I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

Mizhen nodded, then quickly stepped forward and said seriously, "Although it's a bit sudden, I have a task for you."

"...A mission?" Anishit was startled by his attitude and stammered for the first time in a long time. "Wh...what's wrong?"

"From now until three months... at most six months later, if you put in your full effort, how many mechanical puppets can you produce?"

"Full commitment?"

After careful consideration, Anisette gave her answer: "About... fifty to one hundred units?"

"it is good!"

Mima praised, "Execute with all your might! Something big is about to happen, and your mechanical puppet is extremely important!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the assembled mechanical puppets displayed along the edge of the room.

They can no longer be called Gundam 1. After several tests and feedback, Enishit made some beneficial changes to them, greatly improving their flexibility and autonomy, making them much easier to use than before. Therefore, Mima named them—

Gundam 2.

There are forty-five units here, plus the ones that will be produced... let's compromise and say there are seventy-five, making a total of one hundred and twenty units.

These mechanical golems each possess attack power at the Kyrian level, and their defensive capabilities are outstanding. Moreover, they are truly fearless and are perfect for dealing with the hellish demons that are about to arrive.

And all of this is thanks to him for bringing Anise to him in the first place.

Therefore, Szayelaporro's judgment was extremely poor; he couldn't even discern what his subordinates were truly good at. No wonder he studied that conception notification that only unjustly conceived children would use.

I'll beat him up again next time I get the chance.jpg

Chapter 174: Distant Past (Origin)

Everything that could be arranged quickly has been taken care of; what follows are one bigger headache after another…

For example, how do we get the Soul Society to accept this news? Such a big matter requires convincing the old man, right? And it has to go through the 46 Chambers, right? The former is relatively easy to handle; we just need to find a way to get solid evidence. But those old bastards in the 46 Chambers are a different story. Even if a meteorite were to hit them on the head the next second, they wouldn't give up their endless wrangling.

My head hurts, my head hurts.

As she pondered, Mizhen unknowingly arrived near a house deep in the mountains.

It was already night, and a bright waning moon hung in the sky.

Mizhen glanced at the light on in the study and pondered for a moment.

Shikatori-senpai's mood should... have returned to normal by now.

Honestly, if Mima were to see her best friend, whom she hadn't seen for nearly a thousand years, in hell and she were powerless to help, she would probably be so angry that she would overturn hundreds of tables and still not be able to vent her anger. However, Shikato Hakunsai simply returned here in silence, which made Mima somewhat worried about her mental state.

Although nothing bad should happen, I'd still like to go and visit them.

Thinking this, Mizhen walked through the gate, climbed to the second floor, arrived at the study door, and knocked on the door.

Before he could say anything, Shirokuba Yunzhai's somewhat tired voice came out.

"Come in, the door is unlocked."

Mizhen pushed open the door and went in, where he saw Shiki Hakunsai sitting quietly at his desk.

She wasn't holding anything to read; she rested her chin on her hands and silently fiddled with the leaves in the flowerpot. Her face showed no obvious emotion, but Mima could still clearly sense the oppressive atmosphere in the air.

“…I’ve already heard about it.” Mima coughed and asked tentatively, “Ahem…how should I put it…senpai, if you’re feeling unwell, there’s no need to tough it out.”

Shikaku Hakunsai lowered his eyes, remained silent for a while, and then calmly said, "I wouldn't say I'm uncomfortable or sad..."

“Then at least try to act more convincingly…” Mi Zhen scratched his head. “Right now, even a three-year-old could tell you’re carrying a heavy burden.”

Shikaku Hakunsai turned around, pursed his lips, glanced at Mima's helpless expression, and suddenly chuckled, sighing as if reminiscing, "What, do you think there's anything worth caring about about an old man like me besides my fighting strength?"

"Don't make me sound like some kind of heartless, ruthless schemer."

Mima adjusted his collar and said righteously, "Don't let my appearance fool you. My colleagues and teachers have a very high opinion of me. A group of busybodies in Seireitei once conducted a survey, and many people thought I was an ideal person to talk to."

This is not fake.

That incredibly boring survey was initiated by the Women's Shinigami Association, aiming to rank the most popular male Shinigami within the Gotei 13. As a result, Yama received a considerable number of votes for some reason, ranking fifth, only behind Ukitake, Kaien, Hirako, and Isshin. The reason for his ranking was (Watanabe always responds gently to other people's requests), which puzzled him for several years.

After the list was announced, Lisa looked at him with a very strange expression for a long time, as if to say, "I didn't expect you to have so many tricks up your sleeve." Mima could only cry out that he was wronged—thank God, he could get some attribute points for doing a little favor for others, what reason did he have to refuse?

Incidentally, similar lists include "The Most Popular Woman in Soul Society," "The Person You Most Want to Marry," and even "Who is the Most Beautiful Person in Soul Society" (this list is open to both men and women, and Byakuya won the championship). It's clear how many strange things a group of gossip lovers can come up with when they get together.

"Is that so?" Shikaku Hakunsai leaned back in his chair, his smile tinged with an inscrutable quality in the candlelight. "Then... would you like to stay and listen to a story?"

Mima shrugged and told a lame joke: "As long as it's not like you'll lose your head after listening to it."

"That's something only Yachiru and Reikoku would do. I'm not that neurotic."

She turned her chair around and sat up straight. Although her eyes were on Mizhen, she didn't seem to be looking at him. Instead, she cast her gaze to some distant place.

"Where should I begin..."

She pondered for a while, then suddenly raised her eyebrows and asked Mizhen a question:

"Can't Saki see the 'history' of objects? Can we have her do that once?"

Mizhen took out a pendant inlaid with black crystal from her pocket and nodded, "Shall I... give it a try?"

He pretended to cast a spell and tapped the black crystal twice, but in reality, he was controlling another body to wait for more than ten seconds before opening a black cavity and rushing over here.

"Huh? Why are you contacting me all of a sudden?"

The next second, Saki poked her head out of the dark cavity and asked a question curiously.

This is a self-directed and self-acted explanation segment.

“Oh, is that so?” Saki clapped her hands and turned to Shikatori Hakunsai, saying, “That’s easy, just give me what you want to see.”

Shikato Hakuunzai nodded, reached behind his head, untied the red rope she used to tie her hair, and handed it to Saki.

Once the thick braid was undone, her soft black hair immediately fell out, draped over her back like tassels, adding to her delicate and intellectual temperament, making her look like a well-read young lady from a secluded family.

"this?"

Saki held the red string in her hand, shrugged indifferently, and gestured for Mima and Shikatori Hakunsai to place their hands on it. Then she aligned the watch face with the junction of the red string and her palm, and said lightly, "I'm in a hurry to deal with some troublesome issues, so I won't watch the movie with you guys—it will automatically exit after the playback ends, so enjoy the movie!"

In the next instant, Mima and Shikato Hakunsai transformed into a white light and entered the red rope.

..........................................

After settling into the soft armchair, Mima looked at the screen as it loaded content.

He casually conjured two skewers of meatballs and handed them to Lu Qu Baiyunzhai beside him: "Want some?"

After several practice sessions, he finally mastered the technique of materializing food in his mental space, and could reproduce the taste by more than 50%... As for the remaining 50%, that was up to luck.

At least it won't taste bad...

Shikatori Hakunsai took the dumpling, held it in his hand, looked at the loading bar scrolling on the screen, and said in a somewhat heavy tone, "What I said just now... couldn't really be called being stubborn."

"which aspect?"

“I said I wasn’t really sad, and that’s true.” She pursed her lips. “Back when we were fighting the Quincy, the immortal was too far ahead and was the first to face Yhwach… By the time I finished off my opponent and went to support her, she had already died along with Reverse Bones… Half of her body was blasted away by the Holy Arrow, and even the mortician couldn’t give her a proper burial.”

She paused for a moment, closed her eyes, and said, "Although there are legends that people at the captain level and above do not participate in reincarnation but fall directly into hell, I have never seen a case... So, I am already very happy to see her again."

“That doesn’t mean I won’t feel bad.” Mizhen conjured up another glass of water, placed it on the seat recess, and sighed, “If I were to stand by and watch my friend suffer in front of me and be powerless to help, I would at least be worried to the point of losing my appetite.”

"It's different... The Quincy's attack came too fast and too fiercely back then. I didn't even get to see her one last time—it's been almost nine hundred years. To be able to see an old friend who has long since died after nine hundred years, I already..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

Because images began to appear on the screen... A muscular, burly man in black appeared on the screen, holding a long knife, he cut down a red-haired monster, severed its head, and carried it away from the ravaged village.

This village was probably destroyed by the battle between the man and the Hollow. There were knife marks, signs of impact and collapse everywhere, and large holes left by Cero. The residents living there were naturally dead or injured, but none of them dared to stand up and accuse the man. Instead, they knelt down with fear on their faces and murmured trembling words of praise.

"That's really early."

Shikatori Hakunsai gave a nonchalant comment, then pointed to the man in black and introduced him: "This is my father, Shikatori Ryunosuke. This is Rukongai from two thousand years ago... Hmm, you should have studied the history of that period, right? Or should I explain the historical background to you?"

"The noble ancestors are all dead, and the world is in chaos..."

Mima casually replied, "I heard that during that time, countless powerful figures gathered in Rukongai from all directions. Some wanted to become kings, some wanted to hone their strength, and some simply wanted to kill... Although I didn't experience it firsthand, I can imagine how chaotic it must have been."

"Yes, chaos."

Lu Qubaiyunzhai laughed mockingly, "As long as you have the biggest fist, you can become a king or a tyrant... It's that absurd."

“Isn’t it the same now?” Mima shrugged. “It’s just that nobody can beat the Gotei 13.”

“You could say that.” Shikatoki Hakunsai tilted his head noncommittally, then continued to introduce the man in the picture, “My father was the head of a small dojo in Rukongai at the time. His strength… was so-so, maybe a little below fourth-rank spiritual power, but still stronger than most people. It was this strength that gave him the ability to run around like a wild boar.”

The scene moves forward, and Mima sees a scoundrel who commits all sorts of evil deeds, including burning, killing, and looting. This rude man with a big beard will hang up a passing civilian and bleed him to death over a mere disagreement. He will also randomly find people to test his sword on when he is drunk. Any weak person who dares to show off his wealth in front of him will naturally meet a dead end. Women with even a little bit of beauty around the dojo cannot escape the fate of being violated.

Putting aside the fact that such a scoundrel would be treated leniently by Mayuri Kurotsuchi if he were placed in today's Seireitei, having him subjected to all sorts of experimental equipment.

But in that era two thousand years ago, all of this was commonplace.

The illusory red hair was of very high quality, and he cut it off and wove it into a thin rope to tie to the scabbard.

That's why the camera can always follow this man who never leaves his knife.

One day, Ryunosuke Shikatri robbed a passing caravan, killing all the men and ordinary-looking women. In the end, he found a frail girl in the palanquin. The man, who was already extremely irritable due to the alcohol, was immediately aroused by the girl's outstanding appearance and kidnapped her back to the Shikatri Dojo. The rest is history.

That girl... looks very similar to Shikatori Hakunsai.

"That's my mother."

Looking at the nauseating atrocities on screen, Shikatori Hakunsai calmly said, "To be honest, I don't remember her much—after all, she was a woman I kidnapped. Although she was spared her life temporarily because of her good looks, for her... it would probably have been better if she had been killed in the first place."

Because the footage was shot following Shikatori Hakuunzai's father, her mother didn't appear much, but we could still see a clue—she was probably kept like a pet deep inside the Shikatori Dojo by her father, and each meeting was just the beginning of another act of violence, in a cycle that continued until her belly grew so big that her pregnancy was obvious.

After that, Ryunosuke Shikato temporarily stopped his atrocities.

It wasn't that he had a change of heart; it was simply that he was getting older and his physical strength was declining, so he needed to train some successors to take over the Shikatori Gym. Disciples found from outside might have ulterior motives, but if they were his own children, they would naturally be more trustworthy.

“My mother was a very cowardly woman; she didn’t even have the courage to commit suicide.”

Shikaku Hakunsai said calmly, "Of course, if she dared to do that, I wouldn't exist, so perhaps I should thank her for her cowardice."

In reality, Shikatori Hakunsai has six siblings, all of whom share the same origin as her: they were women abducted from outside by the head of the Shikatori Dojo and forced to have children.

"His theory is not wrong. The bonds formed by kinship are more cohesive, so having children to inherit the dojo is actually a good idea."

Amidst Shikatori Hakunsai's sneer, Mima witnessed a series of actions that were nothing short of absurdly stupid.

Ryunosuke Shikatori only knows that children are more reliable than outsiders, but he doesn't think about what really binds family members together—blood ties? It's not some magical brainwashing device that guarantees 100% loyalty just because it exists... Relationships that don't require effort to maintain are much more fragile than monetary employment relationships.

But he clearly doesn't understand this.