemed completely unashamed of his actions.
If anything, he appeared to find his own supposed death rather amusing.
The Captain-Commander's face remained filled with anger.
"This was not the plan we agreed upon. You and Batsu'unsai spent several years living freely and comfortably, but did you ever consider the state of Soul Society?"
"Of course I did!" Kazuma said with a smile. "That's exactly why I came back this time—to solve Soul Society's problems. After all, I'm still a Shinigami too."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto studied Kazuma and asked, "What solution do you have? What exactly have you been doing in the World of the Living all these years?"
"These past few years? Batsu'unsai and I traveled around for a while. Oh, and Isshin Shiba married Masaki Kurosaki. He even changed his surname! He's called Isshin Kurosaki now."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto stared fixedly at Kazuma.
That was not what he wanted to know.
Kazuma laughed awkwardly.
"All right, fine. The truth is, Isshin's child is the key to this matter. After his son was born, three powers existed inside him: Shinigami, Hollow, and Quincy."
"Oh?"
Captain-Commander Yamamoto seemed very interested in this.
"Continue."
"Isshin's son, Ichigo Kurosaki, carries all three powers within him. Aizen will definitely be very interested in him. He will continue making moves against Isshin."
"We can use Ichigo Kurosaki to keep Aizen hooked. If Aizen wants to evolve to a higher level, he will definitely act. Ichigo is far too valuable as a research subject…"
Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Kazuma spoke through the entire night, refining many backup plans to prepare for any unexpected situations that might arise.
"All right. Now you should consider the Ninth Division's situation. The position of captain cannot remain vacant for too long—"
Before the Captain-Commander could finish speaking, Kazuma had already slipped away.
...
After that, Kazuma quietly went to the Third Division and met Gin Ichimaru.
The moment Gin saw Kazuma, his chest instinctively began to ache.
"Captain Kazuma, that slash of yours back then was truly ruthless. Weren't you worried I might actually die?"
Kazuma was still very confident in his skill when cutting people.
"Come on, you're still alive and well, aren't you? Besides, I knew what I was doing. That slash would seriously wound you, sure, but killing you was impossible. So, has Aizen made any new moves these past few years?"
Gin told Kazuma about the recent situation.
"Ever since that incident, Aizen has been researching Hōgyoku. In Hueco Mundo, he has created a force known as Arrancar. They are Hollows of Adjuchas level and above who break their masks and obtain powers similar to Shinigami."
"And?"
"For now, Aizen has made no other moves."
Kazuma chatted briefly with Gin and found that the storyline had not changed too much.
After that, he returned from Soul Society to the World of the Living once more.