"So Kyōraku Shunsui asked us to protect Shiba Kaien?"
In the wide underground room, Muguruma Kensei went straight to the point.
Upon returning to the World of the Living, Higashino Shuuichi immediately told everyone what Kyōraku wanted—and part of what he'd picked up from Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He left out his own speculations.
"No wonder you dared open a Garganta (Black Rift) right near us. I suppose Shunsui had already cleared it with Ukitake Jūshirō?" Urahara Kisuke eyed Shuuichi.
"Yeah. Otherwise I'd have picked some random spot, opened the Garganta, and slipped back quietly." Shuuichi shrugged.
That's the annoying thing about a Garganta compared to a Senkaimon (World-Piercing Gate)—the former is too loud. Soul Society's monitors will ping and lock your position instantly.
"Hey, hey, you two—enough. Is this really the time for that? Shouldn't we be deciding whether we're going to protect Shiba Kaien or not?" Kensei cut them off.
"The future head of the Shiba clan, huh…" Hirako Shinji, newly awakened after mastering Hollowfication, glanced at the rarely human-shaped Shihōin Yoruichi across from him. "Wouldn't Shunsui's move be a signal? If we keep Kaien safe, we can return to Soul Society? Based on Shuuichi's description, Shunsui should realize we can fully control Hollowfication now."
"That'll be hard," Urahara answered from Yoruichi's right before she could. "All this shows is his personal stance—and Ukitake's. Swaying the Head Captain? Not likely."
Yoruichi nodded. "You all know Sōtaichō's nature. We've been named rebels; there's no taking that back. Unless we can prove that night wasn't us and was Aizen Sōsuke's doing all along, 'we can control Hollowfication' won't melt his heart."
"Then why protect Kaien with no benefit? Says who?" Sarugaki Hiyori planted a foot on the bench, unhappy as ever.
Of everyone in exile, she hated Soul Society's handling the most.
"It's not like there's zero upside," Yadōmaru Lisa said, pushing up her pink frames. "With a captain's backing, we get direct access to Kaien. If this protection wins the Shiba clan's recognition—and Soul Society sees our attitude—there might be a path back."
"Then what are we waiting for? I'm the first to go!" Kensei shot up. He hated the Living World and wanted nothing more than to go back and pound Aizen.
No one echoed him.
"What, none of you want to go back?"
"It's not that," Shuuichi said. "Protecting Kaien in the Living World isn't hard for regular Shinigami. For us? It's tricky."
"How? We all control Hollowfication now. Out of combat we look like we used to. Sure, everyone's Hollow mask time varies, but in raw power we're stronger, right?" Kensei frowned.
"Are you dense?" Kuna Mashiro gave him epic side-eye. "When we go out, we wear a Gigai (artificial body). Did you forget what that does?"
"Lets us look human?" Kensei blinked.
Mashiro palmed her forehead. Even as his former fukutaichō, she felt second-hand embarrassment.
"A Gigai also insulates us from external Reishi (spirit particles). Without Kisuke's barrier (kekkai) around town, Soul Society's scanners won't pick up our Reiatsu (spiritual pressure). In that state, we can still channel our own Reishi outward. But unless we step out of the Gigai, we'll never replenish from the environment—and can't even sense other spiritual presences properly. Our natural reikaku (spiritual sense) is severely jammed.
"And even if we do ditch the Gigai, with our current status it's… unwise to show up openly as Shinigami. How would Soul Society take that? In other words, if anything happens, we'll probably have to appear as Hollows and pass for Adjuchas-class. At least right now, aside from Aizen, no one in Soul Society has seen your Hollowfied forms or pressure.
"But that means our true combat power becomes a question mark." Shuuichi finished the explanation for Kensei.
And that was just the others. He himself had it worse: his Hollow form was on Soul Society's watchlist. To fight openly, he'd need Kisuke's spatial Reiatsu-masking barrier set in advance—a lot of setup.
Still, he had one edge: he could sheathe his Reiatsu into his Zanpakutō and threaten most foes with pure zanjutsu alone.
"If that's no good and that's no good, why are we talking at all? Let Kaien fend for himself. It's their problem. We stick to the plan: extend mask time, push our Reiatsu ceiling, and one day go back and beat Aizen's face in!" Kensei grumbled.
But he wasn't the shot-caller here. After thinking, Urahara finally set the board:
"Kaien—we protect. Lisa's right: a Five Great House is worth winning over. That only helps when we expose Aizen's plot.
"But we can't just dance to someone else's tune. What if this is Aizen's trap?"
"What's your play, Kisuke?" Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō asked at once. If anyone here hated Aizen most, it was him—he alone had watched his fukutaichō, Iba Chikane, get snuffed by a casual finger.
Kisuke swept the room and settled on Shuuichi. "We split three ways.
"Route one: Shuuichi-kun leads—Kensei-kun, Matsumoto Rangiku, Kisaragi Shūsuke, Kabuma Sayako, and that human Fullbringer, Nagasawa Satomi. Your task: protect Shiba Kaien. In the Living World, using heavy Reiatsu risks tearing the environment, so flooding the scene with captains is pointless.
"Route two: Yoruichi leads everyone else—except me and Tessai. Track the source of those armored warriors. As Shuuichi-kun said, they're part of a trade. Man-made means a source. I can't swear it's tied to the Asauchi theft, but the links are tight.
"Route three: Tessai and I head west to the West Administration. I'm personally very curious about the Development Team's captain there—how much he took from my old work, and what new tricks he's cooked up."
"Three routes, huh?" Shuuichi hadn't expected Kisuke to be this bold. And the team selection…
Hard not to see his private calculus. Of the three, protecting Kaien was the most work and the most trouble—and Shuuichi's group was stacked with people close to him. You could call it "fitting his hand," or you could call it "keeping a little distance."
Either way, it suited Shuuichi fine. He didn't want to run with Kisuke anyway. Leading a squad of familiar faces gave him room to act alone if needed.
And by his read, Kaien's biggest threat would come from Fullbringers in the Living World. After the recent reshuffle, Soul Society couldn't spare a team strong enough to crush a vice-captain–led investigation unit.
While Shuuichi's side hammered out plans, Seireitei was running a selection of its own.
Huge banners hung over a vast training ground: "Soul Society's Living World Investigation Team Selection Tournament."
"Go, Little Baldy!"
Because her former fukutaichō Higashino Shuuichi had fled, Kusajishi Yachiru had been yanked back into the Eleventh's fukutaichō chair. She waved two pink mini-flags Shuuichi had once given her and cheered for a particularly fierce bald newbie in the ring.
The bald Shinigami sent his opponent flying with one swing, then bellowed up at Yachiru, "How many times have I told you—I'm not Little Baldy! The name's Madarame Ikkaku, damn it!"
"Okay! Little Baldy! Got it. I'll call you Baldy-kaku from now on!" Yachiru beamed.
"That's worse—just call me Little Baldy!" The vein in Ikkaku's head throbbed.
On the other side, another match ended. "Winner: Ayasegawa Yumichika!"
Compared to Ikkaku's battered opponent, Yumichika's looked much better—he could still stand.
"Waaah, didn't expect the final winners would be you two newbies—Little Baldy and Little Peacock~" Yachiru's voice landed right on Ikkaku's head—she'd dropped from the stands in the instant he turned to congratulate his friend and had somehow ended up riding piggyback, tiny hands hugging his gleaming scalp.
"Ahhh! Get off me!" Ikkaku was going to lose his mind. And this harmless-looking girl was the Eleventh's fukutaichō—the successor to the man he thought about day and night.
"Kusajishi-fukutaichō, I didn't expect you to watch our, ah, humble little tournament." Yumichika strolled over, having seen Ikkaku try and fail to shake Yachiru off, then resign himself to carrying her. From that alone, Yumichika knew this childlike girl's power matched her post.
"'Humble'? No way~ Shuuichi-kun said real strength is forged through bout after bout. Any winner deserves respect. And it was Shuuichi's idea to use a tournament for selection! Too bad he's not here, or he'd happily give you champions a bonus match!"
"Really? That man's as hot-blooded as me, then! I can't wait to fight him!" Ikkaku's eyes lit up.
"That's a problem—Shuuichi ran to the Living World…" Yachiru put on a pout, then flashed a sly smile. "Buuut, since you won, you're going with the investigation team. If you work hard in the Living World, you might just find Shuuichi~"
"For real?" Ikkaku burned hotter. He and Yumichika had joined the Eleventh for that man. They'd originally aimed for the Fourth, but the Fourth took only Shin'ō Academy grads—no room for wild strays like them. They'd signed up for Shin'ō, only to hear Shuuichi had already become Eleventh's fukutaichō. They'd bolted to join the Eleventh instead—just in time to miss him when he defected.
Hearing they might find him in the Living World sent Ikkaku's heart racing again.
Yumichika, however, caught every flicker in Yachiru's face. Her goal wasn't pure. In his two years with the Eleventh, he'd learned plenty about their taichō's battle-hungry nature—worse than Ikkaku's. And most Shinigami had heard how, two years ago, their taichō had lost to Higashino Shuuichi. Yachiru clearly planned to use the two of them to sniff Shuuichi out—so her taichō could cross the worlds and "repay" the debt.
Yumichika wasn't worried. In his memory, Higashino-dono had always been kind and measured—and the rumors of the last night in Seireitei bore that out: under overwhelming pressure, his final move produced almost no casualties.
Besides, the Living World is big. What were the odds Ikkaku would just stumble into him?
"By the way, Kusajishi-fukutaichō, I hear this operation is unusual. Every member has to wear new gear from the R&D Institute. True?"
Unlike Ikkaku, Yumichika cared more about the mission. It was only an Asauchi theft case, and in the past investigations were straightforward. Requiring everyone to wear a specific device was new.
"Mm-hmm! It's called a Gigai. Put it on and you look like a human in the Living World. I hear our targets might be 'special humans'—so showing up as Shinigami could spook them and blow your cover. Captain Kyōraku from the Eighth ordered every member to disguise as a human first~"
"Special humans…" Yumichika fell silent. He had a hunch: this investigation wouldn't be as simple as the captains made it sound.
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