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Chapter 620: A Message from Soul Society
Chapter 620: A Message from Soul Society
In the World of the Living...
The pitter-patter of raindrops fell ceaselessly on the streets, and occasionally, one could spot pedestrians with umbrellas, briefcases in hand, striding forward with measured steps. Most of them wore glasses, their expressions largely uniform, like robots fresh off a factory assembly line. Yet, in their youth, they too had dared to dream.
At the entrance of a certain grocery store stood Nirogi Tetsusai, broom in hand, gazing at the street ahead. After a few seconds, he put the broom away and reentered the store.
Descending into the basement of the grocery store, a vast underground space unfolded—a backup plan that Kisuke Urahara had prepared in the World of the Living many years ago.
Before the Hollowification incident, Urahara, though somewhat immature in handling affairs, had left numerous options for himself during his years of work. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to flee to the World of the Living with all the Hollowfied captains, cutting off all contact, in the face of such a sudden incident.
At a certain open slope...
There lay a pile of bizarre-looking devices, one of which had opened a portal-like doorway, crackling with electricity, leading to an unknown destination.
Urahara sat in front of the device, slurping on a bowl of instant noodles, his chopsticks skillfully twirling the noodles.
"Any news?" Tetsusai asked, joining Urahara and looking at the portal-like doorway.
This device served as a means of communication with Soul Society. Ever since the Hollowification incident, Urahara had led the numerous Hollowfied captains to escape to the World of the Living, hiding and evading Soul Society's lockdown and pursuit. It had exhausted a lot of their energy.
It was only in the last few days that they had finally settled everything and started to reconnoiter the situation in Soul Society again.
If Urahara had a backup plan in the World of the Living, he naturally had one in Soul Society as well.
"No reply yet," Urahara replied between mouthfuls of noodles. "But there's no need to rush. Soul Society has significantly reduced their pursuit of us. They should be well aware that our combat strength is not weak. If they forcefully try to apprehend us, it will provoke severe consequences."
As Urahara spoke, the portal in front of him, covered in electricity, suddenly intensified in brightness and power. The currents converged, forming a vortex.
Tetsusai's eyes narrowed as he focused on the center, and even Urahara paused in his noodle-eating, setting down the bowl and standing up.
A small bamboo tube, about the length of an index finger and as thick as a regular pen, popped out of the swirling currents.
Urahara's eyes flickered, and he adjusted his hat before reaching out to catch the tiny tube, bringing it close to his eyes. He gently pressed the top of the tube.
Immediately, the small bamboo tube emitted a soft sound, and a rapid series of faint noises entered his ears.
Having heard less than a third of it, Urahara froze, his face contorting in shock as if he had heard something unbelievable.
The bamboo tube slipped from his stunned fingers and clattered to the side, caught deftly by Tetsusai.
Seeing Urahara's reaction, Tetsusai was also taken aback. "What's going on? What's happening in Soul Society?"
"..."
Urahara remained frozen for two seconds before slowly recovering his wits. Turning to Tetsusai, he took a breath and said, "It's indeed a completely unexpected development. Looks like we need to find the Visored."
As he spoke, Urahara turned and began to walk toward the ground level.
Moments later...
Don! Don!
Urahara, wearing a rain hat and a raincoat, stepped out of the grocery store and locked the door behind him. Tetsusai followed closely behind, holding an umbrella and walking by his side.
The two men walked in silence through the rainy streets, making their way through half the town until they reached a shabby car repair factory.
Urahara approached the main entrance and knocked on the roller door with his cane.
After waiting for a few seconds, the roller door was pulled open from the inside, revealing the figure of Shinji Hirako, wearing a yellow shirt. He eyed Urahara drowsily and said, "Coming to see us at this hour... I really hope it's not more bad news, Urahara."
Urahara adjusted his hat and bent down to step through the partially open roller door before straightening up and saying, "I have several pieces of news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Let's hear the bad news first," Shinji replied.
Figures appeared within the roller door, some sitting, some standing—all of them Hollowfied captains. Hiyori Sarugaki stood atop a car, her hands on her hips as she looked at Urahara.
Stepping inside, Urahara calmly said, "Sosuke Aizen has become the captain of the 5th Division, Kaname Tosen is now the acting captain of the 9th Division, and Gin Ichimaru is the vice-captain of the 3rd Division. Several of the positions we left vacant have been taken by Aizen."
The others, Sarugaki Hiyori and Kusajishi Yachiru, also wore grim expressions. They had been outmaneuvered by Aizen, transformed into this ghastly state, and now he had the audacity to play the victim. They had been played from the very beginning.
"What's the good news then?" Shinji asked, regaining control of his emotions and turning to Kisuke Urahara.
Urahara replied calmly, "The good news is that the situation hasn't deteriorated further. Captain Yoruichi received the message I left behind and made contact with me beforehand. Additionally, Soifon has mastered her Bankai and serves as the vice-captain of the 2nd Division."
This news eased the tension in Shinji and the others' faces.
Having a captain they could trust and who was willing to trust them within the Gotei 13 was undoubtedly a relief. At least they wouldn't be completely at the mercy of Aizen in the upcoming confrontation.
"Yoruichi, Soifon, and adding Feng Ye... That makes three captains in the 2nd Division capable of using Bankai. As long as we're vigilant, we should be able to hold our own against Aizen," said Arisawa Tatsuki.
However, her words caused Tetsusai and Urahara to lower their heads slightly, their expressions becoming unnatural.
"What's wrong?" Shinji asked, noticing their reaction. "Don't tell me Feng Ye is also Aizen's person. That would be terrible news, and you should have mentioned it from the start."
Hearing this, Urahara raised his head and looked at Shinji. "No, it's not like that. He has no connection to Aizen, and his identity is something no one could have guessed beforehand."
Urahara paused here, his gaze sweeping across the captains present, and continued, "His true identity is—that person."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed upward.
The entire factory fell silent, the only sound remaining the patter of rain outside.
In the midst of this silence, Shinji froze for a few seconds. Then he took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and struck a match a few times, but only sparks appeared, and he couldn't light it.
...
Due to Feng Ye hinting to Yoruichi Shihoin that there might be more to the Hollowification incident, the Central 46 Chambers discussed the matter and eventually decided to temporarily revoke the investigation and manhunt for Urahara and the Hollowfied captains.
Along with the revocation of the manhunt, they ordered Shihoin Yoruichi to investigate the matter.
In fact, Yoruichi had already been suspected by Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and the Central 46 Chambers beforehand, but due to Feng Ye's attitude, her suspicions were cleared.
Yoruichi, who had been in contact with Urahara, quickly learned the whole process of what had happened from him.
But a problem arose—there was no evidence!
Even though she knew the truth, Aizen had covered his tracks too well, leaving almost no evidence pointing to him.
So, even though she was certain of the truth, without evidence, speaking up would be baseless speculation and conjecture. It wouldn't affect Aizen in the slightest.
She also understood Feng Ye's words.
Aizen had designed this scheme too perfectly, trapping Urahara and many captains in his web. They had lost this round without any grievance.
Moreover, this was an internal matter of the Gotei 13. If even their internal problems needed to be solved by Feng Ye, the Hollow King, then what was the point of the Gotei 13?
If it truly came to the point where Feng Ye had to intervene, it would only mean that the Gotei 13 was a bunch of useless individuals who might as well disband.
Therefore...
This matter could only end here. It was impossible to find more evidence to exonerate Urahara and the others.
To turn the tables, they would have to win the next round of the game!
"Just you wait," Yoruichi said.
"We won't lose to Aizen again," she added, waving her hand to erase the information she had received from Urahara and taking a deep breath as she looked up at the sky.
Mumbling to herself, she turned and called out to Soifon, who was standing beside her. "Let's go back."
"Yes, Captain Yoruichi," Soifon replied, following Yoruichi but glancing at the sky, a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes before they returned to their determined gaze.
Having been saved by Feng Ye, the Hollow King, many times, she had indeed brought shame to the term 'Gotei'. Yoruichi had also brought shame to the Shihoin family, one of the four noble clans of Soul Society.
But from now on, that wouldn't happen again.
Betting on her beliefs, she would become an existence that wouldn't let the name 'Gotei' cry again and would satisfy Feng Ye in every way!
(End of Chapter)
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