Floor 20 was different from the start.
They emerged from the portal into a massive commercial district. Actual streets, actual buildings, actual civilization. It looked less like a test floor and more like a real city.
"Welcome to the Workshop Territory," Evan said, appearing beside them. "This is neutral ground. No fighting, no tests—not the usual kind, anyway."
"What's the Workshop?" Rak asked.
"Weapon makers. Inventors. The best in the Tower." Evan pointed to a massive building in the distance. "They create everything from basic arms to legendary artifacts. And they're politically neutral—meaning everyone respects their space."
"So no test here?" Ship asked hopefully.
"Oh, there's a test." Evan's expression was serious. "But it's not about fighting. It's about proving you're worthy of continuing to the upper floors. Only about 30% of Regulars make it past Floor 20."
Yamamoto studied the city. The Shinsu here felt different—more controlled, more refined. There was power in this place, but it was organized.
"Where do we go?" he asked.
"The Tower itself will tell you," Evan said. "Just wait."
A moment later, a figure appeared before them. Not through a portal—just materialized. The figure was humanoid but clearly artificial, made of some kind of metal and glowing energy.
"Regular Genryusai Yamamoto," the figure said. Its voice was synthetic but clear. "You are summoned to the Workshop Evaluation. Come alone."
"Alone?" Ran stepped forward. "No way. We're a team."
"The evaluation is individual," the figure said. "Your team will undergo their own tests separately. This is standard procedure."
Yamamoto looked at his team. They looked worried—not for themselves, but for him.
"I'll be fine," he said. "Complete your tests. We'll meet after."
"You sure?" Rak asked.
"Yes."
The figure extended a hand. "Follow me."
Yamamoto followed the artificial being through the city. They walked for ten minutes, eventually arriving at a building that looked ancient compared to the others around it. The architecture was different—older, more fundamental.
Inside was a single room. Large, empty except for a chair in the center and three figures standing in shadow.
"Sit," one of the figures said.
Yamamoto sat. He kept his staff with him, ready.
The three figures stepped forward into light. They weren't human—or at least not entirely. One looked like living metal. Another was covered in what looked like circuitry. The third appeared normal but had eyes that glowed with unnatural light.
"We are the Workshop Evaluators," the metal one said. "We've been observing your climb. Ten floors in record time. Defeated a Ranker. Led a team with perfect efficiency."
"And?" Yamamoto asked.
"And we want to understand you." The circuitry figure leaned forward. "Most Irregulars are driven by simple motivations. Power. Revenge. Destiny. But you..." It paused. "You're different."
"How?"
"You don't want anything," the glowing-eyed one said. "You're not climbing for glory or power. You're not trying to reach the top for some grand purpose. You're just... climbing."
Yamamoto didn't respond.
"That makes you dangerous," the metal figure said. "Because people with no clear motivation are unpredictable. We can't bargain with you. Can't threaten you. Can't control you."
"Is that what this is?" Yamamoto asked. "An attempt to control me?"
"No." The circuitry figure shook its head. "We don't control Irregulars. We just decide if they should be allowed to continue."
The air in the room changed. Became heavier. Yamamoto felt pressure building—not physical, but something else. These beings were testing him somehow.
"You've proven your combat ability," the metal figure said. "But the upper floors require more than just strength. They require understanding. Wisdom. The ability to make impossible choices."
A screen appeared in the air. It showed an image—a test floor somewhere high above. On one side was a group of Regulars. On the other was a powerful enemy. Between them was Yamamoto.
"Hypothetical," the glowing-eyed figure said. "You're on Floor 70. Your team is trapped. The only way to save them is to kill fifty innocent Regulars on the other side of the floor. Do you do it?"
Yamamoto looked at the image. "No."
"Why not? Your team would die."
"Then they die." Yamamoto met the figure's glowing eyes. "I don't sacrifice innocents to save allies. That's not strength. That's cowardice."
"Even if your team includes people you care about?"
"Yes."
The screen changed. Now it showed Yamamoto facing a being of immense power—something that dwarfed even him.
"Second hypothetical. You reach Floor 100. You discover the only way to climb higher is to submit to the Tower's will. Become its servant. Would you do it?"
"No."
"You'd give up your climb? After coming so far?"
"Yes." Yamamoto's voice was firm. "I don't serve. I don't submit. If the Tower demands that, I'll stop climbing."
"Even if it means never finding your purpose?"
"My purpose isn't at the top of the Tower. It's who I am." Yamamoto stood up. "I figured that out a few floors ago. I'm a warrior. A leader. A protector. That doesn't change based on how high I climb."
The three figures looked at each other. Some kind of silent communication passed between them.
Then the metal figure spoke.
"You pass."
"That's it?" Yamamoto asked.
"That's it." The circuitry figure actually smiled. "Most Regulars fail this test. They choose power over principle. Say they'd do anything to keep climbing. But you..." It gestured. "You know your limits. Your boundaries. That's rare. And valuable."
"The upper floors need people with principles," the glowing-eyed figure added. "Not just power. You've proven you have both."
A portal opened behind Yamamoto.
"Proceed to Floor 21," the metal figure said. "And Irregular? Be careful. The enemies ahead won't just test your strength. They'll test everything you are."
Yamamoto walked through the portal.
---
His team was waiting on the other side. They all looked intact, if a bit shaken.
"What was your test?" Ran asked.
"Questions," Yamamoto said. "What was yours?"
"Combat trial," Ran said. "Had to fight three opponents at once without killing any of them."
"Puzzle maze," Laure added. "Took forever."
"Survival challenge," Novick said.
"Trap disarmament," Ship said.
"Hunting!" Rak grinned. "Got to hunt a big prey!"
They'd all passed. Team 3 was moving forward together.
Yuri appeared, Evan following behind her. She looked pleased.
"Floor 20," she said. "You're officially in the middle section of the Tower. From here on, things get serious. The Regulars are stronger. The tests are harder. And the politics..." She shook her head. "You're going to see the Tower's true nature."
"I'm ready," Yamamoto said.
"I know you are." Yuri gestured ahead. "But your team? Are they ready?"
Yamamoto looked at them. Ran, fierce and growing stronger every floor. Laure, smart and adapting well. Novick and Ship, quiet but capable. Rak, raw but determined.
"They will be," he said. "I'll make sure of it."
"That's what I like to hear." Yuri smiled. "Because from Floor 21 on, you're not just climbing for yourself. You're climbing as a leader. People are watching you now. Following you. That's responsibility."
"I've commanded people before," Yamamoto said.
"I know. That's why I think you'll handle it." She turned to leave. "See you on Floor 25. I'm taking a different route for a while. Got some Princess business to handle."
"Will you be alright?" Yamamoto asked.
Yuri laughed. "I'm a High Ranker, old man. I'll be fine. You just focus on keeping your team alive."
She left through a separate portal.
Team 3 stood together in the Floor 20 completion area. Around them, other Regulars were celebrating, resting, preparing for the next stage.
"One hundred fifteen floors to go," Laure said. "That's... a lot."
"But we've climbed twenty," Ran countered. "That's not nothing."
"We're just getting started," Rak said. "Lots of strong prey ahead!"
"Prey," Yamamoto corrected. "Opponents. Not prey."
"Same thing to me!"
Despite himself, Yamamoto felt something almost like amusement. This team—this group of strangers who'd become his subordinates, his allies—they'd grown together. Fought together. Survived together.
It reminded him of the Gotei 13. Different people, different world, but the same fundamental truth: strength came from unity as much as individual power.
"Listen," Yamamoto said. His team went quiet, looking at him. "The floors ahead will be harder. More dangerous. Some of you might not make it."
"Wow, great pep talk," Laure muttered.
"But," Yamamoto continued, "if you stay together. If you trust each other. If you remember what I teach you..." He paused. "You'll climb higher than you ever thought possible."
"Is that a promise?" Ran asked.
"Yes."
Ran grinned. "Then let's do it. All the way to the top."
"To the top!" Rak echoed.
The others nodded, determined.
Yamamoto looked up at the Tower stretching endlessly above them. Somewhere up there were floors he couldn't even imagine. Tests that would challenge everything he was. Enemies that might actually threaten him.
Good.
He hadn't felt truly alive since arriving in this world. Hadn't felt purpose. But now, standing here with his team, with responsibility on his shoulders and the Tower waiting above...
Now he felt it.
The fire that had always defined him. The warrior's spirit that death itself couldn't extinguish.
He was ready to climb. Ready to fight. Ready to lead.
"Floor 21," Yamamoto said. "Let's move."
Team 3 walked toward the portal together. Six warriors, one leader, all moving forward into the unknown.
The Tower waited.
And Yamamoto was done waiting back.
---
High above, in the unreachable upper floors, the same three shadows from before gathered again.
"The Irregular passed Floor 20," one said.
"Of course he did," another replied. "Did you see the Workshop's report? He has principles. Boundaries. He won't compromise who he is."
"That makes him more dangerous, not less."
"Perhaps. But it also makes him manageable. We know what he'll do now. What he won't do. That's valuable."
"Do we let him continue climbing?"
Silence for a moment.
Then the first shadow spoke.
"Yes. We let him climb. But we watch. Carefully. And if he becomes a threat..."
"We know where he is. What he cares about. Who he protects."
"His team."
"Exactly. His team."
The shadows faded, leaving only darkness.
---
Yamamoto walked through the portal to Floor 21, unaware of the conversation above. Unaware that his greatest strength—his loyalty, his protective nature, his commitment to his team—had just become his greatest vulnerability.
He only knew one thing: he was climbing. And nothing was going to stop him.
One hundred fifteen floors to go.
The journey continued.