Following Yamamoto's command, a large Senkaimon was opened before the assembled Captains.
Then, Sora, who had been waiting outside, walked in.
Flanking him left and right were Unohana and Kaguya.
At this moment, both Kaguya and Unohana had their heads bowed, acting as if they were truly attendants!
Seeing the surprised faces looking at him, Sora waved casually.
"Well, Captains of the Seireitei, good to see you all!"
"This is our first meeting, though I know all of you, of course!"
Sora smiled.
The Captains' reactions varied.
"You bastard, you dare come to the Soul Society yourself?" Komamura was furious.
He was even more angered that this had likely been arranged by their own side.
It felt like 'the ministers are ready to die for the cause, but the lord has already surrendered'.
Unlike Komamura, Mayuri was excited.
"Nemu, find a way to get close to this man, understand?" Mayuri whispered to Nemu.
"Yes, Mayuri-sama!" Nemu nodded.
"Excellent!" Mayuri was delighted. Even if he couldn't dissect Sora, he could still gather useful data.
In contrast to these two, Sui-Feng was highly alert.
'Does this man's arrival signify a shift in the Soul Society's stance? In the Captain-Commander's stance?'
'Damn it, who advised the Captain-Commander to invite this man?'
'Summoning such a brazen man before all the Captains... isn't this admitting weakness?'
'But the Captain-Commander must have his reasons. I'll keep quiet about this, but I can't neglect my duties. I'll watch him closely!'
Sui-Feng made a mental decision. She deeply respected Yamamoto.
Others had different thoughts.
Looking at Sora, Kyoraku was pleased: "Great, Jushiro, looks like we won't have to fight!!!"
"I can go back to slacking off and finding beautiful ladies after work!"
"You, you..." His friend Ukitake shook his head helplessly.
However, Ukitake also looked at Sora with surprise.
For some reason, seeing Sora made Ukitake feel an affinity, and even his lungs felt better. Why was that?
'Could he also be hosting a part of the Soul King like I did?'
Ukitake couldn't have guessed that Sora was the Soul King himself. After all, such a thought was too shocking!
Besides these two, Zaraki was also happy.
"Great, not fighting is really great!"
People mature. Zaraki was no exception.
In the original work, Unohana died in their battle, and Yachiru vanished when he used Bankai. After experiencing such loss, Zaraki matured immensely.
Although still fierce, he grew wiser and didn't talk about fighting as much.
But that was a painful growth, losing what little he had.
Now, facing Sora's overwhelming strength, Zaraki had lost that desire for battle.
He had experienced a fight with no give and take, just total domination, and he was helpless. Who could handle that?
Zaraki might have masochistic tendencies, but he wasn't a true masochist. So now he had matured, even becoming somewhat lazy.
Seeing Sora arrive, Gin was the most excited.
This meant his mission was perfectly accomplished!
Unlike Gin, Byakuya was already contemplating marriage alliances.
It was a Kuchiki Clan's specialty.
All the Captains had their own thoughts, but none expressed them.
After a moment of silence, Yamamoto spoke first.
"Since no one else seems to have anything to say, I'll begin."
"First question: Who are you? Where do you come from? And what exactly are you?"
Yamamoto asked.
"Heh, that's a simple question!" Sora smiled. "Simply put, I am the Soul King!"
"Of course…"
Before the shock could fully register, Sora added, preempting their reaction: "I am the Soul King from another world. A world different from yours!"
"Understand? Don't be hostile. I'm just visiting!"
Sora explained.
"The Soul King!!?" Despite his explanation, even Yamamoto was shocked.
After all, that was the Soul King!