The moment Grey Wolf spat out his final word—
Everyone in the tavern was dumbfounded.
Aizen outright sprayed the wine he'd just taken into his mouth.
Some of it even went up his nose.
Huh…
Why do my eyes feel warm?
Wait.
Why am I tearing up?!
Is this… emotion?
No, no, no—
King Grey Wolf, if you act like this, then once the Hōgyoku is completed, how the hell am I supposed to stab you later?!
At the same time, Old Man Yamamoto stood frozen in place.
His face was ashen, veins bulging violently on his forehead.
For nearly a thousand years—
Not a single soul had ever made him address them as "king."
And now…
Now he'd called a wolf that.
Calling it once would've been bad enough—
but the worst part was, he'd done it for nothing!
Wasn't this just bullying an honest man?!
Just as the Zanpakutō in Yamamoto's hand was about to slip from its sheath—
Grey Wolf hurriedly scurried over to Aizen and gave his arm a solid slap.
"Well, Aizen?"
"This king keeps his word, doesn't he?"
"I misjudged you—no, I misjudged this wolf," Aizen said with a smile, discreetly wiping the moisture from the corner of his eye.
"Then hurry up and roast some lamb for this king!"
"What are you standing around for?!"
Grey Wolf urged impatiently.
This time, there was no killing intent left in Aizen's eyes.
Without a word, he jogged straight into the kitchen to start roasting the lamb.
He even carefully sealed up the lamb kidneys, tendons, and other choice parts in vacuum bags—
So Grey Wolf could take them to go.
"Old Man Yamamoto, I suggest you immediately begin preparations to apprehend Aizen."
"Once the Hōgyoku is completed—"
"Even if all the captains of the Gotei Thirteen act together, they'll shatter on contact."
Yoruichi said this while licking her paw, watching Yamamoto's darkened expression.
She had personally witnessed the terrifying spiritual pressure Ron had unleashed when fusing with the Hōgyoku.
Just the leakage of that pressure was enough to inspire fear, suffocation…
So heavy it made breathing difficult.
It felt like gazing directly at a god—
A crushing reminder of one's own insignificance and despair.
"I'll consider it," Yamamoto said gravely.
"But the most urgent task right now is to replenish the Gotei Thirteen's combat strength."
He returned to the bar and sat down heavily.
In that Hollowfication incident,
Eight captains and vice-captains had perished.
It was a catastrophic blow to the Gotei Thirteen—
and to Soul Society as a whole.
In Yamamoto's view,
Wasting time chasing a traitor was far less important than restoring their strength.
Taking another sip of wine, he continued:
"When I return, I'll clear the names of you, Urahara Kisuke, and Tessai Tsukabishi."
"They'll be reinstated to their original positions."
He paused, then asked in a deep voice:
"And you?"
"When are you returning to Soul Society?"
"Don't tell me you plan to keep slacking off here."
Yoruichi stretched lazily beside Ron and replied with a yawn:
"If I leave the tavern—"
"Who's going to keep an eye on Aizen?"
"I'll stay here. If anything happens, I'll report it immediately."
After a moment's thought, Yamamoto nodded.
"Very well."
"It's getting late. I should return to Soul Society and begin preparations."
"Young man, your wine here is excellent. I'll come again when I have the time."
Ron smiled.
"You're welcome anytime."
Yamamoto nodded, placed a thick stack of money on the counter, and slowly left the tavern.
Not long after—
A mechanical system notification echoed in Ron's mind:
[Ding. Customer: Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
Swordsmanship, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kidō… Host may select one ability.]
Too bad Ryūjin Jakka isn't an option…
A trace of regret flashed through Ron's eyes before he spoke softly:
"Select Yamamoto's Hakuda."
"Begin fusion."
[Ding. Optimizing ability flaws. Compensating for missing aspects… Complete.]
Once the Hakuda techniques finished integrating, another notification sounded:
[Ding. Congratulations to the host for reaching 2 billion in total revenue.
The tavern will begin upgrading after closing hours.]
[Ding. Tavern permissions upgraded.
One non-'Special Trait' interdimensional guest will be guaranteed daily.]
[Ding. Myriad Worlds Tavern Mall system upgraded!]
[Ding. After a guest finishes venting, the host may choose to copy either one item or one skill.
Choice is limited to once.]
[Ding. Upon reaching 10 billion in revenue, the tavern will upgrade again.
At that time, the host may break the dimensional barrier and travel to other worlds!]
Hearing the system notifications, Ron couldn't help but sigh.
As expected…
Having a few wealthy regulars really makes a difference.
The Sacred Lord and his son, Tu Shan Yaya, and others—
they'd casually pay with a handful of gemstones each visit.
And the system could directly convert those into currency.
What surprised Ron, though,
was that the system didn't even bother dangling bait this time—
Hit ten billion, and he could immediately travel to other worlds.
Not only that, the tavern mall had refreshed again.
Artifacts from the Valkyrie world,
Noble Phantasms from Fate,
Infinity Stones and the Infinity Gauntlet from Marvel,
even things like Martial Souls…
The only problem was the price.
Something like the Gate of Babylon alone cost over a hundred thousand points.
While Ron was browsing the mall—
The tavern's doorbell suddenly rang.
Ding-ling…
As the door slowly opened,
Meruem walked in.
Unlike before, he was noticeably stronger now—
and beside him stood a small girl.
She had white hair tied into twin horn-like braids, thick eyebrows,
and a string of clear mucus hanging from her nose…
It was Komugi—
the light that awakened Meruem's humanity.
Ron glanced at them once and immediately understood their situation.
Meruem was now infected with the contagious poison of the "Poor Man's Rose."
He didn't have long to live.
And Komugi had been infected as well.
This was, quite literally, their final stretch together.
"Lord Chairman, it's so lively here… where are we?"
Komugi tugged on Meruem's arm, her voice clear yet helpless.
"I brought you here to be cured," Meruem said softly.
"You can't die."
Komugi froze, then began to cry.
"Lord Chairman…"
"I'm very happy right now."
"Please allow me to spend this time with you."
"Perhaps… I was born for this very day."
Hearing this, Meruem hesitated.
Looking back on his life,
the moments he spent playing Gungi with Komugi were the happiest he'd ever known.
And perhaps, for her, it was the same.
So…
Should he accept death?
But—
Hope for life was right in front of him.
At that moment, Ron's voice slowly echoed through the tavern:
"I'll give you two choices."
"One—
stay here, play your final game with Komugi, and die peacefully."
"I'll take care of your bodies."
"Two—
choose to live."
"But the price is this—
from now on, you stay in the tavern as security personnel."
"Komugi can stay as well."
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