Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Furōfushi Saitō
(T/N: Fourth Chapter!)
Within Muken, there was only endless darkness.
Nanatsuki attempted to walk deeper into the dark, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t get any closer.
He had expected this.
Those without sin cannot reach the depths of Muken.
"I snuck into Muken like this... does that still count as innocent?" Nanatsuki scratched his face.
In truth, he didn’t need to venture that far in. If he wanted to meet a prisoner held in Muken, all he had to do was call their name.
"Furōfushi Saitō."
Soon after, a dragging sound echoed from the depths of the darkness.
From within the pitch black emerged a figure.
It was a petite girl with long violet hair. She stood barely one meter fifty.
Her hair was tied into twin tails with black ribbons, a black eyepatch covering her left eye, and she wore a plain white kimono.
Her small pale bare feet touched the ground, and around her ankles, thick chains bound her in place.
The sound Nanatsuki had heard just now came from the chains scraping against the floor.
Chains also bound her neck, wrists, and waist.
"Well, well, how rare. Someone came to Muken to find me? Don’t tell me the Tsunayashiro clan was wiped out and the Central 46 finally decided to let me out?" The girl narrowed her right eye, trying to get a good look at him.
But Muken was cloaked in darkness. She could only perceive him through her spiritual sense.
Yet Nanatsuki was shrouded in Shadow Space, and her perception couldn’t penetrate it.
"Unfortunately, the Tsunayashiro clan is still a great noble house of the Soul Society," Nanatsuki replied with a faint smile.
"Tch. That’s a shame. Looks like I’ll be stuck here a while longer," Furōfushi Saitō muttered carelessly, fiddling with her twin tails.
With a thought, Nanatsuki expanded his Shadow Space, pulling Furōfushi Saitō into it.
She was startled, but couldn’t resist the pull of the space at all.
"Sorry, just a precaution. Talking in here ensures no one else can hear us," Nanatsuki said with a smile.
He wasn’t sure if the other prisoners of Muken could hear their conversation, so he brought her into Shadow Space just to be safe.
"Who the hell are you? Hiding your face like that, it’s annoying!" Furōfushi Saitō pouted. With her temperament, if she had a blade, she would’ve sliced first and asked questions later.
Still, there weren’t many inmates in Muken. It had been a long time since she saw anyone new—
She was quite eager to chat.
"I heard Lady Saitō was a friend of Batsu’unsai. I’ve come to pay my respects," Nanatsuki said, his fingertip glowing faintly.
"Batsu’unsai?" Furōfushi Saitō suddenly grew angry. "That woman’s still alive? I’ve been locked up in here for over 300 years and she’s never come to visit me!"
"Even a captain isn’t allowed to freely enter Muken. Doing so requires approval from the Central 46," Nanatsuki explained with a polite smile.
Furōfushi Saitō frowned as she finally got a clear look at Nanatsuki’s face.
"You look kind of familiar... Have we met before?" she said, circling around him to get a better look.
"My name is Katori Nanatsuki," he replied calmly.
"Katori Nanatsuki... The same family name as Batsu’unsai..."
Her eyes widened as recognition struck her.
"You—what’s your relationship with Batsu’unsai?!"
"No way..." Her cheeks flushed as a strange thought crossed her mind. "With that half-dead body of hers, she was able to have a child?"
"It’s not what you think. I’m actually Batsu’unsai’s younger brother," Nanatsuki clarified.
"No way! She never had a younger brother! I’ve known her for centuries, and she never once mentioned one!" Furōfushi Saitō said, unconvinced.
"Since we looked alike, she acknowledged me as her brother. She also passed down the Katori-ryu sword style to me," Nanatsuki explained with a smile.
He didn’t mention anything about his Reishi Shell. There was no need to reveal so much when they’d only just met.
Bringing up Batsu’unsai was merely a way to establish rapport with Furōfushi Saitō—to smooth future conversations.
"The nose... the eyes... You’re really not her son?" Furōfushi Saitō stroked her chin as she scrutinized Nanatsuki’s face. The more she looked, the more he resembled Batsu’unsai. "Wait, you said you know Katori-ryu swordsmanship?"
"Of course. In fact, the Katori-ryu Dojo has reopened and begun accepting students again. I am now the Shihan of the dojo."
A shadowy black blade formed in Nanatsuki’s hand.
Raising the blade, he bent the index and middle fingers of his left hand and firmly pinched the flat of the blade.
Releasing his fingers, the blade flipped upward—
A flash of Flowlight
streaked across Shadow Space."That’s the Katori-ryu Secret Art—Blade Sealing! You really have mastered Katori-ryu swordsmanship! And you still say you’re not her son?!" Furōfushi Saitō exclaimed.
"You could say I’m her heir... her disciple... but we’re really not mother and son," Nanatsuki said helplessly.
He’d only wanted to show his close relationship with Batsu’unsai to build trust—but now Furōfushi Saitō had wildly misunderstood.
"Her disciple, huh...? I’ve never seen her take on a disciple before..." Furōfushi Saitō remained skeptical, but if Nanatsuki could perform the secret art, then he had clearly earned Batsu’unsai’s recognition.
"How did you even get into Muken? This place isn’t somewhere you can just stroll into," she asked suspiciously.
"Recently, something happened in the Rukongai. I came across the appearance of a Gate of Hell in the Soul Society. Although the gate was ultimately shut down, I’m convinced a massive conspiracy is behind it."
Nanatsuki didn’t beat around the bush and continued:
"Lady Saitō, I heard from Batsu’unsai that you once possessed something called the Sound of Hell, which allowed you to communicate with the damned souls of Hell."
"So I came to ask you about the Sound of Hell and the nature of Hell itself."
"The Sound of Hell? That thing got confiscated by the guys from the Rogue Detention Corps ages ago!" Furōfushi Saitō rolled her eyes. "All I’ve got now are these chains."
"I’m aware. I looked into it and discovered that the Shinigami who took it died or disappeared a few decades ago. So now I suspect..." Nanatsuki speculated, "...that someone has been using your Sound of Hell to conspire with beings from Hell—and is trying to open the Gate of Hell from within the Soul Society."
"And what’s that got to do with me? I’m just a prisoner locked away in Muken!" Furōfushi Saitō huffed, folding her arms with pride. "If you want any info from me, then..."
"Bring me some snacks and something to kill time!"