Marvel With Zanpakutou

Chapter 784: Target, Xandar

Earth, having experienced catastrophic events, was now amid post-war reconstruction.

First came the attack by alien species, followed by the rule of the old dominators, and finally, the emergence of the Tenth Celestial, Gah Lak Tus.

After these successive strikes, Europe was severely weakened and could no longer regain its former prosperity, leaving the continent immersed in sorrow.

And the main culprit who watched all this unfold, Aizen, was merely reprimanded.

However, this act led to the near collapse of the Soul Society system.

Shunsui Kyoraku never thought he would see the day such a suave and dashing man like himself would have endless work and unresolved issues.

Thanks to Aizen’s cunning plans, the Soul Society’s behavior of observing the war from the sidelines forced them to mobilize all available manpower and resources, expanding their operational scope to the entire world.

Soon, the busy figures of the Shinigami were seen all over the globe.

The invasion by the alien species and the old dominator, Glark, led to massive human casualties in Europe, both directly and indirectly due to the war, creating an enormous number of souls that, due to the lack of personnel in Soul Society, were unable to be guided and thus remained in the living world.

And still, many souls could not be ferried across.

Even worse, Aizen deliberately allowed Hueco Mundo to expand its forces, seizing the opportunity to transform countless souls into Hollows after they were brutally murdered.

Shunsui Kyoraku intended to report this vile strategy to the Soul King.

But Aizen had anticipated this and claimed that the souls transformed into Hollows were all vile criminals in life whose sins were too numerous to document and that human laws were not applicable to judge these sinners, hence his intervention to cleanse them.

This time, Aizen was not lying.

A quick review of the records by Shunsui Kyoraku revealed that these individuals were evil, oppressive, and warmongers who exploited wars for profit – in short, a bunch of despicable capitalists.

Taking his responsibilities seriously, Shunsui Kyoraku still reported to the Soul King.

The response he received was: "These damned bourgeoisie should have been hanged from street lamps long ago."

Thus, Shunsui Kyoraku chose to remain silent.

To prevent the Soul Society from being overwhelmed by the influx of souls, the Lord had no choice but to expand the boundaries of Hell.

Under the overt and covert conflict between Aizen and Shunsui Kyoraku, the souls of the countless deceased in the living world were surprisingly processed in a short amount of time.

Those who were good went to the Soul Society.

Those who were evil fell into Hueco Mundo and became beasts.

Everything seemed to get back on track, just as Lord had initially planned.

...

In the living world, at Netto Reikon.

Lord was about to enjoy a freshly brewed cup of Beizan Spirit Tea.

Just then, Mikhail, who had taken the form of a black cat, walked over with elegant steps, curled up beside him, yawned lazily, and said slowly, "Everything outside is nearly in chaos, and here you are, so leisurely. Is that okay?"

"We shouldn’t interfere too much with humans; that’s the lesson you taught me."

After saying this, Lord took a sip of his spirit tea, savored the fragrant aroma filling his mouth, and said calmly, "Besides, the world of humans should ultimately be resolved by humans themselves. We can leave that to S.H.I.E.L.D."

Speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D., there was an exciting incident.

After Gah Lak Tus returned to Earth, the Avengers were immersed in grief, holding a lavish funeral for the S.H.I.E.L.D. heroes who had perished on another planet, sponsored by Stark Industries, which also purchased a large plot of land for the cemetery.

They even erected a statue to commemorate the bravery of Director Nick Fury.

Just as everyone stood solemnly in suits, their expressions mixed with grief, in front of the statue to mourn Fury and offer symbolic tributes; Nick Fury appeared unharmed.

Lord knew without thinking that this Nick Fury was not the real deal.

And not just this Nick Fury, but probably even the Nick Fury who supposedly perished at Gah Lak Tus was likely just a clone, as in the comics, this old fox never shows his true face and often uses clones or Skrull disguises.

In a way, Nick Fury was quite lucky.

From a superficial perspective, it seemed like a heavy loss for S.H.I.E.L.D., with many of their elite agents gone and their Helicarrier lost.

But from the plot’s standpoint, it was a massive win for Fury since Hydra took the hit, and Director Alexander Pierce was probably in so much pain he was near a myocardial infarction.

Well, everyone knows.

S.H.I.E.L.D., also known as Hydra, always digs its grave; this time, Fury was playing at a high level.

Thinking about Pierce’s current mood, Lord couldn’t help but smile, causing Mikhail to look confused, not understanding what suddenly amused him.

"There’s something you need to know."

Mikhail hesitated momentarily, his golden vertical pupils half-closing as he said, "I’ve sensed the presence of ’the Flower’; it seems to be manifesting again. If you want to pursue the truth about the War in Heaven, you need to find it."

"The Twin Flowers..."

Hearing this, Lord fell silent.

Enlil had left him a message on his deathbed about "the Flower."

More than a message, it was a pattern: two root stems spiraling upward like a staircase, intertwining and twisting around each other, then blooming into two garlic clove-like flowers.

He only knew the significance of the "Twin Flowers."

The enigmatic Cthulhu gods that had appeared were vying for the Twin Flowers, prompting the native gods to stop them at all costs, which was the origin of the War in Heaven.

Mikhail’s mention of this was explicit in its intent.

He wanted to guide the Lord to seek out and protect the "Twin Flowers," the only way to uncover the truth of the War in Heaven.

"Where is it?"

Lord reluctantly put down his spirit tea, sighing regretfully, "It’s a shame, just a few days of rest, and now I have to go on a business trip again."

"The Andromeda Galaxy, Xandar."

Mikhail’s statement meant he had to travel to a place millions of light-years from Earth.

"Hey, hey, you know how far it is from Earth? By the time I get there, Earth would be destroyed!" Lord’s temples bulged with veins as he struggled to restrain his urge to throttle Mikhail.

"Idiot, who said you have to run there!"

Mikhail rolled his eyes incredulously, "Don’t you know Thor? Just have him use the Bifrost to transport you there, right?"

"..."

Lord was speechless; he had indeed forgotten about that.

Blame all those fantasy novels he had read in the past, which messed up his thinking. He had been considering traversing the universe with his physical body, completely forgetting about the convenience of the Bifrost.

With his current relationship with Asgard, borrowing the Bifrost took minutes.

And considering the sequence of the plot, it was about time for Star-Lord to steal the Power Stone, attracting Ronan to attack Xandar. This trip was a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and bring back the Power Stone.

"No problem, I’ll go check it out."

Lord didn’t hesitate, nodding in agreement, and casually asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

"No, I’ll pass this time."

Mikhail licked his paw, lying beside him, "My power has been recovering too slowly lately, so I’m planning to make a trip to the Vatican to retrieve something stored there."

"Hmm... it’s boring to go to another planet alone."

Lord rubbed his chin, pondering, "And Yumeko has been too busy lately; Mayuri still needs her supervision. Who should I take with me?"

After a moment.

A figure flashed in his mind, and Lord immediately decided on a companion.

Since he was idle, why not go on a trip together and take the opportunity to experience an alien civilization?