Chapter 654 - 654 Visitors From The Soul King Palace

"Is that so? I see. So... in your heart, I've always just been a little kid?" Toshiro stared expressionlessly at Rangiku.

"Come on, Captain, don't stare at me like that." Rangiku said guiltily under Toshiro's gaze.

"Hey, Rangiku, what image have I always had in your heart?" Toshiro asked, still expressionless.

"That... that would of course be handsome, cool, incredibly strong, and extremely reliable, a true manly image." Rangiku said with an obsequious, flattering expression.

"Hmph! Since you answered well this time, I'll let it slide." Toshiro snorted.

"Great, I knew you were the best, Captain."

In her excitement, Rangiku instinctively wanted to hug Toshiro and rub against him like before, but seeing his figure, now taller than her own, she sheepishly stopped the motion.

"Alright, enough joking. You seem to be fine now, so there's something I should return to you." Toshiro suddenly said with a serious expression.

Rangiku was startled: "Return to you? What? I don't remember you owing me anything, Captain. If anything, I owe you quite a bit for buying alcohol..."

"It's not a small issue like money. Of course... you can't forget to pay me back the money you owe either..."

Toshiro suppressed the urge to punch Rangiku, then took a deep breath and solemnly pulled out a box carved from ice crystals from his chest, finally opening the box.

The moment Toshiro opened the box, a point of light floated out.

"This is...?" The moment she saw this point of light, Rangiku felt her entire soul tremble involuntarily.

"This is the missing part of your soul." Toshiro said.

"My missing soul?" Rangiku asked, confused.

"You might not remember, but to create the Hogyoku, Aizen once gathered souls of Shinigami and those with Shinigami potential everywhere... and you were one of the victims."

"The reason Gin infiltrated Aizen's ranks, besides avenging you, was primarily to retrieve the part of your soul that was lost, taken into the Hogyoku..."

"Although Gin ultimately failed, fortunately, at the very end, I broke the Shinigami limit, reached another level, defeated Aizen, and retrieved the part of your soul that was lost, for you and for Gin." Toshiro said gravely.

"Is that so?" Rangiku's expression was complicated upon hearing this.

"Because of work pressure and your low spirits these past days, I haven't mentioned this. But... now that you've become strong again, it's... time to return what's yours."

Saying this, Toshiro pinched the point of light with his right hand and reached it towards Rangiku's brow.

Toshiro's finger touched Rangiku's forehead. The moment the point of light contacted her, like a tired bird returning to its nest, it merged back into Rangiku's soul.

And Rangiku's previously incomplete soul became whole and perfect once more.

Boom!

When Rangiku's soul became complete, a powerful Reiatsu suddenly erupted from her body. Her presence surged higher and higher, showing a trend of breaking through some limit.

"As expected... is she about to break through to Captain-level?" Toshiro murmured to himself.

Faced with this sudden situation, Toshiro was not surprised at all... instead, he looked as if he had expected it.

And indeed, Rangiku had been a Shinigami for many years. When Toshiro joined the 10th Division, she was already its Lieutenant.

Moreover, even among the Lieutenants of the Gotei 13, Rangiku's seniority was relatively high. Most other Lieutenants, like Kira, Momo, and Renji, were her juniors.

Yet, until now, after being Lieutenant for so many years, Rangiku's strength was still at the Lieutenant level, with no sign of breaking through to Captain-level.

In fact, the reason Rangiku hadn't broken through wasn't due to a lack of talent or potential for Captain-level, nor simply because she was usually too lazy. The main reason was that her incomplete soul limited her potential, preventing her from reaching Captain-level.

Now, with Rangiku's soul re-fused and made whole, the biggest obstacle hindering her breakthrough had completely disappeared.

The power suppressed within her body for so long erupted, making it almost certain she would take this opportunity to break through to Captain-level.

As Toshiro was pondering, as Rangiku's Reiatsu continuously increased, a young girl with short dark red hair, emerald green eyes, a pair of red cat ears, and a pink cat tail suddenly appeared out of thin air beside Rangiku.

"Hey! Old lady, why did you call me out?" The cat-eared girl shouted at Rangiku with an expression of discontent.

"What did you say, Haineko? How many times have I told you? Don't call me old lady!!" Rangiku roared angrily.

The cat-eared girl was Rangiku's Zanpakuto, Haineko.

"Yeah, yeah, old lady, I got it, old lady." Haineko said with an extremely perfunctory expression.

Just as Rangiku was about to angrily retort, Haineko suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, old lady, didn't Muramasa's power disappear? Why can I materialize again? And your Reiatsu... it's so strong! Could it be... you're about to break through?!"

Realizing what was happening, Haineko's expression turned surprised.

Generally, a Zanpakuto cannot materialize at will. It only materializes when a Shinigami's Reiatsu reaches a certain level, just before breaking through to Captain-level. If the Shinigami can then defeat the materialized Zanpakuto, they can master Bankai and break through to Captain-level.

"Hehehe... surprised, aren't you, Haineko? This time, I'm going to teach you a good lesson and then fully master Bankai!" Rangiku laughed triumphantly.

"Ah, I certainly didn't expect an old lady like you to still improve one day. But... if you want to master Bankai, you should talk big after you've beaten me!!" Haineko sneered.

"Fine! Just wait to be beaten black and blue, crying and begging for mercy!! Haineko!!!" Rangiku roared with a 'savage' grin, drawing her sword and charging at Haineko, who fearlessly met Rangiku's attack.

The battle between Rangiku and her Zanpakuto ultimately ended unsurprisingly with Rangiku's victory, and she successfully mastered her Bankai.

After her soul's defect was repaired, the power suppressed within Rangiku for years erupted at once, with astonishing momentum, almost unstoppable.

Haineko ultimately suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Rangiku, getting thoroughly thrashed, and promised never to call her 'old lady' again… though whether that promise would hold was anyone's guess.

Then, Rangiku followed Toshiro back to the 10th Division, and time began to pass steadily.

With Rangiku's assistance, and Yamamoto's recovery, most of the work of the Gotei 13 was transferred back to the 1st Division.

So, after a few busy days, Toshiro temporarily resolved most of the work on his plate.

Just as Toshiro was about to take the opportunity to go into seclusion and train, to fully familiarize himself with and master his True God-level power, he suddenly received a notification from Yamamoto: The Zero Division from the Soul King Palace was coming down to the Seireitei, and Toshiro was to come along to welcome them.