Chapter 290: Are You Genuine or Pretending?
Breaking through the void, ascending to the higher realm.
Before crossing over, Satoru had hated this phrase when reading novels.
When the protagonist ascended to the higher realm, it often meant the book had completely derailed—the existing power system became completely obsolete, the author was unable to continue developing the plot but didn't want to end the story, so they forcibly introduced a new advanced world as a poor sequel.
Basically, whenever he encountered similar plot developments, it was time to drop the book.
Never thought that after crossing over, he would have his own day of ascending to the higher realm.
Had the era where super-gods were everywhere and divine-level beings were as common as dogs finally arrived?
Hehehe, kekekeke!
Watching Satoru with half his face hidden in shadow, occasionally emitting eerie laughter, Shinji grew somewhat anxious.
This guy wouldn't be planning to cause major trouble at the Soul King Palace, would he?
I still want to live a few more years—if you want to die, don't drag me along with you!
Amid Shinji's deep concerns, the Heavenly Pillar Chariot landed with a thunderous impact.
The doors opened, revealing the scenery outside.
The first and most striking sight was the massive cylindrical structure floating in the sky.
Like a divine pillar anchoring the heavens, its mere presence exuded a profound sense of history.
Beneath the great pillar were four enormous floating discs, also suspended in the air.
Each disc was estimated to be less than a hundred square kilometers—roughly the size of a small town.
Further below lay an open platform, still hovering mid-air, seemingly designed as a speaking square or something similar.
Satoru thought the Soul King Palace seemed to have an obsession with floating architecture.
At the very bottom stretched a vast expanse of ground.
Rows of residential houses were neatly arranged here.
Many souls wearing yukata and kimono were walking and chatting on the streets.
Seeing this scene, Satoru was somewhat surprised.
"The Soul King Palace has residential areas too? I thought only a few members of the Zero Division were here, guarding the Soul King in lonely solitude."
Kishibojin: "?"
Her blood pressure spiked.
Just as she was about to lecture some brat who didn't know his place, a voice rang out:
"Heh, kid, there's a lot more you haven't seen yet."
The group had just stepped out of the Heavenly Pillar Chariot and landed on the ground.
Hearing this sudden voice, they instinctively turned to look.
They saw a man with a pompadour hairstyle, carrying a long wooden oar over his shoulder, swaggering toward them with a delinquent air.
His footwork was peculiar—though he seemed to amble casually, he covered great distances in an instant, arriving before them in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, he suddenly flickered and appeared behind Satoru.
He craned his neck, leaning his head beside Satoru's face to scrutinize him curiously.
"Oh... So you're Yamamoto Shigekuni's new disciple?"
"Looks like there's nothing particularly special about him?"
"Your name is... huh?"
Before he could finish speaking, the pompadour-wearing Shinigami suddenly froze.
Satoru, who had been right in front of him moments before, suddenly vanished from his spot and reappeared behind him!
"Interesting."
The pompadour-headed man grinned, revealing a fierce smile.
Whoosh!
Using Flash Step, he charged toward Satoru's back.
Without hesitation, Satoru Mikami also used Flash Step to rush behind him.
The two continuously flickered back and forth, alternating positions repeatedly, and in the blink of an eye, they had rushed beyond the plaza toward the distant residential area.
Shinji: "..."
Watching Satoru disappear into the distance, he couldn't help but feel the urge to facepalm.
"What are these two idiots doing?!"
Just as Satoru and the pompadour-headed man were about to charge into the civilian district, a figure suddenly rushed over, releasing a powerful burst of Reiatsu impact that sent both of them flying high into the air, hurling them back even faster than they had come.
Mid-air, Satoru and the pompadour-headed man struggled together, finally managing to adjust their positions. After spinning several times in the sky, they both landed steadily on the ground, avoiding the embarrassing scenario of crashing headfirst into the earth.
The moment they landed, the pompadour-headed man couldn't help but glance over.
This kid... actually managed to match my speed!
Back in the day, before he joined the Zero Division, he was known as "Thunder" in the Soul Society!
Not the kind you download from magnet links, but the kind whose speed rivaled lightning itself.
Even Shihōin Chika, who created his own Flash Step technique and was hailed as having the strongest footwork, couldn't match him in pure speed.
How could someone as powerful and swift as himself be locked in such an intense battle with a brat who graduated less than a century ago?
He recalled the footwork technique Satoru had used.
The foundation was undoubtedly the original Flash Step from Shin'ō Academy.
But many details had been optimized.
While each individual adjustment seemed minor and insignificant on its own, when combined, they were enough to create a qualitative change.
Moreover, this kid's Flash Step incorporated some techniques from the Shihōin Clan.
Did this kid have some connection to the Shihōin family?
What surprised him most was that Satoru's footwork seemed to contain traces of Sonído.
Sonído is a special movement technique that only Hollows can master, achieved through unique Reishi vibrations that distort space to create teleportation-like effects.
Many Shinigami had attempted to learn it, and he, as "Thunder Tenjirō," was no exception.
But everyone, including himself, had failed.
This brat has some skills!
And then there was that final flip landing.
The kid's ukemi was quite polished, as if he frequently got knocked into the air and had to adjust his landing.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, the pompadour-headed man nearly laughed out loud.
Impossible... who would get sent flying into the sky every day?
After landing, Satoru looked ahead.
The figure who had just "attacked" him and the pompadour-headed man had already caught up.
It was a beautiful woman wearing a white robe, with large golden ornaments adorning her long black hair tied at the back.
But more striking than these were the six bone-white arms extending from her back.
Looking at Satoru who was staring at her, the woman's expression was icy cold.
"Mortal realm Shinigami, why do you not kneel and pay respects when you see one of the Zero Division?"
As the words echoed, a violent surge of Reiatsu erupted from her.
Instantly, the surrounding air seemed to solidify, turning into a viscous, glue-like substance.
Each breath felt like swallowing thick globs of glue, clogging the windpipe and making it impossible to breathe.
The Reishi trembling between heaven and earth scraped against everyone's skin like countless tiny blades, almost drawing blood.
Shinji Hirako broke out in a cold sweat.
Among those present, his Reiatsu was the weakest.
Though not enough to crush him, it was already affecting his movements.
Under the woman's icy gaze, Satoru scratched his head.
"Auntie Haori Spirit, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
"Are you so old that your mind's gone?"
At these words, the woman's face instantly turned livid.
She whipped her head around, glaring at Kirio with a look of betrayed fury.
Kirio grinned widely. "Captain, this has nothing to do with me. I've never described your appearance to my master."
"However, my master's intuition has always been sharp. Even if you hadn't used your real voice and had disguised everything, I doubt you could've fooled his eyes."
Hearing Kirio's words, the woman looked at Satoru with a mix of doubt and suspicion.
"You wretched brat, how did you recognize this humble one?"
In the past, whenever she descended to the Soul Society, she had always possessed a Haori, appearing in the form of clothing.
Why was this kid so certain it was her the first time he saw her true form?
After all, to avoid being recognized, she had even changed her speech patterns.
Under her curious gaze, Satoru stared blankly for a couple of seconds.
Then, as if suddenly understanding, he showed an expression of realization.
"Oh, so that weird act just now was because you thought I wouldn't recognize you?"
"Pfft, how naive, utterly naive!"
He crossed his arms, lifted his head, and flashed a triumphant smile.
"When you descended in your clothing form, you didn't just make the Haori float in mid-air—you had a simulated body 'wearing' it."
"Except the body was transparent."
"After seeing it a few times, I mentally reconstructed your body's contours based on the curves where the clothing touched your form."
Hearing this, Shutara froze momentarily.
"So, during our usual meetings, in your mind, you were…"
"Exactly! Every time we met, I mentally gave your clothing-only form a body using the power of imagination!"
"Although I only filled in the details like your facial features and skin texture today, I've long memorized your figure clearly."
"In front of me, no matter how much you change your clothes or alter your appearance, it's as if you're completely naked—utterly exposed!"
"Ahahahaha!!"
Satoru laughed triumphantly.
Senjumaru Shutara's blood pressure skyrocketed.
Swinging her six skeletal arms, she charged at Satoru.
"Well met! Let us resume our unfinished battle!"
Satoru casually tossed aside his Captain's Haori and met her head-on.
Shinji's eye twitched violently.
Just great. Absolutely fantastic.
He'd just arrived at the Soul King Palace and had already fought two members of the Zero Division.
Are you really here to escort, not to cause trouble?
In the blink of an eye, Satoru and Shutara had exchanged over a dozen blows.
Bam bam bam bam!!!
Mid-air, Satoru raised his arm, the Reiatsu compressed to its limit on his skin gleaming with a brilliant, sharp light.
Shutara's six bone arms, like those of a thousand-armed goddess, each wielded a Kidō, all striking almost simultaneously under the terrifying amplification of her Reiatsu.
Despite having six arms, the intervals between her attacks were nearly nonexistent.
If she were dozens of times faster, she might even achieve the effect of a sixfold impact.
Feeling the sharp pain in his bones, Satoru grew excited.
As expected of the Zero Division—even someone who weaves and makes clothes could deal such astonishing damage.
He twisted his right fist and slammed it violently into one of Shutara's bone arms before she could retract it.
Crack!!
Under Shutara's astonished gaze, the punch directly shattered one of her arms!
This brat... was stronger than she had anticipated.
Shutara's expression turned grave.
Her reason for attacking was primarily to let Satoru experience the formidable strength of her body, enhanced by the Soul King.
By doing so, she intended to admonish him and ensure he didn't entertain any misguided ideas.
Unexpectedly, this wretched brat, through some unknown training, possessed a mortal body whose strength was almost on par with hers!
Just who was admonishing whom here?
After breaking one of her bone arms, Satoru pressed his advantage, eager to expand it further.
Seeing this, Shutara couldn't help but laugh.
Wretched brat, getting carried away, are you?
Fine, if that's the case, she would show him some of her true abilities.
If she didn't demonstrate her real skills, he might truly think she was just a weaver.
She controlled her four remaining arms, engaging Satoru in a rapid exchange of blows.
With her free hand, she subtly retrieved an embroidery needle.
Trailing behind the needle were nearly imperceptible threads of Reishi.
The needle's tip aimed straight for Satoru's clothing.
Her special ability, "Ultimate Weaving," allowed her to silently reweave her opponent's garments during battle, transforming them into her own "Divine Attire."
Once the weaving was complete, the opponent's clothing would fall entirely under her control.
At that point, whether she chose to strangle the wearer with the fabric or make spikes emerge from the cloth to pierce the enclosed body—like an iron maiden—would be entirely up to her!
Of course, since Satoru was an acquaintance and this wasn't a life-or-death struggle, she wouldn't go that far.
She would simply teach him a slight lesson—make the Ultimate Weaving suddenly tear apart during the fight and let him suffer some social embarrassment.
Thinking this, Shutara curled her lips into a smile, as if already witnessing Satoru's flushed face and frantic attempts to cover himself.
But just as her needle was about to touch Satoru, he suddenly leaped backward, putting distance between them.
Under Shutara's somewhat stunned gaze, Satoru grinned and said:
"What a thrill!"
"Auntie Robe-Spirit, even though you're just a weaver, your skills are quite impressive."
"Since that's the case, I should get serious too!"
As he spoke, he let out a loud shout, grabbed his collar with both hands, and pulled it open.
The upper half of his Shinigami Uniform was directly torn off, revealing his well-built physique beneath.
Senjumaru: "?"
Her eye twitched.
When normal people say they're getting serious, they usually unveil new techniques or focus more attention, right?
What's with you taking off your clothes first?
Satoru, now shirtless, let out another roar and appeared before her as if teleporting.
Shutara's blood pressure rose slightly.
Could you at least pay some attention to your appearance when fighting a lady?
With a dark expression, she parried Satoru's attacks while simultaneously threading a needle and swiftly reweaving the torn half of his Shinigami Uniform.
Now, half of Satoru's upper garment was under her control!
A smirk tugged at Shutara's lips as she prepared to give Satoru a fashion surprise.
But before she could make her move, Satoru suddenly frowned and glanced downward.
"What's going on... suddenly I find this clothing really annoying, don't want to keep it anymore."
"Off you go!"
Saying this, Satoru grabbed one side of his Shinigami Uniform and ripped it off with a tearing sound, throwing it aside.
Senjumaru: "..."
Damn it, the part this brat just tore off and discarded happened to be the section she had painstakingly resewn moments ago!
Return my labor results!
Actually... is this bastard pretending, or is he for real?
He clearly hasn't discovered the secret of my ability, so why does he always manage to counter it so precisely every time??