"Chōjirō Sasakibe! And... Araki!"
"It's been a thousand years... Have you been well?"
"I slept for a thousand years, carrying my hatred for you!"
"I will not forget what you did to me a thousand years ago! This time, I'll use the two of you to christen my banner!"
In a pitch-black world, Yhwach, his face aged, profound, and fierce beneath a thick beard, sat upon a throne formed from Reishi. He looked down upon Araki and Sasakibe from on high, his words brimming with fury toward those two thousand-year-old bastards!
Then... then Araki woke up.
"Tch~"
Araki slowly opened his eyes and casually removed the towel from his face. What greeted him was an unfamiliar ceiling and mist everywhere.
"Ah, what a thousand-year nightmare that was!"
Araki craned his neck back, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling as he muttered to himself.
Dreaming about a man was bad enough, but dreaming about a man who had a grudge against him and coveted his body? That was utterly awful!
"Araki, you're awake?!"
The instant Araki awoke, a hoarse, weathered voice came from in front of him.
"Hm?!"
Araki looked up at the voice—and immediately saw something painful to behold...
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, who was constantly on the verge of going bald, sat cross-legged and naked beneath a hot spring waterfall not far from Araki, meditating. At that moment, he had one eye open and one eye shut as he watched Araki.
"I see. So I haven't fully woken up from this nightmare yet?!"
Araki looked at his teacher training beneath the hot spring waterfall and continued muttering.
"Captain Araki, you should face reality sooner rather than later! Whether you believe it or not, you have already woken up!"
Before Araki could think further, a man who floated in the hot spring like a corpse, a foxtail grass stem dangling from his mouth and his face deathly pale, advised Araki in a listless, half-dead voice.
"Are you Shijima Tomokiri, captain of the 4th Division?"
Araki looked at the "corpse" before him and asked uncertainly.
"Oh my! To have my name called by the famed Captain Araki—what an honor for me, Shijima Tomokiri!"
Though Shijima Tomokiri said that, his half-dead tone conveyed not the slightest hint that he felt honored.
"Araki, you're incredible!"
"You actually beat that Quincy 'King,' that guy named something like Hahabach, into that state! With strength like that, you can probably be called the number one man in the Seireitei beneath Lord Genryūsai, right?!"
"How about we spar sometime?"
At that moment, Obana Danjirō casually sidled up to Araki and challenged him.
"Haha, to be honest, I want to fight you too, Araki! Have a spar!"
After hearing Obana Danjirō's words, Sanjōji Yuhō, captain of the 12th Division, also came over to Araki.
"Idiot! I was the one who first suggested testing our strength by fighting Captain Araki, and seeing just how great the gap is between us and that Quincy 'King'! So if anyone is going to fight Araki, it should be me first!"
At that moment, Shigyō Nobutsuna, captain of the 7th Division, approached with dissatisfaction.
"Oh! So you were the one who suggested it..."
Araki silently committed Shigyō Nobutsuna's earlier reckless words to memory. Sooner or later, he would "pay him back."
"Haha, I want to fight Araki too!"
Kumen Entei Tetsu, captain of the 9th Division, also came over at that moment.
For a time, the bizarre-looking captains of the First Generation Gotei 13 instantly surrounded Araki.
"Um, I want to fight Araki too!"
"Could you make some room for me?"
"Hey! You heard me, right?"
"You aren't excluding me, are you?"
"Haha, I know you wouldn't do that. I was just joking!"
"Seriously, please, can someone acknowledge me?"
Meanwhile, Ōtokawa Uki, captain of the 10th Division, was crouched alone behind all the other captains, continuously talking to himself. Perhaps his appearance simply clashed too much with the First Generation Gotei 13.
Well, judging from that, he was a complete weirdo too...
"Araki should fight me first!"
"I was clearly here first!"
"Araki, if you're a man, then fight me!"
At that point, all the captains loudly began arguing because each of them wanted to be the first to fight Araki and none of them wanted to be placed behind the others.
These guys are seriously too damn noisy. They don't actually think I'm going to fight them, do they? Give me a break! Listening to the unending "noise" around him, Araki leaned back against the edge of the hot spring again and placed the towel he had removed back over his face. This is so annoying! I want to soak in the hot springs with the girls! This place is practically hell for me.
Meanwhile...
In the women's bath, separated from the men's bath by only a single wall, Katori Bakuunsai, captain of the 8th Division, Unohana Retsu, former captain of the 11th Division, and Saito Furofushi, captain of the Sixth Division, quietly soaked in the pool...
The men's and women's baths were the same size, but with only three people here, the pool felt enormous. Compared to the noise in the men's bath, the women's side was far more harmonious. Even Saito Furofushi, who was usually endlessly noisy, was exceptionally quiet while soaking in the hot spring.
As for the reason...
"So big!"
Saito stared at the perfect curves on Katori Bakuunsai's chest, which could not possibly be contained by her bath towel, and her pupils trembled violently.
"Katori is so slim everywhere else, so why is just that part so huge? This completely defies nutritional science!"
Saito Furofushi glared viciously at Katori Bakuunsai. She wanted nothing more than to bite off those evil things with her sharp fangs, so Katori would stop swaying them in front of her all the time.
"Ah, this feels good~"
"After a fight, there's nothing like a nice soak..."
Beside Saito Furofushi was Unohana Retsu, who had just entered the bath. Unohana gently stretched her waist in the water, and the dazzling expanse of pale skin she revealed made Saito's pupils quake.
"Damn it! Hers are huge too! Why can they all grow so big?!"
Seeing this, Saito Furofushi curled herself up in the hot spring and blew bubbles into the water. She had grievances she could not speak of!
"Oh my~"
"Saito, isn't that posture tiring?"
Unohana Retsu seemed to notice something. Looking at Saito Furofushi curled into a ball, she asked softly with a smile at the corner of her lips.
"Mind your own business! Soak in your hot spring!"
At that, Saito curled herself even tighter.
"Hehe~"
Unohana Retsu merely chuckled. From beginning to end, she had never regarded Saito as a threat; they were not even on the same level. Compared to the "completely harmless" Saito, Unohana felt Katori might pose a slightly greater threat...
I want to go back and read my little "yellow" books!
As for Katori, her mind had wandered elsewhere. All she wanted was to return to the Captain's Office soon and continue studying matters of "literature." Katori had no particular virtues beyond her love of learning.
Several dozen minutes later...
"Sigh..."
Feeling all the exhaustion leave his body, Araki removed the towel from his forehead and rose from the hot spring on his own.
"Where are you going, Araki?"
As Araki stood, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, who had been meditating beneath the hot spring waterfall, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at Araki's back and asked.
"Ah..." Araki yawned first, then replied to Old Man Yama behind him without turning around. "Where else would I go? Back to the barracks, of course! There are still plenty of people in the 11th Division waiting for me to save them!"
"Is that so?!"
"Go ahead and do that!"
"As for the rest... I have something very important I need to tell you!"
Just as Araki was about to leave on his own, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's words stopped him.
"Hm?!"
Araki halted, turned to look at Yamamoto, and gave him an inquiring look.
"People from above will be arriving soon! When the time comes, you will go with me..."
Yamamoto spoke to Araki in a commanding tone.
"I'm not going!"
Araki answered without hesitation. As for the "above" Yamamoto spoke of, the only people the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 could call "above" were likely the Royal Guard—Division 0!
Araki preferred to keep a respectful distance from matters concerning Division 0! He had no intention of getting involved with them. Whether it was Oetsu Nimaiya, the Sword God, or Hyosube Ichibei, also known as the Eyeball Monk or Manako Osho, none of them were people to provoke...
Staying away from people who harbored great secrets concerning the Soul King had always been Araki's principle! Besides, he already knew more than enough.
"Araki, this time is different. This time, it is said that the Soul King personally named you and wishes to see you!"
Just as Araki turned around and prepared to leave, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's voice sounded behind him again.
"Huh? The Soul King wants to see me?"
Araki froze on the spot. The Soul King, who had been carved into pieces by the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Clans, wanted to see him?! Give him a break! Wasn't it Eyeball Monk using the Soul King's name to fool people again?!
"We'll talk about it then!"
With hesitation in his eyes, Araki left the hot spring meant for restoring one's body.
"Thank you for your patronage~ Please come again!"
Before he left, the owner of the restorative hot spring—a man with what he thought was a handsome pompadour, looking like a biker gang member from the seventies or eighties—greeted Araki with a cheerful smile.
"Oh, sure~"
Araki answered aloud, but inwardly he thought, So this guy hasn't gone to Division 0 yet?! Makes sense. The effects of this hot spring are still nowhere near the life-restoring level they reached during the original Blood War arc! That means Division 0 only has the Sword God and Manako Osho right now, right?! I wonder whether Shutara Senjumaru, the creator of the Shinigami Robes, has joined Division 0 yet. No matter how I look at it, this is such a pain!
After thinking it over, Araki's figure vanished from where he stood.
Time flew by, and several days later...
"All right! Your leg has been reattached!"
As Araki's "ROOM" slowly shrank away, the final injured squad member was successfully healed.
"It's really healed! It's as if I had never been injured at all!"
The squad member excitedly leaped up from the ground, then landed heavily. His face was filled with "happiness." Sometimes, only those who had lost something could understand the value of possessing it, and cherish all they had not yet lost even more.
"No matter how severe someone's injuries are, no matter how badly their body is damaged, you can piece back together the parts they have lost? What an incredible ability!"
Just as Araki had healed the final injured squad member and was about to take a proper rest, a somewhat rough voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Hm?!"
Araki immediately drew the Zanpakuto at his waist and slashed behind him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't be so rough! I'm not your enemy!"
As Araki's cold flash of steel swept past, the person behind him retreated repeatedly, then raised both hands over his head in surrender while smiling amiably at Araki.
"Tch~"
At that moment, Araki finally got a clear look at the newcomer. The man had a bald, gleaming head, enormous bright eyes, and a beard so thick it resembled an afro. The instant Araki saw him, he clearly understood the man's identity.
"And you are?"
Even so, Araki pretended not to know and asked.
"My name is Hyosube Ichibei! I am a member of Division 0!"
With a circle of brilliantly glowing red Buddhist beads around his neck, the man looked every bit like a great monk. He smiled warmly at Araki and introduced himself.
"Ah~ So you're one of Division 0's important figures! I wonder what business someone as important as you has with me?!"
Araki continued to play dumb. Having lived in Soul Society for so long, he was practically an expert at pretending not to know things.
"Actually, it isn't that I have business with you. The Soul King wishes to see you!"
Hyosube Ichibei crossed his arms and continued speaking to Araki with a cheerful smile.
"The Soul King wishes to see me? How could an ordinary man like me possibly be worthy of an audience with the Soul King?"
Araki feigned surprise, looking as though he was utterly unworthy of being summoned by the Soul King.
"Well, I'm also rather curious about your ability... I wonder, with your ability, could you put the Soul King back together again?!"
Just as Araki continued playing his little game of pretending not to know with Hyosube Ichibei, Hyosube abruptly changed the subject. Looking at Araki, he asked with a cheerful smile.
Finally finished writing this chapter! Time to begin the main storyline! And by the way, dear readers, seeing how hard I've worked, please send another wave of votes my way~
Before you continue