At the Soul King Palace Omotesandō, Ichibē Hyōsube, Ōetsu Nimaiya, Tenjirō Kirinji, Shutara Senjumaru, and Kirio Hikifune had all arrived to see Sora off after his training.
"We will see you off here. Put on this cloak, and you can pass through the barrier between the Soul King Palace and the Seireitei."
Shutara Senjumaru took out a hooded cloak outfit. This outfit was made from the 'Oken'.
The bones of the Zero Division members were reconstructed by the Soul King's power. These reconstructed bones became the 'Oken', the key to entering the Soul King Palace.
In other words, the raw material of the outfit Shutara Senjumaru handed over was her own bones.
"I have benefited greatly from the hospitality of the seniors. Thank you very much!"
Sora thanked them sincerely.
Although the Soul King's purpose for summoning him was, as he expected, to have him fight against Yhwach who had allied with Hell, he had indeed gained many benefits from this trip.
Tenjirō Kirinji had increased the cell activity of Sora's spirit body. Unless something unexpected happened, even if his strength didn't grow any further, he would live longer than Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
Shutara Senjumaru had sewn him a new set of clothes that could be repaired and reinforced with his own Spiritual Pressure.
Ōetsu Nimaiya had reforged 'Tenzui Shinkotsu', adding Sora's Spiritual Pressure during the process, creating an intimate connection between him and the weapon.
Kirio Hikifune was even more generous. She used the 'Temporary Souls' she had hoarded for over twenty years to boost Sora's Spiritual Pressure, pushing it directly to the limit of a Shinigami.
Ichibē Hyōsube took him to the Sacred Domain for training, improving both his Hollow and Quincy powers.
Finally, the Soul King gifted the remaining 'Shadow of the Soul King' to Sora, granting him the 'Absolute Blind Spot' ability.
After this trip, the Soul King and the Zero Division had placed enough bets on Sora.
After saying goodbye to the Zero Division, Sora jumped down from the Soul King Palace Omotesandō.
"He's probably already stronger than us now. I hope he can resolve the crisis of the three worlds." Tenjirō Kirinji smoothed back his pompadour. "Otherwise, we're in trouble!"
Ichibē Hyōsube's large eyes stared at the figure disappearing into the sea of clouds.
He recalled a scene that happened not long ago—Katori Sora had disappeared from his memory for a period of time.
Moreover, during that period, he couldn't sense Katori Sora's existence.
"'Absolute Blind Spot', huh... That is indeed troublesome."
...
"It's really cold. If I didn't have Captain-level Spiritual Pressure, I'd probably be frozen into an ice block."
After a long, rapid descent, Sora finally arrived at the Seireitei.
Upon arriving above the Seireitei, he didn't leave his position immediately. Instead, he waited there for a while.
Wearing clothes made of the 'Oken' allowed him to pass through the 72 barriers between the Soul King Palace and the Seireitei, but it would also create holes in these barriers.
He had to wait for a while for the barriers to restore themselves.
Sora didn't want Yhwach to climb up to the Soul King Palace through the holes he left behind right after he came down.
So, before leaving the Soul King Palace, he had asked how long it would take for the holes left by the 'Oken' to heal.
After waiting for a while, the barrier returned to its original state, and Sora went to the 1st Division.
Sensing that an old acquaintance was also there, Sora had a thought and entered the 'Absolute Blind Spot' state.
"Why... I've been graduated for so many years, why do I still have to train here? As a Captain, I have endless work to do!"
Kyōraku Shunsui was full of complaints, but under the gaze of Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, he had to train hard.
"Endless work?" Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni snorted coldly. "Your Lieutenant stayed up so late she got sick!"
"That was an accident... It was an injury from the Wandenreich that hadn't healed yet... right?"
As Kyōraku Shunsui spoke, he felt a bit embarrassed himself.
After the war with the Wandenreich ended, Kyōraku Shunsui used his injury as an excuse to dump the Captain's duties on his Lieutenant and went back to rest.
As a result, his Lieutenant worked until she got sick, which even alerted Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
"Then I'll just go back and deal with the Captain's duties. Why do I still have to train here!"
"I have already sent Chōjirō to deal with your mountain of official business."
"The crisis in the Soul Society has not been eliminated. Yhwach is only temporarily lurking. Today's effort might be your chance to survive in the future!"
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni believed that Kyōraku Shunsui was wasting his talent and vowed to lock him up for training for a while.
"I know, I know..."
Kyōraku Shunsui was helpless and could only continue training.
Just then, he suddenly felt his shoulder go sore, as if something was pressing on it.
"Who?!"
Kyōraku Shunsui looked around but saw no one, and was instantly startled.
"Trying to slack off again!"
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni waved his hand, and the wooden sword in his hand instantly lashed out.
Smack—!
The wooden sword landed, leaving a red mark on Kyōraku Shunsui's back.
"Hiss!" Kyōraku Shunsui sucked in a breath of cold air and argued, "I wasn't slacking off! It really felt like someone was pressing on my shoulder just now!"
"Don't try to make excuses! Do you think I wouldn't know if there was someone there?" Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni saw his disciple still dared to be stubborn. His beard twitched, and he lashed out with another strike.
Smack—!
The wooden sword landed, and another red mark appeared on Kyōraku Shunsui's back.
"Hiss—Old Man Yama! You're too much!"
Smack—!
"I was wrong, I must have been too tired just now and hallucinated. How about letting me rest for a bit..."
Smack—!
"Stop hitting, stop hitting, I'll continue practicing!"
Kyōraku Shunsui finally settled down and gave up the thought of slacking off and resting.
"Better not disturb them." Seeing the fiery enthusiasm of the master and disciple, Sora decided not to bother them and turned to leave the 1st Division.
"Right, since the traces of Kenpachi and Yachiru were found, I should go deal with that matter."
He remembered there was one thing he hadn't done before going to the Soul King Palace, so he flew in the direction of the Zaraki district.
...
"Ken, are we lost?"
"Didn't you point the way? Why are you asking me?"
A spiky-haired youth was carrying a petite, pink-haired little girl on his shoulder.
The two seemed to be in a predicament.
"But, those Shinigami went this way."
"Just because they went this way doesn't mean they wouldn't change direction, right?"
The spiky-haired youth's IQ rarely took the high ground like this.
"Then which way should we go?"
"I don't know."
The spiky-haired youth didn't know which direction to go either.
They had encountered several Shinigami wearing white haori cloaks earlier. They wanted to pick a fight with those Shinigami, but the Shinigami avoided them as soon as they saw them.
This annoyed the spiky-haired youth greatly. He chased them all the way here, but lost the target.
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