"Does this shortcut you speak of have any side effects?" Yamabuki asked cautiously.
"No. For you, there are only benefits, no drawbacks," the Soul King said calmly. "You see the box next to me, right? Open that box, and the answer is inside."
Yamabuki saw a small, unlocked box next to the Soul King. Upon gently opening it, he found a pulsating piece of flesh inside.
"What the hell is this?" Yamabuki asked with a puzzled expression.
"My flesh," the Soul King said. "As long as you absorb my flesh, your spiritual pressure will greatly increase in a short period, without any side effects. This is also the only way for you to survive the future war."
Yamabuki looked at the Soul King with a bewildered expression. Let me devour your flesh? Why would such a grotesque thing happen?
As the strongest being in this world, even obtaining a small fragment of his body could make one powerful.
For example, the unfortunate Fullbringers; they have fragments of the Soul King in their souls, which is why they can awaken Fullbring. However, Fullbringers are attacked by Hollows while still in the womb, and later hunted by Shinigami when they grow up, leading miserable lives.
Now, with this large piece of flesh in front of him, if he absorbed it, his spiritual pressure would undoubtedly undergo a qualitative leap. But… was there truly no flaw at all?
The Soul King already knew Yamabuki would be puzzled and said gently, "I won't force you. I will give you the right to choose. Of course, if you don't absorb this flesh, that future great war…"
Yamabuki felt conflicted. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world; there had to be something hidden.
"Can you tell me how long until that great war arrives?" Yamabuki asked. If he could get some information in advance, he could prepare better.
"Six months. In six months, the great war will arrive," the Soul King said.
"Is there truly no other way besides absorbing this flesh?" Yamabuki confirmed again. The Soul King said nothing, and Yamabuki took it as an affirmation.
To contend with Yhwach, he needed to reach at least Yamamoto's Bankai level. His current strength could barely put up a fight against the Captain-Commander's Shikai, but against Zanka no Tachi in Bankai, he was like a child; the gap was too vast.
He didn't believe he could reach that height in six months.
The world was beautiful, he had so many friends around him, Unohana was even living with him, and perhaps their relationship could progress further in the future. There was also a black-bellied loli to amuse himself with. Although he didn't get paid, life was already good, and he truly didn't want to die.
Yamabuki took a deep breath, gripped the chunk of flesh, and using the Quincy's reishi absorption power, devoured it completely.
The next second, a powerful spiritual pressure directly erupted from him; the chunk of flesh transformed into pure Soul King's power and merged into his soul.
However, his body was not assimilated by the Soul King's power but rapidly absorbed these forces, converting them into his own spiritual pressure.
His spiritual pressure base was rapidly increasing; if he could barely fight the Captain-Commander's Shikai while in his Vollständig state before, now he could contend with the Captain-Commander's Shikai using only his Shinigami power.
Is this the Soul King's power? This is just a small chunk of flesh. After a thousand years, Yhwach will devour the entire Soul King. How much of a boost will that be?
"As expected, it's the same type of constitution as mine," the Soul King said calmly. He originally intended to reshape this youth's body with his Soul King's power, but he didn't expect the youth to absorb his power instead.
Converting the Soul King's power into his own spiritual pressure, but this is even better, saving him a lot of effort.
Yamabuki could feel his spiritual pressure undergoing an earth-shattering change. If he activated Vollständig in this state again, he wondered if he could contend with the Captain-Commander in Bankai state.
"Oh, by the way, young man, you just asked me if there was any other way besides absorbing my flesh, and I hadn't had time to say it before you absorbed my flesh. My answer is, yes!"
"Pfft!" Yamabuki nearly died of anger. Is it too late for me to spit it out now?
"If you can learn Bankai within half a year, you might be able to survive under Yhwach's hands," the Soul King said unhurriedly.
"You're messing with me! Do you believe I'll cut you down with one swing right now? No matter how strong the defense, it's vulnerable before me!" Yamabuki said exasperatedly.
"Of course, I believe it, and I'd be very happy if you cut me to death with one swing. I've lived in this position for far too long. Try working non-stop for a million years, day and night? If you could kill me, I'd be overjoyed. However, this world would collapse without the linchpin. Oh, right, didn't you just swallow a piece of my flesh? Perhaps you're suited for this position. Just outside, there are Ichibē Hyōsube and Ōetsu Nimaiya. I wonder if you can beat them both now?" the Soul King said leisurely.
Yamabuki's face turned green. As expected, this scoundrel's ultimate goal was to retire and drag him up to take over.
Seeing Yamabuki's gnashing teeth, the Soul King was extremely pleased. He hadn't been this happy in a million years.
"Hmph, I won't stoop to your level," Yamabuki snorted coldly, sheathing his Zanpakutō. I, Yamabuki, will absolutely not be turned into a human stick!
"Alright, you can leave anytime now. I will soon enter slumber again. I don't know when I will awaken next," the Soul King closed his eyes.
"Wait a minute, I have one last question. When exactly will I get paid?" Yamabuki asked with a serious expression.
The Soul King fulfilled his small request, activating The Almighty to help him see when he would receive his salary.
Suddenly, the Soul King's expression changed: "My The Almighty seems to have malfunctioned! I can't see such a distant future!"
"..." Yamabuki's mouth fell open. No way!
"Alright, no more talk, I'm going to sleep," this time the Soul King truly fell into a deep slumber, perhaps waking in a few hundred years, or perhaps a few thousand.
"Hey, don't sleep yet! What do you mean The Almighty malfunctioned? Did you really not see it, or will I not receive my salary for the next million years?" Yamabuki cried out in despair. Why is this happening? I clearly work hard every day (referring to occasionally slacking off), so why don't I get paid?! This is unreasonable!
"Wake up? Wake up? Help me check again, did you make a mistake?" Yamabuki tapped the Soul King's amber cocoon with his hand.
....
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