"Should we use it or not? Should we use it or not?"
Kurosaki looked at Sōgo, who was facing him, his forehead covered in sweat, and even the palm of his right hand, which was tightly gripping the 'thread,' was sweating profusely.
"Damn it, is he asleep or not?"
Kurosaki was somewhat alarmed and trembling. He roughly understood the strength of Sōgo and the others, and he was certain that if Sōgo wasn't asleep, he wouldn't be able to escape.
"Five seconds, just five seconds and I can escape from here successfully. Want to bet...?"
Thinking this, Kurosaki closed his eyes and turned over casually, as if he were in a deep sleep. As long as he wasn't face to face with Sōgo, he didn't feel so much pressure.
"Call..."
"That way I can leave with peace of mind using the 'silk threads' in my hand... what a load of rubbish!"
Kurosaki felt the intense 'gaze' behind him, and he was even more nervous than when he was face to face with Sōgo before.
"Damn it... it's all because of that weird eyepatch that's giving me the creeps. But speaking of which... it's strange, I remember that Soul Reaper always wore an eyepatch and never took it off. Could it be that there's some secret hidden under his eyepatch?! Or is he actually... blind?"
Kurosaki's thoughts began to wander in strange directions... gradually deviating from his predetermined course.
"Could it be... that the reason he could say something so unique yet reasonable—that we Quincy should integrate into the lives of ordinary people—is simply because he was born blind?! Because he lost his sight at a young age and suffered unfair treatment from Soul Reaper Soul Society, he is able to see paths that others cannot?!"
Kurosaki- kun slammed on the gas in his Ferrari in a strange direction... gradually, no, he had already deviated from the originally planned course.
"What a pitiful person..."
Thinking this, Kurosaki casually turned over, pretending to be fast asleep, and turned his face towards Sōgo once again.
"No, I can't be sure if he was born with a severe visual impairment. Maybe his eye patch is just a disguise, a way to gain sympathy. Isn't that a common trick used by cunning and treacherous Soul Reaper?"
Kurosaki shook his head slightly; there was one thing he needed to confirm.
"Let me see if you really have an eye problem, or if you're just pretending to have one to deceive people's feelings!"
As Kurosaki was thinking this, he carefully put away his 'threads' and reached for the eye patch on Sōgo's face.
Then Kurosaki's hand stopped less than five centimeters from Sōgo's eye patch, trembling slightly.
"No, my goal is to escape from here. Why am I starting to worry about the enemy? This isn't something I should be thinking about. My mission is to revitalize the Kurosaki Family after I leave here."
Kurosaki- kun, Pure-Blood Quincy in the prime of his youth at seventeen, is the only survivor of the Kurosaki Family's blood feud. He bears the great responsibility of reviving his family, and he absolutely cannot afford any mishaps before ensuring the continuation of his bloodline... But!!
Even if it weren't to check if he had an eye problem, or even just to make sure he was really asleep, I still needed to remove his blindfold and take a look.
Thinking this, Kurosaki- kun finally reached for Sōgo's eyepatch and gently lifted it up.
"Null!!!"
The moment Kurosaki lifted Sōgo's blindfold, the air instantly became thick and heavy, as if countless raindrops were falling from the sky, and Kurosaki immediately felt a sense of suffocation.
"Wow... such strong Spiritual Pressure!"
Kurosaki's consciousness gradually faded, and before he completely lost consciousness, only this last thought remained in his mind.
"So the extinction of Pure-Blood Quincy... maybe we really can't blame others. If everyone thought like that..."
Just as Kurosaki lost consciousness, Sōgo slowly opened his eyes, which had long eyelashes. His eyes, clear and bright like sapphires, shone brightly under the moonlight and stars. For a moment, the world seemed to dim, and everything lost its original color under his eyes.
Sōgo slowly put on his blindfold, while simultaneously reducing the Spiritual Pressure surrounding him.
" Lord Sōgo, because Black Knight couldn't use those 'threads,' I'm still unable to analyze the principle behind those 'threads,' or the locations where these Quincy teleported..."
Meanwhile, at the same time that Sōgo woke up, Szayelaporro, who hadn't fallen asleep, also opened his eyes and began to speak.
"It's alright, let's stop here for today. We can talk about the rest tomorrow morning..."
Sōgo yawned and fell into a deep sleep once again.
The next morning, warm sunshine shone on the earth...
"One, two, three, four... two, two, three, four..."
Kurosaki heard a rhythmic chorus of "boom boom boom, boom boom boom" music and the cheerful shouts of a young man.
What was wrong with me yesterday?
Kurosaki slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was Shaoling Fon, who was facing away from him, leading Aya and the others lined up in pairs, doing Sōgo Shihoin exercises.
Good morning, Kurosaki! Why are your dark circles so bad? Did you not sleep well last night?
The moment Kurosaki opened his eyes, Sōgo seemed to sense something, and he turned around to greet Kurosaki in a friendly manner.
"Forehead..."
Kurosaki looked at the nightmarish 'big eye patch' on Sōgo's head, memories of yesterday flooded back.
He remembered that he suspected there was some earth-shattering secret hidden under Sōgo's eyepatch, so he reached out to touch it, wanting to see what was wrong with Sōgo's eyes and why he needed to wear an eyepatch all the time. And then... and then he remembered nothing more, like he had blacked out from drinking too much.
"What exactly... happened last night?"
"Why did I faint? I wasted this rare teleportation opportunity to escape these demons' clutches. I had planned to use the 'threads' to leave tonight... Damn it..."
Kurosaki was somewhat confused; it was as if his brain had crashed, and he had permanently lost some important memories.
" Kurosaki- kun, what's wrong? You seem to have something on your mind?"
Sōgo approached Kurosaki and asked.
"Hahaha... that's all your imagination."
Kurosaki gave an awkward laugh after hearing Sōgo's words, his expression quite unnatural.
"Speaking of Kurosaki- kun, were you thinking of running away last night?"
Seeing Kurosaki's unnatural expression, Sōgo smiled gently, his face displaying the most tender smile, and asked the question that Kurosaki feared most.
"Run... run away? How could I possibly think of doing such a thing? A man's word is like water spilled; it can never be taken back. Since I promised to take you to see Elder Watanabe, I will definitely keep my word."
Kurosaki stood up, looking excited.
"Hahaha... I was just joking~ Why are you getting so worked up?"
Sōgo found Kurosaki's feigned composure extremely amusing. He chuckled and deliberately teased the other man. In Sōgo's eyes, Kurosaki Pure-Blood Quincy who was only a teenager, was like a baby just learning to walk. With just a few words, Sougo could figure out everything about him.
"Uh, I was just kidding, just kidding..."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki was taken aback, then chuckled somewhat awkwardly.
"Right, it's getting late, let's get going!"
Kurosaki- kun seemed to realize something and quickly said something to ease his embarrassment.
"What's the rush? Kurosaki- kun, we just woke up and haven't had breakfast yet. Skipping breakfast can seriously harm your health. Let's eat breakfast before we set off."
Sōgo looked at Kurosaki, who was eager to lead the way, and waved his hand. There was no rush. He had come here to treat it as a vacation with everyone, to do his business while having fun. The main focus was on playing and traveling. As for work... work was out of the question. He would never work in his life. He could only make do by slacking off and traveling to relax.
Under Sōgo's guidance, a barbecue grill was instantly placed in front of everyone. Eating barbecue first thing in the morning is especially good for your health. Most importantly, eating barbecue in the morning can make Sōgo happy all day long, and happiness is the best medicine in the world.
"You're eating such greasy food for breakfast?"
Kurosaki frowned slightly as he watched Sōgo continuously producing various kinds of fresh meat using the 'food production machine'.
"Of course~ the daily greasiness starts in the morning."
After listening to Kurosaki's words, Sōgo nodded slightly and filled the grill with all sorts of meat.
" Sōgo... you're considered a top-tier ninja in Soul Society, right? You must be one of the best, right? There probably aren't many people who can rival you, are there?"
Kurosaki looked at Sōgo, who was staring excitedly at the meat, and asked tentatively.
"No..."
After hearing Kurosaki's words, Sōgo gently shook his head.
"Really? Even someone as strong as Sōgo-kun isn't ranked in Soul Society? But that's understandable... I've heard that there are two exceptionally powerful individuals among you Soul Reaper: Captain-Commander Yamamoto, known as the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years, and the Captain of the 11th Division, who is also known as Kenpachi..."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki relaxed his furrowed brows and nodded slightly as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He had some understanding of Soul Society. He had heard that the strongest person in the entire Soul Society was the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 First Division Gotei 13 stood like a statue, experiencing all sorts of events, big and small, and weathering countless storms. He was a man whose name even Quincy like himself could call out— Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto!
Secondly, according to their Quincy intelligence, aside from Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, whose combat strength is above average, the strongest person should be the captain of the 11th Division, the Soul Reaper known as Kenpachi. It is said that each generation of Kenpachi is able to assume the title only after defeating the previous Kenpachi. In other words, the current Kenpachi's strength far surpasses that of the First Kenpachi, which is terrifying!!!
"No, no, no, I mean you misunderstood. In our Soul Society, in terms of strength alone, there is no one who can compare to me. I am the strongest, without exception."
Seeing that Kurosaki's words were becoming increasingly absurd, Sōgo quickly interrupted him and waved his hand to explain.
"Huh?!"
Kurosaki paused slightly after hearing Sōgo's words, as if he hadn't understood what Sōgo was saying.
"To put it simply, even if the Old Man Yama and the current... I don't know what his name Kenpachi, the two of them combined are no match for me."
Sōgo spoke very earnestly to Kurosaki.
Sōgo was telling the truth. Fighting both the Old Man Yama and the current Kenpachi at the same time was easier for him than fighting the Old Man Yama one-on-one. The Old Man Yama would eventually die because he was worried about the weakling Kenpachi beside him being burned to death by the aftershocks, and thus could not exert his full strength. In the end, Sōgo would defeat him.
Imagine this: the only way for Old Man Yama to defeat Sōgo is through Bankai. But once Old Man Yama Bankai, regardless of what happens to Sōgo, the weakling Kenpachi present will immediately die on the spot.
"Haha, you're joking again."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki smiled slightly, completely disbelieving.
"See, you don't believe me when I tell the truth."
Sōgo somewhat helpless. That's often how society is; sometimes the truth is taken for a lie, and a lie is taken for the truth. Everyone chooses what they want to believe and ignores the facts.
"Hehe..." Kurosaki felt like he was being treated like a child again. He chuckled softly, then, as if he had thought of something, asked, "Since you, Sōgo, possess such great power, why don't you change the Soul Reaper, change Soul Society? Isn't leading the Soul Reaper of Soul Society onto a better, more correct path your mission as a powerful Soul Reaper is?"
"Hahaha... Kurosaki- kun, you're joking. The power is mine, and I have the right to use it however I want. Even if I squander my power, no one can stop me. As for leading the Soul Reaper to a better path... why would I do something so troublesome? With great power comes great responsibility? I'm sorry, I'm not a fan of that saying... 'With great power comes little responsibility' is my motto."
After hearing Kurosaki's words, Sōgo smiled slightly. A carefree life was his path. If he restricted his freedom because of excessive power, it would be a loss.
"With great power comes little responsibility?"
After hearing Sōgo's words Kurosaki felt as if a door to a new world had been opened for him.
"Don't let your power trap you. Remember, you are the master of your power, not its mount."
Sōgo gently patted Kurosaki on the shoulder and began to speak.
"I am the master of power, not its mount?"
Kurosaki kept repeating Sōgo's words, his mind racing with thoughts.
"Dinner is ready. You two can chat later, but eat first, or there won't be any left."
Shaoling Fon, carrying various grilled meat skewers, approached the two and began to speak. Her eyes were filled with wariness towards Lilynette, simply because Lilynette's eating speed was truly astonishing.
Let's eat something first.
Sōgo took the tray from Shaoling Fon, raised an eyebrow at Kurosaki, and began to speak.
"OK, thanks."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki nodded slightly, took two skewers from the tray that looked like his favorite food, and began to eat them heartily.
"You should eat it while it's hot too!"
Sōgo pushed the tray with one hand and rubbed Shaoling Fon's head with the other.
The atmosphere among them was unusually harmonious. No one could have imagined that Soul Reaper, Quincy, and Hollows—three beings who could absolutely be called enemies to each other—could live together so harmoniously. For a moment, they were all very happy.
However, this harmonious atmosphere did not last long...
A month passed quickly.
" Kurosaki- kun, it's been a month already. Are you sure the route you led us on is okay?"
Sōgo and the others had been following Kurosaki in this Valley of Screams for a full month. In that long time, they hadn't seen a single other Quincy, and they had no idea where the so-called Elder Watanabe was.
" Sōgo-kun, you can't be wrong, you have to trust me."
In the month that followed, Kurosaki's hair grew much longer than before, and his complexion looked more weathered compared to before he met Sōgo. The time he spent with Sōgo had been incredibly tiring for Kurosaki.
"It's not a matter of whether I believe you or not~ The main thing is that we've been playing around for a month, it's time to get back to work a little more seriously... Hmm? Someone's coming."
Sōgo followed behind Kurosaki, rambling on and on. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly sensed several unusual Spiritual Pressure.
The next moment, countless Quincy suddenly appeared around Sōgo and the others. These people included men and women, old and young. Some had firm eyes like battle-hardened warriors, while others' hands were still trembling as they drew their Spirit Bow. They completely surrounded Sōgo and the others in concentric circles. The leader was a middle-aged man with medium-length gray hair and a black eyepatch over his right eye.
" Kurosaki thanks you for sending the people over, and also thanks you for buying us time. Now that we've done everything we needed to do, let's send these damned Soul Reaper to Hell."
The middle-aged man looked at Quincy and the others, who were surrounded by his Sōgo, smiled slightly, and spoke gently to Kurosaki, who was acting as their guide.
"Elder Watanabe...?"
Kurosaki stared at the middle-aged man Quincy who had surrounded them, his expression shifting in shock, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes. He had been leading Sōgo and the others in circles, never intending to Sōgo them to the Quincy's territory. But the current situation and Watanabe's words... Moreover, he had previously agreed with Watanabe that while he held off Sōgo and the others, Watanabe would lead the Quincy forces and their people to a safe distance, avoiding direct confrontation with the Soul Reaper and preserving the Quincy's strength. If he didn't return, he was absolutely forbidden from seeking revenge... Everything was for the continuation of the Quincy race, but now even the children were on the battlefield, which Kurosaki found utterly incomprehensible.
" Kurosaki thanks you for bringing us here."
At the same time, Sōgo gently patted Kurosaki- kun in front of him and smiled.
"No, I..."
Kurosaki panicked. He hadn't helped Watanabe, nor did he intend to help Sōgo at all. He had no idea what was going on; it was all too strange and abnormal.
" Kurosaki doesn't understand, does he?"
Sōgo looked at Kurosaki, who was in a panic and didn't know what to do, and laughed.
What exactly is this?
After hearing Sōgo's words, Kurosaki turned around and looked at Sōgo with a completely incomprehensible expression.
"Actually, the day we left Soul Society and entered the Dangai, we were already being plotted against. We were directly attacked by Kōtotsu. And just as we were about to get rid of Kōtotsu and find this Valley of Screams you Quincy are hiding, we were ambushed by you again. Everything is so coincidental that it's hard to believe. So I suspect that there must be a traitor among your Quincy in Soul Society, constantly reporting information. And the source of the information should be this Elder Watanabe. Do you think I'm right, Elder Watanabe?"
Sōgo stood behind Kurosaki and began to speak.
"Clap clap clap..."
The Quincy with gray hair clapped his hands gently at Sōgo; he was applauding Sōgo.
"You're absolutely right. The offspring of the Five Great Noble Clans of Soul Society... Sōgo Shihoin, whether it's the squad leader who died here before, or you who are about to be torn to pieces by me now, the person behind all these events is none other than me... Now that you know the truth, you can go and see the deceased Tenth Division captain with peace of mind."
The gray-haired Quincy, with his hands behind his back, smiled slightly at Sōgo.
"Sigh... it seems you're nothing more than a pawn being used as a weapon."
After hearing Watanabe's words, Sōgo sighed helplessly.
"Huh? Sōgo-kun, what do you mean by that?"
The gray-haired Quincy was leading the group, Elder Watanabe, frowned after hearing Sōgo's words, a hint of doubt flashing across his face.
"Who gave you the audacity to bring such a small group to fight me? Didn't anyone tell you I'm invincible?"
Sōgo spoke, he appeared in front of Watanabe in an instant, like a monster from a horror movie, and spoke to Watanabe face to face.
"Uh... do it!"
Watanabe, seeing Sōgo before him, disregarded everything else and immediately activated the ability they had been meticulously preparing for a month.
"Null!!"
As the Reishi within the bodies of the thousands of Quincy present resonated, a dazzling light instantly shone beneath the feet of Shaoling Fon and the others. This light was identical to the teleportation technique previously used by the Quincy.
"Um?"
The moment they noticed the light, Shaoling Fon and the others standing in it reacted instantly. They tried to use Shunpo to leave the transfer area, but Quincy was Shunpo. The Quincy had set up a Reishi particle barrier around them, and objects made of Reishi could not break through the barrier.
"Your companions will all disappear here. Do you really think you can stand against us alone then Shihoin Sou...?"
Watanabe roared at Sōgo in front of him with a ferocious expression, a strange light emanating from his eyes, his mind on the verge of losing control.
"Clang~ Thud~"
However, the name Sōgo Shihoin was the last word Watanabe uttered in his life, because the next second, the Xiao Jiba wrapped around Sōgo's waist opened his blood-red maw and swallowed Watanabe whole.
"You're being a little annoying."
Sōgo looked at the last item Watanabe had left in this world—his shoe—which had vanished from the world, and spoke calmly.
Six thousand words on the first day of publication.
(End of this chapter)