Oetsu Nimaiya: Araki, come to Division 0! If you do, I'll take you out to play every day!

"Click!"

The moment Araki heard Hyosube Ichibei's words, he instinctively prepared to release his Zanpakuto.

"Hey, hey, hey! Araki, my friend, could you please wait a moment and let me finish what I'm saying? I'm sincerely asking you a question, and we can just discuss things calmly. Please, don't draw your sword! Look, I didn't even bring my own sword from the Soul King Palace just to meet you! Doesn't that show my sincerity?!"

Seeing Araki instinctively preparing to release his Zanpakuto, Hyosube Ichibei quickly backed away, simultaneously pulling back the Haori he wore over his Shinigami Robes, which was emblazoned with the "Royal Guard" or "Division 0 symbol." This gesture proved he wasn't carrying anything that could be considered a "weapon," further demonstrating his sincerity in meeting Araki.

"I'm a little nervous."

The moment Araki heard Hyosube Ichibei's words, he immediately stopped his action of releasing his Zanpakuto. He knew he was overly nervous facing this "Old Monk" who exerted such immense pressure on him, so much so that he had revealed things he shouldn't have, like his thorough understanding of the Soul King's condition.

However, this was unavoidable. After all, the pressure this Old Monk exerted on Araki was even more intense than that of Yhwach, the "King of the Quincy," whom Araki had just fought a few days prior, and even stronger than his teacher, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, the "Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13"! Without a doubt, this Old Monk was the strongest person Araki had encountered since arriving in the Soul Society.

"Don't be nervous! The condition of His Majesty the Soul King is not a secret to the higher echelons of the Soul Society! There are countless texts throughout the Soul Society that document the Soul King's current state~"

"Haha, at least the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Clans always have to let their descendants know what their five great families once did to His Majesty the Soul King, don't they?! So, rest assured, I won't lay a hand on you just because you know something, because that would be both foolish and meaningless!"

"Besides, if I were to do anything to you, a certain hot-headed kid would probably lead his Gotei 13 to rebel! The Soul Society has just endured Yhwach's invasion; if it were to suffer another internal strife, it might face utter destruction during the next great calamity. That's not what I want to see, and naturally, it's not what His Majesty the Soul King wants to see either..."

Hyosube, seeing Araki's nervousness, spoke with remarkable candor.

"Alright! What exactly do you want me to do?"

Araki, hearing this, gave Hyosube Ichibei a deep look before asking with a smile.

It wasn't until Hyosube spoke frankly that Araki finally lowered his hand, which had been poised to activate Bankai. He was now certain that Hyosube harbored no ill will towards him, at least not for the time being...

If the other party truly held malicious intent towards him, they should have attacked him by surprise after his recent battle with Yhwach, when both his Spiritual Pressure and stamina were completely depleted!

At this point, the initial probing between Hyosube and Araki came to a close.

"First, the question I just asked you wasn't random; I'm genuinely curious about your ability~ I want to know if it can also be effective on His Majesty the Soul King~"

Hyosube asked his first question.

"I don't know, I haven't tried."

Araki answered quickly.

"Haha, true enough~"

Hyosube was momentarily stunned, not expecting Araki's answer to be so simple, then burst into laughter once more.

"Secondly, as a member of Division 0, I extend a sincere invitation to you! I hope you can join us, become a 'Royal Guard,' and become a member of 'Division 0,' tasked with protecting the 'Soul King'!"

Hyosube continued, stating his second reason for seeking Araki: he intended to invite Araki to join Division 0.

"I'm not interested in Division 0!"

Araki refused directly upon hearing this.

"Huh?!"

Hyosube seemed not to have expected Araki to refuse so quickly.

"Are you sure you don't want to think about it more carefully? To reconsider? Once you become a member of Division 0, you can enjoy an almost immortal life! Isn't that something worth getting excited about?"

Hyosube listed the benefits of joining Division 0 to Araki one by one.

"No."

Araki answered without hesitation. He had no desire to spend all his days confined to the small plot of land that was the Soul King Palace. In Araki's view, living like that, staying in one place day in and day out, wasn't much different from being dead.

"Is that so?!"

Hyosube's large eyes flickered with immense disappointment upon hearing this. Unfortunately, Hyosube was a rough, burly man, and his attempt at cuteness only made Araki feel nauseous, without a shred of shame or excitement.

"Araki, come to the Soul King Palace! Once you're here, bro will take you to parties every day!"

Just as Hyosube was about to give up on inviting Araki, a rhythmic voice suddenly sounded from behind both Araki and Hyosube.

"Hmm?"

Araki and Hyosube turned to look, only to see a dark-skinned man with an afro approaching them, speaking to Araki with an air of familiarity.

"You said you'd take me to what?"

Araki's pupils slightly contracted as he looked at the newcomer. He leaned closer to the man, asking with a serious expression.

"To parties!"

The man, looking at Araki who had leaned close, repeated with an equally serious expression.

At this moment, what Araki and the man were discussing seemed to be no longer just about "parties" or not; it was more like a holy war! A holy war that only men understood! Araki was even more serious and earnest now than he had been when facing Yhwach.

"How often?"

Araki asked about the frequency.

"Every day!"

The man, hearing this, gave a thumbs-up and answered with a smile.

"Deal!"

Araki, without hesitation, swung his palm to clap the man's hand.

In fact, Araki was a proper person. He didn't care about the "parties" or not; he just wanted to contribute to the Soul Society and to protect His Majesty the Soul King!

"Captain Araki, where are you off to?"

However, before Araki could high-five the man who was planning to take him to parties every day—a true man's handshake—a chilling, murderous aura emanated from the 11th Division's Captain's Office.

"My apologies, but I'm not interested in such worldly desires!"

Hearing this, Araki stopped his hand, which was about to meet the other man's.

"Is that so? What a shame!"

The man with the 'dark' skin sighed helplessly, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

Incidentally, this man with 'dark' skin was named Oetsu Nimaiya, a member of the Royal Guard and Division 0, and also the creator of all Zanpakuto in the Soul Society! (Some extremely 'special' and 'ancient' Zanpakuto, such as the Tsunayashiro Family's Enrakyoten or the Ise Family's Shinrakyoken, are not included.)

"You know my situation," Araki said, gesturing towards the beautiful woman behind him, who was emanating a cold aura.

"Anyway, some things are hard to discuss here. Come with us to the Soul King Palace first! We'll explain everything clearly once we're there…"

Oetsu Nimaiya gave Araki an 'I understand' look, then patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Since it's an invitation from the Division 0 adults, it would be rude of me not to accept!"

"Retsu, you don't have to wait for me for dinner tonight. I'm going with these two adults from the Soul King Palace to the Soul King Palace to meet His Majesty the Soul King!"

With that, Araki draped an arm over Oetsu Nimaiya's shoulder, and they walked out of the 11th Division Barracks.

"Um, well, it's like this! Please lend us Captain Araki for a bit, we'll return him soon…"

After Araki and Oetsu Nimaiya had gone, only Hyosube Ichibei remained, standing face-to-face with Unohana Retsu, who was still emanating her 'chilling' aura.

"Wait, you're just running off? Are you kidding me?"

Thinking this, Hyosube bowed slightly to Unohana Retsu, then vanished from the 11th Division Barracks.

"Araki…"

For a moment, only Retsu stood there, looking in the direction Araki and the others had left, her face etched with worry.