On the way back, Shiki and Beltz flew through the sky together.
"You're becoming stronger and stronger..." Shiki said with a touch of emotion. "It seems you're no longer suited to be my Vice Captain."
Beltz laughed and replied, "You can let Oden be your Vice Captain, or wait until Enel and Alber grow up. Trust me, they will be great helpers for you in the future."
"True. From now on, the two of us are equals!"
Though Shiki was arrogant, he had known Beltz for several years and saw no need to direct that outward bravado toward him. Previously, Beltz's strength truly couldn't match Shiki's, so Shiki acted as his captain from a position of superiority. But now, Beltz was growing increasingly powerful, his fame was skyrocketing, and his bounty had even surpassed Shiki's.
In this situation, Shiki felt awkward continuing to claim the title of Beltz's captain. Even if Beltz didn't particularly care, Shiki had his own pride. After all, what kind of captain has a lower bounty than his crewmate? He couldn't show his face.
Furthermore, back in Elbaf, Beltz had once again thwarted the World Government's plans, making Shiki feel that the man was deeper and more mysterious than ever. So, he simply laid it all out on the table.
Beltz, of course, didn't mind. In fact, he had never taken the title of Vice Captain of the Flying Pirates very seriously to begin with.
"I suspect that if the World Government doesn't attack immediately, we'll have a fairly long cooling-off period..." he told Shiki. "The next few years, or even a decade, will be a rare time for development."
"Let's hope so..." Shiki snorted.
They saw the silhouette of Wano appear on the horizon and accelerated. Upon entering Wano, the two split up: Shiki headed to Hachinosu, while Beltz returned to Onigashima.
On a frozen lake surface, he found Rukia, who currently looked like an ice spirit. She was dressed in pure white, her clothes appearing to be made of ice crystals, with a butterfly-shaped white ribbon on her back. Most striking of all was her hair—originally black, it had turned a snowy white.
Centered on her, a powerful aura of extreme cold radiated outward; even Beltz felt a shiver as he approached.
"Bankai?"
Beltz landed, somewhat surprised. "You've already mastered Bankai?"
Rukia reacted only after hearing his voice. The ice crystals on her body shattered inch by inch, turning into specks of snow that fell to the ground, revealing her original clothing. The extreme cold quickly dissipated as Rukia said with a smile, "Yes, thanks to the Snow-Snow Fruit you gave me, I've mastered Bankai!"
Since obtaining the Snow-Snow Fruit from Liltotto, Beltz had handed it to Rukia. Rukia was no longer a novice and knew about the existence of Devil Fruits. She was deeply grateful to Beltz for giving her such a rare Logia fruit and had redoubled her training. She had already grasped the essence of Sode no Shirayuki, was fully proficient in her Shikai, and could now even manifest Bankai.
"Impressive..." Beltz praised sincerely. "I told you that you had great potential, didn't I?"
"It's all thanks to you..." Rukia smiled. "Without you, I might still be an ordinary Shinigami."
"No, gold will always shine eventually." After saying this, Beltz thought of Harald. "I have a favor to ask. I need you to accompany me to Hueco Mundo again."
"Hueco Mundo..." Rukia paused. "Did something happen?"
"I have two friends who just died in the Living World. I want to ask you to perform a Konso on them and send them to the Soul Society."
"Oh... I thought it was something serious. Shall we leave now?"
"Yes."
Beltz walked over, placed his hand on Rukia's head, and in the next moment, they returned to Hueco Mundo.
"I... should go back soon." Feeling the familiar Reishi in the environment, a trace of nostalgia appeared in Rukia's eyes. She whispered, "Beltz, it's been a while since I left the Seireitei."
"True." Beltz didn't resist the idea of her returning, but it wasn't time yet. He said, "Wait at most another six months, and you can return to the Seireitei."
Rukia actually felt a bit reluctant. In the environment of the Seireitei and the Gotei 13, her life had been far too suppressed. In the One Piece world, though she was alone most of the time, Beltz had always looked after her, and she possessed a rare freedom and a goal to strive for.
But she couldn't stay away forever; she had friends and people who cared for her back there. This was also what she and Beltz had agreed upon—she would return one day.
Beltz wanted her to wait six months primarily because his clone project would be finished by then. At that time, he would have Vegapunk attempt to remove the Hogyoku from Rukia's body. Once the Hogyoku was removed, her mission would be complete. This wasn't a case of "discarding the tool after it's used"; Rukia had indeed grown much stronger during her time with him. She was now no weaker than her self during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.
"Six months..." Rukia murmured. "Fine. When we get back to Wano, I plan to head out to sea and explore for those six months."
"You want to go to sea too?"
"Yes. After all, I've spent most of my time in Wano. Once I go back to the Seireitei, I probably won't have another chance to see the outside world. For these last six months, I want to wander and see the world."
Beltz nodded. "Very well. With your current strength, not many people will be your match."
As they spoke, Beltz sensed Harald's location. He had told Harald before leaving to stay nearby and not wander too far.
When Beltz and Rukia arrived, they found Harald's condition wasn't quite right. The Chain of Fate on Harald's chest had burned away more than half and had turned completely black.
"You're back?" Harald didn't know what was happening or if this was normal, so he didn't feel any alarm.
But the expressions of Beltz and Rukia changed instantly. This sensation was clearly the sign of turning into a Hollow!
"Is it because he's influenced by the Reishi environment of Hueco Mundo?" Rukia said. "Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen a soul come here before being classified as a Plus or a Hollow."
"It's my mistake; I didn't take that into account." Beltz frowned. "But... is this really just the influence of Hueco Mundo?"
He hadn't considered that a soul would be eroded by the environment here. Since souls are made of Reishi and Harald had been absorbing Reishi saturated with Hollow energy, pollution was possible. But besides that...
He flew up and stood in the air before Harald's chest, observing the pitch-black Chain of Fate closely. Harald, feeling nervous under his gaze, asked, "Did something happen?"
"It makes sense..." Beltz said deeply. "I should have known that if Imu's power can erode a person's spirit, it wouldn't be as simple as just the flesh."
Harald's face paled. "You mean Imu's Depths Covenant is still eroding me?"
He didn't understand "Hollows" or "Chains of Fate..." but he understood Imu and the Depths Covenant all too well. Beltz was saying that even though he was dead and his body was gone, he still hadn't escaped the mark?!
"There is an influence..." Beltz said. "The so-called Depths Covenant is essentially a demonic contract. Imu possesses a terrifying demonic power. He once 'demonized' Rocks and said that demons are the essence of life, so it's perfectly understandable that he left demonic power inside you.
"Normally, this power is used to erode the flesh, and your soul wouldn't have had an issue. But in a place like Hueco Mundo, the influence of Hollow power has instead activated the demonic power slumbering in your soul..."
Now it was Rukia's turn to be confused—what Imu? What demonic power? But that didn't matter. What mattered was that Harald's soul was now very close to becoming a Hollow!
Rukia said, "Catch up later. Let me help him pass on first."
By "passing on..." she meant performing a Konso to the Soul Society.
Beltz nodded. "Harald, don't resist."
Harald looked grave; he didn't want to be controlled by Imu even as a soul. He watched the black-haired girl draw her sword, jump up like Beltz, and press the hilt against his forehead.
Something seemed to be stamped there, making him feel a change in his "body." He felt the Chain of Fate on his chest vanish instantly, but he wasn't transported to any Soul Society. He remained in Hueco Mundo!
Instead, a powerful and evil aura began to radiate from him, and it felt as though something was about to grow out of his back! Realizing this power didn't belong to him, Harald desperately suppressed the growth of this demonic energy.
Rukia was shocked. "How is this possible... I clearly performed Konso, but why didn't you enter the Soul Society?"
A soul that undergoes Konso should enter the Soul Society as a Plus, yet Harald remained!
Beltz had been watching closely. "It might be because Harald's power is too immense, so even Konso can't force a transfer. Moreover, he isn't a normal Plus right now. Of course, he's not a Hollow either. If I had to say, he's a 'Demon'."
Hearing "Demon..." Harald felt regret. "So I failed after all? From the moment I signed that contract, this fate was sealed. Beltz, kill me!"
Beltz shook his head. "No, don't rush. Though you are a 'Demon,' you aren't under Imu's control. Look, your mind is perfectly normal, isn't it? Your flesh is gone. Even without Rukia, if that demonic power had activated, it would have just turned you into a demon-type Hollow, not Imu's puppet.
"And now, because of Rukia's Konso, you haven't even become a Hollow. You've become a unique kind of Plus, much like the Wolfman Clan that fell into the Beast Realm. You could be called the 'Demon Clan'."
Plus is a broad category, and they aren't all human-shaped—Komamura Sajin, for example, is part of the Wolfman Clan. While the Soul Society had no demons in the past, a "Demon Clan" had effectively been born through Harald.
"A demon..." Harald smiled bitterly. "It seems I can't avoid living with Imu's mark. Even if I'm free from control, I can't escape the demon's shadow."
He could feel that he could enter a "Demon State." In this state, he would become stronger and even gain regeneration, but it would also make him incredibly violent.
"Actually, staying out of the Soul Society might not be a bad thing. Compared to the Soul Society or the Seireitei, Hueco Mundo is actually safer..." Beltz comforted him. "The only problem is that it's full of monsters."
Harald nodded. He had seen the terrifying nature of this world before Beltz returned. To him, it wasn't a big deal—Elbaf had its own Underworld filled with fierce beasts. He would just treat Hueco Mundo as the Underworld.
Beltz wasn't just comforting him; he truly meant it. Between the Gotei 13 and the Wandenreich lurking in the shadows, the Soul Society was a tinderbox. Hueco Mundo had far fewer prying eyes. Harald's presence would surely attract attention given he was the first of his kind in the Three Worlds; he fit in better here. With his massive size and the budding demon wings on his back, he looked quite a bit like a Hollow.
And with Harald's strength, he had nothing to fear even against a Vasto Lorde. While he had lost a lot of power without his physical body, and even with the demonic boost he was far from his living peak, he still possessed power at or above the level of a Vasto Lorde!