Chapter 53: Gatonden

Hiya! Hiya! Become tasty! Ha! Ha!

Uh... What's this? She said she was gonna take good care of us, so I thought she meant she was gonna whip us into shape...

...but this is just normal hospitality.

Looks like it.

Wow! This is awesome, guys! Let's eat, let's eat! I was super hungry!

Shut up! There's gotta be a catch! It's probably in exchange for some crazy training! Don't fall for it!

My, oh my. Seems you grew up distrustful thanks to Kisuke Urahara.

Don't be so suspicious! This Gatonden is a palace of food.

My job is to feed you guys!

And your job is to get full here!

Go on, eat up! You should be very hungry!

Wh-Whoa! Now that you mention it, I'm super starved!

A-All right! Let's eat, Ichigo!

Yeah! LET'S DIG IN!!!

Atta boy! Eat up! I'll go make dessert!

Damn! I can't stop, Renji!

Actually, I can. I keep noticing some odd things in it. The hell is this?

Mm?! This is...?!

This delectable taste is unimaginable from its grotesque look! Its texture is indescribable, too!

The great aroma that spreads inside your mouth is amazing!

Stop. Listening to your horrible critique makes me lose my appetite.

What? You done already? I can still eat.

You idiot! I can still totally eat! I'm just taking a break!

Hey, Renji. Is this what we should be doing?

Everybody's probably preparing for the next battle down in the Seireitei.

Meanwhile, we're up here bathing, eating, and having a good time.

Will this make us stronger for the next battle?

You dumb? Think about it. We fought and got hurt. So we took a bath to heal ourselves.

We got better, so we got hungry. That's why we're eating. It all makes sense.

If we're not healed, if we can't eat, we'll only die during training. Tough training's only possible with a healthy body.

Renji, once in a while you say the right thing.

Shut up! Eat some more if you agree with me! You can still eat, can't you?!

Hah hah hah! Renji's right! I guess it does take some brains to be a lieutenant!

So you understood what I was trying to say!

What we do is no different than getting you ready to train.

The only difference is, it's being done on a Soul King scale.

Our ritual is packed with the Soul King's power and the million-year history of the Soul Society.

It's in a whole other class from the healing and eating in the Seireitei.

Just get your bodies ready for now, so you don't die in the next palace.

C'mon! Now that you understand, start on dessert!

Who are you?!

Right! I guess I never told you guys. I use all my Spiritual Pressure when I cook. So when I'm done cooking, I lose a lot of weight.

Ichigo, Renji, take care of yourselves.

Hm?

Remember how I told you our rituals are packed with the history of the Soul Society?

All of us in Squad Zero have created something in the Soul Society.

And those who are recognized as "being the history of the Soul Society itself" by the Soul King are allowed to join Squad Zero.

What I've created is the temporary soul, and the ability to insert it into a body.

There was no concept of the artificial soul until I created a temporary soul...

Using a part of the concept I created, Soul Candy was born.

The essence of Gikon is the insertion of a Spiritual Pressure different from one's own to elevate the class of one's power.

The food I made was filled with that essence. A Spiritual Pressure from a whole other dimension should be dwelling in your bodies right now.

If you can feel it in the slightest, I'll be happy. But still, be careful. The guy in the next palace is totally unpredictable.

Your next stop is Oh-Etsu Nimaiya's Hoohden (Phoenix Palace). He is the man who created Zanpakuto.