"I almost forgot about your situation."
With that, Ren drew the Zanpakutō from his waist and swung it to the side.
A crescent-shaped arc of white light erupted from the blade, slicing through the void and revealing a jagged spatial rift.
Yoruichi craned her neck and tilted her face, her amber eyes peering inside.
As usual, it was pitch black within, no different from the spatial rifts in the Soul Society. However, at the end of this particular rift lay a vast, grey, and desolate wasteland.
"Let's go," Ren reminded her, immediately leading her into the crack.
Stepping through the darkness, their figures flickered, and in an instant, they crossed the threshold.
As his feet touched the frozen earth, Ren turned back to see the spatial rift slowly closing, then paid it no further mind.
"So this is... the underworld of the afterlife in this other world."
Cradled in Ren's arms, Yoruichi scanned the surroundings.
A chill that felt as though it could freeze her very soul swept over her, causing her to curl up involuntarily and huddle deeper against Ren's clothing.
Ren asked, "I told you it was cold here, didn't I?"
"It's a little chilly, but nothing more," Yoruichi said stubbornly.
Seeing this, Ren simply tucked her into his collar, leaving only her cat head poking out from his chest.
The cat's body shifted inside, adjusting to a more comfortable position. She rested her two paws on the edge of the collar to support her round head, and her expression improved significantly.
"Comfortable. This is much better."
In the midst of her contentment, she recalled Ren's actions, and a look of surprise flashed across her face.
"Mr. Serious, did you just shatter space without even chanting your Zanpakutō's name?"
The expression on Yoruichi's cute face became quite animated, her voice laced with astonishment.
"Does that mean you can actually perform Bankai?"
Bankai is the second stage of release for a Zanpakutō after Shikai, marking a massive evolution in the blade's power. Activating Bankai in battle is enough to boost a Soul Reaper's Spiritual Pressure to five to ten times that of their Shikai, making it their core means of dealing with enemies.
Ren nodded at Yoruichi's words, then shook his head slightly.
Confused, Yoruichi asked, "What do you mean by that? Nodding and shaking your head—can you perform Bankai or not?"
"Yes, and no."
At the mention of his Bankai, Ren's brow gradually furrowed.
"With my current Spiritual Pressure, it is enough to sustain the Bankai of my Zanpakutō, but—"
"But what? Was there an accident?" Yoruichi asked curiously.
Ren nodded and said, "Calling my current state a Bankai isn't entirely accurate. It can only be considered a 'Half-Bankai'."
"Half?"
"Yoruichi, you should know that my Zanpakutō has two abilities: cutting and connecting," Ren paused before continuing. "The half of the Bankai I can currently release belongs to the 'cutting' aspect."
"As for the 'connecting' ability, there has been no movement so far."
"I expect that only with deeper cultivation will a successful, full Bankai manifest."
It was similar to Renji Abarai in the original story, only able to release a partial form. However, Ren's half was more than enough to provide a leap in combat strength. His confidence when he had previously threatened Aizen stemmed from this very source.
Seeing this, Yoruichi didn't know how to comfort him. Since she had abandoned the use of a Zanpakutō to focus on Hakuda, Kido, and Shunpo, she couldn't offer Ren much advice in that department.
"So... when did you learn Bankai?"
"During the period when Kuchiki Koga was causing trouble," Ren said.
It was after he had reached a point of absolute sincerity and spiritual communion with his Zanpakutō that Ren had unknowingly mastered Bankai.
As for the connecting ability—since it originated from a fragment of the Soul King, it likely required more time and refinement to achieve a smooth Bankai. With his current Half-Bankai, Ren's combat power was sufficient for now, so he didn't mind the wait.
The two chatted as they strolled through the Yellow Springs. Looking at the unfamiliar environment, Yoruichi slowly began to understand its general structure.
"I see. These things that look like frozen flames are actually the souls of the dead."
"Sigh, is there really no manager here like a Soul Reaper?"
"That makes this a completely undeveloped new world. You really did strike it lucky."
Suddenly, Yoruichi's expression turned solemn. Three unfamiliar Spiritual Pressures were approaching from not far away.
"Ren, you felt that, right?"
She spoke up to warn him, but looking up, she saw Ren's face was calm. She immediately reacted.
"Are they your people?"
Ren naturally sensed the pressures Yoruichi had noticed. The moment he felt them, he recognized who they were.
"Indeed."
"Is it Yakumi and Ace?"
Yoruichi tilted her head. "Yakumi? That sounds like a name someone from the Uchiha clan would have."
"He is a member of the Uchiha clan," Ren confirmed.
"Then who is Ace?" Yoruichi asked curiously. "And there's one more Spiritual Pressure—who is that?"
Ren replied, "Ace is someone from this world—he's Whitebeard's son. I stationed them here to guard this place."
"Yoruichi, you should have seen him before. He even attended our wedding."
Yoruichi pointed a paw at herself and then at Ren, looking bewildered.
"Why don't I remember? I usually remember unique names like that after hearing them once."
"You'll remember once we go and meet them."
Ren said this while carefully sensing the final Spiritual Pressure, confirming his earlier suspicion.
"The last one should be Oz Jr."
"Whitebeard said he returned to this world to find Ace. I didn't expect him to be here with him."
"Yoruichi, don't be too surprised when you see Oz Jr. in a moment."
He looked down at the confusion on the black cat's face but didn't answer immediately. Instead, he used Shunpo to move toward the source of the pressures.
Before the man and cat arrived, they felt wave after wave of tremors vibrating through the ground. As they got closer, the vibrations became increasingly intense.
"This—"
"This is—a giant!"
Yoruichi's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
From a distance, she saw a colossal green-brown giant standing in the wasteland, reaching toward the sky. Holding a massive hammer carved from stone, he was slamming it down onto the ground over and over again.
Ren soothed her, "I did warn you not to be too surprised."
"Mr. Serious, who is this now? He looks even bigger than the giants in the Navy. He must be at least fifty or sixty meters tall!"
Yoruichi's amber eyes reflected Oz Jr.'s silhouette. His fangs and the horns growing from his head were truly terrifying.
Ren explained, "This is Oz Jr. He's a type of giant and also one of Whitebeard's sons."
Hearing this, Yoruichi couldn't help but complain, "How does Whitebeard have so many sons? Just how many did he adopt?"
Ren recalled the scene of the Paramount War and sighed.
"At least enough to form a grand fleet."
Neither he nor Yoruichi had masked their Spiritual Pressure. As they approached rapidly, Oz Jr. stopped his hammering.
His voice thundered through the Yellow Springs.
"Ace, Yakumi, the Big Boss is here!"
"Ah, and I sense a stranger with him."
On the ground, Ace turned his head and a smile appeared on his face. He sensed the pressures; while he wasn't sure who the unfamiliar one belonged to, since they were with Ren, they were surely an ally.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]