CH 99: LET’S BET
The moment Gojo opened his eyes, the three women shuddered at the sharp increase of Reiatsu.
Yoruichi was still alright. But, for Soi Fon who was pretty much dead tired, and Nemu who was only a vice-captain, the current pressure was unbearable. They felt as if thousands of kilograms were suddenly placed on their shoulders.
Thankfully, Gojo had not melded any intent in his pressure, otherwise, it could have ended quite badly.
“Oops.”
He was a little disoriented at first, but once he understood what was happening, he immediately took control of his pressure.
Nemu couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, while Soi Fon, who was already in a pretty bad shape after being drained for two months, fainted.
Just as she was about to hit the ground,
Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
Two people immediately appeared next to her and supported her.
“She has just fainted and is suffering from exhaustion. Nothing worrisome.”
Taking her in a princess carry, Gojo took out the chain she had used to connect to the wall of Dangai and verified her current state.
On the other hand, Yoruichi, who was one step late, was gobsmacked and looked at Gojo with an incredulous expression.
‘He was faster than me?’
Yoruichi could hardly believe it. Even though she had become quite rusty after all those years without fighting and living in the form of a cat.
She still believed that aside from Raijin no Tenjirō[1], a member of the Zero division, who was also the greatest healer she knew[2], no one could match her when it came to pure speed.
Thinking back to what had happened, she was sure of it,
‘It wasn’t speed. It was….Teleportation?’
She didn’t know if she should be relieved at the fact that he wasn’t faster than her or horrified about this outrageous revelation.
Despite the many restrictions, there were many shinigami who dabbled in space-time techniques. Some were more successful than others, though the vast majority failed.
Still, even after thousands of years of research, there were many limits to what had been actually possible with space-time Kido. Some shinigami, like Kisuke, even reached the level of being able to travel between dimensions, but none of them could teleport.
If she wasn’t wrong, if what he did was really teleportation, then he would be the first one since the creation of Soul Society.
-----
After making sure that Soi Fon was alright, Gojo stood up and stretched with a big smile on his face, and began to check his changes.
Touching his hair, he mused as he wondered how he looked like currently, but there was only one possibility,
‘Yep. Even though it should be impossible, I must have become even more handsome than I was in the past.’
His narcissistic thought aside, for him who had an intimate knowledge of his own body because of his healing skill and his Shikai, he could feel that he had greatly changed. While Shinigami could grow older, the appearance of a shinigami wasn’t just a question of time but also of power level and awareness of oneself.
Clenching his fist and feeling the power coursing through his body, he nodded in appreciation. Of course, the most important Limitless. After all, this was the main reason as to why he came here.
The current Limitless was still somewhat incomplete, but he had already finished the most important part. This made him quite happy.
He may have far surpassed his human self, but Limitless was a skill that had accompanied him for most of his life. It was also the skill that helped him reach the top of his world. This was why he had a special attachment to it.
At the same time, he was thankful that he hadn’t been able to use Limitless at first. When he had entered Soul Society, he still saw himself as the strongest. With a mindset like that, Limitless may have helped him win easily against many, but he would have met his end sooner or later.
After all, this world did not lack masters in space manipulation or powerful people with unique skills that could theoretically counter him.
More than anything, if he had Limitless from the start, he would have never tried to make contact with his zanpakuto, and as such would have never met Kogo, which would have been quite regrettable.
“Well then, Yoruichi, what do you want to do now?”
By then, Yoruichi had already calmed down. She was already used to seeing impossible feats being accomplished by geniuses and as such, she had a higher tolerance than most.
But curiosity was making her go mad. It was like an itch that could not be scratched no matter what she did.
She was curious about so many things.
What skill did he create during those two months?
How was he able to teleport?
Could he become an ally against Aizen?
Back then, she had been too hot-headed and did not wish to stay longer in the Soul Society. This was why she had fled after rescuing Kisuke and the Visored, even though she did not really need to.
Had she stayed, with her political power, it would have been possible to harass Aizen until he slipped and made a mistake. Of course, the other reason she fled was that she did not like the boring and static world that was Soul Society.
She may have been born as a princess and rose to become the first female head of the Shihoin clan thanks to her talent, but deep down, she hated her position.
There were so many things she wished to see, so many places she wanted to explore.
But she had never managed to gather the resolve necessary until that incident.
Looking at Gojo, her eyes shone with splendor as she said,
“I want to fight you.”
Yoruichi had always been someone of action. Since she was curious, she decided to satiate her curiosity. Rather than asking him questions, fighting him would prove to be more meaningful.
Gojo grinned inwardly, as he thought of the best way to profit from the current situation,
“Why should I? I gain nothing from fighting you?”
Yoruichi frowned a little. She wasn’t like Zaraki who would madly attack someone that didn’t want to fight. As such she asked,
“What do you propose then?”
He wiggled her finger at her,
“A bet.”
“...A bet?”
“Indeed. If you win, not only will I tell you everything you want to know, but I will even work for you and listen to any of your orders.”
A strange expression flashed on Yoruichi’s face, “...And in case you win?”
This time, Gojo did not hide his grin, “If I win. Then you will become my maid and listen to any of my orders.”
He also shrugged, “Of course, I say ‘all’ of my orders but there are of course some limits. The winner cannot ask for the life of the loser and cannot make orders that go against the bottom line of the loser. Furthermore, the loser will listen to the other for only 50 years. What do you say?”
Yoruichi, who had been on the verge of refusing, stopped short. If there had been no limits, the choice wouldn’t have been difficult. But now, it appeared to be much more reasonable. For shinigami like them, 50 years was really not that long.
Of course, she wasn’t stupid. She knew that Gojo had first made an unreasonable proposal followed by one much more appetizing. It was a common tactic in negotiation.
But deep down, she had the confidence to not lose. If she went all out and used her Shunko, few people could beat her.
Worse came to worse, if it was necessary, she could use her final form. Though she hated it because of how unstable the technique was.
That was why,
“Alright.”
Yoruichi made the decision on the spot,
“I accept your bet.”
They said curiosity killed the cat.
Yoruichi was about to learn this lesson hand down.
But, just as the two were about to fight,
“I object!”
[1]: Lightning-Fast Tenjirō
[2]: The guy is pretty badass. He's the teacher of Unohana in healing skill and was so fast Soi Fon could hardly perceive him. Personally, I think Ichibe is even faster. But what he used against Yhwach was a special skill rather than pure speed. So it’s hard to say.
(AN: There is one thing I always found weird in Bleach. Why did Yoruichi flee? She is the princess of Shihoin. Just saving some inmates sentenced to death means shit. The Central 46 or Gotei 13 can’t even touch her without risking war. But let’s say that she didn’t want to risk war and didn’t want to inform Soi Fon because the girl is a hothead when it comes to Yoruichi. Why not inform Byakuya and his grandfather about Aizen? What about warning Captain Yamamoto or Shunsui or Ukitake? Of course, it would have been a contest between Aizen and Yoruichi since there’s no proof. In fact, Aizen used his illusion and created the perfect alibi. Still, as the princess of Shihoin, her voice had way more weight than Kisuke who was basically bullied during the trial, if you even call what happened a trial. The guy couldn’t even defend himself. Anyway, rant over.)