He had been thinking about the hundred-thousandth step of the Staircase of Time for a very long time.
Back when he first obtained the Shared Soul Barrier, he had already wanted to attempt breaking through to that final step.
Unfortunately, the Shared Soul Barrier alone wasn't sufficient.
But now things were different.
The qualitative transformation brought by Limitless Reiatsu filled Shimo with confidence.
He removed his Zanpakutō from the stand and placed it across his lap.
With practiced ease, Shimo entered his Zanpakutō's inner world.
To his surprise, the scenery had drastically changed.
The once-blank space was now filled with countless clocks of every shape and size.
The ticking echoed endlessly.
The Staircase of Time itself had not changed much—But surrounding it were innumerable fractured spaces, each one sliced apart, with voidlike darkness hidden inside the cracks.
The oppressive emptiness was enough to send chills down one's spine.
"…Wait."
Only now did Shimo realize the biggest problem.
"Why—why am I back at the first step again!?"
His roar of frustration echoed through the Zanpakutō world.
He could only accept the miserable fact and start over.
This time, however, the ascent felt vastly easier than his first attempt.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Ten steps, a hundred steps, a thousand…
Seventy thousand, eighty thousand, ninety thousand…
Once he passed ninety thousand, Shimo finally felt pressure—Not enough to stop him, but enough to force him to take things seriously.
The closer he came to his previous limit,
the more terrifying the pressure became.
"Ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine…"
A hint of tension flickered in Shimo's eyes.
He reached the same final point as before,
and the pressure immediately returned—
stronger than the first time.
He was more exhausted this time as well.
But the blazing will in his eyes pushed him to take the step he had been waiting for.
He set his foot forward onto the 100,000th step—
BOOM—
A pressure like the collapse of the world slammed onto him.
His leg buckled.
He nearly fell flat onto the Staircase.
Blood poured from his nose, mouth, and ears like flowing water.
In an instant he was drenched in red, looking utterly savage and feral.
Gritting his teeth, Shimo unleashed all his spiritual pressure.
The veins on his forehead bulged violently—
a sign that he was pushing his soul to the absolute limit.
Through sheer willpower, he finally planted his first foot firmly on the 100,000th step.
The first step was always the hardest.
Once it was done, the rest became only marginally more bearable.
Maintaining his crouched posture, one foot on the final step and one on the step below,
he endured the crushing pressure for a long time.
Only after he recovered slightly did he begin to move the other foot upward.
The trembling continued—
Tap.
His left foot landed.
He had finally set both feet on the hundred-thousandth step.
Thunderous pressure, many times stronger than before, crashed onto his soul.
Blood sprayed from his lips in a violent burst.
His organs felt as though they were being crushed.
Blood seeped from every pore of his body.
He looked utterly miserable—
Yet Shimo smiled.
"Good… good enough…"
That thought had barely formed when he collapsed from soul and reiatsu exhaustion, forcibly ejected from the Zanpakutō world.
His vision went black and he passed out instantly.
He had no idea how much time passed.
When consciousness returned, the first thing he saw was a gentle face leaning over him—
full of worry, relief, and a soft tenderness.
"Shimo-kun, you're awake!"
Her voice held unmistakable joy.
As his senses returned, Shimo slowly understood his situation.
His spiritual pressure was fully restored.
His soul had recovered.
And he had gained his Zanpakutō's third—
Wait.
Why was the back of his head so soft?
And why was there a faint gentle fragrance?
Shimo's eyes widened when he finally realized whose lap he was lying on.
"H-Hana-ne… you're…"
Unohana smiled softly, finally relieved.
"Last night, a powerful surge of reiatsu erupted from your room. It lasted for a while, then vanished suddenly.
"Rokushima Yūsuke went to check, and found you collapsed unconscious."
"I came as soon as he reported it."
"After examining you, I discovered that you had fainted due to complete reiatsu depletion."
"Your body entered a self-protective state."
She continued explaining how she treated him—
But Shimo had already gone stiff with realization.
He was lying with his head on Unohana's lap.
Her long hair hung slightly forward, the soft contours of her body faintly outlined in his peripheral vision.
Every breath carried a soothing, natural fragrance.
She didn't seem bothered at all.
Was this… an unexpected blessing?
Shimo didn't know—but he fully intended to enjoy the moment while it lasted.
While resting, he reviewed the new memories in his mind.
Upon reaching the hundred-thousandth step, he had gained:
"Pierce All Phenomena — Timeline Severance."
A new Shikai ability, unleashed through his eyes.
It allows him to perceive the timeline of all things—and sever or alter them by expending spiritual pressure.
Unlike his previous releases, this one was unusually unique for a Shikai ability.
That made a total of five different Shikai activation phrases.
Though spatial abilities were his most frequently used powers, time remained his trump card.
Powerful enemies had fallen to his time abilities:
Baraggan.
Nnoitra.
And others whose arrogance couldn't withstand the slash of time.
Tōsen might have been similar in strength,
but given the circumstances, Shimo had chosen spatial severing instead—
killing someone across dimensions consumed enormous power.
Still, the result had been worth it.
Tōsen's death had earned him the spiritual pressure evolution and his new Shikai ability.
But Shimo had a feeling—The insane difficulty of the hundred-thousandth step
might be directly tied to the cost of manipulating timelines.
All abilities were rooted in spiritual pressure.
Until he transcended the Shinigami dimension entirely, spiritual pressure remained the foundation of everything.
"Shimo-kun, what are you thinking about?"
Her gentle voice floated down from above.
Shimo's thoughts paused, and he quickly composed himself.
"It's nothing."
"I just feel bad for troubling you, Hana-ne.
"I ran into… a small issue during training last night."
Unohana smiled with her serene gentleness.
"Taking care of you is something I'm happy to do."
Shimo felt his heart take a direct hit.
How does she say things like that so casually?!
...
Three days later.
A meeting room inside the First Division barracks.
Every lieutenant or higher who could still stand had gathered here.
The meeting should have been held three days earlier, but Shimo's unexpected collapse delayed it.
He had actually recovered the same day—
but being pampered by Unohana was far too enjoyable, and he had been in no hurry to attend a boring meeting.
If not for a certain stubborn old man sending people repeatedly to fetch him, Shimo wouldn't have shown up at all.
Yamamoto Genryūsai stood at the center, with Chojiro Sasakibe at his right.
On both sides, the remaining captains (and acting captains) lined up.
The Fifth had neither a captain nor a lieutenant—so a nervous third seat stood in their place, trembling.
Standing near Unohana was Shimo,
whom many of the officers whispered about in fear.
The story of him killing Tōsen across dimensions had already spread through Seireitei—a lieutenant killing a captain instantly, with no resistance.
The shock had been astronomical.
Somehow, after remembering Shimo had previously defeated Kenpachi, many Shinigami reluctantly accepted the possibility.
Standing next to a man like that made weaker officers feel faint.
Shimo looked around.
Ukitake had dragged himself here, apologetic as ever.
Kira and Hitsugaya both looked grim—
none more so than Hitsugaya, whose thoughts were clearly on Hinamori,
still comatose and hollow-eyed in Fourth Division.
As Shimo expected, he didn't intend to get involved.
Yamamoto's cane struck the floor with a deep thud.
"Everyone."
His voice filled the room.
"Soul Society suffered grave losses.
Aizen Sōsuke has betrayed us, causing unimaginable damage.
"We must fill the vacant captain seats at once."
He scanned the room.
"Does anyone have recommendations?"
Shunsui stepped forward with a cough.
"Ahem. Old man Yama, I believe Lieutenant Kyōraku Shimo of the Fourth Division is fully capable of serving as captain."
Then he quickly retreated like a guilty conspirator.
Yamamoto nodded.
"Yes. Kyōraku Shimo is indeed qualified to serve."
Shimo didn't need to look to know the shameless master-and-student act was horrendously performed.
This had been predetermined long ago.
"Any objections?"
No one raised any.
Even Komamura, though clearly unhappy, remained silent.
With unanimous approval (minus the three captainless divisions), Shimo was accepted as a new captain.
The procedures and formalities would follow later, but Shimo knew:
Yamamoto would handle everything personally.
Extreme times required extreme measures.
"Next," Yamamoto's expression hardened,
"We must address the selection of the new Central 46."
The room fell completely silent.
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