Due to the differences between worlds, some materials that are very common in one may be treasured in another. Undoubtedly, the realm of the Shinigami is one such world. For example, the immortality that Orochimaru pursued is very easily attained in the Shinigami world—whether one becomes a Shinigami or remains one makes little difference to him.
Likewise, the soul damage that does not involve corpse resurrection can also be rapidly healed here.
The food sold in the Seireitei holds no real use for Daniel Davis now, though that does not mean it is useless to others. Although one can obtain plenty through Tsunayashiro Tokinada, since things are rather idle at the moment it's a good opportunity to take a look at Soul Society's system.
In terms of everyday life, the Seireitei is fairly normal—nobles and commoners are strictly divided and hardly interfere with one another, with the Gotei 13 acting as a buffer. Although there are occasional conflicts between the two sides, they have not yet escalated to a life-or-death struggle.
The true chaos in Soul Society lies in Rukongai—especially in those parts of Rukongai far from the Seireitei, where disorder runs rampant. In days past, both Retsu Unohana and Kenpachi Zaraki were infamous ruffians in Rukongai.
Retsu Unohana only joined the Gotei 13 after encountering Captain Yamamoto, while Kenpachi Zaraki came on board after meeting Unohana.
"Glasses-wearing 'Silver Dragonfly'—you really can find all sorts of people."
In the commoner district of the Seireitei, much like the Human World, there are all sorts of shops. Among them is a rather oddly named glasses store frequented by numerous Shinigami—not only by ordinary ones but also by some nobles.
This store is especially interesting because it was established by the former 6th Division Vice-Captain, Yin-Yin Jichirō. His way of thinking is markedly different from that of the Gotei 13. For many Shinigami, becoming the Vice-Captain of the 6th Division is a tremendous honor.
Yet this very man, thanks to the booming success of his side business—the glasses shop—resigned to focus on it full-time. That, in turn, gave Renji an opportunity to become the 6th Division's Vice-Captain; under normal circumstances, Renji would have found it nearly impossible.
After all, the positions of captain and lieutenant can be wrested through sheer power, but that is not the case with a vice-captain. Shinigami—especially the powerful ones—tend to live long lives, so once a position is filled it is rarely vacated unless something unexpected occurs (for instance, the Aizen incident this time, or later the appearance of Yuhabah), which led to numerous changes within the Gotei 13. Otherwise, a Gotei 13 captain is extremely hard to replace.
Of course, the 11th Division was an exception—Zaraki is now the 11th Kenpachi, which shows just how frequently that division changes its captain. In contrast, the 1st Division has never changed, the 2nd Division's Suifeng is a second-generation leader, and the captains of the 8th and 13th Divisions have remained constant.
It is surprising—even to Daniel Davis—that someone would abandon the prestigious post of 6th Division Vice-Captain to run a glasses store. Unfortunately, the glasses in that shop are exorbitantly priced. Although Daniel could afford them, buying a pair would reveal the source of his wealth in Soul Society.
They're so expensive that even Renji, the 6th Division's Vice-Captain, often finds himself unable to afford them; the only one who gets them for free is Byakuya Kuchiki, the 6th Division's captain. Every time Yin-Yin Jichirō invents a new pair, he always sends one to Byakuya—even if Byakuya has never formally accepted it.
Aizen's black-framed glasses were purchased from that very store, as were the goggles of the Female Shinigami Association and the sunglasses of the Male Shinigami Association.
To forsake the position of 6th Division Vice-Captain in order to focus solely on selling glasses can only mean that this man truly loves glasses.
"Thank you all for your help this time."
After Ichigo and the injured members of the Gotei 13 recovered considerably, Ichigo and his companions finally decided to leave. Otherwise, Soul Society would have expelled them—after all, they were all illegal entrants and alive. In fact, if it weren't for needing Orihime Inoue's miraculous power (which even Unohana couldn't help but study with some curiosity), they could have departed long ago.
Before leaving, Toshiro Hitsugaya, on behalf of the Gotei 13, officially recognized Ichigo's position as Acting Shinigami and presented him with the corresponding token. Undoubtedly, that token—like the others—is equipped with tracking and surveillance devices; however, unlike Ginjo Kugo, Ichigo doesn't really mind even if he were to know the truth behind it.
Back in the Human World, at Kisuke Urahara's shop where he had long been waiting, Kisuke immediately prostrated himself upon seeing Ichigo and his group, apologizing profusely to Ichigo.
After Aizen had revealed his true objectives, everyone came to know why Rukia had suffered as she did—it was all because of the Hōgyoku. Had Kisuke Urahara not implanted the Hōgyoku within Rukia, she would never have breached Soul Society's regulations.
Seeing the repentant Kisuke Urahara, Daniel Davis suddenly thought: the reason he has not been appearing publicly in Soul Society is probably to avoid being chased down and slashed. Not to mention, Byakuya Kuchiki will undoubtedly demand justice from Kisuke; even if Rukia is unharmed now, Byakuya will surely later confront Yei Shihōin and Kisuke about it.
Moreover, the captain of the 2nd Division, Suifeng, considers Kisuke Urahara nothing more than a swindler—she believes he tricked Yei Shihōin away from his family. If she were to encounter Kisuke, she certainly wouldn't hesitate to deal him a double-fatal blow.
"Mr. Urahara, there's no need to be so polite. Since Rukia is fine, it's all right. After being away from home for so many days, I should be heading back."
Ichigo—ever the kind soul—and relieved that Rukia ended up unharmed, would not press Kisuke about his deeds. Instead, he found himself a bit worried about his two younger sisters.
Their trip to Soul Society had merely been an excuse for a vacation, and now that they had returned, Ichigo was concerned for his family.
"Then allow me to see you off."
Kisuke Urahara produced a flying carpet and sent each member of the group home. Finally, Daniel Davis and Kisuke exchanged a glance; without a word, they went their separate ways.
Back in the Human World, nothing much had changed for the group. Ichigo continued to carry out his duties as Acting Shinigami, exorcising dangerous Hollows. This time, there was no interference from Ishida Uryū—even though during the battle in Soul Society, Ishida had defeated the 12th Division's captain, Nei Jianli, albeit at the cost of temporarily losing his spiritual power (a predicament somewhat similar to what Ichigo later experienced).
Meanwhile, at the appointed time, Daniel Davis re-entered Soul Society through a boundary-crossing gate.
Such gates are not exclusively controlled by the Gotei 13; many high-ranking nobles in Soul Society have family gates of their own. The Kōmyada family, in particular, needs no introduction.
"So this is the imitation Spirit King's Palace? But this guy, Tsunayashiro Tokinada, never intended to deal with the 0th Division at all—did he really think that, just by virtue of his noble status, he could make the 0th Division obey?"
After arriving in Soul Society, Daniel Davis made his way to a place that Tsunayashiro Tokinada of the Kōmyada family had prepared long ago—a space known as "Gu." What is "Gu"? It is a space formed by the massive accumulation of spiritual particles from souls that missed the chance for reincarnation and did not transform into Hollows.
To this day, countless such Gu spaces—of various sizes—are hidden at the junction of the Human World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo, floating like bubbles at their borders.
Many of the casualties within the Gotei 13, aside from those incurred fighting Hollows, have been caused by these Gu spaces. When passing through a boundary-crossing gate, if one is unlucky enough to encounter phenomena like "Kuryū" or "Kutotsu" and fails to escape in time, one is dragged into a Gu space.
Amid the dense multitude of Gu spaces, even a Shinigami skilled in spatial Kidō would find it difficult to escape.
However, this predicament applies only to ordinary Shinigami. For members of the Four Great Noble Families, the situation is entirely different. Take, for example, Tsunayashiro Tokinada of the Kōmyada family—long ago, he used Kidō to lock onto a Gu space and, with the aid of Dao Yuhen Auwula's abilities, created a replica of the Spirit King's Palace within it.
In contrast to Aizen's creation of the King Key, if one wishes to access the Spirit King's Palace, Tsunayashiro Tokinada's plan is far more thorough—to transform the Gu space into a genuine Spirit King's Palace.
"Aizen probably isn't aware of such a method; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered creating a King Key."
Whether Aizen used Kyōka Suigetsu to hypnotize Tsunayashiro Tokinada, Daniel Davis isn't really sure. After all, once hypnotized, the person you converse with could be anyone—and even searching through memories would reveal nothing but that facade.
But even if he did, since Tsunayashiro Tokinada was confined in the Maggot's Nest at the time, he couldn't have known so much. The subsequent developments were gradually orchestrated by Tsunayashiro Tokinada—all of which began when Dao Yuhen Auwula started acting on his behalf.
Dao Yuhen Auwula is an extraordinarily powerful practitioner of materialization techniques. Even without her unique abilities, her mastery over basic spiritual particle control allows her to turn her body into mist and render herself immune to physical damage.
After all, Aizen isn't a true god; he couldn't be expected to constantly keep an eye on a seemingly arrogant noble disciple. The result was that Tsunayashiro Tokinada ended up being the one to swoop in unexpectedly.
Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu was nullified after Dao Yuhen Auwula stole the Yànluó Mirror Codex for Tsunayashiro Tokinada. In other words, Daniel Davis reckoned that it would now be entirely possible to nullify the Kyōka Suigetsu of all the Gotei 13 members.
"You are… Lord Tsunayashiro Tokinada."
As Daniel Davis sat curiously upon the counterfeit Spirit King's throne, a beautiful young woman with short blue hair—dressed in a white shirt under a black, form-fitting jacket and a white knitted scarf—entered the room.
Seeing Daniel seated on the Spirit King's throne, she paused in slight astonishment before speaking in a measured tone.
"Are you referring to this guy? Here."
Daniel Davis said, waving his left hand. In response, a human head materialized in his palm and he casually tossed it at the feet of Dao Yuhen Auwula.
At that moment, Tsunayashiro Tokinada's eyes were tightly closed, devoid of any consciousness—a clear result of Daniel's doing. Daniel had initially intended to converse with him, but it turned out that the fellow tried to pull a "verbal evasion" on him. Frankly, even someone like Naruto—the master of such evasions—wouldn't have minded, let alone a mere Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
As for the sins of Soul Society's history—what concern is that of his? He isn't even interested in the pirate Laffeduru; a history spanning tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years in Soul Society holds no appeal for him.
In Daniel Davis's view, the selection of the Spirit King was not coincidental but inevitable. Given the circumstances at the time, the Spirit King emerged as a destined, naturally powerful deity with his own mission. Perhaps that is why, even when he glimpsed the future, he did not resist.
Moreover, who can say for sure that the Spirit King truly died? At that level, even faking one's death—like the Ancient One might—would be perfectly normal. Given the abilities of the monks and the five great progenitors at the time, such a ruse would have been impossible to see through. Of course, these are merely suppositions.
Even Yuhabah—after a thousand-year war—returned after a millennium. Moreover, even if one is later fashioned into a Spirit King, their consciousness continues to exist; given enough time, reunification might be possible. Although fate was even harsher this time—when he was directly located and crushed by the child of Ichigo and Orihime Inoue—that still does not guarantee his complete demise.
"You are my new master."
Looking at Tsunayashiro Tokinada's head at her feet, a flash of surprise crossed Dao Yuhen Auwula's eyes before she quickly regained her composure. With her profound mastery over spiritual particles, she naturally sensed that Tsunayashiro Tokinada was not dead—even if he were, his head now belonged to someone else, rendering further thought unnecessary.
"I am not Tsunayashiro Tokinada; I don't harbor such thoughts. Now you are free. You can do whatever you wish."
Although Dao Yuhen Auwula is an extremely formidable practitioner of materialization techniques, Daniel Davis's own unique style ensured that he would never exploit her the way Tsunayashiro Tokinada once did.
"Freedom, huh?"
Daniel's words caused a flicker of confusion in Dao Yuhen Auwula's eyes. At that moment, she had not yet created the later Chanjuan Yanmi, and her feelings remained rather indifferent.
"If you don't have anything pressing to do at the moment, I have a proposal—why not become a teacher at a school?"
Observing Dao Yuhen Auwula's bewildered expression, Daniel put forth his suggestion.
She wasn't a bad person; it was just that her childhood experiences—and her later encounter with Tsunayashiro Tokinada, which bound her by the Lawgiver Contract—had left their mark. If she were to interact frequently with Ichigo and the others, her long-dormant emotions might eventually reawaken, much like the love that later blossomed for Chanjuan Yanmi in the original tale. With him around, there would be no chance for Chanjuan Yanmi to reappear.
"Now you may commence your seclusion."
Assigning Dao Yuhen Auwula the role of teacher is quite straightforward; however, since the new term hasn't begun yet, there's no rush. After agreeing on a time for further contact, Daniel Davis immediately prepared to enter seclusion for training.
Under the guise of Tsunayashiro Tokinada, he procured some equipment from the Kōmyada family. Considering the factor of time, Daniel decided to train by exploiting the differing time flow rates within a Broken Boundary.
Such equipment—which can seal a Broken Boundary—is rarely used in Soul Society unless in an emergency like Ichigo versus Aizen; otherwise, its use is minimal.
"Hadō #995: Dragon Spiral Annihilation!"
Inside the counterfeit Spirit King's Palace within the Gu space, as Daniel chanted, in the valley ahead five black dragons—formed entirely from spiritual pressure—materialized out of thin air, wreaking havoc without restraint.
With the time ratio inside the Broken Boundary being 1:2000, Daniel spent only one month within it. In that time, he completed communication with the spatial rift and mastered all forms of Kidō. Once his objectives were achieved, he decisively exited the Broken Boundary. Such an extreme ratio meant that no one would ever wish to linger there longer.
"This move is rather half-baked—it seems that both Aizen and Kisuke Urahara treated it merely as a facade."
(End of Chapter)
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