Was that it?
The plotting took time, but the execution wasn't complex.
And they didn't have much time in the Palace; they had to leave before the Monk and Royal Guard returned.
Yoshio didn't plan to give the Soul King a "Blade that Rends the Heart" this time—he'd suffered from that before.
The Hollow King's left hand split from Ukitake had been a disaster. He'd subdued it, but not in minutes.
And the Soul King's shell would be brimming with even more power than the left or right hands. Even if something split off, it likely wouldn't end up in his hands.
Pointless.
So they quit while ahead—or rather, their gains here were enough.
Next, Aizen and Yamiko would head to the Hōōden, home of the Blade God Ōetsu Nimaiya. There was a Zanpakutō there perfect for Yamiko—one he'd forged long ago: "Ikomikidomoe."
Ikomikidomoe had once been a voracious Hollow that invaded Soul Society, later sealed by the Monk and Ōetsu into a Zanpakutō.
That wasn't his original name—the Monk renamed him after sealing.
With the renaming, its power diminished, but as a Zanpakutō, it was still top-tier.
Aizen knew of it and would help Yamiko procure it.
Yoshio didn't go with them—he had his own errand.
There was another crucial place in the Palace.
A place… that could also confer the Soul King's power.
Direct recognition like Yamiko's was one way; there were others.
Yoshio reached a special area within the Soul King Palace.
A passage.
Where all beginnings and ends, the undying memory and explanation of all ages, were heaped together—the Irazu Sandō.
Yoshio took out a charm. In the living world, Nezuko, who had been waiting for his signal, clenched it; a portal opened before her.
She knew where she was going and grew nervous.
Even without being a Shinigami or living in Seireitei, she knew what the Soul King meant to the Three Realms.
She also felt a thrill at the Palace.
Yoshio and Nezuko stepped through; the world shifted.
"Dad…"
Yoshio's face was solemn. "Nezuko, I won't force you down this path."
"It may harbor terrifying dangers."
"I'm not afraid." She straightened. "Dad, do you want me to walk it?"
Yoshio intoned, as if reciting scripture:
"Beginning without end
Names wither without sound
From the swarm-cloud abyss, rollers rise
Poured out to fill the empty vessel
The pitiable incompetent vessel
Bends under heavy weight into stone
Stone crumbles to pebbles and sand
Struck by rain, it turns to dust
For the non-vessel there is no way out
Yet without entering, there is no way to venerate
You who are fated to die, chant its name—
The Irazu Sandō."
Then: "If you can walk this road to the end, you will be reborn—no longer mortal."
"Reborn? Not mortal?" she asked. "That amazing?!"
Yoshio smiled silently. She said, "So I just have to walk it! Watch me!"
She opened the gate and entered.
With her first step, the door shut.
Yoshio remained outside. He couldn't see within, but knew what would happen.
It was a path containing the secret of transcendence. If one could finish it, they would bear the Soul King's power and transcend Shinigami.
Yes, transcending Shinigami was that simple—
Just walk the path.
Yet, through the ages, few had finished it.
Yoshio didn't walk it because he already had his own route, no longer needing the Soul King's power.
His two avatars had already absorbed considerable Soul King power; taking more might not be wise.
Like how Yhwach, after nearly consuming the Soul King, was bound to replace him and maintain the realms.
Quincy who drew more of Yhwach's power became less able to resist him. The more high-interest loans you take, the more you owe; perhaps the Soul King's power also demanded repayment.
Of course, if transcendence were otherwise hopeless, he'd keep absorbing it.
But he had his own plan and had already become a Transcendent. No need to risk it.
Still, since they were here, he wouldn't leave empty-handed.
The Palace had too many treasures not to sample.
Even Aizen was taking the chance to get a blade from Ōetsu.
Thus he brought Nezuko here.
Though she bore Ichigo's traits and was a born Transcendent, for the four powers within her to harmonize and fuse perfectly, she needed the pressure of the Irazu Sandō.
As for safety…
Yoshio believed she would succeed!
When he became the Soul King's Big Cousin, he gained a bit of divine nature atop his Transcendent status.
Though Nezuko wasn't his biological daughter, just as the Soul King's recognition made Yamiko a Child of the Soul King like Yhwach, so would Yoshio's recognition confer an inexplicable trait to his daughter.
Combined with her innate Transcendent nature, even at her young age, he believed she'd likely finish the path.
Nezuko entered the path.
Ahead stood a torii and a shrine.
What looked short from outside now stretched infinitely.
Upon entering, she felt no pressure.
She tested a step—still nothing.
She quickened her pace.
A torii separates the human world from the divine; the sandō is the approach. So if she finished, she could enter the divine gate?
She looked at the not-so-distant gate and took another step.
This time, pressure crashed down.
Her body tilted forward; she inhaled and stepped again—second, third; with each step, the pressure grew!
The nearer the divine, the heavier the burden!
Gradually, pressure above condensed into tangible color, spiral hues pouring into her body.
Her pupils widened; she froze.
So this was the undying memory and explanation of all ages?
Images filled her mind.
A figure stood in a stream, like a divine spirit moving over water.
A sword in hand, the figure thrust it into the waters; his body split into pieces, and the world crumbled and reformed with him.
Sweat soaked her. The white T-shirt and black capris she wore shifted to a shihakusho instinctively.
Four different lights flowed into her; she began to grasp her father's verses.
"Poured out to fill the empty vessel…"
She'd always known she wasn't born by Yoshio. With his abilities, she'd likely been made.
She had no issues with that.
For hers wasn't a normal birth, but a descent with the Soul King's aptitude.
A being with that aptitude couldn't be born via ordinary procreation.
She couldn't imagine anyone giving birth to a Soul King candidate.
If anyone could, it'd be the Virgin Mary.
Now she understood.
Having the Soul King candidate's aptitude was only a prerequisite.
Many who walked this path possessed the Transcendent seed.
But how many finished it?
If many had, her path wouldn't be so littered with sand and gravel.
Entrants had to endure the soul's recomposition and make choices within the undying memory and explanation of all things.
Even among Transcendents, not all recomposed souls were equal.
Angra, for instance, broke the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow soul factors, then recomposed.
Aizen did likewise in canon.
But Nezuko—and Ichigo in canon—were not the same!
Their souls held four attributes—human, Quincy, Shinigami, Hollow. Their recomposed souls were naturally stronger than those made from only Shinigami and Hollow.
Thus Ichigo, upon transcending, immediately possessed power rivaling Aizen's post-evolutions.
However, recomposing four factors was far harder than two.
Shinigami and Hollow oppose intensely; that conflict drives constant boundary-breaking, leading to recomposition. If you endure, you transcend. If not, you soul-suicide.
With four factors, mutual oppositions pairwise keep a fragile equilibrium.
Urahara used that to stop soul-suicide.
But that made pushing a boundary break for recomposition much harder!
Hence, the Soul King's Path!
Perhaps many through the ages assembled the four factors. But mere collection was meaningless—it only meant you had the vessel's aptitude.
On the Irazu Sandō, the Soul King's undying memory and explanation pressed down like an abyss, filling the empty vessel.
Those without true Soul King aptitude would become the rocks underfoot, then crumble to pebbles and dust, the detritus lining the path.
From the swarm-cloud abyss… poured to fill the empty vessel; the pitiful incompetent vessel bends into stone; stone crumbles to pebbles and sand; struck by rain it turns to dust.
If you weren't the vessel, there was no escape. But without entering, there was no way to worship.
Non-vessel has no way out; yet without entry there is no way to venerate.
Realizing this, her hunched body straightened despite the pressure. She believed—her Dad had crafted her with the aptitude to transcend!
She was the fruit of his painstaking effort; if she failed, it meant his effort failed.
Gritting her teeth, the middle-schooler—whose time in the spiritual world already exceeded Ichigo's entire canon journey—kept stepping forward despite the weight.
One step.
Two…
At last the torii grew close!
The four lights—human, Shinigami, Hollow, Quincy—spiraled heavier upon her, infusing her recomposition with power!
The Soul King's force washed her; at four steps away, her eyes flared like they were on fire!
Four illusory pupils appeared!
In each eye, four phantom pupils!
No, counting her real pupil made five!
The phantom four occupied the corners with the real in the center—symbolic of the Soul King's mantle, granting her temporary authority and recognition!
It also suggested she bore potential beyond the Soul King!
He possessed omnipotence—but only the fusion of human, Shinigami, and Quincy.
Nezuko carried a fourth—Hollow.
Therefore, she might surpass even the Soul King!
Her soul recomposition completed. Though only twelve, she achieved what Shinigami fail to do in centuries or millennia—
No, what no one had achieved in a million years since this world's birth!
The pressure vanished, though the spiral of four lights still poured into her.
The remaining four steps compressed to one; the decayed path lay behind her.
She entered the divine gate, completing the metamorphosis between human and god!
Feeling power surge within, she smiled with pure joy.
The phantom four-pupil eyes faded, but the recomposed soul and infused force remained.
"Congratulations."
Yoshio smiled. "How is it? That's your birthday present from Dad."
"I'm so happy with it!" She threw her hands up. "I've never felt so happy—so wonderful!"
Beyond the Monk's palace, which had a Zen flavor, crossing the path led into Kirio Hikifune's domain.
Filled with fabrics, Yoshio, unwilling to leave empty-handed, pocketed several fine bolts.
There were also bits of hair and nails from the Royal Guard—precious materials that, combined with these fabrics, could produce an external Oken.
Typically, Oken refers to bodies washed by the Soul King's power—the Royal Guard's bodies.
But the Guard could also fashion external keys from hair and bones—wearable keys.
In fact, Nezuko's body had been washed by the Soul King; in a sense, she herself was a Key.
"Head back first. I'll see you tonight."
He handed her the fabrics and opened a gate to the living world.
She nodded and left.
By Yoshio's estimation, Nezuko's current power rivaled his own. Unfortunately, though she'd become a Transcendent, she hadn't yet achieved Bankai.
Perhaps unique in the Three Realms—transcended without Bankai. If she attained Bankai, she'd surpass him. If she added Hollowfication, she could probably take a swing at a restored Yhwach.
As those around Yoshio transcended one by one, he felt the loneliness of invincibility.
Of course, not absolute invincibility.
Yhwach still had a card. If pushed, he could forcibly absorb all Quincy power and lives to open his eyes early and gain the Almighty.
Once Yhwach opens his eyes, no one in the Three Realms could oppose him!
Yoshio still had roads ahead.
Seeing Nezuko off, he tossed a lump of black mud from his pocket and flashed back to their arrival point, where Aizen and Yamiko had already returned.
The three boarded the Tenchūren and left the Palace!
Inside, Yoshio saw the blade in Yamiko's hand.
Its hilt was wrapped in white bandage, the scabbard gray; the wide blade gleamed with metallic sheen, speckled with black dots like errant ink.
"So that's the Zanpakutō forged from a Hollow that once wrought havoc in Soul Society," Yoshio said. "Looks… ordinary enough."
"It's different in use." Yamiko raised the sword. "In hand, I can feel a will trying to erode me."
"Infection goes both ways. Its will erodes me; my will erodes it. We'll see who wins."
"I doubt it has one-in-ten-thousand chance against you."
Yoshio praised; then the Tenchūren landed.
They stepped out. Aizen gathered darkness.
Hadō 90: Kurohitsugi.
Under Aizen's tremendous power, the black coffin annihilated the Tenchūren and its launcher.
When Kurohitsugi faded, both were rubble.
Yamiko raised her hand, gathering reishi inside and out.
Like a Quincy schneide or a Hollow Cero, she fused them—Sacred Cero.
She fired, consuming the rubble; under its torrential reiatsu, all reduced to powder.
With evidence erased, they looked toward Seireitei.
Thanks to the Royal Guard, Seireitei had caught a breath!
Though many captains were still under black mud's control, the monsters were being suppressed.
Snakes, frogs, scorpions were crushed; only the huge three-headed dragon remained.
Pursued, Kyōraku chose to kite it. He felt even Bankai would be ineffective—his strongest line beheads, but this thing had three heads. Even if he popped one, no big deal.
Its regeneration was phenomenal. His attacks were quickly undone.
So better to fight in Shikai and stall.
With the Royal Guard down, they'd handle the rest and then help him.
Their timing back was perfect.
"Captain Kyōraku, I'll help!"
Yoshio flew up to join him against the dragon!
...…
Boom!
Thousands of km from Seireitei, the Monk was still fighting Angra.
They'd left the previous wasteland; another two thousand km had passed. Senri Tsūtenshō was indeed overpowering—even Angra got hard-controlled by it.
By now, Angra was flagging.
Despite his efforts to avoid blows, the Monk's Ichimonji still clipped his black flame blade; his arm was struck too.
Luckily he blocked; otherwise it'd be worse than half strength.
Still, his situation worsened.
He was slightly weaker than the Monk; after being cut by Ichimonji, the gulf widened.
The Monk excelled in Hadō and Ura Hadō, and could write characters to invoke myriad techniques—an extremely troublesome foe.
But Angra already sensed Yoshio's mission succeeded—it was time to disengage.
This high-intensity duel drained even him; retreat was prudent.
He charged another Cero Oscuras and blasted it.
The Monk punched, forming a giant fist in the air that shattered the Cero; then he was upon Angra again.
Ichimonji swung!
Angra raised his unnamed black-flame sword, intending to dodge—but two giant palms appeared at his sides!
They clapped together, crushing him to paste!
But his body was formless; even destroyed, it reformed swiftly.
During regeneration, his core malice couldn't be hidden!
"Newborn Hollow King."
The Monk spoke softly: "Rest forever in your eternal dark kingdom—in peaceful death and solitude."
Under his control, Angra's black drained away—the rich ink-like darkness splashed onto the Monk!
The Monk grew even blacker; Angra turned bleached!
Not good!
With the darkness stripped, Angra's power plummeted; the Monk pressed his hands together in a prayer-like seal:
"Kurohitsugi."
In an instant, all the taken darkness surged back out—an infinite black coffin encased the bleached Angra!
All turned pitch black. As it sealed, a terrifying flood of gravitic force descended, twisting even space-time!
The warped space became solid black spikes; like a thousand arrows, they impaled Angra, letting the weight crush him.
It was as if he bore a mountain range; his skin split, red blood pouring from white flesh!
This Kurohitsugi far surpassed Shinigami arts. Even if all Kidō masters combined, they couldn't reach such might!
More crucially, it didn't fade!
Yoshio himself was a Kidō master; he knew Kurohitsugi's duration was brief—seconds at most.
But this one had lasted nearly a minute and showed no sign of dissipating—like it drew from boundless night.
It drew darkness from Angra and around them, sustaining itself indefinitely!
Having pinned Angra, the Monk didn't strike again; he sped back toward Seireitei!
If Angra had infiltrated while fighting him, the priority was the Palace!
Whatever happened below didn't matter; the Soul King must not fall!
Besides…
He didn't believe Angra could escape that coffin. The newly birthed Hollow King had been stripped and sealed; he could deal with him later.
Compared to the Soul King, everything else could wait.
Angra sensed the Monk depart—and smiled.
In this darkness, gravity twisted space-time, preventing Garganta.
But…
He wasn't an ordinary Hollow. Who said Garganta was his only escape at this level?!
Even in primeval chaos, no Hollow like Angra existed.
He had merged the Transcendent path of recomposed Shinigami-Hollow soul with the world-devouring Hollow route—the anti-Soul King path. His tricks far exceeded those of past Hollows!
Under the coffin's crushing force, he sneered—and extreme distortion formed behind him.
The coffin already warped space-time, but now it intensified tenfold.
At the limit of distortion, space fractured into a black hole!
This wasn't Garganta—it was Kūmon.
A unique ability Angra possessed as a Transcendent—twisting space-time to the extreme to open a tunnel to an alternate subspace connected to himself!
Think of the Three Realms as three planets: Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo.
The Dangai is the passage connecting them.
Garganta is the encompassing cosmic space enveloping the three and the passage.
Thus Hollows can go anywhere with Garganta.
But Kūmon punches through beyond the Three Realms—to a parallel subspace!
A power beyond the current system—etching patterns into space and subspace.
Kind of like Obito's Kamui in Naruto—once inside Kamui space, outside attacks can't reach you.
Right now, Angra could only enter the alternate space—not yet phase attacks like Kamui or Lille Barro.
For now, that wasn't needed.
He slipped into Kūmon and disappeared from the coffin.
The coffin still seethed with crushing gravity—but the prisoner was gone.
Angra emerged into a white void—his subspace. Punch another hole here, and he could leave.
He moved a distance, invoked Kūmon again, and when distortion peaked, he opened another hole.
He stepped out into the Three Realms again.
In subspace he'd traveled two holes, not far; yet in the Realms, it was different.
Moments ago he was in Soul Society; now he was in the World of the Living—and not in Japan.
Well, it was an island nation—Britain.
"Looks like using Kūmon for travel still needs work," he murmured.
No matter where he landed, as long as he could open a Garganta, it was fine.
In the living world, he opened one and returned to Hueco Mundo.
Only in Hueco Mundo did he relax.
Good—mission basically complete.
Next…
"Kisuke Urahara, how will you save the berserk me?"
Angra still needed to blend with the protagonists—or he couldn't farm Ichigo's favor, nor Kisuke's.
So he'd return to Urahara's group after this.
He'd cooperate with Kisuke's exorcism, returning from berserk to normal.
He believed Kisuke had already planned this—before Angra's transcendence, Kisuke had told him as much, anticipating the Hollow King's left hand and how to handle it.
"Haa…"
Angra exhaled. Fighting the Monk was tough—the old guy was strong.
Though stripped of much power, as long as he lived he'd recover.
But as he began to absorb reishi to heal, crimson lights flared on his forehead, chest, abdomen, and both wrists!
?!
He blinked—chains of solid structure formed from those lights.
"What?"
"Haa… just in time."
Kisuke stepped out of a Garganta, relieved to see Angra bound. He turned to Yoruichi: "Now!"
Yoruichi appeared in human form this time, not as a cat. She and Great Kidō Chief Hachigen Ushōda each held a massive halberd.
Yoruichi hurled both of hers—piercing Angra's head and abdomen.
Then she grabbed Hachigen's two and threw them, nailing his left and right wrists!
"Kisuke Urahara…"
The Hollow King roared: "You think tricks like these can restrain me?!"
"Tricks?"
Kisuke said softly, "Who told you I only prepared small tricks?"
"Kisuke, hurry. Even weakened, he still surpasses us," said Yoruichi.
Kisuke knew.
As Angra struggled, he triggered a kidō seal.
"Death-Funeral Blood Seal!"
As he spoke, darkness spread from the red glow in Angra's chest, swallowing him.
The four halberds sealed within the black coffin and poured something into it nonstop.
Angra had just escaped one black coffin, only to be trapped in another.
This was unlike the Monk's Kurohitsugi. That one's warped space-time made escape easier.
But Kisuke's design didn't twist space-time; it was worse for Angra. The four halberds were artifacts that robbed awareness at the pierced spots—akin to Mayuri's Ashisogi Jizō.
Kisuke chose four key points: the brain for thought, the sekiseki node for reiatsu flow, and both wrists for emission!
Seal those four, and no matter the Hollow King's tricks, he couldn't escape!
But mere restraint wasn't enough. They needed the Hollow King to leave Angra's body or be purified within.
So, in the Death-Funeral Blood Seal, Kisuke poured a large amount of Shinigami serum—using Shinigami factors to neutralize the pure Hollow factor in Angra!
As for the initial kidō seals—he'd implanted them before Angra's transcendence; Angra himself knew. It was precisely to counter the Hollow King!
Those kidō had time limits—seven days at most—so Kisuke said Angra still had hope within seven days!