The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

Two other Shinigami also supported entering Hueco Mundo for revenge, but their reasons were even more "foolish"—they simply wanted to repay a debt of gratitude.

When they broke through the encirclement of the Hollows, they were all severely injured. If it weren't for Yuuto's treatment, they would probably have died long ago.

To repay Yuto for saving their lives, they stood with him without hesitation and supported his entry into Hueco Mundo to avenge Tomomi.

In the end, the seven parted ways before the Black Hole. Five embarked on a path of no return, while the other two left behind a promise to help conceal their entry into Hueco Mundo to prevent Xing Jun from pursuing them, and entered the portal back to Soul Society.

When they first entered Hueco Mundo, Ashido and the others did not fall directly into the Forest of Menos, but appeared in the desert on the surface of Hueco Mundo. It was only with the guidance of the tracking device that they realized that their enemies might be "underground". It took them a lot of time to finally find the way to the Forest of Menos.

Unexpectedly, since being surrounded last time, everyone's luck seems to have improved a lot. Not long after entering the Great Void Forest, the tracking device sensed the location of their target.

All five of them became excited, and Yu-ren's excitement was mixed with an undisguised joy.

As the provider of the tracking device, Yuto was well aware that, in addition to the Hollow spiritual energy surrounding everyone, Lord Yamei had already placed a wisp of other Hollow spiritual energy into the tracking device, and the owner of that wisp of spiritual energy was his true target for this trip.

[If I can capture that Hollow and bring it back to Soul Society, I can become Lord Yami's husband!]

[If I successfully marry into the Saito family, I can instantly become a high-ranking nobleman. Neither I nor my descendants will have to be forced from birth to bear the fate of "dying for the family!"]

[Damn lower-ranking nobles! What a load of rubbish! What kind of nobles are they, risking their lives for others! Now I can finally break free of these shackles!]

Queyou was incredibly excited, feeling that all his painstaking planning had finally paid off and the fruits of success were about to fall into his hands.

With a subtle glance at his "comrade" beside him, Que Youren tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

The biggest obstacle now is these idiots. Lord Night's orders are to capture them alive; we must not let them kill that Hollow, the key to my becoming a high-ranking noble.

Fortunately, after fighting side-by-side many times before, they have come to believe that my fighting method is to stab my Zanpakuto into my comrade's body, then pull out the wound and transfer it to a Hollow.

[The battle will begin soon. First, have them help weaken that Hollow's fighting power. When the time is right, I'll stab Ibuki through the heart without pulling the knife out of the wound, and take his life in one fell swoop. He has the strongest direct combat power and needs to be dealt with first.]

[Then, I pretended that killing Ibuki wasn't my intention, but rather that a Hollow was secretly controlling my body. Even if Ashido suspected me of betrayal, he couldn't possibly kill his comrade immediately.]

[If there's still a chance to ambush him, I'll kill Asido directly. If not, I'll pretend to be controlled by a Hollow, hold a sword to his neck, and use my "comrade's" life to force him to drop his Zanpakuto.]

[Anyway, with the power of my Zanpakuto, even if my neck is severed, I won't die. I can be more daring when threatening him. As long as Ashido shows an opening for even a moment, I can use Kido to kill him.]

As for the remaining two idiots, I saved their lives. As long as I say I was forced by the Saito family, with their power, forcing them to obey shouldn't be difficult. Even if they refuse to betray me, with their strength, dealing with them shouldn't take much effort.

[It's possible! Let's do it this way!]

Yu Ren's eyes widened with excitement, as if he could already see the identity of a great noble beckoning to him. In the distance, beyond a towering stone forest, the figure of a three-headed Kylian came into view.

I've arrived! The key to the throne of a great noble!

"thorn"

A piercing sound rang out, and Queyou lowered his gaze in disbelief, only to see a sharp blade tip piercing through his chest.

what happens……

The next moment, a dazzling flash of light appeared, and Yuuto's hand, gripping the Zanpakuto, flew high into the air, dripping with fresh blood, as if it were his dream of escaping the prison of a lower-class noble.

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Chapter Sixty-Four: Who is Betraying?

"You must be tired from your journey. Sleep peacefully. In your dreams, there will be no more pain or injustice."

A gentle voice sounded in his ear, but the blade churned and spun mercilessly in his chest. Yu Ren turned his head with difficulty and saw that conspicuous hedgehog head in his field of vision, but his eyebrows and eyes, which should have been tough to the point of being somewhat fierce, were now filled with gentleness.

"Don't be discouraged, don't be disappointed. You didn't do anything wrong. You are already good enough. It's just that class and faction were defined long before we were born. Whether it's you and me or a noble like Lord Night Fate, if we want to cross these boundaries, we must withstand the invincible counterattack of the entire faction."

Yu-ren's vision was already blurred, but the voices around him grew increasingly gentle and solemn, as if a grand farewell ceremony was being held for him.

"Sleep peacefully. It was you who chose to abandon this cruel world, not the world that abandoned you. There is no need to be sad or angry. You will never be alone. Before long, Lord Night Fate will meet you in that world."

Was it me... who abandoned... this cruel world?

Ah, yes, what is there to miss in a world like this?

The world before Yu-ren's eyes finally merged into complete darkness. His body, having lost its support, crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a thin layer of dust.

Ibuki sheathed her Zanpakuto, rubbed her face vigorously, and seemed to instantly transform back into the boisterous, rough-and-tumble Eleventh Division soldier.

"Phew, this set of nonsensical nonsense is really useful in a situation like this. It can easily dismantle the target's will to resist and prevent a desperate counterattack in the face of death. Those guys in the Covert Mobility who never go out on field missions aren't entirely useless after all."

With that, Ibuki took a few steps back, making room for Yuto, and gestured for Asito and the other two Shinigami to "please".

“I won’t do it myself, so you won’t suspect me of framing him. You can search him yourselves. He should have some leftover bait on him to dispose of our bodies. That stuff is enough to prove that the encirclement we encountered was all his doing.”

Asido looked at his old friend of over two hundred years with complicated feelings, only to realize that he had never truly understood this person.

On the first night everyone entered Hueco Mundo, Ibuki was on night watch. On that very night, Ibuki woke up him and two other Shinigami, and then put on a brilliant deduction show in front of them, analyzing why Yuto was so fond of spicy food, why the Hollows had silently surrounded the camp, and finally concluding that everything they had encountered, as well as the deaths of their comrades, was all due to Yuto's conspiracy.

They certainly wouldn't easily believe Ibuki's one-sided story. Besides, Ibuki seemed like a completely different person that night, making him even more suspicious than Yujin.

Until Ibuki pried open a small piece of metal at the end of the hilt of her Zanpakuto, revealing the mark inside that represented the Stealth Force, proving that she served the Stealth Force, and very frankly and directly reintroduced her identity to the three of them.

"Initially, all the Shinigami were nobles. The 13th Division, the largest violent organization in Soul Society, was completely controlled by nobles. However, as the 13th Division continued to expand, more and more commoner Shinigami emerged. Starting three hundred years ago, commoners even began to serve as captains."

"Faced with this situation, the nobles are naturally worried about the 13th Division of the Gotei 13 rebelling. Although the Central 46 Chambers have always been controlled by the nobles, without the support of the 13th Division, the decisions of the 46 Chambers are destined to be impossible to be implemented smoothly."

"Therefore, starting three hundred years ago, the Covert Force began recruiting some commoner Grim Reapers under the instructions of the nobles, arranging them to enter designated squads, secretly monitoring the situation of each squad, and reporting which Grim Reapers were dissatisfied with the higher-ups and which Grim Reapers could not be swayed by 'righteousness', so that Xingjun could accurately strangle these dangerous elements and maintain the stability of each squad."

“I hadn’t even graduated yet when the Covert Forces came to me. To be honest, in the past two hundred years, apart from an occasional intelligence exchange, I’ve hardly ever met anyone from the Covert Forces. I thought I would just stay undercover like this forever, but I never expected that this time the order would be given to me directly, to keep a close watch on the Sparrow and find out his purpose and goals.”

With the Secret Service's identification and this explanation, the three had no choice but to believe that Yuto was the mastermind behind the series of events, and they made a pact with Ibuki not to interfere with his actions when he took action to deal with Yuto.

The other two Shinigami immediately began searching Yuto's clothes for the unused bait that Ibuki had mentioned, while Asido remained motionless, silently gazing at his unfamiliar old friend.

It wasn't until the two Grim Reapers actually revealed the decoy, proving that what Ibuki said was true, and that the deaths of his colleagues were indeed due to their betrayal, that Asido finally spoke.

"Ibuki, why...why did you agree to the Covert Force's offer?"

Asito looked sad, but Ibuki still had her usual cheerful smile.

"Haha, Ashido, you finally asked. I was wondering how long you could hold out. Well, there are two reasons. First, knowing the secret of the Covert Forces, not joining means certain death. I'm afraid of dying, so of course I joined."

"Secondly, even the worst stability is still stability. Maintaining the stability of the Thirteenth Division is much better than having some ambitious person who tries to overthrow the nobles become the captain in the future, causing a bloody rebellion and resulting in countless deaths and injuries."

"By the way, one of these two reasons is true and the other is false. Asido, which one do you think is true?"

Ibuki winked and grinned mischievously.

When Ibuki first joined the Eleventh Division, he was beaten up by his seniors for being too arrogant. When Asido, who was also a newcomer, applied medicine to his face, Ibuki had a bruised and swollen face, and he made a funny face, which successfully made Asido laugh and started their initial friendship.

Now, looking at that familiar, funny smile, Asido can no longer laugh.

Smiling and waiting for a while, but not getting a reply from Ashido, Ibuki shook his head regretfully, lamenting that his old friend had lost his sense of humor at such a young age.

"Never mind, Ashdo, you've become more and more withdrawn ever since you left the Eleventh Division. I'm used to it. You wait here for me, I'll be right back."

With that, Ibuki patted Ashido on the shoulder, used Shunpo to fly to the top of a stone pillar in front of the three Gillians, and waved vigorously with a hearty smile.

"Hey, good evening, you three unknown friends! Have you had dinner yet? Is there any wine with dinner? Speaking of which, you're all so tall, you must be able to drink a ton of alcohol! That would be so much fun!"

Having just witnessed a farcical betrayal, Gu Shi calmly looked at this seemingly harmless Grim Reaper, quietly waiting for him to continue.

Jiro, on the other hand, couldn't help but join in the conversation when he heard Ibuki mention sake, his eyes filled with envy.

"Grim Reaper! Do you have any wine? If so, could you share some with me?"

The hero always drinks and eats meat heartily whenever he eats. Meatball has eaten plenty of meat before, but unfortunately, he can't find any alcohol in Hueco Mundo. He has been craving alcohol, an essential drink for heroes, for a long time.

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Chapter Sixty-Five Protection

Ibuki clearly hadn't expected that a Hollow would actually ask a Shinigami for something. Wasn't he afraid that the alcohol was poisonous? He was taken aback for a moment before quickly laughing it off.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. We were in a rush this time and didn't bring any wine. Next time we come, I'll definitely bring you some good wine!"

Although Erlang was somewhat disappointed, he still nodded to show his understanding.

"Alright, don't forget your promise. By the way, are you good at hand-to-hand combat? If I were surrounded by three people at the same time, one of them would hit my left rib, one would sweep my right leg, and the other would hold the line and wait for me to make a mistake, how would I deal with it using only hand-to-hand combat?"

Leaving aside the topic of wine, Erlang then asked about "martial arts," which was what he cared about most. How to deal with being surrounded by multiple people was a topic he and Gu Shi had been researching recently, but unfortunately they hadn't found a good solution. Now that they had finally met a member of the "Jingling Sect," Erlang couldn't help but start asking him questions.

Gu Shi originally wanted to remain silent so that the other party wouldn't be able to figure out his side's situation. He thought that if he opened his mouth, he might reveal some useful information. But if he remained silent now, Erlang would probably start talking to the other party. Gu Shi gently patted Erlang's head and then looked at Ibuki seriously.

"Alright, my friend, you went so far as to kill another Grim Reaper to appear before me. You can't just do this for the sake of chatting, can you? Speak your mind."

Ibuki was also a bit overwhelmed by Jiro's unconventional behavior. When she heard Gu Shi say this, she quickly coughed a few times and put on a serious attitude to prevent Jiro from continuing to talk to her.

"Ahem, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tendo Ibuki, and I belong to the Stealth Force, serving the nobles of Soul Society. I have come here today on the instructions of you nobles to convey the malice of Soul Society to you."

Gu Shi unconsciously raised his eyebrows. Although he knew that the Grim Reaper could not possibly convey any goodwill to the Hollow, the idea of ​​"conveying malice" still felt strange. If there was really malice, shouldn't they have started fighting directly?

What other means could express malice more bluntly than killing the other person? Why make a point of saying this?

Gu Shi was still pondering when Tian Peng, upon hearing that this guy dared to harbor ill will towards Zhenjun, opened his mouth without hesitation. A crimson flash of light rapidly gathered, ready to blast this damned guy into ashes in the next instant.

At the same time, Jiro's massive body immediately crouched down and rushed towards Ibuki, his blood-red eyes filled with murderous intent, showing no trace of his usual foolishness.

When Ibuki opened her mouth, she was already prepared to be attacked. Therefore, the moment Jiro and Tenpō made a move, she immediately responded, quickly dodging and drawing her Zanpakuto.

At the same time, Ashido, who had been silently watching this side, immediately appeared beside Ibuki with Shunpo. A hint of worry and relief flashed in Ibuki's eyes, and she quickly raised her voice and shouted.

"Could you please ask your partner to stop? I'm just a lowly messenger; I have no ill intentions towards you and have no intention of fighting you!"

Jiro and Tianpeng's attacks did not falter in the slightest despite Ibuki's shouts. Tianpeng's Cero was poised to strike, while Jiro silently blocked Ibuki's evasive maneuvers, forcing him to take the Hollow's Cero head-on.

Ibuki's heart sank. He glanced at his old friend beside him, gritted his teeth, and released his Zanpakuto.

When Ibuki saw that Gu Shi was a Hollow, she was already prepared to sacrifice herself. She didn't expect to get the notoriously violent and bloodthirsty Hollow to let her go with just a few words. However, she felt a little guilty for dragging her friend into the mess.

Just then, Gu Shi spoke up.

"Erlang, Tianpeng, stop for a moment. I want to talk to this Grim Reaper a little longer."

Tianpeng hesitated for a moment, and the red ball in his mouth, which was ready to be launched at any time, gradually shrank and returned to his body as spiritual energy. Erlang immediately flashed behind Ibuki and Asido to prevent them from escaping while talking to Gu Shi.

"My friend, Death, could you explain what 'conveying malice' means?"

Ibuki breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, hesitated for a moment, and considered that even if he and Asido risked their lives, they would not be able to defeat the three-headed Killian who had self-awareness and knew how to cooperate. So he put his Zanpakuto back into its sheath, hoping to reduce the hostility of these Hollows towards him through this action.

Clearing her throat, Ibuki put on a harmless smile again.

"Okay, okay, I'll explain now. Actually, I received two missions from my superiors. The first was to collect evidence of the 'Splendid People' that I killed that traitor and colluded with Hueco Mundo."

"The second is to make contact with the Hollows who are trying to meet with Yuto. If the other party is weak, we should find a way to protect him for a period of time. If the other party is strong, we should remind him that the Soul Society is hostile to him and make him more vigilant."

As she spoke, Ibuki gave a pitiful twitch at the corner of her mouth, revealing a look that was hard to tell whether it was genuine or not.