Meanwhile, the Soul Society captains and wise men around them all fell into an eerie silence after hearing the exchange between Shutara and the members of Squad Zero, though there were subtle glances being traded in secret.
Among those present, aside from Sui Feng and a few wise men from minor clans, most of them could understand the deeper meaning behind Shutara's words.
Not everyone knew the current state of the Soul King, but anyone who could enter Central 46 as a wise man already proved that their ancestors were not exactly clean.
Back then, it was the Five Great Noble Houses who took the lead, under that monk's instigation, in dismembering the Soul King.
"Who exactly is the Hollow King?", Nimaiya Oetsu asked in a deep voice.
He did not really care whether Shutara had truly defected, because it did not actually mean much.
Loyalty to the Soul King had always been nothing more than a slogan placed out in the open. Everyone knew what the real situation was.
Even if Commander Yamamoto was willing to uphold order, it was not to protect the Soul King, but simply because he wanted to build an orderly Soul Society. That was all.
Each member of Squad Zero was willing to stay in the Royal Palace for one reason or another of their own.
Now that Shutara had chosen to defect, it could only mean one thing. The Hueco Mundo Palace had offered a price high enough that even members of Squad Zero could not refuse.
"That is the one thing I cannot tell you. It was part of the contract made back then. However, there is one thing I can tell you."
Shutara Senjumaru struck a deliberate pose, sweeping her gaze around the room. Facing the wise men whose eyes were filled with longing, she spoke with a smiling calm.
"The three realms were once chaos, artificially divided by a supreme being. From that point on, the world was split into Hueco Mundo, Soul Society, and the Human World. And the three realms correspond to three kinds of power. Hollow, Shinigami, and Quincy. When the powers of the three—"
Before she could finish speaking, Nimaiya Oetsu's expression changed drastically.
"Stop it!"
As the most ancient existence in Squad Zero aside from that monk, he knew all too well what Shutara was about to say.
If it were only the few of them here, then saying it would be one thing.
But it was not just them now. There was also a whole group of wise men from Central 46.
If those nobles learned the true nature of the Soul King's power, the three realms would face the greatest upheaval in history.
And when that happened, Shinigami would no longer be Shinigami.
"So you really did know long ago. Then why did you hide it together with that fat monk, refusing to tell me and Kirio and the others?", Shutara tilted her head slightly, smiling as she looked at Nimaiya Oetsu.
But just those words made Kirinji and Hikifune Kirio frown slightly.
Such blatant attempts at sowing discord naturally would not shake their resolve.
Yet the meaning behind Shutara's words still left a thorn in their hearts.
Squad Zero. Was it the Soul King's Squad Zero, or the monk's and Nimaiya Oetsu's Squad Zero?
In theory, they were all of equal standing, all beings who had signed contracts with the Soul King.
Then why were some pieces of information withheld from them? Was it fear that they might do something? Or simply a lack of trust?
"That's enough!", Nimaiya Oetsu's voice was icy cold and sharp. He knew he could not let Shutara continue speaking.
If this went on, there was no telling what might happen.
Before his words had even finished, he had already moved.
There was no explosive burst of spiritual particles from shunpo, no extra preparatory motion at all. He simply held that Zanpakuto so plain it was almost crude, took a single step forward, and his figure vanished abruptly from where he stood.
Every captain level figure present was unable to capture his movement trajectory. They could only see a blurred afterimage, as if he had teleported, crossing dozens of meters in an instant to appear before Shutara.
That utterly unremarkable blade now turned into a silver line that split space itself, coming down in a pure, direct overhead slash.
Yet facing this strike, fast beyond extreme and sharp beyond extreme, Shutara under Rosse's control merely shifted her body slightly, like a willow brushed by the wind, at exactly the right moment.
The deadly blade skimmed past the tip of her nose, missing by a hair's breadth, and carved a bottomless trench into the ground behind her.
With the first strike missing, Nimaiya Oetsu's assault intensified. His wrist twisted, and the blade flowed from a vertical slash into a horizontal one, bringing with it a bleak arc of light capable of cutting a mountain in half at the waist.
In that split second, Rosse's thoughts moved.
Behind Shutara, the six skeletal arms that were completely intact activated like the most precise loom. Countless tough spiritual threads were created out of nothing, instantly weaving together into a dense, white shield of silk right in the path of the incoming blade.
Screech!
However, that shield, sturdy enough to block the full powered Bankai strike of an ordinary captain, was as thin as paper before Nimaiya Oetsu's blade.
There was no resistance at all. Not the slightest pause.
The sword cleanly split the silk shield and the space itself straight down the middle.
"So this is the failed work you spoke of, 'Sayabuse'?"
Rosse controlled Shutara's figure as she drifted back like a phantom to a safe distance. There was not the slightest hint of panic in her tone. Instead, it carried a calm appreciation, like an expert offering critique.
"I think this blade of yours, the one that 'cuts anything,' is your most perfect creation."
From beginning to end, the Shutara played by Rosse carried an air of composure, and he had every right to be that composed.
Members of Squad Zero were bound by blood contracts. Unless only one of them was left alive, they could not use Bankai.
Otherwise, the moment a Squad Zero Bankai was released, it would blow apart most of Seireitei.
But if Bankai was not in play, Rosse was not afraid of these Squad Zero members at all.
Even the strongest, Nimaiya Oetsu, was only on the same SS tier as Commander Yamamoto. Hikifune Kirio and Kirinji Tenjiro were only SS minus.
Even if all four attacked together, under conditions where they could not go all out, they might not be any stronger than him, who could fully unleash Shutara's Bankai.
After all, this was not his home field. There was no need to worry about collateral damage.
That said, considering these wise men had already heard things they should not have, he still decided to leave a few of them alive afterward.
"My philosophy is different from yours. If a blade cannot possess a soul, then it deserves to be nothing more than a failure," Nimaiya Oetsu spun his sword in a flourish, his gaze locked firmly on his opponent.
He was the sword god of Soul Society. Shutara was the great weaver of Soul Society.
One created Zanpakuto. The other created shihakusho.
By all logic, the two should have had common ground, but in reality their philosophies were completely opposed.
He believed that lifeless things needed to be given souls, while Shutara believed that lifeless things only needed to be exquisitely beautiful.
Though their views differed, Nimaiya Oetsu still acknowledged Shutara's strength.
Since she had broken free of the Soul King's contract, she should now be able to release Bankai.
Under circumstances where they themselves could not release Bankai, there was no way they could take her down today.
As for forcibly releasing Bankai, Nimaiya Oetsu had not even considered it.
If he truly forced a Bankai clash with Shutara, the entire Soul Society would be at risk of destruction. It was completely not worth the cost.
But if Shutara truly intended to speak dangerous things, then even if it meant rebuilding Soul Society afterward, they had to kill her here today.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.