"Wi—Wife!"
Hearing the black cat's self-introduction, Amanai Riko suddenly cried out in surprise.
They had all learned something of Ren's family matters before. In fact, when she had first entered the Seireitei, she had seen the head of the Shihoin family. Although her skin was a bit dark, she was a refined beauty.
How did she suddenly turn into a cat today?
"Are you really that Lady Yoruichi? How did you end up like this?"
"Heh heh, it's me, of course."
A smile appeared on Yoruichi's face. She was quite satisfied with the young girl's surprise and couldn't help but nod slightly. This was exactly the reaction she wanted to see.
Compared to this girl, the reactions of the others weren't nearly as satisfying. Those amber eyes looked at the expressionless Uchiha girls, and Yoruichi suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had met them once before.
Looking back at the startled girl, Yoruichi asked in confusion, "Have I met you all before? Was it back when the Stealth Force was first established, or some other time?"
"We have met." Amanai Riko scratched her head, her expression looking a bit embarrassed. "Back then, I went into the interior of the Seireitei with everyone from the Uchiha, and then we were caught by Lady Yoruichi—"
"Ah, it's you. It really was that time."
Following Riko's memory, Yoruichi recalled it immediately. Later, when the Stealth Force became more prominent and she had to hand over the personnel of Squad 2, she gradually put those matters out of her mind. If she hadn't seen them now, she probably wouldn't have remembered.
Yoruichi stretched out her hind leg and kicked Ren's chest, lifting her head to look at her husband with those amber eyes.
"Mr. Serious, I didn't think you'd keep this from me for so long. I really underestimated you. Honestly, that honest and loyal look of yours was totally wasted."
Ren's fingers nimbly scratched the cat's chin. "I'm planning to tell you right now, aren't I?"
Ren looked at the children in the hall, as well as Riko's maid and the teacher from the Uchiha clan, and gave a slight tilt of his head. "Just continue with your class; don't mind us."
"Yes."
The Uchiha teacher quickly called out to the children, who then reluctantly returned to their seats. Holding Yoruichi, Ren bypassed the blackboard and continued further inside.
Yoruichi smiled. "It seems you're quite popular with these children. They're so reluctant to see you go."
"Where do you see them being reluctant to see me go?" Ren chuckled inwardly and glanced back at the children.
He saw them slumped over their desks, listening to the teacher's lecture. Except for a very few who looked relaxed, everyone else was scratching their heads or wearing expressions of pure agony. Naturally, Riko was among them.
"They simply don't like studying. Since I happened to come by, they finally had a chance to temporarily escape their tedious studies and take a breather."
Yoruichi climbed onto Ren's chest, resting her head on his shoulder. Watching the children in class, she couldn't help but laugh. "Is that so? To me, they seem to truly rely on you."
"Reliance is reliance, and liking is liking. Those two aren't the same," Ren said softly. "Given my personality, I've never been particularly popular with children. Riko and the others are thirteen or fourteen. They don't just go by instinct like toddlers; they have enough capacity for thought. That's why, even with my cold demeanor, they still try to get close. Of course, it can't be ruled out that since I am their superior, they might have thoughts of dependency or trying to curry favor."
Puff.
The black cat stretched out a front paw and patted Ren's cheek. The thick paw pad landed with a soft thud.
"Mr. Serious, why do you always have such dark thoughts? That's not a good habit."
Ren pulled Yoruichi back into his arms and shook his head without defending himself. As they spoke, the two had already arrived in front of the Senkaimon. The eight pillars of these four Senkaimon gates were arranged in a fan shape, standing in pairs.
Ren's deep voice rang out. "Yoruichi, this is what I've been hiding."
Yoruichi blinked, looked at the inactive Senkaimon, and then turned back to Ren, her cat face filled with confusion. "Senkaimon? What's special about these gates?"
Yoruichi thought back to what Whitebeard had said earlier. Something seemed to click in her mind, but it was as if a thin film was blocking her, preventing her from grasping the key point.
Ren paused for a moment, organized his words, and asked, "Yoruichi, did you notice anything unusual about Whitebeard and the others, or the Uchiha clan?"
"Unusual?" Yoruichi thought for a bit. "Their reactions to me turning into a cat were way too calm? Not like normal people?"
"—You're still hung up on that?"
Ren was stunned by Yoruichi's peculiar train of thought. He shook his head and simply changed his approach. "You heard my conversation with Whitebeard just now, didn't you?"
"The part about the Yellow Springs—" Yoruichi nodded. "I remember people in the Living World usually call the world after death the Yellow Springs. Naturally, that would be the Soul Society."
She asked curiously, "So, what's the deal with the 'Yellow Springs' you were talking about?"
"It does refer to the world of the dead, but the one Whitebeard mentioned isn't the Soul Society we're in now." Ren held Yoruichi with one hand and drew the Zanpakutō at his waist with the other, pointing it at the Senkaimon marked with the character for 'Sea'. "The Yellow Springs I discussed with him is the land of the dead in another world."
Hearing this, Yoruichi's eyes narrowed instantly. Something seemed to dawn on her, and she showed an expression of disbelief. "Another world—Ren, what on earth is going on?"
"It's simple. Exactly what it sounds like. Other worlds... distinct from the Three Realms and Hell!"
As he spoke, a clear light emanated from Ren's Zanpakutō. He swung the blade toward the Senkaimon. Reiryoku gathered at the edge of the blade and was flung out with the strike, transforming into a silver-white, crescent-shaped beam. It struck the Senkaimon, tearing through the void to reveal the pitch-black space within.
"Worlds different from the Three Realms?" Yoruichi muttered Ren's words to herself. The film in her mind was suddenly and violently pierced. Her shock was beyond measure, yet at the same time, she felt an indescribable clarity. "Besides our world, other worlds actually exist? Does that mean Whitebeard and the others come from another world?"
Ren sheathed his Zanpakutō and carried Yoruichi into the shattered space, his Reiryoku coalescing into a tidy path. Walking along this spatial corridor leading to another world, Ren gently stroked Yoruichi's fur to calm her nerves.
"That's right. Whitebeard and his crew, the Uchiha, even Toji and Riko—they all come from other worlds."
Yoruichi looked at the strange interior of this Senkaimon and then up at the serious-looking Ren. She had used the Senkaimon to go to the Living World before, but it never looked like this. She knew her husband; she knew he wasn't good at lying, nor did he like to. Her logic told her he was telling the truth, but her emotions still found it difficult to imagine.
The astonishment in her heart kept bubbling up. "We're going to an 'other world' right now? This path inside the Senkaimon—it's the passage to another world?"
Ren nodded. "Precisely. As long as we pass through this spatial tunnel, we can reach another world. That is the world where Whitebeard and the others come from."
"..."
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