I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

Chapter 117: Shihōin Hyōgetsu's Awakening

Theoretically speaking, this barrier should be a place like a boss room.

However, Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu made this boss room journey quite casual.

Anyway, nobody can see it...

So Aizen began to devote himself to studying the Soul King's torrent.

Meanwhile, Mima began to study the talismans carried by the remaining seven barrier maintainers.

This is a very interesting thing. It consumes little energy, is easy to release (for an expert like him), and has good effects.

After all, there is only one messenger token, but he has three bodies, all of which require shielding from spiritual pressure. This talisman can solve his immediate problem.

The peaceful research continued for some time, and both Yama and Aizen made progress. But just then, a group of uninvited guests suddenly arrived.

Chunshui and Fuzhu were about ten minutes away from the barrier. The newcomers were disguised in stealth mode and carried a wooden box with great care. After reaching the vicinity of the barrier, they gave several secret signals in sign language.

One of the people maintaining the barrier immediately stood up and, as if granted a pardon, walked to the edge of the barrier and opened a gap in it that allowed several people to enter side by side.

Several stealthy motorized vehicles filed in!

Mima glanced at Aizen.

Aizen understood immediately.

"Don't worry." Aizen adjusted his glasses and chuckled. "They're all acquaintances of the Shihouin family; they won't recognize us."

The implication is that this group of people were also caught in a mirage and couldn't see the two of them.

Then Mi Zhen was relieved.

After a brief exchange, both of their eyes turned to the boxes the group of people were carrying.

The box emanated a strange spiritual pressure that seemed inanimate, and it was unclear what it contained.

"You've finally arrived." The middle-aged man who stepped forward to greet us wiped the sweat from his forehead. "If you hadn't come, we wouldn't have been able to hold on any longer."

The stealth fighter, who was about to engage in combat, said nothing, but turned his gaze towards the cabin: "Lord Baiyue's condition..."

"It's hard to say." The middle-aged man sighed and said, "I don't know what happened just now, but the Wencang family head has been killed—in my opinion, Lord Baiyue will probably regain full consciousness soon!"

“It’s alright, our mission is about to end.” The member of the Covert Force lifted the box in his hand. “After we set off, it seems something big happened in Seireitei. We were ordered to deliver the goods and then leave immediately, without worrying about the barrier anymore.”

"So..." the middle-aged man said excitedly, "it means we can retreat now?"

The man in the covert operation nodded.

The seven people maintaining the barrier were immediately overjoyed.

"..."

Mima frowned, but it didn't take long for her to figure out the crux of the matter.

Based on the information I gleaned from the memories of several barrier maintainers, the Shihouin family used a special method to put Shihouin Momotsuki into this sleepwalking state, and the way to awaken her was to return her Zanpakuto, "Honeba."

Once this woman, whose goal is to destroy the world, wakes up, everyone knows what she's going to do.

It seems that old bastard Rokuki Shihouin wants Hyakugetsu Shihouin to run rampant in Rukongai.

The Gotei 13 will not allow this to happen and will definitely have to find a way to resolve it.

With Shihouin Hyakugetsu's strength, one or two captains would be no match for her. In the end, she might even need the old man from the mountain to come to her aid.

The old man of the mountain had already exhausted a lot of spiritual pressure in his battle with the Dark Azure Mage. Even if he won, he would definitely be seriously injured. On the other hand, Shihouin Hyakugetsu was in perfect condition. Given this disparity, they might even have a chance to ambush the old man of the mountain.

At the very least, they could take down Kyoraku or Ukitake... That's probably what Rokuki Shihōin was thinking.

Since the Shihōin family has already absolved themselves of all responsibility, they might as well take advantage of any opportunity they can.

Mi Zhen clicked his tongue: "What a treacherous old man..."

"But undeniably, this plan was very effective, wasn't it?"

Aizen, who had clearly thought it through, said this.

Mi Zhen sneered, "The more they act like this, the more I want to see their true colors when their conspiracy fails!"

Aizen smiled noncommittally and walked into the crowd with Yama, watching as the Hidden Force personnel placed the wooden crate on the ground and then cautiously opened it.

"Huh?"

As expected, the contents of the box were the Zanpakuto that had always been with Shihouin Hyakutsuki and was confiscated by the 46th Chamber after her arrest.

Bone Eater!

After the box was opened, the nobles and their subordinates who were surrounding it suddenly fell silent.

They looked at each other, a palpable unease spreading through the crowd, eventually culminating in a simple yet deadly question.

"This……"

The middle-aged man responsible for maintaining the barrier swallowed hard: "Who will send this thing over?"

The people from Tsunayoshiro's side looked at the people from Shihouin's side, their meaning being roughly: since you've already delivered the goods here, then finish the job.

The people from Shihōin remained unmoved, and no one touched the box on the ground!

Everyone present clearly knows the formidable reputation of Shihouin Hyakugetsu, and they have all thought of that crucial question.

What if she wakes up immediately after getting her Zanpakuto?

Wouldn't the person who delivers the knife then become the meat that jumps into the mouth of a wild beast?

The two bystanders who had inadvertently joined in were also pondering the situation.

"Should we intercept it?"

Aizen stroked his chin and said, "This thing seems to be able to awaken Shihouin Hyakugetsu."

“That makes sense.” Mima nodded. “If we wake her up now, it will indeed…”

Everyone present was thinking of a solution.

But this solution was delivered to our doorstep the very next second.

Suddenly, the red mist flowing in the air stopped.

A crisp sound, like the cracking of bones, came from the wooden house.

Everyone froze, and they all turned to look at each other simultaneously.

—The black shadow that should have been calm suddenly began to stir and churn as if boiling!

"what……"

A dreamlike groan came from inside the wooden house: "It's been a long time, Honebami."

Immediately afterwards, the Zanpakuto inside the box suddenly shone brightly and shot into the sky!

It joyfully soared high into the air!

It easily drilled a hole in the barrier, then moved directly above the cabin and crashed down with the force of thunder!

The immense kinetic energy instantly blasted the roof of the wooden house, turning the old building into a convertible. The restless black shadows spread outwards like a tidal wave after Honebami fell into the house.

The speed was astonishing; it almost covered the entire barrier in a very short time.

Mi Zhen decisively waved her hand: "Retreat!"

Without a second's hesitation, he and Aizen retreated to the edge of the barrier, clinging to the crest of the wave. With a casual wave of his hand, he used the method he had just developed to create a hole in the barrier, and together with Aizen, they withdrew.

The wave receded more than a hundred meters in one go before its momentum finally stopped.

The barrier shattered like glass under the impact of the waves!

"It seems... the trouble has finally happened."

Mima, who had retreated to a distant grove of trees, crossed her arms and asked, "So? Can your abilities fool her?"

"It's hard to say." Aizen shrugged. "Although I think there's no problem, who knows if the Soul King's torrent might grant her the ability to see through illusions?"

"You mean '50/50'?"

Mima didn't mind, "Then let's keep watching."

In the place that was originally enclosed by the barrier, the red mist had completely dissipated. A dozen or so noble subordinates were bound by the black shadows that had turned into waves, unable to move, like rats on a sticky board. A petite figure wearing a black robe stood up from the original site of the wooden house.

Then, slowly, step by step, they approached the noble subordinates who had been captured by the waves.

Unexpectedly, when she regained consciousness, there was no violent emotion on her face. Instead, she smiled slightly like a young girl, completely different from the image of her who killed people at the drop of a hat in the historical travelogue!

Could it be that being imprisoned in the Avici Hell for a thousand years has had some influence on her personality?

Unlike the calm and thoughtful Mizhen, the imprisoned crowd was terrified and not a single one dared to speak.

"really interesting."

She lifted the mask of a covert combat member.

It was a dark-skinned man with long, light purple hair, who clearly had some of the Shihōin bloodline.

Perhaps it was the sense of kinship brought about by shared blood, but Mima saw her stand on tiptoe, reach out, and touch the forehead of the member of the Covert Force twice—

Then, with a gentle poke of his fingertip, he pierced the skull like a hot knife through butter, and stirred his slender finger inside the brain a few times.

The victim convulsed violently a few times, then rolled his eyes back and collapsed, clearly not going to survive.

Meanwhile, Shihouin Hyakugetsu gently licked his fingers, which were stained with blood and brain matter, and then revealed a satisfied smile.

"I see, so it's already the twenty-second generation?"

Okay, I take back what I said earlier.

He was also a serial killer.

Faced with such a horrific method of murder, the middle-aged man from the Tsunayo family finally broke down and let out a mournful cry like a chicken squawking.

So Shihouin Hyakugetsu immediately turned his gaze to him.

“I don’t like people making noise in front of me, especially the Tsunayo family.”

She sighed, then gently raised the bone-devouring beast she was holding: "Speaking of which, this child hasn't eaten for over a thousand years since being imprisoned in the Abyss—so, I'm sorry to trouble you!"

After saying that, Shihouin Hyakugetsu casually pushed Honebami forward, cutting a shallow wound on the middle-aged man.