Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 451 A Date with Sister Hua in the Ice Palace

The core of the Invisible Empire is the Ice Palace.

The building's style is a hodgepodge, with Roman columns, Russian solidity, and Gothic spires, only its surface is covered with a thick layer of frost.

Perhaps because the Shinigami were standing at the heart of Karakura Town, or perhaps because the powers of Shaza and Sasuke were mutually attracted, the Ice Palace materialized directly before the Shinigami.

Aizen looked up: "The manifestation of the Shadow World has brought down the spiritual particles from the sky. The concentration of spiritual particles in the environment is now excessively high, which is not good news."

Captain-Commander Yamamoto replied without changing his expression, "Yes, fighting on Quincy territory, this situation is unavoidable."

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Retsu Unohana said, "You'll get used to it."

Kyoraku Shunsui said with a wry smile, "Unohana-senpai, we can't get used to this. We're not like you, who can kill heads off just by using swordsmanship."

"By the way, the most dangerous one is Toshiro, so be very careful later."

Toshiro Hitsugaya was startled: "Huh? Me?"

"Captain of the Kyoto Band, what should I be careful about?"

"Queens are very skilled at using the power of frost, and they are highly adaptable to your Zanpakuto. Moreover, after your Bankai, your wings and ice wheels are the active spiritual particles that Quincy love to plunder."

Hitsugaya Toshiro's face stiffened. He had just been excited about the frost environment, completely ignoring the disadvantage that his enemies were also well-adapted to it.

He breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully, "Thank you for the reminder, Captain Jing Band. I will be careful."

Boom!

Before the Grim Reapers could finish speaking, the Ice Palace erupted with a deafening roar, followed by violent shaking and arrogant laughter.

Ayase Gawa Yumichika covered his face with his hands: "It's the captain."

Xia Zuo nodded: "Yeah, Captain Zaraki has gotten lost again and ended up in front of the enemy."

Old man Yamamoto opened his mouth, but finally said, "Let's speed things up. We can't let Kenpachi bear the risk alone."

Because they are hidden in the shadows, the Unseen Empire has weak detection capabilities and prioritizes concealing its own existence over detecting external threats.

Therefore, the Quincy have not yet realized that their own kingdom has been ejected from the shadow of the Spirit King's throne and manifested in the present world of Karakura Town because of the collapse of the Spirit King's throne.

The sudden invasion, which caught the Quincy's base completely off guard, shook the Quincy's stronghold and instilled fear in the Quincy.

The millennia of concealment were not about freezing people to preserve them, but about carefully maintaining the spiritual space, trying every means to gather information about the Grim Reaper, and being on tenterhooks to prevent being discovered by the Grim Reaper.

This kind of filthy existence continued for a thousand years, twisting the minds of the Quincy.

On the one hand, they have a thorough understanding of death. After thousands of years of dedicated research, they are confident that they can easily crush all the Grim Reapers, and therefore have an exaggeratedly condescending mentality.

On the other hand, they were nearly wiped out by the Grim Reaper a thousand years ago, and then hid in the shadows from the Grim Reaper for a thousand years, so they couldn't help but develop a fear of the Grim Reaper.

It's roughly similar to the feeling of being afraid of snakes or caterpillars.

Kenpachi Zaraki's appearance was like a venomous snake or caterpillar suddenly shoved into the neck of a Quincy, causing the Quincy to break down mentally and be easily killed.

The deaths of the Quincy ignited the news of the Shinigami's invasion, which spread faster than a virus, causing a great upheaval in the Wandenreich.

The Quincy completely disregarded order and discipline, and all those who heard the news rushed to besiege Kenpachi Zaraki.

Giant spiritual light arrows pierced the sky, shooting towards Kenpachi Zaraki with a whooshing sound, leaving the side entrance of the main hall in a mess.

Thanks to Kenpachi Zaraki's excellent taunting skills and his maxed-out tank-like abilities, he successfully lured all the Quincy to the side gate, leaving the main gate without even the most basic guards.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto coldly stated, "Let's go!"

"Don't worry about Kenpachi Zaraki. Believe that he will become stronger and more courageous in battle. He will not be in any danger until we successfully kill Yhwach."

All the Grim Reapers agreed.

Since Kenpachi Zaraki killed Kenpachi Onigenjo and became the captain of the 11th Division, he has always been at the forefront of any battle, wreaking havoc on the enemy with his most ferocious demeanor, attracting the attention of a large number of enemies, and creating the best battle situation for the other divisions of Shinigami.

It's been hundreds of years, everyone's gotten used to it, and they believe he won't die this time either.

Entering the Ice Palace through the main gate, the cold vanished the instant one crossed the threshold, but the Grim Reapers paid no heed.

Only Aizen looked around with interest: "The sealing techniques here are quite interesting."

As you walk deeper into the palace, you see crosses and pentagrams everywhere, densely engraved on every surface.

Clearly, the Quincy's life in hiding was very boring, which is why they put so much effort into the walls, the ground, and the roof.

As the territory of the Quincy, the Ice Palace is very similar to a church, with layers of pillars and arches interspersed in the corridors.

The overall color scheme is white, exuding a solemn and sacred feeling.

Once you go a certain depth, the carvings of crosses and pentagrams decrease, and they are replaced by stone sculptures and hand-painted oil paintings close to the walls.

At the same time, the number of doors also increased. Despite being outnumbered and at a disadvantage in terms of environment, the Grim Reapers still chose to split up their forces.

According to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the goal is to find Yhwach as quickly as possible, kill him, and end the thousand-year blood war.

Almost all the Shinigami expressed their approval, and even Gin Ichimaru and Aizen accepted it without any doubt.

What surprised Xia Zuo even more was that Yoruichi Shihouin, who had initially organized Kurosaki Ichigo and the others to form the Ryoka Squad and expressed dissatisfaction with their split-up actions after invading the Soul Society, actually accepted the tactic of dividing the forces.

Xia Zuo couldn't understand where the Grim Reapers' confidence came from, but he didn't care that they were courting death, so he didn't say anything to stop them.

But he reached out and grabbed Retsu Unohana's hand: "Hana-nee, come with me."

Retsu Unohana was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, let's do it together."

The two walked hand in hand along the corridor, admiring the ubiquitous sculptures and oil paintings, and occasionally stopping to critique any particularly good ones.

They didn't look like they were there to fight at all; they looked more like a couple visiting a museum or art gallery.

Because they felt comfortable with the atmosphere, Natsume and Unohana Retsu tacitly avoided fighting, trying to avoid any Quincy's spiritual pressure they sensed.

You know what, even though they traveled a lot further by going around in circles, because they didn't fight any Quincy, their speed of progress was the fastest among all the Shinigami.

However, the Ice Palace is ultimately Quincy territory, and certain stages cannot be bypassed.

After advancing for five minutes, the two were finally blocked. The next moment, Quincy who had been lying in ambush appeared from behind and from the left and right.

Clearly, this is a trap, or a sentry post that combines overt and covert tactics.

Surrounding Natsu and Unohana Retsu were four Quincy, dressed in uniform white military uniforms with white cloaks and pentagram ornaments hanging on their chests.

"Death, how dare you invade the abode of the gods! This is your burial ground!"

Unohana Retsu asked, "Who's coming?"

Xia Zuo laughed, "Sister Hua's murderous aura is boiling over, you come here!"

Unohana Retsu smiled radiantly: "Okay!"

The four Quincy did not have strong auras, and were clearly not members of the Sternritter, but rather ordinary holy soldiers.

Unohana Retsu used [Instant Step] and disappeared from the spot. When the beautiful long-haired woman reappeared, her braids had been scattered by the instantaneous spiritual pressure, and she had returned to Natsu's side.

Meanwhile, the four Quincy ten meters away had all split up and were sleeping peacefully in pools of blood.

But Retsu Unohana did not stop. Although her spiritual pressure did not erupt, her aura became even more dangerous. Her blood-dripping Zanpakuto was not sheathed, but pointed forward.

"You Quincy there, how long are you going to stand there and wait?"

A short Quincy, dressed in a white hooded, high-necked, button-down robe, with slightly curly blond hair covering his forehead, and clearly resembling a young boy, leisurely walked out from the passage ahead.

He said with slight surprise, "So you found out."

"That's right. You must be Retsu Unohana, the captain of the Fourth Division. You are a very ancient and dangerous Shinigami."

He clapped his hands gently, a naive smile on his face, and the bracelet bearing the invisible imperial emblem jingled crisply.

"It's an honor to meet you, Captain Unohana Retsu!"

In battle, Retsu Unohana is extremely aloof and will not speak unless absolutely necessary, because her words are all contained in her sword and her swordsmanship.

So Xia Zuo became the mouth double and asked, "Who are you?"

"Grey Tommy, my name is Grey Tommy." The boy's smile suddenly turned sweet: "I am a member of the Sternritter, endowed with the title V by Yhwach, and am the strongest Quincy in the Sternritter."

Unohana Retsu frowned at him, then examined her Zanpakuto closely. She glanced back at the four Holy Soldiers who were splitting up on the ground, and suddenly clicked her tongue, saying, "No blood—Xia Zuo."

Xia Zuo understood what Sister Hua meant, so he readily stood in front of her: "Alright, leave the rest to me. I don't mind killing without bloodshed."

However, Gremy Tom looked down on Shazo, saying dismissively, "Why change the person? Although Captain Unohana Retsu isn't one of His Majesty's five specially selected special forces, she's still one of the top Shinigami, second only to Yamamoto Shigekuni. It would be quite interesting to see her fight him."

"You seem to be the fourth seat of the 11th Division, not even a vice-captain. I could eliminate you without expending any effort. Isn't this a waste of time?"

"Who are the five special combat forces?"

Shazo ignored Gremy Tom's attitude because he was very interested in the special combat power that the kid was talking about.

In the original work, Yhwach marked five Soul Society fighters, but he only knew Kenpachi Zaraki and the protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki, and had no idea who the other three were.

So Xia Zuo took the opportunity to ask questions in order to improve his intelligence.

Gremy Tommy seemed to enjoy talking to people, and he calmly said, "Six Specially Marked Warriors! Dangerous Grim Reapers specially marked by the great His Majesty Yhwach, each one of whom is capable of threatening our Sternritter."

"The first one is Kenpachi Zaraki; his fighting power is exceptionally strong!"

"Under no circumstances will Kenpachi Zaraki's fighting power diminish; injuries and setbacks will only further enhance his fighting power. He is a monster whose fighting spirit is always high."

"I really wanted to fight him, but he was surrounded by too many Quincy, and even if I went over, I wouldn't be able to intervene. I had to give up with regret."

"The second is Aizen Sousuke; his spiritual pressure is exceptionally strong!"

"Although his combat skills, Kido, and Zanpakuto are also exaggerated, the most unreasonable thing is the immense spiritual pressure he exudes after obtaining the Hogyoku, which ignores any technique and can directly crush any enemy."

"It seems that he is still very sharp, and there is no trace of him at present."

"The third one is Kisuke Urahara; his methods are too troublesome!"

"This guy always has an endless supply of tricks up his sleeve. No matter the situation, he can always come up with amazing gadgets to solve tricky problems and dilemmas."

"Luckily I didn't run into this guy, or I would have had a headache."

"The fourth is Hyosugi Ichibei; His Majesty says his wisdom is unparalleled!"

"Because this Grim Reaper who calls himself a monk is the oldest known Grim Reaper, even longer than His Majesty has lived, and thus has accumulated unparalleled experience and wisdom."

"The last one is a newcomer, who is said to have become a Shinigami less than a year ago. His name is Kurosaki Ichigo."

"His Majesty says that Ichigo Kurosaki's potential is limitless!"

"How strange, he's the Grim Reaper I most want to fight. I really want to experience how to fight an enemy with unlimited potential."

"Thank you for the information, I'm very satisfied." Xia Zuo nodded and said, "Grey Tommy, I can tell you, the so-called 'limitless potential' is the protagonist of the era, and fighting him is not a pleasant experience!"

Gremy Tommy asked curiously, "Oh? What exactly is it like to fight?"

Xia Zuo replied, "It's disgusting, but even more so, it's frustrating."

"Ichigo Kurosaki may not seem very strong, but no matter how you defeat him, he can always get back up and continue fighting you."

"If you severely injure him, he will be able to continue fighting despite the pain, and his combat power will double."

"If you knock him unconscious, he will get up again, or even fight you with a new consciousness, and his combat power will increase tenfold. It's even possible that he will have a new appearance and temporarily break through his limits."

Gretchen Thoreau: "————"

"Okay, you're right. This kind of enemy is really shameless, and it's disgusting to fight them."

"Alright, we've said enough. It's time to send you on your way."

Xia Zuo was taken aback: "So eager to die?"

Gremy Thormu laughed: "What? You're quite humorous—"

The young Quincy's words were interrupted as a vertical bloodstain appeared between his eyebrows.

The next moment, Gremy Tomour was evenly split in two.