In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
Seireitei.
Above the Fifth Division.
Cole sat on the flaming back of the Huike King, a little black cat lying across his legs. As he idly scratched its chin, he said in boredom,
"Yoruichi, Seireitei is so damn boring. Do you know anywhere fun?"
The little black cat lazily stretched, shifted into a more comfortable position, and sprawled across Cole's lap as she replied indifferently,
"Isn't Soul Society always like this? It hasn't changed in millions of years."
Cole sighed, still petting the cat.
"True. Now I finally get why you ran off to the World of the Living. This place is just too boring."
Even though he'd gotten plenty of money from Rukia and Soi fong, staying here for half a month was still driving him crazy.
He really couldn't understand how those "time travelers" managed to adapt to ancient times.
Were they all masochists or something!?
Hearing him say that, the black cat Yoruichi rolled her eyes at him.
"Then why don't you go find someone to play with?"
"And what about that manifested zanpakuto? Doesn't she cling to you all the time?"
Cole sighed again, looking utterly melancholic.
"I did. But after two sentences, I got kicked out."
The little black cat instantly looked delighted at his misery.
"Serves you right. Who told you to bully them so hard!?"
Every time Cole messed around with Rukia and Soi fong, they couldn't even get out of bed the next day.
Once or twice was fine, sure—
But who could take that all the time?
They weren't Unohana, after all.
Cole ground his teeth. With a flip of his hand, he rolled the little black cat onto her back and started kneading her soft belly.
"Yoruichi-san, you look like you're enjoying this a little too much."
"W-Wait—don't—ahahaha! It's itchy! Hahahaha! Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I won't say it anymore! Let me off! Hurry, take your hand away—!"
The little black cat laughed so hard she flailed her paws in surrender.
Everything felt unbearably ticklish, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't escape Cole's grip.
"Alright, alright…"
Cole shook his head, finally letting her go. He said something to the Huike King, prompting it to spread its flaming wings and dive downward.
Soon, the Huike King—its entire body wreathed in fire—arrived within the First Division's territory and landed on the ground.
The Shinigami of Seireitei had long since gotten used to this.
Over the past few days, they kept seeing Cole flying around on the Huike King, constantly swooping in to harass the captains of different divisions.
It gave every captain a splitting headache, but there wasn't much they could do about it.
The black cat Yoruichi jumped in alarm.
"Cole, you still dare come to the First Division? Aren't you afraid the old man will fight you to the death!?"
During this period, the temperature around the First Division had risen by dozens of degrees, like a massive steamer.
It was obvious that Old Man Yamamoto was furious.
"Stop talking."
Cole stared at the shadow cast by a nearby building and said irritably,
"I'm thinking whether or not I should have you take me to somewhere fun…"
As he spoke, his gaze stayed locked on that patch of shadow.
Because of his zanpakuto, he was unusually sensitive to space-type abnormalities.
And a while ago, he'd already noticed something off about Seireitei's shadows—there seemed to be an enormous space hidden inside them.
Combine that with the existence of the Invisible Empire…
It was obvious.
A thousand years ago, the Invisible Empire had used some unknown method to alter the shadows of Seireitei, stuffing a massive space within them.
And that meant that for the past thousand years, an enormous organization had been hiding inside Seireitei's shadows.
Unseen.
Untraceable.
Countless Quincy within, quietly waiting for Yhwach to open his eyes.
The moment she heard "somewhere fun," Yoruichi's eyes lit up. She pawed at Cole urgently.
"Tell me! Tell me! Where's the fun place in Seireitei? How come I don't know about it!?"
"You'd only know it if ghosts told you," Cole muttered.
As far as he knew, Yoruichi was only around three hundred years old—seven hundred years short of that ancient war.
Maybe her ancestors had lived through it.
But over the last thousand years, not even the Zero Division had noticed the Invisible Empire, so how could Yoruichi have?
Still…
If they went now, would it cause unnecessary trouble?
Cole rubbed his chin, thinking.
In his view, the safest plan was to return to Hueco Mundo and absorb spirit power for a full year.
That way, even if he faced Yhwach with Zenchi Zenno (All-Knowing and All-Powerful), he could crush him with sheer strength.
And if worst came to worst, Aizen was still around.
With the two of them teaming up, they could flip Seireitei and the Zero Division on their backs—dealing with the Invisible Empire would be effortless.
But going now also had no real meaning.
Because the Soul King in the Soul King Palace—after endless ages of consumption—was already at the very edge of total physical collapse.
Before long, he would die completely.
And to maintain the existence and stability of the three realms, a new Soul King would have to be created.
If Yhwach were killed right now…
Then who would become the Soul King later!?
In the original story, there were candidates—Aizen, Ichigo, Uryu, Jinta…
No matter which one it was, Cole didn't want to lose them.
In that case, the only option was to let Yhwach live, awaken all his power, and ultimately become the new artificial Soul King.
While Cole was thinking all this through, Yoruichi was practically being driven insane by curiosity.
Just from what Cole had said—and from the way he was thinking so seriously—she could tell he'd found something extremely interesting.
But the problem was…
Was there really anywhere in Seireitei she didn't know?
She'd even been to Muken (Infinite Hell), for crying out loud.
"Is it the Great Spirit Book Corridor?"
"Or the Kido Corps' Kido Pavilion?"
"Don't tell me it's Muken?"
"You're not seriously planning to invade the Soul King Palace, are you!?"
Seeing her like this, Cole laughed.
"Relax. The place I'm talking about is somewhere no one in Seireitei has ever been."
"It's just… a little dangerous."
That only made Yoruichi even more curious—so curious it made her claws itch.
What kind of place could that be!?
This was Seireitei!
How could there be a place even Seireitei Shinigami had never been to!?
"Cole, take me to see it. I swear I won't tell anyone, okay? My reputation is famously good in Seireitei…"
Yoruichi looked at him pitifully.
In Seireitei, she had the strongest sense of adventure—her favorite thing in the world was challenging the impossible.
Now that she'd learned about a place this interesting, how could she possibly let it go?
Cole thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Forget it. Going now is still a bit dangerous. I don't fight battles I'm not prepared for."
"Let's wait another year or two."
The moment Cole said that, Yoruichi's scalp nearly exploded.
He'd already hooked her curiosity—
And now he wanted to run without taking responsibility!?
So Yoruichi glared at him viciously, waving her paws.
"If you don't take me today, believe it or not, I'll never let you mess around with Soi fong again. That kid listens to me."
Cole chuckled at her threat and flicked her on the head.
"Yoruichi-san, you got pinned down and 'handled' by your own student for days. That threat really isn't convincing."
"Are you not afraid I'll catch you and deliver you to her?"
Yoruichi instantly wilted.
If Cole actually caught her and sent her to Soi fong, that kid would be over the moon.
So Yoruichi changed tactics. She snorted and pretended not to care.
"Fine. If you won't go, then don't go."
"You're just putting on an act anyway. There's no way Seireitei has somewhere I don't know."
Cole smiled, ignored the provocation, and turned to have the Huike King take off.
Yoruichi panicked. She grabbed Cole's leg with both paws and pleaded,
"Don't go, don't go! Just tell me what it is, okay? I really don't know where you mean!"
Seeing the Huike King already lifting its flaming wings, Yoruichi clenched her teeth.
"Fine! Cole—if you really can take me to a super interesting place, I'll agree to one thing you ask. How about that!?"
Cole's interest immediately sparked. He stopped the Huike King from taking off.
"Anything?"
Yoruichi's face went red. She knew exactly what this little pervert was thinking.
Because she'd also just pictured something very unhealthy.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Yoruichi nodded hard and said with a fierce look,
"Yeah. I don't believe there's still somewhere in Seireitei I don't know."
She had once been the head of the Shihoin clan.
Captain of the Second Division.
Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force.
Leader of the Punishment Force.
She had controlled most of Seireitei's military apparatus and intelligence channels. Under that level of authority, Seireitei should have been transparent to her.
How could there be a place she didn't know!?
"Tsk tsk, so confident."
Cole smacked his lips. But in his heart, he was already making up his mind.
Maybe taking a look at the Invisible Empire wasn't a bad thing.
After all, Yhwach still hadn't awakened. He didn't yet have Zenchi Zenno (All-Knowing and All-Powerful).
And with Cole's strength, he could easily slip into the Invisible Empire and quietly observe what it was really like.
Because aside from Yhwach, the Invisible Empire also had some seriously strong fighting power.
Thinking that far, Cole exhaled and looked at Yoruichi with a serious expression.
"Taking you is fine."
"But first, we set three rules. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, both of us will be in danger."
Seeing Cole this serious only made Yoruichi more excited.
What kind of dragon's den could make Cole look this grim?
When they invaded the Soul King Palace, Cole hadn't even looked like this.
Was there really such a place hidden in Seireitei!?
Yoruichi nodded like a pecking chick, eyes full of anticipation.
Cole nodded in satisfaction.
"First rule: once we get there, you follow my orders. No acting on your own."
"Second rule: no matter what you see in there, after we come out, you don't tell anyone."
"Third rule—and the most important one: once we're in there, you do not, absolutely do not, stir up trouble!"
When he said the last line, Cole deliberately emphasized it.
With Yoruichi's personality, if he didn't restrain her, she could flip the entire Invisible Empire upside down.
Yoruichi agreed to all of it without hesitation. She stared at Cole eagerly.
"Then we can go now, right?"
"Of course."
Cole looked toward a patch of shadow. For once, a sliver of nervousness rose in his chest. He licked his lips.
"Honestly… I'm looking forward to it too."
(End of Chapter)
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