Upon entering the council hall, Aizen was sitting in a chair, admiring the Valley of Screams space being constantly transformed outside the balcony, while Inaba Kage stood behind him.
"Lord Aizen."
After Ryūsaki opened the door and came in, she first exchanged a glance with Inaba Kage, who turned around and looked at her, and then bowed slightly to Aizen.
The chair spun around, Aizen's deep gaze fell upon Ryūsaki: "I've heard about your family's situation. You can bring her here; I'll have Tōsen protect her life."
"Thank you, Lord Aizen. She's alright now. According to my older brother, the Soul Reaper hiding in the World of the Living saved her." Ryūsaki answered calmly, but inwardly he felt a chill, secretly wondering if Aizen didn't intend to let Masaki go.
"Really? That's a shame."
Aizen's face still wore a gentle smile, revealing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.
In truth, the experiment was still ongoing, Aizen didn't care whether the Experimental Subjects were around or not. At this moment, he was very curious whether Masaki's offspring would inherit Hollow powers, whether they would be born with the same or even stronger abilities as Ginjo and the others.
Just as Ryūsaki was considering all the possibilities, Aizen suddenly changed the subject. "There's one more thing I need your help with."
"It is an honor to serve Lord Aizen. Please grant my request."
Aizen didn't take Ryūsaki's somewhat bland compliment to heart; he knew this kid was a very purposeful person.
Aizen said directly, "Ryūsaki, I've heard that your family has pure Quincy blood, so you should know about the 'Wandenreich,' right?"
Upon hearing this, Ryūsaki was curious about Aizen's intentions, but outwardly replied respectfully, "My father left the Wandenreich many years ago. I only know of this place; I have never been there."
"If Lord Aizen needs it, I can find a way to enter it, and serve as your eyes to observe that world."
Aizen smiled and said, "It seems you already know what to do. Go then! I look forward to hearing from you!"
A hint of approval flashed in his eyes. Ryūsaki made him feel good. It was rare to see such a smart subordinate. It didn't matter if his strength couldn't keep up for the time being, as long as his intelligence wasn't so low that he had to repeat orders or instructions.
Inaba Kage gave Ryūsaki something that looked like a nameplate, but it was actually a listening device made of Blanks. It could not emit images but could hear sounds.
As long as there are Reishi, their operation will not be affected even if there is a spatial barrier...
Ryūsaki was a little troubled; he could roughly guess why Aizen would target the 'Wandenreich'.
The existence of the Quincy's hidden space is no secret; however, the Soul Reaper have no idea what's inside.
If Aizen were to seize control of the entire Soul Society, he would undoubtedly become the supreme being of the New World, and the threat from the Quincy would likely fall upon him.
And keeping Quincy like himself by his side is probably to study the Quincy's fighting style more thoroughly...
Actually, Ryūsaki himself doesn't care about anything. As long as Aizen the opportunity to challenge the Soul King Palace, he will choose to help him to the end. This is the meaning he has been given!
"Is there a new mission?" Aura interrupted Ryūsaki, who was deep in thought, from the bottom of the stairs.
Ryūsaki looked up at her and said, "Yeah, it might be a while before we're separated."
Aura wisely refrained from asking further questions. Since Ryūsaki had said they would be separated for a while, it meant she couldn't take her or anyone else with her.
One morning two weeks later, Ryūsaki got off the plane alone.
As soon as Ryūsaki stepped out of the airport, he could see an ancient castle on a low hill in the distance. Part of the castle had collapsed, but most of the walls were still standing and covered with ivy.
This was the meeting place he was told after contacting his father, Sōken.
Ryūsaki was too lazy to run over, so he took a taxi like any other passenger. This place wasn't safe, and there were Hollows hiding in the shadows. In just the ten or so minutes he spent in the car, Ryūsaki had already witnessed three Hollows hunting down souls.
Even after the Ragged Hollows swallowed the souls like bread, no one came to their rescue.
Ryūsaki simply watched all this indifferently from inside the car, and he didn't feel anything was wrong that this medium-sized city didn't have the Soul Reaper stationed there.
After all, the number of Soul Reaper is limited. Even if one Shinigami were to manage an entire city, it would still require more than 10,000 Soul Reaper. Even if all the Gotei 13 mobilized, it wouldn't be enough.
Therefore, many Soul Reapers usually control several small cities at the same time, taking turns to carry out soul burials and clean up the void in these small cities.
Inside the castle, a Hollow's Reiatsu appeared, but quickly disappeared; Sōken's Reiatsu flashed through the castle, clearly having been dealt with...
"Please do not stray outside the designated tourist route into the sacred fortress to avoid causing damage... Sigh! Where is everyone? Could it be another evil spirit causing trouble?"
The tour guide saw someone stray from the designated sightseeing route and was about to stop them when, in the blink of an eye, the person disappeared. He recalled the various events that had occurred in the ancient castle and grew increasingly frightened...
"Ryūsaki, you're here so quickly!"
"Father, it's been a long time."
On the balcony of a tall tower, Sōken looked at Ryūsaki across from him with a genuine smile on his face. His son had grown up and was no longer a little kid.
In Ryūsaki's eyes, Sōken was still healthy and strong, with no increase in the wrinkles around his eyes. He didn't seem to age as easily as normal people.
"Let's get down to business! What do you suddenly want to do there?" Sōken skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"I'm very interested in the King of the Quincy you wrote about. Can he really grant people greater power?" Ryūsaki asked earnestly.
Sōken sighed softly and said slowly, "So, you're going to seek cooperation with the people inside just to avenge yourself against the Soul Reaper? Listen to me, Ryūsaki, there's really no need to start another war. Enough people have died already."
Sōken had known about Ryūsaki being Soul Reaper by the Grim Reapers for a long time. He understood that Ryūsaki had become comrades with those humans who had awakened their powers, and that he had impulses for revenge when his comrades were killed. However, he really didn't want to be at odds with the Soul Reapers Sōken.
"Don't worry, I've been avoiding them and won't start a war. On the contrary, you've been extending goodwill to them, and what have you gotten in return?"
Ryūsaki continued, "One of the reasons you've been away from home for so long is that you obtained several monitoring Spirit Worm; you didn't want us to be constantly monitored as well."
The Soul Reaper and Sōken had been in contact for some time, and the monitoring Spirit Worm were the best proof of that. They had been searching for Sōken's connection with the Wandenreich, hoping to find a way to break through and attack the Wandenreich.
However, the Soul Reapers do not know Sōken's true identity. When necessary, Sōken will also use some tricks to make these Spirit Worm hallucinate, so that they cannot transmit or monitor information that Sōken does not want to reveal.
"Alas, the hatred between the two races is almost impossible to resolve. Just because you don't start a war doesn't mean no one else will." Sōken thought to himself with worry.
"I don't object to your going to the Wandenreich; it's your choice, just like Ryūken wanting to become a doctor. I support both of you. I just hope that when the time comes, you can stop the radicals inside..."
Knowing he couldn't stop Ryūsaki's choice, Sōken could only toss a silver cross at him, tell him how to use it, and then leave the place instantly.
The hallucinogenic effect on the Spirit Worm was almost up, and the two were no longer allowed to continue their conversation...
"So this was a necessary node!"
Ryūsaki then realized that the Star Cross Key couldn't be opened at will; it required a specific time and place to open the door and enter the Wandenreich.
This is the real way to enter. Entering with a 'shadow' has a time limit; you will be forcibly teleported out after a period of time. To truly enter, you must pass through the Sun Gate.
And what Ryūsaki is holding is the key.
As the morning sun shone on the castle, Ryūsaki, who had been waiting in the castle hall all night, immediately held the key and began chanting a spell.
After the incantation was completed, the key flew up and, upon entering the void, transformed into countless Reishi. These Reishi intertwined and separated, instantly forming a door that could only accommodate one person at a time.
Ryūsaki quickly slipped inside, and the Reishi gate behind him instantly closed, the Reishi reforming into a key that returned to his hand.
In the technology development department of the Wandenreich, five staff members frantically pressed their keyboards, and a red light could be seen moving rapidly on the monitor screen.
"Oh no! Someone has detected an intrusion! Set off the alarm immediately!"
"Damn it, how did he get into the cage?"
"No, look."
Two people were terrified and were about to sound the alarm when they were stopped. Their leader pointed to the route marked by the red dot, which was clearly the Dangai.
"The fact that one needs to cross the Dangai to reach the Wandenreich suggests that the red dot might not be from Soul Society. Furthermore, the only passage connecting the Empire to the World of the Living is the Sun Gate."
"Yes, you need a key to pass through the Sun Gate. That guy might be one of us?"
Several technicians knew that the Quincy possessed the key to the Sun Gate must hold an extremely high position... but they still secretly reported the matter to Jugram Haschwalth.