The Dangai is a spatial rift connecting the three realms. There is no clear sense of time or space here; it is completely dark. Soul Reaper often travel through this broken space guided by Spirit Butterflies. Every time Soul Reaper enters the Dangai to carry out a mission, he must hold his breath and be extremely careful, and dare not stay for too long.
This is because there exists a being called "Kōtotsu" in this space. Even now, no Soul Reaper can figure out how it came to be. Kōtotsu moves through the Dangai like a ghost, and every time it appears, it causes great harm to the Soul Reaper working in the Dangai.
The Seireitei was not without its methods to deal with this long-standing Kōtotsu.
The Soul Reaper ) discovered through a device specially designed for use within the Dangai) that Kōtotsu appears approximately every seven days within the Dangai. It does not rely on any Spiritual Pressure to survive and, upon appearing, destroys all matter that Dangai its path, acting like a cleaner to remove various impurities from the Dangai and ensure its cleanliness.
Having learned about the appearance and timing of the Kōtotsu, the Shinigami should have only needed to avoid the times when the Kōtotsu appeared to travel through the Dangai. However, for some reason, the Kōtotsu has been appearing in the Dangai multiple times recently, which has seriously affected the Soul Reaper's work.
The Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 finally issued an order for the Captain of the Tenth Division to personally lead the Tenth Division, with the Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division leading a small team to provide support, to go to the Dangai to investigate the rampage of the Kōtotsu.
On the day the team set off, hundreds of named members of the Soul Reaper Squad gathered together. The entire team was so impressive that it instilled boundless fear in the common people of Rukongai.
"Um."
A man with short brown hair and a faint smile on his face, who was instantly likable, suddenly paused, as if he had noticed something, and stopped.
" Lieutenant Aizen, what's wrong?"
A tall man wearing Captain's Haori standing next to the brown-haired man noticed the brown-haired man suddenly stop and asked in confusion.
"Captain, I've seen my friend. Could you spare a minute? I'd like to speak with him for a few minutes."
The brown-haired male Soul Reaper, known as Aizen, asked the captain, who was wearing a white haori.
"We have ten minutes left before our departure time, so there's no rush. Just remember the time."
Perhaps because Aizen was well-liked, the team leader didn't think much of it, glanced at the time, and readily agreed.
"Thank you, Captain."
Aizen nodded slightly to the captain in charge, then stepped out of the Soul Reaper ranks and came to the white-haired, blindfolded male Soul Reaper who was casually sitting on the ground with two bowls of ramen in front of him.
"I'm really surprised. Are you here to see me off, Sōgo-kun?"
Aizen looked at the figure sitting on the ground, smiled slightly, and asked.
"Sit down and eat your noodles."
Sōgo didn't answer Aizen's question, but simply pointed to the two bowls of noodles in front of him.
"I never expected Sōgo-kun to specifically come and bring me noodles; I'm truly touched."
Aizen looked at Sōgo with his still sunny and gentle face, his words filled with emotion.
"Don't overthink it. The boss asked me to bring this to you. It's all my fault for being so talkative last time, telling him how dangerous the Dangai. Someone with such weak Spiritual Pressure like you would usually die a horrible death. As a result, the boss was worried that you wouldn't be able to eat his ramen anymore, so he specially asked me to bring you a bowl for your safety."
After hearing Aizen's words, Sōgo smiled dismissively, as if to say, "Why would I come all this way to bring you noodles? Don't overthink it."
"Hmph~"
Aizen chuckled softly at Sōgo's words, sat down on the ground, picked up the ramen bowl, and paused slightly in surprise.
Fish cake noodles?
Aizen looked at the bowl of ramen in his hand, which was covered with fish cakes, and his voice revealed a hint of doubt.
"Bamboo shoot noodles!"
Sōgo picked up his ramen bowl, which was now filled with all sorts of dried bamboo shoots.
"Ha ha..."
Aizen looked at Sōgo's bowl of noodles and smiled gently, as if he understood something.
"Let's see who can eat the fastest!"
Sōgo suggested to Aizen.
"It has to be me."
Before Aizen Sōgo say anything more, Aizen began to eat the ramen in his bowl with gusto.
"Cunning!"
Sōgo frowned as he watched Aizen start eating first, and then he also began to frantically gulp down the ramen in his bowl.
"Slurp slurp..."
With the sound of noodles being slurped into their mouths, the noodles in their bowls disappeared at a speed that would seem unbelievable to most people.
"Ton ton ton..."
Then, as if by magic, the two of them instantly finished the thick broth in their ramen bowls.
"..."
"Looks like I won, Sōgo-kun ~"
Aizen placed the bowl of noodles on the ground and gave Sōgo a wicked smile.
"No, no, no, you only beat me by 0.5 seconds, but you ate a second earlier than me, so I won this match."
Sōgo gently shook his head at Aizen; no matter how you looked at it, he was the one who would ultimately win.
"It's not that I ate the noodles beforehand, it's just that you Sōgo, were slow."
Aizen, of course, disagreed with Sōgo's idea. How could that be called eating ahead of time? How could something involving Soul Reaper be considered "ahead of time"?
"It seems that no matter who wins or loses this battle, we won't be able to convince the other side."
Sōgo tidied up the two bowls of noodles, placed them on the small cart next to him, and said helplessly.
"Indeed, neither you nor I have completely won this match. It seems we'll have to wait until the next game."
Aizen Sōgo slightly to Sougo, his tone filled with regret.
"We'll have to wait for you to come back for that competition~"
After saying that, Sōgo pushed the cart and left without looking back.
"Okay, we'll have a competition when I get back."
Aizen watched Sōgo's departing figure, waved his hand lightly, then turned around gracefully and returned to the neatly arranged ranks of the Soul Reaper.
As the Kidō Corps opened the Senkaimon, the figures of the Soul Reaper slowly disappeared from their original positions.
"Then it's my turn to do my job. I have to return these noodle bowls to the old man." Sōgo stood a short distance away, leaning against the cart, watching the group of Soul Reaper disappear through the Senkaimon. He shook his head slightly, looking lazy. He muttered impatiently as he turned around, pushing the cart towards the noodle shop while muttering to himself, "The dried bamboo shoots are really awful."
A month later, news came from the team that went to the Dangai to investigate the Kōtotsu rampage incident.
Led by the captain of the Tenth Division, the group has investigated the cause of the Kōtotsu rampage. They discovered the figures of the Quincy should have disappeared during the extermination operation in the Dangai. The cause of the Kōtotsu was the experiments conducted by these Quincy.
Furthermore, the captain of the Tenth Division stated that he had discovered the whereabouts of the Quincy who fled during the war. They had used the characteristics of the Dangai to hide in the ' Valley of Screams,' which is scattered throughout the countless small spaces within the Dangai.
The captain of the Tenth Division sent his team to submit an application to the Captain-Commander, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, and the Central 46 Chambers, hoping that the Central 46 Chambers and the Captain-Commander could approve their efforts to clean up the bases hidden in the Dangai and in the new small world (called " Valley of Screams ") created by these Quincy using special means in the subspace Dangai, completely eliminating these Quincy and resolving the issue of the Kōtotsu rampage at its root.
After a heated discussion at a Captains' Meeting convened by the Captain-Commander, it was finally decided to grant the Tenth Division Captain's request to thoroughly eliminate the Quincy in the Dangai and Valley of Screams.
This was a war that no one had expected to drag on for so long. This war, known as the final extermination of the Quincy clan, lasted for a full thirty years. The Quincy in the Valley of Screams launched a fierce counterattack against the Soul Reaper. They used a technology called Threads of Recollection and the characteristics of Quincy Reishi to continuously travel between countless Valley of Screams. These Threads of Recollection connected countless Valley of Screams like a spider web, allowing the Quincy to move quickly within Valley of Screams. This caused several encirclement and suppression operations by the Soul Reaper led by the Tenth Division Captain to fail.
Often, after spending several years figuring out the Quincy's gathering places, by the time they finally set out, the place is already deserted.
Moreover, the Quincy even used these Threads of Recollection to wage guerrilla warfare against the Soul Reaper, causing the Tenth Division Soul Reaper immense suffering.
The final straw that broke the camel's back was the sudden death of the captain of the Tenth Division.
"Why?"
Even in death, the composed captain of the Tenth Division couldn't understand why he would die from a Zanpakuto through his chest from behind.
Farewell, Captain!
Behind him stood a brown-haired man with a faint smile on his face, who looked as kind as ever, but his actions were incredibly cruel.
As the magnetic voice, as if gently massaging his ears, uttered the word "Farewell," the captain of the Tenth Division, this iron-blooded warrior, closed his eyes and lay on the ground, dying peacefully.
"Then, gentlemen, may you use your unique bows and arrows to pierce through this part of me, and this part, and this part as well?"
After killing the captain of the Tenth Division, Aizen smiled slightly at the Quincy who emerged from the shadows. He pointed to his limbs, and then to his stomach and chest.
"I am willing to serve Lord Aizen!"
Then a shocking scene unfolded: the Quincy, who were supposed to be locked in a life-or-death Quincy with the Soul Reaper, knelt down on one knee, as if worshipping their 'king'.
"Hmph hmph hmph..."
Aizen listened to the words of the Quincy in front of him and smiled slightly.
Yes, Aizen, he is a man who can make even his enemies serve him and submit to him.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
Countless Reishi arrows pierced through, destroying the corpse of the Tenth Division Captain and also penetrating Aizen's body. The Quincy surrounded Aizen, laughing wildly as if they were deliberately Aizen with him.
"It's Lieutenant Aizen! Those damned Quincy!"
Unfortunately, just as Aizen was in tatters, a squad of Soul Reaper appeared from afar.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The Soul Reaper and Quincy clashed, and as countless drops of blood fell, so too did the Quincy and Soul Reaper fall one by one.
In the end, 'justice' prevailed. The 'ambush' of the Tenth Division Captain and Aizen Quincy all wiped out. The Soul Reaper, however, showed no smiles. They dragged the severely wounded and unconscious Aizen and the dead Tenth Division Captain back to Seireitei in disgrace.
The year finally arrived at the familiar year of 1898.
The sky was overcast that day, and the entire Seireitei was shrouded in grief.
The captain of the Tenth Division was killed in battle, and the entire Tenth Division suffered heavy losses. The vice-captain of the Fifth Division was seriously injured and even unconscious, and was being rescued. All of this was done by Quincy who survived the extermination war, those Quincy who were looked down upon by the original Quincy!
The Central 46 Chambers and even the entire Gotei 13 felt a surge of humiliation and anger. They believed that this was a provocation by the Quincy against the Soul Reaper, a challenge to their authority as the highest rulers of the three realms, and prepared to launch a major operation to investigate all the Valley of Screams in the entire Dangai.
"..."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the man known as the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years, silently watched the rain falling incessantly outside the window. Perhaps even the ' Soul King ' was enraged, suggesting that another downpour be sent to convey his feelings to the world.
"Hey~ Old Man Yama."
Just as Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai was gazing at the dripping rain outside the window, deep in thought, a figure appeared behind him, calling him by his nickname, "Old Man Yama," in a disrespectful manner.
Since he became the captain of the First Division, very few people have dared to call him by that title to his face, and he knew who it was even without turning around.
"What are you doing here? Didn't you say you didn't want to be the team leader?"
Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai did not turn around. He opened his slightly narrowed eyes, gripped the cane he was using to prop himself up on the ground, and looked serious.
"I really don't want to take on the captain's position, but that doesn't conflict with my coming here to see you. I just have something to discuss with you. How about I handle the Quincy hiding in the Dangai?"
The figure standing Yamamoto spoke in a somewhat casual yet very calm tone.
"I'll leave it to you?"
Upon hearing the words of the person behind him, Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, turned around, and looked directly into the other person's face, which was a fair and clean-looking one.
"Eh~" the person standing Yamamoto deliberately drawled, "Leave this to me! Actually, I've met a pretty good friend over the years, or you could call him a 'face friend'~ I heard he was beaten half to a pulp, so I went to the hospital to see him with the intention of mocking him, only to find that his entire stomach was rotten, and his internal organs were damaged to some extent. The vice-captain of the Fourth Division said, 'Ah! It's a the Miracle that this guy is still alive~' So I'm very curious, what do people who can beat someone up like this look like? Captain-Commander, you're not planning to interfere with my operations, are you? Consider it an opportunity for me to broaden my horizons."
"Hmph~"
"Then it's up to you."
After hearing the man's words, Yamamoto narrowed his eyes again, nodded slightly to the person in front of him, and agreed to the other party's request.
(End of this chapter)