In Rimuru City all was calm despite the presence of the group from another world.

In a short time, they had made friends, not only with Rimuru, the leader of the city, but also with his closest subordinates.

The group was beginning to enjoy their time there, although they weren't going to forget the reason they were staying there besides lodging, and that was that they were still trying to find the revolutionaries who were quite possibly in that same world.

Despite Rimuru stating that their forces would warn of any activity near the city as well as anything related to them, they couldn't let their guard down, as they didn't know what they were going to do in a totally different world.

Far, far away from the city and the federation was a tavern that served as a rest stop for travelers with rooms upstairs while downstairs was a bar full of people in various attire and weapons.

A man with a scruffy beard had just swallowed every last drop of his tankard before letting out a sigh of relief and slamming the tankard down on the table.

"Ah, there's nothing like a good beer after a long day's work." said the man.

"Don't drink too much or you'll have trouble getting up tomorrow." said another man sitting next to him.

"Yeah, we've got a tough road to travel tomorrow." said a third man.

"Bah. Worry too much. We're just going to pass close to the borders of the Jura Tempest Federation. It's no big deal." said the man.

"No big deal? Haven't you heard what they say about that nation of monsters?" asked the third man.

"They say that its citizens are more powerful than the strongest knights and adventurers and that its leader is the worst of all, for he is a Demon Lord." said the second man.

"Well, that may be true, but if it really was such a horrible place, it wouldn't have the support of so many kingdoms, would it?" asked the man.

"What about the Falmuth Empire?" asked the third man.

"From what I heard, they went to them to liquidate them and received their punishment. So, as long as we don't do anything to upset them, we can rest easy. Besides, from what I've heard from the other merchants, the products they make there are of the highest quality, the women there make ours envious of them, and everyone, including their leader, is good to humans. Sounds like a paradise as far as I'm concerned." said the man with a smile.

"A paradise?"

The three men turned their gaze in the same direction to see a hooded man.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation." said the hooded man.

"Who are you?" asked the second man.

"I'm just a simple traveler coming from distant lands, so I'm unfamiliar with the terrain around here. You said there was a 'paradise' near here, right?" asked the hooded man.

"That's right, it's the Jura Tempest Federation, a nation of monsters. If you go there, you will receive good treatment unless you go there with bad intentions, because if you do, you will receive the wrath of their leader, Rimuru Tempest." said the man.

"What can you tell me about him?" the hooded man asked curiously.

"From what I've heard, he's a slime, but a very powerful one, especially since he's a Demon Lord" said the man.

"A Demon Lord?" asked the hooded man slightly surprised.

"Hehe. You must really come from too far away not to know that. I wouldn't mind telling you all about it. Anything to help a traveling soul." said the man raising his empty mug.

The hooded man removed his hood, revealing his true appearance.

"Please tell me everything you know about that place." said Ruhood.

Even further away from the federation and that tavern, there was a rocky and mountainous terrain.

In a cave over there, you'd think you'd find nothing, but it was quite the opposite, for inside were the other members of the revolutionary group.

"*Snort* How long do we have to wait here?" asked Kailung.

"Until Ruhood comes back with information about where we are. It's clear that we're no longer in the Soul Society or the human world." said Vighor.

"It's all because of that substitute shinigami. If he hadn't hit the senkaimon, none of this would be happening." said Kasumi angrily.

"What's wrong with it? A new world means new enemies to fight. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil with excitement." said Bulu with a toothy grin.

"Only you would think that way, but have you forgotten that our plans can't happen IF WE ARE STUCK HERE?" asked Kailung standing up very angrily.

"Calm down, Kailung."

The humanoid bull turned his head to the side to see his leader who was kneeling and in a praying position again.

"It is true that our plans have become highly complicated by these events, but where some see a problem, others see it the other way around." said Alostrol.

"While you know I trust you, Alostrol, I'm afraid I agree with Kailung on this. We won't be able to fulfill our plan to create a new Soul Society by being in a world we know nothing about." said Vighor.

"Everything happens for a reason and it's up to us how to deal with it. Our plans haven't been completely ruined. They have just been delayed. Once we have all the cards on the table, we will decide our course of action." said Alostrol.

"Well, I hope they are good cards. I would hate to imagine that all our training and effort, as well as the sacrifice of our own, has been for nothing." said Kasumi.

"Don't worry, Kasumi, I'm sure Ruhood wouldn't come back unless he had something really interesting." said Alostrol.

"And so it is."

Kailung let out a slight scream as he startled and stepped back to the side, revealing Ruhood, who had suddenly appeared.

"Could you not do that again?" asked Kailung.

"Sorry. 2nd division customs." said Ruhood.

"I see you're back. I guess that means you brought something really important." said Alostrol.

"It took me a while to gather all the necessary information, but I think I have enough to be of some use to us." said Ruhood.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us what you've obtained." said Bulu.

"All right. For starters, they don't have reiryoku here, they have magic." said Ruhood starting with the explanation.

"Magic, huh? I had heard about it in story books about the human world, but they're just stories and tales." said Kasumi.

"Magic here works the same way as reiryoku. The more you have, the more powerful you are." said Ruhood.

"Hehehe. In that case, I'll just have to find someone with large amounts of that magic and fight him." said Bulu with a demented grin.

"What good will that information do us exactly?" asked Vighor.

"Wait a minute." began Alostrol drawing the attention of his companions. "Kasumi, do you think you could open a senkaimon from this world to ours?"

"It was the first thing I tried, but it seems that the senkaimon route can only connect the human world to the Soul Society. However, I think there is a possibility that, if I had more reiryoku, I could create a path that would lead us to that route." said Kasumi.

"I see." said Alostrol.

"What are you planning, Alostrol?" asked Kailung.

"Tell me, Ruhood, what else have you found out?" asked Alostrol.

"It seems that, not far from here, there is a nation of monsters known as the Jura Tempest Federation and from what I have been told, all of its inhabitants are monsters with great power." said Ruhood.

"Hehehe. Now you're starting to get my attention and I like what I'm hearing." said Bulu.

"Not only that. But that their leader has the title of Demon Lord, which is only given to the most powerful." said Ruhood.

"What good will it do us to know all that?" asked Kailung.

"A lot Kailung, because I have an idea." began Alostrol before looking at the kido expert. "Kasumi, how much energy would you need to gather?"

"This is a gate between worlds, so I'd need double or triple that of all of us put together." said Kasumi.

"Meaning, there's no way back." said Kailung with annoyance at being trapped.

"Not necessarily. We just have to gather the power that Kasumi needs in order to open the senkaimon that will allow us to return." said Alostrol.

It was then that Vighor's eyes widened as realization hit him.

"Alostrol… You're not suggesting that…?" asked Vighor getting an idea of what his leader was planning.

"Yes, we will use our tactics against that federation." said Alostrol, to everyone's surprise.

"Are you crazy? Didn't you hear what Ruhood said? That city is full of monsters metaphorically and literally." said Kasumi.

"It doesn't matter to me. I've wanted to go to that city from the moment Ruhood mentioned it." said Bulu with his typical smile.

"For that reason alone you have no say in this. But Kasumi is right, Alostrol, what makes you think our tactics are going to work on monsters that don't possess reiryoku?" asked Kailung.

"As Ruhood rightly said, magic here works like reiryoku. So it is possible that our tactic will work just as we had planned." said Alostrol.

"Mmm. Certainly. And with that tactic, we have clear advantage over all those powerful monsters." said Vighor.

"Wait. There's something I forgot to mention." began Ruhood drawing everyone's attention. "I got this information from a merchant who had just left the federation. He told me that he had seen a group of humans in that city and this will come as a surprise to you, but one of them had black clothes, orange hair and a large sword on his back."

That made the eyes of the others widen in surprise, for there was only one person he knew and he had those characteristics.

"Are you talking about… the substitute shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki?" asked Kasumi.

"He's the only one who fits that description and if he's there, we must assume the others are there too." said Vighor.

"You know what? I don't care anymore if the tactic works or not. I just want to go after them and make them pay for what they've done to us!" said Kailung before letting out a snort.

"Now that's quite a coincidence." said Bulu.

"There is no such thing as coincidence. We must take this as a sign. A sign that we must carry out that plan." began Alostrol before standing up. "If we attack the city, we won't only be able to take revenge on them, but we will also get what we need, not only to return to the Soul Society, but also to wipe out all those who stand in our way including the captains of divisions and then, the old system will fall and a new order will emerge."

That alone was enough to convince the others to smile in agreement.

"If it will allow us to get out of here and accomplish our goal, I'll be happy to do what is necessary for that." said Kasumi.

"It's definitely a big change in our plans, but we have to be able to adapt to the circumstances." said Vighor.

"With this plan, not only will we be one step closer to fulfilling our plan, but we will show the inhabitants of this world what we can do." said Kailung with a wicked grin.

"I can't wait to see what kind of monsters I'll be fighting." said Bulu with a smile of excitement.

"I don't really care who I have to kill in the process." began Ruhood adjusting his glasses. "To create our new society, sacrifices must be made along the way, right?"

"Of course. I know it sounds terrible, but the deaths of those who will fall will serve as stepping stones that will lead us to the tomorrow we want to create." said Alostrol.

"In that case, I suggest we attack by taking advantage of the veil of night. It will be easier to catch them by surprise and eliminate them." said Ruhood.

"No. We will be revolutionaries, but we aren't really assassins. We'll attack at dawn, when the sun is fully up." said Alostrol.

"I hope you can do well, Kasumi." said Vighor.

"I've been practicing for years. I'll give my all to get it right." said Kasumi.

"Another thing. If we are going to use our tactic, do you think THAT will work?" asked Kailung.

"You must have faith, Kailung. I'm sure it will work and if it doesn't, we'll just keep moving forward without backing down." said Alostrol.

"It's fine with me if it doesn't work, then there will be more for me." said Bulu.

"Then it's settled." began Alostrol as he and his companions stood at the entrance to the cave to gaze at the sunset scenery. "Tomorrow we attack."

By nightfall, the streets in Rimuru City had fallen silent, as all the inhabitants had gone home to rest.

Rimuru was kind enough to allow Ichigo and the others to stay in a guest house where they could spend the nights until they could find a way to return to their world.

Of course, they were given one room for the girls and one room for the boys so that there would be no problems between them.

In one of the rooms was Ichigo, who was sleeping peacefully, until he suddenly let out a small groan and began to open his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes with his hands to clear them completely and looked to his side to see Uryu, Chad and Renji sleeping in their own beds before looking towards the window to see that the sky was still dark, a sign that it was still night.

Right now he didn't feel like sleeping and he also didn't want to stay in bed all the time waiting for sleep to return, so he stealthily and calmly got out of bed and walked over to the window that looked out onto the small balcony of the room.

After closing it so that no one would wake up, he turned around and took a big leap, landing on the roof of one building stealthily to jump to another and then another.

He kept going like this until he reached the outskirts and without realizing it, he ended up stopping at the top of a hill, next to a tree.

Turning around, he was completely amazed when he saw Rimuru City illuminated by night lanterns under a night sky filled with countless stars.

Seeing that made him wish he had warned the others to see that scenery as well.

"Beautiful views, aren't they?"

Ichigo startled as he turned his gaze down to see Rimuru in his slime form.

"Oh, Rimuru, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here." said Ichigo.

"It's okay. What's wrong? Couldn't you sleep?" asked Rimuru.

"No." began Ichigo before sitting down on the floor. "I just woke up suddenly and wanted to take a walk until I got my sleep back."

"Well, I don't need sleep like you do, but I like the feeling of resting and taking evening walks, especially stopping here to contemplate what I've created." said Rimuru.

"You'll be proud of all this, won't you?" asked Ichigo.

"More than you think. When I started this, I never thought I would gather so many and that my city would be growing at a rapid pace, but still, I will do what I can to make it a pleasant place, both for monsters of all species and humans." said Rimuru.

"That's very noble of you." said Ichigo with a smile.

After that, the two were silent as they took in the sights and stayed like that for a while until…

"Do you mind if I ask you a bit of a personal question?" asked Rimuru.

Ichigo was a little surprised by that, but he didn't see a problem with it, as long as it wasn't too personal.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" asked Ichigo.

"Why did you choose to be shinigami? I mean, I'm not really sure about your circumstances, but just knowing that you're a substitute, I can tell that you're in your position by choice, so… I was just curious."

Ichigo didn't expect that, out of all the unpersonal questions he could think of, he would ask that one in particular

Honestly, until now, no one had ever asked him that kind of question.

"Well, you're right that my circumstances are very different from those of a normal shinigami. To tell the truth, I used to have a normal, ordinary life until, after several events, I awakened my shinigami powers." said Ichigo recalling the night when Rukia gave him her powers and when he was training with Kisuke to awaken his own powers.

"At first, I didn't care anything about the Soul Society or their laws and such, not until I had to go there due to… certain things and when it was all over, I was given the title of substitute shinigami." said Ichigo remembering when he and his friends illegally entered the Seireitei to rescue Rukia even though it led them to fight against the captains of divisions.

"If you didn't care about the Soul Society at all, why didn't you turn down the title? You could have continued with your normal life, away from danger and responsibilities." said Rimuru.

"That may be. However, I didn't want to. And do you know why?" asked Ichigo receiving a denial from the slime. "Because thanks to these powers, I can protect my family. The night I first became a shinigami, a hollow threatened my family and I didn't have the power to defeat it until now. There was even a time when I was without powers and wanted to live my life normally until I realized I wanted to keep having them."

Ichigo would never forget what happened during the months he didn't have powers.

At first, he decided to go back to his normal life, away from the hollows and the shinigami, but then, when he met the fullbringer, I guess he couldn't protect his family by being someone normal and in the end, he ended up wishing he had his powers back.

"I may be considered the lapdog of the Soul Society by some, but I don't care. If it weren't for them and all the people who helped me, I wouldn't have reached the level I am now. A level of power that I use solely to protect my loved ones and those who need my help." said Ichigo thinking of his friends and acquaintances in the human world, the Soul Society and even Hueco Mundo.

Rimuru was surprised to hear that answer.

Because of that, he considered Ichigo as someone noble and heroic-hearted who fights against all evils no matter the consequences as long as he can protect others.

In fact, he couldn't help but compare himself to him, as he too, at one time, felt helpless for not protecting others and now he had the power needed to protect them all and not allow what happened long ago to happen again no matter what.

"You know? Ichigo. What you said sounded like what a true leader would say." said Rimuru.

"Heh. I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in being a leader of anything. In fact, if I were offered to be captain of some division, I'd turn it down." said Ichigo.

"Mmm. I guess so, although, from my own experience, there are some things you won't be able to turn down no matter how much you don't want to." said Rimuru remembering when he ended up becoming a leader of a nation even though it wasn't his intention.

"Yes, you're right." said Ichigo remembering when he rejected his inner hollow, but in the end, he ended up accepting it as part of him.

It was then that Ichigo let out a yawn.

"Looks like sleep has caught up with you." said Rimuru.

"Yeah, I think it's time for me to go to sleep." began Ichigo before getting up. "Are you coming?"

"You go ahead. I'll be leaving right away." said Rimuru.

"As you wish." said Ichigo before hopping back to the city and back to his room.

Rimuru stood alone on the hill, gazing at the beauty of his city.

"Hopefully this peace will last for a long time, but if anything comes along to disturb it, I won't hesitate to give it my all." thought Rimuru with determination.