"The sword used to dismember you was the Ise Clan's Shinken Hakkyōken, wasn't it? Did you create it?"
When discussing the Ise Clan, it was impossible to ignore that bladeless sacred sword.
Shinken Hakkyōken was a Zanpakutō passed down through generations of the Ise Clan.
It couldn't cut ordinary people, but it could reflect an enemy's power back at them.
Its divine radiance was even said to destroy any sacred being it touched.
"That was indeed the weapon used to dismember me," Adnyeus replied. "Only its power could break through my body and sever my limbs."
"However, I did not create it."
He stared at Kazuma as though the question itself had insulted his intelligence.
"Do you truly believe that I, the Soul King, would forge a sword capable of killing me?"
"You didn't make it?"
Kazuma's confusion only deepened.
"Then where the hell did it come from? Did it naturally form alongside the birth of the Three Worlds?"
He studied Adnyeus closely, almost as though he hoped to read the truth directly from the Soul King's eyes.
This was a weapon capable of slaying a god.
The idea that Adnyeus hadn't created it was hard to comprehend. If the Soul King hadn't forged it, then who had?
"I do not know."
Adnyeus's answer was calm, brief, and utterly unhelpful.
Kazuma stared at him.
"Which one of us is supposed to be the Soul King here?"
His voice rose in disbelief.
"We're talking about the origin of a sword that can literally kill you, and your answer is that you don't know?"
He felt as though he were losing his mind.
The more questions he asked, the more he felt like a man groping around in the dark.
"I truly don't know," Adnyeus repeated without the slightest change in expression.
No matter how loudly Kazuma challenged him, the Soul King remained completely unmoved.
Kazuma's head began to ache.
Had this bastard slept so long that he'd forgotten every important detail about his own world?
"You're either unbelievably careless or missing part of your brain."
Kazuma sighed in exasperation.
"That sword can kill you. Actually kill you. And you never bothered investigating where it came from?"
Kazuma had always believed in eliminating threats before they could grow.
Even when a danger couldn't be removed immediately, he'd prepare every possible defense against it. That habit of planning ahead had saved his life more than once.
Sayafushi was a perfect example.
The moment Kazuma realized Ōetsu's sword might pose a genuine threat to him, he'd immediately severed the man's arm and taken the weapon for himself.
Adnyeus, meanwhile, had known Shinken Hakkyōken could end his life yet had done absolutely nothing about it.
Was there something wrong with his head, or was he hiding another reason?
"I had already lived long enough," Adnyeus said with perfect serenity. "Life and death had ceased to matter to me."
"Why would I have feared it? If someone truly had the ability to kill me, that might have granted me the release I desired."
Kazuma fell silent.
Annoyingly, the explanation did make a certain amount of sense.
Still, something about it felt wrong.
After a brief pause, he gathered his thoughts.
"Let's establish a few facts first. You're a god. There's no argument about that, correct?"
"That is correct," Adnyeus replied. "I am a god."
"And logically, a weapon capable of killing a god could only be created by another god."
"Correct."
"No one other than a god could possibly create something like that?"
"Absolutely not."
The short exchange made Kazuma's expression grow steadily graver.
He'd just realized something deeply troubling.
Adnyeus wasn't the only god in the world of Bleach.
There had to be at least one other.
And the mysterious deity hiding in the shadows was almost certainly connected to the Ise Clan.
Otherwise, how could they possess Shinken Hakkyōken?
A chill spread through Kazuma's heart.
The situation had already been confusing, but now it had become an impenetrable mess.
"Who originally led the five great noble clans in their plan to dismember you?" Kazuma asked the question cautiously.
The spirit books claimed the founder of the Tsunayashiro Clan had first conceived the idea, but Kazuma no longer trusted those records.
Someone had already tampered with them once.
"After I separated the Three Worlds, my omniscience allowed me to witness what would occur in the future."
Adnyeus spoke slowly as he recalled those ancient events.
"The five children developed the desire to dismember me. I chose to indulge them and allowed myself to be divided and sealed."
"The Tsunayashiro founder first proposed the idea. The Shihōin and Kuchiki founders remained neutral, while the Shiba founder opposed it."
"The Ise Clan alone offered no opinion."
"That should have been the end of the matter, because they possessed no weapon capable of dismembering me."
"Then the Ise Clan presented Shinken Hakkyōken — the one weapon that could cut apart my body."
Adnyeus described the ancient incident in detail.
Based on the available evidence, the Tsunayashiro Clan had clearly wanted to dismember the Soul King, but they'd lacked any weapon capable of carrying out the plan.
Then the Ise Clan appeared at exactly the right moment, carrying the one mysterious blade that could make it possible.
The two sides immediately reached an agreement and began putting their world-shaking scheme into motion without hesitation.
Kazuma's thoughts took a darker turn.
What if the Tsunayashiro Clan's desire to dismember Adnyeus had never truly originated from them?
What if the Ise Clan had quietly planted or encouraged the idea from the shadows?
In that case, the Tsunayashiro Clan might have appeared to be the instigator, while the Ise Clan had secretly directed the entire event from behind the scenes.
The thought had barely formed before Kazuma hurriedly pushed it away.
If that was really the truth, the implications were far too outrageous.
Just imagining it was terrifying.
...
"What exactly happened with the monk? Wasn't he your most loyal follower? Why did he stand by and watch while the five great noble clans brutally dismembered you?"
Kazuma had finally uncovered the identity of the fifth noble clan, but he had no intention of stopping there.
Meeting the Soul King was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so he planned to clear up every mystery that had ever bothered him.
"Once, Ichibē truly was the person I trusted most," Adnyeus replied with a faint sigh. "That was why I granted him the authority to name every object and existence within Soul Society."
"It was a privilege beyond the reach of even many highly exalted beings."
"At first, he firmly opposed the five great noble clans' plan to dismember me. However, he stood alone. How could one person possibly contend with the combined power of all five clans?"
"After a fierce struggle, he was ultimately forced to yield."
Adnyeus paused, a trace of regret appearing on his otherwise placid face.
So there really had been nothing suspicious about the monk.
Kazuma had always assumed Ichibē had secretly conspired with the five great noble clans, but apparently he'd been wrong.
That still left one important question.
What was the true purpose of Squad Zero?
It couldn't possibly exist solely to protect Adnyeus.
That explanation didn't make sense.
Kazuma felt as though he'd walked straight into another dead end.
"Strictly speaking, Squad Zero was established to monitor me from the shadows," Adnyeus continued, seemingly sensing the question in Kazuma's mind.
"That was also the condition under which the five great noble clans agreed to spare Ichibē's life."
"Only Ichibē knows the true reasons and details behind that arrangement. The other four members of Squad Zero are entirely unaware of it."
"What happened to those five old bastards, then?" Kazuma asked with a frown. "Are they dead?"
"I would imagine they are probably dead…"
Adnyeus hesitated.
"What do you mean, probably?"
Kazuma immediately grew agitated.
"Are you saying they might still be alive and hiding in some corner somewhere?"
"I genuinely do not know what became of them."
Adnyeus shook his head helplessly.
"After I was sealed within this crystal, I immediately entered a deep slumber. I have no knowledge of what happened afterward, including whether those five truly died."
"I saw no trace of their continued existence in the futures I observed."
"So they might not be dead at all. They could still be active somewhere."
Kazuma racked his brain but couldn't imagine where the founders of the five great noble clans might have gone.
He hadn't encountered any sign of them in Hell either.
Where the hell had those old monsters disappeared to?
"That is enough. I have already spoken too much today."
Adnyeus's voice returned to its usual flat tone.
"It is time for me to sleep. If you still have questions, ask me the next time you visit."
The moment he finished speaking, he fell completely silent.
"This guy went back to sleep already?"
Kazuma stared at him in disbelief.
"What exactly is wrong with him? Is he permanently stuck somewhere between sleeping and waking?"
"He's already slept for thousands of years, yet he can still doze off this easily. Just how much does he love sleeping?"
Kazuma shook his head helplessly.
"Hmph. Do you truly believe he wants to sleep?"
Hokushin Raitei suddenly gave a quiet scoff from within his inner world.
"My previous strike damaged his soul. He has no choice but to enter a deep sleep if he wishes to recover."
"So that's what happened!"
Kazuma immediately began piling on the flattery.
"I was wondering why the old bastard suddenly changed his attitude. One moment he was trying every possible way to kill me, and the next he was answering every question I asked."
"So it was because you wounded him!"
He continued with growing enthusiasm.
"Then again, your power truly is beyond imagination. You struck him only once, yet an existence as powerful as Adnyeus was gravely wounded and forced into hibernation."
"Your strength is utterly unfathomable! My admiration for you flows on and on like a river, surging without end!"
Kazuma spoke with such passion and borrowed so many grand phrases that every word sounded thoroughly researched and impossible to argue with.
Hokushin gave a faint nod of approval.
For one brief moment, he felt this brat wasn't entirely worthless.
On closer thought, Kazuma did have a few admirable qualities.
With Adnyeus now sunk in deep sleep, Kazuma had no choice but to retrace his steps.
His main reason for coming to the Soul King Palace had been to repair Renji's Zanpakutō.
Unexpectedly meeting the Soul King and learning so many ancient secrets had merely been an added windfall.
"His Majesty has already sent me his command."
Ichibē was waiting for Kazuma as he descended to the third floor.
"From this day forward, you may travel freely between Soul Society and the Soul King Palace."
Although Ichibē couldn't understand why the Soul King was treating Kazuma with such extraordinary favor, he was still the palace's guardian.
The Soul King's command was absolute, and he could only obey.
"Heh. That old bastard does a fairly convincing job of acting like a god after all."
Kazuma's lips curved upward.
"I suppose he isn't entirely stubborn and boring."
He followed Ichibē out of the Soul King's Grand Palace.
Once outside, Kazuma paused and looked around.
Since he'd already come all the way to the Soul King Palace, it would be a shame not to visit an old friend.
Without another word, he slowly flew toward Hikifune Kirio's Gatonden, leaving Ichibē standing there in confusion.
"Is that man truly this lacking in manners?"
Ichibē watched Kazuma fly farther away.
"He left without even saying goodbye."
Kazuma was already heading straight toward Kirio's palace. Ichibē was thoroughly irritated, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Captain Kazuma! I knew you'd come to see me!"
Kazuma soon arrived outside Gatonden.
Before he could enter, a hearty laugh rang from within, and an enormous, round woman walked out carrying a fried-rice ladle.
She was Hikifune Kirio, the former captain of the Twelfth Division.
Staring at how unbelievably fat she'd become, Kazuma had only one thought.
The food in Squad Zero must be incredible.