"Sou... Sōgo- kun!" Seeing Sōgo Shihoin suddenly appear and stand in front of everyone, Yumiko Saeki's eyes flashed with joy. She hurriedly sat up and bowed slightly to Sōgo. "Thank you! Sōgo!"
"If you want to thank someone, thank the man in front of you!"
"If it weren't for his desperate insistence, even if I had arrived in time, you would have been burned to ashes by the Cero."
Sougo Shihouin turned to the side and whispered to Yumiko Saeki.
"Forehead..."
"Yes! I also have to thank Ise- kun."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Yumiko Saeki nodded slightly and continued speaking in the Sōgo.
"It's alright, it's what I should do."
Ise, drenched in sweat, stood on the ground, panting heavily as he responded to Yumiko Saeki's thanks.
"So, how did you guys run into Menos Grande?"
"Theoretically speaking, life forms like the Menos Grande should be trapped in Hueco Mundo. Or rather, the souls of the Rukongai alone are simply not enough to sustain the Menos Grande ' energy reserves. They generally wouldn't invade Soul Society, but now the Menos Grande have invaded Soul Society, and we just happened to run into them while we were conducting our trials."
Looking thoughtfully at the Cero, Sōgo Shihoin turned to the two people behind him and said...
"Um?!"
"You mean this was a design by someone with ulterior motives?"
After hearing what Sōgo Shihoin, Ise disregarded Sacred's serious injuries and forced himself to sit up.
"Hmm, I suspect that we didn't just happen to run into this low-ranking Menos Grande of the Gillian class; rather, someone orchestrated a situation where we seemingly 'coincidentally' encountered it."
"It seems we'll need you, injured soldier, to make a trip to the Gotei 13."
Sōgo Shihoin crouched down and used Kaidō on Ise with one hand.
"Forehead..."
Under the dazzling Kaidō of Sōgo Shihoin, Ise's burns were healing at an astonishing speed.
In less than five minutes, all of Ise's injuries had healed. Although some scars remained, this was the limit of what Sōgo could do. After all, he was different from masters like Retsu Unohana and Kiyōnosuke Yamada; they simply knew how to use it. Sōgo's Spiritual Pressure was enough to make Sōgo use of the Kaidō Kaidō highly effective. Unfortunately, the delicate matters of whether there would be any aftereffects after healing were not something Sōgo could consider.
Am I fully recovered?
"Thank you, Lord Sōgo. I, Hideki Ise, will never forget your kindness."
After recovering, Ise knelt on one knee before Sōgo Shihoin and spoke earnestly and solemnly.
"No, no, no, it's not that serious. Your injuries weren't that severe to begin with. Even without my help, you would have recovered sooner or later."
Sōgo Shihoin waved his hand at Ise, indicating that there were many people who owed him favors, so there was no need for such formality.
"But your help has solved a lot of my problem, please don't refuse my gratitude."
Ise Asahi solemnly addressed Sōgo Shihoin.
"Oh, whatever you want!"
Sōgo Shihoin waved his hand at Ise and said no more.
"Yes, sir."
Ise bowed slightly, then gently dusted off the dust from his body and stood up straight.
At this moment Ise's thinking was simple: even if he couldn't establish a relationship with Sōgo Shihoin Yumiko Saeki, as long as he did, it would be the same, no... even better. After all, as long as he created the illusion for outsiders that he was Shihoin Family, then others would have to consider the consequences before making any moves against the Ise Clan, and whether they would be purged by the Shihoin Family, which was currently at the height of its Soul Society, for all sorts of strange reasons.
"Oh dear~"
Seeing Ise's expression, Sōgo Shihoin immediately covered his face. He didn't really like how everyone seemed respectful but actually kept their distance from him, but as the direct descendant of the Shihoin Family, he was destined to repeat today's events endlessly, and he was powerless to change the situation.
"Alright~ I happen to have a mission for you. Go to the Gotei 13 and report the situation here, then have the division send a professional Soul Reaper over."
Sōgo Shihoin issued an order to Ise.
"Yes, sir!"
Ise stood up and started to walk towards the distant woods.
"Etc..."
But just as Ise was about to leave, Sōgo Shihoin spoke up once again.
"What is it, Young Master Sōgo?"
Seeing that Sōgo showed no sign of displeasure, Ise pressed her advantage, addressing Sōgo as "Young Master" just like a retainer of the Shihoin Family.
"..."
"Yes, take that one with you too."
After hearing Ise's words, Sōgo Shihoin Sougo was silent for a brief moment before pointing at the dazed Yumiko Saeki and speaking.
"Yes, sir!" Ise knelt on one knee Sōgo Shihoin, accepting the order, then turned to apologize to Yumiko, hoisted Yumiko onto his shoulder, and used Shunpo to leave. "I apologize for the intrusion Yumiko."
"He's a promising talent. Even if he doesn't become a captain leading a squad in the future, given time he'd be more than qualified to be a vice-captain in the Gotei 13."
Sōgo Shihoin looked at Hideki Ise, who could still perform continuous Shunpo even with a person on his shoulders, and nodded slightly, expressing his affirmation of the other's talent and hard work.
"So let me see where the problem lies?"
Sōgo Shihoin stood still, sensing the Spiritual Pressure around him. Through his perception, he could clearly sense the students fighting Hollows on the nearby mountain, as well as the teacher who was gathering everyone and looked somewhat anxious.
"It's strange... Apart from my squad being attacked by Menos Grande, the other squads seem to be doing fine..."
Sōgo Shihoin found a rock and plopped down on it, quietly waiting for the Gotei 13 to send Soul Reaper to pick him up.
" Sōgo!"
Just a short while after Sōgo sat on the rock, Shaoling Fon arrived beside Sōgo, panting heavily. She had used all her strength to desperately chase after Sōgo, but Sōgo's Shunpo was too fast...
"Yo~ Little Fon ~"
"Looks like we'll have to break our promise, because the ramen at the noodle shop has been delayed for so long that it's probably too late to eat it now."
Sōgo stretched out his hand toward Shaoling Fon and said with a grin.
" Sōgo, what exactly happened? On the way up, I heard someone say that a small team was attacked by Menos Grande? Was that ominous Spiritual Pressure from Menos Grande?"
Shaoling Fon half-squatted in front of Sōgo, her hands on her knees, her forehead covered in sweat, and her heart pounding wildly from the intense exercise.
"It was indeed a Gillian- level weakling, and I've already dealt with it. No students died. I'm staying here now to prevent any more foolish weaklings from emerging from the Garganta."
Sōgo smiled gently at Shaoling Fon and said casually.
Calling Gillian- level Menos Grande " is something probably only a handful of people in the entire Soul Society, and even the Gotei 13, could do.
After hearing Sōgo's words, Shaoling Fon pursed her lips. Although she was confident that she could defeat Gillian- level Menos Grande in a one-on-one fight, she couldn't bring herself to call Gillian- level Menos Grande foe."
"Hahaha... This level is quite ordinary. Little Fon, you'll reach this level sooner or later. As you gradually become stronger, you'll find that the only truly troublesome Menos Grande are those at the Menos Grande top, like Vasto Lorde Menos Grande."
Sōgo smiled slightly at Shaoling Fon Shaoling Fon, believing that she would eventually reach the level of being able to instantly kill Gillian -level Menos Grande.
"Alright, thank you for your kind words."
After hearing Shaoling Fon 'Sōgo words, Aya thought he was just comforting her and didn't take it Sōgo.
Before long, only three or four hours had passed!
Just as Sōgo was about to fall asleep, the Soul Reaper dispatched by the Gotei 13 finally arrived.
The newly formed Tenth Division arrived, and the captain had an unfamiliar face. Sōgo didn't know him well; he had only seen him a few times a few days ago when he went to cause trouble at the First Division as usual. There was no way around it; the Tenth Division was known as the most dangerous division in Soul Society. No matter how talented a Soul Reaper was, no one could sit in the position of captain of the Tenth Division for more than fifty years. Some even died shortly after taking office for various inexplicable reasons.
"Hello."
Sōgo nodded slightly to the Tenth Division, thus acquainting with them.
"Um!"
The newly appointed captain of the Tenth Division casually nodded to Sōgo, putting on quite the airs of a captain.
"Hey~ My friend's nowhere to be found, Sōgo ~"
Although Sōgo didn't recognize most of these Soul Reaper, he was somewhat familiar with some of them, such as a certain goofy guy with a silly grin and dark circles under his eyes.
"Isn't that Urahara?"
Why are you here?
"After all these years, why do you still look so silly?"
Sōgo grabbed the grinning idiot's neck and asked.
"Hahaha... I didn't?!"
"I haven't slept for the past few days, and my head is so dizzy... The whole world feels hazy."
"Hahaha... Hahaha..."
After meeting Sōgo, Kisuke Urahara couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. Sōgo called this symptom "Urahara -specific grinning syndrome."
"Your voice is way too loud!"
Sōgo listened to the silly laughter coming from beside him and felt his eardrums vibrating.
"Really? Lots of people say I have a loud voice! Hahaha..."
Kisuke Urahara scratched the back of his head sheepishly, making it seem as if Sōgo was praising him.
" The Spiritual Pressure here is strange, Lord Sōgo!"
"There's a very special substance here that's attracting our attention."
Just as Sōgo and Kisuke Urahara chatting, a certain pink-haired guy, dressed in a Shihakusho and deliberately disguised, picked up some shimmering substances from the ground and lightly licked his lips.
" Szayel... Hey, hey, hey, are you sure it's okay for you to come out like this?"
Sougo's eyes twitched slightly as he watched Szayelaporro openly mingling with the Grim Reapers.
"Don't worry, Sougo. The Shinigami uniform I'm wearing right now is a modified version 2.0 of the Urahara Special Shinigami Abbey that can convert Hollow spiritual pressure into Shinigami spiritual pressure!"
Just as Sōgo's heart skipped a beat as he looked at Szayelaporro, Kisuke Urahara lowered his voice and whispered in Sōgo's ear.
"That's right~ That's right~"
"Nobody sees me as 'false' anymore."
"So you can rest assured, Lord Sōgo ~"
As the perfect life form of the Hollow Hole at Little Sa Szayelaporro's position, as long as he conceals his Spiritual Pressure, he can disguise himself as a Soul Reaper and almost no one will recognize him. As for the white substance on his body... he can just tell everyone it's just decoration, and no one will suspect that he is a Vasto Lorde- level Menos Grande. In the end, the Seireitei has seen too few people who are the highest-ranking Menos Grande. Vasto Lorde- level Menos Grande usually only appear in legends and textbooks.
"I never imagined it would actually be like what my sister said, that the two of you would end up together."
Sōgo watched the two of them talking in unison, he wondered if bringing Szayelaporro back was the right thing to do.
"Oh~ Szayel, that fluorescent substance you're holding, could it be that?"
Kisuke Urahara looked at the mysterious substance in Szayelaporro's hand and asked a question.
"Hmm~ it's that thing, but it's not exactly that thing either. I suspect it's an upgraded or improved version of that thing."
Szayelaporro immediately understood Kisuke Urahara's meaning and nodded slightly.
"Just as I suspected. It seems those people have heard some rumors and are starting to get restless."
Kisuke Urahara's expression turned serious as he gently rubbed his chin.
"..."
"Riddler, get out of Soul Society!"
Sōgo listened to the two speaking in cryptic language, remained silent for a moment, and then said in a deep voice.
"Hahaha... Looks like you don't know, Sōgo- kun!"
Something big happened just yesterday.
"Because of that incident, the entire Seireitei is now on a state of war."
Kisuke Urahara smiled mysteriously at Sōgo and began to speak in a very enigmatic manner.
If you keep acting all mysterious, I'm going to hit you.
Sōgo, unwilling to guess what others meant, waved his arm, giving off a "I'll beat you until you tell me what happened" vibe.
"How scary~ Sōgo is so scary~"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kisuke Urahara put on a very frightened expression.
"Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just... Sōgo, you should know that our job as Soul Reaper is to 'purify' Hollows, not to destroy them. Because whether you're Soul Reaper or a Hollow, we are essentially from the same source, like two sides of a coin. If either side is missing, it can't become a complete coin."
"However... in this world, besides us, there is another group of people secretly fighting against the Hollows. Originally, this was actually a good thing, but unfortunately, perhaps due to differences in ideology, or perhaps due to differences in the source of their power, they do not 'purify' the Hollows like we Soul Reaper do. Instead, they erase the existence of Hollows from this world as if they were using an eraser on a piece of paper. To be honest, this behavior has seriously affected the balance of the three realms..."
"Finally, a final trial was held a few days ago in the Central 46 Chambers regarding their issues. After three days and three nights of discussion by six judges and forty sages, a final conclusion was reached: these beings who threatened to disrupt the balance of the three realms were to be completely eradicated!"
As for how we address them, we generally refer to them as...
Kisuke Urahara stood before Sōgo Shihoin Sōgo Shihoin explained to him the major events that had recently occurred in Soul Society.
Quincy!
Sōgo Shihoin read out the names of those beings who opposed Hollows without batting an eye.
"That's right, and if I'm not mistaken, this exquisite Reishi should be what Quincy call 'bait,' something they specifically use to attract Hollows."
Kisuke Urahara addressed Sōgo Shihoin with a serious expression.
(End of this chapter)