The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

[Arrogant, just like my own heart.]

Aizen's smile grew even wider, and Kisuke Urahara also lowered his fingers from his temples, revealing a smile similar to Aizen's. He pointed to the locations on the letter and extended an invitation.

"So, senior, should we ask for leave again?"

Chapter 181 The Great Void Ghost Path

"...In short, this is roughly what our experiences have been like since we broke up."

Gu Shi let out a long sigh of relief. Five years of experience, even if only described in general terms, still took him a lot of effort. However, he felt it was still necessary to tell Ulquiorra what had happened since they parted ways.

Things like the Starks, whom you absolutely cannot mess with; the blue crystals used to break the illusion; the Spirit Realm currently under construction in the present world; the Grim Reaper who has become your friend; and the living who possesses the power of the Undying Fullbringer—any one of these things is important enough that even if we don't talk about them now, we'll have to introduce them eventually when we actually encounter them in the future. So let's just explain them all in one go, following the timeline.

Of course, most importantly, he wanted to tell Ulquiorra about his goal of going to the stars and all the efforts he had made for it over the past five years, hoping to persuade Ulquiorra to add a new travel companion to his journey.

It must be said that if you want to confide your troubles, Ulquiorra is a great listener. He can listen to you ramble on for days without interrupting or getting distracted. However, when it comes to telling stories, he can be a bit boring as a listener.

Even though Gu Shi had tried his best to tell the story in a concise and engaging way, Ulquiorra listened to the whole thing without any special reaction. He didn't express any admiration or emotion, or even any comments. He just nodded calmly after Gu Shi finished speaking.

"understood."

"...Alright, it seems we've been apart for too long. I've forgotten how to communicate with you. I need to be more direct when I talk to you."

Gu Shi choked for a moment, couldn't help but roll his eyes, and then coughed twice.

"Ahem, let me put it again, Ur. In the future, I will be going to the stars. It is destined to be a long journey. Once it begins, it will be a long time before I can come back. Would you like to come with me?"

"Of course I'd like to, I'll go with you."

Ulquiorra's expression remained unchanged, but Gu Shi wondered if it was just his imagination, but he seemed to see in Ulquiorra's calm green eyes the meaning of "Why would you ask such a stupid question?"

Gu Shi unconsciously raised his scythe, but then remembered the infuriating guy in front of him. He was now Vastod, and Gu Shi knew he couldn't beat him. So he gently put down his scythe and handed him a blue crystal.

"...Alright, I'm relieved to hear that. Here, this is what's used for Arrancar transformation. Although Jiro and I plan to become Arrancar after becoming Vasto Lordes, Ur, your potential is clearly greater than ours. My personal suggestion is that if you don't have an urgent need for Arrancar, it's best to accumulate experience slowly and try to become an Arrancar independently."

Ulquiorra gently placed his slender fingers on the blue crystal, closed his eyes, and after carefully feeling it for a moment, nodded.

"Let's do it your way. Hmm? Is there something wrong with my hand?"

Withdrawing his gaze from Ulquiorra's fingers, Gu Shi gritted his teeth in slight annoyance.

"It's nothing, just a little jealous."

As he spoke, Gu Shi brandished his large scythe. He hadn't felt it deeply when he first evolved, but the more he moved around in this posture, the more he realized how crucial a pair of flexible, grasping hands was to enable humanity to ultimately stand at the top of the food chain.

Fortunately, he was only a Hollow in mantis form, not a real mantis. Once he readjusted to the increased spiritual pressure and his spiritual power control returned to its pre-evolution level, he could manipulate and shape spiritual power to perform some complex operations in place of his hands.

Ulquiorra tilted his head, not understanding what he could possibly be that Gu Shi was jealous of. But since Gu Shi didn't intend to elaborate, he didn't press further and simply nodded.

"If you need me to do anything, just let me know."

"There's nothing I need your help with right now, but if you have some free time, Ul, you could learn some Kido knowledge from me and see if you can modify some Kido that even Hollows can use."

Gu Shi had complete confidence in Ulquiorra's talent. After all, in the story of "Bleach," even among the Espada, who stood at the pinnacle of the Arrancar, only two people demonstrated superb spiritual power manipulation skills.

One of them is Grimmjow, who can shape spiritual energy into extremely long claws based on his own claws, increasing his attack power and range.

Another one is Ulquiorra, who can shape spiritual energy into weapons such as swords and spears. Moreover, spiritual energy spears do not easily dissipate even when thrown, which shows that he has a unique skill in controlling spiritual energy.

Even compared to the Grim Reaper, whose spiritual power is more peaceful and who is naturally better at controlling it, Ulquiorra's talent should be considered excellent.

Gu Shi was very much looking forward to what surprises Ulquiorra would bring him after he started learning Kido. After all, putting aside the Hado that was specifically used for attack, there were quite a few very useful Kido techniques among the Binddo that were used for defense.

For example, the effect of the Mountain-Reversing Crystal of No. 73 is somewhat similar to an enhanced version of the Four Pillars Technique from Naruto. It can create a "room" with considerable defensive power anytime and anywhere, and it has no requirements for the terrain. It can even be created directly in the air without any problem.

As for the function of this room, it can be used as a defensive position, a medical room, or of course, a warm resting cabin during a journey.

If Ulquiorra can learn this binding technique and make some minor modifications (renovations), when they eventually reach space, they won't have to worry about just drifting around in space when they want to rest.

Gu Shi had full confidence in Ulquiorra, but Ulquiorra himself was not very confident, his eyebrows twitching almost imperceptibly in the middle.

"Is it possible for a Great Hollow to learn the Kido of the Shinigami?"

"Why not? Just watch."

Gu Shi raised an eyebrow and pointed his left paw at Erlang, who was lying on the side listening.

"The Sovereign! Close your eyes, falling rocks, crimson crystals, vile blood engulfing all things! Fourth Path of Destruction, White Lightning!"

As Gu Shi chanted with great momentum, a small amount of spiritual energy gathered at the tip of his claws, and then...

With a "bang," a cloud of black smoke burst out.

"...I thought you would succeed."

Ulquiorra watched as Erlang licked the large cloud of spiritual energy smoke into his stomach like it was a marshmallow, then looked at Gu Shi, who had a calm expression, and a hint of confusion appeared in his clear eyes.

"Before evolution, I could probably succeed once out of ten attempts. After evolution, my control over spiritual power has deteriorated, so I can't succeed anymore."

Gu Shi waved his hand dismissively, showing no embarrassment at the failed demonstration.

"Success or failure is not important. What is important is that I did chant the incantation, mobilized spiritual power, and the two did react to each other. That is enough. As long as there is a reaction, there is a possibility of success."

Gu Shi's explanation sounded like a forced attempt to save face, but Ulquiorra nodded in agreement.

"From a mathematical perspective, as long as the probability is not zero, there is always a possibility of success. What I need to do is simply find a way to increase the probability of success?"

Gu Shi didn't answer, but smiled and nodded, so Ulquiorra nodded as well.

"give it to me."

"Alright! So for today's story time, let's talk about Naruto. You might be able to refer to the ninjutsu mentioned in it!"

Ulquiorra remained calm, while Jiro had already let out an excited shout.

"Oh! A new story!"

Chapter 182 Friends

"Ryota, I killed someone."

Looking at the boy in front of him with blood-stained clothes, Ryota frowned and pulled him behind a haystack.

"Who was killed? Did anyone see it?"

Killing people is not a big deal. Almost every year, several people in the village are eaten by wild boars or wolves, or killed by passing ronin samurai.

So, if it's just murder, all you have to do is drag the body to a secluded place, cut open the stomach and let the smell of blood spread. Overnight, the wild animals in the forest will make it disappear without a trace. Afterwards, everyone will just say that the person was unlucky and won't investigate further.

The murderous boy had empty eyes, clearly trapped in some kind of deep despair. When he heard Ryota's question, he could only utter a low, dreamlike murmur.

“It’s Yuuki. He bullied me again today, saying that my eyes were annoying and that he wanted to gouge them out. I pushed him, and he hit the sharp corner of a farm tool and died. His henchman was right next to him when he died.”

Ryota's brows furrowed even more. Yuuki's father, Saburo, was a henchman for adults in the city. Every year during the harvest season, he would return to the village with a large group of men armed with weapons. Since Saburo had also grown up in the village, he knew exactly where things could be hidden. He was always able to find the grain that everyone had hidden. The leader of the henchmen always praised him for this, and usually no one in the village dared to mess with him.

Killing Uncle Sanlang's son, and being seen by someone, things are getting a bit complicated.

Ryota gripped the scythe tightly in his hand and slapped the boy's shoulder hard with his other hand.

"Lead the way! We must kill those bastards before they betray us!"

The boy trembled, a hint of fear flickering in his empty eyes, which quickly turned into a glimmer of hope. He nodded firmly and turned to lead the way without hesitation.

However, after running only a few steps, Ryota suddenly stopped, grabbed the boy's hand, and pulled him into the shadow of a thatched hut.

"It's no use! Judging from the noise, the village is in chaos. Those bastards have already spread the word. We have no choice but to run!"

The boy trembled. He hadn't heard anything, but he didn't question Ryota's words. As his best friend, he knew very well that Ryota's five senses were naturally stronger than the average person's, so it wasn't surprising that he could hear sounds that he couldn't.

Ryota glanced to the side of the two of them, where a man with an iron chain hanging from his chest was screaming madly at them with a ferocious expression.

"It's no use! You can't escape! My father already knows, you're all going to die! No one will live!"

Thank you for the information, you scoundrel Yuuki.

Turning his gaze away, Ryota grabbed his friend's hand and ran towards the nearby forest.

Using the trees as cover, the two successfully evaded the thugs who rushed out of the village in a chaotic manner a few minutes later. They hid here and there until nightfall. As always, the moon rose high in the sky, and the two hungry boys sat silently on the branches of a high tree.

"Ryota, can we really escape?"

"Of course! Although Uncle Sanlang seems very important in our village, he is just an ordinary thug in the end. As long as we can escape to another village, he will not be a threat to us."

Ryota chewed on a dry, yellowed leaf, using its bitter taste to suppress his unbearable hunger. His last meal was the night before. He had spent most of the day gathering firewood and running through the forest for a long time. Finally, to avoid possible wild animals and searches, he climbed up a high tree branch. He was so hungry that his stomach ached.

It's a pity that it's already late autumn, and all the edible fruits have been picked and sent to the lords in the city. Otherwise, we could have picked a few fruits to fill our stomachs.

"Ryota, are you hungry? I'm so hungry."

"Of course we're hungry. Let's bear with it for now. We'll go raid the squirrel's nest when it gets light. If we're lucky, we should be able to find something to eat."

"What if you can't find it?"

"Then let's go catch fish, but there's a risk of being discovered if we start a fire, and we'll probably have to eat them raw then."

"I don't want to eat raw meat."

"...Don't be willful."

"Ryota probably didn't want this either, right?"

"What do you want to say?"

"If Ryota hadn't helped me, hadn't run away with me, you wouldn't be suffering like this, right?"

"Don't talk nonsense, we are friends."

"During the day, I was terrified and instinctively ran to Ryota for help. Now, looking at the moon, I've finally calmed down."

"...Don't overthink it. Come sit over here. The wind is too cold tonight. We'll be warmer if we sit together."

“We really are best friends. Ryota must have guessed what I was thinking, right?”

"Don't move, I'm coming over to you."

"By resting on different branches, even if one of them is discovered, the other can take the opportunity to escape or rescue them. That's what Ryota himself said."

"I've changed my mind. Anyway, don't do anything!"

"Take my body back with you, Ryota. Maybe Uncle Saburo will reward you with some food."

As soon as the words were spoken, the dark figure fell from the high tree branch, flying headfirst to the ground. Immediately afterwards, a dull thud and the sound of bones breaking rang out at the same time.

Looking at the dark figure lying on the ground, tears streamed down Ryota's face. He was sad and in pain, but not desperate. He knew this was not goodbye forever.