A street the weak could not reach

"Children, come aboard the Tenchūren~"

"The Soul King Palace tour is about to begin~"

The Big-Eyed Monk raised his voice, loudly organizing the children of the Five Great Noble Clans into lines.

"So big? Come to think of it, how are we supposed to ride this pillar-like thing up there?"

Kisuke Urahara studied the enormous pillar before him with interest. It was made from some unknown material, and he had heard it was Squad Zero's means of transportation, which interested him greatly.

"That calls for the Shiba Clan's cannon!"

Yoruichi Shihōin answered after hearing Kisuke Urahara's question.

"The Shiba Clan's cannon?"

Kisuke Urahara froze, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"As one of the Five Great Noble Clans, the Shiba Clan controls Soul Society's most powerful siege weapon, the Shiba Cannon. I've heard it has the longest range in Soul Society. If fired from Seireitei, right at the center of Soul Society, it can cover all of Soul Society with its firepower. It's an incredibly powerful secret treasure... of course, that's just what I've heard~ just what I've heard~ even I've never seen anything like that." Recalling what Kūkaku had told her, Yoruichi explained to Urahara, "But only the Shiba Cannon, with its unrivaled range, could send us from here to the Soul King Palace in the sky, right?"

"I'm so curious. I'd love to study it."

Kisuke Urahara was intrigued by what he heard. He had an intense curiosity about everything he did not understand.

"All right, now that everyone's lined up..."

The Big-Eyed Monk looked at the assembled group and formed hand seals. In an instant, everyone was atop the Tenchūren.

"Was that Kidō? Large-scale teleportation Kidō?"

Sensing the lingering Spiritual Pressure around him, Kisuke Urahara could not help stealing several looks at the monk before him. He had never expected this unassuming monk to possess such astonishing mastery of Kidō.

"All right~ get ready, everyone~"

"We're setting off."

The Big-Eyed Monk warned the children, and then, accompanied by a thunderous roar, the enormous Tenchūren shot toward the Soul King Palace faintly visible in the sky.

"This is so scary~"

"I feel like I'm going to fall!"

"What's happening?"

Countless noble children panicked as they felt the Tenchūren carry them into the air.

"Don't panic, everyone. Just stand still. Don't worry, it won't kill you."

The Big-Eyed Monk smiled at the panicked children. With him there, nothing would happen.

Boom~

Before long, the Tenchūren successfully reached the Soul King Palace. Rows of towering pillars and an avenue stretching as far as the eye could see greeted them.

"Urahara, get ready."

Looking at the endless avenue, Yoruichi turned sideways to warn Kisuke Urahara behind her.

"Get ready?"

Kisuke Urahara raised his eyebrows slightly at Yoruichi's words, then nodded gently, taking her warning to heart.

"Children, we've arrived~"

"You're welcome to try stepping inside~"

The Big-Eyed Monk was the first to jump onto the Soul King Palace's Front Approach. He stood there, smiling at the children before him as though anticipating something.

"Let's go~"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"We're finally here."

As soon as the Big-Eyed Monk finished speaking, the young noble lords and ladies who had been standing in line shouted excitedly and ran toward the Soul King Palace's Front Approach.

But in the next instant, their expressions changed. As though someone had pressed pause, they stood motionless on the Soul King Palace's Front Approach, cold sweat streaming down their foreheads.

"Ahahaha..."

"I forgot to tell you, people whose Spiritual Pressure is below Lieutenant-level can't move freely on the Soul King Palace's Front Approach."

The Big-Eyed Monk regarded the young lords and ladies with a dark expression, looking as though he had spent ages preparing just to watch the children make fools of themselves.

"Let's go, Urahara~"

Looking at the young lords and ladies struggling to breathe beneath the Soul King Palace's Spiritual Pressure, Yoruichi Shihōin carried the sleeping bag over her shoulder and pulled Urahara onto the palace's Front Approach.

Whump!

"This level of Reishi density?! Could it be?"

After Yoruichi Shihōin pulled him onto the Soul King Palace's Front Approach, Kisuke Urahara's gaze trembled slightly. Yes, this felt exactly like being in Sōgo Shihoin's courtyard. Had Yoruichi Shihōin anticipated this situation, then, and taken him to Sōgo's courtyard to get used to the feeling beforehand?

"Well, Urahara? Doesn't this feel familiar?"

"I went out of my way to consider you and take you to Sōgo's courtyard to get used to it beforehand. I never thought you'd already improved this much behind my back."

Yoruichi Shihōin frowned at Kisuke Urahara.

"Sorry, Yoruichi~ I really didn't mean to."

Hearing Yoruichi's words, Kisuke Urahara immediately understood the care she had taken and apologized repeatedly.

"Forget it. Everyone has their own trump cards. That's perfectly normal. It's not like I really mind."

Yoruichi Shihōin was brimming with dashing confidence, and her air of a big sister won Urahara over.

"Damn it... I can't move at all."

"Move! Move!"

"We're nobles!"

While Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin chatted as though no one else were there, the other noble children stepped onto the Front Approach as well. Yet faced with that intense Reishi density, even these exceptionally gifted children could do nothing.

"Yoruichi, sorry!"

"You might have to go on by yourself."

Kūkaku Shiba knelt on the ground. To be honest, even breathing felt somewhat difficult now. Although she had already reached the level of a Third Seat or Fourth Seat, she still struggled to endure the pressure here.

"Children who can't take it should return to the Tenchūren. Don't force yourselves, or your spiritual bodies will be damaged. If your spiritual bodies are damaged, you'll never be able to grow stronger for the rest of your lives~"

At that moment, as the Big-Eyed Monk watched the noble children gritting their teeth and persevering in their desire to enter the Soul King Palace, his icy voice reached everyone's ears.

"Let's go back~"

"Yeah~ let's go back~"

"It's not like anyone could succeed anyway, right?"

The noble children crawled miserably toward the Tenchūren behind them, hypnotizing themselves with their own words. In their eyes, if outstanding children like them could not withstand this overwhelming pressure, then no one in the world could.

Yet the truth was that after all the weaklings had returned to the Tenchūren, four people-or, to be precise, four people and a sleeping bag-still stood tall on the Soul King Palace's Front Approach. They stood head and shoulders above the crowd, their talent shining so brightly at that moment that the children behind them could not look straight at them.

"Five passed this time? How surprising."

The Big-Eyed Monk looked at the four people and the sleeping bag before him, his eyes steady and calm, without the slightest hint of surprise, as though he had known all along how many would pass.

(End of chapter)