Soul Society.
Yamamoto Genryusai was buried in a mountain of paperwork.
Suddenly, a message from Yoriichi Tsugikuni, like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly shattered the tranquility.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni claimed that he had found a way to solve the imbalance in the number of souls in the Three Realms, and that was through Hell.
Upon hearing this news, Yamamoto Genryusai's eyes widened, and his shock was evident.
"What!"
He stood up abruptly, and an invisible aura instantly permeated the air.
At this moment, he no longer cared about the unfinished paperwork; he hastily put on his haori and rushed to the place Yoriichi Tsugikuni had mentioned.
Whether this matter was true or false, as the representative of the Soul Society, he had to verify it himself.
Hell, in Yamamoto Genryusai's understanding, was the place of death for all things.
Once any soul entered it, it would be difficult to escape, and it would even deepen the imbalance in the number of souls.
However, Yoriichi Tsugikuni claimed to be able to alleviate the imbalance, which filled Yamamoto Genryusai with questions.
Where on earth did he find this method?
Yamamoto Genryusai did not know, but he knew that soon, all mysteries would be revealed.
...
In the silent Netherworld, Yamamoto Genryusai's deep voice suddenly rang out:
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni, can you tell this old man where you discovered this world?"
He gently plucked a wisteria petal, his thick white eyebrows tightly furrowed.
"Substance not composed of reishi?"
"A rather strange world."
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni, you truly surprise this old man."
He looked deeply at Yoriichi, his narrowed eyes seeming to hide endless meaning.
However, Yamamoto Genryusai had no intention of delving deeper, as long as he could confirm that this world would not cause any ill effects to the Three Realms.
So, he continued to observe everything around him.
Several ferocious demons were the first to enter his sight.
They bared their fangs and claws, roaring and howling, causing Yamamoto Genryusai to unconsciously narrow his gaze.
"Strange creatures."
He commented after observing for a while.
"Weak and pathetic, neither human, nor Hollow, nor Shinigami… yet possessing deep evil."
"Are they also indigenous to this world?"
Yamamoto Genryusai once again turned his gaze to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
At the same time, his gaze swept over the girl beside Yoriichi, and the confusion in his eyes deepened.
He had lived for thousands of years.
He believed he had seen all the sights of the Three Realms.
Yet he never expected that there would be things he did not understand.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni pondered for a moment before explaining.
"They are creatures called demons, similar to Hollows, but they are humans who have fallen."
"I plan to move them to Hell, because only there is their proper destination."
"Of course, this plan is still in preparation."
Yamamoto Genryusai stroked his beard and asked:
"When can it be done?"
"Demons?"
"That's an apt description. Souls fall into Hollows, humans fall into demons. When did such creatures exist in the Three Realms?"
"Speaking of which…"
Yamamoto Genryusai suddenly remembered something.
Hollows, which seemed to be everywhere, were actually only distributed in the Eastern Branch, which was the Seireitei area.
In other places, such as the Western Branch in London, there were no Hollows; instead, there were creatures called dragons.
About four hundred years ago, Chōjirō Sasakibe had traveled there once, and then brought back the customs from there, and he thus became a British London gentleman.
Considering that dragons are different from Hollows, it became reasonable that demons would be different from Hollows.
Thinking of this, Yamamoto Genryusai nodded and stopped asking further questions.
Afterward, Yoriichi Tsugikuni continued:
"I need time."
"To send these demons to Hell, this wisteria forest must be destroyed, and the number of demons is extremely large, tens of thousands of them."
"I need to find some Shinigami to take over this area so that I can send all of them into Hell without leaving a single one behind."
"Otherwise, they will endanger the safety of the human souls living here."
Yamamoto Genryusai nodded slightly, generally understanding everything.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni sought him out simply to gain his consent, to have him send some Shinigami over to safely transport these human souls to the Soul Society.
With such a large number of souls, he alone would certainly not be enough.
In addition, for the Hell Gate to remain open for a long time, the consent of that clan would also be required.
As for Yoriichi's spiritual pressure, it was still too strained.
Thinking of this, Yamamoto Genryusai nodded.
"This old man understands."
"Since that is the case, the transformation of this world shall begin now."
"With these human souls, I believe the pressure on Soul Society can be greatly alleviated, and as the discoverer… Heh heh."
"It would be inexcusable not to give you the credit of a high-ranking noble."
Upon hearing this, Yoriichi Tsugikuni frowned slightly.
"Teacher, I am not doing these things for the sake of noble status."
"Furthermore, regarding the incomplete cycle of reincarnation in this world, I believe it is best not to interfere too much."
"Soul Society naturally welcomes those souls who wish to live another life, but if they do not, then let them pass away peacefully."
Yamamoto Genryusai looked at him quietly.
"You are quite free-spirited, telling this old man… an incomplete cycle of reincarnation, do you mean there is another Human World outside?"
"Interesting, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the surprises you bring this old man are truly increasing."
"This must be your wife."
Yamamoto Genryusai changed the subject and said, looking at uta,
"Born in the early Edo period, only eighteen years old, no wonder this old man couldn't find any trace of her in Soul Society…"
"So that's how it is…"
He finally understood the contradiction in the timeline Yoriichi Tsugikuni had mentioned earlier.
If nothing unexpected happened, he should be a soul from this Human World.
It was just by chance that he mistakenly entered Soul Society.
A thousand years ago, Yamamoto Genryusai would never have accepted such an outsider, but now it was different.
The Three Realms were about to return to stability because of Yoriichi, and he had also become his disciple, dismantling some conspiracies against Soul Society.
What if he didn't belong to the Three Realms? As long as his heart was with the Three Realms, it was fine.
Regarding this, Yamamoto Genryusai stated:
"Since it is the world that gave birth to and raised you, you should have all the authority to dispose of it."
"Do as you say."
"Regarding your noble promotion proposal… Even if this old man does nothing, Kucihki and Shihouin will submit them."
"Because the higher your status, the more beneficial it is for them."
"Although the Forty-Six Chambers are gone, and the Tsunayashiro Clan has fallen, it doesn't mean the noble system will disappear."
"In the future, perhaps your Tsugikuni family will become the new Five Great Upper Nobles of Soul Society."
"Prepare well."
...
Since it was possible to freely return to Soul Society through Hell, Yoriichi returned home to Soul Society with Uta after meeting Yamamoto Genryusai.
Uta was full of curiosity about everything before her.
In her impression, the place where she and Yoriichi lived together was nothing more than a simple wooden house.
But now, what appeared before her was an ancient courtyard surrounded by white sealed stone.
This huge change made it difficult for her simple mind to fully accept it in a short time, and she even found it hard to adapt to such a life.
As Uta's gaze swept across the courtyard, she saw the three little girls of the Tsugikuni family.
In an instant, her astonishment grew even greater.
Yoriichi had actually adopted three younger sisters?
In Uta's impression, only during famine years would various homeless people appear.
Harboring sympathy and pity for them, Uta smiled and greeted them.
Because Hisana and the others looked young, Uta initially thought these three girls were much younger than herself.
But when she asked their age, she was stunned.
"You're thirty-eight!?" Uta's eyes widened slightly as she stared at Hisana, her face full of disbelief.
Then, she turned her gaze to Rangiku:
"You're eighty-seven?"
Uta was completely bewildered. How could such numbers appear on two little girls?
Rangiku, who was beside her, "Tsked."
She carefully scrutinized Uta, seemingly wanting to see through this mistress who had appeared out of nowhere.
After looking for a long time without finding anything, she could only calmly retort: "Is it that surprising?"
"Didn't Brother Yoriichi tell you that the age of souls in Soul Society cannot be measured by appearance?"
"Someone who looks very young might have already lived for thousands of years."
"Speaking of which, Uta… what should I call you, Older Sister?"
Uta was still immersed in shock and hadn't recovered.
Her human mind was completely unable to comprehend what a concept of thousands of years was.
Although her mind was dazed, she still heard Matsumoto Rangiku's question, and quickly looked up, softly saying:
"Since you are the younger sisters Yoriichi adopted, then just call me Older Sister."
"About that, Yoriichi really didn't tell me, perhaps because there wasn't enough time."
"Can you tell me what the situation in Soul Society is like?"
Seeing Uta's naive and ignorant appearance, Rangiku sighed softly.
She didn't look like an older sister at all; she herself would be more suitable as an older sister...
However, who made her live under someone else's roof?
Despite her helplessness, Rangiku quickly informed Uta of the general structure of Soul Society and the difference between Shinigami and Rukongai.
Of course, there was also the Tsugikuni family's current transcendent status.
Because Aizen was forced away, and with the Forty-Six Chambers completely annihilated, even though the Tsugikuni family was just a lower noble, its deterrent power was enough to rival those ordinary upper nobles.
To help Uta understand the difference more clearly, Rangiku gave an example:
"It's like a rabbit defeating a lion, making even the wild wolves afraid."
The combat power between the three was too disparate; even if Uta only half-understood it, she still grasped some of it.
At the same time, a deep sense of guilt slowly grew in her heart.
Without her knowing, Yoriichi had actually done so many things, taken so many risks, it must have been very hard for him…
Uta's thoughts quickly diverged.
Rangiku saw this and put her hands on her hips.
What was wrong with this older sister? How could she get distracted while talking?
Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about yourself, because the sudden appearance of a mistress in the Tsugikuni family will inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
Families who want to befriend the Tsugikuni family are fine, but those who are hostile might not be so accommodating.
A helpless soul could easily get into trouble.
Rangiku could tell at a glance that this older sister had probably never fought before.
One must know that danger often appeared in any Rukongai.
Therefore, from elders several hundred years old to children several years old, everyone would have some self-preservation skills.
"I say…" Rangiku suddenly spoke, "You wouldn't even know how to fight, would you?"
"Fight?" Uta's thoughts were slightly pulled back.
She thought for a moment, then shook her head, "That's too barbaric. I once asked Yoriichi to teach me, but he said my body was too weak."
"Aren't you nobles? Do nobles still need to learn how to fight?"
"…" Rangiku was a bit helpless.
At this moment, she finally understood Uta's background. In her opinion, she was probably a young lady from a wealthy family, the kind who never saw a Hollow in her daily life.
Or, all dangers had been completely blocked and eliminated by Yoriichi.
Rangiku lightly massaged her forehead: "Fighting is also combat. Only by becoming a member of the Gotei 13 can we not disgrace Brother Yoriichi."
"Soul Society is a world where Rukongai live, and even more so, where Shinigami live."
"I'm not sure if you have the talent to become a Shinigami, Older Sister, but since you've become the mistress, you can't live with your past mindset."
"Then what should I do?" Uta asked.
She actually wanted to help Yoriichi a little, but the current world was different from the world in her memory, which made her feel helpless.
Rangiku looked at her quietly, then glanced at Hisana.
Immediately, Hisana took out a notebook.
"Sister Uta, you can start with managing the finances. Although the Tsugikuni Clan family is a small family, it has quite a few businesses under its name."
"Previously, Brother had entrusted all of these to me, but now that you are here, it should be handed over to you."
"It's okay if you don't know how; I will teach you."
Hisana's voice was soft, with a comforting power.
Although Uta was older in terms of seniority, in terms of age, Hisana undoubtedly had more life experience.
Uta hesitated and nodded.
Finances?
She wasn't sure what the businesses were, but if a girl as young as Hisana could manage them so well...
She would try.
Hopefully, she wouldn't disappoint Yoriichi.