Chapter 369: Sheath's Request
Soul King Palace.
Two figures stood quietly in mid-air.
Ōetsu, with hands in pockets, looked toward the distant Detached Palace.
"Little Satoru... entered that path?"
"Mhm."
The Priest, with arms crossed, nodded.
Ōetsu clicked his tongue: "Are you planning to let little Satoru...?"
The Priest glanced at him.
Then grinned widely:
"How could that be."The Three Realms' order remains stable, and that adult remains in good health." Even if Satoru wanted that position, it wouldn't be his turn for quite some time."
Ōetsu shrugged: "But looking at how happy you are, it doesn't seem like that's what you're thinking."
The Priest shook his head with a smile:
"This old man simply feels relieved."Although that adult has always maintained everything, they are ultimately unique and irreplaceable.""
"While theoretically there shouldn't be any problems, who can say for certain about worldly matters?"
"If... if one day something happens to that adult, the world will meet its end."
"At that time, everything will return to how it was millions of years ago, all creation in chaos."
"Or possibly... even worse."A world accustomed to the existing rules, if it loses its wedge, might directly collapse and face complete destruction."This old man has waited millions of years, finally finding someone who can serve as that adult's successor. This relief is truly beyond words."
Hearing the Priest's words, Ōetsu fell into silence.
He understood the reasoning perfectly, but the thought of the possible end awaiting Satoru filled him with an inexplicable gloom.
To change the subject, he spoke up:
"Once he enters that path, little Satoru probably won't be coming out anytime soon, right?"
"Hmm." The Priest nodded again. "No matter how exceptionally talented one is, once entering that path, it takes at least several days to emerge."
"The yearning for the origin, the thirst for self-awareness, will drive him forward relentlessly until he exhausts everything and is expelled from the path, or... reaches the end."
"I believe, with Satoru's abilities, the first outcome is unlikely."
"So, we might feel a bit lonely these coming days."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and stroked his beard.
Ōetsu nodded slightly.
The Priest wasn't wrong about this.
He too had once entered that path.
The moment he set foot on it, it was as if he forgot everything, leaving only the single-minded determination to reach the end.
Although Satoru was special, he was fundamentally a Shinigami and couldn't defy this principle.
Thinking this, he prepared to leave.
But just then, the Priest standing beside him suddenly made a surprised sound.
As Ōetsu was about to ask what was wrong, he realized the question was unnecessary.
A figure soared up from the Priest's palace and rushed toward them—
"Hey! What are you two doing here?"
"If there's something fun going on, count me in!"
Seeing Satoru instantly cross the vast distance to appear before them, the Priest showed an astonished expression.
He looked Satoru up and down.
Then he exclaimed in surprise: "You... didn't complete the path?"
Hearing this, Satoru gave him a strange look:
"I didn't even go on it."
"Didn't I tell you before? I asked you to find me a place with dense Reishi for training."
"To be honest, your place is really good, much higher in Reishi concentration than the other palaces... aren't you abusing your power for personal gain?"
Listening to Satoru's rambling, the Priest stared wide-eyed, momentarily unable to accept reality.
How was this possible?
Any Shinigami who enters that path would be unable to resist the desire to reach the end.
Even he himself was no exception!
Although Satoru possessed various powers that made him fundamentally different from ordinary Shinigami, that shouldn't allow him to ignore the rules of the Path of Trials!
For a moment, he stared at Satoru, completely stunned.
After muttering for a while, Satoru suddenly noticed the Priest's strange state.
He looked at Ōetsu:
"Old Wang, has this big monk disconnected?"
"Uh..."
Ōetsu grimaced, unsure how to respond.
In truth, he was also quite surprised, though not to the same extent as the Priest.
Bringing Ōetsu and the Priest along, Satoru arrived at the Pigsty Palace and declared with a grand gesture:
"All members of the Zero Division! Assemble at the Pigsty Palace! Prepare wine and meat, let's party!"
Hearing the summons, Senjumaru Shutara sighed helplessly and set off.
Halfway there, she suddenly paused.
Damn it, Satoru wasn't the head of the Zero Division, why was she obeying him?
Wait... this wasn't even about being the head or not—that bastard wasn't even a member of the Zero Division!
After a few seconds of speechlessness, she continued flying toward the Pigsty Palace.
Soon, the six... ah, five members of the Zero Division had gathered once again.
At first, the Priest was still somewhat dazed.
Once the food and drinks were served and the atmosphere livened up, he temporarily forgot all those unnecessary thoughts and joined in the revelry.
...
...
After eating and drinking his fill, Satoru patted his belly and wandered around the various detached palaces in the Soul King Palace.
Although it wasn't his first time here, the area he had actually explored within the Soul King Palace was quite limited.
Most of the time, he only lingered around the main palaces of the various captains.
Today, feeling unusually spirited, he decided to take a stroll to help digest the excessive amount of food he had consumed.
The five great detached palaces were home not only to the five captains of the Zero Division but also to many ordinary souls.
Here, they lived lives similar to those in the Rukongai.
However, compared to the Rukongai, where living standards varied greatly, the souls here generally enjoyed a high quality of life.
The overall standard of living in the entire Soul King Palace was on par with that of Junrinan.
Ordinary people lived in peace and contentment, enjoying their daily lives.
Those with exceptional talent, capable of becoming Shinigami, were uniformly conscripted and trained as "divine soldiers" to guard the Soul King under the command of the Zero Division.
Due to the small population and limited space, the souls living in the Soul King Palace were generally simple-natured and gentle.
Some who saw Satoru even proactively shared food and drinks with him.
Satoru accepted the water, drinking it while chatting casually with everyone.
However, upon learning that Satoru had come from the world below to report to the esteemed members of the Zero Division, the expressions of the souls suddenly changed.
Those who had initially wanted to chat with him promptly fell silent.
Observing their reactions, Satoru found it strange.
"What, are you all looking down on me because I'm from the world below?"
"Don't be like that! We're pretty well-off down there too—my monthly salary is several thousand Kan!"
Hearing Satoru's words, one of the souls forced a smile.
"Shinigami sir, it's not as you say."
"However... there is one rule we must follow while living here: absolutely no discussion or inquiry about matters concerning the lower world."
"If you wish to rest here, we naturally have no objections, but if you intend to discuss matters of the lower world..."
Upon hearing this, Satoru fell silent for a few seconds.
Then, he rose to his feet.
"My apologies for disturbing everyone."
He cupped his hands in salute to the crowd, then vanished from sight in a flash.
From that day onward, Satoru never again visited the common living areas.
...
...
Beneath a cliff beside the Phoenix Palace, seawater continuously surged and crashed against the rocky face.
A figure sat immersed in the waters.
His entire body glowed crimson, steam constantly rising from his form.
The seawater flowing around him boiled and churned, rapidly evaporating!
Ōetsu's Phoenix Palace had the fewest living residents among all the detached palaces.
On one hand, this was because many personified Zanpakutō resided there.
On the other hand, a significant portion of his detached palace consisted of ocean.
According to Ōetsu, this vast sea served as cooling water when he forged Zanpakutō.
Hearing this, Satoru expressed surprise:
"Using seawater to cool blades? Wouldn't that cause issues with the blade's composition?"
Ōetsu laughed heartily:
"Little Satoru, this seawater may look like the ocean, but it bears no relation to the seawater of the Living World."
"This seawater serves three purposes."
"First, it possesses powerful cooling capabilities - it can efficiently draw heat from any object immersed in it."
"Second, it can suppress things that shouldn't exist in this world... such as particularly dangerous Zanpakutō or other sealed artifacts."
"Third, it prevents those with ulterior motives from accessing what's sealed beneath the waters."
Hearing Ōetsu's explanation, Satoru's eyes lit up.
Since arriving at the Soul King Palace, his greatest regret had been the absence of Tōshirō.
Without Tōshirō, when he used Superhuman Drug for high-intensity mental simulations, the extreme heat generated by his body couldn't dissipate in time, causing irreversible damage.
Therefore, he could only perform low-intensity simulations using Superhuman Drug diluted six hundred times.
Now, with Ōetsu's cooling sea, the problem was instantly solved!
In recent days, he frequently visited the Phoenix Palace, immersing himself in the seawater while drinking undiluted Superhuman Drug to initiate simulation battles.
Though Ōetsu found this somewhat strange, wondering what unorthodox techniques Satoru was practicing, he didn't pay it much mind.
After all, with so much seawater available, Satoru's usage was negligible.
Moreover, this fellow might someday become his superior - better not to offend him if possible.
During Satoru's training days, Ōetsu hurriedly activated LSP4 to catch up on the progress lost during recent days of continuous banquets...
...
...
As his body temperature gradually decreased, Satoru opened his eyes.
He rose from the seawater and let out a long breath.
With his body no longer generating heat, the seawater began rapidly draining his body temperature.
Even with his current strength, he'd likely freeze to death within hours.
An ordinary captain would probably need to surface within seconds.
No wonder Ōetsu claimed this seawater was the best defense.
Satoru slowly emerged from the seawater and reached the shore.
His completely unclothed body revealed magnificent muscular definition.
Though not a muscle-bound brute, his oppressive aura was in no way diminished.
Had a Greek sculptor been standing here, they would likely have been immensely excited, immediately fetching stone to carve a statue of him.
Basking in the sunlight, Satoru spread his arms, enjoying the sensation of the sea breeze sweeping over his body.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes. In an instant, he snatched the clothes beside him to cover himself.
"Hey! What kind of pervert dares to spy on me while I'm bathing!"
Not far away, a figure slowly emerged from behind the cliff.
It was a petite girl.
She had long black hair and wore a thin, black fabric dress.
Her skin was pale, giving off a sickly impression.
Under Satoru's gaze, she quietly looked back at him.
Seeing the girl's expression, Satoru raised an eyebrow.
He could sense that she wasn't coveting his naturally gifted physique but was looking at something else.
Moreover, he could tell that the girl before him was not a soul.
No doubt about it—she was likely a Zanpakutō from the Phoenix Palace.
Though he had never seen her before, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
In a flash, he vanished from the spot.
The next second, he reappeared just as suddenly.
In that brief moment, he had gone from being completely naked to fully dressed.
"Hey there, girl. First time meeting you. I'm Satoru Mikami, Captain of the Eleventh Division."
"What's your name?"
Hearing this, the girl slowly replied:
"My name is... Sayafushi."
Satoru understood.
No wonder he felt that strange sense of familiarity.
That explained it.
He grinned. "So, here for revenge?"
Sayafushi shook her head.
She slowly walked over and stood before Satoru.
Then, she gently extended her small hand, pointing at Risō Jakumetsu hanging at his waist:
"I want... to become your sword."
"I am stronger than her. Let me become your sword."
Hearing this, Satoru was slightly taken aback.
Risō Jakumetsu, hanging at his waist, began to vibrate with a low hum.
Sayafushi looked at her:
"No, I am stronger."
"I lost to you because of the wielder."
"If we had the same wielder, I could defeat you."
Risō Jakumetsu vibrated even more intensely.
In a flash of light, a red-haired girl appeared beside Satoru.
She took a deep breath:
"You dare say that... It seems you're prepared to be completely turned into scrap metal."
As she spoke, twin blades wreathed in blue flames materialized in her hands.
Watching this scene, Satoru was surprised:
"Risō Jakumetsu? You can materialize?"
Risō Jakumetsu shot him a cold glance.
"No, it's only within the Phoenix Palace's range, influenced by the power here."
"If I go all out, I can materialize for a short time."
"Originally, this move was meant for... but using it here isn't bad either."
What was it originally meant for?
From Risō Jakumetsu's words, Satoru sensed an inexplicable hint of animosity directed at him.
Seeing the red-haired girl already drawing her blades, Sayafushi also opened her hand.
A plain, unremarkable sword appeared in her grasp.
However, the two deep gashes on the blade had not disappeared.
This made the entire sword look as if it could break into three pieces at any moment, a pitiful sight.
Looking at the wounds on Sayafushi's blade, Risō Jakumetsu frowned.
"Isn't Nimaiya Ōetsu supposed to be some kind of Sword God? Why hasn't he repaired you?"
Sayafushi gently shook her head:
"My blade is nearly impossible to destroy."
"Therefore, once destroyed, it is also nearly impossible to repair."
"There is no way."
Hearing this, Risō Jakumetsu clicked her tongue in displeasure.
Seeing Sayafushi in this state, even if she taught her a lesson, there would be nothing to feel happy about.
After pondering for two seconds, she turned to look at someone:
"Satoru, can you heal her?"
Hearing this, Satoru looked at her.
Then, he revealed a strange smile...