"I'm not here for any particular purpose this time, just to let you know that the Soul Society and Baraggan have gone to war, and the battlefield has now expanded to the World of the Living. So I'll be stationed World of the Living for a long time. If you're interested, you're welcome to World of the Living and have some fun."
"Won't we run into trouble going to the World of the Living?" Oka asked. "If our Reiatsu leaks even slightly, it will be a disaster. Humans are said to be very fragile."
Chun shrugged helplessly. "It would be best if you could control your Reiatsu, but if you can't, you really can't come. The World of the Living is already suffering enough from Baraggan's actions."
"That's a pity. My Reiatsu control isn't perfect yet. Perhaps only Starrk can go."
"Me too! Me too!" Xiao Duo'erfen was fascinated by the World of the Living. She was a dolphin, and dolphins are creatures interested in everything. Incidentally, dolphins are also very promiscuous, and she had clearly stated countless times that she wanted to mate with Chun. cough cough
"Alright, let's go back together then. By the way, if we open the Garganta directly from here, where will we end up?" Chun was really curious about this question, truly, truly curious.
"Let's give it a try. If we can find ourselves in a deserted place, we can get used to the differences between the World of the Living and the Hueco Mundo beforehand," Starrk warned his companions, having learned his lesson once. "The Spiritual Power pressure in the World of the Living realm is different from Hueco Mundo. The first time we go, we'll feel uncomfortable, and the Spiritual Power activity will be lower. In short, it's not a good place."
"That's settled then. I might stay in this World of the Living for several decades, so remember to come visit once you've mastered your powers."
"Alright, I got it. Starrk, don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things here."
"Thank you, let's go then."
"Bye-bye~ Zegrod ~, bye-bye~ Oka ~, bye-bye~ Tier Harribel ~"
Zegrod sprayed water to cheer, Oka waved, and Tier Harribel, his face flushed and looking somewhat annoyed, also waved goodbye to Jun.
The group appeared on the sea, which didn't surprise Chun at all.
If the Forest of Menos corresponds to Shikoku, Silent Sand Sea to Echizen, then it's not just those places; they're all within a certain area. So, what does the Endless Sea correspond to? It should be the ocean, right?
Jun looked up at the sun's position to confirm his direction. Based on his thinking, the sun should be appearing over the sea further South of Kyushu, meaning heading north would lead to the Japan mainland.
"Let's go this way... emmm, shall we admire the ocean a little longer?" Seeing that Dolfen and Lilynette were both very interested in the ocean, Starrk, like him, had no particular thoughts.
"Why don't we go down and give it a try?"
"Is it okay~?" Dolfen's hair was shaking with joy, and Lilynette looked at Starrk expectantly.
"Of course, we're not in a hurry. But this is the World of the Living, and it's different from the waters of the Endless Sea. You'll see when you get down here. Come on!"
I've been to the Endless Sea, and that place isn't much different from other parts of Hueco Mundo, except that it's a blue world. The Hollows there also have marine and aquatic life, and freshwater and seawater are mixed together.
Moving around isn't a problem at all, because the density of Reishi is the same as the density of the afterlife. The World of the Living is truly different. You can even drill into seawater, but if Soul Reaper were to drill into a rock, it would feel nauseous and want to vomit. But Soul Reaper doesn't have a stomach, so how could it possibly vomit?
Feeling extremely uncomfortable, the group entered the seawater together. Sure enough, Chun, enduring the discomfort, watched as the other three also suffered. A short while later, they flew back into the sky.
"Huh? Why is this happening? I thought this was my symbolic place of existence, where I could be happy~, oh dear~, so disappointing~! Jun~ wants a hug~"
Hi~ Hi~
Pure held Dolfen for a while, while Starrk carried Lilynette. Using Pure's speed as a guide, and Starrk's senses as a guide, the two slowly moved northwards.
After walking for about five minutes, Chun saw land and went to take a look. He found that he couldn't understand the people speaking, but judging from their appearance and clothing, they were from Asia, and he was certain they weren't from South Korea or India.
Where is this?
The three Starrk were very curious.
"I don't know either. Let's keep heading north. Don't worry, the World of the Living isn't that big," Chun truly didn't know.
"Really? Chun, do you know the size of the World of the Living?"
"Yes, I know a little."
"Wow, you're amazing~ Jun, you're so knowledgeable~" Dolfen clung to Jun and wouldn't get off, rubbing against her all over. Jun, being a beautiful girl, just tolerated it.
"It's alright, let's go."
So they set off again, and after traveling for a while, Chun discovered that they were in an archipelago. He thought it was probably the Ryukyu Islands, which later became Okinawa, not far from Kyushu Island.
Sure enough, Kyushu Island appeared in less than half an hour. Jun had been here before, searching all over Kyushu for the Undead, so he knew it like the back of his hand.
"We've arrived; Japan is just ahead."
"Japan?"
"Ah, it's a nation, a human nation, similar to Baraggan."
"Hey~ Human nations, are nations a superior race?" Starrk couldn't seem to shake off the question of race.
This directly extinguished Starrk's idea, "If you want to become a country, the population needs to be at least a million or two hundred thousand, that's the bare minimum."
As expected, the population issue was an unavoidable hurdle. The Starrk gave up instantly. Five members of their own race were already exhausted, and it had taken almost a hundred years. Hundreds of thousands of their own race, haha, it would probably take until the universe cooled down.
"Don't log in here. This isn't my area of responsibility. It'll be troublesome if I'm discovered. Take another route."
The four of them continued flying over the sea for less than half an hour before finally seeing Tokyo Bay.
Jun used his Kakushitsuijaku's Spiritual Power to locate Isuzu, discovering that she was surrounded by several Soul Reaper Isuzu, presumably those stationed in the World of the Living. "There are people here. You three can look around for now. Once everyone else has left and only Lingling and I are left, Starrk, you can bring them over."
Okay~
"Let's go play~", Dolfen and Lilynette were more interested in exploring human society; going home was their lowest priority.
So Jun returned to his "home," which was actually the castle tower of Edo Castle, where the shogun lived.
"What's going on? Why are there so many people?"
"Shimizu-san, you're back~"
A group of people greeted Jun, but Jun felt something was off about their gazes. She looked at Isuzu, Isuzu face looked troubled, and Jun sensed something was wrong.
"What exactly happened?"
"The Soul Society sent us something, and I was worried you wouldn't be able to find it, so I came here to wait for you."
What the hell?
Jun was completely baffled, so Isuzu led the way to a secluded courtyard. Upon entering the room, Jun saw two mannequins, and instantly a bad idea formed in her mind.
Isuzu explained, "This is the latest research result of the Twelfth Division. They call it a 'Gigai.' Once we enter Gigai, we can live in the World of the Living just like humans."
Jun confirmed his suspicions; this thing really was Gigai. He pursed his lips and asked, "What about the side effects?"
How do you know there are side effects?
"The Twelfth Division doesn't have World of the Living missions related to the World of the Living, so what kind of research are they doing?" Chun patted a Gigai. "That bastard Urahara just gave us a half-finished product to use as experimental subjects."
"Pretty much. According to Gaolongtang (a member of the Twelfth Division), this thing is very difficult to make, so it can only be made with materials that don't have good Reishi penetration. This reduces the soul's ability to exchange Reishi, meaning that you have to disconnect from it for a period of time if you use it for a while."
All I know is this thing. The regular Gigai in the original work are the same, but there are different Gigai. For example, Isshin Kurosaki's, Kisuke Urahara's own, and the one he made for Rukia Kuchiki.
Chun can now Sōdō, and he knows why the production volume is low. Making things in the World of the Living is already very tiring, and if you want special functions in the World of the Living, the difficulty is extraordinary. Therefore, if you want a special Gigai, either make it yourself if you can, or use a regular Gigai.
Why is Rukia's situation special? The Shopkeeper compensated Rukia because Shopkeeper had buried the Hōgyoku inside Rukia, thus tricking the girl.
Jun now understood why so many Soul Reapers were here; they were all waiting to see something new. Jun thought for a moment and then asked, "Wait a minute, how are we going to make ends meet in the World of the Living? Since we're going to pretend to be alive, we need to look like one, right? Where will the money for eating, drinking, sleeping, and using the toilet come from?"
"Huh?" Isuzu was dumbfounded. When has Soul Reaper ever considered money!?
"So that's how it was~", Chun slapped his forehead. He'd already figured it out. Time to start all over again. "Alright, get dressed. I'll take care of the family. Don't worry, I'm here."
"Darling~"
Junichi moved Isuzu to tears. However, both she and her husband were actually very curious people, and if they were truly desperate, why would the Soul Reaper be afraid of starving to death? Right? They'd figure it out later.
So the two changed into Gigai. Instantly, Chun felt the world was different. He felt a sense of tightness, and without Spiritual Power to perceive his surroundings, he felt a sense of panic, as if he had lost ten thousand pairs of eyes and could no longer see his surroundings.
However, there are places where Spiritual Power can penetrate, such as the eyes, mouth, or any place with eyes, including the lower part of the body, but the lower part is a bit... well...
You can also see those fellow Soul Reapers, who simply wave their hands and say, "Go away, have you finished watching? Get out of here, go back to your posts. If anything happens to you all, are you going to take responsibility?"
A group of people had just been scolded and driven away when Starrk entered with Lilynette and Dolfen.
What are you doing here?
"A new research project in Soul Society: Gigai. By the way," Jun Gigai, leaving the Gigai. Removing it was incredibly difficult; the reason it could hold the soul in place was because of its adhesive properties—otherwise, it would be pierced through. "So, removing it is extremely difficult." He continued, "Do you guys want to try it? I don't even know if Hollows can use this."
Isuzu was still looking at the new Arrancar, Starrk was still hesitating, and Lilynette was confused. Just then, Dolfen jumped in with a whoosh, his Gigai shrinking to about 1.4 meters tall, and a pretty little girl appeared.
It looks exactly like Dolfen, except its hair is opaque sea-blue, and its eyes are also sea-blue. Dolfen was naturally like that, but in modern Japan, it looks really out of place.
And most importantly, the Hollowfication Mask is gone! It's so great that the Hollowfication Mask is gone. Dolfen's ears are normal now, and he's even cuter. Plus, the Hollow Hole is gone too.
"Ah~ Hehe~ Hoho~", Dolfen ran around the room, then bumped into the wall, froze for a few seconds, then started to feel pain, her eyes welling up with tears, "Ooh~ What is this feeling? Pure~"
"Uh, I guess I hurt myself when I bumped into something?" Chun recalled what it felt like to be alive. Wow, it's been over two hundred years since I've lived; I've almost forgotten everything.
The word "pain" is very distant for Soul Reaper and Hollows; the pain from battle is reduced, not to mention anything else. A simple bump wouldn't hurt at all. But Isuzu went to help, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
My eyelids twitched a few times; just thinking about what it felt like to be alive now hurts.
As expected, Isuzu couldn't lift Dolfen up; instead, she herself was in excruciating pain and started crying.
"Is this some kind of torture device?" Starrk asked curiously.
He had something to say but couldn't, so he said, "Interpret it however you like."