This sentence shattered Abarai Renji's anger and his dignity.
"I… I lost?"
He stared blankly at his hands, still in disbelief.
The Shinigami of the Sixth Division also didn't know what to say. Originally, they only thought Da Shenchen was soaring due to his Zanpakutō's heaven-defying ability. Who would have thought that his Hakuda would also be so formidable?
"The celebration banquet is over. Let's go."
Byakuya said in a deep voice, ending this farce-like celebration.
When everyone saw Da Shenchen indifferently wave his sleeve and leave, they had already consciously avoided his path, daring not to offend him in the slightest.
That night, Da Shenchen was waiting for the lottery in his dormitory.
Since being promoted to Third Seat, and with the improvement in power and status, he now had his own house in the Seireitei.
The specifications were very good, and it even came with a small courtyard.
"Start the lottery."
As the lottery was handed out, Da Shenchen gave the command.
Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Bamboo Dragonfly.
Looking at the bamboo dragonfly that appeared before him, Da Shenchen was momentarily stunned.
"Is this a good reward or a bad reward?"
To be honest, he was pleasantly surprised. Even future gadgets from Doraemon could be drawn.
There was no doubt that those gadgets held many heaven-defying technologies.
However, the bamboo dragonfly was quite tasteless for a Shinigami, since Shinigami could already fight in the air—essentially the same as flying.
"Strictly speaking, the bamboo dragonfly can only be regarded as a basic future item. In other words, it's not a high-level reward."
Da Shenchen pondered. Could it be because his current situation wasn't dangerous enough?
If he thought about it carefully, although he had attracted attention from the entire Seireitei and caused a lot of hostility, it hadn't yet reached a level where they could directly act against him.
And just attracting attention wasn't enough. Some of the attention might even be well-intentioned—perhaps aiming to cultivate his potential.
As for the Four Noble Houses, even if they wanted revenge, they would certainly pull tricks from the shadows rather than tarnish their honor directly.
"It seems that my survival difficulty isn't high enough. How can I increase it?"
Da Shenchen calmly analyzed the situation and first ruled out the option of stirring up trouble within Soul Society.
At present, he wasn't strong enough. Soul Society was a place crawling with monsters and governed by the highly organized and powerful Gotei 13. If things went poorly, it might be the end for him.
Well, aside from that, the only dangerous place for a Shinigami was…
"Hueco Mundo."
Da Shenchen's eyes lit up.
Yes. Hueco Mundo was undoubtedly the best choice at this time.
"Although Hueco Mundo also has various terrifying Menos Grande, most of them are lone wolves without organization. That means I can face them one-on-one without being surrounded and killed."
"And with the Hōgyoku currently inside Rukia's body, Aizen hasn't yet created the Arrancars. That further reduces the danger level."
After thinking about it, Da Shenchen started worrying again.
"But… how do I even get to Hueco Mundo?"
To reach Hueco Mundo, one needed a Garganta. But that wasn't something an ordinary Shinigami could create.
It would be too suspicious to ask Urahara Kisuke for help. And even then, why would Urahara Kisuke help him?
With such concerns in mind, Da Shenchen fell asleep until dawn.
Unexpectedly, luck came knocking.
Of course, in the eyes of others, it was undoubtedly misfortune.
"Third Seat Da Shenchen, the captain is calling for you. There's a mission for you."
It was Yin Meiyu again who came to inform him. After Da Shenchen had thrashed Renji the day before, her once-nervous demeanor had turned to cautious respect.
Da Shenchen didn't think much of it and said, "Please lead the way."
When the two arrived before Byakuya Kuchiki, they saw many seated officers already present.
Yet the looks they gave Da Shenchen were all slightly strange—some regretful, some schadenfreude.
"Da Shenchen, this is your first mission since being promoted to Third Seat," Byakuya said. "The Department of Research and Development has detected recent fluctuations in Hueco Mundo and requests a high-ranking Shinigami to investigate."
Da Shenchen was stunned by these words and nearly laughed in disbelief.
Fortunately, he restrained himself, leaving only a strange look on his face.
In the eyes of the other officers, that expression made perfect sense.
"No wonder the third seat of the divine class looks so strange. Isn't this mission clearly meant to make things hard for him?"
"Hueco Mundo is so dangerous. Going alone is basically a death sentence. The Four Noble Houses really aren't easy to provoke."
"Even if Captain Kuchiki doesn't want to dirty his own hands, the other three noble houses would still strike. And it looks like this is it…"
Everyone's thoughts were different, but their conclusions were the same.
Given Byakuya Kuchiki's character, it was unlikely he orchestrated this himself. The more probable explanation was that the other three noble families had taken action.
Don't be fooled by the label of the "Four Noble Houses"—whenever one is challenged, the others rally behind it to maintain their shared authority.
Thus, no matter which house Da Shenchen had provoked, the other three would ensure the offender didn't walk away easily.
After all, Da Shenchen was now a high-ranking official in the Seireitei. Even the Four Noble Houses couldn't touch him directly.
But if they couldn't do it openly, they'd use outside forces—like the Hollows.
"You have a three-day time limit. You may return to Soul Society after that."
After issuing the order, Byakuya handed him the mission token and left. Da Shenchen now only needed to take the token to the Department of Research and Development.
Seeing this, the other Shinigami also left one by one. In their eyes, Da Shenchen was as good as dead.
Hueco Mundo was enemy territory. Even staying three hours would be dangerous, let alone three days.
"Third Seat Da Shenchen… please be careful."
Only Yin Meiyu remained. She hesitated, bowed deeply, and then departed.
Da Shenchen looked at the mission token thoughtfully, and pieced together the cause and effect of this development.
Although Byakuya Kuchiki might not have been directly involved, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that he had at least acquiesced to the revenge of the other noble houses.
After all, the mission had to be issued through him.
Even though Da Shenchen had displayed a remarkable Zanpakutō ability, the long-standing authority of the Four Noble Houses was still deemed more valuable than any single talent.
"Fine, this is just what I wanted. But the malice behind this arrangement—I'll remember it."
Da Shenchen glanced coldly in the direction Byakuya had left, then turned and headed for the Twelfth Division, where the Department of Research and Development was located.