High above the Land of Rain, a rare, gentle sunlight broke through the clouds and shone brightly upon the earth.
Deep within a vast ravine, a colossal palace stood. In the wide-open plain, it looked like a giant crouching on the ground.
Its tall, pale, weathered walls stood close against the sheer cliff face.
Anyone who saw this magnificent structure would surely be awestruck.
Just then.
Beneath the gentle sunlight, a figure trudged exhaustedly toward the palace entrance.
Compared to the colossal structure, he was as tiny as an ant beneath a giant's feet.
In the brilliant sunlight, his orange hair shimmered faintly, but his head drooped, and he looked completely drained.
"Phew..."
"Phew..."
With a deep breath, the figure raised his head slightly and panted as he murmured,
"I... I finally made it back..."
He licked his dry lips and squinted up at the palace in the sunlight.
After a while, he still couldn't see anything...
The orange-haired boy who had come here shook his head hard, then widened his eyes and looked toward the palace again.
Still, he couldn't see anything...
His face blank, he muttered to himself,
"Did I not concentrate hard enough on the way here...? Why can't I see anything...?"
"The special sight Lord Aizen mentioned... C-could he have been lying to me...?"
As he said this, he couldn't help but smack himself and blurt out,
"Pah, pah, pah... Lord Aizen definitely wouldn't lie to me... Something must be wrong with me... Otherwise..."
At that moment, a "grrrr" came from his stomach.
His face flushed with embarrassment. Suddenly, his whole body seemed to sag with exhaustion, and he murmured weakly,
"Forget it... I'm so tired... I'd better go back first..."
"I'll ask Konan and Nagato what they saw later. No, I absolutely can't ask Konan.