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It would be alarmist to say that without the Void Death God, the gods would disappear. After all, the Death God is the most direct and powerful force, and the nobles definitely need the Death God to help them maintain their status.
But if there were no external enemies, an institution like the Maou Spiritual Academy, which produces a large number of Shinigami every year, would probably soon be suppressed and have its funding cut for various reasons.
After all, there is no need for so many gods of death just to maintain the rule of the nobles. Instead of giving everyone an equal opportunity to become a god of death, the nobles would definitely prefer to hold the method of becoming a god of death in their hands as a gift to the genius when he swears allegiance.
Of course, this is just a mild guess. If we consider it more realistically, the fusion of the Shinigami and the Hollows into one group, in the eyes of the nobles, the greatest significance is probably the creation of a huge power vacuum area. The families under the four noble families will want to seize the opportunity to conquer those former great Hollows and strive to become the new generation of the four noble families. The four noble families will also do their best to maintain their status.
By then, it will probably be an extremely brutal war, and countless Death Gods and Great Hollows will leave the stage until the world's power structure is stabilized again.
As long as he thought back to what those nobles did on a daily basis, all kinds of bad guesses could not help but drill into Urahara Kisuke's head. It seemed that no matter what his original intention was, he would eventually be messed up by that group of insects.
How could Soul Society possibly get better with that group of nobles around?
For a moment, Urahara Kisuke, who was always full of confidence, actually felt a strong sense of powerlessness.
Otherwise, I could just run away and go to Hueco Mundo to find Gu Shi and the others. They would definitely understand and support me.
The moment this thought came to mind, Urahara Kisuke was shocked by himself. Strictly speaking, he was actually a conservative who hated any behavior that shook the Soul Society. How could he suddenly have such a rebellious idea! ?
Kisuke Urahara slapped his face hard with both hands, grabbed a small knife used for research, and shaved roughly to make himself look less sloppy. Then his eyes, which were a little cloudy due to staying up late for a long time, became clear again, and he looked at his best friend calmly.
"This time, thanks to your advance notice, Yoruichi, I have enough time to sort out my feelings. I have already thought about it. If the captain asks, I will tell the truth. As long as I have a clear conscience, it's fine. As for how to deal with me, that is something the captain should consider."
I can't think about it anymore. If I continue to daydream about it, I might really betray Soul Society one day.
Urahara Kisuke, who had made up his mind, completely put away the casualness that was like a mask he usually wore, and sat there quietly with a gentle smile and sharp eyes. The pride of a young genius was fully revealed.
Looking at Urahara Kisuke like this, Shihouin Yoruichi felt as if her heart was squeezed hard by someone. She hoped that Kisuke could realize how unorthodox and wrong his ideas were, but why did she feel so uncomfortable when Kisuke really said that he could do whatever he wanted?
Before Shihouin Yoruichi could think deeply about where this strange feeling came from, the door of Urahara Kisuke's laboratory was knocked gently.
Because Ye Yi, the future commander of the Criminal Army, was in the house. The Criminal Army, who usually ignored the door and sneaked into the target's home to arrest or notify people during their missions, knocked on the door honestly this time.
Taking a deep breath, Shifengyuan Yoruichi held Urahara Kisuke's shoulders, leaned down and looked at him for a few seconds, and said an unquestionable "I will protect you", turned around and opened the door of the laboratory, waved to the criminal army who was respectfully guarding outside the door, and left quickly.
The criminal army that came to inform Urahara Kisuke was not a stranger.
Whenever the mother and daughter of the Shifeng family had conflicts, it was always this person who was sent by an "unknown person" to "tactfully" inform Urahara Kisuke and ask him to help mediate the conflict. After meeting him many times, even if the other party was masked and dressed in black like ordinary criminals, Urahara Kisuke could easily recognize who he was.
"Brother Shenmu, let's go."
Urahara Kisuke didn't want to say more. He symbolically straightened his clothes and calmly walked to the side of the criminal soldier.
The criminal soldier code-named "Shinmu" sees Urahara Kisuke at least fifty or sixty times a year. After decades of getting along with him, he is more familiar with his frivolous face than his own mother's face. However, this is the first time he has seen Urahara Kisuke so aggressive. He can't help but feel worried, but his duty as a criminal soldier does not allow him to say much at this time.
"Kisuke, the captain-sama is trustworthy."
In the end, Shenmu could only utter this meaningless consolation, and silently took Urahara Kisuke to Seireitei.
Kamiki's instant step is always ranked among the best in the criminal army, but while on the road, he was surprised to find that no matter how fast he went, Urahara Kisuke could easily keep up with his pace, and he couldn't help feeling even more regretful.
Soon, the two entered Jinglingting and came to the door of the first team's barracks.
This is actually a good sign, indicating that although the captain-general intends to question Urahara Kisuke, he does not actually doubt him. If the captain-general has already subjectively determined that he is guilty, he should be sent to prison now.
In the entire Gotei 13, apart from the Second Squad which is responsible for interrogation, the most special one is undoubtedly the First Squad. In theory, the criminal army and covert maneuvers have extremely high priority and can enter the squadron barracks of any squad at will when performing tasks, but in actual execution, the First Squad is obviously not included in this "any".
At the door of the First Squadron's barracks, Urahara Kisuke was handed over by Kamiki to an old man with white hair and a spirited look.
With the lifespan of the god of death, to be able to live to this gray-haired appearance, in addition to the influence of spiritual aging, the old man himself must be at least five or six hundred years old.
The long time has given the old man enough experience. Even though the entire Seireitei is now cautious because of the captain's anger, he still has a smiling look on his face. He patted Urahara Kisuke's hand affectionately and whispered, "Young man, you are in good spirits. Come with me." Then he slowly took him into his own team room.
Chapter 147 Captain
Looking at the entire Gotei 13, the First Squad is special enough. The other squads, from the captains to the ordinary team members, are basically all young people. At least on the surface, they are all young people. Only the First Squad is almost entirely composed of old people.
For the god of death, appearance cannot actually be used to reflect age. After passing the teenage years when the body is still developing, whether one looks young or old is basically determined by his mentality.
People who feel that they are old will age quickly in appearance, while people who think of themselves as young will always look young.
This is particularly evident among the female Shinigami. Unohana Retsu, who is of the same generation as the Captain-General, actually looks younger than her junior Kyoraku Shunsui, who has a middle-aged appearance, if you ignore her long braids that greatly increase her sense of maturity and only look at her face.
In this situation, the atmosphere in the team, which is composed entirely of "old people", can be imagined. It looks majestic from the outside, but when you really go inside, you will find that this is simply an activity center for the elderly, with calm and gentle white-haired old people everywhere.
On the short walk to the captain's office, Urahara Kisuke was praised by six elderly people for his spirits, and was given snacks such as dried persimmons and senbei by three old ladies. He also made an appointment with an elderly person to drink and enjoy the snow together at the beginning of the year.
Holding a bunch of snacks, Urahara Kisuke, who was originally ready to die and had a high spirits, felt like he had punched cotton. It is said that the first push will weaken the second and the third will eventually lead to exhaustion. His momentum now was simply exhausted.
Fortunately, they finally arrived at the captain's office. There was no kind old man or woman guarding the office door, but only the vice-captain with his back straight, serious expression and sharp eyes. Urahara Kisuke took a deep breath, cheered up, and prepared to face the criticism.
The vice-captain, who had a moustache and looked a little mean, cast his hawk-like eyes on the snacks in Urahara Kisuke's arms and nodded as if he was used to it.
"Leave the things here with me first, and come get them when you come out."
...That's it? Don't you think it's disrespectful for me to come to see the captain with snacks in my arms? Aren't you going to scold me? I'm so sorry for your mean face for being so easy to talk to!
Things were seriously not going as expected. Urahara Kisuke could only nod stiffly with a wooden face and handed the snacks in his arms to the mean-faced vice-captain. The old man next to him gently knocked on the office door.
"Captain, Urahara Kisuke is here."
After a moment, a serious and majestic voice came from inside the door.
"come in."
The captain's office can be described as "vast", with knife racks on both sides displaying several simple long swords. On the wall facing the door, there are huge calligraphy scrolls, each of which is infused with the writer's spirit, as if one can see the words of terrifying fiery purgatory, demonstrating an extremely strong sense of presence.
Sitting in front of the scroll is the undisputed strongest man in the past seven hundred years, the captain-in-chief who commands all the Shinigami in Soul Society, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni!
The captain-general looked even older than the other old men in the First Squad. He just sat there calmly. An unshakable aura came over him. The moment he saw that figure clearly, Urahara Kisuke even had the illusion that he was having trouble breathing.
Then, Urahara Kisuke saw the captain-general's snow-white beard that hung down to his waist and was tied into a "big braid" with a purple ribbon.
Recalling the group of kind old men he had met before, and the deputy captain of the First Team who looked harsh but was actually considerate, and looking at the well-groomed, smooth hair without a single split end or curled beard, the awe that had just risen in Urahara Kisuke's heart suddenly turned, and a question quietly emerged.
[Could it be that the captain braided this beard himself? ]
Then, the image of the majestic captain taking a comb and spending several hours every day slowly grooming his beard and gently smoothing out the "thorns" in it, popped up unconsciously in my mind.
Although Urahara Kisuke controlled his expression very well and only his eyes changed slightly, the captain obviously saw through his little thoughts and his eyes, which were narrowed as if he was pretending to sleep, opened a little.
Suddenly, a strong pressure appeared out of nowhere, almost causing Urahara Kisuke to stagger. Fortunately, he stabilized his body in time, and after just swaying a little, he stood up again and bowed his head respectfully.
The captain-general's spiritual pressure was enough to make the vice-captain faint and go into shock. Although he only released a little bit to express his dissatisfaction, Urahara Kisuke was still able to stand firmly, which made the captain-general more satisfied with him. He withdrew his spiritual pressure and became calm again.
"You haven't slacked off in your training. Let me ask you, since you obviously have a good talent, why don't you enroll in school Maou and become a true Shinigami as soon as possible."
The captain's first words were beyond Urahara Kisuke's expectations. He thought he would be questioned right from the start about whether he had betrayed Soul Society, but from the captain's tone, it seemed that he thought Kisuke was not ambitious enough and was wasting his talent?
Urahara Kisuke did not answer immediately. The captain seemed to guess what he was thinking and snorted coldly.
"I am not old and confused yet. The premise of cooperating with the Hollow is to be able to knock them down and make them see no hope of winning. You are a young man with nothing but talent. What can you use to cooperate with the Hollow?"
Urahara Kisuke's clever little brain finally played its due role at this time.
"Captain, you never doubted me from the beginning? Then, why..."
Why did you call me here? I'm ready to go to jail in the Maggot's Nest.
Urahara Kisuke didn't say the rest of the words, but the captain-general obviously understood and tapped the wooden floor under his feet lightly with the crutch in his hand.
"I want to see why a young man with great talent has repeatedly visited Mao but still refused to enroll. Is there anything about my Mao that you, a genius, don't like?"
At the end, the captain's tone became a little stern. He personally built the Maou Spiritual Academy. In today's Soul Society, even if you are a noble with a family background in spiritual arts, you must go to Maou and complete your studies if you want to join the 13th Division.
A few days ago, Mao was attacked by a hollow, which was already enough to make him angry. At this time, someone told him that there was a young man with good talent who had been in and out of Mao several times, and even though the teacher personally invited him, he did not intend to enroll. Naturally, the captain's mood became even worse.
What do you mean, the Great Hollow looks down on Mao, and you, a young man, also look down on Mao? What do you think of Mao?
Kisuke Urahara roughly understood what the captain meant. He felt relieved but also secretly groaned. The main reason why Mao was reluctant to enroll in school was definitely to cooperate with Yoruichi and hide his talent, so that he could serve as a secret force to help Yoruichi when she took over the Shihouin family in the future.
But this kind of reason cannot be brought up at this time.
"Uh, well, I don't really want to become..."
Before Urahara Kisuke could finish his words, the captain-general's cold snort interrupted him.
"Young people should act like young people. It's not like to be afraid of hardship and fatigue. You will report to Mao tomorrow. Okay, let's go down."
……
The next day, Urahara Kisuke, wearing his school uniform and with a stiff expression, sat in Mao's first-year classroom.
Chapter 148 Are you in pain?
"…It's Aizen-senpai."
"Shh, keep your voice down."
The entire corridor was filled with whispers, although everyone was trying to keep their voices down, but because there were too many people, it was still noisy. Aizen Sosuke, who was usually as warm as the sun, had a stiff and gloomy face as he walked silently through the crowd that was trying to avoid him.
Aizen seems to have changed and is no longer perfect, but in fact, Aizen is still the same Aizen.
In the past, he played the role of the perfect student and senior in people's minds. Today, he still plays the role that people think someone should play after losing a close friend. No matter when, he can always perfectly meet people's expectations.
Without saying a word, Aizen walked through the noisy crowd and entered the dojo he had not set foot in since that day. His tired eyes swept over the students training in the dojo, and a trace of nostalgia appeared on his face, as if he remembered the days when he and his friends practiced here, which made the students who noticed him feel even more regretful.
Soon, Aizen's eyes were fixed on a corner of the dojo.
There, a girl who was obviously tall, but seemed to be timid by nature and subconsciously hunched her waist and shoulders. She was practicing slashing with difficulty. It could be seen that she was quite strong, but every time she swung the knife hard, she would close her eyes timidly and could not accurately control the direction of her knife.
Aizen was already familiar with the other party's behavior, but what surprised him a little was that in the past two years, this girl named Jade Rabbit always acted alone and didn't have any friends around her. But after just a few days of not seeing her, a boy he didn't know appeared by her side.
Aizen already knew the information of every one of Mao's students by heart, but he had never seen this boy with dull blond hair, a somewhat sloppy look, and dark circles under his eyes that looked as if he hadn't slept well for half a month.
[Are you a new student who recently enrolled? ]
Mao recruits students all year round, so it is not surprising that new students join at the end of the semester. Aizen quickly guessed the result, but he did not intend to change his schedule because of this little accident. He walked towards the corner with steady steps.
The students who noticed Aizen on the way all lowered their voices unconsciously, and under the influence of each other, the entire dojo quickly became quiet.
Only the blond boy with his back to Aizen seemed not to notice the changes around him. In the quiet dojo, his excited voice became extremely clear.
"Senior Yutu, I'm not exaggerating. Your spiritual power is really special! Although some shinigami who are not good at ghost arts have more violent spiritual power than ordinary shinigami, this is the first time I've seen someone with such vigorous spiritual power as yours! From what I feel, if your spiritual power were more active, it would have reached the level of the virtual class!
"Excuse me, do you know why your spiritual power is like this? Is it because of an injury? Looking at your eye patch, your left eye must have been injured, right? I don't mean to brag, but I have done a lot of research on spiritual power. If you are willing to cooperate with me, I might be able to help you solve your spiritual power problem!"
The blond boy said that he had no intention of bragging, but the students who heard this all showed an expression of "this bragging is quite exaggerated". Aizen's eyes also fluctuated slightly, and he quietly quickened his pace. Before Jade Rabbit could answer, he had already walked behind the blond boy and patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, hello, junior student. Teacher Shenchuan wants to talk to classmate Yutu about something. Can you please talk later?"
Suddenly, the quiet dojo was briefly filled with whispers, "As expected of Aizen-senpai, he's still so polite when faced with such a thing" and so on, as if being replayed over and over again, rang out from the mouths of a large group of different students.
Kisuke Urahara was startled and found someone standing behind him. During his previous "visits" to Mao, he had collected simple information about all the students in the school. He immediately recognized that the person in front of him was Mao's star student Sosuke Aizen.