Last time Higashino Shuuichi went up to the Reiōkyū (Soul King's Palace), he arrived dead.
This time, Higashino Shuuichi came to the Reiōkyū riding a jumbo firework.
If you asked what the difference felt like between the two trips, his answer was: none.
Either way, he'd reached his destination!
"Monk, I'm here!"
Leaping down from the firework, Higashino Shuuichi shouted into the vast, empty hall.
He knew that man could hear him.
Sure enough, in less than half a minute, atop the white pillar to his front-left, a brawny monk with an enormous string of prayer beads around his neck dropped into place.
It was the man Higashino Shuuichi had crossed paths with a few times before—the captain of Zero Division, and arguably the true number one Shinigami in terms of raw combat power:
Ichibē Hyōsube.
"It's been a long time since you last came here," Ichibē said, looking down at Higashino Shuuichi from above.
"You've gotta finish up all the little hassles in Soul Society first, right? Only then can you come up here with peace of mind," Higashino Shuuichi replied, craning his head up.
"Those were little hassles?" Ichibē shot back.
"Yeah, probably," Higashino Shuuichi said with a grin. "Otherwise, you would've stepped in to stop me, wouldn't you?
Since you didn't, I'd say there's no objection to calling them 'little hassles'~"
"Compared to last time, you're a lot bolder," Ichibē said, smoothly changing the subject. He'd known for ages how dangerous Higashino Shuuichi's mouth could be.
"Last time I needed a favor. This time, I'm just here to collect on a promise~" Higashino Shuuichi answered, unafraid.
No matter how strong Ichibē was, he was still nothing more than a loyal servant carrying out the Reiō's will—an emotionless tool.
At this point—before the Reiō's core had truly reached the brink—Higashino Shuuichi had no reason to fear Ichibē.
If anything, he could afford to be even more arrogant.
Because he was certain that, in Ichibē's eyes, he was now a premium Reiō candidate.
No—calling him merely "premium" might even be underselling it.
After fusing with a Quincy clone and obtaining the Reiō's left leg, saying he was a near-perfect Reiō candidate wouldn't be an exaggeration.
For a sacrifice this valuable, Ichibē would sooner feed him and pamper him than "deal with" him.
To put it bluntly—if something happened to Higashino Shuuichi, Ichibē might very well personally step in and haul him back from the edge.
"Collect on a promise, huh~" Ichibē said, as if recalling it. "You mean asking Kirinji Tenjirō and Nimaiya Ōetsu and the others to help you refine your Zanpakutō Bankai, correct?"
Higashino Shuuichi knew it was an act. The old man obviously remembered everything.
But… who didn't enjoy acting sometimes?
"Not just that," Higashino Shuuichi said, finally revealing the blade beneath the smile. "I also want you to remove my restrictions!"
At those words, the easy, joking air on Ichibē's face faded.
"What are you talking about? What restrictions could you still have?" Ichibē asked. "Haven't you already defeated Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni?
If you were willing to say it out loud, the title of 'Soul Society's strongest Shinigami' would be yours~"
He was still playing dumb.
"Yeah. But, Monk—you know that's not what I mean," Higashino Shuuichi said. "I mean the shackle your Zero Division artificially placed upon all Shinigami, ever since Nimaiya Ōetsu began forging Asauchi for every Shinigami.
That shackle is imposed through Zanpakutō—through one blade after another.
I'm not wrong, am I?"
"You're not wrong—one could even say you're completely correct," Ichibē replied. "But I'd like to know… where did you learn all of that?"
Right then, a man appeared beneath the white pillar to Higashino Shuuichi's right—sporting shoulder-length black punk curls, oversized square sunglasses, a grass-green shirt, sandals, and a sleeveless long-tailed haori.
It was another member of Zero Division, the creator of all Asauchi in Soul Society:
Ōetsu Nimaiya—Tōshin (Sword God).
"If I remember correctly," Ōetsu said, his tone as lazy as ever, "the Great Spirit Book Corridor wouldn't record something like that.
And among the Five Great Noble Houses, the people who know this are limited to the Tsunayashiro head—Tokinada Tsunayashiro—the Shihōin head, and the Kuchiki head.
The ones you're close with aren't among them.
As for that so-called 'future' you once mentioned…"
He stepped closer, eyes sharpening behind the shades.
"I don't believe the future me would tell you this secret."
It was only natural for him to react this way. This was one of Soul Society's greatest buried secrets across thousands of years.
If it ever got exposed, the entire Soul Society could be turned upside down.
"How I learned it—does that matter?" Higashino Shuuichi said, releasing his reiatsu as he met Ōetsu's pressure head-on. Their spiritual pressures canceled each other out. "What matters is… I know now."
"Fair enough," Ōetsu said.
Then, without warning, he deflated like a punctured balloon. The sharp killing intent vanished in an instant.
He even let out a huge yawn right in Higashino Shuuichi's face.
He was just playing~
Higashino Shuuichi wasn't surprised at all—this was Ōetsu's normal personality. The earlier hostility had been what felt slightly abnormal.
"Heh. As expected of the Tōshin (Sword God)—that sense of proportion is perfectly controlled," Higashino Shuuichi said.
Once Ōetsu withdrew his pressure, Higashino Shuuichi did the same.
"So," Ōetsu said, wiping the yawn-tears from the corners of his eyes, "you came to me to fully bring out your Zanpakutō Bankai?"
"That's one of my reasons," Higashino Shuuichi nodded. "But the main purpose is—"
He didn't get to finish. Ōetsu waved him off.
"That other thing—don't come to me. Since you know Zero Division so well, you should know this too:
Limiting a Shinigami's potential can't form a perfect closed loop with only a Zanpakutō.
Me? I don't really care~ The end result's basically the same either way~"
Then he shamelessly tossed the hardest part to someone else.
"But you'll have to convince that woman—
Ōorigamori (Great Weave Guardian), Shutara Senjumaru!"
Higashino Shuuichi knew her too—and he was fairly familiar with her.
In that fabricated future, Shutara Senjumaru had once openly despised him.
Back then, she'd seen Higashino Shuuichi as a destroyer of order, and she'd never been polite about it.
Among Zero Division, Shutara Senjumaru was arguably the most "orthodox" Shinigami of them all.
In Higashino Shuuichi's eyes, Seireitei was like her child.
Even Seireitei's modern security system had been founded by Shutara Senjumaru with her own hands—and it was still in use to this day.
In the original story, she held open contempt and hostility toward Aizen Sōsuke.
And among the Zero Division members who insisted on following the Reiō's will, Shutara Senjumaru could be considered a true outlier.
But her "outlier" status was built on overwhelming strength.
To think—she could, by herself, bring down all of Yhwach's Vollständig (Complete Form) Schutzstaffel, plus Ishida Uryū.
Even the current Higashino Shuuichi only dared to imagine that kind of feat.
Those were Yhwach's fully empowered elite guards.
Higashino Shuuichi wasn't even sure what his odds would be against those Quincy right now.
In a one-on-one, he had confidence.
But one versus two… one versus three… one versus four or five…
He suspected he'd be stretched past his limits.
"If you hadn't said it, I would've forgotten I still have to get past Ōorigamori Senjumaru-sama," Higashino Shuuichi said with a strained smile.
And in his heart, he already felt hopeless.
This was the Reiōkyū. This was Zero Division.
Tricking Kabuma Sayako and Kisaragi Shūsuke was one thing—but tricking Shutara Senjumaru?
She knew practically everything that happened in Soul Society, including the dirty work Higashino Shuuichi had done back when he followed Aizen—disgusting errands done just to curry favor.
If he wanted Shutara Senjumaru to acknowledge him…
Higashino Shuuichi honestly felt that killing her might be simpler.
Of course, that was only "simpler" in relative terms.
Relative to his current strength—
…yeah. Better to be obedient and let Ōetsu help him perfect his Zanpakutō Bankai first.
But speak of the devil.
While Higashino Shuuichi and Ōetsu were talking, the remaining members of Zero Division arrived as well:
Kirinji Tenjirō—Onsen Oni (Hot Spring Demon),
Shutara Senjumaru—Ōorigamori (Great Weave Guardian),
and Hikifune Kirio—Kokuō (Grain King).
"妾身 thought it was someone important paying a sudden visit to the Reiōkyū~" Shutara Senjumaru said coldly, floating in midair with a contemptuous smile. "So it's merely Soul Society's claw of sin~"
Claw of sin? Was she talking about him?
Higashino Shuuichi's brow creased for once—could her nickname game be any worse?
What kind of garbage title was that?
Then he remembered that in the original story, Shutara Senjumaru had dubbed Aizen Sōsuke "the embodiment of evil," and he immediately felt better.
If even Aizen got a low-tier nickname, then "claw of sin" for him… whatever.
"Nice to meet you. I'm honored to meet you, Ōorigamori-sama!" Higashino Shuuichi said brightly.
Still—no matter how nasty Shutara Senjumaru's attitude was, Higashino Shuuichi couldn't snap back at her the way he did to Ichibē.
Because the two were fundamentally different.
Ichibē was a true emotionless tool—like a ruthless piece of code.
But Shutara Senjumaru?
She could get genuinely angry!
And when it came to women, saying nice things and soothing them was never a mistake.
"And Hikifune-taichō—long time no see. I've truly missed you~" Higashino Shuuichi added, turning to greet the purple-haired female Shinigami who was so fat she looked like she might roll away like a ball.
Higashino Shuuichi knew that wasn't Hikifune Kirio's original appearance—this special form was how she stored her unique spiritual power.
Once that unique power was spent, she would return to her original form: a stunning, voluptuous beauty.
Strictly speaking, though, Higashino Shuuichi didn't have much personal connection with her.
Even back when he'd been the Fourth Division vice-captain and Hikifune had been the Twelfth Division captain, they hadn't interacted often.
That was normal for Soul Society.
The reason future captains and vice-captains seemed far more familiar with one another was simply because Aizen's frequent, planned Arrancar schemes forced most of them into repeated contact.
Otherwise, more than a hundred years ago, ties between divisions were extremely sparse.
It wasn't even rare for a vice-captain-level Shinigami to have no idea what the neighboring division's vice-captain's Shikai ability was.
Higashino Shuuichi was so warm to Hikifune Kirio because he'd learned from Unohana Retsu that Hikifune had once investigated him.
So he was certain Hikifune recognized him.
Sure enough, Hikifune was far more enthusiastic than Ōetsu and Senjumaru.
"Yo~! Isn't this little Shuuichi?" Hikifune waved, though with her current bulk, it looked comically clumsy from a distance. "How'd you end up at the Reiōkyū?
I heard you pulled off something huge in Soul Society not long ago. Don't tell me that's why Ichibē-sama summoned you up here?"
"Nope, Hikifune-taichō—I came on my own~" Higashino Shuuichi smiled, looking like a harmless, well-behaved young man. "As for the details, I think we'll have plenty of time to talk later~
When I get the chance, I'll definitely come visit you~"
Anyone watching would have to say, What a good kid~
But in Higashino Shuuichi's head, he was calculating something else entirely:
"If I can't win over Shutara Senjumaru, then I'll win over all her teammates and have them whisper into her ears—surely that'll work, right?"
Emotion came with weaknesses.
Higashino Shuuichi wouldn't even bother trying that approach with Ichibē.
But with Shutara Senjumaru, he figured it was worth a shot.
That left Kirinji Tenjirō.
Higashino Shuuichi was just about to speak—when a huge hand hooked around his shoulder.
"Hahahaha! How long's it been since the Reiōkyū got a new face?"
Kirinji Tenjirō laughed loudly.
"When Hikifune Kirio came up last time, I was too embarrassed to make a move—but you're different, Higashino Shuuichi! Come on, come on—aniki'll take you to soak in the hot springs!"
"…"
Higashino Shuuichi's face was pure awkwardness.
Question: does this count as being "won over" without even trying?
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