Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Kamui!
Chapter 72: Kamui!
The Senkaimon opened, and the scent of wood and green grass drifted out from inside.
Shingo Tsunayashiro nearly burst into tears.
He was a Great Noble who had lived for four hundred years. With Class 3 Rei-i strength, he took turns guarding the Great Spirit Book Gallery alongside the powerful members of his clan. He had weathered many storms, and even if he couldn’t match a Captain of the Gotei 13, he was still vastly stronger than most Lieutenants.
He thought his heart had been tempered to be as hard as steel. Yet he never expected that deep within his soul, something called "fear" still existed.
That really was... a near-death experience.
"Pull yourself together, Shohei." The middle-aged Gatekeeper gave the nephew slung over his back a shake. "We’re home."
Stepping through the Senkaimon, the exhaustion and pain came crashing down like an avalanche. Shingo Tsunayashiro lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.
"Huh? You are... Lord Shingo! Lord Shohei!?"
The Senkaimon guards spotted the two men. Upon confirming their identities, they reacted swiftly, dispatching personnel to hoist them onto stretchers and sprint madly in the direction of the 4th Division.
Soul Reapers returning from Hueco Mundo on the brink of death was not a rare occurrence. The Seireitei had long established a mature emergency response system, and the Senkaimon was located very close to the 4th Division.
Shingo Tsunayashiro was rushed into the 4th Division, and medical squad members quickly surrounded him, using Kaido to provide emergency treatment.
"W-Wait!" the usually composed Gatekeeper struggled to speak, his voice weak. "There’s another..."
"Don’t worry, that young man is in the emergency room right next door. Stop talking, your injuries are worse than his!"
Shingo Tsunayashiro’s taut nerves suddenly relaxed. The breath he had been holding in his chest gave way, and finally unable to hold on any longer, he fell unconscious.
...
Pain!
So painful!
Where... am I?
After an unknown amount of time, Shingo Tsunayashiro slowly groggily awoke.
He clutched his head, slowly pulling memories from his muddled thoughts.
Right, he and his nephew had gone to Hueco Mundo... encountered a Hollow tide... and happened to run into that Vasto Lorde...
"I really... managed to scrape my life back." The Gatekeeper smiled wryly and shook his head, lingering fear still gripping him.
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.
"There’s a Spiritual Pressure fluctuation from Bed A-5, the patient is awake... 3rd Seat Yato, if you please."
The door creaked open. Upon seeing the face of the person who entered, Shingo Tsunayashiro abruptly froze. "It’s you? I remember you belong to the 12th Division, right?"
"Eh?" The young Seated Officer seemed equally surprised. "How did you..."
A 4th Division squad member smiled and stepped forward to explain.
"Due to the issues with the 10th Division, there’s been too much chaos lately. Captain Unohana Retsu specifically asked 3rd Seat Yato to come over and help. His Kaido abilities actually surpass those of many Seated Officers!"
"Is that so." Shingo Tsunayashiro nodded apologetically. "My apologies, I overreacted."
"It’s alright, it’s just a post-traumatic stress response. Rest and recuperate properly... But what exactly did you encounter? Was it the King of Hueco Mundo?"
"No, it wasn’t." Shingo Tsunayashiro sighed. While it was somewhat embarrassing, there was nothing to hide, so he briefly recounted their encounter in Hueco Mundo.
Yato Uchiha acted filled with righteous indignation, looking exactly like a hot-blooded youth determined to slay Hollows. "That damned Menos Grande! If I ever meet her in the future, I’ll definitely teach her a good lesson..."
Hearing these words made Shingo Tsunayashiro feel a bit better.
Even though he knew this young Seated Officer was definitely no match for that Vasto Lorde either, his attitude of standing by his side still warmed his heart.
Sure enough, just as the medical squad member had said, this 3rd Seat from another division named Yato Uchiha possessed a very high level of Kaido. Moreover, he had the benevolent heart of a healer and was gentle and kind.
Under his care, even his smashed eye sockets rapidly healed.
Shingo Tsunayashiro stayed in the 4th Division for half a month. When his body was mostly recovered, he finally returned to his clan to report back.
Although his family members from the Tsunayashiro Clan had come to visit him during this period, as the crucially important Gatekeeper of the Great Spirit Book Gallery, Shingo Tsunayashiro had to follow protocol and visit a highly restricted area within the clan.
This restricted area was the private shrine of the Tsunayashiro estate.
This place, where the ancestral tablets were enshrined, was heavily engraved with complex Kido symbols and formulas.
Over the million-year history of the Soul Society, countless people had tried to sneak into the Great Spirit Book Gallery, many of them true masters.
However, the defensive systems of the Great Spirit Book Gallery were simply too powerful. Naturally, many people then thought to breakthrough via the Gatekeepers, attempting to leave traps or means of control on them.
The Tsunayashiro’s private shrine could detect if there were any anomalies within a Gatekeeper’s soul, thereby eliminating the risk.
With a thud, Shingo Tsunayashiro set down his Zanpakuto and knelt respectfully.
The special runes engraved on the floor lit up, examining the very depths of his soul.
After a long wait, the pressure suddenly vanished.
Shingo let out a heavy sigh of relief, knowing he had passed the inspection and could continue serving as a Gatekeeper of the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
He kowtowed deeply, picked up his Zanpakuto, and left the private shrine.
On his way home, Shingo also ran into Shohei Tsunayashiro, who was reading a book. The young man’s injuries had already fully healed. The two chatted for a long time; having shared a life-and-death experience, their bond had deepened significantly.
Life returned to normal. Shingo Tsunayashiro immersed himself in the joy of having survived a disaster, and before he knew it, the day of his shift change arrived.
The Gatekeepers of the Great Spirit Book Gallery worked in shifts. After all, they couldn’t rest for even a moment while standing guard. Even with the power of a Tsunayashiro Great Noble, it was extremely exhausting and required taking turns.
Shingo said his goodbyes to his family, dressed himself properly, and headed to Central 46, going all the way down into its depths.
"Shingo." In front of the Great Spirit Book Gallery, the outgoing Gatekeeper nodded to him. "I heard you got injured?"
"Talk about bad luck, I ran into a Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo... I’ll tell you about it later."
"Haha, alright."
"Good work."
Shingo Tsunayashiro accepted the spirit key and watched his clansman leave.
Once again, he was the only one left in the dimly lit underground corridor.
As a Gatekeeper, Shingo was already accustomed to this loneliness. He sat in front of the massive bronze doors, hugging his Zanpakuto and closing his eyes to rest.
After a long time, he suddenly stood up.
"As expected, I still have to go inside..." Shingo Tsunayashiro muttered to himself, using the spirit key to open the door to the Great Spirit Book Gallery.
This was an exclusive perk for the Gatekeepers. Guarding the Great Spirit Book Gallery could be done from either the outside or the inside.
Sitting alone in silence was excruciating. But if one could read some books, study history, or do something similar, the time would pass very quickly.
The rigid rules set by Central 46 simply couldn’t restrain the Tsunayashiro Clan!
Over the course of a million years, the Tsunayashiro Clan practically viewed the Great Spirit Book Gallery as their own private property. Did the Shiba Clan stop firing their cannon just because the Zero Division didn’t visit? Impossible!
Besides, if someone were granted permission to enter, Central 46 would notify them in advance anyway, so it didn’t disrupt their duties.
The bronze doors slowly closed behind him. Shingo Tsunayashiro stroked his Zanpakuto, fully intending to find the Chronicles of the Soul Society’s Kenpachis he had been reading a few months ago and pick up where he left off. However, the moment he took a step forward, he abruptly froze.
A violent spatial tearing sensation shuddered through his soul, stripping him of his consciousness in the briefest fraction of a millisecond.
An arm reached out from his right eye!
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