Grimmjow

Blue Oni felt a slight sense of trepidation upon arriving at the First Division, yet he never expected that he wouldn't even make it past the gates.

Let alone meeting the Captain-Commander.

After the three captains went inside, Blue Oni was left staring blankly at Chojiro Sasakibe, the First Division lieutenant who had come out to deliver the message.

Blue Oni did not feel he had any common language to share with this lieutenant, who was fiercely loyal to Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

Although many Soul Reapers considered him a lieutenant who merely clung to the Captain-Commander and avoided combat, Blue Oni knew that this man's true strength was far superior to the vast majority of Soul Reapers.

This was a powerful Soul Reaper who had mastered Bankai before Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro were even born, and who had left the second scar on Captain-Commander Yamamoto's face.

Throughout his long tenure, other divisions had seen many vacancies in the captaincy, yet he had never chosen to become a captain, preferring to remain loyally under Captain-Commander Yamamoto's command.

However, Blue Oni couldn't help but wonder: after not engaging in battle for so long, how much of his past strength could he still maintain?

Unless one is immortal, even a Soul Reaper's strength cannot remain at its peak forever.

Even Captain-Commander Yamamoto was far from his peak in terms of raw physical capability.

Moreover, unlike other divisions that had changed captains and thus evolved their environments, the First Division remained as conservative as it had been when the Gotei 13 was first founded.

Blue Oni had served in all the other twelve divisions, but never the First Division; this did not mean he hadn't applied.

It was just that no matter how many times he submitted his application, it was rejected immediately!

Later, Blue Oni inquired and learned that the First Division hadn't accepted a new member in four hundred years, which finally made him give up on his goal of achieving a "Gotei 13 Completionist" status.

It was truly a pity.

After waiting outside the First Division for a while, the gates of the compound opened once more.

All the captains filed out one after another.

Seeing Zaraki Kenpachi about to drag Blue Oni away for a fight, Ukitake Jushiro quickly stepped forward to call out to Blue Oni, asking him to come along.

He had important matters to discuss with him.

Blue Oni felt as if he had been granted an amnesty and quickly followed Captain Ukitake away.

If he had really been forced to fight Zaraki Kenpachi, he would have undoubtedly exposed that he wasn't the real Aoto.

Unless he used Bankai... but Blue Oni didn't dare.

After all, if he did that, he didn't know if others would be fine, but he would certainly be devoured by the Great Oni first.

The Ukitake Residence was located in a rather scenic area of the Seireitei.

After all, the Ukitake family was a lower-tier noble house and held some status.

However, aside from Ukitake Jushiro, there wasn't a single other clansman in the entire Ukitake family worth mentioning, forcing Ukitake Jushiro to shoulder the rise and fall of his family on top of his health issues and divisional duties.

This pressure was far too heavy, causing his health to not only fail to improve but to deteriorate further.

Now, the departure of Kaien had become the final straw.

Although Blue Oni had relayed the news that Kaien had been rescued, he still couldn't return.

Ukitake Jushiro coughed twice and continued, "Tomorrow, I will take all available seated officers to the World of the Living to pay our respects to Kaien. You should come too!"

Blue Oni nodded... this was a necessary step for Aoto to return, and once that happened, Blue Oni could go back into the Zanpakuto to rest.

Even though he had only spent the day in the Seireitei, Blue Oni felt an unprecedented mental exhaustion.

This was far more painful than being carefree in the World of the Living.

There were two more things... Blue Oni decided that afterward, he would lock himself at home and continue to maintain his sorrowful facade.

That would surely help him avoid quite a few interrogations.

Furthermore, he had to account for the public opinion backlash that would follow once the intelligence that Aoto had personally killed Kaien spread throughout the Soul Society.

Blue Oni had no interest in arguing with those people... they were all just a bunch of fools who followed the crowd.

However, when Blue Oni returned home, he found Toshiro still waiting for him.

This disciple was truly excellent and quite respectful of his teacher.

Then, Aoto grabbed him by the back of his neck, dragged him to the door, and kicked him in the rear.

"Why are you always hanging around my house... go, go back and continue your training."

He needed Toshiro to focus on training his Hakuda and Kido; it wouldn't do to rely entirely on his Zanpakuto.

Kaien's situation was a stern warning that needed to be taken to heart.

After all, even a lieutenant like Kaien, when caught off guard by a Hollow without his Zanpakuto, ended up unable to return home—a fact that even Kaien himself had begun to reflect upon.

World of the Living.

After wandering around for a bit, Kaien successfully found a place to stay using the currency provided by Urahara Kisuke.

Although that guy Urahara Kisuke was full of schemes, he was truly reliable when it came to getting things done, having considered every situation quite comprehensively.

There was even the ability to forge an identity, directly granting Kaien the status of a high-achieving returnee; coupled with the suit he wore, he would be welcomed wherever he went.

Not to mention that Kaien truly understood the various national languages of the Human World.

He was more than qualified to work as a translator.

"So you see, a start like this is far better than the simple country boy you had in mind before, isn't it?"

Aoto mocked Kaien, "Working as a translator in the Human World who can handle multiple languages, you could earn in minutes what many ordinary people struggle to make in a lifetime."

"Once you have the startup capital, you can do whatever you want afterward."

Kaien listened to Aoto's words and felt that it really did make sense.

He wasn't someone who was incapable of doing anything other than fighting.

As the head of the Shiba House, Kaien was actually skilled in many things.

However, Kaien was also curious about what Aoto would choose to do in the Human World if it were up to him.

"Me?" Aoto thought for a moment, "I would choose to be a con artist!"

Huh?

Even after being friends with Aoto for so many years, Kaien sometimes couldn't keep up with his train of thought.

What was this about being a con artist?

But Aoto just smiled slightly, refusing to explain, and only let out a chuckle.

This caused Kaien to immediately start fighting with Aoto again.

Leaving half of what you have to say unsaid is just asking for a beating!

Hueco Mundo.

The King of Hueco Mundo sat upon his throne of white bone, watching Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, who was currently undergoing evolution below.

After a century of fighting on the front lines against the forces of Hell, Grimmjow had returned to prepare for a time and finally felt the opportunity for a breakthrough.

He was evolving from an Adjuchas into a Vasto Lorde.

Numerous Vasto Lorde gathered around to watch the scene, witnessing the birth of yet another companion.

The panther king, over two meters long, was already considered quite small among the many Adjuchas, but once the evolution began, he started to shrink even further!

When his spiritual pressure broke through to the third rank in an instant, another Vasto Lorde-class Menos was born!

"Congratulations, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez!" The King of Hueco Mundo looked at the newly ascended Vasto Lorde, who had stood up straight and revealed half of a human face, and offered his congratulations.

"Thank you very much, Lord King of Hueco Mundo!"