Several days later.
Laboratory, Training Grounds.
In the center of the training grounds, Nanatsuki sat cross-legged, eyes closed.
Thin, translucent blue lines glimmered across the skin of his upper body.
He was cultivating the ability known as Blut Vene.
Since returning from Hueco Mundo, he had been holed up in the training grounds in seclusion.
Now, the Blut had extended across his entire upper torso.
The larger the coverage area, the harder it became.
Once the Blut covered his entire arm, the difficulty had multiplied many times over.
Fortunately, Nanatsuki had Kaido to heal himself, allowing him to make endless trial-and-error attempts.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have progressed this quickly.
Nanatsuki's brows twitched slightly as he opened his eyes.
He glanced at the Status Interface—his Blut had just leveled up again.
[Blut Vene Lv.35 (0/700)]
"'At Level 50, the Blut should be able to cover my whole body.'"
This thought crossed Nanatsuki's mind.
Reiatsu gathered in his right hand, condensing into a Reiatsu Blade.
He wanted to test the defensive strength of his Blut.
He applied light pressure—the blade sank slightly into the skin but did not pierce it.
Blut didn't eliminate skin flexibility.
Applying more force, the blue lines of the Blut burst with Reishi, and the blade smoothly slid into the skin.
"Now that it covers more area, the defense has become stronger—on par with low-tier Bakudō."
Nanatsuki was very satisfied.
Low-tier Bakudō—meaning the ones he himself cast—weren't weak by any standard.
Any Shinigami below seated officer level probably couldn't even scratch him anymore.
"The biggest advantage of Blut is that as long as I don't switch to Blut Arterie, it passively boosts my defense without requiring activation."
Blut Vene and Blut Arterie were core powers of pure-blooded Quincy, incredibly practical.
Once the Blut was formed, it became a passive ability.
Nanatsuki pulled out his Denreishinki.
Actually, it wasn't the level-up prompt that stopped him—he'd just received a new message.
Yoruichi's voice came through the communicator:
"Sensei~ I found a Quincy spiritual tool in my clan's secret vault. Come by and pick it up when you have time~"
"'That fast? I only mentioned it to her last night.'"
Nanatsuki felt warmth in his chest. Yoruichi always took his words seriously—things he mentioned casually, she would act on right away.
He activated the communicator and replied:
"I'm free now. I'll come pick it up right away."
On the other side, Yoruichi lay on her bed, legs lifted and swinging in the air.
She was reading—a rare sight indeed.
She almost never read voluntarily. That had always been the case since she was little.
The book she was reading had been found in the Shihoin clan's secret archives.
It was about Quincy—probably something the Onmitsukidō had confiscated from a captured Quincy.
It described several Quincy customs.
"Ah... so giving this... means that?"
After flipping the page, she found there was nothing more.
Yoruichi set the book down, unsatisfied, then picked up the silver ring beside her and began spinning it around her middle finger.
"If I give this to Sensei... would it be misunderstood?"
She flipped over and lay on her back, head resting on the book.
She raised her right hand, carefully examining the ring on her middle finger.
"Mistaken for what! This is the perfect chance to show how I feel! Shihoin Yoruichi!!!"
A bright, beaming smile lit up her face.
Just then, she sensed her communicator receiving a new message.
"This Reishi frequency... it's Sensei's private channel!"
She sat up immediately and opened the communicator.
Her teacher's gentle voice came through:
"I'm free now. I'll come pick it up right away."
"Sensei's coming here?" Yoruichi felt a flutter in her chest.
But when she looked at the ring on her right hand, she panicked again.
"Oh no... I should've prepared!!!"
She quickly replied:
"Sensei… I still have… I mean, Division Two still has duties to handle! Can you come tonight instead?"
The communicator responded:
"Then take your time. I'm in no rush."
Yoruichi breathed a sigh of relief.
"For something this important… I've got to get ready."
She called out,
"Aoi, help me get dressed!"
Her maid peeked in, confused.
"Miss, isn't the festival day still a few days off?"
"Forget that! We're on a tight schedule—hurry!"
It was a sweltering summer night. Even the riverside didn't offer much relief. Cicadas chirped in the forest.
Nanatsuki stood by the riverbank, watching the moonlit current.
Across the river was Shihoin territory. He was waiting for Yoruichi.
He was here to retrieve a spiritual tool, but she'd said she'd be off work late and asked to meet here at this time.
"'Strange… wouldn't it be easier to wait at her place?'
Well, the scenery here is nice."
He didn't know why she chose this spot.
Still, it was on the direct route from Division Two to the Shihoin estate, so he didn't think much of it.
After waiting for a bit, Nanatsuki's spiritual perception stirred—Yoruichi was approaching.
"'Why's she coming from the direction of the Shihoin estate?'"
He looked up in confusion—and saw a figure on the opposite bank.
Somehow, a woman in a flowing white dress had appeared.
Nanatsuki's eyes twitched.
Across the river stood Shihoin Yoruichi.
But instead of her usual Shinigami outfit, she wore a Western-style white gown, with long white gloves covering her arms.
Elegantly dressed, she stepped lightly across the shimmering surface of the water.
"Hehe~ Pretty, right?"
Yoruichi twirled as she arrived, lifting the hem of her dress.
Her hair brushed gently across Nanatsuki's cheek as she spun, a soft scent filling the air.
"Wait a second—what is that outfit?!"
Nanatsuki was stunned.
He never thought he'd see Yoruichi in something that looked like a wedding dress.
"It's based on the designs in the book!" Yoruichi beamed.
"Pretty, right?"
The Shihoin family tailors were incredible.
In just a single day, they had reproduced an outfit that didn't exist in the Soul Society, just from a drawing in a book.
"You've got the figure to wear anything," Nanatsuki said.
"But what kind of book has clothes like that?"
"It's a Quincy book!"
"Quincy… yeah, makes sense. In the World of the Living, the countries they ruled wore things like this."
Nanatsuki scratched his cheek.
Back in the day, the Quincy had built a vast empire in the World of the Living.
Their culture was quite similar to Western culture in Nanatsuki's previous life.
"I found the spiritual tool you wanted, Sensei. Give me your left hand~"
Yoruichi placed both hands behind her back, eyes sparkling.
"Why the left hand?"
Nanatsuki was confused but held out his hand.
Yoruichi took it and slipped a silver ring onto his middle finger.
"The book said… when you give a ring to someone you love, you're supposed to wear this outfit~"
Yoruichi was completely straightforward, her golden-orange eyes shimmering.
She stared into Nanatsuki's eyes, waiting for his reply.
"That's a wedding dress… You're only supposed to wear that for a wedding."
"Eh?! A w-wedding?! But the book didn't say anything like that!"
Yoruichi's face turned bright red. She had only wanted to express her feelings, but she'd misunderstood the book.
Just as she was flustered and unsure what to do, Nanatsuki said softly:
"But… I really like the gift."
Inside the room, Nanatsuki raised his left hand. Reishi quickly converged on the silver ring on his finger.
It expanded into a glowing blue Reishi longbow and Heilig Pfeil.
Yoruichi touched the arrowhead, her eyes lighting up.
Nanatsuki was demonstrating his Quincy powers for her.
She had been pestering him all night, demanding to see them.
He had no choice but to give her a proper demonstration.
"You really have mastered Quincy powers!"
Yoruichi was convinced.
She'd had her doubts—how could Nanatsuki possess such abilities?
But now that she had seen and felt them herself, she had no choice but to believe.
"My Quincy power comes from the Soul King."
Nanatsuki told part of the truth.
That wasn't a lie.
His Quincy abilities came from the Kurosaki clan, once part of Yhwach's bloodline.
But after being altered by the Giant Eyeball, they had no further connection to Yhwach.
And since the eyeball was itself a creation of the Soul King, by transitive logic, his powers came from the Soul King.
"The Soul King truly does possess Quincy powers…"
As the head of the Shihoin family, Yoruichi had read ancient texts stating that the Soul King had Quincy abilities.
"But Sensei, why are you connected to the Soul King?"
Yoruichi asked, confused.
"That has to do with my origin," Nanatsuki said slowly.
"There are only three who know the truth—the Soul King, the Royal Guard, and Batsu'unsai."
"You've probably heard that I was brought back from Rukongai by Batsu'unsai, right?"
"Yes, that's what we were told by Shishō."
"And as the head of the Onmitsukidō, you should know that Batsu'unsai was involved in the 'Captain Supplementation Plan.'"
"Mhm… but what does that have to do with you, Sensei?"
Yoruichi blinked in surprise. While she didn't know every detail about the "Captain Supplementation Plan," she quickly grasped what Nanatsuki was hinting at.
"You're saying… Reishi Shell?!"
"My spiritual body… is Batsu'unsai's Reishi Shell."
Nanatsuki nodded.
"Batsu'unsai's Reishi Shell?!"
Yoruichi was shocked. Her first instinct was to reject the idea.
"A Reishi Shell can grow to this level?!"
Judging by the timeline, if Nanatsuki was indeed a Reishi Shell, he must have been created before the technique was sealed away.
As far as she knew, back then Reishi Shells could only reach the spiritual pressure level of a 20th-tier soul.
"A Reishi Shell is only a vessel."
Nanatsuki shook his head and continued.
"Within that vessel… is the 'Shadow of the Soul King.'"
"Huh?!"
Yoruichi's mouth fell open—literally big enough to hold a chicken egg.
"Do you know the truth behind Ukitake Jūshirō?"
Nanatsuki brought him up as an example—but in truth, his case was entirely different.
The right arm of the Soul King inside Ukitake was a separate entity.
It had merely attached itself to his body.
Ukitake was never the right arm itself.
But Nanatsuki was the Shadow of the Soul King in essence.
He had fused directly with the Reishi Shell, becoming a new, independent being.
"Though the situation is different, our spiritual bodies both carry fragments of the Soul King."
He didn't go into the distinctions.
"Captain Ukitake…" Yoruichi murmured in realization.
"So that's what it was…"
As the head of the Shihoin clan and commander of the Onmitsukidō, she knew more than most.
She had at least some knowledge of Ukitake's secret.
"Ukitake's case could be called a coincidence… but how did you, Sensei, get the Soul King's shadow?"
Yoruichi asked, full of curiosity.
"That has to do with the Royal Guard. It was Shutara Senjumaru who stitched the Shadow into Batsu'unsai's Reishi Shell," Nanatsuki replied.
"The Royal Guard…" Yoruichi's brow furrowed. Her thoughts immediately jumped to the experiments of the Captain Supplementation Plan.
"So they intended to use the Soul King's power to cultivate a Spiritual Pressure Core strong enough for Batsu'unsai to inherit?"
"Wait, does that mean the Royal Guard might dig out your Spiritual Pressure Core, Sensei?!"
Her gaze sharpened immediately.
She would never allow that to happen.
"Batsu'unsai herself gave up on that plan."
Nanatsuki shook his head.
"And I've found a new solution. You know as well—we obtained a wealth of research from Miyamoto Tetsuya's lab. Modern Reishi Shell techniques have surpassed the old limits. It's only a matter of time before we create a Spiritual Pressure Core strong enough for Batsu'unsai to use."
"That's a relief…"
Yoruichi exhaled deeply.
"But having the Shadow of the Soul King inside me… isn't all good."
Nanatsuki warned her.
"As head of the Shihoin clan, you should know the Soul King's current condition."
"Mhm… it's hard to talk about, but…"
Yoruichi's expression turned grim.
"The state of the Soul Society, and the Soul King's current suffering… it was orchestrated by the Five Great Noble Houses."
"This was the Soul King's own choice."
Nanatsuki said quietly.
The more you knew, the clearer it became—the Soul King's power far surpassed the Five Families.
Becoming the Linchpin of the Three Realms was something he had chosen.
"Our Shihoin ancestors said the same," Yoruichi nodded.
"The Soul King sacrificed himself for the balance of the realms. But Sensei, why did you say having the Shadow isn't all good? Will you be… affected by the Soul King?"
"There've been no signs so far. But if the balance of the Three Realms ever collapses, people like me and Ukitake..."
Nanatsuki paused.
"...we'll have to take the Soul King's place."
"The balance of the Three Realms... but with the Soul King still present, shouldn't everything be fine?" Yoruichi asked.
"Nothing's guaranteed. Just look at the Lord of Hell. He's been making more and more moves lately. Who knows what kind of threats he'll pose to the Three Realms next."
Nanatsuki's gaze turned serious as he looked directly at her.
"Yoruichi—I need more Soul King fragments."
The Shihoin clan, with its ancient heritage, had once witnessed the splitting of the Soul King. Surely, they still preserved some of those fragments.