Three days later, during what the human world would call "Golden Week."
The Soul Society didn't have this holiday, but it was the weekend.
First thing in the morning, Shigū Takeru dragged Ichigo and Rindo Itaru back to Junrinan.
They didn't alert the Elder or Shiba Kūkaku, instead heading straight for the woods on the outskirts.
This bizarre behavior baffled Ichigo.
"Shigū, what the hell are you doing? Did you drop something important out here, so you dragged us back to find it?"
"You're right. We are here to find something. But it's not mine. I don't even know what it looks like."
Takeru stood on a large rock, surveying the terrain, as if confirming his bearings to narrow the search area.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Ichigo looked back at his "life group" partner, hoping for an answer.
Rindo Itaru just shook his head. Even with his ability to sense emotions, he couldn't read minds.
But he was certain of one thing: Shigū wasn't doing this for no reason.
"I exchanged some intel with the 2nd Division Captain, and I've finally figured some things out," Takeru said, as if answering their question, or perhaps just talking to himself.
"That hot-tempered ice-queen? She shared intel with you? You didn't get tricked, did you?"
Ichigo's impression of Soi Fon was terrible, seeing as she'd arrested them right after they won.
"Why do you think I shared those 'paranormal case studies' from the human world?"
"...What paranormal case studies? Weren't those just fictional stories... Wait. I don't know if she tricked you, but you definitely tricked her."
"As the saying goes, 'Art imitates life.' People can learn a lot of new things from literature. And then..."
"And then what?" Ichigo frowned, his curiosity piqued.
"And then, when you're in a conversation, you can't help but share your own thoughts. And you tend to relate it to your own situation, citing vivid examples."
Shigū Takeru spread his hands.
"And just like that, you get intel."
"..."
Ichigo was dumbfounded.
It took him a long moment to get it.
Takeru had deliberately done that.
His goal was to bait Soi Fon into connecting the intel she had gathered with the "stories" he was telling, forcing her into a state of divergent thinking.
No matter what she 'connected,' she would be excited, because she'd be seeing a new path to solving the case, new possibilities.
And Soi Fon, subconsciously crediting Takeru for the breakthrough, would feel a surge of goodwill. She'd also be unable to resist showing off her own "harvest."
And to add credibility, to maintain her pride as a Captain, she would inevitably use real, verified intel as her evidence.
Therefore, the possibility of being fed fake intel was almost zero.
Unless she was acting from the very beginning.
But that hot-tempered ice-queen... had absolutely no reason to do that.
"Shigū, being a folklorist is such a waste of your talents. If you became a diplomat, we'd be one step closer to world peace."
"Dealing with humans isn't nearly as interesting as dealing with supernatural events," Takeru said, unconcerned.
"Alright, back to business. I learned from Soi Fon about the two students' activities before they disappeared. Combined with the Hollow's dying words, I have a good idea why they vanished."
"Dying words? I remember he shouted someone's name."
Ichigo tried hard to recall.
"Not the one you killed. The one I killed," Takeru cut in.
"That one said, just before he died, that the two students were in the Rukongai because of 'that thing.' They just had the bad luck of running into the Hollow. I'm certain 'that thing' is somewhere in Junrinan. We're going to find it, and then we're going to claim it for ourselves."
"Wait," Ichigo asked, "you said 'claim it for ourselves'... Will the 2nd Division be okay with that?"
"I kept that part of the intel to myself."
"..."
Seeing Takeru's "of course" expression, Ichigo's mouth twitched. He wasn't even surprised. This was exactly the kind of thing Takeru would do.
He just... couldn't help but feel a little pity for the 2nd Division Captain.
"Based on the Hollow's known activity range and the students' disappearance, it should be right around here."
Takeru turned to Rindo Itaru.
"Rindo, can you ask your animal friends for help? I don't think we can find it by normal means. Otherwise, the Onmitsukidō wouldn't have spent all night searching and not even found the bodies."
"You mean the students' bodies are with this 'thing'?"
Ichigo instinctively looked around, trying to spot anything unusual in the dense mountain forest.
But he couldn't.
Neither could Takeru.
The only one who could was Rindo Itaru.
Rindo didn't disappoint. He immediately took on the task.
But it would take time. They didn't even know what "that thing" looked like.
The only way was to first find animals that had seen the two students, and then use them to pinpoint their last known location.
The day passed.
As word spread among the local animals...
Finally, just before sunset, a lark brought good news.
It had seen the two students.
And it had personally witnessed a monster follow them into a cave!
"If we make a fortune from this, I'll be sure to get our bird friend here the best birdseed," Takeru said, his spirits lifting.
Ichigo, standing nearby, also sighed in relief. They'd been waiting all day.
"By the way... this was your plan? Money? It seems so... unlike you."
"How so?"
"It's too normal."
"...In that case, let me say something you'll find 'normal'."
As they followed the lark, the lighthearted mood was shattered by Takeru's next words.
"Right now, we're still living off the Academy's honor-student stipend. We can't even afford a single set of clothes from the human world. Yayahara has treated us to so many free meals. She's our friend, but do you want to be a freeloader forever?"
"A Shinigami's basic salary is equivalent to about 200,000 yen. You can only start saving real money once you become a seated officer. A Captain makes about ten times that, but that's a long way off for us."
"So, if we can achieve financial freedom now—or at least get an income stream—we can improve our quality of life long before we become Captains."
"I, for one, would love to hire a few maids to take care of my daily needs. It's convenient, and it would free up my time to focus on training."
Takeru's words hit home. Ichigo couldn't refute them. He even had to admit it made sense.
Soon, the three of them arrived at a dense forest against a mountain cliff.
Takeru immediately sensed something was wrong.
"No wonder it's so hidden. There's a Kido barrier."
It was a very advanced one, far beyond their current level as students.
The barrier concealed the cave entrance.
Even a massive, systematic search would have missed it. You could only feel the barrier's existence—and thus, the entrance—by physically touching a specific spot on the ground.
But aside from concealment, it had no other function.
They passed through it almost without resistance and descended the stone steps.
Before long, the view opened up into a small, self-contained world.
"Whoa... it's huge," Ichigo breathed.
Takeru was also observing. This place was at least several hundred meters underground, hollowed out by some unknown means to create a vast space, no smaller than a modern sports arena.
The rock formations were rugged, yet the area was bright as day. White steam rose, and the temperature was slightly higher and more humid than outside...
The environment was reminiscent of Yellowstone National Park.
Especially the small waterfall in front of them, which roared as its water crashed into the pool below. This was the source of the heat and steam.
The three advanced, wary of any sudden dangers, and searched the area.
But they found nothing.
Finally, they reached the edge of the pool.
Listening to the white noise of the waterfall, Ichigo was about to say something, but he saw Takeru silently draw his Zanpakutō, cut his finger, and dip it into the water.
"Hey! Shigū, what are you doing!?"
Rindo Itaru also looked over, concerned.
Takeru wordlessly pulled his hand back and showed it to them.
"The wound... it's gone."
Ichigo's pupils shrank. He hadn't seen him use Kaidō at all.
Which meant—
Ichigo and Rindo Itaru instinctively looked at the steaming, hot-spring-like pool.
"I think I know what this place is," Takeru stood up, his voice heavy.
"Kirinji Tenjirō's 'Hot Springs of Healing.' A therapeutic device that is the culmination of all Kaidō techniques."
"Never heard of him," Ichigo and Rindo Itaru said, looking blank.
Of course they hadn't.
Even most people didn't know that the secret hot spring Urahara Kisuke built under the Sōkyoku Hill was a replica based on this one.
Takeru only knew that Urahara's "prototype" was somewhere in the Rukongai; he never knew the exact location.
He'd just stumbled right into it.
Suddenly, Takeru's gaze sharpened.
Ichigo and Rindo noticed it too.
Two badly damaged Academy uniforms were floating on the water's surface.
It was sudden, but it also made perfect sense.
"Hey, Shigū..." Ichigo said, staring at the uniforms.
"Hmm?"
"They... they didn't come here for no reason, did they?"
"No."
Takeru's expression was blank, his voice flat, as if he were talking about someone else, yet it concerned them.
"This is just a guess... The student from Class 2 was a noble. The student from Class 1 was from the Rukongai. They didn't know each other. But because of us, Class 1 is getting a lot of attention this year."
"You've seen how the nobles treat people from the Rukongai."
"The two missing students had similar entrance exam rankings. If their ranks had been swapped, the one who got into Class 1 would have been different."
"Perhaps because of this, the student from Class 2 was not just annoyed; he was truly hateful."
"So, he started stalking the other student, looking for a chance to get him expelled so he could take his spot."
"But in the process, he discovered the other student's secret movements and followed him here."
"As for how our classmate found this place... it was either pure luck, or he heard about it from someone else."
"When they discovered the magic of this place, both of them wanted to claim it for themselves. But they didn't realize a Grand Hollow was following them. In the end, nobody won... or maybe not."
Takeru's eyes narrowed as a thought struck him.
"That Hollow was able to hide from the Seireitei, lurking right in Junrinan... it's possible that was because it devoured Zanpakutō and then soaked in this spring."
"Now that you put it that way... I don't really want to get in," Ichigo said, grossed out.
"What are you afraid of? It's running water."
"It's still gross... But anyway, Shigū, you said on the way here you wanted to make money from this. Looks like your plan is... dead in the water~"
"What are you talking about?"
Takeru looked at Ichigo—who was smirking at his own bad pun—with perfect calm.
"Who said we can't make money from this?"
"Huh? No, you don't mean... you're going to open a bathhouse, are you?!" Ichigo was aghast.
"That's too much trouble. Why not just bottle the water and sell it as medicine? You saw how amazing its healing effects are."
Shigū Takeru's eyes glinted.
"Will anyone buy it? That's too... weird."
"Why wouldn't they? Imagine... someone gets hurt protecting you. They're on the ground, they can't move. You can beat the enemy, but you can't save them. In that moment... forget hot spring water. You'd use something even weirder, something from God-knows-where, without a second thought. Am I wrong?"
"..."
Ichigo's breath caught. He stared blankly, as if the scene Takeru described resonated deeply with him.
"...No. You're not wrong."
"Good. Then you're in charge of hauling the water. I'll find a buyer."
Takeru clapped him on the shoulder, his face full of approval.
"What?!"
"If you have a problem with it, I'll do it myself. But when I'm rich, don't come asking me for a loan."
"...I didn't say no. But who are you going to sell it to? We can't get reported!"
"To whoever has money."
Takeru gave his usual, "it's-obvious" look.
"We won't get reported. Because the person we're selling to... is the one who handles the reports."
"..."
Ichigo and Rindo Itaru glanced at each other. An image of a certain unlucky Vice-Captain, still patrolling the Rukongai, popped into their minds.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (120 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (160 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (50 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (70 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it