Chapter 165: The Phoenix Palace

"Welcome~~~~~!"

Following Oetsu Nimaiya into his exclusive domain, Chojiro had barely pushed open the door when a group of scantily clad young women greeted him with beaming smiles.

Oh my, while the Soul King Palace could indeed be quite boring, what was the deal with using these women—who were clearly neither humans, Shinigami, nor even Hollows—to satisfy one's tedious loneliness? If word got out, the title of the "God of Swords" would surely be weeping in despair...

However, no matter how much jealousy churned within Chojiro's heart, the sheer extravagance of Nimaiya's place was something he had never witnessed in his entire life. Even if it was all just a superficial facade, it still prompted Chojiro to quietly curse him under his breath...

*With all these women around and you unable to do a single thing, you might as well just spend the rest of your life jerking off...*

If Nimaiya were to hear Chojiro's internal cursing, he probably would have reconsidered helping him with his Zanpakuto issues.

Still, from any perspective, any normal man visiting Nimaiya's place would inevitably feel a pang of jealousy. Although they were not truly human, every conceivable type was definitely present here, leaving nothing to be desired.

Cool beauties, mature ladies, lolis, pure types, alluring sirens...

If you could imagine it, there was nothing here that you hadn't seen.

Nimaiya could proudly declare this to every Shinigami, provided they didn't mind that the women in question were actually Zanpakuto...

To be honest, every single one of these women was brimming with vitality and allure, and the deep canyons on their chests were so vast that one couldn't see the bottom at a single glance...

"Plop!"

"Whoa!"

Chojiro, who was currently appreciating the scenery of the canyons, suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in both eyes and hurriedly covered them, rolling around on the ground.

"My eyes! My eyes are going blind, ahhhhh!"

Watching Chojiro roll back and forth on the floor, Unohana let out a cold snort and walked straight toward the depths of the Phoenix Palace without even looking back.

"Woa... Are you alright?"

"He looks like he's in a lot of pain."

"How pitiful..."

"Would you like to rest for a while in our arms?"

Seeing Chojiro clutching his eyes and rolling about, the female Zanpakuto wore expressions of sympathy. One of the mature women even reached out, intending to pull Chojiro into her embrace.

"Slap!"

With a visible tic mark throbbing on her forehead, Unohana turned back and delivered a merciless slap to Chojiro, then grabbed him by the collar and dragged him straight through the door.

I didn't even do anything...

Teary-eyed, Chojiro didn't dare to put up even the slightest struggle, obediently let himself be dragged away by Unohana.

"..."

Having witnessed everything from the sidelines and not daring to interfere, Nimaiya broke out in a cold sweat as he offered a silent prayer for Chojiro, then hurried to follow them inside.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself long ago, it wasn't until he witnessed it with his own eyes that Chojiro truly understood what a dramatic contrast meant.

The front was so lavish and splendid, teeming with countless beauties and gorgeous women, but the true Phoenix Palace was nothing more than a dilapidated shack that looked as if it could collapse at any given moment. This powerful visual contrast made Chojiro involuntarily close his eyes in pity.

I really feel sorry for you, Nimaiya.

"Well, anyway, we'll start right from here."

Hands on his hips, Nimaiya smiled craftily at Chojiro and reached out a hand.

"First off, hand over your Zanpakuto, Kojiro."

*Kojiro?*

Why was his first reaction upon hearing that name the image of those two comical villains with light purple parted hair who always made their grand entrance with the silly line, "To protect the world from devastation, to unite all peoples within our nation"? Just how on earth did he resemble that guy?

Pouting and shooting a disgruntled glare at Nimaiya, Chojiro nevertheless handed over the Gonryomaru at his waist.

Weighing Gonryomaru in his hand, Nimaiya's sunglasses suddenly flashed, revealing a pair of shrewd eyes gleaming behind the lenses.

"That's not right, Kojiro. This isn't your a・ll Zanpakuto, is it?"

"!"

Chojiro froze, then narrowed his eyes slightly with a hint of danger, instinctively tightening his grip on Shizuku, which was hidden within his sleeve.

"?"

Utterly bewildered by Nimaiya's words, Unohana cast a curious glance at the two of them, wisely keeping her mouth shut.

Aside from Aizen, almost no one in the entire Soul Society knew that he possessed a second Zanpakuto—not even Unohana. Just how on earth did this guy before him know about the existence of Shizuku?

This question merely flashed through Chojiro's mind before he quickly let it go.

After all, the other party was the "God of Swords" who had created the entire system of Zanpakuto. According to his own claims, if memory served, he knew the location of every single Asauchi he had ever forged. Therefore, it stood to reason that he should be intimately aware of the changes in every Zanpakuto.

Under Unohana's astonished gaze, Chojiro handed Shizuku—which he had been tightly clutching all along—into Nimaiya's hands as well.

"Oh... This is the first time I've seen something like this."

Lingering for a few extra moments on Shizuku, Nimaiya then raised both Zanpakuto high into the air and smashed them hard against each other.

"Clang—Crash!"

The two Zanpakuto, which should have been exceptionally hard and sharp, behaved as if they were made of brittle brick in Nimaiya's hands, shattering into countless pieces with just a slight application of force.

"!"

"..."

Compared to Unohana's shock, Chojiro appeared remarkably calm. Since this man who had created the Zanpakuto had personally sought him out to resolve his blade's issues, he certainly wouldn't do anything detrimental to him. At the same time, this meant the "God of Swords" was going to forge a brand new Zanpakuto for him personally.

"You don't seem surprised at all. How wonderful."

Unable to resist taking another look at Chojiro, Nimaiya gave a strange smile, gave the two broken swords a couple of idle waves, and then tossed them onto the ground like garbage.

"That means you're all prepared, little Mera."

"Yes."

A stern little girl who suddenly appeared from nowhere pulled open the doors of the true Phoenix Palace, revealing a pitch-black, unknown expanse within.

"Go on in, Kojiro. In there, you will obtain your tr・u・e Zanpakuto."

"Thud."

"Eh?"

Seeing that Chojiro didn't have the slightest question or hesitation, and instead jumped down straight from the edge of the doorway as if he were already familiar with the Phoenix Palace's architecture, landing lightly on the ground below, Nimaiya pushed his sunglasses up in a somewhat anxious manner, asking in disbelief, "Don't you have any questions?"

"Idiot, having questions is pointless, right? We're going to have to go in there anyway, so taking it one step at a time is the right way to go."

Giving Nimaiya an indifferent, dismissive look, Chojiro could distinctly sense that the moment he stepped inside this room, several figures suddenly materialized not far from him, their killing intent radiating without the slightest attempt at concealment.

"Oh, they're coming, they're coming. Those are your opponents this time, Kojiro."

"Those are the strongest, most potent Zanpakuto to date—"

"'Asauchi'."