It was already late at night.
"Terrible weather."
Yoshio looked up.
No moon, no stars—the sky seemed draped in black, the world sunk in deep darkness.
It had rained yesterday; today was stifling hot by day, but at night the temperature dropped suddenly, as if foretelling something to happen.
Yoshio gathered himself and headed for the Tsunayashiro estate.
His home wasn't in the Sixth District, so getting there took some walking.
Along the way, he even saw Shinigami on patrol; even at midnight, there were night-shift patrols everywhere.
Most Shinigami in Seireitei knew Yoshio, which saved trouble.
His footsteps echoed in the still night. In the cool breeze, Yoshio finally reached the Tsunayashiro gate.
How did the current Tsunayashiro Clan compare to the past?
They had once built a resplendent estate, even surpassing the Kuchiki.
But now, though still lavish and trying to prove they weren't in decline, they'd lost their ancient charm and become vulgar.
As Yoshio approached, the gate opened automatically.
"Pretty smart," Yoshio thought as he walked in.
There should have been many guards and servants, but they were all gone; he slipped in silently.
He looked around; the Tsunayashiro estate felt lifeless.
He remembered that after Angra's move, there were only four left—one of them a newborn.
Now one more had been killed, leaving only two adults and a little girl.
Naturally, nothing like their peak.
Yoshio followed a special path and entered a room.
It wasn't grand—by noble standards, it was even plain. Most striking were the mysterious runes, densely covering the walls, either radiating from the center or converging into it.
At the center was a man, his body also covered in dense sigils.
"You must be… the Tsunayashiro Clan Ancestor, right?"
Most people would be scared witless by the sight, but Yoshio had been in this world for years; he'd seen everything. This little scene wouldn't faze him.
The man didn't open his mouth, but a voice spoke from it.
"Yoshio Kamado, how does it feel to be with Aizen?"
He knew Yoshio served Aizen—meaning not only that he was the Fifth Division Lieutenant, but that he had betrayed the Soul Society with Aizen.
Playing dumb would only waste time, so Yoshio answered directly, "Not bad. You then—what do you want with me? You don't look like you can manifest for long."
"I like your temperament," the man said blandly. "You did destroy most of the people in the clan."
Yoshio's heart stirred; he probed, "Come on, I only killed two Tsunayashiro members—and one was a traitor."
The man said, "That Tōsen Kaname—wasn't that Tenshintai made by your hand?"
Yoshio relaxed. This old man truly didn't know about his clones; he was attributing the imaginary body's deeds to him.
Yoshio said a bit helplessly, "Then blame Kisuke Urahara. He created the Tenshintai."
"I'm not here to accuse you, nor do I need to. As long as one member of the Tsunayashiro Clan lives, my will continues."
The man said blandly, "A million years is enough to destroy anything, let alone these useless descendants."
"Then what do you want from me…?" Yoshio asked cautiously.
"You have potential. Interested in serving me?" the Ancestor said. "After you descend to Hell, I can arrange for you to become a Yama."
Yoshio wanted to laugh. What a ridiculous grand promise. He'd be crazy to follow him. Yama? Sounds better than it is.
I won't die!
Of course, to someone like the Tsunayashiro Ancestor, even if he died tens of thousands of years later, he'd still die. The Three Realms had existed at least a million years; he'd existed longer.
Thousands of years, tens of thousands—nothing to him.
In his eyes, all Shinigami eventually die, and their final destination is Hell.
Knowing such a grand promise wouldn't sway him, the Ancestor added, "Do you want Soul King's power?"
"Sort of." Yoshio was absentminded. He felt tonight's meeting with the old man wouldn't yield much.
These things could be seen from his Souls Ability alone.
"Feast of Betrayal: designate an area and cause the lives within to rebel."
In other words, if he used it in the First Division captain's office, he'd happily witness Yamamoto 1v12.
Er, no.
It should be Yamamoto 1v9, Aizen 1v2.
Because subordinates would betray their own superiors. Considering Ichimaru Gin's particularity—he hadn't truly acknowledged Aizen as his superior—he might be immune.
What a sinister ability—fitting for the Tsunayashiro Ancestor.
Tsk. If your Souls Ability were even remotely obtainable, I'd almost accept.
Yoshio thought.
It was powerful but unobtainable. The Ancestor had lived countless years; winning his favor would be harder than winning a living Aizen's.
However, as one who monitored the Three Realms, the Ancestor said, "You think the Tsunayashiro Clan lasted so long without collecting Soul King's power?"
"I know—wasn't a chunk taken by that Menos Grande?" Yoshio picked his ear, bored. "That Hollow is Kisuke Urahara's accomplice now."
"That's only a part," the Ancestor said. "Help me with something, and I'll give you more soul king fragments."
"Oh?" Yoshio finally felt interest. He could receive fragments?
Now I'm awake.
"What do you want me to do?"
In his impression, the Tsunayashiro Clan barely had plot—just a boss in the novels—hard to see what arrangements the Ancestor had in the Three Realms.
"I'll contact you when the time comes," the Ancestor didn't state his goal.
Yoshio frowned. "It can't be easy to contact me like this, right? This Tsunayashiro member probably won't survive."
"He'll fall into Hell," the Ancestor said. "Sharp observation."
"If I remember right, your clan doesn't have many left. Old man, if you eat one every time you call, you might exterminate your own clan."
"Use your Bankai," the Ancestor said blandly. "Your Bankai is part of Hell itself. Transform this body into a tool inside the Lonely Hell; it will be our medium for future contact."
Yoshio was surprised—his Bankai had such a function?
Was Lonely Hell truly related to Hell?
He rubbed his chin. "You must be very interested in Lonely Hell's power?"
The Ancestor smiled faintly. "As payment for this invitation, and also for the next task, I'll tell you a source of Soul King's power."
He spoke a location.
Then, with arrogance, he added, "Within the Three Realms, I know the locations of all the organs stripped from Soul King."
"If we cooperate, I could even make you the new Soul King."
"Let's not," Yoshio waved. "We both know what Soul King is, and I can't bear all of its power. Still, I accept the cooperation. Contact me next time when there's something."
With that, Yoshio drew his Zanpakutō.
He performed Shikai first.
Once a Shinigami masters Bankai, they can use it without the Shikai command.
The field of Lonely Hell enveloped the Tsunayashiro Ancestor—but Yoshio realized the Ancestor had already left.
Come to think of it, Lonely Hell wouldn't affect the old man; he was already in Hell and had lived a million years—already a Lonely Hell.
The remaining shell was just a medium.
Even so, Yoshio believed contacting him wasn't easy.
Perhaps only when Aizen's and Yhwach's reiatsu disappeared, the pressure on Hell's gate vanished, and the reishi between the Three Realms and Hell fell out of balance, would the Ancestor's power appear.
He thought, then invoked Bankai again.
The Tsunayashiro member's body transformed into a Jigokuchō in Yoshio's hand. This was his transmigration device and the method for the Ancestor to contact him.
This Jigokuchō wasn't a living creature but more like a sculpture. Yoshio considered and kept the sculpture in hand.
"Not bad—this would look cool as a ring." He put away the Jigokuchō sculpture and quickly left the estate.
He had to check whether the location the Ancestor mentioned truly held a soul king fragment.
Following the coordinates, Yoshio reached the 77th district of West Rukongai.
The distance wasn't short; by the time Yoshio arrived, dawn was near.
He came to a cave mouth. Wind breathed from within like a beast sleeping inside.
Yoshio entered and saw a huge…
Well, how to put it…
Demon beast?
It looked a bit like a dog, but far too large, sprawled in the cave, seemingly asleep.
If the dog hadn't been white, Yoshio might have suspected it was Komamura Sajin's great-grandfather.
Of course, it wasn't a werewolf.
Werewolves are beasts, but full organisms; this thing was, in nature, more like a Hollow.
"Rest."
Seeing no reaction even as he approached, Yoshio smiled. The next moment, blood splattered throughout the cave.
"…"
Yoshio walked out holding a shard the size of a fist.
This was nothing like the fingernail-sized fragments from before.
Of course, a fragment's power isn't decided entirely by its size.
But a chunk this big was equivalent to a dozen or more earlier fragments.
Yoshio pocketed it.
To be honest, he didn't plan to devour too much soul king fragment power.
They were a convenient cheat, but couldn't be swallowed endlessly.
Like Yhwach: after he opened his eyes and conquered the Soul King Palace, he picked up a huge mass of Soul King's power from the Soul King.
But even with his power then, he couldn't control so much. After absorbing for a long time, he had to let the rest dissipate.
If Yhwach's soul couldn't bear that much, how could others?
Yoshio's soul should be fine.
Because he had "Star Chaser," meaning his soul had no limit and could infinitely break upward.
But he was Shinigami…
For Shinigami, directly using Soul King's power is very difficult.
Hollows can easily devour fragments for strength because they're natural enemies.
Quincy can also use them relatively easily because they are direct descendants of the Soul King. In fantasy terms, Quincy would be "creator gods."
But Shinigami… their status is awkward.
Though their power originates from Soul King, it's more like a system created by the Five Great Noble Families.
Compared to others, Shinigami are indeed the weaker race in the Three Realms.
Quincy and Hollows existed millions of years before the Three Realms opened—they naturally possess various powers.
Even without learning Spirit Weapon or Hirenkyaku, Quincy are born with the potential to manipulate shadows and blood.
Hollows' skills are mostly innate—Sonido, Cero, Super High-Speed Regeneration—most require no learning.
Shinigami…
Do they have any innate abilities?
Shinigami must learn everything after birth; in innate talent they lag behind Quincy and Hollows.
But Shinigami could say: So what if you're amazing? We're the ones running the Three Realms now.
Their capacity to learn is undeniable: from nothing, learning, creating, and evolving from weak to strong.
Yoshio felt he was a pure Shinigami.
His learning ability was the Shinigami racial talent!
Off topic, but Yoshio thought of this because, as a Shinigami, it was hard for him to use the fragment's power.
If Shinigami could use soul king fragments well, why wouldn't the Tsunayashiro Clan use them on themselves?
To use them, Shinigami must pay a price.
For example, Jūshirō Ukitake.
Though he borrowed Soul King's right arm and survived, he became sickly, coughing blood in battle. Only useful against Captain-Commander Yamamoto; against others he often had to withdraw midway.
And borrowing the right arm required "sacrificing everything but the eyes"!
Because this fragment was handed to him by the Tsunayashiro Ancestor, Yoshio worried about traps, so he decided not to give it to his clone.
This was a good chance to study the essence of soul king fragment power.
In fact, once he permanently obtained Jūshirō Ukitake's favorability and the "Host" ability, he could lodge the fragment in his own soul.
He just felt it was a bit low—not that the fragments were bad, but he believed he could create something better.
With dawn approaching, Yoshio sped up to reach Seireitei and the Fifth Division before clock-out.
He made it at the last moment.
He had meant to return to the Fullbringers last night to extract more fragments, but the Ancestor's interference delayed him. He wondered if they were still waiting.
No matter—he'd go tonight.
…
Returning to the Fifth Division, before he entered his office, he saw Hinamori reporting in Aizen's office.
Yoshio went in and listened.
"Ginjō Kūgo is missing?"
Yoshio feigned shock.
Aizen glanced at him, meaningfully. "Yes. As a Substitute Shinigami, vanishing without a word reflects poorly."
"Captain Ukitake trusted him so much," Yoshio said viciously. "Humans really can't be trusted!"
"This is bad—will Captain Ukitake step down over this?" Hinamori worried. "Will it affect Hitsugaya after he becomes Captain?"
"No," Yoshio said confidently. "I understand Captain Ukitake. He won't resign easily."
"He'll feel it's his mistake and at least wait for the uproar to pass."
If Ukitake stepped down now, how would his Souls Ability change?
"True." Hinamori nodded.
"Hinamori, you can go. I have something to discuss with Yoshio-kun," Aizen said.
"Okay." Hinamori nodded obediently—she always obeyed Aizen unconditionally.
After she left, Yoshio sat where she'd stood—a chair Hinamori hadn't used—and took a seat.
Aizen said with interest, "You're collecting soul king fragments?"
Yoshio hadn't told Aizen he went to the Human World to extract them from the Fullbringers, but Aizen likely already knew.
He had no intention of hiding it. "More or less. You told me to study the Hōgyoku. After going back and studying your Hōgyoku data, I found that to manufacture one, soul king fragments are excellent materials."
Aizen nodded. "Exactly. After creating the Hōgyoku, I fed it hundreds of Shinigami and Rukongai souls, but it remained unsatisfied."
"Not until I put a soul king fragment into it did the eternally insatiable Hōgyoku finally react."
He smiled.
"Later, as I continued adding fragments, the Hōgyoku reached its current state—but… it's still not perfect."
Yoshio nodded. "The Hōgyoku is a miracle—truly worthy of you and Mr. Urahara. A tool this wondrous—only the two of you could make one in the Three Realms."
Aizen smiled. "I believe you'll be the third."
"You flatter me."
"Even if I do, it would only be imitating your data," Yoshio said modestly.
"Carry on. Black should appear shortly."
"Yes."
Yoshio nodded and left the captain's office.
He was quite interested in Black's Souls Ability as a candidate for Soul King. Last time, she hadn't fully formed, so she had no ability yet.
But once fully formed, she definitely would have one.
He only hoped it wouldn't be like the Fullbringers' soul king fragment style—boring.
Back in his office, Yoshio flopped onto his desk for a nap.
…
Evening came in a blink.
Awake now, Yoshio put down the Kidō book, stood, and stretched.
Seireitei didn't react much to Ginjō Kūgo's disappearance—more like anger at being played.
Like a big family acknowledging a beggar as one of their own, then the beggar refused to cooperate.
It was like a stinging slap in the face—how to save face after that?
But ultimately, he was just a pauper, so they only sent part of the Shinigami to search for him, then left it.
Yoshio took the chance to accept the assignment, giving him a pretext to stay longer in the Human World.
Time to go.
Yoshio's Human World avatar went first to Agata's house.
As soon as he arrived, he was surrounded.
"Why didn't you come last night?! We were so worried!"
Many Fullbringers hurried up to him, anxious. "Are you okay?"
Yoshio shook his head and explained, "Yesterday, the Soul Society needed to handle Ginjō Kūgo—he's a Substitute Shinigami. The Tsunayashiro Clan's deeds… the Shinigami knew nothing. From their perspective, Ginjō just vanished."
"So we had to consider what to do, and we were in meetings all night. I had no time to come."
Packed with lies—but acceptable to the Fullbringers.
With that settled, the next step was retrieving the fragments.
Since the ten extractions yesterday had no issues, everyone was excited and eager to be first today.
Of the ten from yesterday, except Agata, the rest had left.
They likely couldn't wait to shed the "Fullbringer" label and the "Fullbringers' world."
If not for Agata's daughter Aura still having her source intact, he would've ordered them out already.
His impatient eyes showed how badly he wanted to take his daughter back to human society.
Yoshio didn't mind—he had decided Aura's fragment would be last.
No matter how urgent he was, it was useless.
Since they didn't wait three hours to observe, Yoshio started extracting again.
But only five people. Counting Aura, there were still ten left.
After all, carefully extracting fragments from fragile souls was demanding, and Yoshio wasn't a machine; the technique was newly developed and he wasn't fully practiced.
Thus, amid the delight of fifteen, the anxious fidgeting of nine, and one person's ignorance, he ended the night's journey of digging into souls.
"Don't worry—I should be able to extract the remaining nine tonight," Yoshio said.
"I have a Human World assignment, so I'll be here for a while—you don't need to worry about me not showing."
At that, the others finally relaxed.
Agata then asked, "Nine? What about Aura?!"
"Aura's case is special. Like I said, she's a child—her soul is fragile. The previous method may not work, so I need to improve the spell."
"…" Agata clutched his head, eyes bloodshot, and stormed out.
"Your dad is really…"
Watching him leave, Yoshio shook his head. "He seems to think I'm wronging him."
"Big brother, after the surgery, can I go outside?"
Aura tugged at Yoshio's trouser leg, asking innocently.
Yoshio smiled softly. "Yes—you'll soon experience the outside world."
He felt it was a great improvement that she called him "big brother" instead of "uncle."
"Thank you, big brother."
Her voice was still cool, but warmer than two days ago.
Yoshio needed rest, and he would also meet Gotei 13 Shinigami coming to investigate Ginjō, so he started chatting with Aura.
He told her what the outside world was like: skyscrapers, planes and ships, even Ultraman fighting monsters.
Yes, Ultraman was under watch out there now.
Listening, a longing appeared in Aura's eyes.
Her favorability soared naturally.
Once Yoshio removed her fragments, it would reach eighty.
However, Yoshio worried that removing them would also remove her Souls Ability.
Then what use would the eighty be?!
So until her favorability reached eighty, Yoshio would never remove the Soul King Saketsu!
After chatting a while, Yoshio left Agata's house and went to the rendezvous.
In Naruki City, Yoshio met the Shinigami tracking Ginjō.
"You again, Hitsugaya. Ah, Hisagi, you're here too."
Most were Thirteenth Division; besides them, the Ninth sent only Hisagi Shūhei.
"This was Thirteenth's job; you two being here is what's strange," Hitsugaya said coolly. "And why so early?"
"Couldn't sleep, so I came early," Yoshio yawned. "You, Hisagi?"
"Captain Tōsen thinks the Substitute's disappearance is good news, so he sent me," Hisagi said honestly.
"Yeah, it's big news, all right."
A black vein popped on Hitsugaya's forehead. He looked at Yoshio and couldn't help saying, "It always feels like nothing good happens when you're involved. You're not slacking off in the Human World, are you?"
"Am I that kind of person?!" Yoshio said self-righteously. "I've met Ginjō once—I'm interested."
"Okay, let's go. If we find him, don't act rashly. If he became n Substitute, he must have tricks."
He didn't think they'd find Ginjō. Ginjō had a few Fullbringers who didn't want to lose their powers, and he had lost his reiatsu—just an ordinary man now. How could Shinigami use Substitute-tracking methods to find him?
Ginjō was a bit lucky.
After meeting the Shinigami, Yoshio slipped back to Agata's to keep raising Aura's favorability.
His goal was to get it to eighty within two days.
"Foundation Master" was too tempting—or rather, this upwardly tethered ability was very strong.
…
Time flew, and Yoshio extracted the remaining nine, bringing his total to thirty-four.
Thirty-four fragments was a lot, and the complete organ—the Soul King Saketsu—hadn't been extracted yet.
He didn't want to eat the Saketsu as mere power—it was a rare complete organ, best studied.
With the Fullbringers gone, Agata's house had only Yoshio and Aura by day.
Agata wasn't keen on Yoshio—and having lost his power source, his spiritual sense faded. In a day or two, he could barely see Yoshio.
He might one day be stepped on by a passing Hollow and never know how he died.
So Agata hadn't bothered Yoshio; he didn't even know Yoshio often appeared in his home by day. He would only come each night and urge Yoshio to extract Aura's source.
He couldn't see Yoshio, so he asked Aura if he was there, then spoke.
Yoshio took his time raising the girl's favorability. For someone who'd barely seen the world, it was easy.
In less than a week, he raised it to eighty.
He successfully and permanently obtained the "Foundation Master" ability.
Then Yoshio decided to remove the Soul King Saketsu from Aura.
As she lay on the bed waiting quietly, she suddenly asked, "Big brother, after the surgery, will I be like my dad—and never see you again?"
"…" Yoshio was silent for a moment. "No, perhaps there'll be another chance. The future is infinite—we'll meet again."
When you die, you can see me in the Soul Society—but that might be decades away.
Aura smiled happily and closed her eyes.
Yoshio had already located the Saketsu; with over twenty precedents, he moved quickly and steadily—he removed it before Aura felt pain.
She opened her eyes and smiled at Yoshio.
The next moment, she saw his figure fading.
"Big brother…"
Aura's voice was weak.
Yoshio smiled but said nothing until he was about to vanish. "See you later."
"See you later."
Aura smiled back.
Then she could no longer see him.
Yoshio looked at the spiritual power in his hand, put it away, glanced at the completely depowered Aura, shook his head, and left.
Perhaps they would never meet again.
At this point, there was no need to remain in the Human World.
Yoshio found Hitsugaya and Hisagi to discuss returning. The others also felt the chances of finding Ginjō were small, and so many powerful Shinigami couldn't stay in the Human World indefinitely, so they withdrew.
By the time Yoshio returned to the Soul Society, it was dark. He went straight home, activated the safehouse, and changed the interior scene.
Then Angra arrived through a Garganta.
With minds in sync, no words were needed. Yoshio handed over the thirty-four fragments he'd collected.
Next, Angra would seek a chance to head to the Wandenreich.
The Garganta opened again; Angra returned to Hueco Mundo.
This time, he had a plan—he wouldn't go alone.
Solo was good for secrecy, but if discovered, escape would be harder.
So he needed someone to draw fire.
That person needed great strength and high speed.
Few candidates in Hueco Mundo fit—and considering he had to be with Angra, there was really only one.
Starrk!
Yes—Angra decided to take Starrk to the Wandenreich!
Then Starrk would draw the attention while he slipped off to meet Baelz and pass the fragments to him.
Thinking this, Angra appeared before Starrk.
After so many years, Las Noches' lockdown had long been lifted, so Arrancar could appear in Hueco Mundo.
Starrk rarely showed himself, but with Yoshio in the know, finding him was easy.
As Starrk emerged, Angra arrived.
Starrk had looked for Angra for a time, but after learning Angra was with Kisuke Urahara, he gave up—or lost enthusiasm.
Unexpectedly, the one he couldn't find and had almost given up on approached him.
Starrk wasn't nervous; though their stances differed, he sensed no hostility from Angra.
"You're Kisuke Urahara's man?"
He already knew from Yoshio, but asked anyway.
"More or less," Angra said calmly.
On meeting again, there was no longing or nervousness—just simple talk.
"I'm here to ask for your help," Angra said directly.
"Do we have a basis for cooperation?" Starrk frowned.
He was interested in a self-evolved Arrancar like Angra, but that didn't mean he'd cooperate.
Now that other Hollows included Szayelaporro and Ulquiorra, and the Hōgyoku had disappeared to make Arrancar, his interest in Angra had waned.
"Of course. This has nothing to do with Kisuke Urahara or Aizen. You can even ask Aizen first—if he agrees, come back to me."
That startled Starrk. "What is it?"
"Quincy," Angra said. "I want to enter the Quincy territory. My strength alone may be insufficient, so I need your help!"