Bleach: Starting with Marrying Retsu Unohana

Araki looked at the young man in front of him, whose appearance was not exactly the same as that of Kurosaki Ichigo in later generations, but was practically a completely new character with different hair color and personality. His eyes twitched slightly, and he thought to himself, "I have to say, the Shiba family's genes are indeed quite strong! Just like the entire Shihouin family with dark skin, I admire them."

"Then let's go!"

Hyosube Ichibei walked around to the side of Araki's waist where his Zanpakuto wasn't tucked in, hooked his arm around Araki's shoulder, and together with Wang Yue, entered the Heavenly Pillar, the exclusive vehicle of the 'Zero Squad'.

"goodbye!"

Just as everyone boarded the Heavenly Pillar Chariot, the current head of the Shiba family, holding a torch, lit the cannon!

"Boom!!"

With a muffled thud, the Heavenly Pillar, aided by the Shiba Cannon, spiraled and twisted its way into the sky.

"Is this really alright?!"

The Shinigami soldiers' eyelids twitched slightly as they watched the heavenly pillar chariot ascend into the sky, thinking to themselves that the legendary 'Zero Division' seemed even more unreliable than they had imagined.

"Lord Genryusai!"

After the Heavenly Pillar Chariot ascended to the heavens, Sparrowbead nervously looked at Genryusai, hoping to get a reason from him for Araki's move to the Zero Division. He didn't want to never see Araki again.

"Don't worry! Leave everything to Araki."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Liuzhai gently patted Quebu's shoulder.

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Chapter 50 Sugar-Coated Bullets from the Monk

There are 72 barriers between the Soul King Palace and the Seireitei, which require a King Key to break through.

In other words, it is completely impossible for an ordinary Shinigami to fly to the Soul King's Palace using equipment similar to that used by Yoruichi Shihouin in the original work, or to fly to the Soul King's Palace on their own, or to climb up the Soul King's Palace little by little by gathering or manipulating spirit particles like a Quincy or a Fullbringer.

Even Aizen, whose wisdom is close to that of a god, or Yhwach, who is himself a son of a god, could not bypass those 72 barriers! In other words, the "King's Key" is indispensable to enter the Soul King Palace. As for the so-called "King's Key," it is the skeleton of the Zero Division members that has been reforged by the power of the Soul King after they have been successfully selected.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the Heavenly Pillar Carriage, blasted up by the Shiba Cannon, finally landed on the main approach of the Spirit King Palace.

"arrive!"

As the gates of the Heavenly Pillar Chariot opened, the monk was the first to step out, leaving Araki with a seemingly dashing silhouette.

"..."

Araki frowned slightly as he looked at the Zero Division insignia on the monk's back. He hadn't noticed it much before, but now, seeing it up close, he realized that the arrangement of the four serrated dots on the Zero Division insignia was exactly the same as the four pupils in the Spirit King's eyes. Araki didn't say anything, but followed closely behind the monk…

The moment Araki stepped into the outer path of the Spirit King Palace, he felt an invisible spiritual pressure descend upon him. The density of spiritual energy in the Spirit King Palace far surpassed that of the Soul Society and even the Seireitei! It's likely that some people with weaker spiritual bodies or spiritual pressure would find it difficult to move an inch here.

"Celebrate! This is no ordinary place that death can bring!"

As the monk moved forward, he gave Araki a look that said, "You really hit the jackpot by getting here."

"That's truly an honor."

While adapting to the concentration of spirit particles in the Spirit King Palace, Araki gave the monk a perfunctory reply.

"This is Omotesando. You can think of this as a transit station. Now look up... those two things in the sky that look like pot lids are my and Nimaiya Oetsu's detached palace. The one at the very top that looks like a tower is called the Rei-o Grand Palace. That's where the Rei-o rests. Strictly speaking, that's the real Rei-o Palace."

The monk seemed unaware of the difference in the density of spiritual particles in the air, or perhaps he was already accustomed to the density of spiritual particles in the Spirit King Palace. As he strode forward, he introduced the situation to Araki behind him.

"Um……"

Araki followed behind the monk, and as the monk spoke, he looked up and saw two pot-lid-like objects and a palace that looked like a tower.

Araki was already prepared for the scene before him. At the same time, by observing the only two pot lids in the air (the departure of the Zero Division members), Araki could confirm that the Zero Division indeed only had two members at the moment.

"The heart of a member of Squad Zero?"

Araki narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed at the detached palace. He knew that the detached palace was not simple. The detached palace of the Zero Division was not only a place for the members of the Zero Division to rest, live, and work, but also the foundation of the Zero Division's life. As long as the detached palace of the Zero Division members was not destroyed, then the members of the Zero Division would be like immortals, and even if they were killed, they would have a way to be resurrected...

In other words, the Zero Division's physical bodies are not important; their detached palaces are the most important. So if you really want to be enemies with the Zero Division, after defeating all the members of the Zero Division, don't forget to destroy the detached palaces of the Zero Division members to prevent these guys from being resurrected after death, especially the detached palace of the monk.

"I have a feeling that Araki is thinking about something extremely dangerous right now."

The monk who was explaining the components of the Spirit King Palace to Araki suddenly shivered as Araki gazed at the palace in the sky, lost in thought. He turned around and saw Araki squinting slightly at the palace in the sky...

Suddenly, a few beads of cold sweat involuntarily appeared on the monk's forehead. He felt as if Araki had completely seen through his secret with Nimaiya Oetsu.

"Speaking of which, where did the 'Sword God' go?!"

Araki did not answer the monk's question. After surveying the surroundings, he suddenly noticed that the figure of "Sword God" Nimaiya Oetsu seemed to be missing, so he asked the monk.

"Wang Yue? I asked him to go get something for me. You don't need to worry about him, just keep coming with me!"

Upon hearing this, the monk opened his big eyes and looked around. After confirming that Oue Nimaiya was indeed not there, he explained to Araki.

"Oh."

Araki nodded slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't believe a word the monk said.

That old monk is a wicked man! Don't trust him.

"So, shall we go to the Spirit King's palace to pay our respects to His Majesty the Spirit King first?"

Araki asked the monk.

"Not for now! Come with me to my detached palace first; I have something to give you."

The monk shook his head slightly upon hearing this, seemingly having his own plan.

"Oh?! Wasn't it to test whether my ability would work on Lord Spirit King? How can I know whether my ability is effective against Lord Spirit King if I don't meet him?!"

Araki raised an eyebrow at the monk, his wariness of him had never let down until now.

"Your spiritual pressure is too weak right now! With your current strength, even if your abilities could truly influence Lord Spirit King, you wouldn't be able to collect all the fragments Lord Spirit King lost and then piece them back together on Lord Spirit King's body..."

"Therefore, before I allow you to meet the Spirit King, I believe it is necessary to first elevate your strength to the pinnacle of the concept of 'Death God'!"

The monk explained to Araki the fundamental reason why Araki should first go to his detached palace before going to the King's inner palace to pay his respects to the King...

That is because Araki's spiritual pressure was too weak. Although Araki had reached the level of second-grade spiritual power, unfortunately it was not enough to catch the monk's eye.

"The pinnacle of the concept of 'Death God,' in other words, is First-Class Spiritual Might?!"

After listening to the monk's words, Araki's expression finally changed.

"exactly!"

Seeing Araki's surprised expression, the monk nodded with a simple smile.

The number of people with 'First-Class Spiritual Power' in the entire Soul Society's Gotei 13 is extremely small. Even if you include the 'Soul King Palace' Zero Division, the number of people with this level of spiritual pressure is definitely less than one hand's width!

When a Shinigami's spiritual pressure reaches this level, they will not die easily. Once they die, they will directly break the balance of the three realms and even cause a huge crisis that will overthrow the three realms!

"interesting!"

Araki's lips curled up slightly upon hearing this.

Araki knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. The monk's seemingly kind intention to help him improve his strength was likely a ploy to use him for some other purpose. The so-called improvement in strength was nothing more than a pretext. Araki's attitude towards the monk was: take the bait, and return the bait!

"It seems you've already made up your mind, Araki-kun."

The monk smiled back as he looked at Araki, who was smiling.

"of course."

Araki nodded slightly. "When it's time to be brave, you have to be brave."

A tiger sees no ravine, but a coward sees only obstacles!

(The level settings of Spirit Power in this book have been slightly modified because the current settings of Spirit Power are not complete. Consider this a secondary setting!)

This book positions the old man and the sister, who are described by Szayelaporro as having powerful spiritual pressure in the "Hellish Roaring Chapter," as first-class spirits. Of course, even though they are both first-class spirits, there are huge differences between the old man and the sister.

Then, from Thrall's mouth, Yhwach and Aizen, who were powerful enough to suppress the Gates of Hell, opened a new level of spiritual pressure, called "Special Grade" or "Wedge Grade," which is enough to replace the Soul King as the "Wedge" level of stabilizing the three realms.

Otherwise, there would be too many people at the second level of spiritual power, with their strength fluctuating too much. It would really become a situation where there are half-step second level, early second level, mid second level, great perfection second level, half-step first level, and so on. That would be too embarrassing...

Thank you to reader Bingxiaoli for the 100-coin reward!

Chapter 51 'Ghoul' (or 'Ku-ku')

Spirit King Palace...

In the detached palace of Hyosube Ichibei, whose real name is Hosho.

After reaching a consensus, Araki and the monk finally arrived here via Omotesando.

At this moment, both of them understood each other implicitly. The monk needed Araki to improve his strength so that he could accomplish certain nefarious tasks, while Araki needed the monk to help him improve his own strength...

Suddenly, an old fox and a little fox arrived at this place of cultivation.

"Araki, the power within you is far too complex: the power of the 'Shinigami' (Zanpakuto), the power from the Soul King's shattered skin (Fullbring), that unknown power originating from the spirit (Haki), and the power that can piece everything together (Op-Op Fruit)..."

"To be honest, in my millions of years in Soul Society, I have never seen anyone like you who has fused so many powers within their body, yet still manages to make these powers blend together so harmoniously! However, what makes you great is also what makes you weak. To reach a new level, you must unify the powers within your body and 'specialize in one'..."

The monk seemed to have already seen through Araki's abilities. After circling Araki three times, he first nodded and then shook his head repeatedly. It seemed that in the monk's opinion, Araki's power was too much, and to become stronger, it needed to be simplified.

"What are you planning to do?!"

Araki remained noncommittal, but knowing that the monk must have a solution since he had brought it up, he looked at the monk and asked.

"I will use the power of the Spirit King to reshape your body and unify all your power with the power of the Spirit King. However, this process is somewhat risky. What do you think?!"

"Of course, even in the worst-case scenario, I can forcibly use the power of the Spirit King to reshape your body, forging the 'Royal Key' and the 'Palace of Departure,' and use my power to 'recall' you back into this world..."

Instead of helping Araki make the choice right away, the monk let Araki decide for himself whether or not to undergo the reshaping of the 'Spirit King' power.

"..." Araki ignored the monk and instead began communicating with something while holding his Zanpakuto. After about several tens of seconds, Araki looked at the monk and said, "Alright! Let's do it your way."

Araki's Zanpakuto judged that the monk had not uttered a single lie from beginning to end; no one can lie before the 'Buddha'! Since meeting the monk, Araki had never turned off this ability, and he had also secretly tested the monk several times. Only after confirming that the monk was not acting did he feel at ease!

Not only that, Araki's advanced Observation Haki and his ability to foresee the future have never stopped. It can be said that Araki has done everything he can to the extreme...

There was no other way; Araki was facing a monk, an old monster from the same era as the 'Spirit King' and the 'Five Great Noble Ancestors'. The slightest carelessness could lead to his downfall.

"Now that you've made your choice, let's begin!"

As the monk spoke, his scarlet eyes suddenly turned pale, and in an instant, the entire monk's detached palace began to tremble.

half an hour...

"It's starting already?!"