"What are you talking about..."
Kuchiki Kōga's expression was somewhat dazed. For the first time, he doubted Naraku Sora's words.
The reason he had gone down his current path was due to the influence of his close friend.
But now, to say they should fight side by side—wasn't that completely contradictory?
If he did that, wouldn't he just be walking down his previous path again?
However, on second thought, he realized he simply hadn't grasped the deeper meaning behind his friend's words.
*'We are good brothers; could Sora really be deceiving me?'*
Recalling how Naraku Sora had helped him in the past, Kuchiki Kōga immediately calmed down and looked over with a serious expression.
"Explain in detail!"
Naraku Sora grinned and explained.
"Actually, your method of using it is wrong."
"Muramasa's true strength doesn't lie in his ability to invade the inner worlds of other Soul Reapers, incite rebellion, and materialize their Zanpakutō."
"Even if you develop that ability to its absolute peak, it's still only top-tier for infighting."
"If you encounter other enemies, such as Menos Grande or Quincies, the 'Whisper' won't have any room to shine."
"I clearly taught you how to properly use your Zanpakutō before, but it seems you didn't take my words to heart."
"You only care about the thrill of battle, completely ignoring Muramasa's feelings."
"Just as I said earlier, someone like you only thinks about yourself."
Kuchiki Kōga silently lowered his head, a trace of guilt appearing on his face.
Everything he said was spot on.
"Then what should I do?"
"It's simple. First, summon Muramasa."
Kuchiki Kōga drew his Zanpakutō. A deep purple Reiatsu erupted, the atmosphere surged, and fierce winds swirled around the two of them, spiraling upward.
Within the sweeping Reishi storm, a familiar figure stepped out from the silver blade.
Looking at the man before him, Muramasa's expression was somewhat complicated.
He understood that the reason Kuchiki Kōga had undergone such a massive change was entirely because of the seemingly young man in front of them.
Whether this change was good or bad, he couldn't say for sure.
The only certainty was that Kuchiki Kōga's state of mind was indeed much better than before.
He couldn't say he was sunny and cheerful, but at least he wasn't letting his imagination run wild all day.
Naraku Sora looked Muramasa up and down. He hadn't changed much from before, except for those fingernails that were several centimeters long, which looked a bit out of place.
No wonder Kōga didn't use you. How are you supposed to throw punches looking like that?
"Can you trim your nails?"
"Huh?"
Muramasa looked bewildered, only snapping back to reality when he noticed Naraku Sora's gaze lingering on his hands.
"Y-Yes, I can."
Although he was a Zanpakutō spirit, after materializing, he was no different from a Soul Reaper.
After all, they were both composed of Reishi.
With a flash of silver light from the blade, fine nail clippings fell away, and his hands instantly looked much cleaner.
Naraku Sora felt much more comfortable and said frankly, "If I remember correctly, Muramasa, you should be able to see or hear the voice deep within Kuchiki Kōga's heart, right?"
Muramasa hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
As the master of the Zanpakutō, Kuchiki Kōga could actually block him unilaterally.
However, that rarely happened.
The only time it did was because of a certain someone's bewitchment.
"Now—"
Naraku Sora snapped his fingers, drawing the attention of both the man and the blade, and grinned. "For Kōga's sake, use Single Bone on me!"
Muramasa's eyes widened involuntarily, but he quickly understood the other party's intentions, and his breathing immediately grew heavy.
He and Kuchiki Kōga exchanged a glance. With their minds connected, a battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Two Reiatsu signatures with only minute differences suddenly erupted, deep purple light intertwining and wrapping around the bodies of the man and the blade.
*Crack!*
Amidst the teeth-aching sound of joints stretching and realigning, their muscles bulged. Their sturdy arms seemed to swell significantly, brimming with the aesthetic of pure power.
As a rising star in the Soul Society, his talent was absolutely above the vast majority of Soul Reapers.
If it weren't for his extreme mindset in his early years, the current Kuchiki Kōga would definitely be even stronger.
After a brief moment of preparation, the wind from their punches howled forward. The explosive impact tore through the atmosphere, and the Kidō barrier beneath their feet let out a groan of overwhelming burden.
And this was not the limit. When Kuchiki Kōga threw a straight punch, Muramasa also assumed his stance.
Almost at the exact same time, he punched forward, violently twisting his wrist. The impact followed like a shadow, arriving in an instant.
The attacks of the two seemed to merge, concentrating on a single point.
A sharp, ear-piercing sound erupted from it.
It was as if an invisible floodgate had been twisted open. The air wailed, emitting shattering sounds, and countless shrieks overlapped in one place, splashing outward like blades.
"Now that's more like it!"
The corners of Naraku Sora's mouth curled up. Facing that overwhelming, powerful impact, he didn't dodge or evade, but instead met it head-on.
If it had been when he first met Kuchiki Kōga, he might have had to treat an attack of this level with caution.
But now, times had changed.
Having clashed head-on with Ichibē Hyōsube, Naraku Sora felt that no matter who he looked at, they were nothing more than this.
Compared to the Monk Who Calls the Real Name, who truly stood at the pinnacle of the world at this stage, he could indeed crush any Soul Reaper in terms of mechanics and raw stats.
Two deep purple Reiatsu signatures intertwined and flickered, lingering around their arms. With an indomitable momentum, they heavily slammed into the fists Naraku Sora thrust forward at the perfect moment.
Dual Single Bone vs. Double Bone!
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion echoed through the dojo. The long-battered Kidō barrier finally collapsed under the terrifying shockwaves, cracking into countless fissures.
It looked like fragile glass smashed by a heavy object.
The raging shockwaves rippled outward layer by layer, exploding in a ring shape.
The three of them retreated almost simultaneously. The soles of their shoes rubbed violently against the ground, grinding out several scorched black marks that looked like strokes of thick ink.
Kuchiki Kōga raised his head with some joy, his eyes shining. He seemed to have found the truly correct path.
Even Muramasa looked surprised, not expecting their performance to be so exaggerated.
"It seems there's a hope of victory!"
"Don't misunderstand, this is just part of the correction process."
Opposite them, Naraku Sora cracked his neck, producing a scalp-numbing popping sound.
"If we just blindly crush with raw stats, the battle will end in an instant, but then it won't serve the purpose of training."
"Watch closely and learn well. The so-called Genryū should be like this..."
In the next instant, Naraku Sora stepped forward.
Immediately after, the roar of the air tearing apart erupted.
A suffocating pressure unfolded within the dojo.
***
"Teacher, if one day your most beloved disciple turned into a Menos Grande, would you still share half of your roasted sweet potato with me?"
"Hmm?"
Yamamoto, who was practicing calligraphy, shot a sideways glance at the certain someone, not understanding what kind of crazy fit this brat was having now.
He snorted coldly and said without raising his head, "Then this old man would definitely choose to clean house, eliminate you at the first opportunity, and then hold a squad funeral for you. It would be best to burn you until not even ashes remain."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora's heart went cold, and he swallowed the words that had reached the tip of his tongue.
Aizen had guessed right.
Even though he had been constantly challenging Old Man Yama's psychological endurance limits, continuously raising his threshold, the concepts forged in his early years were still difficult to change in a short time.
Old Man Yama was still that rigid Head Captain of the Gotei 13.
*'The plan to slowly boil Yamamoto like a frog still has to be taken step by step.'*
"Why are you suddenly spouting such nonsense?"
Yamamoto seemed to think of something and narrowed his eyes at Naraku Sora.
"You brat didn't cause trouble again, did you?"
"What a joke. Is a dignified Prison Warden like me the type to stir up trouble?"
Naraku Sora flatly denied it, not mentioning a word about the previous topic.
Yamamoto stared for a few seconds. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he turned his head and refocused his attention on his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
"If you have time, you might as well take a trip to the Kuchiki family."
"Ever since you cured Kuchiki Sōjun, Captain Kuchiki has been wanting to express his gratitude to you."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora frowned. "Expressing gratitude or whatever, shouldn't he be the one to visit me?"
Yamamoto nodded and said in a deep voice, "Normally, that would be the case. But ever since the Tsunayashiro family fell from power, the Kuchiki family has become the head of the Five Great Noble Families."
"As the family head, Kuchiki Ginrei's every move has attracted unprecedented attention."
"If he personally came to thank you, it would definitely trigger an unprecedented commotion among the nobles, perhaps even sparking another conflict."
"After all, you brat..."
Yamamoto shook his head and didn't continue.
As an important figure who pushed for the downfall of the Tsunayashiro family, if he were to ally with Kuchiki Ginrei, it would be hard for people not to make baseless associations.
For example, purging other noble factions, changing the existing order, and so on.
Hearing this, Naraku Sora couldn't help but complain.
"They clearly don't have much strength, yet they're paranoid all day long, acting like they all have persecution complexes."
"If I really wanted to purge them, would I even need to ally with anyone else?"
Yamamoto coughed twice.
Seeing this, Naraku Sora said no more. He casually grabbed a few sweet potatoes from the stove and left the Squad 1 barracks with them tucked away.
Just as he returned to Shino Prison, he ran head-on into a haggard-looking Urahara Kisuke.
He looked pale and thin, swaying uncontrollably as he walked, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
Those who knew understood he was researching sword-forging methods; those who didn't might think he had done something unspeakable with a Zanpakutō.
Seeing Naraku Sora, Urahara Kisuke squeezed out a smile. "Lord Naraku, you're back. I was just about to go look for you."
"What do you need me for?"
"Is the Tenshintai modification complete?"
Naraku Sora pulled two roasted sweet potatoes from his pocket and stuffed them into Urahara Kisuke's hands as a reward for his hard work and not slacking off recently.
Urahara Kisuke wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead.
"That project is still scheduled for later. Right now, we are focusing on the method of forging Zanpakutō and the Hell Hot Springs."
"Actually, it's a byproduct born during the research process."
"Both Mr. Kurotsuchi and I are a bit unsure, so we wanted Lord Naraku to come take a look."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora's interest was immediately piqued.
Something that could stump both of these unrivaled geniuses, Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri, was definitely no ordinary item!