It had to be said that Beltz's current form was far more likely to win the trust of others than his dragon form. If Rukia had believed fifty percent of Beltz's words before, she now believed seventy percent.
Rukia's face flushed as she whispered, "Let go of me~"
"Oh, sorry about that."
Beltz quickly released his hands, letting Rukia stand on the ground. After all, they had just plummeted from a height of ten thousand meters.
Standing on the ground, Rukia looked around, feigning indifference, but soon asked with a hint of surprise: "But, where is this place?"
When they were in the sky, she hadn't paid much attention because of the surrounding clouds, but looking at it now—
It was so strange.
This definitely wasn't the Soul Society!
No, it was hard to say for places too far away, but at least within the Seireitei and the Rukongai, there were no oceans of such a massive scale!
And—
The feeling in the air was very wrong.
Where was the Reishi?
This world—
Actually had no Reishi?
Could they have come to the World of the Living?
But even in the World of the Living, it shouldn't be completely devoid of Reishi, right?
"This is another world, distinct from the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living, a world only we can reach."
The corners of Beltz's mouth curled up as he raised his hands. A breeze brushed past his body, fluttering the tips of his black hair.
"A world only... we can reach?" Rukia realized that in the short time she had known Beltz, she had encountered far too many incredible things.
She completely failed to grasp the meaning behind Beltz's words.
A world different from the World of the Living, the Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo?
Was that even possible?
Even though Rukia had rarely left the Seireitei, she knew that the world consisted only of those three realms: the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, and the Soul Society.
"Let's go. We're almost at our destination."
Beltz spoke softly. They were already very close to the Sabaody Archipelago, so he could no longer advance in his dragon form.
After all, his dragon form was wanted by the World Government, and the Sabaody Archipelago was far too close to Marine Headquarters and the Red Line!
If he transformed into a dragon, he would be easily discovered!
Beltz's trip to the Sabaody Archipelago was a secret operation; wouldn't being discovered just add unnecessary trouble?
So, it was better for the two of them to walk there now.
Yes, walk over!
They were about ten kilometers away from the Sabaody Archipelago. Although the path was all ocean, it wasn't a problem for the two of them.
After all, they could both step on the air; as long as they manipulated Reishi appropriately, they could advance by treading on the surface of the sea.
As they walked toward Sabaody, they kept an eye out for any ships. If they encountered pirates, they would just seize their ship directly.
Rukia followed Beltz, her curiosity piqued. After all, when she was in the Seireitei, she never saw such sights.
"By the way, here is your Zanpakuto."
As Beltz spoke, he returned Rukia's Zanpakuto to her.
Rukia took it, stunned for a moment, and then asked: "Where were you hiding it before?"
"I feel like my whole body smells like your saliva..."
"That's called Dragon Saliva. It couldn't be helped. To get you out without arousing suspicion, I had to play the role of a Hollow and swallow you."
Rukia didn't dwell on it, but she still looked worried: "The Captain and— my brother's side—"
"Trust me, I'll give you a reason for your return."
Beltz said calmly.
"A reason... for my return?" Rukia turned her head, looking up slightly at Beltz's profile. After a while, she looked forward again: "What is it?"
"I'll send you to Hueco Mundo. When the time comes, I'll just let the Soul Reapers notice you there and bring you back, right?"
Beltz shrugged. "A dragon-shaped Hollow ate you and returned to Hueco Mundo, but you weren't completely consumed. You awakened Bankai at the critical moment and defeated the dragon-shaped Great Hollow."
"But after you emerged from its body, you found yourself in Hueco Mundo with no way back. Isn't that a great excuse?"
"Bankai?" Rukia was shocked and hurriedly said: "I can't use Bankai!"
Bankai was the ultimate combat method for Soul Reapers; only Captains could use Bankai, and each of their names could be engraved in the million-year history of the Soul Society!
Let alone Bankai, she had only mastered Shikai for two years. How could she possibly master Bankai?
To be honest, she never expected to be able to learn Bankai in her lifetime.
But Beltz was very confident. He simply patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you master Bankai."
After all, Rukia herself wasn't a Soul Reaper without talent. Though she couldn't compare to those geniuses, mastering Bankai wouldn't be too difficult.
It was the same logic: in the World of Bleach, she would need another thirty-eight years to master Bankai, but this was the world of One Piece; time would be compressed!
Thirty-eight years in the World of Bleach might only take 3.8 years in the One Piece world.
"It might take a few years, but trading a few years for a Bankai isn't a bad deal, right?"
"..." Rukia still found it hard to believe.
But seeing how confident Beltz was, she subconsciously believed his words.
"Oh, our ship is here."
As he spoke, Beltz saw a small boat sailing from a distance. He couldn't help but say to Rukia, "Looks like we don't have to walk the rest of the way."
"Mm." Rukia was still immersed in the shock of the Bankai. She looked at Beltz's back, feeling that this man truly possessed endless secrets.
Just who was he?
Rukia followed Beltz toward the ship.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a pirate ship but a normal merchant vessel carrying a group of businessmen heading to the Sabaody Archipelago.
Upon discovering Beltz and Rukia standing on the sea, the people on the ship were utterly shocked, fearing the two were pirates coming to steal their treasures.
But Beltz negotiated with them, stating they were just heading to the Sabaody Archipelago and hoped for a ride.
Beltz even paid them, so they agreed.
Thus, Beltz and Rukia arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago on that ship.
The Sabaody Archipelago, also known as Bubble Island, is entirely composed of the exposed roots of the world's largest Yarukiman Mangrove trees.
Floating bubbles formed from natural resin are constantly produced from the ground across the entire island.
As soon as they arrived, Rukia was deeply captivated by the island's scenery.
The previous ocean, the current Bubble Island—everything in this world was challenging Rukia's perception.
She had never seen such a beautiful place.
Could this place actually be heaven?
It was truly like a dream.
Rukia had lived in the Rukongai since she was a child. Needless to say, life there was hard; one could barely find a sip of water, and people died every day.
Later, when she reached the Seireitei, it was mostly cold, Heian-style architecture where people walked around with frozen expressions all day. The entire Seireitei was permeated with an aura of solemnity.
When had she ever seen such a dreamlike scene?
Although Rukia had lived for decades or even over a hundred years, and by age, she could easily be someone's grandmother, because those in the Soul Society were long-lived species, she was strictly speaking still a young girl.
Arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago naturally made her girlish heart flutter.
"This world has many other unique sights."
Seeing Rukia like this, Beltz couldn't help but smile faintly. "If there's a chance in the future, I can take you to see them."
"For now, come on, I'll take you to buy some clothes."
"Eh? Buy clothes?"
Rukia was stunned.
"What? You don't want to keep wearing your Shihakusho forever, do you? We're going to be living here for a few years; you can't go without changing your clothes, or they'll start to stink."
"You're the one who's going to stink!"
Beltz chuckled, but his mind was on what Professor Clover had told him regarding Vegapunk.
Vegapunk said he was coming to the Sabaody Archipelago for a meeting, and the location was on Grove 17.
Sabaody is an archipelago consisting of 69 islands.
Among them, Groves 1 to 29 are islands for human trafficking and various lawless zones.
It was normal for Vegapunk to meet on Grove 17; after all, he hadn't joined the World Government yet, nor was he part of the Navy's Science Unit.
He was currently employed by the Loan Shark King, Lu Feld, and had formed the MADS organization with several other scientists.
Lu Feld was no ordinary man; he was an Emperor of the Underworld in the One Piece world and held massive influence globally.
Such a person naturally wouldn't worry about the lawless zones of the Sabaody Archipelago; in fact, many industries within those zones were connected to him.
Beltz bought Rukia several outfits, having her change out of that black Shihakusho.
Now, Rukia was wearing a light gray tie-front cardigan with a white base shirt underneath. For the bottom, she wore a black miniskirt paired with a black thigh ring and black lace-up platform boots. To keep up with fashion, Beltz also bought her a black shoulder bag.
He looked Rukia over carefully, feeling like something was missing—ah, maybe a pair of white headphones.
This was arguably the first time Rukia had worn such clothes. In the Seireitei, she either wore her Shihakusho or a kimono fit for a lady of a noble house.
She said somewhat self-consciously, "These clothes must be expensive. I'll pay you back when I return to the Seireitei."
"No need, it's pocket change." Beltz was now exposing his "nouveau riche" temperament; he had hundreds of billions in his pocket, so why would he care about this small amount?
"Next, I'll take you to a hotel. I have some business to handle then. You can wait for me there, or if you're interested, you can go out and look around. I'll leave you some money."
☰