"Boom—"
A large hole was torn open in the edge of the underground Central Conference Room.
"Captain-Commander! What's going on..."
The Shinigami led by Fujimiya Makoto and others, sensing the intense fluctuations of spiritual pressure underground, rushed to this place first.
Then, seeing the two people in the central hall, Fujimiya Makoto's heart skipped a beat.
Although this bald guy didn't appear many times in the original story, the impression he left was too profound.
However, the weak spiritual pressure of this group wasn't even worth Hyōsube Ichibe'e turning around for. The bald guy still looked at Yamamoto with a cheerful smile, as if he felt that his previous proposal was extremely tempting.
"I also watched your battle with that kid from the Kunitsuna clan before. You should have already understood some of the greatness of the Spirit King's power, right?"
Hyōsube Ichibe'e said with a smile: "Immortality is just the most basic form of this power. Besides that, there is also raising strength, breaking limits, and even creating unprecedented great power for you."
"As long as you want."
Looking at the sincere expression on the fat monk's face, the solemn expression on Yamamoto's face froze for a moment, and then he inadvertently revealed a smile:
"Ha!"
The next moment, his face suddenly became solemn and majestic:
"This is your proposal?"
Almost at the moment his voice fell, Hyōsube Ichibe'e seemed to suddenly sense something, and suddenly crossed his wide, thick palms in front of his chest.
Yamamoto's figure suddenly emerged like a tiger out of its cage:
"True Ten Bone!!"
The violent spiritual pressure surged and poured out, roaring and impacting towards Hyōsube's direction.
"Thump—"
A muffled sound.
The shock wave that spread in all directions destroyed the entire underground hall.
However, Hyōsube Ichibe'e, who was standing in front, only slid back a few meters.
The wooden clogs left two deep marks on the ground.
"As expected."
"Do I have to get tougher after all?"
Hyōsube Ichibe'e said, but a hideous and obscure smile appeared on his face.
Then, he opened his right palm like a sumo wrestler and suddenly pushed towards Yamamoto's direction.
"Thousand Mile Sky-Piercing Palm!"
With a loud bang, Fujimiya Makoto held his arms in front of him, but in the eyes beneath the gaps, it seemed as if he could see a giant arm that was thicker than the palace buildings, suddenly slamming down towards Yamamoto's direction.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's eyes suddenly widened, his messy hair and thick beard fluttering wildly. His clothes were tightly attached to his body, and his entire body was compressed and straightened by the violent wind pressure.
"Boom—"
The moment the sound fell, the entire side of the underground conference room was blasted into a huge opening that destroyed most of the hall, and was slanting towards the ground.
Yamamoto's figure also disappeared from the spot.
Hyōsube Ichibe'e exerted force from his legs and also rushed towards the sky. The speed of Shunpo was even faster than Yamamoto, who was flying in front.
The moment he touched a certain barrier.
His arms suddenly tightened and crashed towards the front.
The next moment.
Hyōsube and Yamamoto both plunged into a separate space.
"Thump—"
Yamamoto slammed into a snow-white avenue, stirring up a large amount of dust.
He first flipped over and stood up.
But when he saw the surrounding scenery, he couldn't help but be stunned.
What...is this place?
Moreover, how could the spiritual particle density here be so high?!
In the thousands of years since, Yamamoto had virtually travelled through the entirety of the Three Realms.
What's more, such a huge amount of spiritual particles was like a bright star in the night to a powerhouse like him. Not to mention it being just in the sky, he could probably vaguely sense it even across a realm.
Seeming to notice his doubts, Hyōsube landed in front of him lightly and said calmly:
"This is the Spirit King's Palace."
"Oh, don't misunderstand."
"I don't just mean this one palace, but..."
As he spoke, he opened his arms in Yamamoto's direction:
"This entire giant independent space—is all part of the Spirit King's Palace!"
Yamamoto was stunned.
This place, compared to the glorious palace he had imagined...
Was completely different.
Yamamoto couldn't help but ask: "What... What exactly is going on? Why is there almost no one's spiritual pressure around?"
"And where is the Spirit King?!"
Hyōsube still smiled: "That's of course because... in the entire Spirit King's Palace, there are only two genuine 'people', me and Nimaiya."
"Oh, I know it's difficult for you to understand right now, so I brought you here."
"Put away your sword."
"I don't need to fight you."
Hearing his words, Yamamoto was silent first, but still put the blade back into its sheath.
Seeing him like this, Hyōsube then turned his head and casually took back the 'black' from Yamamoto.
Restoring his name.
Just as Hyōsube had said before—there was no need for them to fight.
"Come with me."
"I'll take you to see the Spirit King."
This small action immediately made Yamamoto Genryūsai unconsciously loosen his tightly furrowed brows.
That feeling of losing half of his power out of thin air wasn't very pleasant, even for him.
In addition, there were more and more questions in his heart.
Crossing the Omotesando, and then passing through the Rikyū in the air, Hyōsube brought Yamamoto all the way to the 'Ōinri', where the Spirit King was located.
That was a four-story building floating in the air, with a cylindrical shape at both ends.
The appearance looked quite... simple.
Even closed off.
This was Yamamoto Genryūsai's first impression.
The more he went inside, the more profound this impression became.
There were no guards, no messengers, no maids, and no messy luxurious decorations.
His brows furrowed even deeper.
This place didn't seem like where 'people' lived at all.
Instead.
It was more like a... coffin.
Almost the moment this thought arose in his heart.
The moment he saw the picture behind the two splendid curtains at the deepest part of the Ōinri.
Yamamoto Genryūsai's eyes suddenly widened.
That was a giant crystal sealed on the throne.
Located in the center of the crystal was a corpse with all four limbs severed, leaving only the torso and head.
His hair was completely black, and in the center of the equally black pupils, there was a starlight-like reflection.
Looking at this world.
"This... What exactly is..."
Yamamoto took two steps forward subconsciously, as if wanting to observe the scene in front of him from a closer distance.
However, Hyōsube Ichibe'e, who was rarely serious, blocked him.
"Do not be rude," he said coldly.
"Is this, the Spirit King?"
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni seemed not to have heard his voice. For a moment, he looked blankly at the figure sealed in the crystal.
Long before invading the Seireitei, he had imagined countless times his first meeting with this King of millions of years.
He had imagined that the Spirit King might be an unparalleled powerhouse, or just a title passed down by many people in turn, or just an object.
However, Yamamoto had never thought of such a scene.
"Is he already dead?"
Yamamoto's voice subconsciously lowered.
He could feel that the inside of this body was actually empty.
But he still asked this question.
"The Spirit King-sama, lives forever." Hyōsube Ichibe'e's voice was calm, as if he was just narrating a simple fact.