The Zero Division emerged from the Tenchuuren and made their grand entrance, with one of them carrying a large flag with the emblem of the Zero Division, which resembled a White Daphne, and the other provided music by playing multiple instruments simultaneously with her arms. Ichigo and Asa blinked owlishly at them.

One of them was a large and broad man with a bald head named Ichibe. He had red eyes, bushy eyebrows and a long black beard. He wore the standard Shihakusho beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with the Zero Division's emblem. The top of his uniform was open enough to expose his hairy chest. He also wore a large set of red prayer beads around his neck and a pair of single-toothed tengu geta.

The Shinigami on his right was Oetsu, who was a dark-skinned man with thick, black hair that was shaven and dyed green on the sides of his head. He wore a variation of the Shihakusho, featuring a green undergarment, instead, and a shortened hakama that exposed his lower legs. He wore a white, sleeveless puffer jacket that bore the emblem on its back, as well as the alternating circle and diamond pattern similar to the Captain's haori along the bottom. His attire was completed by gold-framed sunglasses with blue lenses, and a pair of green slippers that were gold trimmed and had a shoe-like appearance.

On Ichibe's right, Kirio was a plump, purple-haired lady with styled swirl-shaped markings on her cheeks, and black lips. She had a large silver adornment in her hair and wore the standard Shihakusho beneath a white, long-sleeved haori decorated with the same emblem.

Behind the three, the Shinigami chewing upon a stick was Tenjiro, who was a lean-built and very tall man with black hair arranged into a large pompadour with tapered sideburns. Instead of the standard Shinigami uniform, he wore a waist-length white jacket that left most of his chest exposed but still bore the Zero Division emblem on its back, as well as the alternating circle and diamond pattern along the bottom. His outfit was completed by a black hakama, a large yellow sash around his waist, and a pair of sandals.

Senjumaru had the appearance of a slender and very youthful woman with fair skin and long black hair that was adorned at the back by a large golden ornament in the shape of a crescent moon with numerous small lines radiating outwards. She wore a Shihakusho beneath a white long-sleeved haori, over which she donned a further white robe fastened at the front near the center of her chest. She also wore a pair of extremely thick-soled okobo. Attached to her back was a number of long skeletal arms.

"Here we are, here we are!" cheered Tenjiro. "The Zero Division is here! It's been a long time, fledglings of Gotei 13. Are you eating and sleeping properly?!"

Hirako stared at them with an emotionless expression, along with a drip of cold sweat on his cheek. "Kinda different from what I was expecting." he muttered. Suddenly, he was smacked in the back of his head, prompting him to step away and rubbed that area while glaring at the plump Shinigami. "What the hell?!"

"It's been so long, Shinji!" she greeted cheerfully. "Isn't Hiyori-chan with you? That's weird."

"So long?" repeated the confused man. "Who are you?!" But when he remembered what she'd asked him, he froze. "Wait... "Hiyori-chan"?"

"What are you saying?" asked the lady. "Did you forget about me? It's me, Kirio!"

"Ah!" exclaimed the shocked Hirako, who was unable to recognise her from the start because of the change in appearance. "You're Kirio-san?! You've cha- Eh?! You haven't simple changed! Who are you?!"

"Oh no, Shinji!" laughed Kirio. "I haven't changed that much! Ah, I'm hungry!"

Tenjiro approached the Captain of the 4th Division. "Been a long time, Unohana." he greeted. "How are you? Are you using the healing techniques I taught you properly?"

"Naturally." she replied.

"Really?" he mocked. "It looks to me like a good deal of people died this time, though! How come?!" Unohana merely stared at him with an unreadable expression.

Ichibe then placed an arm around his shoulder. "Oh, well!" he said. "It's really been a long time! You must have a lot to talk about, but do it later!" The Shinigami glanced at him from the corner of his eyes and clicked his tongue, while Unohana kept silent.

"Oh." said Shinsui. "The members of the Zero Division really haven't changed." His nonchalant tone then turned into a serious one as he looked at them with the hat shadowing the top part of his face. "So? What reason did you come for this time?"

The bald Shinigami looked up, and his gaze landed on both Ichigo and Asa. "This time, following the will of the Soul King, we came to rebuild Gotei 13." he said before a wide grin plastered on his face. "First of all, Kurosaki Ichigo, Yamamoto Asa, we're going to take the both of you to the palace."

"DON'T BE KIDDING ME!" yelled Soi Fon, causing the other Captains to look at her as she lost her temper. "I don't care how important you are, but after idling up there while Seireitei was reduced to this, you come here and talk about rebuilding?! Give it a cut!" Tenjiro tilted his head to glance at her and looked back ahead, continuing to listen to what his leader was saying. "Hey!"

He suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her arm. "You're annoying." he hissed.

'How did he get there?' she questioned, looking at him from the corner of her eyes, shocked by his sudden appearance.

"I should say to quit it with the jokes." he criticised. "Who are you? Gotei 13? Huh?! Our job is to protect the King's Palace. Your job is to protect Seireitei. "Gotei" means exactly that, and if you need our help because you can't protect it, then you're dishonouring your name!" Soi Fon could only click her tongue as she continued to glare at him.

But at that moment, Ichibe hit him on the head. "Damn, that hurts!" he cried out before falling to the ground in pain, letting Soi Fon pull her arm back.

"I said to do it later." scolded the former. "We must finish our job first."

"There is no need to." said Senjumaru, who returned with four skeletal arms each carrying a large orb. "All the ones that were on the list are already here." As the surprised Captains looked, she used two skeletal arms to point at the two Shinigami. "Only Kurosaki Ichigo and Yamamoto Asa are left."

"Stop." called Unohana. "The ones inside those spheres are Kuchiki Byakuya, Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia. It's dangerous for any of them to leave Seireitei now. You cannot take them away." Senjumaru didn't respond and stared at her from the corner of her eyes.

"That's why we're taking them with us." said Tenjiro, causing Unohana's eyes to widen. "I'm sure you understand, too. You're not able to make them recover completely with your own power! And also, Kuchiki Byakuya will eventually die if he stays here! You can't do it. I'll heal them!" As the 4th Division Captain kept silent, he continued, "You understand, right? Retsu. What you're meant to do now is not healing." The said woman had her eyes closed before she opened them, as Shunsui watched from the side.

Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi peered into one of the orbs, which contained Ichigo's broken Zanpakutou. "Tensa Zangetsu is in that one, right?" he asked. "Did you break into my laboratory? You're always underestimating me."

"Oh." said Senjumaru when she heard his voice. "It's you, Mayuri. Well, why are you saying that I broke into it? I just laid my hands on the door and it opened by itself. Nothing more. The lock was much easier to open than it was at the time I was there." The said Captain glared at her, clearly not pleased to hear this.

"Wa-Wait!" called Ichigo, prompting the Zero Division members to look at him. "If you're taking them with you to heal them, why do Asa-san and I need to come too?! My wounds aren't as terrible, and she's not hurt! They'll heal fine in Seireitei! And also, I have things I need to-"

"I know." said Ichibe, interrupting him. "The reason we're taking the both of you is different."

"A different reason?" repeated the puzzled Substitute Shinigami.

Meanwhile, Kirio approached the silent Asa and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up. "We've heard everything that has happened to you, Asa-chan." she said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry for your losses."

The said woman smiled reassuringly. "You have nothing to be sorry about." she said. "Eventually, I will have to move on." But her smile curled into a frown when she thought about Kage Odoriko and Tamako bidding goodbye to her. "Will I get to see my Zanpakutou again?"

Kirio smiled sadly and shook her head. "I don't know." she answered, gently rubbing Asa's back to comfort her. "But let's hope we can find some answers when we go there." The latter could only nod as she hoped for the best.

Ichigo then decided to go to the Soul King Palace as well, where he hoped he could repair Tensa Zangetsu. But before they could leave, the Tenchuuren was brought to Kukaku's home. Confused, Asa decided to ask, "Why are we at Kukaku-san's place?"

"This Tenchuuren doesn't have a function to go back to the Soul King Palace on its own." explained Kirio.

"I see." responded Asa.

Not long, once Ichibe entered back inside with Ichigo, the Tenchuuren was sent on their way to the Palace. The sudden movement took the latter aback. "Are there no seat-belts here?!" he yelled, but no one responded as he prayed for his life until he tumbled when the pillar landed harshly.

"Get out, Kurosaki Ichigo, Yamamoto Asa!" ordered Ichibe. "We're there! This is the Soul King Palace!"

The two Shinigami stepped out and marveled at their surrounding. The Soul King Palace consisted of several layers, with one layer suspended above the other. The lowest level had many buildings of that reminded Asa of how Seireitei was structured. From this, a large stairway led upwards to a wide and flat expanse, with both areas at the base and top of the stairs lined by rows of huge circular pillars. Above the lowest level, five discs with numerous buildings on each were floating, while a large cylindrical structure that had a conical top and bottom was in the highest level, merely suspending above the discs.

"So this is the Soul King Palace." muttered Asa with awe.

"Exactly!" said Ichibe. "The both of you should feel proud! Simple Shinigami aren't allowed to come here, normally! Well, it's not really correct to call you two "simple Shinigami", actually."

As he stared at the Palace, Ichigo recalled his battle with Aizen, and the things the latter had done to overthrow the Soul King, which was his main goal. 'This is the place Aizen did all that to enter.' he thought. But then, his eyes widened slightly when he remembered Aizen was trying to make the Oken to access this very place. "Wa... Wait a minute!" he called, prompting Ichibe to look at him. "Aren't you supposed to get the Oken to enter the Soul King Palace? When did you use it?!"

Ichibe then showed his right arm. "It's this." he answered. "The "Oken" is created with the power of the Soul King, that he uses on who is chosen to be part of the Zero Division. It's our bones. In other words, there are two ways to enter the Soul King Palace. We can either decided to let you pass or you can come together with us. Aizen Sousuke was trying to create an Oken. What I mean is he was trying to create "us" with his on Reijutsu."

"He was scheming to create life, defeat the King, and basically become God himself." added Senjumaru. "Aizen Sousuke is unmistakably the personification of evil. However, mind, Kurosaki Ichigo and Yamamoto Asa, those Quincies are even more wicked than him." The said Shinigami just stood there, not uttering a word.

Their solemn expressions soon dissolved into one of confusion when they found themselves standing on a disc, under Tenjiro's orders. "Oookay, stand there!" he said as he walked towards a huge push button with a big mallet in his hands. "Are you two standing?! Okay, let's go. I'm gonna shoot the both of you up. Don't move! If you do, you'll die." As he raised the mallet up high, he said, "Leeet's go! Fly through the-"

"Wait!" called the panicky Ichigo. "Wait, wait, wait a second!"

"What?" responded Tenjiro, halting his actions to look at him.

""What" the hell!" yelled Ichigo. "Shouldn't we get an explanation! Where are you sending me and Asa-san?! Are we going to meet the Soul King?!"

"Aah?!" shouted back Tenjiro. "Are you dumb? That's nonsense! Do you think some random fellows like you two can just meet the Soul King?!" Suddenly, he was smacked in the back of his head by Kirio. "That hurts, fuck!"

"Explain properly!" she scolded before turning to the confused Shinigami. "Listen. The Soul King Palace can also be used as the name of this whole area, but to be exact we are currently in the "Vestibule-Road", which is basically the entrance to the actual Palace. If you look there, at the end of this road, you can see a building that looks like a cocoon." She then pointed to the building suspending high up in the air, and the visitors followed where her finger was pointing at. "That's the actual Palace, Greater Soul King Palace. The Soul King resides there." She lowered her hand and looked at the discs. "Moreover, those floating things that look like trays are the Zero Division Quarters. Our castles, basically. On each one of those trays, there is a city. The Soul King entrusts one to each of us."

"A whole city..." trailed off Asa with wonder.

"First of all, you're going to come to "Kiriden", my place!" said Tenjiro. "All of you!"