14 811-815

811-815

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Kisuke reappeared within the perimeter of a certain mansion and observed the surroundings first before stepping out of the shadows. As soon as he relaxed his aura, dozens of guards watching the mansion in secret were immediately alerted of his presence and couldn't help but shudder as he appeared out of nowhere and managed to get so close to them.

Multiple guards hurriedly rushed to his position but before they could approach, it seems that each and every one of them received an order and retreated back to the shadows without any question.

Kisuke's stride didn't change and he peacefully made his way towards the gates of the Mansion. The gates automatically opened for him as he walked in and reached the huge double doors that opened too, but this time, it was manually opened by someone very familiar, "How are you doing, mom? It has been a while."

Sakura happily jumped at him and gave him a big hug, "I'm doing fine~ How are you?"

"I'm doing great and am actually very ready to make a mess... No. Clean up the mess I've left. However, looking at things now, the situation was a bit different. For starters, it seems that the bounty on my head has already disappeared." Before he even reached Aika's house, Kisuke was able to access the information he needed from the bots he'd left to gather news. Although it was just superficial information known to the public, Sakura and the rest didn't mention anything about his terrorist status being lifted, 'They placed all the blame on the now-disbanded Khaos Brigade. Well considering how much mess they made, it's easy to push some other blames into them and they wouldn't be able to deny it. Though I would have really liked to move around more with a criminal record since they won't be able to contain me with their rules.'

Sakura was able to guess what he's thinking and said, "It's about time you play by the rules. You do know how much of a mess you're leaving whenever you just go about things your way, right?"

Kisuke averted his eyes from her and continued walking.

"Though you can deal with your problems effectively, the politics of things are entirely different.", Sakura continued with a resolute tone, "And I don't want you and the girls to keep fending off unknown threats because you guys don't have the protection of any organizations. Yes, you are strong, but you can't control the world with just strength. People gather for a reason."

Kisuke stopped walking and smiled wryly while facing her, "Don't make it sound like I'm aiming for world domination."

But there was some truth to what Sakura had said. As a branded criminal, he can pretty much ignore the rules that the factions followed. However, that would also mean that the factions would see him as a threat, not as a criminal, but as a rabid dog without his leash and running around freely. Alone, he might be fine, but there were others that could drag him down and even if he put all his protection methods on them, he couldn't possibly defend all of them.

By being tied down, he would be subjected to the same rules as everyone else played and the threat he poses instantly goes down, "Bureaucracy is really a pain in the ass, but I guess it's also a way to move around safely."

"Stop speaking like you have a choice! Just be a good boy for now. You'll have all the chances you need to deal with Olympus later."

"Ho? Did they already reveal their fangs to the world?"

"They didn't. They are still a major participant in the International Rating Game so they won't be making a move that would incriminate their chances of winning. Not now, at least. But we can talk about this later. By the way, I didn't expect you to get Haruto's approval! We thought that stubborn guy would need to be persuaded by his wife!" Sakura suddenly changed the topic as they walked along the corridor.

Kisuke already knew that they were listening since he didn't hide his presence when he visited them and it would be weirder if they didn't bug the place, "I don't think that counts as approval."

"Well, no one really expected you to suddenly bring Aika instead of Yoruichi. And I understand why Honoka became so mad. Putting others to the test is really just inviting misunderstandings and hate. Although you don't mind, it doesn't mean it doesn't affect you."

"If I've deemed something as important, I'll do it if I can afford the price. Aika's hate is pretty cheap compared to what she could get."

Sakura sighed, "Is that so? Although you've changed, you've also become self-sacrificing. Do it in moderation, okay? The others can also take care of themselves. You don't have to feel like you're being chased by something because everything is peaceful right now."

Kisuke didn't say anything regarding that.

"Whatever..." Sakura gave up, "Let's go meet the master of the house, your aunt."

Editors:

28th00

Kisuke and Sakura entered the meeting room and the latter was about to greet the people inside it when she suddenly stopped as there's someone who isn't supposed to be here, "Beelzebub-sama?"

Within the room, along with Cleria and Diehauser was the Chief Advisor for the Technology Department, the creator of the Evil Pieces system and the Rating Game, and the sole remaining Satan within the underworld after the events of the Evil Dragon War, Ajuka Beelzebub.

Even Kisuke was intrigued by his attendance, but for a different reason, 'I couldn't properly feel his presence. I thought that the third person was just some random servant.' Kisuke observed him for a few moments and concluded, 'So he managed to develop a technique to mask both his Magic and Soul Pressure within this short amount of time. His own soul seems to have strengthened considerably too and there are some traces of training from it. As expected of a genius.'

On the other hand, Ajuka was also doing the same, 'I still can't see through him? This is really a wonder. I thought I had learned enough to at least shed some light on his mystery.'

Thanks to the information he got from Azazel and Dylan Sitri regarding souls, Ajuka was able to develop some soul techniques and was able to incorporate them with his Kankara Formula, making his abilities advance by leaps and bounds. But despite that, he was startled that he still couldn't find anything concrete about Kisuke, even though the latter was able to figure out the technique he's using with a simple glance, 'Is it experience, intellect, or something else? He seems so used in gathering data that I couldn't even be compared. As expected of a genius.'

While the two geniuses were having a staring contest, the other three were feeling the mounting pressure between them, "Ehem... Shouldn't we start?" Diehauser interrupted them with a fake cough.

Ajuka broke his line of sight first, "Excuse me. Pardon me for my unannounced visit. I heard that Kisuke Urahara has arrived and I really wanted to secure a discussion with him."

At his words, Diehauser, Cleria, and Sakura couldn't help but frown because there's only one way that he could have known Kisuke's arrival, "So you won't deny that you've tapped our communication lines, Ajuka-sama?"

But Ajuka just took her glare with a stride and answered, "I won't. It's my technology so naturally, I have a backdoor that I could use."

The three Devil's complexion became uglier, "Ajuka-sama... Even if you're the Devil King and the Chief Advisor of the Technology Department, you can't be doing this."

Ajuka nodded, "I know and I also apologize for that. I really need to talk to Kisuke-kun as soon as possible. In exchange for this, I'll owe the Belial House a favor and this isn't me paying it back but I'm also manually securing your communication lines in secret because there have been a large number of attempts to crack it from numerous unknown sources."

Diehauser, Cleria, and Sakura were startled. Ever since setting up their information network, they've been prepared for breaches but strangely enough, there were almost none. It turned out it was Ajuka who was helping them from behind. However, this, and no matter how great his favor is, doesn't mean it absolved him of his intrusive actions.

Though before the situation and atmosphere could devolve, Kisuke interrupted them, "It seems that he needs me for something urgent so let's set this aside, for now, aunt."

Cleria stared at Kisuke for a while when she suddenly received a telepathic message from him which made her eyes open slightly more, [I have the resources to create a new network that you can use. It's already a good thing that we knew that he had been snooping around.]

Naturally, Ajuka noticed this blatant secret conversation in front of him but he didn't really have the right to interfere or point that out.

Cleria sighed, "Alright. Let's move on. Are you fine with the current arrangement?", she asked Kisuke, referring to Ajuka's presence.

Since he's just going to be updated on the current situation, Kisuke nodded his head.

Cleria then faced Ajuka and said, "Ajuka-sama, Kisuke has been away for a while and needs to be briefed on the current situation. What you need to say to him needs to wait."

"That's acceptable. Please go on."

As everyone sat down comfortably and had some drinks served, Cleria started by reintroducing herself to Kisuke as the new head of the Belial House because she's the one with the most qualification as both Diehauser and Sakura has a questionable history with the former joining the Khaos Brigade even after providing information to the authority while the latter has a not so pretty record of forbidden research.

Cleria's inauguration became even smoother when the knowledge about the King Pieces of the Evil Pieces became public, which was the reason for the attempted assassination of her in Kuoh Town all those years ago.

Kisuke wasn't surprised at this outcome because he was already expecting this. He just didn't know it would happen so fast, 'Looks like the locked up leaders of Mythologies reshuffled the power structure. No wonder why I can't touch Olympus for now, as Zeus was probably one of those fighting the Trihexa.'

They started with the information that Kisuke didn't have since they hadn't told him about the entirety of the Evil Dragon War where Trihexa, along with the revived and mass-produced Evil Dragons and cloned Boosted Gears, wreaked havoc throughout the entire world.

The first one they attacked was the Heavens, with the First Heaven being utterly destroyed while the Second until Sixth had varying degrees of damage from colossal to minimum. However, the biggest damage they received was the death of thousands of Angels and fatally injuring some of the Seraphs with Raphael losing one of his legs and Uriel losing an eye and an arm.

Although they managed to fend off the attackers with the help of various Mythologies, Trihexa attacked Asgard next. If not for the reinforcement of other factions and a great amount of sacrificed lives, Asgard wouldn't have been able to avoid its destruction until Trihexa was forcefully teleported away from it.

The battle continued with Trihexa separating itself into seven parts and an Evil Dragon accompanying each one of them.

The war was only concluded when Azazel was able to stop the Holy Grail from producing more clones of Evil Dragons and Boosted Gears and the leaders were able to place Trihexa in the Isolation Field Barrier.

"But even with a strong seal, it was estimated that Trihexa would still be able to free itself so leaders and subordinates of many factions joined it to stop it from escaping and hopefully, slowly kill it. This is the list of everyone who joined." Diehauser passed a piece of paper to Kisuke with a heavy complexion.

Kisuke took a look at it and saw many familiar names.

From Underworld, Sirzechs and his peerage except for Grayfia, everyone from Serafall's peerage, and Falbium and his peerage except for his Queen.

From Heaven's side, All the Four Great Seraphs, except for Gabriel, and their Brave Saints except for their Aces.

From the Grigori, it was only Azazel, but he's the acting leader of the group because he has the most knowledge about Trihexa.

From Norse Faction, Odin, and 6 other Gods.

From Greek Faction, Zeus and 10 other Gods.

And Finally, from Hindu Faction, Brahma, Vishnu, and 7 other Gods.

Kisuke thought that the world had lost a large chunk of its powerhouses, but he didn't think that it would be to this extent.

Editors:

28th00: Didn't the masquerade get lifted because of this too? I think they literally glossed over it in canon for some reason, like it never happened.

"And the World Rating Game was initiated by Ajuka-sama and Shiva-san to stabilize the situation, huh..."

Ajuka nodded, "That's right. However, it wasn't our idea but Azazel's. All of us were just going to oversee the entire event. Because of that, we named the games the Azazel Cup in honor of his efforts and achievement."

"How about Hades?"

"Even though we have clues of his involvement, we couldn't gather enough evidence so he's still free to do whatever within his authority.", Cleria answered with a sigh, "But according to the intelligence that we've gathered, he's gathering various 'Evil' Gods to his side so every major faction is being wary of him. What's strange, however, was the fact that he's able to compose a team of unknown but powerful Devils to participate in the Azazel Cup."

"I've got some chance to get a glimpse of them. According to my initial estimation, some of them are potentially on Super Devil level." Ajuka suddenly revealed, stunning the three Devils.

"What!? How does that make sense!?" Diehauser retorted.

Kisuke, on the other hand, was able to piece some guesses using the story until now, "This is just a guess but they are probably Homunculi."

With those words, Sakura was able to surmise Kisuke's conclusion, "Are you referring to the Holy Grail's revival and cloning ability?"

"Yes. If it's true that he has Devils that are unreasonably strong but remained unknown until now, it's probably because he was able to make use of Qlippoth's experiment results and data. Hades' cooperation with Khaos Brigade becomes easier to understand despite his apparent inaction when the group disbanded." Kisuke then scratched his chin and added, "Even then, he would need a very strong base if he wanted to create a Devil of the highest level."

Kisuke took a peek at Ajuka's expression and saw no visible changes. Even then, Kisuke knew that he already has a clue to what that 'base' is thanks to his massive network of information.

"In any case, you shouldn't focus on these Devils too much.", Kisuke continued, "Although they may have raw power and energy density of a Super Devil, they may have little to no control over it. At most, they'll just have massive muscle strength or Magic firepower and all of you know that's not all when it comes to fighting. Besides, it could also mean that Hades revealed a force like this to attract eyes, covering his tracks on other things."

Ajuka closed his eyes and agreed, "That's true. However, even if I want to dedicate more men to move around him, it's still hard to follow the tracks of some Grim Reapers due to a certain replica of a Divine item."

"Replicas of 'Hades' Helm of Invisibility', isn't it?"

"I see that despite your short meeting with his forces you already knew what they were."

"Of course. I had my first contact with Grim Reapers wearing those."

"So despite not knowing anything about them you were still able to find them?" Ajuka took a few decades to find out the true nature of these items not just because it's almost impossible to detect the wearer, but also that Hades only uses them on very rare occasions. On top of that, he would always command these Grim Reapers to stay away from any powerhouses to avoid any chance of detection. Although he didn't really dedicate much of his resources to this, Ajuka was still surprised that he was able to find them with a single instance, "Ah. I get it. You're not just adept in the study of souls, but also usage and detection of them."

Kisuke thought for a moment before pulling out a pile of papers from his inventory and passing it to Ajuka, "This is the basic framework of Spiritual Pressure detection and a blueprint of a device that can make use of it. They shouldn't be able to hide from this, though I doubt it'll work on the real thing."

Ajuka received the paper with great interest and started skimming through it. The further he reads, the shinier his eyes became, "I see... So that's how it is. This is technically a soul's unique print."

Ajuka then turned his eyes back to Kisuke, "Are you sure you're giving this to me?"

With a big smile, Kisuke answered, "Hades has been a pain in my ass. If you could monitor his movements in greater detail, then that would be enough as compensation."

Ajuka shook his head, "That's what I intended to do from the start since I don't really have any resources to deal with him myself. If there's anything you need, just tell me and I'll do everything in my ability to provide it. That's just how valuable this information is."

"I'll think about it when the time comes." Kisuke accepted his offer.

At this time, it was Ajuka's turn to pull out something from his inventory. It was a smartphone and he gave it to Kisuke after navigating to a certain folder of documents, "This isn't the payment but my reason for meeting you."

Kisuke took some time and quietly browsed through the documents before saying, "Of course this can't be a payment. You're essentially asking me to work."

Within the documents was information about the Isolation Field Barrier and the Trihexa.

Ajuka didn't deny Kisuke's words and said, "I'm just hoping that you could do something with your expertise. Of course, I wouldn't just trust some random person with this critical data and any help you could provide would be compensated properly."

Kisuke scratched his head while thinking, 'Well, I did promise Serafall that I'll do something to help her friends and companions. And I can't really have these people trapped when there's an even greater threat looming in the future.'

"I'll do what I can, but I won't be making any promises."

"That's more than enough. Thank you."

Seeing that their conversation is done, Cleria asked Kisuke, "What's next in your plans?"

Initially, after dealing with all of his enemies, he planned to work on a 'World Gate' that would connect this world to Hestia's world so that the girls could finally go home if they wanted to. In addition to that, Kisuke also planned to explore his options that could forcibly pull them back to this world in case an emergency were to arise.

But now that he couldn't haphazardly confront Olympus, Kisuke was left with a lot of time since it takes quite some time to get the experiment results even if tries to automate it, "I guess I'll hang and poke around places of interest.", he replied. In any case, he already planted several bombs in Hades and Olympus so adding a few more wouldn't hurt, 'I'm also really interested in Hades' homunculi. Maybe that could help me in furthering Gigai development?'

"Then how about participating in the Azazel Cup?", suggested Sakura.

Editors:

28th00: Ah, chaos… Time to follow the letter of the rules, but sure as hell not the essence or spirit of them!

"Then how about participating in the Azazel Cup?" Sakura excitedly suggested.

"Ah. Right, I haven't asked, but what's the grand prize for this? With an event this grand, I doubt it'll be just material or monetary gain."

"The prize is anything.", answered Ajuka, "The winner would be granted a wish that all participating Mythology will grant as long as it doesn't disrupt the overall peace."

All of a sudden, Kisuke's expression became difficult to describe, "It sounds amazing but with a vague idea for a prize, it also meant that it's up to you if you'll grant it or not. There's another word for that, a scam. A gigantic one even."

"Pfft!" Sakura almost rudely spat out as she stifled her laughter while the other two Belials were dumbfounded.

Ajuka was a little bit embarrassed and feigned a cough, "Well... If you think about it, you do have a point. But rest assured as the wish will be deliberated among the Mythologies so it would be as fair as possible."

But contrary to his expectations, Kisuke's face became uglier, "What the hell? Winning wasn't enough and you still need some political prowess to get what you want properly? That's a bigger scam than I initially thought!"

Ajuka is really embarrassed this time but didn't show it and he didn't say anything or deny Kisuke's claim. In retrospect, it's really as he said. If someone without any influence were to somehow win, it'll be really hard for him or her to request anything grand due to the pressure of large factions. But to be fair, all those who are strong enough to win the games couldn't just be some nobody that has no connection to any factions.

Seeing that he couldn't get much of a reaction from Ajuka, Kisuke became bored and stopped, "In any case, even if I intended to join, I don't have a team.

"I'm confident in my strength, but I'm not ignorant and arrogant enough to think that I'll win the tournament with just me."

If it was the top ten strongest, Kisuke was definitely on that list. In addition to him being technically immortal with his superb hyper regeneration, he could be considered as one of the most effective fighters out there. However, proportional to that strength, he's prone to underestimating his enemies. No matter how he tries to think that he won't be a victim of such a thing, somewhere in his mind, it would only be a matter of time that he slips up, similar to how Aizen was sealed by the much weaker him.

In conclusion, he couldn't fight a war alone.

Even Yhwach didn't do it despite having such overwhelming strength.

And finally, this was just a tournament so he couldn't possibly show all of his cards. Ideally, with a team, he'll only use half of his abilities.

'But speaking seriously, that 'wish' reward from all the Mythologies is really attractive. If I can win, I could use their help when it's time to deal with that guy.' Crossing his arms, Kisuke muttered, "Even if I try to gather members, I can only think of two right now."

Cleria, Diehauser, and Sakura instantly guessed the two people Kisuke was referring to, and indeed, there would be no problem for them to fill in four of the pieces.

"If you really intend to choose with an intention to win, I can refer someone that could help you. Since she's at God-level, she could fill the role of Queen, two pieces, or eight pawn pieces." Ajuka interjected.

"Can she be trusted?", asked Kisuke in curiosity.

"You'll be the judge of that once you see her."

Clapping her hands, Sakura happily declared, "Great~! Now you only have 1 or 2 more members that are on God-level. And even if you can't fill your team, you'll be running for one of the top contenders."

Kisuke became silent and weighed his options. Since they are games, Kisuke could take advantage of the rules. Although eliminating the King is always a condition to win, it's not the only one, 'It's viable. If Ajuka's referral is strong enough, I could aim for the first place. Although I can't complete the members right now, I could always look for one later since there are no rules specifying that a team couldn't recruit new members mid games. In fact, the preliminaries should have already started yet they're telling me to register and participate.'

"May I meet her right now?"

Ajuka didn't say anything and directly took out his smartphone and sent a message. Immediately after, he placed the phone on the table and it started letting out strong magical signals.

A few seconds later, a Teleportation Magic Circle appeared in the corner of the room before a beauty with long pale blue hair and dark blue eyes, radiating a cold atmosphere, appeared, "Ajuka, what do you need me for?"

Everyone was familiar with this new addition to the room, including Kisuke, as he first saw her when Koneko went berserk in Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex Rating Game.

"Tiamat, I'd like you to meet Kisuke Urahara and if possible, join his team for the Azazel Cup."

Editors:

28th00: Hey, I was right about Chaos! Even if that's not what I meant… Tournament arc time? We never seem to escape tournament arcs…

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Tiamat didn't speak immediately and just stared at Kisuke. Ajuka, on the other hand, withdrew and just watched. He only needed the two of them to meet, it'd be up to Kisuke to convince her if he wants to.

Kisuke stood up and introduced himself, immediately going straight to the point, "It's nice to meet you, Tiamat-san. I'm Kisuke Urahara. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. This is a bit sudden, but I would like to invite you to my team for the Azazel Cup." He didn't really care if Tiamat accepted it or not as he could just look for someone else. But looking for someone else would take some effort so Kisuke at least appreciated Ajuka's goodwill.

Tiamat didn't return the greeting and turned to Ajuka, "It would be nice if I can join a team since it'll also mean that I'd be relieved of my duties. However, if you're going to allow it, at least give me a choice. You do know the rumors surrounding him, so I would rather join Sekiryuutei's team."

Kisuke didn't mind her rude behavior and turned to Sakura and asked, "Rumors?"

"Ah... I forgot that there are those..." Sakura placed her hand on her forehead while sighing, "There was already previous dissatisfaction with you being proven innocent, but because of you and your group's absence during a war that decided the fate of the world, the rumors of you being in cahoots with Rizevim from the start started gaining traction."

"After all, even Hades sent his Grim Reapers to help several fronts to fight against the Evil Dragons.", added Cleria.

Having words of his own to add, Diehauser faced Kisuke who, contrary to a normal reaction, had an amused expression, "Actually, the most popular rumor is that you're very weak compared the officials claim you to be, so you couldn't participate in the war even if you wanted to without tarnishing the name of the Belial House. Since you're in the same generation as the rising stars and heroes like Issei and Vali, the masses couldn't help but draw a power comparison."

"In the first place, the only time you appeared in public was when you took part in saving the Underworld from the Annihilation Maker monsters, and the most prevailing theory of how you managed to defeat one of them was that you borrowed Great Red's power, who had appeared with you. And the damage you caused in Olympus was contained, so no one actually knows the truth of what happened that day."

"Adding onto that, Sona Sitri's fans actually hate you because they think you're the reason why she had to disband her peerage... Well, that one's true."

With an exasperated voice, Sakura ended it, "In other words, your reputation is shit."

"I thought I'd give a few words of encouragement, but it looks like you're not bothered by it even a little bit.", Ajuka commented.

Laughing at his words, Sakura replied, "If he was bothered by this, he wouldn't have enjoyed it when others started calling him a terrorist!" Her eyes then sharpened and asked, "Wasn't that the reason why you had to fix his status? You people were afraid of what he might do with that kind of title."

Tiamat's eyes widened and asked Ajuka, "Is that true?"

Ajuka answered with his eyes closed, "It was Sirzechs, Azazel, and Michael that were extremely concerned about this. Nevertheless, I'm inclined to believe that there was a basis for their concerns and that was proven the moment I met him today."

His words made Tiamat, who wasn't interested in many things, think. A few moments later, she faced Kisuke properly for the first time and asked, "How about a mock battle?"

Kisuke peeked at Ajuka and thought, 'I see... So this is what you wanted from the start.'

Out of all prominent people in the world, it was actually Kisuke and his group that Ajuka was having a serious lack of information and he indeed hoped for this to happen when he decided to introduce Tiamat to him, 'Stability won't be possible with just ideology. The knowledge that could be used as a weapon in the age of peace is the most important.'

Seeing that Kisuke was remaining silent, Tiamat thought that he didn't like the fact that he's being tested and she can understand that, "As a persistent rule of the Rating Games, if the King is defeated, the game ends. I know nothing about you so I don't know if you'll be able to hold on long enough. If I'm going to join the games, I would rather have a chance to win and not babysit some unknown guy. Naturally, you'll be able to gauge my abilities and make a proper judgment if I really am good enough for your team."

Kisuke sighed and decided to go along with Ajuka's script, "Understood. But before we start, I'd like to know the condition of 'win' for me." Needless to say, he won't be showing a majority of his ability, 'Hakuda without the Hollow reinforcement should be enough.'

Tiamat misunderstood Kisuke's words and thought that he's not confident that he needed a focused condition to convince her, 'It seems that he's at least aware of my identity. Too bad for you, I'll be really strict.'

Tiamat shook her head and replied, "The condition is to make me admit defeat. How you'll do that will be up to you."

At that point, Kisuke also knew that she's misunderstanding him but still giving him the benefit of the doubt. But instead of resolving that misunderstanding, Kisuke amplified it using a worried tone, "What about injuries?"

Tiamat appeared to be annoyed and said, "You won't amount to anything if you're not afraid of a little bit of pain."

The Belial siblings immediately caught onto his ruse and looked at each other and came up with the same conclusion, 'She'll be in a world of pain.'

"Er... That's true..." Kisuke then turned to Ajuka who's confused by their exchange, "How should we do this?"

Ajuka stopped thinking about it and refocused his attention on Kisuke and his actions, trying to read and record every move that could prove as useful information, "I'll prepare a Game Field. In that, you can wreak havoc as much as you want."

Editors:

28th00: Oh dear. This is gonna be painful…