Unlike Quincy and Soul Reaper, Quincy are not beings that evolved from ordinary 'soldiers'. Instead, they are a demon -Quincy clan bound by bloodlines and dedicated to exorcising spirits.
In other words, not just anyone has the opportunity to become a Quincy; it's not a profession, but a race.
Now, in the current Soul Society, the Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13 have finally begun to target this clan.
Hueco Mundo, a desolate desert, is where Hollows evolve, and also a hunting ground for Quincy.
On this day, at the First Division Barracks of the Gotei 13, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who served as the First Division Captain and concurrently as the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, issued an order to dispatch the Third Division Support Team, the Fourth Division Medical Team, the Fifth Division Rescue Team, and the 11th Division Combat Team—a total of four divisions and four captains—to Hueco Mundo. However, their purpose was not to subdue Hueco Mundo, but rather to Quincy the Hueco Mundo stationed there!
That day... the barren, snow-white sand of the Hueco Mundo was stained crimson with countless blossoms of blood...
These things don't really have much to do with Sōgo Shihoin right now.
Two more years passed in the blink of an eye, and six years of academy life were over in a flash. Sōgo and the other students had reached graduation age. They would step out of the Shin'ō Academy and officially go to the Gotei 13 to become Soul Reaper, whose mission was to protect the Soul Society and purify Hollows...
It was the same conference hall where Sōgo had his opening ceremony when he first enrolled, and the same group of teachers from the Shin'ō Academy.
Even the person giving the graduation speech was still the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, without any change. Since the establishment of the Shin'ō Academy, the opening and graduation speeches have always been given by this old man without any change.
"You should all remember your mission, you should all be well aware of your responsibilities. From the moment you step out of the gates of the Shin'ō Academy Gotei 13, I hope you can become excellent Soul Reaper, without wasting the six years of training at the Shin'ō Academy Shin'ō Academy, without wasting the sweat and blood you have shed there..."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto delivered his speech, which he hadn't changed in centuries, rambling on and on to the group of Soul Reaper trainees.
"Awooo~"
Sōgo Shihoin remained standing closest to Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, yawning and listening to him without any interest. Frankly, he wasn't interested in what Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai was saying; he just wanted to finish his graduation and go home to catch up on sleep. Whether he passed the Soul Reaper squad exam was irrelevant. Why? Because his older sister was the captain of the Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai Second Division Captain. He could just take any easy job, collect a salary, and coast along...
"Now I will announce this year's graduating class! Students who are graduating, please come up to the stage to receive your diplomas!"
After the Old Man Yama talked for an hour, he finally got to the part that Sōgo Shihoin was most interested in: the issue of issuing graduation certificates.
" Makoto Maruyama! Noriya Kuroki! Yumiko Saeki! Watanabe..."
As each name was read out, Sōgo Shihoin's brow furrowed slightly, and a bad thought flashed through his mind.
Sōgo Shihoin suspected that the Old Man Yama, Yamamoto, was planning to trick him again.
"The last student is Shaoling Fon!"
Just as Sōgo Shihoin suspected, even after reciting the last words, the Old Man Yama did not mention his name.
"Arrive!"
When Shaoling Fon heard Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto call her name, she immediately stood up from next to Sōgo, answered, and went forward.
"You're an excellent kid; given time, you'll definitely make a name for yourself in the Gotei 13!"
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni carefully examined Hachisho Aya for a moment, sensing the spiritual pressure emanating from her, which had reached the level of a squad vice-captain. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni smiled slightly at Hachisho Aya and praised her.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Captain-Commander Captain-Commander. However, I have another question I would like to ask you!"
Upon hearing Shaoling Fon Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's praise, Aya immediately bowed slightly, somewhat apprehensively.
"Speak freely!"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto still spoke with a smile.
"Excuse me Sōgo... Why didn't Sōgo Shihoin graduate?"
Shaoling Fon asked Sōgo, who was sitting in his seat, was thinking.
"Um?!"
Upon hearing Shaoling Fon's words, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's smile vanished instantly, and his slightly narrowed eyes opened a crack.
"Forehead..."
Feeling the pressure emanating from Yamamoto's eyes, Shaoling Fon trembled involuntarily.
"Since Shaoling Fon is alright, you may leave now!"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto addressed Shaoling Fon in a commanding tone.
"But..."
Shaoling Fon didn't intend to leave just like that; she hadn't yet found out why Sōgo hadn't graduated.
"Hmm? Aren't you leaving yet?"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked at Shaoling Fon, who still had no intention of leaving, and a burst of Spiritual Pressure erupted from his body.
"Forehead..."
Shaoling Fon, bearing the pressure from the Captain-Commander head-on, had cold sweat on her forehead. She had the illusion that she was a lone boat trembling on a vast ocean, and that she was that boat that could capsize at any moment, while the Captain-Commander was the boundless ocean with no end in sight.
What's wrong with you?
How dare you, an elder, bully my Little Fon?
"Not only will they not give me my diploma, but they're also bullying me. Do they look down on me?"
"You damned old man!"
Just as Shaoling Fon felt she was about to be swallowed by the sea, Sōgo came to her side. He gently took Shaoling Fon hand, signaling her not to panic, and then tugged hard at Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's long Shaoling Fon Whitebeard.
"Ah..."
The entire conference hall fell silent as Sougo displayed his lack of Sōgo elders.
The students and teachers alike stared in disbelief at Sōgo Shihoin. It was the first time in their lives they had ever seen someone dare to pull the beard of Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai was known as the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years.
"You brat!"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto had lost count of when he last felt angry. At this moment, a surge of rage welled up within him. Even he had never imagined that anyone would dare to touch his meticulously groomed beard.
"Damn old man, why am I the only one who didn't graduate?"
"You need to give me a reason for this, or I'll gamble on your First Division's barracks. From today onwards, you can forget about holding Captains' Meeting."
Sōgo Shihoin grabbed the Old Man Yama's beard, looking like he was determined to fight Old Man Yama to the death.
"Insolence! How could I possibly give a graduation certificate to someone who doesn't even have Zanpakuto? Even members of the Kidō Corps have their own Zanpakuto before joining the Kidō Corps. I'd like to ask you, someone who doesn't even have Zanpakuto, where do you get the nerve to want to graduate?"
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto slammed his scepter into the ground and solemnly addressed Sōgo Shihoin before him.
" Zanpakuto?"
"I definitely don't have that thing!"
Sōgo said, giving Yamamoto's beard another hard tug.
"You little brat, why aren't you letting go?"
Are you planning to never graduate?
Yamamoto, seeing Sōgo still relentlessly nagging at his beard, spoke up to stop him.
"So, does that mean I can graduate as long as I have my own Zanpakuto?"
Sōgo didn't let go of Yamamoto's beard; he just held onto it like that, looking threatening, Yamamoto asked.
"..."
"Certainly!"
After hearing Sōgo's words, the Old Man Yama once again suppressed his sternness, his face still bearing that of a kind, smiling old man.
"Good!"
"Just wait until I awaken my Zanpakuto!"
Sōgo loosened the Old Man Yama's beard and swaggered towards the conference room door.
"Excuse me!"
As Shaoling Fon watched Sōgo leave, she quickly bowed to Captain-Commander Old Man Yama to apologize, and then followed Sōgo's footsteps.
"You brat!"
As Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto watched Sōgo's departing figure, he gently stroked his precious beard, which had become his most cherished spot ever since he lost his hair.
After leaving the meeting place, Sōgo Shihoin went straight to the Shihoin Family.
"Young Master!"
Upon seeing Sōgo rushing in, the guards at the gate immediately bowed respectfully.
"No need for all that trouble. Just get me a few Asauchi right now. It's urgent, and it's so urgent it will affect whether I can graduate."
Sōgo Shihoin addressed the attendant beside him.
" Asauchi?"
The group was slightly taken aback after hearing what Sōgo Shihoin.
"That's right, Asauchi!"
"I want the brand new kind."
Sōgo Shihoin nodded slightly and began to speak.
"Yes, yes! We'll bring it to you right away."
The attendant Sōgo Shihoin, indicating that he understood, and then hurriedly ran towards the warehouse.
"I must have my own Zanpakuto."
Sōgo Shihoin sat on the wooden floor, pondering with some distress the graduation problem that the Old Man Yama had left him.
The idea of possessing one's own Zanpakuto is neither particularly difficult nor particularly easy. Generally, anyone who doesn't have an extreme aversion to Zanpakuto can transform Asauchi into their own Zanpakuto by meditating Asauchi communicating with it. However, the problem is that he doesn't even have the opportunity to communicate with his Zanpakuto right now, because once he holds the Asauchi and pours his Spiritual Pressure into it, the Asauchi will be shattered by his Spiritual Pressure.
" Young Master Sōgo, here is the Asauchi you requested!"
Before long, several attendants presented Sōgo Shihoin to Asauchi.
"Thank you so much! You've been a huge help."
Sōgo Shihoin thanked the group, then took the Asauchi from them and began to communicate on his own.
Immediately after a series of experiments, the Asauchi shattered instantly in Sōgo's hands, piling up into countless fragments in Sōgo of him.
"Communication is impossible."
"In that case, I guess I'll have to ask Ōetsu Nimaiya for help?"
Sōgo Shihoin sat on the ground, speaking somewhat speechlessly.
He hadn't originally intended to seek help from the Squad Zero over such a trivial matter, but now it seemed that, under normal circumstances, he was completely unable to control his Zanpakuto.
" Sōgo..."
Looking at the Asauchi all over the room, Shaoling Fon worriedly called out Sōgo's name.
" Little Fon, wait for me here!"
I need to leave here for a while; I might not be back for some time.
Sōgo sat up from the wooden floor, gently patted Shaoling Fon's shoulder, and then used Shunpo to leave the room.
" Sōgo?!"
Shaoling Fon looked at Sōgo Shihoin, who had abandoned her again, and called out helplessly.
On the other side, after leaving Shaoling Fon, Sōgo headed straight for the Squad Zero. Perhaps sensing something special, when Sōgo arrived at the foot of the Soul King Palace, the Big-Eyed Monk was already standing on the Tenchūren, quietly waiting for Sōgo's arrival.
"Yo~"
The Big-Eyed Monk greeted Sōgo gently.
" Big-Eyed Monk ~ Were you waiting for me?"
Sōgo looked at the Big-Eyed Monk seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time, raised an eyebrow, and asked.
" Yamamoto told me you would come to see me soon, and it seems he has."
The Big-Eyed Monk Sōgo slightly at Zongwu and began to speak.
"Heh, did that old man foresee all of this?"
After hearing what the Big-Eyed Monk said, Sōgo curled his lip.
"What's wrong? Are you angry with Yamamoto again?"
After Sōgo boarded the Tenchūren, the Big-Eyed Monk asked a question.
"Heh, I won't hold a grudge against that old man, even though he's always targeting me."
Sōgo Shihoin said fiercely, not at all like someone who wasn't angry.
"Hahaha... You should treat this targeting as a form of cultivation, a form of love."
After hearing what Sōgo Shihoin, the Big-Eyed Monk burst into laughter.
"The form of love?"
"My God, please give me a break!"
Sōgo Shihoin shook his head speechlessly at the Big-Eyed Monk.
"Hahaha..."
Immediately following the great laughter of the Big-Eyed Monk, Sōgo Shihoin and the Big-Eyed Monk flew towards the Soul King Palace in the sky.
"Null!"
After the Tenchūren returned to its place, Sōgo Shihoin, without a second thought, headed straight for the Phoenix Palace where Ōetsu Nimaiya was located.
"A new palace has appeared in the sky. It seems that the newly added palace is Senjumaru's palace."
As he waited for his journey to the Phoenix Palace, Sōgo Shihoin looked up at the four palaces in the sky and murmured softly.
"It's up to you now, Ōetsu."
On the other side, the Big-Eyed Monk watched Sōgo Shihoin heading towards the Phoenix Palace with a smile on his lips.
Phoenix Palace, known as the ' Sword God,' is the forger of all Zanpakuto in Soul Society. The man named Ōetsu Nimaiya is quietly waiting for Sōgo Shihoin's arrival while playing with a Zanpakuto in his hand.
"I wonder if that brat can actually use this Zanpakuto."
"But it would be much more interesting if that brat could use it."
Ōetsu Nimaiya rubbed her chin while muttering to herself.
"Hey~ Long time no see, Ōetsu!"
Just as Ōetsu Nimaiya was talking to himself, Sōgo Shihoin walked into the Phoenix Palace and came to stand in front of Ōetsu Nimaiya.
(End of this chapter)