"Yo, Abarai-chan! Welcome to the sacred Soul King Palace! I am the magnificent lord of Hōōden and proud member of Squad Zero — Nimaiya Ōetsu! If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me! Yo!"
Ōetsu launched straight back into another rap, swaying to the rhythm like a hip-hop performer onstage.
Kazuma felt secondhand embarrassment hit him so hard that cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
He genuinely couldn't endure Ōetsu's ridiculous behavior.
His entire body cringed as he quickly turned away and covered his face, afraid someone might see him standing beside this lunatic.
Why had the man started rapping like a maniac again?
If this continued, Kazuma was seriously worried he might lose control and cut Ōetsu one more time.
"The… Soul King Palace? Squad Zero?"
Renji stared blankly at him.
"What the hell are those? I've never heard of either one, but they certainly sound important…"
Renji knew absolutely nothing about either concept.
His confusion only seemed to excite Ōetsu further.
He cleared his throat, drew a deep breath, and launched into an enthusiastic freestyle rap explaining Squad Zero's ancient history, mysterious origins, and purpose in vivid detail.
"There's actually a place like this in Soul Society?"
As Ōetsu's rapid, rhythmic explanation continued, Renji's expression grew more and more astonished.
He stood frozen as though struck by lightning, unable to recover for quite some time.
"Yo, Abarai, you've got it wrong again!"
Ōetsu kept swaying to the beat.
"The Soul King Palace exists entirely separate from Soul Society! Yo!"
Renji watched the man's passionate performance with a lost expression, wondering when he'd finally stop.
"All right, enough singing."
Kazuma couldn't stay there another second.
"I'll leave Renji with you. Handle whatever he needs to do for the reforging yourself. I still have business in Soul Society."
Having apparently reached a firm decision, he turned and left without looking back.
Ōetsu kept bombarding Renji with rap even as Kazuma disappeared into the distance, completely immersed in his own musical world.
"Captain! Captain Kazuma!"
Seeing Kazuma leave, Renji shouted after him at the top of his lungs.
"What am I supposed to do here by myself?"
He was completely unfamiliar with the Soul King Palace and more than a little afraid of being abandoned there.
"I'll come back once you're finished! See you later!"
Kazuma broke into a swift run toward Shinmeiden.
He needed the monk to send him back again.
The Tenchūren was certainly useful, but it had one glaring flaw: it couldn't launch itself. Someone always had to operate it manually.
What an outdated design.
"Monk! Your favorite guest is back!"
Before long, Kazuma arrived outside Shinmeiden and shouted loudly enough for his voice to explode across the air like thunder.
Inside the palace, Ichibē Hyōsube was meditating.
The moment he heard Kazuma, his brows drew tightly together and he silently cursed his luck.
Were it not for the Soul King's command, he wouldn't have wanted anything more to do with this man.
In Ichibē's eyes, Kazuma was treacherous, shameless, and completely lacking in the dignity expected of someone powerful.
"Hey, Monk. Hurry up and give me one of Squad Zero's bones."
Kazuma swaggered into the hall.
He'd suddenly remembered something and abandoned his original plan of asking Ichibē to arrange another descent. Instead, he directly demanded a member of Squad Zero's skeleton.
"Do not push your luck!"
Ichibē nearly choked on his own breath.
"What kind of person opens a conversation by demanding someone else's bones? Are you some deranged pervert?"
Why stop at asking for bones?
Perhaps Ichibē should simply twist off his own head and hand that over too!
"Listen to yourself. I only want to make future travel to the Soul King Palace more convenient."
Kazuma explained with complete sincerity.
"Having to ride that troublesome Tenchūren every single time is far too tedious."
"The bones of Squad Zero aren't ordinary, are they? They're Ōken capable of opening a path to the Soul King Palace."
"I figured I could use one to pass directly through the spiritual barriers. Much easier."
He wasn't making an absurd request without reason. Kazuma had considered the matter carefully.
"Who told you only the bones of Squad Zero can serve as an Ōken?"
Ichibē snapped irritably.
"Anything transformed through the Soul King's power can function as one!"
He reached into his robes, pulled out a small pendant, and tossed it toward Kazuma.
If the man wanted an Ōken, why couldn't he simply ask for one directly instead of demanding someone's bones?
"Now this is much better. I can even enjoy the fresh air."
After receiving the Ōken, Kazuma jumped directly from Shinmeiden and began a high-speed free fall toward Soul Society.
...
"You're back already? I haven't even finished my pipe!"
Kūkaku stared in astonishment as Kazuma returned like a brilliant meteor.
The shock nearly caused her pipe to slip from her fingers.
Then she noticed something even more surprising.
Kazuma had flown back under his own power.
There was no Tenchūren.
"Where's my Tenchūren?"
Kūkaku froze.
"How did something that enormous simply disappear?!"
Kazuma had taken one trip to the Soul King Palace, and her brand-new Tenchūren was already gone.
She felt like crying, as though her whole world had come crashing down.
Even more shocking was the fact that Kazuma had passed directly through the spiritual barriers with his own body and returned unharmed.
Just how durable was he?
Had his body already become powerful enough to completely ignore the barriers' crushing pressure?
"Relax. Renji is still at the Soul King Palace."
Kazuma knew exactly how precious the Tenchūren was to her.
"When he comes back, he'll bring your precious treasure with him intact. It isn't going anywhere."
The Tenchūren might be exceptionally rare in Soul Society, but Kazuma had seen more than a dozen pristine ones inside the storage area of the Soul King Palace.
They had far more than he'd ever imagined.
"That's good then."
Since Kazuma personally guaranteed its return, Kūkaku finally relaxed.
Besides, it wasn't as though she could beat him up and demand compensation.
She couldn't defeat him — and certainly didn't dare to try.
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