Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 386 Bane: Look at you, you're in such a hurry again!

Although the Pure Land is desolate, it won't be long before people get tired of looking at it.

But the feeling of getting stronger with every breath was truly addictive for Bane, and he didn't find it boring to walk alone in the boundless wilderness.

Bane didn't know how much time had passed, but he felt it had been quite a long time, several days, or even half a month.

This can be seen from the fact that one of his knuckles has transformed from the transparency of his soul into a physical form.

Perhaps if given two or three years, he could make his spirit incredibly full simply by breathing here?

In short, after walking in the Pure Land for so long, Bane finally saw some changes at the end of his sight.

It resembled a palace or a temple, but perhaps due to its long period of neglect, it had become ruins and looked quite dilapidated.

"The creations of souls in the Pure Land also become desolate over time? This is somewhat unexpected," Bane thought to himself as he looked at the not-so-large palace ruins.

Clearly, everything in the Pure Land was constructed with the power of the soul; the sand beneath his feet was, and so was the ruins before him.

The current state of this palace also indirectly confirms Bane's conjecture: that the souls of people who die in the present world come here to slumber. They may not show any changes in the short term, but after a hundred or two hundred years, they may gradually dissipate and become sand on the ground.

He reached out and broke off a piece of soil and stone from the collapsed wall, held it to his nose and sniffed it lightly. Visibly, the soil and stone turned into powder and was inhaled into Bane's nasal cavity, where it was transformed into the same pure spiritual energy.

However, unlike before, this spiritual energy carried a hint of death.

"The house number matches, this should be the place," Bane said with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

He stepped into the palace ruins, passed through several collapsed and tilted buildings, and soon saw a relatively intact palace gate. The roof of this building had a large hole in it, and several sloping beams were scattered on the ground, making it look very desolate.

And the figure that Bane had been searching for was right here in this building.

grim Reaper!

He was still like a demon, with a ferocious face. However, unlike when they met in the real world, he had no aura or movement at all. If it weren't for the finger in Bane's hand guiding him, it would be difficult to find him in this desolate and silent place where one could not distinguish east from west and north from south.

In the mortal world, Death would try to flee at the mere sight of Bane, but in this Pure Land, Bane had already found his doorstep, yet he remained motionless and showed no reaction whatsoever.

This surprised and puzzled Bane.

After all, the last time he chased Death into the Pure Land, Death was still able to struggle wildly. Why is he pretending to be dead now?

Could it be because we've arrived home? Is it because we're in these inexplicable palace ruins that even Death's last instinct has been silenced?

"Could it be fake?" Bane walked up to Death and examined him for a moment before asking.

At this moment, Death sat on a throne that once seemed to be quite glorious, but now it was dull and unremarkable.

He is indeed missing one of his index fingers, so he should not have looked for the wrong person.

"Death?" Bane called out.

But the other party didn't make a sound, still sitting there quietly with his eyes closed, as if no matter what changes happened in the outside world, it wouldn't affect his silence.

After carefully observing the surroundings and confirming that there was no danger, Bane finally couldn't hold back and reached out to touch the guy to see if he could shake him awake.

Slowly raising his arm, Bane's fingertips gradually approached the spirit of Death. Just as Bane was about to touch Death, a strange ripple stirred in his heart, as if his soul's instinct told him that once he touched a true deity here, there would be no turning back.

This thought, which came from nowhere, made Bane pause slightly.

But the next second, his eyes hardened.

He went through so much trouble to become a spirit, not to come to the Pure Land to eat dirt, but to confront the Grim Reaper.

Now that the goal I'm looking for is right in front of me, how could I possibly stop moving forward just because of some inexplicable thought?

With that thought in mind, Bane resolutely placed his hand on Death's shoulder.

The moment he placed his hand on Death's shoulder, Death, who had been silent and still as if in eternal slumber, suddenly opened his eyes on his throne.

Unlike their previous meetings, the Grim Reaper who opened his eyes this time had a look of confusion flashing in his eyes beneath his ferocious face. He seemed not to know who he was, where he was, or what he was doing.

It was precisely this confusion that made Bane's heart flash with a hint of vigilance. The Grim Reaper of the past would never have shown such an expression and look, because the Grim Reaper of the past had no self-awareness and acted entirely on instinct. Confusion was undoubtedly a manifestation of the awakening of self-awareness!

A brief moment of confusion passed quickly, and Death noticed Bane before him. Then, as if he understood something, though he didn't speak, the confusion in his eyes gradually dissipated, turning into a sense of relief.

"Finally, I've found someone who is recognized by the Pure Land, someone who can maintain self-awareness here and won't fall into a deep sleep," Death said, looking at Bane.

His face was like that of a demon, but his voice was surprisingly pleasant and magnetic. Perhaps because he hadn't spoken in a long time, his voice was a little hoarse.

"What do you mean?" Bane asked, taking a small step back to create some distance between himself and Death.

It's not that I'm afraid of anything, it's just that it's more convenient to talk this way.

"You and I are both special. In this infinitely long period of time, perhaps only the two of us are special. At least I have not seen a third being like us," Death said.

A twisted smile appeared on his ferocious face, but Bane could tell that he was trying to make himself as amiable as possible.

"Stop laughing, it's even scarier now," Bane couldn't help but say.

These words froze Death's smile on his face. After a moment, he continued, "The Pure Land is the final resting place for all souls. Those who die in this world, upon returning here, will fall into eternal slumber in a very short time, and then be assimilated by everything here, becoming the sand beneath their feet."

At this point, Death looked at Bane and said, "Do you understand what this means?"

"I don't understand," Bane said, shaking his head.

Death sighed softly, then said, "This means that I, sitting on this throne, will always be alone, always doing the same things, always repeating the same cycle."

After listening to this, Bane thought for a moment and then asked, "Aren't there any other gods?"

"I don't know." Death shook his head, then said, "I don't know where I came from, nor where I should go. I once had the same thoughts as you, but in the end, I couldn't find a so-called 'god' like me."

Then, before Bane could speak, Death continued, "Whether it's a thousand years or ten thousand years, in infinite time, only you maintain your own consciousness, looking at the desolate and boundless sand before you, repeating the same thing endlessly. This is the most terrifying punishment in the world."

"If you can't stand it here, why don't you go to the real world? It's quite interesting out there," Bane said.

Death paused for a moment. Clearly, he had no recollection of seeing Bane, indicating that he was unconscious during the time he acted on instinct.

"The mortal world? How do we get there?" Death asked in surprise. "Life and death are two realms. The barrier between the Pure Land and the mortal world is a high wall used to separate the living from the dead. We, with our souls, cannot cross that barrier, can we?"

Bane?

It's not as exaggerated as you say, is it? Tobirama Senju treated this place like his backyard. If he hadn't died so young, he might have been able to come and see you, huh? No, wait, he came to the Pure Land after he died, but it seems he also fell into eternal sleep?

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Leaving aside Tobirama Senju, Bane felt that he had been to the Pure Land several times. Although it was quite troublesome, it was not as exaggerated as the Grim Reaper said. As for that boundary between life and death, he tore it apart with his bare hands.

And judging from his current state, it would be very easy for him to leave if he wanted to.

Some time ago, when he was walking in the desolation, searching for the location of Death, Bane had already tried it. The first few times, he had his physical body outside, so he could use his body as a medium to let his soul return.

However, to be precise, it was the Pure Land that excluded him, because he was not a truly dead person.

Now, he is in a spirit state, so he definitely can't return to the real world using the previous method. However, Bane has found a trick.

That is, he can directly manifest his physical body in this pure land. He doesn't need to find any door to the mortal world, nor does he need to tear open any boundary between life and death, or the barrier mentioned by the Grim Reaper.

The moment his physical body manifested, Bane felt the Pure Land rejecting him. If he hadn't immediately turned back into a spirit, he would have been sent out of the Pure Land on the spot.

So at this moment, Bane was slightly surprised when he heard Death say that he couldn't go to the mortal world, especially since he had already seen Death once in the mortal world. He didn't expect that Death had no such impression at all.

Clearly, before he fell into slumber, there was no such technique as the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique, nor was there any ritual to summon the Grim Reaper to the mortal world.

He's never been there!

Later, he went there, but his consciousness didn't!

Thinking this, Bane paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true. The barrier and realm between life and death are insurmountable. In other words, we can't get out?"

Of course, he couldn't tell Death that this so-called Pure Land and mortal world allowed him to come and go without any pressure, as if it were child's play.

After all, he wasn't familiar with Death, so why say so much? It might cause some trouble.

Death didn't think much of it, assuming Bane was new and therefore didn't understand. He continued, "To continue wandering in this endless expanse of time is an extremely cruel punishment for me. But because no one can replace me on this throne that governs the Pure Land and souls, even if I put my consciousness into slumber, I cannot truly be freed. Until now, I have waited for you."

With that, Death looked at Bane and said, "You shall sit on this throne. I am leaving."

"Where are you going?" Bane asked immediately upon hearing this.

Death paused for a moment after hearing this, then said in a desolate yet expectant tone, "Become one of these endless grains of sand, and be freed from this eternal torment!"

"What if I refuse? What if I don't sit in this seat?" Bane asked tentatively.

The next second, a terrifying soul power erupted from Death, and at that moment, he seemed to be a true god.

The entire Pure Land trembled as a result. Bane's supposedly powerful soul strength was as fragile and powerless as a child in the face of death.

Yes, now that's more like a god!

"In this endless time, the only gain is that those with self-awareness can endlessly absorb the pure soul power of the Pure Land. How long do you think I've been doing this out of boredom?" Death asked Bane.

Before Bane could speak, Death continued, "You have no choice but to agree, and I'm not discussing this with you."

Feeling the terrifying soul power of the Grim Reaper, Bane didn't know how long it had been since he had felt this way. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to a few years ago, when he was nothing and in Loguetown in the East Blue, he saw Garp punch the naval base and make the island tremble.

At this moment, he felt as if he had returned to the beginning, and he was still so powerless.

However, he is not without a way to refuse Death. If he immediately detaches his spirit body, restores his physical body, and is sent to the mortal world by the Pure Land, then Death will be dumbfounded.

However, it is clear that Bane was just asking a question. In reality, he would not refuse such a thing at all. He came to the Pure Land to pursue this power, so how could he possibly back out?

"Look at you, in such a hurry!" Bane frowned and said to Death, "I didn't say I wouldn't sit, I was just asking."

(End of this chapter)