Inside the inner world of the Zanpakutō.
Kazuma was so excited he was moved to tears. "It wasn't easy! After all these years, I've finally learned Bankai! Yhwach, you just wait, I'm going to beat the shit out of you!"
He waved his fists excitedly, as if he could already see the dawn of victory.
Hokushin Raitei looked at Kazuma with disgust, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"Look at you! It took you so many years just to learn Bankai. Stop shouting, you should first think about how to assimilate Yhwach's power." He crossed his arms, his eyes revealing doubt and dissatisfaction with Kazuma's strength.
Kazuma was not discouraged by his Zanpakutō's words.
Instead, he responded with confidence, "Hey, what's with that look? You know how powerful the North Star Thunder Emperor is. A mere shitass like Yhwach? Assimilating his power is a piece of cake." He clenched his fists tightly.
Hokushin Raitei's lips curled into a half-smile. "Of course. Who is the North Star Thunder Emperor? A primordial force of the heavens. Even though you've only inherited a fraction of my true power, you're more than a match for some back-alley Quincy. Let's not even talk about others; even the so-called Soul King's power in the Soul Society is just this."
After speaking, he raised his middle finger and pointed it downwards.
"He's nothing but a glorified battery."
"It's not that I look down on these local gods, but take any of the primordial storm spirits or the celestial lords that govern the cosmos, and they'd be stronger than this so-called Soul King." Hokushin Raitei was exuding an aura of absolute dominance at this moment, leaving Kazuma stunned.
"True. A human stick who was tricked by the Five Great Noble Families and then dismembered. To put it nicely, he's the linchpin who maintains the balance of the Three Worlds. To put it bluntly, he's just a mascot." Kazuma couldn't understand this kind of behavior.
To be tricked by a few words and willingly be made into a mutilated battery... that was truly a twisted love for the world.
Anyway, if it were him, he would never do something so stupid!
"Keep it up. When you completely master the power of the Thunder Emperor one day, even replacing the Soul King won't be a problem. My duty is to command the heavens and the atmospheric Reishi, after all."
"You don't need to tell me that, of course! We'll have to go drinking again sometime, i need to hurry up and wake up. I wonder how far along the plot is by now."
After speaking, Kazuma mobilized the dense stellar Reishi within his body.
'Not bad, my regular Spiritual Pressure has evolved into pure 'stellar' Reishi. Although there's very little of it, since only normal spiritual power exists in the Soul Society, I can only slowly convert my Reiatsu into this higher-tier energy.'
Sensing the power of Yhwach within him, he converted it into his own without the slightest effort.
...
"That was a long sleep. Huh? Where is this place?"
Opening his eyes, Kazuma saw that he was in a small hut.
He tried to move his body. "Good, good, my body hasn't gone stiff yet."
"Grrr..."
His stomach rumbled with hunger, Kazuma couldn't help but sigh.
"I haven't eaten anything in hundreds of years. It would be so nice to have a steaming hot pot right now."
He tried to get out of bed, but his body was limp and he couldn't muster any strength.
Helpless, he slowly shuffled to the door.
After opening it, he was surprised to find that the small wooden hut was built by a lake.
"Wow. Nestled between the mountains and the water, the scenery is beautiful. It's the perfect place to retire. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's any food around." Kazuma looked around for a moment.
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead. "That's right, isn't there a lake? Where there's a lake, there are fish. I'll fend for myself. Time to go catch some fish, and I can take a bath while I'm at it."
At this thought, Kazuma immediately grew excited and jumped into the lake without hesitation.
"Ah! This feels great. It's been so long since I've moved around. First, I'll get something to eat, then I'll go look for Batsu'unsai."
Kazuma didn't know where he was, so he could only temporarily set aside the thought of finding Batsu'unsai and focus on solving his hunger problem.
After all, a man is made of iron, but food is steel! Miss one meal and you're starving.
After catching a fish, Kazuma found a random spot on the shore and started grilling it...
'Creak'
The door to the hut was pushed open.
"Ahhhh!"
Batsu'unsai discovered that Kazuma was gone from the hut since the bed was empty.
"Where is he? Where is he?"
Batsu'unsai was dumbfounded.
Panicked, Batsu'unsai began to search everywhere for Kazuma.
Running out of the small wooden hut, she looked around and suddenly saw smoke curling up from a spot in the woods on the opposite shore of the lake.
Batsu'unsai immediately rushed over. 'This area was assigned to me by Unohana. Logically, no one else should be around.' Batsu'unsai was actually wondering if Kazuma had already woken up, but she didn't dare to believe it before she saw him.
She was afraid her joy would turn to dust in an instant.
As she got closer and closer, Batsu'unsai saw that familiar figure.
Hearing the sound of someone approaching, Satou Kazuma looked in the direction of the newcomer.
And so, an extremely comical scene unfolded.
Kazuma was gnawing on a fish held in both hands.
Seeing Batsu'unsai, who was almost in front of him, he couldn't help but stop.
He threw the fish down with both hands and stared at her blankly.
"Batsu'unsai, want... want some fish?" After holding it in for a long time, Kazuma managed to squeeze out these words.
Looking at the filthy Kazuma, Batsu'unsai had a look that was halfway between tears and laughter.
She slowly walked over to him, reached out, and gave him a big slap across the face. Then, ignoring the stains all over his body, she pulled him into a tight embrace.
Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed loudly, "I thought you were gone! I was so scared, scared I'd never see you again!"
Kazuma was a bit stunned by Batsu'unsai's sudden action, but he quickly came to his senses.
He hugged her back tightly and comforted her, "Don't cry, don't cry. I'm awake now, aren't I? Besides, I was starving when I woke up, and there was no one around, so I went to the lake to catch some fish. I was really, really hungry."
Hearing Kazuma's silly explanation, Batsu'unsai couldn't help but laugh through her tears.
At the same time, she raised a hand and punched him in the chest, chiding, "You, you're still the same."
Kazuma released the embrace, bent down to pick up the half-eaten grilled fish from the ground, and held it out to Batsu'unsai with a grin.
"Batsu'unsai, come on, try my grilled fish. It's delicious."
Batsu'unsai glanced down at the blackened, burnt-smelling grilled fish in Kazuma's hand.
Her brow furrowed, and a look of suspicion crossed her face. "This... this is a fish, right? Is this thing edible? I won't die from poison if I eat it, will I?"
Hearing what Batsu'unsai said, Kazuma's face flushed red.
"It's a fish! Even if the Soul King himself came down, it would still be a fish. It won't kill you! I guarantee it!"
"After all these years, I finally understand why you and I always eat hot pot. It turns out you can't cook at all. Look at you, you even burned a fish like this. How embarrassing." Batsu'unsai attacked Kazuma's non-existent pride.
"Alright, let's go home! I'll cook for you." Batsu'unsai took Kazuma's hand, and the two of them slowly walked towards the small hut by the lake...