Hearing Oetsu's summons, Kaien knew his invitation was a bust; business took precedence, after all.
Urahara glanced toward the depths of the barracks and cautioned Asuka, "Little Asuka, no matter what the person inside says, absolutely do not lose your temper with him."
"These people are not as simple as they appear on the surface. Every single one of them is terrifying..."
"...Sigh, I know."
Although he didn't know what Oetsu planned to do by calling him inside, Asuka felt helpless, sensing it would just be another high-pressure situation.
Watching Kaien and the others walk away while chatting and laughing, he turned around without a word and entered the barracks.
Kirio Hikifune had already left with the newly appointed Head Captain, Shunsui Kyoraku, presumably to deal with the massive mess left behind after the annihilation of Central 46.
The conference room, which had previously been packed with Soul Reaper Captains, now felt empty and desolate.
Only one person remained in the room: Oetsu Nimaiya.
He was sitting cross-legged on that specially designated high-backed chair, continuously flipping a nail file in his hand.
"Yo, Boy! You came back pretty fast!"
Hearing Asuka's footsteps, Oetsu casually tossed the nail file behind him. The file actually turned into a wisp of Reishi in midair and dissipated completely.
He leaped down from the chair and walked over to Asuka with a brisk, hip-hop-style rhythmic step.
"...Do you have some instructions, Lord of Squad Zero?" Asuka looked at him calmly. "You didn't keep me behind just to tutor me for the Shin'o Academy entrance exam, did you?"
"Oh, no, no, no! I couldn't be bothered to care about something that boring."
Oetsu extended a finger and wagged it in front of Asuka.
Then, his gaze slowly shifted downward, finally settling on Asuka's waist.
"I'll get straight to the point, Boy."
Oetsu's voice suddenly turned serious. "Do you mind letting me take a look at your Zanpakuto?"
'He actually wants to examine my Kakudatsu?'
Hearing this, a strong sense of surprise and vigilance immediately welled up in Asuka's heart.
It was said that a Zanpakuto was a Soul Reaper's other half, their most important partner.
And Asuka's Zanpakuto was even more special.
It had devoured the flesh and blood of demons and chewed up the malice of another world; it could be said to be quite unclean.
Moreover, this blade hid far too many inexplicable secrets, as well as his most core power...
Asuka did not move immediately, but instead rested his hand on the hilt.
He called out rapidly in his mind, attempting to contact those two guys in his inner world.
The giant white wolf, which would normally bark madly at the slightest provocation, was nowhere to be seen—not even a single strand of its fur.
The black-haired youth, who was always acting mysterious and profoundly enigmatic, seemed to have completely evaporated from his inner world.
There was no response, not even the slightest fluctuation of emotion.
'These two bastards... dropping the ball at a critical moment again!' Asuka cursed inwardly.
But he knew this was definitely no coincidence.
The reason these two guys were playing dead was either because they were also wary of this sunglasses-wearing man in front of him and couldn't easily show themselves.
Or, they felt that handing the blade over wouldn't pose any substantial danger.
Regardless of which it was, given the current situation, he really didn't seem to have any room to refuse.
"...Take it."
After a brief moment of weighing his options, Asuka released his grip on the hilt, unbuckled Kakudatsu, and handed it over to Oetsu expressionlessly.
"If you just want to look, then look... but I'll state this upfront: it has a bad temper, so be careful not to cut your hands."
"Hah! I've seen plenty of blades with bad tempers!"
Oetsu rubbed his hands together excitedly and carefully accepted Kakudatsu.
The very moment his fingertips touched the scabbard—
Hum!!
A blade's hum, filled with brutality and resistance, suddenly rang out from within the sheath.
Accompanying it was a black malice, imperceptible to the naked eye but surging like needle pricks within one's spiritual senses.
It surged along the blade straight toward Oetsu's palm, as if intending to completely shred this stranger's fingertips!
"Oh? What an energetic rebellion!"
Instead of letting go, Oetsu let out a gasp of amazement.
The surface of his palm was instantly covered in a layer of extremely high-density, pure Reishi. It was like wearing an invisible glove, effortlessly suppressing that black malice.
Oetsu held Kakudatsu in both hands, as if cradling a rare treasure.
"Now then, let me get a good look at you..."
Oetsu gripped the scabbard with his left hand and the hilt with his right.
Clang—
Accompanied by a crisp sound of metal friction, Kakudatsu was drawn cleanly.
Light fell upon the blade but did not reflect any gleam; instead, it seemed to be devoured by the deep, black-and-red patterns.
Those ferocious markings, interlocking like dog teeth, lay quietly dormant on the edge.
Oetsu's face was almost pressed against the blade.
He pushed down the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, revealing the eyes of an artisan capable of dissecting all creation.
Then, he curled his finger and lightly flicked the blade.
Ding—
The crisp reverberation echoed throughout the hall.
Oetsu closed his eyes, listening to some kind of code contained within the sound.
Next, his fingers slid down the curve of the blade's spine, inch by inch.
He stroked those black-and-red patterns, feeling the thickness and sharpness of the edge, his brows sometimes relaxing and sometimes locking tightly together.
"This is truly... so unique..."
Oetsu began to mutter to himself, speaking vocabulary that Asuka couldn't understand at all.
"Such a Reishi construct... perfect layering, without a single trace of impurity..."
"But what is with the flames inside this... it's not elemental, not Kido... is it some kind of rule or conceptual existence...?"
"No! It's more than that! The Spirit Core of this blade... its heart..."
A few fine beads of sweat actually seeped out on Oetsu's forehead.
His fingers stopped at the junction between the hilt and the blade, his eyes filled with unbelievable shock.
"This is... an unreplicable miracle!!"
Asuka stood to the side, watching Oetsu's expression shift from frantic to pained, and then to looking as if he had found a priceless treasure, his frown deepening by the second.
'Is this guy a fetishist? How can he act like this just from looking at a sword?'
A full fifteen minutes passed.
Oetsu finally let out a long exhale.
He closed his eyes, calming his agitated emotions, and then with a click, sheathed Kakudatsu and handed it back to Asuka.
This time, his movements were much more solemn, even putting away his previous frivolous attitude.
"Asuka."
Oetsu watched Asuka take the blade and asked directly.
"Do you know what a Zanpakuto is?"
Asuka frowned, answering instinctively, "A weapon used to cut people."
Hearing this answer, Oetsu covered his face in pain and let out an exaggerated wail.
"Oh my God! What a waste of a heavenly treasure! It's an absolute waste of a heavenly treasure!!"
He jerked his head up and pointed at Asuka in utter anguish. "No wonder she insisted you go to the Shin'o Academy for further study... You have all this immense power, yet your understanding of a Zanpakuto is shallow to an outrageous degree!"
"Listen up, ignorant Boy of the Rukongai!"
"The so-called Zanpakuto, in its initial form, is known as an [Asauchi]..."
Oetsu put his sunglasses back on, planted his hands on his hips, and, recovering that intense sense of rhythm, began his rap.