By the hot spring, Uehara Byakuya widened his eyes and muttered, "Don't look! Don't look!"
At this moment, Yoruichi Shihōin sensed something amiss, raised her head, and saw Uehara Byakuya chanting.
She thought to herself, speechless, "What good is chanting? You're still staring with those big eyes!"
Then, Yoruichi Shihōin shrank back, hiding in the mist and the hot spring water, the once unobstructed view disappearing entirely.
The story is still a century away from its start, so the current characters and their personalities are different from what they will be then.
Yoruichi, newly arrived in the world, has not yet begun to "let loose" like she will in the story.
Uehara Byakuya looked calm and said in the voice of a true gentleman:
"You don't have to worry, I'm actually blind.
I can't see anything. There's no need for you to cover yourself."
As he spoke, he was trying hard to cosplay Tousen Kaname.
But, considering how Tousen Kaname, in the story, was willing to cover his mouth and nose with a mask but not his blind eyes, and could even see security monitors and use telescopes,
it was only natural for someone like him to be blind.
“…” Looking at Uehara Byakuya’s completely unconvincing disguise, Yoruichi Shihōin was once again speechless.
However, she didn’t dwell on such trivialities, and instead, she directly asked,
"Otsutsuki Naruto, you should know who I am. What are you doing here?"
Uehara Byakuya shrugged and said with confidence, "Don't worry, our Otsutsuki family loves peace and would never consort with the likes of Aizen!"
Yoruichi Shihōin was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when Uehara Byakuya added another line, "Unless you pay extra!"
Yoruichi Shihōin clenched her fist, then released it, and asked tentatively, "Why have I never heard of the Otsutsuki family?"
"Because, like the Werewolf clan, we Otsutsuki are a secret clan hidden outside the Rukongai," Uehara Byakuya said with a nostalgic look in his eyes:
"When I was born, my father wrote a poem for me.
'When you were born, the entire Soul Society whispered your name, - Arthas!
And you will be crowned king!'"
Yoruichi Shihōin’s brow furrowed, and she questioned:
"Wait, aren’t you called Otsutsuki Naruto? What's with the Arthas?
And the entire Seireitei…
The whole world only has one king, the Soul King.
What king are you going to be?"
Uehara Byakuya shrugged and said casually,
"Arthas is my nickname. My father was a bit of a foreign culture buff, so he gave me a foreign nickname.
And there's more than one king in the world, if I can't be the old king, can't I be the Pirate King?
After all, pirates are the most free people in this world!
Because they die very randomly, like in a certain free country, where you can eat nuclear-powered seafood to your heart's content."
Yoruichi Shihōin’s brow was furrowed so deeply it could crush a fly, "What kind of king is the 'old king'?"
This was just nonsense.
If Yoruichi Shihōin wasn't wary of this "Otsutsuki Naruto" and his strange abilities, she would have wanted to tear this person's mouth apart.
There wasn't a single truthful word.
"An old king, obviously! I'm not exactly young anymore."
Uehara Byakuya’s eyes lit up, "So, you want to be my queen?"
"Why wouldn't I be a queen?" Yoruichi Shihōin snorted in anger.
Uehara Byakuya said confidently,
"As a man, you have to have a back-up plan. You can't give up on the whole forest for one tree.
But you'll have to change your habits.
Only I can see your body.
If you can do that, there's still a chance you can become my queen… "
“…” Yoruichi Shihōin cursed this "Otsutsuki Naruto" in her heart:
"I'm soaking in this hot spring, you're the one who barged in. How is that my fault?
And when did I agree to be your stupid queen?"
Her fists clenched!
They were clenched hard!
Harder than ever before!
She was just a hair's breadth away from mastering her fist-fighting techniques, from understanding the ultimate secret of fist-fighting:
"Self-important men are so annoying!"
She could endure no more! Yoruichi Shihōin tapped her feet, her body rose into the air, and then disappeared in an instant.
When she reappeared, she was already clothed.
Currently, Yoruichi Shihōin was wearing the black Shinigami uniform, a special outfit for the Execution Squad.
It was a one-piece, form-fitting combat suit, with a halter-neck, backless design, and a tight "bandage" wrapped around her right arm.
At this moment, Yoruichi Shihōin, with her violet hair cut to her ears, was staring at Uehara Byakuya with her golden eyes.
Uehara Byakuya, who had once again gotten a good look, smiled slightly, "So, you want to dance?"
Before his words had even finished, Yoruichi Shihōin's form blurred, and then she vanished.
Uehara Byakuya immediately turned to his right, "Shunpo Yoruichi, truly a name worthy of its fame!"
Although he couldn’t see Yoruichi Shihōin’s movements, after activating his bankai, Uehara Byakuya gained strong spatial perception abilities.
Therefore, Uehara Byakuya could accurately pinpoint Yoruichi Shihōin’s position at any time.
On the other side, Yoruichi Shihōin’s body "recondensed."
"Such a remarkable ability, even if you can't react, you can still activate it," the former second division captain's expression was somewhat grave.
Just from hearing Kisuke Urahara and the others describe it, it was impossible to experience this feeling of helplessness and strangeness.
Just now, Yoruichi Shihōin had unleashed her fastest speed, so fast that it even exceeded the perception of her spiritual senses.
With no warning, her full-powered blow passed straight through the opponent’s body, as if striking air.
Uehara Byakuya simply smiled, not taking this praise to heart.
Without hesitation, Yoruichi Shihōin used her super-fast Shunpo again, her form swirling, attacking repeatedly.
In an instant, it seemed like there were several Yoruichi Shihōin around Uehara Byakuya, each one aiming for his vital points, striking out with "burst point" moves similar to acupuncture.
"Muda Muda Muda!"
Uehara Byakuya stood with his hands on his hips, his knees forward, his body leaning back slightly, looking like "DIO."
At the same time, despite being in a Hollow-fied state, he silently controlled the shadow clones in the space around him to give him a "Kido" spell.
He hadn't forgotten how Aizen had been "defeated" before.
Aizen, who had merged with the complete Hogyoku, should have been immortal and able to evolve indefinitely.
But, because he was too arrogant and abandoned the path of playing it safe, he was touched by Kisuke Urahara, branded with a Kido mark, and sealed away.
Uehara Byakuya wouldn't make that mistake.
As expected, Yoruichi Shihōin's attack, which was impossible for her spiritual senses to follow, missed its target.
With a graceful twist of her body, her slender legs landed firmly on the ground.