"Then it's decided. I'll be waiting for you in the World of the Living. When you arrive, make sure not to cause trouble. You can come find me in a city called Karakura Town, or leave a mark and I'll come find you." Natsuro reminded them.
"Understood." Ulquiorra nodded seriously.
As for the "mark," Natsuro finally waved his hand, and Umbreon appeared out of thin air, scurrying along his arm before perching on his shoulder and rubbing its face against his cheek.
Ulquiorra and Starrk froze, stunned. They hadn't noticed how the creature had even appeared.
As expected, everything around him remained shrouded in mystery. There were still so many things about him they didn't know.
"The mark will take the form of Umbreon," Natsuro said, rubbing the little creature. After all, there was only one Moon Spirit in the world, and it was unique.
Starrk and Ulquiorra studied Umbreon carefully and nodded. When the time came, they would use spiritual power to replicate its likeness and engrave it as a sign.
"Then, I'll see you in the World of the Living."
With that settled, Natsuro spoke, and with Umbreon's aid, he opened a spatial gate and stepped through.
This time, his destination was, the World of the Living.
After he left, Starrk and Ulquiorra exchanged a glance, then set off together into the distance.
From here on, they too would have to train hard, working toward the day they could visit the Living World.
.....
World of the Living.
Natsuro once again returned to the house in Karakura Town that Kisuke Urahara had bought for him.
"It really has been a while since I last came back." He looked at the dust settling inside and the overgrown weeds in the yard.
He wasn't in a rush to head to Urahara's shop and borrow power from the Hōgyoku. Stroking the tired Moon Spirit, he said, "Go rest for a while, or play in the yard."
"Gula?" Umbreon tilted its head at him.
"I'm going to do some cleaning first," Natsuro said. He wasn't a neat freak, but he couldn't stand living in such a mess.
Besides, the World of the Living was different from Soul Society. In Soul Society, he could simply sweep everything away with spiritual power.
After all, everything in Soul Society, dust included was ultimately composed of reishi, making cleaning convenient. And the gardens there? Mostly managed by Unohana.
But here, everything was made of atoms, so reiryoku wasn't nearly as useful.
Truthfully, the Living World and Soul Society were nearly identical, the difference being that one was built of reishi, the other of atoms.
But the reishi of Soul Society could be absorbed by Shinigami for training, whereas atoms in the Living World held no such benefit.
That thought led him to another... if Soul Society and reality were so alike then why was it that gifted residents of Soul Society could become Shinigami while no one in the Living World, gifted or not, had a path unique to humans?
Maybe it simply hadn't been discovered yet?
Natsuro vaguely recalled that humans did possess strange powers. They weren't Quincy (since Fullbring required Hollow power), but as far as he remembered, pure humans among the Shinigami truly couldn't train.
"A contradictory memory…" He shook his head, letting it go. Perhaps the truth would come later.
By then, Umbreon had already bounded outside, happily running about the tall weeds in the yard.
Natsuro chuckled, picked up tools, and began a long-overdue cleaning.
Soon the house was spotless again, and he nodded in satisfaction.
"Umbreon." He called and the little creature, bounding around the grass like a cheerful puppy, darted over to him.
This time it didn't use spatial abilities, but simply ran over and leapt onto his shoulder.
Seeing its joy, he confirmed again that Umbreon was indeed guided primarily by the version he had created.
After all, if it truly were Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, how could it possibly act like this?
"I'm heading over to Urahara's shop. Do you want to come with me or stay here and play?" he asked.
"Gula!"
"Coming with me, huh? Alright then, let's go." He scratched under its chin, smiling at its content expression, and walked toward Urahara's shop.
"Yare yare, a rare guest indeed. You've come to the Living World again? Were you punished to guard this place once more?"
When Natsuro pushed open the door of Urahara's shop, he found Kisuke sitting there.
Urahara froze for a moment. He had assumed that after Natsuro's last return to Soul Society, he wouldn't visit the Living World often again. Yet…
Just a few months, less than a year, and here he was again.
"No, I snuck out." Natsuro replied as he sat opposite Kisuke and tossed him a bottle of sake.
"Hm? Dassai sake?" Kisuke blinked as he caught it. He wasn't exactly fond of alcohol.
"I left in a hurry, didn't have time to prepare a proper gift. Make do with this," Natsuro said.
"Well, you're too polite, Natsuro! Then I won't hold back!" Kisuke laughed heartily.
"Yoruichi, bring two cups." he called.
At that moment, a little girl with twin braids, broom in hand, appeared before them. She nodded blankly and left, seemingly to fetch cups.
"You're employing child labor, that's illegal," Natsuro commented, watching Ururu's back.
"Come now, you can tell she's not a normal human," Kisuke replied with a smile.
Natsuro nodded. Of course he could tell, Ururu wasn't completely human, likely another of Kisuke's creations. Like Isshin Kurosaki's gigai, though Natsuro didn't know where her soul came from, nor did he care to ask.
"Don't accuse me of breaking the rules, you're just as guilty. Entering the Living World without orders isn't allowed either." Kisuke smirked. For someone with Natsuro's spatial abilities, slipping in undetected was far too easy.
"I had business here," Natsuro said.
"Then what brings you to me?" Kisuke cut straight to the point.
After all, Natsuro often visited before without ever bringing gifts. This time, not only had he brought sake, it was an expensive vintage.
To say he had come just to chat, Kisuke didn't buy it.
"I wanted to ask… do you have any spare rooms here?" Natsuro asked suddenly. He thought perhaps staying at Kisuke's shop would make his transformation faster.
"Hm? Don't you already have a house?" Kisuke was taken aback, completely failing to understand what he meant.
"Living here just makes what I need to do more convenient. Don't worry, I'll pay rent," Natsuro said, raising an eyebrow.
"Can I at least ask what exactly you're planning to do?" Kisuke pressed, still unable to figure it out.
"That… I'd rather not say. If I told you, I think you'd kick me out." Natsuro said casually. He couldn't exactly admit he planned to sponge off the Hōgyoku, could he?
"That only makes me more curious." Kisuke lowered the brim of his hat, deep in thought. But with all the information he had, he still couldn't guess what Natsuro was after.
"In that case, I'm sorry. I can't offer lodging to someone with an unknown agenda." After a pause, Kisuke declined.
"Then forget it." Natsuro shrugged. He wasn't in a hurry anyway, he'd just be dropping by more often.
After all, Kisuke might refuse him a room, but could he really refuse him visits?
If it came to that, he could always just take the Hōgyoku by force, it'd be simpler. But unless necessary, he preferred not to.
His easy acceptance only confused Kisuke further.
"Kisuke, could you ever accept Hollows?" Natsuro asked suddenly.
Kisuke frowned. "Well, before coming to the Living World, I was a Shinigami."
"But Shinigami and Hollows aren't natural enemies."
"True, but that doesn't mean I have any reason to accept them," Kisuke countered.
"That's fair," Natsuro nodded, thinking of ordinary Hollows, driven by instinct, violent and brutal, certainly hard to accept. But…
"What if a Hollow gained Shinigami powers, and regained its rational mind?" Natsuro smiled at him.
Kisuke froze, his eyes sharpening as he fixed them on him. His voice dropped low: "What exactly have you done?"
He was worried Natsuro had created something akin to the Hōgyoku himself, breaking the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow.
"I went to Hueco Mundo, and met two interesting Hollows. One of them, when I encountered him, already had the form of a Shinigami, only with a trace of Hollow features left." Natsuro recalled his first meeting with Starrk.
"That's impossible!" Kisuke frowned. He had spent years developing a way for Shinigami to break their limits, namely, Hollowfication.
The counterpart, naturally, would be Hollow Shinigamification. But Shinigami required the Hōgyoku to Hollowfy, how could a Hollow Shinigamify on its own?
"I thought it was impossible too. At first, after seeing the Visored, I only wanted to test whether Hollows could evolve the other way. And then, I met him." Natsuro sighed in amazement.
Kisuke frowned. He had the distinct feeling that Natsuro wasn't lying, nor did he have any reason to.
"Can you tell me what exactly you did after going to Hueco Mundo?" Kisuke asked.
"Of course." Natsuro didn't refuse. After thinking for a moment, he said:
"When I arrived in Hueco Mundo, I first took the initiative to help some Hollows undergo Arrancarization, that is, breaking their masks. But most of them, once their masks were shattered, quickly died, as if Hollow Shinigamification were impossible. Just when I was about to give up, I discovered a Gillian who had already completed self-Arrancarization."
"And then? He's still alive?" Kisuke's eyes showed keen curiosity at the mention of Starrk, that was the researcher in him speaking.
"Of course he's alive. I went there to study, not to slaughter Hollows," Natsuro answered.
"And the other one? You mentioned there were two interesting Hollows." Kisuke pressed.
"Oh, that one had already reached the brink of becoming an Arrancar. So I told him about the possibility of Hollow Shinigamification, and right there in front of me, he completed his transformation." Natsuro explained again.
Hearing this, Kisuke glanced at him, wearing a helpless expression. To deliberately tell a Hollow how to Shinigamify, that really did sound like something Natsuro would do.
"And after spending some time with them, I discovered that, whether it's unique to the two of them or not, I'm not sure, but after becoming Arrancar they regained their rationality. They're not much different from normal Shinigami."
"So, after saying all this… what is it you actually want to ask me?" Kisuke suppressed his burning curiosity about the two Hollows and asked instead.
"Kisuke, tell me, if they appeared in the World of the Living, what would happen?" Natsuro asked.
"You should know that yourself. If the Gotei 13 discovered them, then even if the captains didn't want to act, the Central 46 would order them to eliminate those two Hollows." Kisuke shot him a look, not understanding why Natsuro would ask such an obvious question.
"Of course I know. I'm only asking about your attitude. If you don't inform the Gotei 13, then they likely won't be discovered." Natsuro finally laid his cards on the table.
Kisuke fell silent for a long moment before asking, "They're already in the Living World, aren't they?"
"Not yet. Their control over their spiritual pressure isn't sufficient. For now, they're training in Hueco Mundo. Once they reach the right level, they'll come find me." Natsuro answered directly.
Kisuke gave him a look of realization, as expected. After everything he'd heard, it was obvious... those two Hollows had already become Natsuro's subordinates.
"If Central 46 finds out about this, no matter who you are, you'll be branded a criminal and hunted by Soul Society," Kisuke warned.
"I know. But tell me, do you think I'm afraid of them?" Natsuro smiled at him.
Kisuke fell silent again. After a long pause, he finally said, "Perhaps… you may be even more dangerous than Aizen."
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Currently on Chapter 503 - Natsuro's Choice