The moment the Reishukaku barrier slammed into the dome membrane surrounding the Seireitei, the Reiatsu from the impact rippled into an unknown area deep underneath the Seireitei.
Existing as a never-ending void of eternal stagnation, the Muken was a world where silence ruled with an oppressive grip, a place where existence itself was stretched thin across an infinite expanse of darkness.
There were no walls to define its limits and no ceiling to obscure the vast abyss above and the air, if it could be called such, was thick with the weight of absence.
There was only the sensation of being smothered beneath layers of imperceptible pressure and time ceased to matter as days, months and centuries held no meaning here.
Yet, despite this stillness, there was an order to the void. It forced all things to remain as they were at the moment of their arrival but one presence defied the very essence of this place.
With his form clad in the tattered remnants of a Shinigami's shihakusho, the once-pristine black having dulled out to a shade of endless gray, the man's hair was long and untamed as it drifted as if swayingin an unseen breeze.
However, while his body was still and silent, his mind stretched far beyond the confines of his physical form.
Soya Azashiro, formerly known as Kenpachi Azashiro, could hear the whispering voices beyond the reaches of the Muken and he could sense fragile strings of life not just in the Seireitei but all throughout the vast landscape that was the Soul Society.
He could have fought off the void's eternal stillness as he had spent centuries inside the Muken, but he did not resist for resistance would do him no good.
Instead, he let himself dissolve and into the shape of this abyss, existence without movement, need or sound.
BOOOOM
At least that was how it was…until the impact came.
It was neither sound nor a tremor as a ripple of powerful spiritual pressure echoed throughout the existence of the Seireitei itself, Azashiro feeling it at the very core of his being as he felt the Seireitei shaking.
'No, not shaking. It's splitting.' Azashiro thought as he felt the dome membrane surrounding the Seireitei being struck with enough force to distort its structure.
With a simple thought, Azashiro's mind expanded and reached outwards, feeling the surge of foreign reiryoku clashing with the barrier, slowly but surely piercing through it.
This was not the destructive wave of raw unfiltered power nor the relentless bombardment of numerous kido's spells
It was the refined touch of a surgeon's scalpel, the very fabric of the Seireitei's dome being torn away by a precise strike and for the first time in centuries, something stirred in Azashiro.
Something that he thought had been long buried beneath the weight of the void.
Curiosity.
Azashiro did not move nor did he need to.
His mind reached further and slipped through the unseen fractures of his cage, twisting and removing the space between him and the distance.
He could see, smell, hear, feel and taste the energies of those responsible, six distinct souls that were each brimming with will and power.
One amongst them however was the one that drew his attention as while it was the weakest out of them all, it also burned far brighter than the others, its very essence refusing to be contained by the limitations forced upon it as it clashed violently against the natural order.
The kind of soul Azashiro understood all too well.
A flicker of amusement crossed his mind and for the first time in centuries, he unleashed his Reiatsu.
The void trembled, the stillness of the Muken knowing nothing of movement nor permitting it and yet, Azashiro continued forward, shattering the very nature of the realm of this realm with every second.
He had no intention of leaving just yet as that would come in due time, but nor did he need to as he pulled upon the abilities of his Zanpakuto, closing his eyes and feeling his very being synchronising with that of the Soul Society itself.
Light warped and twisted upon itself to form his visage, the air vibrating with each deep breath he took to simulate the sound of controlled breathing and the very elements of nature succumbing to his command as he recreated a physical body out of them underneath the light illusion.
"That was hard to watch." Azashiro's voice resonated throughout the air as the words were carried by the reishi of the Seireitei itself and looked at the Ryoka wearing a Shinigami uniform as a disguise.
"It was?" The man asked with an amused smile, but Azashiro himself felt amusement as he felt the man trying to sense his reiryoku, not surprised to see the subtle frown that appeared on his face when he knew the man felt nothing but the reishi of the Seireitei itself.
"It was indeed. Now, who are you?" This man was cautious, a wild card who did not fit into the plans Azashiro had long since conjured up for his long-overdue battle against the Seireitei.
However, while he could have just gone ahead and ruptured his organs before returning to the Muken, it was not everyday that something drew the former Kenpachi's attention.
"Oh, Misao Don of Division 8, si-!"
"Do not lie. You may be dressed in the uniform of a Shinigami, but your Reiryoku does not match any that I've felt over the centuries. Try again." Azashiro cut him off and watched as the man frowned subtly before he nodded.
"That's to be expected. Hah, the name's Don. Don Kanonji. May I ask who you are?"
"You may."
"…Will you tell me who you are?
"I may or I may not." Azashiro responded and smirked as Don sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Of course there's a captain that likes talking crap. Listen, I'm not with the other guys. I'm just here to figure out where the Kido Corps is."
"For what purpose? Should you not be with your other friends that are currently elsewhere engaged?" He asked and watched as the man stared at him with a frown before shaking his head.
"No, I am confident that they can do their mission on their own. However, when they are not in immediate danger, I wish to go on my own."
"…Go towards the back of the execution pillar. Pour your kido into the farthest lower left corner of the centre of it and a door should be opened on the far right."
"You're just…going to tell me?" Don asked with a surprised look and Azashiro smirked before nodding.
"Indeed. I have no allegiance to the Gotei 13 and you and your friends will provide me with quite the entertainment to rejuvenate my otherwise dull existence.." With that said, Azashiro's physical form vanished, but his mind lingered as he watched Don raising an eyebrow at the disappearance.
"…Hah, why did I go off on my own?" The man muttered and the former Kenpachi synchronised himself with the entire Seireitei once more to watch the carnage unfold.
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'That was not one of the original 13 Captains I remember from the show so it might have been a guy that was promoted after the whole Arrancar thing? Could he also be someone from the filler arcs? Damn, if only I had finished reading the manga, then I wouldn't have been stuck in this universe with incomplete information.'
"At least he didn't try and kill me so that's a good thing." I muttered softly to myself as I stopped at the part that he had pointed out, placing a hand on the pillar before sending a pulse of reiryoku right into it.
As I did so, I stretched out my sensing and smirked as I felt my reiryoku flowing through the pillar, focusing it on the point that the captain had spoke of before looking over to the right as I heard a door opening.
"Well, I guess the man's not a liar." Walking over to the opening, a quick glance down showed no one waiting for me and I slowly walked in whilst raising the Reishukaku up in front of me.
As the door closed behind me, my eyes widened as I felt the reishiin the air dimming drastically, quickly gripping my cane tightly while unleashing a burst of Reiatsu into the orb.
It was just as I did so that a barrage of blasts impacted the bubble shield I created in front of me, watching as a duo of Kido Corps members charged at me before I raised my cane towards them.
"Hado #1: Sho! Sho! Sho! Sho!" I was rapid firing Sho spells whilst activating and deactivating the Reishukaku the moment they fired back, making sure to glance up and around to see if anyone else was hiding.
"Hado #4: Byakurai!"
"Hado #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!" I was surprised at the quick combo as I blocked the Byakurai from one of them only to quickly dismiss the shield as the other used the Byakurai as a path to channel his own Tsuzuri.
Quickly leaping back up a few steps while firing my own Byakurai, I tucked the Reishukaku into my coat as I threw my cane into the air before quickly drawing the kanji for 'Bind' with my left hand.
"Bakudo #9: Geki! Bakudo #9: Horin!" They both looked surprised as the one of the left froze the moment he was about to activate another Kido spell while the one of the right was quickly immobilized by an orange tendril shooting from my right index and middle fingers.
Pulling the one tied with Horin towards me, I leapt down the stairs before delivering a knee to their neck, hearing a gargling cough behind the cloth before I fell on top of him and rolled over whilst catching my cane.
"Kan'onball." The chant barely left my lips as I pointed the end of my cane at the last Kido Corps member and they only had a split second before their head snapped back, their body going slack and falling to the ground with a thud.
Pulling both of them with me and into the room on the left, I looked around at the empty storage compartment I was in before reaching towards their necks, letting out a relieved sigh as I felt their hearts still beating before looking around.
'Damn, no spare outfits? Wait, why the hell am I relying on anime tropes?' I thought with a groan as I tore off my Shinigami uniform, dressing the one on the left in it while putting on the Kido Corps uniform he had.
'Okay, I may have underestimated just how goddamn broken Kido can become.' I thought as I put on the cloth veil over my face, surprised to find that I could still see through it like it wasn't there even though I could feel it.
"First off, find the library. Then do some research. Finally, go rescue Rukia…I like that plan."
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"Ohoho~ This is the motherload~!" I whispered with an excited smile as I stood in the doorway that led to a vast room, the walls practically built out of bookshelves that were lined with probably dozens of books each.
The only thing other than the books was a short bridge that led to a small work station in the middle of the room and as I walked over, I smirked as I saw the holographic computer system that was built into the desk.
'Okay, firstly…any information on Kido Spells.' Typing the term onto the computer, I watched as it lit up before frowning as it showed me only spells that were of the rank #70 and lower.
Now, don't get me wrong. That was still a crap ton of spells for me to copy, but I was hoping to find more of the higher-ranked variety ones to steal and keep in the pocket in case of emergencies.
"Well, I guess I can at least study these, but before I do…"
'Time to see for any information on the Reimyaku.' I thought as I typed in the term, watching as the computer sifted through information before frowning as all it gave me was one single phrase.
All information regarding this subject has been deleted.
'Okay, so this is that real high-level stuff?' I thought as I closed and opened it again, shaking my head as the same message popped up with a soft ding.
"Well, I guess there goes my chances of finding out what the hell there is. Will I at least get something on the others?" Typing in the keywords 'Hogyoku' and 'Removing Objects from Soul' however made my eyes widen and for a different reason as I watched numerous files popping up.
'That's way too many files. Okay, how about you give me any files that have the following keywords included in them: Hogyoku, Soul Disruption, Reishi seperation, High-level Kido and ritual.' I narrowed my choices down even further this time and watched as nearly all but one vanished.
'Guess you're the lucky winner, eh?' Pulling the document wider and pulling the desk chair closer, I made myself comfortable as I began to read.
The Hogyoku is seen as the pinnacle of Kido itself, the object itself possessing not only just the spiritual ability to disrupt the divide between Hollow and Shinigami but also the ability to grant the abilities of one race to a member of the other race.
Initially kept in a dormant state to ensure its powers do not run rampant, it can only be awakened after having absorbed enough reiryoku equal to that of two Spirit Class Rank 3 beings.
However, once it is awakened, the Hogyoku will not go dormant until it is either placed inside of a host or forcibly sealed away with forbidden Kido spells.
Once the Hogyoku is sealed inside of an unsuspecting member, it will drain the spiritual energy that soul generates to the last drop before fully extracting itself from them, but usually that would result in the host passing away since they didn't have the requisite amount of spiritual energy to control the Hogyoku.
There is a way to extract the Hogyoku before this can happen, but this requires a surgeon-like precision as any mistake could result in it overloading and eradicating everything within a few hundred kilometers.
'Well…isn't that lovely? Anyway, time to see just what this is. Firstly…disrupt the soul's spiritual structure to loosen their connection to the Hogyoku. Next, through the usage of forbidden Kido and Reiatsu compression spells, channel an absurd amount of Reiatsu into the core of their soul to override the resistance of the person's soul clinging to the Hogyoku to force it to submit and separate from the host. Finally, with the usage of barrier Kido, seal the Hogyoku into a spherical object and you should now have it in your grasp.'
"…Well, I guess it's a good thing I already got one." I muttered as I caressed the Reishukaku as well as the Hollow Reiryoku necklace around my neck.
Even with the reassurance of having the ability to seal the Hogyoku, though, I still had some steps to fill before I could actually take the Hogyoku from Aizen.
'The first being the fact that I need to figure out how to counter KyokaSuigetsu. If I can't do that, then all of this is for nothing. That being said…how the hell do I counter that shit other than grabbing the blade?' I thought with a frustrated sigh before shaking my head as I brought up the Kido Spells once more and began to read.
After all, maybe I could find some spells that would work for me.
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In a dimly lit underground chamber, lanterns let out an amber glow as the air was still, the only sound being the soft rustling of fabric as three figures looked at the numerous projections playing out in front of them.
Seated just a meter or two away from every projection, a man with slicked-back brown hair with a single strand over his forehead and dressed in the captain's uniform of the Gotei 13 looked amused whilst watching the projection.
To his right, a white-haired man leaned against a column, his body language relaxed as he stared in amusement at the projections and to the first man's left stood a dark-skinned man with dark brown braids and pupilless eyes, his posture rigid as his unseeing gaze was fixed on the screens.
"They're making quite the mess up there just like ya planned, huh Captain Aizen?" The white-haired man asked, his half-lidded eyes shifting to stare with sky-blue eyes at the amused brown-haired man seated in front of the screens.
"Predictability has its own charm, would you not agree Gin?" The man asked in turn, his smile remaining unchanged as he continued to look forward.
"If I may, Captain Aizen, this is somewhat disorderly. Even knowing the outcome, the presence of so many variables does leave an unpleasant taste in my mouth." The dark-skinned man spoke and Aizen chuckled lightly as he glanced at the man.
"You do not need my permission to speak freely, Tosen. However, I do agree that there are a bit too many pieces on the board." He said while turning to a particular projection screen, the Kido Corps' archives being a location that would have been of little interest to him.
"A new piece has entered the board? Is it somethin' unexpected?" Gin asked and arched a brow as Aizen's expression did not change even as he tapped lightly against the armrest of his chair.
"Not unexpected. Merely entertaining." Tosen turned his head slightly as he sensed the shift in Aizen's interest as well as feeling Gin's amusement.
"Who?"
"An anomaly. There's one of the Ryoka moving through the Kido Corps' records."
"Well, now that's interestin'. You think they might be after somethin' important?" Gin asked as his smirk widened, a glint of mischief flashing in his gaze and Aizen exhaled, the sound almost sounding like that of a laugh.
"Important? Perhaps to them. To us? It is nothing more than another performance in the grand play of fate."
"That so? Guess we'll just sit back an' enjoy the show, then." Tosen however did not seem so amused or convinced as he frowned slightly.
"If there is a threat, we should eliminate it."
"If it becomes a threat, Kaname, then we shall in deed. Until then, we shall continue to observe. After all…" He trailed off as his gaze flickered back to the central projection, watching as Ichigo and a red hared man glared at each other.
"It's been quite some time since something truly surprising happened."
A/N: Again, sorry for yesterday, but I got home at 22:00 and was very tired so I tried to write but fell asleep right behind the screen so here you guys go~!
Anyway, the plot thickens as the Don is busy with studying the Kido Corps' archives while the big bads themselves are observing the events from behind the scenes.
What will happen next time? Guess we'll have to check out next time.
Also, it's this chapter and then the two Avatar chapters before we go to Devilish Gaming, but if I don't do Devilish Gaming, I'm going to do it tomorrow with the Naruto stories.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next chapter,
Ba-Bye~!