Squad Zero's strength—Shigure naturally knew it well.
Calling them worth a thousand troops wasn't excessive.
Any one of them, placed in the Wandenreich, possessed combat power capable of massive slaughter.
Mere Sternritter Quincy—to them, perhaps meant nothing at all.
Especially two among them—
First, the "Sword God" who created all Zanpakuto prototypes in Soul Society—Oetsu Nimaiya.
Second, the "Monk Who Calls the Real Name" who named everything in Soul Society—Ichibei Hyosube.
Among them, Ichibei Hyosube's pure strength could even reach the level of almost completely suppressing Yhwach.
However, Yhwach possessed the Almighty.
That was truly... power transcending Soul Society's rules.
No matter how strong Squad Zero was, they remained existences within Soul Society. In direct confrontation, they fundamentally couldn't defeat Yhwach.
This was a fact Shigure had known since long ago.
So from the start, he'd never considered relying on Squad Zero's power.
Moreover, after experiencing the Muramasa incident, current Shigure had completely fused with Candle Dragon at the soul level.
Plus the complete Bankai obtained from recent Dangai check-in...
Shigure's power had now completely transcended Soul Society's boundaries, reaching a truly new dimension.
That was the realm Aizen Sosuke had always yearned for—transcendence.
Shigure's heart confirmed this point without doubt.
So when just now hearing Ukitake mention Squad Zero, Shigure unhesitatingly refused.
However, the Captains didn't know Shigure's reasons.
Therefore, inevitably puzzled.
In their view, though Shigure's strength was always formidable, he'd always been extremely cautious.
Yet this time, he abruptly refused.
However, just as they prepared to ask why, suddenly Shigure turned his face, looking outside the council hall.
Though nothing existed there, Shigure's gaze focused as if tangible.
Just as everyone felt puzzled, suddenly, a strange sound emerged.
Dong!
That sound—very distant, yet seemingly very close.
The next moment, a hearty laugh suddenly emerged from the air—
"Yo-ho!!"
Accompanying that voice, five figures abruptly appeared at the council hall entrance.
"Hey hey hey! Here we are! We've arrived!!"
"Squad Zero-sama has come!!"
"Long time no see! You little brats of the Gotei 13!"
"By the way! The location mentioned in the Tenchuuren message wasn't here!"
"What are you doing? Something wrong with your heads? Making us specially transfer locations to come here!"
The instant they appeared, a man with an airplane-head hairstyle among the five immediately began chattering endlessly.
Everyone in the council hall immediately grew solemn, hearts stirring involuntarily.
This superb movement technique... seemingly not Shunpo. Among those present, except Segawa Shigure, not one person detected their arrival...
Truly worthy of Squad Zero...
The council hall fell completely quiet.
Shigure also quickly swept his gaze across the five.
Finally stopping on the speaker—"Hot Spring Demon" Tenjiro Kirinji.
This instant, the five's gazes simultaneously turned to Shigure.
After a moment, Kirinji suddenly withdrew his smile. Glancing at Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki beside him, he looked toward Shigure, slowly saying:
"Looks like under these circumstances, not quite appropriate for jokes..."
"Then, first meeting. You're the one who two years ago... refused promotion—Segawa Shigure?"
Shigure's expression remained unchanged. He didn't answer either.
His information—Squad Zero residing in the Soul King Palace had undoubtedly completely known long ago.
So this question fundamentally didn't need answering.
Sure enough, the next moment, the Monk beside him suddenly laughed heartily. Then slapping Kirinji's shoulder:
"Hahahahahaha—"
"Ah well! Alright! I know Tenjiro you've always been dissatisfied with Segawa's refusal to advance, but—"
"If he'd chosen to advance two years ago, joining Squad Zero, perhaps this time Soul Society would've suffered even more severe destruction..."
"Right... Yamamoto?"
Saying this, the Monk's gaze suddenly turned toward Yamamoto Genryusai seated in back.
Hearing this, Yamamoto slightly raised his eyes.
He naturally knew the Monk's meaning.
Without Shigure's existence, this time, he might've directly died under Yhwach's blade.
The Captains' Bankai also couldn't have been preserved.
Once entering that situation, Seireitei would've faced destruction.
However, now Yamamoto had no leisure for this. He remained seated, looking at the Monk, saying flatly:
"No need for idle talk."
"Squad Zero is the Royal Special Forces, never descending for Seireitei's ordinary situations."
"Then, Monk... what's the reason for descending this time?"
As his words fell, surrounding Captains immediately looked over seriously.
Yet the Monk's smile remained unchanged.
His gaze returned to Shigure. Grinning:
"Naturally wouldn't descend without reason."
"This time we're following the Soul King's decree, descending to execute important duties—"
"First, Segawa Shigure—"
"We need you to follow us... to the Soul King Palace."
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