Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero

Inside the 13th Division barracks, the atmosphere was harmonious due to Yanagawa's unexpected visit and gratitude for Vice Captain Kaien's help.

Yanagawa was led to an elegant tea room, where he was personally entertained by Shiba Kaien, with Ukitake Jushiro accompanying him with a smile, and Rukia taking care of him from the side.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, and the conversation gradually shifted from the thrilling battle to some lighthearted banter.

However, just as everyone was chatting, Jushiro Ukitake, who had been listening quietly, suddenly changed his expression.

He suddenly raised his hand to cover his mouth, his body leaned forward violently, and he let out a series of uncontrollable, violent coughs.

"Cough cough cough! Ugh—cough cough!!"

The cough was far more violent than his usual weak cough, as if an invisible hand was churning wildly inside his chest.

His thin body trembled violently, his already pale face instantly lost all color, revealing an almost transparent bluish-gray hue, veins bulged on his forehead and neck, and cold sweat poured down his face.

"Captain!" Shiba Kaien and Kuchiki Rukia both changed color and stood up abruptly.

Kaien rushed forward to support Ukitake's swaying shoulders, while Rukia frantically searched for a handkerchief and some water.

Yanagawa also put down his teacup, his gaze fixed on Ukitake.

Amid Ukitake's uncontrollable, violent coughing and painful spasms, he clearly detected a... extremely subtle fluctuation of power!

Yanagawa will never forget that feeling that transcends ordinary spiritual particles and contains something akin to "rules" themselves!

Not long ago, he had experienced a similar power up close within the blue crystal of the Spirit King Palace!

How could Jushiro Ukitake possess a power originating from the same source as the Soul King?

Just as Yanagawa's mind raced and countless guesses surfaced, Ukitake Jushiro's cough seemed to reach its peak. He suddenly vomited a mouthful of dark red blood, which splattered onto the snow-white silk handkerchief, a shocking sight.

Then, the coughing gradually subsided, turning into painful, suppressed gasps. He leaned against Shiba Kaien, almost completely exhausted, his eyes unfocused and his breath weak.

"Captain! How are you? I'll go get the Fourth Division right away!" Rukia's voice trembled with anxiety.

"No...no need." With all his might, Jushiro Ukitake weakly waved his hand, his voice so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable.

He struggled to lift his head, his gaze first sweeping over the anxious faces of Shiba Kaien and Rukia, before finally settling on Yanagawa.

He paused for a moment, as if gathering the last of his strength to speak, then, facing Shiba Kaien and Rukia, he shook his head very slightly, yet with undeniable authority, and said in a whisper:

"Kaiyan, Rukia... you two go out for a moment. Keep watch outside the door and don't let anyone in. I... I have something I'd like to discuss with Lord Yanagawa alone."

"Captain!" Both of them were startled, looking at Ukitake with concern, and then at Yanagawa.

"Go." Ukitake closed his eyes and repeated, his tone weak but carrying the unquestionable determination of a captain.

Shiba Kaien and Rukia exchanged a glance, ultimately not daring to disobey their captain's orders. They could only suppress their worries, bow respectfully, and silently leave the tea room, gently closing the door behind them.

Inside, only Jushiro Ukitake, whose heavy breathing was gradually subsiding, and Yanagawa, who sat quietly opposite him, remained.

"I apologize... I hope you won't find this amusing."

After catching his breath, Ukitake leaned back in his chair, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a clean handkerchief, and a bitter yet knowing smile appeared on his face.

"It seems I couldn't hide it from you after all. Lord Yanagawa must have already noticed the abnormality within my body, right?"

Liu Chuan nodded slightly, without beating around the bush:

"The power fluctuation within you is similar in nature to the power I sensed in the Spirit King Palace that originated from the Spirit King himself. Although it is weak, it cannot be hidden from me."

Captain Ukitake, what exactly is going on? Is your illness related to the Spirit King?

Jushiro Ukitake did not answer immediately. He slowly turned his head and looked at the swaying bamboo shadows in the courtyard outside the window.

His gaze was distant, as if piercing through hundreds of years of time, returning to the starting point that determined his life's destiny.

His voice was soft, carrying a sense of ethereal tranquility, as if recalling the past:

"I was born into a lower-class noble family, and when I was three years old, I contracted a serious illness that was almost incurable."

The high fever persisted, the spirit body gradually disintegrated, and it seemed that death was imminent.

Desperate, my parents believed an ancient rumor and sent me to a remote part of Rukongai, to a shrine almost forgotten by the world, dedicated to the "One-Eyed God."

"The One-Eyed God?" Liu Chuan's heart skipped a beat; the name sounded strange.

"Yes, the One-Eyed God. His origins and divine status have long been lost in the dust of history, existing only in the oldest fragments of words."

The ancestral hall was dilapidated and the incense had stopped burning. The parents were just trying anything, hoping for the best...

Ukitake paused, a complex and enigmatic light flashing in his eyes.

"However, right there in that shrine, a miracle... or rather, some unspeakable 'transaction' took place."

"My illness miraculously began to improve. The high fever subsided, and my scattered spirit reassembled. But at the same time, my hair color changed from its original dark color to this pure white."

He stroked his long, snow-white hair and continued,

"Moreover, ever since then, I have often felt an indescribable, strange sensation in my chest, as if it had been 'hollowed out' and 'filled' with something cold."

His body remained weak and feeble, his spiritual pressure fluctuating wildly, as if an external entity—something not of his own yet intimately connected to his life—had been implanted within him.

He looked at Liu Chuan, his eyes calm yet carrying a hint of fatalistic acceptance:

"It was only much later, after I became the Grim Reaper and came into contact with more secrets, that I vaguely understood."

The so-called "one-eyed god" is likely not some ancient deity, but rather...

He took a deep breath and slowly uttered the astonishing guess: "It is... a part of Lord Spirit King that was severed, stripped off, and thrown into the mortal realm."

A part of the Spirit King was stripped away! A glint of light flashed in Yanagawa's eyes! The heavy words of Hyosube Ichibei echoed in his mind:

"They severed the Spirit King's arms, which controlled the concepts of 'advance' and 'stillness'!"

"They dug out Lord Spirit King's heart, cut off his feet, dissected his internal organs, and separated them one by one from his body, stripping away the corresponding powers and strength contained within... and then threw them down to the mortal realm."

"It's the right arm," Liu Chuan blurted out almost without hesitation, his tone certain.

"The Spirit King commands the right arm of 'stillness'!"

Ukitake Jushiro's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and his gaze toward Yanagawa was filled with surprise, which then turned into deep admiration and understanding:

"As expected of a member of the Zero Squad, Lord Yanagawa is indeed insightful."

Indeed, based on the fragmented records I later consulted and pieced together, and corroborated by my own feelings,

The power that merged into my body, prolonging my life, yet also brought me this endless suffering, is most likely the power in Lord Spirit King's right arm that controls 'stillness'...

That ancestral hall might be the very spot where that right arm fell to the ground.

He smiled wryly and pointed to himself: "So, since that year, my physical condition has actually been 'fixed' to some extent by this force of 'stillness'."

It halted my near-death state and prolonged my life, but it also halted my body's health and vitality, which is the root cause of coughing up blood.

Everything suddenly became clear! No wonder Fuzhuo's body contained power fluctuations of the same origin as the Spirit King's, and no wonder he had been sickly for many years!

He is the host of the Spirit King's right arm's "stillness" power! This is not a gift, but a "symbiosis" that has lasted for hundreds of years, at the cost of illness, coexisting with the remnants of a god!

Liu Chuan silently processed this astonishing truth.

The Spirit King's body not only lingers in the world, but may even combine with specific individuals, producing such a profound impact.

"This power... cannot be actively controlled by you?" Liu Chuan asked.

Ukitake shook his head: "Most of the time, it just lies dormant inside me. I can't actively use it, and I can't even clearly perceive its full extent."

He paused, his gaze fixed on the void, his voice becoming low and solemn:

"However, I can sense that under certain extremely special circumstances, in a desperate situation concerning the survival of the three realms and the imminent collapse of the balance... this power may be truly 'awakened'."

And at that time, I was the 'container'...

He didn't finish his sentence, but the resolute calm in his eyes said it all.

Liuchuan immediately understood what he had left unsaid.

Unless the Spirit King dies completely and the "wedge" that binds the three realms collapses completely, leading to the ultimate crisis of imbalance and destruction in the three realms, the "stillness" power within Ukitake's body will probably not need to be "used".

However, once it needs to be "used," the cost is likely to be the life of the "container" itself.

He was using himself as a "backup plan," a one-time "fuse" or "buffer" to temporarily "replace" or "stabilize" the Three Realms and buy time when the Spirit King's true form might completely fail!

No wonder Captain-Commander Yamamoto values ​​him so much.

He is not only a sickly captain, but also one of the "last line of defense" hidden deep within Soul Society.

"I see..." Liu Chuan slowly exhaled, looking at the man in front of him who carried such a heavy destiny, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

It was sympathy, but also admiration.

"I understand. Captain Ukitake, you... have worked hard."

Upon hearing this, Jushiro Ukitake's pale face revealed an extremely faint, yet remarkably genuine, smile:

"It is good that you understand. This matter is top secret, and very few people know about it."