Chapter 88
If Haruto hadn't known that there was no such important figure in Soul Society, he might have associated him with Aizen.
Kajōmaru Hideasa stopped in his tracks.
Looking ahead along his arm, the barracks of the Thirteenth Division were clearly visible; and to the west, relatively close to the Seireitei, the massive Senkaimon was already prepared.
"An unguarded Soul Reaper?"
Nanao looked around curiously.
Logically, as a vital spiritual tool enabling travel World of the Living and the Soul Society, the Senkaimon should be heavily guarded.
Not every division has this; the Thirteenth Division was allowed to be equipped with a special Senkaimon because of its duties.
Haruto, a sixth-grader, led the way, while the teachers were scattered around the long line in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
"Unnecessary."
Haruto kept his eyes fixed on what was ahead.
"Guard..."
Directly in front of the Senkaimon, the figure of the god, dressed in a short-sleeved Shihakushō, stood as straight as a mountain.
"One of him is enough."
With spiky black hair, deep smoky blue eyes, and an unabashedly displayed tattoo on his left wrist, "Collapsed Fallen Heaven Vortex"—the symbol of the Shiba Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans.
Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, Kaien Shiba.
There was not a trace of Reiatsu emanating from him.
Even so, Haruto could still feel a faint sense of oppression emanating from this man: even his fellow vice-captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda, could not compare to him.
You need to know.
In Haruto's eyes, Ōmaeda Marechiyo Ōmaeda's strength was already among the best of the vice-captains, but Kaien Shiba was even stronger.
No wonder he was chosen as the captain by Ukitake!
Certainly.
The Kaien Shiba further illustrates just how strong Aizen and how bizarre his Arrancar research was—as the head of the Shiba Clan at the time, Kaien was corrupted by Bankai...
His exit was no better than Shinji Hirako's.
"Captain Kaien."
The sixth seatman, who was leading the way, waved to Kaien from a distance.
"Hey, Hidechika, you guys are pretty punctual."
Kaien Shiba showed absolutely no airs of superiority, responding very warmly to the squad Seated Officer, and--
"Principal Mitarai, welcome to the Thirteenth Division."
"I dare not accept such praise!"
Faced with Kaien Shiba's outstretched hand, Mitarai awkwardly wiped the sweat from his palms before offering both hands in return.
As the Dean of the Shin'ō Academy, his status in the Seireitei was only slightly better than that of an ordinary mid-level noble, so he didn't have as much confidence when speaking to higher-level nobles.
The Shiba Clan has fallen on hard times.
However, even after leaving the power center of Seireitei and retreating to Rukongai, the Shiba Clan still demonstrated a powerful influence; their status was even above that of ordinary upper-class nobles, and even the Tsunayashiro Clan dared not push them too far.
No way.
When needed, the Shiba Clan has a quick way to reach either Seireitei or the Soul King Palace — Haruto even suspects that the Shiba Clan's ancestors were responsible for the construction of these two places.
Not only that.
Even disregarding the practicality of the various un-numbered Kidō of the Shiba Clan, the Getsuga Tenshō used in regular combat, and the Mugetsu used for desperate bursts of power, are enough to make any opponent wary.
"I'll have to trouble you this time Shiba."
"It's nothing."
Kaien Shiba's smile was infectious; his genuine enthusiasm was absolutely genuine. In the past, the task of protecting the Senkaimon was handled by the senior Seated Officers of the Thirteenth Division. This was Kaien Shiba's first slightly larger task after being promoted to vice-captain.
Kaien Shiba flicked his finger.
A silver, key-shaped metal object spun between his fingers—this was a special spiritual tool called "Kaijō" used to open the Senkaimon.
"An additional twenty soldiers have been deployed this time, along with two Seated Officers."
At Kaien Shiba's prompting, Kajōmaru Hideasa, standing beside him, smiled and nodded.
"I'll be in charge of the Senkaimon on the Soul Society side."
The other Seated Officer the Thirteenth Division, along with his men, had prepared in advance on the other side of the Senkaimon.
"... Thank you for your kindness, Lord Shiba."
"You're welcome. It was Captain Ukitake's suggestion."
Kaien Shiba waved casually.
"The Soul Society hasn't been very stable lately. With so many people appearing in the World of the Living at the same time, it's hard to guarantee that some Hollows won't be attracted there."
"Many people, many more strengths."
"Click--"
As the Kaijō was inserted into the Japanese-style Senkaimon, the gate to the World of the Living world officially opened.
Have a safe journey.
Volume 1: Chapter 56, World of the Living
Kaien Shiba is efficient and decisive in his work.
There were no pleasantries or pleasantries; after explaining the task, they immediately got straight to the point.
"..."
Haruto and Nanao exchanged a glance.
"It seems we have to start with us."
The Soul Reaper of the Thirteenth Division went to the World of the Living ahead of time as a vanguard, followed the students here, and will later be responsible for the rearguard work at the back of the division.
As for Principal Mitarai...
After the speech in the auditorium, there was no need for him to do anything else; he only came along to try and get closer to the Thirteenth Division.
To be more precise, he was actually trying to get close to Lieutenant Kaien... Kaien Shiba had also studied at the Shin'ō Academy, and completed all his studies in just one year: he had Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure when he enrolled, and after graduation he was directly promoted to the Vice-Captain-level.
As his former teacher, Mitarai naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to build a relationship.
"Anyway, it's not the first time..."
Nanao took out the bamboo stick she had drawn earlier.
Directly in front of the Senkaimon was a fairly flat square platform. Upon stepping into it, the bamboo sticks, which were originally inanimate objects, quickly transformed into the shape of "Hell Butterflies ": these were living spiritual tools used by Soul Society for location and communication.
Are you ready?
Nanao turned to the three people following closely behind them and asked.
"Yes, yes!"
The three of them quickly followed Nanao's example and removed the bamboo skewers.
"So..."
Haruto took one last look at the Thirteenth Division's barracks.
Compared to other divisions, the Thirteenth Division's base is not only rudimentary, but also the furthest from the center of Seireitei, and doesn't seem to be highly valued; however, in reality, the Thirteenth Division is the only division that has a "division house" in the real world.
While other squads may participate in some of the work involving the World of the Living, none are on the scale of the Thirteenth Division.
Let's go!
Haruto nodded to Kaien Shiba, who was standing Senkaimon.
Originally, this was just a matter of course to show respect to his senior, but unexpectedly, Kaien Shiba returned Haruto's smile in kind.
"... The Thirteenth Division lives up to its name."
Haruto thought to himself.
"Thump."
The light faded.
In the pitch-black environment, there were faint, rustling sounds and dim, scattered patches of light.
This place is called the Dangai, a gap in space.
"Don't move."
"!"
Katakura Asuka was about to hit the "wall" when Haruto's voice stopped her.
"The textbooks should explain it very clearly: even Captain-level Soul Reaper would have a high probability of being swallowed up by these Kōryū."
"The Kōryū Soul is composed of fragmented soul pieces; don't think that your limited spiritual power can allow you to look at them without being affected."
"I'm so sorry!"
Being able to enter Class 1 shows that Katakura Asuka's knowledge base is definitely sufficient, but because of his outstanding personality, he still wants to try to make some progress—if Haruto hadn't stopped him just now, he would already be part of the Kōryū by now.
"Just follow the Hell Butterfly."
Haruto left a reminder and then looked towards the more distant horizon.
"I don't seem to see Kōtotsu?"
The Hell Butterflies fluttered around them, guiding them toward the exit.
"How unlucky would it be to run into something like this?"
Nanao joined in with a sarcastic remark.
The Kōtotsu is a conceptual creature resembling a steam locomotive, its massive size enough to fill the entire Dangai passage; moreover, this thing is immune to any skills, and once you are hit by it, you will be directly pulled into the spatial turbulence.
There are only two ways to fight back:
One method is to use Shunpo, as the speed of a basic Kōtotsu is usually too fast for a physical Shunpo like Kuto. The other method is to use powerful Reiatsu to shatter it... This requires Reiatsu intensity to exceed the highest level of Reii: First-Class Reii.
You can tell from the introduction.
If it were Soul Reaper below the Vice-Captain-level, they would have almost no chance of escape when encountering Kōtotsu.
So...
The probability of Soul Reaper encountering Kōtotsu is actually very low.
"That's true."
Haruto was quite curious about what exactly a "Kōtotsu" was, but considering that Shunpo was at most...
He only brought two people; if they really encountered something, the entire fifth-year class might be wiped out here, so he gave up his curiosity.
Haruto looked at the Hell Butterfly in front of him.
Don't linger here too long.
"Although the time ratio is 2000:1, there are no natural Reishi that can be absorbed within the Dangai. Staying there for too long will cause problems for people."
The time ratio between the inside and outside of the Dangai is extremely exaggerated, with nearly half an hour equal to one second outside. However, because there are no Reishi to absorb, the longer the Soul Reaper stays here, the lower the Reiatsu within his body becomes.
Add to that the mental toll of Kōryū and the ever-present threat of Kōtotsu... this is certainly not a good place for spiritual practice.
Since Haruto has spoken...
The three fifth-year students naturally dared not waste time out of curiosity.
Guided by the Hell Butterfly, they quickly sensed the location of the exit— the Senkaimon worlds rarely open directly in the center of the Dangai; they mostly open in places that are attached to the surface of the Kōryū but not in contact with it. As Haruto stepped into it first, the long-lost World of the Living was reflected in his eyes for the second time in unparalleled realism.