"Spit it out, what exactly is going on?"
After finishing organizing the data, Aizen followed Naraku Sora into an empty lounge next door, casually casting a soundproofing Kidō barrier.
Although he wasn't entirely sure what this was about, he guessed it likely had something to do with what happened at the Soul King Palace.
Or rather, it had something to do with Ichibē Hyōsube.
Considering that, it was best if as few people knew as possible.
"It's nothing major, really."
Naraku Sora scratched his head. "You saw me fighting Ichibē Hyōsube. The reason we clashed was because that skinny monk asked if I wanted to be the Spirit King."
"Or rather, it wasn't the monk's own idea, but the will conveyed by the Spirit King."
"In his words, that old geezer of a Spirit King took a liking to this robust body of mine and wants me to inherit his position."
"Secondly, I meet the requirements to become the Spirit King."
"Perfectly fusing the powers of a Soul Reaper, a Hollow, and a Quincy without any conflict makes me an absolutely unique existence in this world."
"In all of heaven and earth, I am the one and only..."
Aizen was speechless.
He seriously suspected that Naraku Sora's brain had been damaged by Ichibē Hyōsube, causing him to spout nonsense.
But after repeatedly confirming it, he finally believed that this guy wasn't joking.
Inheriting the Spirit King's throne was a real thing, meeting the requirements was no lie, and possessing power outside the established rules was also true.
This inevitably gave Aizen the urge to let his blood pressure spike.
Such a serious matter, yet this guy hadn't explained it to him immediately upon returning. Instead, he had leisurely strolled around for a few days before finally remembering to mention it.
Did he truly not understand the significance of the Spirit King?
Ignoring the large chunks of nonsense, Aizen forced himself to calm down and extracted the useful information from those words.
He organized and sorted the details, then fell into deep thought.
Honestly speaking, this guy was truly bold.
Possessing power outside the rules and daring to openly defy the Spirit King's will—it was no injustice that Ichibē Hyōsube had attacked him.
However.
Judging from the subsequent developments, Naraku Sora was more like an afterthought.
Or rather, a convenient excuse to make a move.
His purpose for being there was simply to lure Ukitake Jūshirō over.
From beginning to end, Ichibē Hyōsube only had one goal: the indigenous god hidden within Ukitake's internal organs, Mimihagi.
Also known as the right arm of the Spirit King.
Aizen had read about the Spirit King being dismembered by the founders of the Five Great Noble Families in the Great Spirit Book Gallery and the Tsunayashiro family's collections shortly after the Tsunayashiro family's downfall.
And now, with the Five Great Noble Families weakened and the Tsunayashiro family destroyed, Ichibē Hyōsube was gathering the Spirit King's fragments again. Did this signify some sort of signal?
Repairing the Spirit King's body.
Or perhaps creating a new Spirit King?
Why would things suddenly come to this?
The order had been maintained for a million years; why would it suddenly begin to change?
Had something unknown happened to the Spirit King?
Or could it be that the Spirit King was actually long dead, and what remained in the Greater Palace was nothing more than a wedge maintaining the three worlds?
Were Ichibē Hyōsube's actions merely to allow this wedge to last a little longer?
While that was a possibility, the probability was too low.
From his probing conversation with Tenjirō Kirinji, it wasn't hard to see that if one had to choose the most loyal member of the Zero Division, it would undoubtedly be Ichibē Hyōsube.
Furthermore, aside from the monk, Nimaiya Ōetsu and Tenjirō Kirinji had also individually received the will conveyed by the Spirit King.
That couldn't be faked.
Then it seemed there was only one possibility left.
The Spirit King, this wedge maintaining the three worlds, could no longer sustain itself. Its body, divided into countless fragments, was on the verge of exhausting its power, forcing it to seek...
As he pondered, Aizen noticed the change in Naraku Sora's expression and suddenly spoke up.
"Sora, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
"What else can I do but sit back and watch?"
Naraku Sora grinned, answering truthfully.
Aizen stared at him without saying a word.
It wasn't until a certain someone couldn't quite handle the silent treatment anymore that he finally explained with an awkward smile:
"Sōsuke, you're actually overthinking this."
"Judging from my fight with that fat monk, never mind someone with my innate divine strength."
"Even if you tied the two of us together and strapped every other Soul Reaper to our belts, we still wouldn't be able to touch a single hair on Ichibē Hyōsube's head."
Aizen fell silent.
Although this guy often spoke crudely but made sense, this was a bit too crude.
Wasn't Ichibē Hyōsube bald? Where would he get hair?
Ignoring the silent Aizen, Naraku Sora continued to explain, his expression somewhat helpless.
"The meaning is actually very simple. No matter what the other party wants to do, we can't resist."
"Even if he beats me to my knees and forcibly drags me to sit on that golden toilet throne, there's absolutely nothing we can do about it."
Aizen frowned. Seeming to picture certain scenes, a flash of instinctive repulsion crossed his eyes.
"So are we just supposed to do nothing?"
"Do something? Why wouldn't we?" Naraku Sora gave him a strange look. "Just because we can't beat him now doesn't mean we won't be able to beat him later."
"Didn't the monk say I have the makings of the Spirit King? Give me another few decades or a century of hard work, and who knows who will be the one kneeling on the ground then."
Aizen took a deep breath, suddenly understanding Naraku Sora's line of thought.
Although the two of them were considered powerhouses in the Gotei 13, compared to Ichibē Hyōsube, there was still an insurmountable gap in strength.
They couldn't even defeat the Head Captain, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
Even if they had ideas about changing the status quo, it would be difficult to implement them.
They needed to possess greater power to protect or change all of this.
"Sōsuke."
"Hmm?"
"There's no need to think about things so far in the future for now. Whether it's the monk or the old man, compared to them, we might still be weak, but absolutely do not overlook one crucial factor."
Naraku Sora's expression suddenly became very serious—so serious that Aizen almost thought he had been possessed by some unknown entity.
"And that is time."
"Our teacher took thousands of years to become the strongest Soul Reaper in the Soul Society, and Ichibē Hyōsube spent a million years to sit in the position of the Zero Division's leader."
"Look at us in contrast. How long has it been since we graduated from the Spiritual Arts Academy?"
"As long as we keep working hard in one direction, with the intellect and talent the two of us possess, it will be enough to stand at the very top of the heavens!"
"No one can stand before us!"
Seeing Naraku Sora tilt his head up slightly, his face full of confidence, Aizen was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected that this usually unreliable guy could actually have such insight and say something like this.
But truth be told, it made perfect sense. He had been overthinking things earlier.
Aizen shook his head, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
That's right. Walking on the same path with a guy like this, there was nothing worth worrying about.
They just needed to keep moving forward with unwavering determination.
When they came out of the lounge, they found Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Urahara Kisuke arguing fiercely over a parameter issue, nearly coming to blows right there in the laboratory.
Aside from the Zanpakutō forging technique, Aizen didn't hide anything else, directly bringing out the formula for the Hell hot springs to share.
If he were to do it alone, although he could still create it, the process would be much more troublesome.
Furthermore, Aizen didn't consider himself particularly skilled in Kaidō.
He was powerless when it came to injuries like severed limbs or missing internal organs.
Therefore, he needed to rely on the wisdom of Mayuri and Kisuke.
During the time he spent with these two, even someone as proud as Aizen had to admit that in certain fields, he was indeed inferior to them.
Thus, during the course of some experimental research, he would often humbly listen to their opinions.
Even if disagreements occasionally arose, they wouldn't lead to any real conflict.
If interacting with Naraku Sora made one's blood pressure rise, then cooperating with Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri was purely professional.
This was the common language between scientists, unadulterated by any personal interests.
The three of them shared a common goal: to explore the unknown.
At the same time, Aizen was well aware of how dangerous people like them could be. If they ever stood on opposing sides one day, things would become extremely tricky.
Fortunately, Naraku Sora seemed to have realized this as well, which was why he had recruited the two of them in advance, pulling them onto their chariot with conditions they couldn't refuse.
Then, using similar methods, he slowly chipped away at their rationality until they were completely bound to him, unable to leave.
Putting everything else aside, this matter alone was truly worthy of praise.
Just as Aizen was about to praise a certain someone, he turned his head only to find that the figure who had been standing right beside him had vanished at some point.
It had only been a brief moment of distraction, yet the person was nowhere to be seen.
How was this any different from just washing his hands of the whole thing?
His Reiatsu was becoming a little hard to control.
Fortunately, Naraku Sora hadn't run away. It wasn't long before he returned from outside, carrying a stack of lunchboxes in his arms.
"Food is fuel. No matter how busy you are with experiments, you can't neglect your bodies."
Naraku Sora waved skillfully, forcibly interrupting the trio's conversation. He condensed Reishi to form a dining table and neatly arranged the lunchboxes on it.
"Sōsuke, this one is yours. I specifically had the chef prepare a tofu dish."
"Mayuri, your saury and pastries."
"Here, Kisuke. Standard canteen meals, three portions."
Because they often ate together, Naraku Sora actually remembered everyone's preferences.
Urahara Kisuke, however, was just like him—he didn't have any particular favorites, would eat anything, and had a huge appetite. Compared to the other two, he was sturdy and easy to feed.
"You are very thoughtful, Lord Naraku."
Unlike a certain Kisuke who only cared about burying his head in his food, Mayuri appeared much more polite.
While the three of them ate and chatted, Naraku Sora sat to the side and slowly drew the Zanpakutō strapped to his waist. A trace of warmth spread throughout the room.
Only then did the three of them realize that this guy had two Zanpakutō strapped to his waist.
Seeing the golden-red flames rising from the blade, Urahara Kisuke couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air, an extremely terrifying thought popping into his mind.
This couldn't be the Head Captain's sword, could it?
Naraku Sora skillfully pulled a few sweet potatoes from his pocket and placed them over the fire to roast.
Soon, a refreshing, sweet aroma filled the air.
"These are sweet potatoes roasted by Ryūjin Jakka. It's the only place in the Soul Society that offers this, with no other branches."
"Although my Vajrayati could do it too, it ultimately lacks a bit of experience."
"These sweet potatoes are incredibly delicious. You absolutely must try them."
Looking at the sweet potato forcibly shoved into his hands, Aizen fell somewhat silent, a thought involuntarily surfacing in his mind.
This guy seemed to be getting better and better at courting death.
Urahara Kisuke, on the other hand, adopted a completely reckless 'well, it's not me who's going to die' attitude. He took a huge bite of the sweet potato and praised it repeatedly.
Mayuri, however, had a conflicted expression on his face. As the most senior among the four, he had worked for quite a few people, but Naraku Sora was the very first to treat him like this.
Although it wasn't quite to the level of 'a warrior dies for the one who understands him', he truly felt a different kind of treatment here.
Perhaps this was the real reason why such a group of people could gather together?
Walking under the morning sun, Naraku Sora arrived at Squad 2 alone, preparing to borrow some materials treasured by the Shihōin family from Yoruichi.
Creating the Hell hot springs required more than just the formula.
After Tenjirō Kirinji was promoted to the Zero Division, the ability of the Hell hot springs became completely bound to him.
After being bestowed the name "Hot Spring Demon" by Ichibē Hyōsube, he could even use his Reiatsu to forcibly manifest the Hell hot springs during battle, instantly draining the enemy's Reiatsu and blood.
In contrast, the Soul Society didn't have such conditions, so they could only use external materials to make up for the deficiency.
Casually grabbing a Soul Reaper off the side of the road to ask for Yoruichi's location, Naraku Sora headed in the direction of the training grounds.
Along the way, there was no shortage of Soul Reapers respectfully bowing and greeting him.
As his reputation grew louder, Naraku Sora's image had also become well-known among the vast majority of Soul Reapers.
Compared to the shocking and world-shaking things he had done, his identity as a disciple of the Genryū style actually seemed somewhat inconspicuous.
Of course, everyone had long heard about the scorching Reiatsu that erupted from Squad 1 from time to time.
But subordinates challenging their superiors was a fine tradition in the Soul Society to begin with. Therefore, not only did the Soul Reapers not feel disgusted, but they also expressed their admiration for Senior Naraku one after another.
It was just that they lacked the strength; otherwise, they too would have wanted to taste the flavor of this traditional virtue.
Inside the training grounds, two figures—one tall and one short—were sparring. Their bodies constantly clashed, producing pleasant sounds.
Naraku Sora didn't interrupt the two. He simply sat quietly in a corner, admiring the captivating scenes.
Compared to Yoruichi's figure, which proudly looked down on her peers, Soifon appeared somewhat lacking, but she still had her own charm. Who knows, maybe some people preferred that type.
After the spar, Soifon felt thoroughly refreshed, her body covered in sweat.
Yoruichi, however, didn't seem pressured at all, her expression relaxed and natural.
That was just how it was when the gap in strength was too large.
Just as Naraku Sora was about to go over and say hello, he suddenly saw Soifon reveal a guilty expression. Lowering her head, she whispered:
"I'm sorry, Lady Yoruichi. I don't have Lord Naraku's strength, so I couldn't let you enjoy yourself to the fullest."
Yoruichi grinned. "Why apologize for something like that? You are you, and he is he. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses."
"Soifon can always stay by my side, unlike a certain idiot who constantly disappears at the drop of a hat, treats our arranged marriage as if it doesn't exist, and completely disregards the Shihōin family."
At this point, Yoruichi couldn't help but grit her teeth, looking full of resentment.
Hearing this, Soifon felt her cheeks heat up, completely ignoring the second half of the sentence.
Yoruichi turned her head and saw her little follower acting like this. Her eyes rolled as an idea struck her. She reached out, lifting Soifon's chin, and pinned her against the wall, looking down at her from above.
"Lady Yoruichi, please..."
Looking at Lady Yoruichi so close at hand, Soifon's face turned as red as an apple. She subconsciously crossed her arms in front of her chest, her expression somewhat dazed.
Even though no one was watching, this inexplicable sense of shame was still a bit hard to bear.
*Click.*
A soft sound rang out by their ears.
Yoruichi, who was enjoying the fun of teasing, and Soifon, who was enjoying being teased, both froze at the same time. They subconsciously turned their heads to look in the direction the sound came from.
They saw Naraku Sora pointing an unknown object at them, giving them a thumbs up:
"Thanks for the treat!"
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