Soul Society (Seeking Follow-up Reads!)

Aboard the Vimana, which was flying high toward the Shin'o Academy.

Gilgamesh sat upon his throne, stroking Yoruichi Shihouin in her black cat form as he usually did.

Before him, Renji Abarai and Rukia sat on their knees, listening to Yoruichi Shihouin's words with great earnestness.

"The Shin'o Academy we are heading to this time is located within the Seireitei."

"The Seireitei is situated in the heart of the Soul Society, surrounded by high walls known as the Seirei Wall."

"The Seirei Wall is constructed from Kill-Spirit Stone, which is capable of disrupting spiritual power."

"The Kill-Spirit Stone releases waves that decompose spiritual power, creating a spherical protective barrier called the Soul-Shielding Membrane, which protects the Seireitei from spiritual intrusions from the sky down to the underground."

"To breach the Soul-Shielding Membrane, one must possess sufficient spiritual pressure and spiritual power."

"Therefore, people from the Rukongai cannot enter the Seireitei under normal circumstances."

"If those from the Rukongai wish to enter the Seireitei, they must pass through one of the four great gates of the Seirei Wall: East, South, West, or North."

"These four gates, according to their cardinal directions, are the Blue Flow Gate, the Vermilion Hollow Gate, the White Path Gate, and the Black Ridge Gate."

"Furthermore, each of these four gates is guarded by a gatekeeper, who is a hero selected from the Rukongai of the Soul Society."

"If I recall correctly, the guard at the South Vermilion Hollow Gate we are about to pass through is named Hiki Nyudo."

"..."

Gilgamesh had long since known all the information Yoruichi Shihouin was relaying.

Thus, he did not listen, instead focusing his attention on the status panel visible only to him while he continued to stroke the cat.

Gilgamesh's spiritual pressure had already reached 50,000, so he could perceive that the closer they got to the Seireitei, the higher the concentration of spiritrons in the surrounding air became.

This caused his spiritual power attribute, which had been stuck at 500, to rise once again.

This fact also caused Gilgamesh to fall into deep thought.

In truth, Gilgamesh had always been curious as to why the spiritron concentration was lower in the outer districts of the Rukongai.

Logically, the spiritron concentration of a world should be balanced; even if there were differences, they shouldn't be this vast.

Especially in the outermost places like Inuzuri and Tobiume, the spiritron concentration was terrifyingly thin.

As he pondered, Gilgamesh's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the Seireitei.

The Seireitei was located in the center of the Soul Society, which was also the place where the spiritron concentration was the most dense.

So, the question arose: when the Seireitei was first being sited, did they choose the place with the highest spiritron concentration, or did they choose a location first, and then that place became the one with the highest concentration?

If it were the former, then the location of the Seireitei was likely the spiritual vein of the Soul Society, the very source of its spiritrons.

If it were the latter, then the people who built the Seireitei had employed some method to draw the spiritrons of the Soul Society toward them.

Gilgamesh hoped it was the latter.

Because if that were the case, he could find a way to replicate the method and make the spiritrons of the Uruk Kingdom dense as well.

The more concentrated the spiritrons, the more capable a place was of nurturing geniuses with exceptional talent for being a Bleach.

And the spiritrons of the Uruk Kingdom were simply too barren.

Such barren spiritrons were not even enough to nurture newborns with the potential to become a Bleach.

Renji Abarai and Rukia were not born in Inuzuri, which was why they possessed the potential to become a Bleach.

Before heading to the Shin'o Academy this time, Gilgamesh had screened his own territory once more.

Yet, among the current population of over one hundred thousand in the Uruk Kingdom, not a single person possessed the potential to become a Bleach.

This fact was cruel, and it would greatly hinder the development of the Uruk Kingdom.

Therefore, even if it were the former, Gilgamesh would still find a way to make the spiritrons of the Uruk Kingdom dense.

Unknowingly, the Vimana had arrived above the 1st District of the South Rukongai.

Finding an uninhabited area, Gilgamesh steered the Vimana to the ground, then retracted it back into the Gate of Babylon.

A gentleman hides his weapons on his person, waiting for the right moment to act.

When one's edge should be concealed, it must be concealed.

The Vimana was simply too dazzling; if discovered, it would inevitably invite unnecessary trouble and might even attract the attention of the Bleach and nobles of the Seireitei.

It could even lead to conflict with the Bleach and the nobility.

This would undoubtedly affect his plan to enter the Shin'o Academy.

Although Gilgamesh was confident in his own strength, he was not arrogant enough to think he could rival the entire Seireitei single-handedly.

After landing, Yoruichi Shihouin spoke up, "Next, I will take you to the South Vermilion Hollow Gate. Once we arrive, you will tell the gatekeeper, Hiki Nyudo, that you are here to take the entrance exam for the Shin'o Academy."

As she spoke, Yoruichi Shihouin began to walk forward, continuing as she went: "Follow me, and do not get lost. I will not speak again from this point on."

Gilgamesh, Renji Abarai, and Rukia did not hesitate and followed directly behind her.

The 1st District of the South Rukongai was vast and prosperous, with an endless stream of pedestrians coming and going.

Renji Abarai and Rukia were like country bumpkins entering a grand garden, the look of astonishment on their faces never once fading.

Along the way, they felt curious about everything, letting out exclamations from time to time.

"Good heavens, there is actually such a massive river over there!"

"What is that? Such a fragrant scent!"

"A restaurant, this must be the legendary restaurant where one can eat many delicious delicacies!"

Because of the wide-eyed, inexperienced appearance of Renji Abarai and Rukia, passersby cast strange looks their way one after another.

Suddenly, Renji Abarai seemed to have discovered something; he pointed toward a certain spot, his face flushing red as he stammered, "Th-th-th-that..."

Gilgamesh and the others were puzzled and couldn't help but follow his gaze.

Upon looking, they saw many scantily clad women beckoning to the passing pedestrians.

Yoruichi Shihouin and Gilgamesh naturally knew what kind of place that was, and their expressions remained unchanged.

Rukia, however, was clearly seeing such a scene for the first time. Her small face turned bright red, yet she immediately stepped in front of Gilgamesh, saying, "My King, do not look; those things will dirty your eyes."

As she spoke, Rukia muttered something very softly: "If you wish to see, you may look at mine..."

Because Rukia's final murmur was too quiet, even Gilgamesh did not hear it.

But through the illumination of the Star of Omniscience, he perceived Rukia's thoughts.

His wine-red eyes couldn't help but secretly size up Rukia's current figure, and as the tall, graceful silhouette of Yoruichi Shihouin surfaced in his mind, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Although Rukia was still young, in Gilgamesh's memories, the grown-up Rukia's figure wasn't particularly impressive either.

Hmm, perhaps I could make her better...