"Want to give it a try?!"
Like a devil's temptation, Naraku Sora extended a warm invitation to Soifon.
Soifon hesitated, seemingly remembering something suddenly, and repeatedly shook her head.
It was fine for Naraku Sora to do this because the two of them had established a marriage agreement long ago. Although it hadn't been fulfilled yet, it had been reported to the Golden Seal Noble Assembly and received unanimous approval.
He could rightfully be considered her official fiancé.
She, on the other hand, was different. She was merely a member of the Onmitsukidō. Because of Lady Yoruichi's favoritism, she had been kept by her side, barely counting as her sole personal guard.
As a mere subordinate, how could she dare offend Lady Yoruichi?
Furthermore, Lady Yoruichi was the only person she admired, an existence she was willing to give her life for. How could she...
"It feels really good, you know!"
That light, airy sentence crushed Soifon's tense nerves.
After a brief internal struggle, she used Flash Step to arrive in front of them. Trembling, she raised her sinful little hand and reached toward Yoruichi, who was letting out comfortable purrs.
In this state, Yoruichi's behavioral patterns were almost entirely identical to those of a cat.
As long as one was proficient in the process of petting a cat and possessed a familiar, non-repellent scent, they could successfully achieve the milestone of petting her.
She had finally mustered up the courage and touched the Lady Yoruichi of her dreams.
However, right at that moment, the golden lightning wrapping around Yoruichi's body suddenly faded, and a trace of clarity appeared in her eyes.
When she clearly saw the scene before her, even Yoruichi was stunned for a moment.
A familiar large hand was resting under her chin, gently stroking it and transmitting a reassuring feeling, while another hand was resting somewhere it shouldn't be.
But Yoruichi didn't reject this.
She was never one to care about such trivial details anyway, not to mention their respective statuses.
Rather than rejecting it, it was more like this was how things should have been all along.
It just felt a bit weird somehow.
She had never thought about it in any strange way before. Even when they soaked in the hot springs together, she only felt that they were being a bit more honest with each other.
But under the current circumstances, feeling the warmth radiating from her skin, her body inexplicably began to heat up.
The frequency of her black cat tail's swaying increased slightly.
*Could this be a side effect of Shunkō's second phase?*
Just as Yoruichi was pondering this, she suddenly noticed Soifon standing stiffly in front of her, completely motionless.
To be fair, the young girl looked quite cute like this.
She was completely scared silly.
Yoruichi glanced at the small hand resting on her back, grinned, and reached out to pinch Soifon's cheek, tugging it gently.
"Soifon, offending your captain comes with a price!"
A fearful expression finally appeared on the young girl's face. Just as she was about to open her mouth to defend herself, she saw Yoruichi flash a sly smile. Yoruichi reached out a finger and placed it under Soifon's chin.
Applying a slight force, she lifted it. As their eyes met, the corners of Yoruichi's mouth curled up slightly.
"Since you've committed such an act, you'll just have to use your body to pay for it."
Feeling the warm breath so close at hand, the slightly fluttering eyelashes before her, the exquisite facial features drawing nearer, and the burning, highly interested gaze from the side...
Soifon's cheeks burned hot, and even the tips of her ears turned completely red. It seemed as if white steam was rising from the top of her head.
Finally, right at the moment the mark was about to be stamped, the young girl's vision went black. Her taut nerves completely snapped, her body went limp, and she lost consciousness.
The happiness she had always pursued was right at her fingertips, but because her tolerance was too low, she failed to enjoy it to the end.
Yoruichi paused for a moment, then signaled for Naraku Sora to pick Soifon up.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
Yoruichi hummed with a laugh. "To the medical hot springs, of course. Soifon passed out; shouldn't we take her to get treated?"
"I'm not an unscrupulous boss who exploits subordinates like you."
"Perfect timing, you can help me analyze where else Shunkō can be perfected, like..."
Yoruichi's small mouth kept chattering away non-stop, but Naraku Sora could feel the petite body in his arms curling up even tighter, her body temperature even higher than before.
It was only then that he realized in hindsight.
*So I was just a part of your little play all along?*
For a long time after that, the Soul Society finally returned to a superficial state of peaceful life.
It even made Yamamoto somewhat unaccustomed to it.
Based on past experience, his certain rebellious disciple was definitely holding back a massive scheme.
Out of concern, he sent people to check on the Shino Prison multiple times, only to find that his rebellious disciple had actually been staying obediently inside the squad barracks.
He hadn't gone anywhere.
Aside from dedicating himself to intense daily training, he also invested a considerable amount of energy into training the squad members. Occasionally, to liven up the atmosphere, he would host a martial arts tournament.
Besides the squad members within the Shino Prison participating, members of Squad 11 would also mix in.
For example, Zaraki Kenpachi.
At the drop of a hat, a group of massive brutes would go crazy in the training arena.
Naturally, Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri respectfully declined this, having absolutely no interest in participating.
However, while sorting through some research data left behind by Shutara Senjumaru, Urahara Kisuke unexpectedly discovered that their Lord Prison Warden also possessed exquisite Reishi micro-manipulation techniques.
His level of Reishi control was not the slightest bit inferior to those Quincies.
After several sincere invitations, they finally managed to get Naraku Sora to participate in their ongoing experimental research.
Aside from being studied, he gained another very important job.
Stripping the residual Reishi from materials to minimize factors that could affect the experiments and increase the success rate of the research.
To soothe Naraku Sora's mood, Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri had no choice but to sell their bodies.
Don't misunderstand.
It was just the two of them teaming up in the training arena to face off directly against a certain inhuman monster.
Under the targeted modifications of Ashisogi Jizō's Bankai and the powerful abilities of Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame, Naraku Sora actually suffered a rare setback.
Although Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri despised each other, as some of the very few people who could understand each other's thoughts, they displayed surprisingly perfect synergy in combat.
Even Aizen was highly surprised by this.
Because of this, he even altered his plan to drag them down with him.
Aside from that, with the strong support of the Shihōin, Kuchiki, and Ōmaeda families, the Hell hot springs were successfully developed.
Although the effects were inferior to the original version, they were already quite good.
After all, in terms of Reiatsu, the Soul Society couldn't find many Soul Reapers who could compare to Tenjirō Kirinji.
They couldn't exactly have the dignified Head Captain of the Gotei 13 lower his status to create hot springs day and night, right?
Regardless, Naraku Sora was quite satisfied with it.
As his Hollow power values increased, his need for the real thing wasn't as high.
For ordinary Soul Reapers, the "lite" version of the Hell hot springs was more than enough.
After a period of such peaceful days...
One day, while Naraku Sora was researching how to increase his Flash Step speed, Aizen suddenly sought him out, his expression serious and stern.
"Latest news from Las Noches."
Inside the laboratory at Mount Koifushi, Aizen deciphered the encrypted intelligence and explained it to the person beside him.
"Thanks to the relentless efforts of the recording bugs, traces of other Vasto Lorde have been discovered."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora's eyes lit up. Several targets flashed through his mind, and he immediately slammed the table and stood up.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's head to Hueco Mundo!"
However, Aizen wore a strange expression and didn't open a Senkaimon right away. He said in a deep voice, "Listen to me first."
"Oh." Naraku Sora sat back down.
"Aside from the traces of Vasto Lorde, the recording bugs also discovered something very interesting."
"They seem to be uniting and conspiring about something."
Naraku Sora: "?"
Beneath the crescent moon, a vast silver sea stretched out.
Massive quartz trees towered into the clouds, their grayish-white branches extending like giants holding up this patch of sky.
And beneath the quartz trees, several creatures emitting powerful auras gathered, staring at each other with displeased expressions.
There was no trust in their eyes, only intense wariness and subtle caution.
"Harribel, I don't understand what you mean by this."
"Seeking out our trails for no reason and forcibly gathering us here—do you think you've become powerful enough to defeat all of us?"
The owner of the voice looked like an enlarged mantis. He had a tall stature and a deformed, curved horn on his head that resembled the crescent moon hanging in the sky, exuding a terrifying aura.
His narrow golden pupils were filled with malice, almost condensing into physical form.
"Nnoitra, I didn't summon you all here to fight, but because I have no choice but to borrow your strength."
The person speaking was much closer to a human in form. She had short blonde hair, her face was obscured by bone armor, and her emerald-green eyes showed not the slightest fluctuation of emotion. Fin-like patterns surfaced on her proud figure.
A thick shark tail swayed uneasily behind her.
It was the mastermind behind this gathering, the Vasto Lorde, Tier Harribel.
Even though she had gone further down the path of evolution than Nnoitra, she still didn't underestimate him.
This mantis possessed a powerful defense unmatched by other Adjuchas, capable of easily killing Menos Grande of the same level.
In the upcoming operations, such powerful strength would be needed.
"Borrow our strength?"
A monster resembling an enlarged caterpillar let out a deafening, mocking laugh.
"Harribel, even though you are a Vasto Lorde, a Menos Grande who stands above us, trying to make us submit with just a few words..."
"You're thinking about things a bit too simply."
As soon as the words fell, a lioness-like Menos Grande nearby immediately glared at him, wishing she could bite to death anyone who disrespected Harribel.
Harribel didn't take the other party's attitude to heart. Instead, she spoke calmly.
"A disaster that will sweep across Hueco Mundo is about to descend. If we don't unite, we will inevitably be defeated one by one, and when that time comes, we will only be reduced to captives or prisoners."
"Perhaps you scoff at my words, but what if I told you—"
"The once high-and-mighty King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Louisenbairn, has now submitted to a Soul Reaper?"
As her words fell, the Menos Grande present all revealed astonished expressions, countless gazes turning toward the tall, straight figure standing in the center.
It was as if they had heard something completely unbelievable for a Hollow.
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