Yoruichi looked at Asuka, repeatedly warning him, "I'm reminding you, it's best not to clash with that kid."
"Although his power isn't as great as yours, he is a local resident after all. If you fight him to the death in this barren Spiritual Energy field, even if you win, the loss will outweigh the gain."
"We must focus our energy on the problem of closing the Valley of Screams."
Following her train of thought, Shinobu Kocho asked, "Miss Yoruichi, you just said that shattering the Blanks is a futile effort. How exactly do we close this connection to the Valley of Screams?"
"To close the connection to the Valley of Screams, we must find and destroy the core maintaining this rift." Yoruichi handed the two of them a diagram.
"That core is called the Shinenju."
This was an unfamiliar term; even Shinobu didn't know much about it.
"What is that?"
"You remember that Blanks are blank souls that have lost their memories and sense of self, right?"
Yoruichi explained, "Have you ever wondered where those forgotten memories went?"
Asuka and Shinobu exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads.
"Memories are an extremely unique form of emotional energy. When countless Blanks detach from the World of the Living and become trapped in the Dangai, their shed memory fragments don't just vanish into thin air."
"These memory fragments drift aimlessly through the void of the Dangai, occasionally converging due to some intense resonance."
"Eventually, a special amalgamation possessing incredibly high Spiritual Energy is born."
"This is the Shinenju."
Hearing this, Shinobu seemed to understand something. "Since it's an amalgamation of memories, wouldn't it contain an immensely massive amount of lingering attachments?"
"Exactly." Yoruichi nodded. "The lingering attachment of the Shinenju is the core that maintains the existence of the Valley of Screams."
"You could say that as long as the Shinenju exists, the rift to the Valley of Screams will never close, and it will continuously siphon energy from the World of the Living to sustain its own existence..."
"Then we find it and hack it to pieces," Asuka said without hesitation.
"Yes, we must find it..." Yoruichi's gaze grew somewhat complicated. "However, the Shinenju isn't a lifeless stone."
"It is a sense of belonging condensed from the memories, emotions, and lingering attachments of countless humans... Usually, it takes on a human form."
"Human?" Shinobu covered her mouth in surprise.
"Yes." Yoruichi scratched her head. "Not only does it possess a human appearance, but it even has its own independent consciousness and emotions, along with false memories pieced together from countless fragments."
"It will believe itself to be a living, breathing person, with parents, friends, favorite foods, and things it fears..."
"Yet, it has absolutely no idea what it truly is."
This... caused Asuka's grip on his sword hilt to tighten a fraction more.
He never considered himself a good person.
Killing a monster or an enemy carried no psychological burden for Asuka.
But... to ask him to kill an ordinary person who was completely oblivious to the nature of their own existence...
How was that any different from Aizen, who casually stripped away the lives of innocents to achieve his goals, or those man-eating demons who devoured the lives of others?
In his mind, Asuka suddenly recalled the large character for "Human" that Mr. Kinpachi Sakamoto had written on the blackboard.
If protecting some people meant he had to ruthlessly eradicate another innocent person... then what did the human bonds he had worked so hard to regain even mean?
Asuka's face darkened, his inner thoughts unreadable.
Yoruichi did not rush him.
She knew that for those Soul Reaper Captains who constantly preached about the greater good, sacrificing one person to save the world... or even sacrificing the people of an entire Rukongai district, was just a simple arithmetic problem that required no second thought.
But for outliers like Asuka and herself, who cherished individual bonds, this was a cruel choice.
Just as Asuka fell into hesitation.
A pair of soft hands gently covered his.
She didn't speak, only gently prying open Asuka's stiffened fingers—clenched from excessive force—one by one, before tightly intertwining her fingers with his.
"Mr. Asuka," Shinobu's voice was very soft. "We are Soul Reapers, not gods... We cannot save everyone."
She looked into Asuka's eyes without the slightest hint of retreat in her gaze. "If the rules of this world are truly so cruel that they force us to make a choice... you don't need to shoulder all the darkness alone. I am willing to bear this sin with you."
Asuka shuddered, staring blankly at the woman before him.
A resolute yet helpless smile curled the corners of Shinobu's lips. "Even if it means being the villain, I will always stay by your side."
The tangled mess in his heart unraveled with her help.
"...Sigh." Asuka forcefully squeezed Shinobu's hand in return and looked at Yoruichi. "I will find the Shinenju, and then... I'll deal with it."
Seeing the rekindled resolve in Asuka's eyes, Yoruichi secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
"Good, as long as you have that resolve." Yoruichi stood up straight, pulled out a peculiarly shaped metal device resembling a compass from her clothes, and solemnly handed it to Asuka.
"You need to listen very closely to what I say next."
"Because Sarayashiki City has now been severely eroded by the laws of another world, not only is there no Reishi supply in this area, but even the Spiritual Energy within a Soul Reaper's body will be invisibly suppressed and siphoned away."
"Here, an ordinary Soul Reaper wouldn't even be able to release their Zanpakuto, and forcibly casting Kido will only lead to Spiritual Energy depletion."
"Therefore, the Soul Society cannot provide you with any substantial combat support... Neither the Gotei 13 nor Kisuke can intervene."
"For this battle, you can only rely on yourselves."
Yoruichi tapped the metal compass. "This is a Reishi detector made by Kisuke. It can help you find the unique wavelength of the Shinenju."
"All I can do right now is help you locate the general direction of the Shinenju... The rest is entirely up to you."
Asuka took the heavy radar and glanced at the screen, which was blinking with a faint red dot.
"That's enough."
He stuffed the radar into his clothes and gently pushed open Kakudatsu's blade with his right thumb.
Although the sword remained sheathed, its chilling blade intent already caused the surrounding fog to churn and recede.
"Shinobu, stay close to me."
"Yes, your lieutenant is standing by." Shinobu smiled faintly.
Even though she couldn't use Kido, she was still the Insect Hashira who had darted through the forests during the era of man-eating demons.
"Be careful out there." Yoruichi looked at their backs as they stood side by side, showing a rare expression of concern. "If you run into that kid named Yusuke Urameshi, try your best not to clash with him."
"If possible... maybe you can find a better solution."
Asuka didn't answer. Pulling Shinobu along, he plunged into the dense sea of grayish-white fog without hesitation.