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

Suddenly, her door was kicked open, and an arrogant figure carrying a knife walked in.

Saito Immortal raised his hand and gave Shikatori Hakunsai a downward finger, saying loudly in a rather arrogant tone, "Old Man Yama told us to cooperate in going to the Western Soul Realm to eliminate the rebels, and you're late!"

"Really? I'm so sorry."

Lu Qubaiyunzhai turned around.

Looking at the bookshelf that had been knocked over by the paper door that flew into the room, a subtle light flashed in his eyes. "I'll go prepare it right away."

She said that, but she gently touched the Zanpakuto buried under the pile of books with her toe, and silently released it under cover of cover. Then she walked to Saito's side without any abnormality and bowed her head politely to him.

The next instant, the room was illuminated with dazzling light.

Numerous dark blue "light threads" extended from the Qitongmaru, forming dozens of intricate channels between Shikatori Hakunsai and Saito Immortal. The latter's expression changed drastically, but it was clearly too late.

"You... can't move for now."

Shiroku Hakunsai said it casually.

Saito Immortal, who was about to back away, suddenly stopped in an awkward position and fell to the ground because he lost his balance. Only his eyes were still flashing with shock and anger.

"Although it's a bit much for her to say that," Shikatori Hakunzai smiled at Asama, pointing at the screen and saying, "The Sixth Division has been controlled by nobles from the beginning. When the Gotei 13 was first established, immortality was already the strongest they could find, and... well, she was barely considered someone who was willing to obey. But even so, her strength was still below average among us, far from being my match."

“I can tell,” Mi Zhen asked. “What are these light threads? You don’t seem to have these things when you use your ability right now, do you?”

Shikatori Hakunsai replied, "The prerequisite for the Qitong Pill to take effect is that a spiritual pressure link is formed between me and others—that's what it is, but I later found them too conspicuous, so I made them invisible to the naked eye."

"Huh?" Mima asked, somewhat confused. "Can something like this be modified?"

While changing the color may not seem like a big deal, it is common knowledge that the form of a Zanpakuto is fixed from the beginning. Just as Byakuya could not make Senbonzakura white, and Unohana could not make Kaijin gold, the color itself is part of the Zanpakuto's characteristics, and trying to change it is almost like a pipe dream.

“I used some… special methods.”

Lu Qu Baiyunzhai sighed, "Keep watching, you'll find out."

As they were talking, Shikato Hakunsai in the scene hooked Kito-maru into his hand with one foot, then squinted and made a slashing motion across Saito's immortal neck, immediately startling the latter into a cold sweat.

"Hmm... Killing you would be troublesome too..."

She sighed, knelt down, wiped Saito's immortal lips, and whispered, "Alright, you can speak now."

"What are you doing! Don't be impulsive!" Saito Immortal immediately shouted, "Killing your colleagues is against the rules! Old Man Yama will come and kill you!"

"That's right."

Lu Qubaiyunzhai sighed: "But you destroyed my bookshelf."

"I came to wake you up specifically because you were late!"

"But you destroyed my bookshelf."

"You bastard! Do you think you're right to be late?!"

"But you destroyed my bookshelf."

As Shikatori Hakunsai's hand gradually covered his neck, Saito Immortal was almost in tears: "Then what do you want! Bookshelf... I apologize! Isn't an apology enough!"

Chapter 177: The Distant Past (Friends)

"If an apology could solve everything, what would be the point of the Gotei 13?"

With a cold look in his eyes, Shikato Hakunsai gripped Saito's immortal neck and began to exert force little by little.

"Compensation! Compensation is enough, isn't it?!"

Saito, who was neither old nor dead, struggled even more desperately: "It's not worth killing me for such a small matter! It's just books, isn't it? I'll take you to the grand library of the Tsunayoshi or Kuchiki family and pick out a few as an apology, okay?!"

"..."

Shikaku Hakunsai stopped what he was doing and narrowed his eyes slightly: "This is what you said—Bankai: The Great Contract of the Same Heaven and All Transformations."

The pink-haired twin-tailed girl, already feeling a bit out of breath, couldn't care less about the paper and pen in Shikatori Hakunsai's hand. She could only scream, "I said it! If I break my promise, I'm a dog, okay?! So stop it now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shikato Hakunsai immediately placed the paper in his hand on Saito Immortal's forehead.

The next instant, the deep blue light thread connecting the two suddenly shone brightly.

"Then the contract is established."

"Li?"

Mizhen pointed at the scene of bullying the weak, her head full of question marks, unable to speak for a moment: "Senior, what are you doing...?"

“Hmm… I guess you could call it extortion.” Shiroku Hayunzai readily admitted his misdeeds. “I’ve always coveted the grand libraries of noble families, but I can’t find a reason to go in. Forcing my way in would only make things worse. She’s just offering herself up as a bargain—so don’t be fooled by my intimidating demeanor; I’m actually not that angry.”

"..."

The original captains were all villains, each with their own despicable methods... How come I never thought of such a tactic of catching and extorting my colleagues?

What followed went very smoothly. Saito, who had come arrogantly but left in a sorry state, obediently took Shikato Hakunsai to the Kuchiki family's large library under the threat of the contract, and gave up several treasured ancient books. Although the latter was punished for using Bankai on her colleague, she didn't care at all. As long as she got the books, she was happy. She didn't care about the punishment. If she was so capable, she could fire her.

As a result, nothing happened.

But from that moment on, the feud between Shikato Hakunsai and Saito Immortal was sealed.

Upon seeing this, Mima had a bad feeling—

Could these two be playing the "enemies-to-friends" game? Going to cause trouble and then becoming friends—that kind of plot is so cliché, it's impossible...

And that's exactly what happened.

Among the group of cunning old foxes from the first generation, Saito, who is immortal, is probably a breath of fresh air—she is basically guileless, does what she says, and would never say one thing to someone's face and another behind their back. She is honest, so she never hides her desire to cause trouble for that big-breasted monster in the 8th Division, and she will take action whenever she has the chance.

But this guy was weak, and despite being of noble birth, he couldn't pull off any dirty tricks. His so-called troublemaking was just shouting that he wanted to beat someone up, and the result was predictable.

The sheer absurdity of her repeated mishaps almost made Mima think she'd stumbled upon a different show...

These two are complete opposites in some ways, yet very similar in others.

In terms of background, Saito was one of the lower-ranking nobles of the Kuchiki family, responsible for building combat troops, so he wielded immense power. Born into such a family, the immortal Saito naturally enjoyed an extremely privileged life, never knowing what poverty or hardship was. As for Shikato Hakuun-sai, the Shikato Dojo wasn't exactly poor, but expecting her awful father to provide material support for the family was pure wishful thinking. In fact, until she made a name for herself through her travels, she lived a life of constant hunger and hardship, reaching an extreme level of poverty.

Needless to say, their personalities are completely different; one is outgoing and the other is reserved. They are not compatible at all.

But there was only one thing that allowed them to find common ground.

That is loneliness.

Shikatori Hawansai lost her mother at the age of seven, and since then, she has had no relatives or friends who truly care about her. Saito, on the other hand, is immortal and has no memories of her elders at all, because her direct relatives all perished in a war. If it weren't for her innate spiritual talent that made her worth cultivating, she might have become a discarded pawn or a cheap tool. Of course, even though she later became one of the strongest in Soul Society, in the eyes of those noble lords, she was just a more valuable tool.

In essence, the personality they outwardly display is not genuine, but rather an armor created to conceal their true selves. Both their flamboyance and introversion are superficial; the underlying tone of their souls is loneliness.

They are not like the old man in the mountains, who can fight for his ideals all his life, nor are they like the flower of the mountain, who can be deeply immersed in a certain matter. Even though they have grown up and experienced countless trials and tribulations, that loneliness always exists, like a phantom in the middle of the night.

"My story about immortality is actually quite unoriginal."

Lu Qubaiyunzhai sighed nostalgically: "We fought back and forth, occasionally cooperated because of missions, and lent a helping hand when we encountered danger—she owes me several lives. In this way, after spending a long time together, we can be considered friends."

Mi Zhen glanced at her and noticed an indelible sadness on her face.

To describe them as friends would be too distant. After working together for decades or even centuries, these two have clearly developed into a close friendship that they could entrust with each other's lives.

However, neither side will likely admit it.

The scene continues to fast forward, showing the early days of the Gotei 13, filled with blood and the arduous work schedules of 996 and even 007, occasionally interspersed with some wonderful bright spots, such as the fixed year-end meetings and holidays, or the laughter and conversation with friends.

At some point, the playback speed slowed down again.

"Weren't you curious about why I can use my abilities without releasing my Zanpakuto?" Shikatori Hakunsai smiled meaningfully. "You'll soon see the answer."

Talking about this, Mima suddenly felt wide awake.

He watched as Shikatori Hakunsai visited the 12th Division and participated in an experiment initiated by Zenjoji Yubin.

"At that time, the Quincy were already showing signs of action," she said. "Based on Chihiro's deduction, the Quincy might be able to start a full-scale war with Soul Society, so the Gotei 13 also began preparations, and this experiment was one of them."

“Zenjoji believed that ‘reclaiming the abilities that had been taken from a Zanpakuto’ could greatly enhance a Shinigami’s power, and he conducted several experiments with lower-ranking members, with very good results. So he came to persuade the captain to participate in the Zanpakuto-Shinigami fusion experiment.” She explained what happened in the scene. “At that time, Engetsu, Gyokotsu and I participated in the experiment. Their Zanpakuto had a repulsive effect due to their strong self-awareness, while I succeeded because of the special nature of Keidōmaru.”

Listening to Shikatori Hakunsai's explanation and watching the experimental report on the screen, Mima couldn't help but marvel at the amazing results of the experiment.

The ability of Qitongmaru is to "establish a spiritual pressure link between the caster and the recipient. The recipient must strictly abide by the rules set by the caster. If the rules are violated, the recipient will have to pay a price specified by the recipient, such as spiritual pressure, physical strength, or life force."

The ability of the Great Contract of Myriad Transformations of the Same Day is that "the caster drafts the contract terms, and both parties must strictly abide by the contract. If there is any violation, the 'penalty for breach of contract' stipulated in the contract will be deducted unconditionally."

It seems that the latter lacks flexibility compared to the former due to its form, but the problem is that... the "victims" of the Great Contract of Myriad Transformations of the Same Heaven are not only human beings.

Animals, plants, and even soil and rocks—anything made of spirit particles—can be used to "sign a contract" with a "part" of it. As long as it touches the paper, the contract is complete. This process is independent of the recipient's subjective consciousness; as long as it is touched, it counts.

As for whether something without intelligence can abide by the treaty... that's none of her business.

For example, she could make a contract with a river, allowing it to "fly or freeze"—of course, a river can't just take off, so it has to pay a price, which is freezing.

Whether this is reasonable or not.

Another point is that while Qitongmaru can only use "one type of contract" at a time, there is no limit to the number of Great Contracts of Myriad Transformations on the same day. She can create two contracts with conflicting contents, such as "paying half of the spiritual pressure for walking" and "not being able to use too much spiritual pressure at once," which can keep the opponent firmly in place until her spiritual pressure is exhausted from maintaining the contract.

After Shikatori Hakunsai and Kitomaru "fused", this power was pushed to an extremely terrifying level.

No more paper contracts needed!

Just as Aizen no longer needed to release his sword after becoming one with his sword to use Kyoka Suigetsu on people, after fusing with his Zanpakuto, "Kikuo no Pen" and "Mikoku no Scroll" were no longer necessary for releasing his abilities. The release method of the Same-Ten Manhua Daikichi became the same as Kikuto-maru - as long as the recipient was within the range of Shikatori Hakunsai's spiritual pressure, he could be forced to sign a rogue contract.

As a result, Shikatori Hakunsai's strength skyrocketed as if it were on a rocket.

Her Bankai is far more powerful than her Shikai, but she doesn't use it often because it's very troublesome to release. However, after the fusion, she can stand on the east side of Seireitei and use her spiritual pressure to lock onto an enemy on the west side, and then sign the contract directly without the opponent knowing anything. She can be called a pioneer of cross-range attack.

Even a vague question arose in her mind.

"Now that the range of my abilities has expanded to this extent, can I form a contract with the 'world'?"

A vivid imagination is the primary driving force for improving combat effectiveness; the ancients were right.

"To make a contract with the world?"

Although she already knew the answer, Mima still politely asked, "What was the result?"

Chapter 178: Distant Past Events (Prelude to the Bloodbath)

"It succeeded, but it also failed." Shikatori Hakunsai said ambiguously, "I did sign a contract with 'a part of the world,' but my spiritual pressure and coverage are limited, far from enough to cover 'the entire world.' Furthermore, the content of the contract was much worse than I expected—I originally thought I could use this method to 'manipulate the world' in some sense, or at the very least, be stronger than a Quincy's servant..."

At this point, she sighed: "Well... it's not impossible to do that, but my spiritual pressure is still too low. If I wanted to 'manipulate the world,' I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to maintain it for more than a few seconds before I was drained dry."

"Huh? It can actually be controlled?"

"It's possible, but it's not cost-effective for small-scale use, and it can't withstand the consumption of resources on a large scale. In the end, we can only settle for a less strenuous solution that doesn't require too much skill."