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When Ren stepped through the portal, the first thing he saw was not a large man with a smile on his face but instead, a large number of fabrics dangling around.

"Of course you were the one who answered my call. The other 3 are probably doing something 'important' like playing with their sword."

Sitting on a throne in front of him was a beautiful young woman. She wore the standard shinigami uniform as well as a captain's haori and some gold ornament in her hair. The most interesting part of her was that she did not appear to have any normal arms but instead had 6 skeletal, artificial arms on her back.

"Senjumaru Shutara, also known as 3rd officer of the Royal Guard and the Great Weave Guard. How have you been since we last met?"

Senjumaru flashed Rena a small smile. She had visited him several times in the past when she heard about the various variations to his haori that he had made over the years. He was the only captain to try and change the design of the haori once every few months.

But with his constant changes, she felt some admiration. The woman figured that she had found someone to be her test subject and try out her different prototypes of haori designs. She had been bored since no one dared to aim for the Soul King so she had nothing to do most of the time.

"If it is not my favorite captain. Little Ren, what are you here for? Trying to challenge each of us again?"

Ren let out a laugh. Although he was willing to battle against each of them again, he was only sure about his victory against Tenjiro. The Senjumaru and Oetsu were still unsure battles while Ichibe was in another league entirely.

"Not today. Maybe another day soon. I am here to meet with the Mad Monk. Is he busy?"

Hearing that Ren did not want to try out her latest haori design for him left Senjumaru a bit disappointed but after hearing his request, decided to follow Ren. If Ren was looking for Ichibe and did not insult him, it meant that he had most likely found something interesting.

"He is not busy at all. I can even guide you to where he is."

"Thanks but I..."

"I can guide you to where he is," Senjumaru said with a smile on her face that seemed a bit forceful.

"Once again, I am..."

"I. Will. Guide. You." The woman said while releasing reiatsu and killing intent.

Both knew that she was not doing it to start a battle or threaten him but just so that Ren knew that she was coming along no matter what he said. Resigning to his fate, Ren accepted her help.

"Then I will thank you for your help."

Hearing his reply, Senjumaru let out a light and girly giggle that one would expect from a woman of her appearance but not of her age. The woman grabbed Ren's hand with one of her skeletal arms before lifting him into the air and using shunpo.

The pair appeared in front of a large staircase. Senjumaru wanted to let Ren get used to the dense spiritual energy coming from the dojo starting at the bottom of the stairs but when she saw that he did not seem to be affected, she changed her mind and appeared at the top of the stairs in a flash.

They were now outside of a large training dojo. This was the main building of Ichibe's floating city and where most would find him. The duo entered the building and was greeted by a large man writing on an even large piece of paper with a brush that was larger than the man. He seemed to be practicing his calligraphy.

The strokes were beautiful but fierce and full of energy. When the piece was done, even an amateur could tell that Ichibe had done an amazing job.

Just as Ren was about to give some light praise, he saw that the paper began turning into reishi before it disappeared completely. Ren immediately knew that something else had just gained a name.

"Hohoho. It seems like you are here for a reason, Little Ren. Do you wish to be defeated with only 5 blows once again? Maybe you have gotten stronger and can survive 6 now?"

Ren could not say anything to that. It was true that the last time the pair had battled, Ren was only able to take 5 blows from the monk's shikai before he was out of the fight.

'This goddamn monster is taunting me now. Just let me get that as well as master my breathing styles and we can see just how many blows it will take before I cut off that fat head of yours.'

"I am not here for that. I came because you know the names of almost everything. What is a being that is a hybrid between a shinigami and a beast?"

Ichibe finally turned around and looked at Ren. Seeing the eyes of the ancient being on him, Ren could not help but feel uncomfortable. It was as if he could hide no secrets from those eyes.

Ren knew that the main weakness of his zanpakuto was its lack of raw offensive power compared to most others in high positions. While he could defeat those just a single step below his level with ease, anyone on his level was an uphill challenge for him without resorting to summoning a meteor.

"Hmm. I do remember naming such a thing a long time ago. There had only been 30 in existence before. I believe they were called..."