"Aizen… that man is dangerous in the extreme."
Ren Kuro frowned slightly. Even setting the Espada aside, he still intended to summon Aizen eventually. That man was simply too perfect to ignore.
Power that stood above the Gotei 13.
The intellect to toy with all of Soul Society in the palm of his hand.
The cunning to deceive everyone around him.
A mind that remained calm under any circumstance.
It was no exaggeration to say that Aizen was almost flawless.
When he still served as a captain, he had already stood at the pinnacle of the Shinigami. And once he became the ruler of Hueco Mundo, Aizen used the Hōgyoku to shatter the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow, stepping into an entirely new realm.
He was the true king meant to sit upon the throne of the sky.
Fortunately, the system placed absolute restraints on summoned characters. Otherwise, Ren Kuro would never dare summon Aizen so easily. That man was, without question, the most dangerous existence of them all.
Still, Aizen's summoning requirements were the same as Captain-Commander Yamamoto's and Ichibē Hyōsube's.
He could only be summoned after six captains had already been unlocked.
In other words, Aizen's arrival was still some distance away.
Putting aside thoughts of Aizen and the Espada for now, Ren Kuro turned his attention back to the Visored panel.
"System, open it."
Ren Kuro slowly closed his eyes. An interface appeared in his mind, and eleven silhouettes surfaced on it.
Not only were the core Visoreds led by Shinji Hirako present, but Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Tessai Tsukabishi also appeared there.
That meant that with the ten Devil Fruits currently in his possession, he could summon any one of them.
His gaze swept back and forth across the eleven figures before finally settling on one graceful silhouette.
He had already made his choice.
"I want to unlock the former Captain of the Second Division…"
"Yoruichi Shihōin!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the Devil Fruits before him vanished.
"Energy absorbed. Beginning summon."
As the system prompt sounded, the same dazzling blue light as before appeared in front of him.
Unexpectedly, when the light began to fade, the figure he had imagined did not appear.
Instead—
a black cat stood there.
The light fully disappeared.
The black cat met Ren Kuro's eyes.
It stared at him without blinking, its expression so strangely human that it seemed to be sizing him up in silence.
"…A cat?"
Ren Kuro looked at it curiously.
"Don't tell me you're Yoruichi Shihōin?"
The black cat still gave no response. It only kept staring at him with those clear eyes, as though puzzled.
"Come on, at least react a little." Ren Kuro spread his hands helplessly. He was already fairly certain this black cat was Yoruichi, but the sheer aloofness was starting to annoy him.
"Hey, if you keep ignoring me, I'm tossing you into the sea to feed the fish."
Ren Kuro lifted the black cat high into the air and deliberately threatened it.
That finally got a reaction.
The black cat shot him a thoroughly human glare.
"Yoruichi Shihōin, I know it's you. You're messing with me again with that ridiculous sense of humor, aren't you?"
The cat struggled nonstop, but Ren Kuro refused to let go.
"Meow—!"
Unable to break free, the black cat suddenly let out a sharp cry, and brilliant light burst from its body along with an enormous surge of Reiatsu.
As the spiritual pressure expanded, the cat's body began to grow larger.
"Yoruichi Shihōin… so it really is you."
Under Ren Kuro's watchful gaze, the black cat rapidly transformed until it took on a human form.
One of the Four Great Noble Houses of Soul Society.
Former Captain of the Second Division.
Former Commander of the Stealth Force.
The woman known as the Flash Goddess.
Yoruichi Shihōin!
"If I'm not mistaken," Yoruichi said, clearly displeased as she recalled his earlier behavior, "you're the one who summoned me, aren't you?"
"That's right, Lady Yoruichi."
Ren Kuro smiled.
"I brought you into this world."
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