Ichibē said, "We have come by the Soul King's decree to rebuild the Gotei 13."
Shin scoffed internally. There was no such thing as the Soul King's decree, it was more like the Zero Division's decree.
"Don't joke around. I don't care how great you are, you hid in the Soul King Palace while Seireitei was under attack, and now you suddenly pop out and say you're going to rebuild the Gotei 13?" Soi Fon loudly demanded an explanation.
Ichibē ignored her and continued, "The first thing we must do is take Kurosaki..."
Soi Fon interrupted him, wanting an explanation.
Tenjirō moved behind her, extending his left hand to restrain Soi Fon. But Shin was faster, grabbing his left wrist.
"Nohara!" Soi Fon exclaimed.
She hadn't even seen clearly how the two of them had suddenly appeared behind her.
Tenjirō strained his arm slightly but couldn't break free. He said, "You are Nohara Shin? I really don't understand what you Gotei 13 are doing, letting a human interfere so much in the affairs of Soul Society?"
Shin chuckled. "What's wrong? You regulate the heavens, the earth, and the air—are you going to regulate me too?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense and confrontational.
Bang!
"Ow!"
Ichibē punched Tenjirō on the head, smiling harmlessly. "Nohara-dono has helped Soul Society quite a bit. Didn't I say we could chat later? Dealing with the matter at hand is more important."
Shin released Tenjirō's hand. Fighting the Zero Division now was pointless. As long as the Zero Division Riden were not completely destroyed, these guys could resurrect infinitely.
To truly defeat them, one would have to invade the Soul King Palace.
"There's no need for that. The people we need to take are already here." Senjumaru's voice drew everyone's attention.
Behind her, a skeletal arm was gripping two white spheres, inside which lay the heavily injured Rukia and Renji, wrapped up like mummies.
"Now only Ichigo remains." The skeletal arm pointed toward Ichigo.
Ichigo asked, puzzled, "Why do I have to go too?"
Although he had come because Mayuri told him someone here could help repair his Zanpakutō, these people were ignoring his opinion and immediately saying they would take him away, which irritated him greatly.
Ichibē said mysteriously, "There is naturally a reason why we must take you."
"Ichigo, go with them. Only then can your Zangetsu be repaired." Shin draped his arm over Ichigo's shoulder and whispered.
Zaraki, who had been silent all this time, spoke up, "I'm going too."
Ichibē asked, "Oh? What is Captain Zaraki going to the Soul King Palace for?"
Zaraki pulled out his broken Zanpakutō and said, "To repair my Zanpakutō."
Ichibē crossed his arms and shook his head. "It cannot be repaired. It can only be reforged into something similar to the original sword."
"Oh, that's fine too." Zaraki didn't mind.
Ichibē thought for a moment and agreed to Zaraki's request.
...
The group then arrived at the Shiba clan's residence.
They needed to launch the Tenchūren into the Soul King Palace using Kūkaku's Kakaku Taihō.
There are 72 barriers between the Soul King Palace and Seireitei, requiring the Ōken to break through. The Ōken is actually the bones of Zero Division members whose properties have been altered by the Soul King's power.
Therefore, generally speaking, there are only two ways to enter the Soul King Palace: either the Zero Division lets you in, or you go in with the Zero Division.
After Kūkaku ignited the cannon, the Tenchūren was successfully launched toward the Soul King Palace.
"This... is the Soul King Palace."
After Ichigo emerged from the Tenchūren, he immediately felt the Soul King Palace's extremely high atmospheric Reishi concentration, which was much greater than that of Soul Society.
The Soul King Palace is composed of several parts: the Soul King Palace Front Approach, Soul King Greater Palace and the Zero Division Riden.
The Soul King Greater Palace is the main sanctuary of the Soul King Palace, where the Soul King resides, while the five Zero Division Riden float around it.
"Where do we go next?"
Ichigo asked after hearing the introductions from Ichibē and the others.
Ōetsu said, "You and Zaraki will first go to Gatonden to raise your Reiatsu, and then follow me. Those two patients will go for treatment first."
Thus, Ichigo and Zaraki Kenpachi followed Kirio to Gatonden, while Rukia and Renji followed Tenjirō to Kirinden.
Kirio personally prepared cuisine containing the essence of the soul and helped the two of them raise their Reiatsu levels.
Afterward, they followed Ōetsu to the Hōōden.
The Hōōden contained many Zanpakutō forged by Ōetsu, all appearing in their materialized forms.
Reforging their Zanpakutō was essentially creating a custom Asauchi for each of them, an Asauchi that would fully align with their inner selves.
Ōetsu immediately reforged Zaraki's Zanpakutō, but required Ichigo to undergo a trial first to understand his own heart.
Zaraki's new Zanpakutō had almost no difference in appearance from his old one, but when he held it, he could clearly feel the difference. He felt that the new Zanpakutō perfectly matched his inner desire for combat and slaughter.
Unlike Zaraki, Ichigo's situation was much more complex.
Ichigo had previously learned about his lineage from Isshin in the Human World, so it didn't take him long to understand his past and choose an Asauchi that belonged to him.
He also finally understood the true nature of old man Zangetsu. It turned out that White Ichigo, the Hollow who had always threatened and intimidated him, hadn't been lying, and old man Zangetsu was the manifestation of the Quincy power within him.
Although he shared the same appearance as Yhwach from a thousand years ago, they were actually unrelated.
Old man Zangetsu had always tried to prevent Ichigo from becoming a Shinigami and eventually dying at Yhwach's hands, which is why he suppressed his power.
Only now, after fully understanding Ichigo's conviction and will, did old man Zangetsu reveal that the power Ichigo had used before was merely an unrestrained fragment of his true strength. He then returned Ichigo's true power and vanished completely from Ichigo's inner world.
Finally, Ōetsu personally forged him a brand new Zanpakutō—a pair of black dual blades, one long and one short, representing his Hollow power and Quincy power, respectively.
As for Rukia and Renji, after undergoing hot spring treatment at the Kirinden, they also went to the Gatonden to boost their Reiatsu, and finally received ability training from Ichibē.
—
Meanwhile, in Soul Society.
SRDI.
Akon excitedly reported the situation to Mayuri, "Mayuri-sama, we have successfully located the coordinates of the Wandenreich."