(T/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday! Don’t worry, the three Chapters will be compensated for tomorrow! thanks everyone for your support!!)
The next morning, a soul in a white priest’s robe crept stealthily toward the shrine.
He climbed onto the wall and peered inside through a window.
Seeing no one inside, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"This shrine’s still usable. They were just passing Shinigami after all. Knew they wouldn’t stay long..." the white-robed priest muttered.
Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder, making him jolt.
Kyōraku Shunsui spoke lazily: "Yare yare... we’ve been waiting for you. Thought you weren’t coming back."
The priest’s body stiffened. He slowly turned around, forcing a flattering smile. "Oh... you gentlen haven’t left yet..."
Katori Nanatsuki said warmly, "No rush. There are a few things we’d like to ask."
After sunrise, they had chosen not to leave the shrine.
Based on the intel from Urahara Kisuke, Nanatsuki suspected that the rampant spread of faith in the Fuwai District might be tied to the Reishi Shells.
He had discussed the matter with Yamamoto, who had agreed it warranted investigation.
Nanatsuki figured the priest would eventually return to reclaim the shrine, so they waited patiently.
The priest, clearly trying to please, said with a grin, "If there’s anything you wish to know, just ask!"
Nanatsuki got straight to the point: "What’s the na of the god you worship?"
The white-robed priest replied truthfully, "Our Lord is the Great Deity of the Netherworld..."
"Great Deity of the Netherworld?" Ukitake Jūshirō blinked. "Never heard of that... must be so wild god."
The priest objected: "The Great Deity of the Netherworld rules over the underworld and controls the reincarnation of souls. As long as you devoutly worship Him... you’ll be reincarnated into a wealthy family and live a life of luxury in the World of the Living!"
"Pfft—your god’s really sothing," Kyōraku couldn’t hold back his laughter. "Reincarnation is a natural law of Soul Society. No god governs it. If anyone is to be credited, it should be the Soul King, who established the balance of the Three Worlds!"
Nanatsuki, however, wasn’t surprised. "There are many faiths like this in the World of the Living too. People often pin their hopes on being reborn better."
The priest was clever enough to know when to stay quiet. Even if the Shinigami questioned his beliefs, he dared not argue.
Nanatsuki continued, "What’s your position in the shrine? This isn’t your headquarters, is it? Tell us more about your organization."
"The headquarters is also in Fuwai District, though a bit far from here," the priest replied. "I’m just a shrine priest. I usually preach doctrine to the faithful and look for evil individuals."
"Look for evil individuals? Why?"
"To worship the Great Deity of the Netherworld, one must accumulate virtue. The more virtue you accumulate, the better your reincarnation."
"So what do you do with these so-called evil people?"
"We offer them as sacrifices to our Lord, of course."
"And who decides who qualifies as ’truly evil’?"
"That’s up to the High Priest at headquarters. Us priests just bring the targets in."
Rukongai had no real legal system. If soone committed evil and got beaten to death, no one would care.
So the shrine’s actions hadn’t drawn much attention from the Shinigami.
Nanatsuki said, "We’d like to et your High Priest. Take us to your headquarters."
If Reishi Shells were truly involved, they wouldn’t be hiding at the grassroots level. It would be more efficient to investigate the upper ranks directly.
"That... might not be appropriate... Our shrine isn’t that special..." the priest hesitated.
But Yamamoto spoke in a tone that brooked no refusal: "You don’t have a choice."
The priest’s expression shifted several tis before he finally relented. "Very well. Please follow , sirs. The next God Offering Day is in three days. The High Priest never misses it."
Three days later, crowds gathered at the Great Deity of the Netherworld’s shrine.
Today was the God Offering Day. Priests from all the branches had brought the "evildoers" they’d found in their regions.
The High Priest would judge these candidates and select the truly wicked to be sacrificed.
Nanatsuki and the others followed the white-robed priest to the shrine.
Since the ceremony had yet to begin, and the priest didn’t know where the High Priest was, they blended in with the worshipers to avoid raising alarm.
"It’s packed... even more people than at the market," Nanatsuki remarked, scanning the crowd.
There were so many people that the ceremony had to be held in the open area outside the shrine.
"There must be over a thousand people here," Ukitake said in amazent. "This faith has quite the following in Fuwai District."
"So of them probably ca from neighboring districts," Nanatsuki added. "That priest said there are other shrines outside Fuwai too."
"Unbelievable. So many people worship so no-na god? They’d be better off worshiping the Soul King," Kyōraku muttered.
They had already set up an invisible Reishi Barrier to isolate sound, so no one around could hear them.
The barrier was one-way—they could still hear the conversations of those outside.
"I wonder how many evildoers they caught this ti. Can’t wait to see!"
"Yeah! Last ti it was only seven. Hope they found more this round. The more that get sacrificed to the Great Deity of the Netherworld, the better!"
"I heard... they caught soone big this ti..."
"Wait, you an those bandits from the Mountain?"
"Pfft, that’s nothing. It’s soone else. I don’t know the details though."
While the crowd murmured in anticipation, several priests in white robes erged from the shrine.
Leading them was a tall figure in a more elaborate robe, his high hat and intricate embroidery marking his status.
"High Priest!" the crowd cheered in unison.
The appearance of the High Priest caught Nanatsuki’s group’s attention.
He wore a mask, concealing his face—but they could all sense that he possessed Reiatsu.
And not just him—four white-robed priests followed behind, and they, too, had Reiatsu.
"Are they Shinigami?" Kyōraku asked quietly, glancing at the priest who had led them here.
"I don’t know... The High Priest and those four are the core of the shrine. I rarely get to see them myself," he whispered back.
’They could be the Reishi Shells Soul Society’s been looking for,’ Nanatsuki thought.
The one that infiltrated Hikifune Kirio’s lab already had Reiatsu on par with a regular Shinigami. It wasn’t out of the question for these masked clergy to be the sa.
"Let them finish their ritual," Kyōraku said. "Afterward, we’ll check if they’re really Reishi Shells."
Now that they had appeared—they had no escape.
And Kyōraku was curious what kind of nonsense this "God Offering Day" would turn out to be.
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