Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami-Chapter 271 ⥤ The Soul King’s Invitation

The thunderous roar spread throughout the barracks, his terrifying Reiatsu sweeping across half of the Seireitei like a tsunami.

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The melon-eating Sōton nearly choked on his food.

He looked fearfully at Sasakibe Chōjirō beside him and stammered, "Sa-Sasakibe-sama, have Captain-Commander Genryūsai and the boss had a falling out?"

Chōjirō maintained his composed demeanor and calmly replied, "Don't panic, this is just business as usual. You'll get used to it. If you ever see the Captain-Commander being nice to Captain Kisaragi — that's when the sky is really falling."

Sōton nodded in confusion. Though he didn't quite understand, it sounded reasonable.

As expected of Soul Society, where sages were everywhere — even a random person could speak such profound words.

Speaking of which, if the boss could reach the top position in Soul Society, what kind of incredible wisdom must he possess?

Thinking of this, an expression of admiration appeared on his round face.

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"Fool! You think everyone is like me?" Genryūsai scolded, "When someone is unusually nice to you, they must have ulterior motives. That Ichibē is the leader of the Zero Division, born in the primordial world a million years ago, from the same era as the Spirit King and the five noble family founders.

Such a person has long since lost all emotions — what we call humanity! Everything he does has a purpose!

Now you've been chosen to join Zero Division without any achievements in creating fundamental things — whether this is fortune or misfortune remains to be seen."

A thoughtful expression appeared on Akira's face.

Genryūsai ignored his wayward disciple's attempt at thinking and continued, "As for what you said about being selected based on combat ability, in my opinion, that's just an excuse. Two thousand years ago, I had already achieved unrivaled status in Soul Society, and a thousand years ago I nearly killed Yhwach, the great enemy of the Shinigami. Yet Zero Division never invited me to join."

"Maybe because you weren't strong enough?"

The old man flew into a rage, grabbing his staff-formed Ryūjin Jakka and striking it hard on Akira's head.

"You fool, don't interrupt when I'm speaking!"

A huge metallic clash erupted in the teahouse. The ground shook violently, immediately creating a huge crater, and Akira vanished.

Soon after, he crawled out of the pit, shook off his dizziness, and recovered instantly.

Even Genryūsai felt a twinge of envy at such defensive and recuperative abilities. This wayward disciple was becoming more extraordinary by the day.

Thinking back to their battle while helping Akira master Hollowfication, he suddenly found himself believing the earlier claims.

Conquering the entire Zero Division in three days and becoming one of them — it seemed possible now.

Genryūsai suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, you said Ōetsu Nimaiya clashed with you because he was jealous of the deep bond between you and your Zanpakutō?"

Akira nodded.

Hearing this, the old man let out a scornful laugh. This stupid disciple couldn't even concoct a better excuse — with how he treated his Zanpakutō, the first thing it would do upon materializing would be to kill him.

The kid excelled at everything else and learned with remarkable speed. He had mastered all essential Zanjutsu techniques, yet when it came to treating his Zanpakutō, he hadn't learned an ounce of proper respect.

Thinking of this, Genryūsai glared at him in exasperation and said, "Did you come back just to show off to me?"

Akira shook his head firmly, "How could I be that shallow?"

The old man stared at him without speaking.

"As they say, when one person reaches the pinnacle, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." Akira grinned and explained, "I mainly came back thinking of taking some people up there to broaden their horizons, see the Soul King's Palace, and help me establish my Zero Division branch."

Genryūsai raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised. So this kid had come down to find helpers.

Not entirely foolish then — there might be hope yet. At least he recognized his own shortcomings. Bringing two trusted people up would help him analyze the situation, at minimum preventing him from blindly walking into others' traps.

"Will you come, teacher?" Akira asked.

Genryūsai slowly replied, "I won't go. Right now Yhwach has awakened from his slumber, and Soul Society faces a crisis. If the Wandenreich launches an attack—"

Before he could finish, Akira waved his hand dismissively, "Teacher, you're overthinking it. If I don't go back, the Wandenreich won't start a war."

Genryūsai: "?"

Just imagining this wayward disciple possibly joining Yhwach to attack Soul Society in the future made him lose his composure.

"Wayward disciple, today I shall first clean house!"

"Reduce All Creation to Ash..."

The thunderous roar once again spread throughout the 1st Division barracks.

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"Kisuke, how did you know I was back?"

Looking at the prepared feast, Akira was overjoyed. He immediately sat down without ceremony and stuffed grilled fish into his mouth.

Kisuke's mouth twitched — in all of Soul Society, only his Captain could maintain such a hearty appetite after being beaten up by the Captain-Commander.

If it were anyone else, they'd either be rushed to the 4th Division for emergency treatment or their soul would have already returned to Soul Society's mountains and rivers.

Though he didn't know why Akira had returned so early from the Soul King's Palace, judging by his appearance and spirit, there couldn't be anything seriously wrong.

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He opened his mouth, wanting to ask what had happened there and why the Captain-Commander had flown into such a rage again. But seeing the food on the table vanishing at an alarming rate, Kisuke set aside his questions.

For now, eating took priority.

After the feast, Akira sprawled lazily on the sofa like a complete slacker.

Aizen returned from outside at just the right moment, and upon entering, he found himself facing two thoroughly unmotivated slugs.

Akira smiled in greeting, and Aizen nodded.

"Back from the Soul King's Palace?"

"How did you know I speedran the Zero Division?"

Aizen: "..."

Wait, who asked about that?

And what did he mean by "speedrunning" the Zero Division? Surely he hadn't gotten into conflict with the Zero Division members?

Though considering his personality, it seemed entirely possible.

Recalling the intelligence about the Zero Division members in the Daireishokairō, Aizen felt a sense of dread.

Picking his teeth, Akira proudly recounted everything that had happened in the Soul King's Palace in detail, not even skipping his conversation with the monk — though he notably glossed over the battle with Senjumaru.

The two men's expressions shifted from bewilderment to shock, and finally settled into pure numbness.

They gained a new understanding: from Soul Society to Hueco Mundo, from Hell to the Shadow Area — perhaps only the World of the Living hadn't been wreaked havoc upon by this guy?

No!

Kisuke suddenly remembered those Fullbringers who had their Soul King fragments stripped away, and let out a long sigh.

Indeed, not a single pure land remained in this world anymore.

Aizen fell silent as well. Though he'd tried to see things optimistically, he still hadn't expected Akira to clash with the Zero Division at the Soul King Palace.

Even more absurd was that this guy not only emerged unscathed but also became a member of the Zero Division.

Most outrageous of all, Ichibē had even offered to let Akira skip guard duty at the Soul King Palace just to accommodate him.

Was this guy truly not the Soul King's illegitimate child?

Thinking about how Mimihagi and Pernida treated this husky, Aizen's expression grew complicated.

"By the way, Sōsuke." Akira looked up, interrupting his thoughts.

Aizen lowered his gaze, looking at him questioningly.

This guy just grinned and said, "Would you like to see the Soul King Palace?"

Aizen: "?"

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11th Division, Loyalty Hall.

Akira was animatedly recounting his encounters with the Zero Division, clearly treating them as bragging rights.

"Ichibē Hyōsube, whose naming laws have ruled the Sangai for a million years — that ancient monster from the Soul King's era — still fell to your Captain's iron fist!"

"You know Ōetsu Nimaiya, right? The one who forged your Zanpakutō, the so-called God of the Sword! Even he was no match for the deep bond between me and Kūkan Mukai — we defeated him together!"

"In less than two days, your Captain speedran the Zero Division! What do you think of that?"

The division members' faces flushed with excitement, as if watching their Captain wreak havoc in the Soul King Palace right before their eyes.

"Captain is powerful!"

"Lord Commander, we adore you!"

"Captain, when will you lead us to storm the Soul King Palace and take that bird's position?!"

Akira: "?"

In the crowd, Kisuke silently lowered his head, concealing his merit and fame.

Led astray by someone, the division members began making treasonous declarations, swearing to follow their Captain into battle.

Hearing this, Akira stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Speaking of which, how many people could the Tenchūren fit at once?

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Shiba Estate, Cannon Launch Platform.

Looking at the familiar faces coming and going, Kisuke's mouth twitched.

He had made an offhand comment, but who knew Akira would actually put the idea into action? If not for the Tenchūren's limited capacity, he might have brought the entire 11th Division along.

"Captain, is the Zero Division strong?" Zaraki asked, shouldering his serrated blade.

"Not just ordinary strong."

Getting this satisfactory answer, Zaraki immediately broke into a fierce smile.

The others wore varied expressions, but all eyes were focused on Akira.

As soon as they'd heard about his plan to bring people to the Soul King Palace, Sajin and the others had immediately volunteered.

The Soul King Palace itself wasn't important — what mattered was being able to follow their Captain.

Before long, the Kakaku Taihō was ready.

Over ten figures entered the Tenchūren, and the Shiba family members struggled to load it into the cannon.

With a boom, the Tenchūren soared into the sky again.

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Soul King Palace, Omotesandō.

Watching the figures emerge from the Tenchūren, Ichibē's eyes widened slightly.

"Kehehehe, monk, I'm back!" Akira stepped out from the crowd, greeting the monk with familiar ease.

The others were adjusting to the Soul King Palace's environment.

Unlike Soul Society, the Reiōkyū's atmosphere had an extremely high density of Reishi — Lieutenant-level Shinigami would be gasping for breath upon first arrival.

It was precisely because of this that Akira had raised the selection standards.

The Shinigami who came with him all had Captain-level potential: Aizen, Kisuke, Zaraki, Sajin, Kaname, Gin, Rangiku, and others. Though their reactions varied, they could all move freely.

The monk was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily. Although this scene was unexpected, they had already broken the Zero Division's rules for Akira once — breaking them again wasn't a big deal.

This kind of thing, you get used to it with practice.

"Ha, welcome, welcome! You're the first regular Shinigami to visit the Soul King Palace. Impressive, isn't it?"

The monk's friendly attitude won everyone's favor.

"Kirinji, I'll leave entertaining the guests to you." He extended his large hand, patting Tenjirō's shoulder firmly, "Akira and I have other matters to attend to."

Akira was startled, confused: "What matters?"

Ichibē gave him a penetrating look, then turned to leave. "Follow me and you'll find out."

Akira followed without hesitation.

Watching the two figures disappear down the Omotesandō, Aizen narrowed his eyes.

Something that required such privacy — could it be related to the Soul King?

Before coming, he and Kisuke had made a special visit to the Daireishokairō, gathering all materials about the Soul King for thorough analysis and research.

Though they hadn't reached any definitive conclusions, their discussions had led them to a disturbing hypothesis.

The Soul King wasn't as omnipotent as the intelligence reports claimed. There were things even He couldn't accomplish — things that, remarkably, a certain person could.

Aizen and Kisuke exchanged glances, each recognizing the gravity in the other's eyes.

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Two figures — one stout, one lean — arrived at the Omotesandō's end and stepped onto the central platform.

"What matter needs discussing here?" Akira observed the gathering Reishi as the platform beneath their feet showed signs of activation.

Ichibē turned his head, displaying a meaningful smile.

"The Soul King wishes to see you..."

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