Chapter 398

2-in-1 chapter:  

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“Senior brother, how do you feel?”

Ukitake smiled warmly.

“It’s wonderful… better than anything I’ve ever experienced.”

“Kaelith, thank you. I truly don’t know how to express the joy and gratitude I feel toward you right now!”

“Haha, think nothing of it… just handle all the documents Sensei dumped on me, and we’ll call it even.”

“…?”

Ukitake’s smile slowly faded.

He looked at his little junior, falling into deep thought.

Could it be possible that curing his illness was just a side goal, and the real aim… was to turn him into a glorified tool?

Ukitake couldn’t help but sigh.

Their teacher had truly found a treasure.

Ukitake Jūshirō’s recovery shook the entire Gotei 13.

The captain who had been frail for nearly a thousand years had become almost symbolic within the Gotei 13.

Among the many, Yamamoto and Kyōraku were especially pleased.

As Ukitake’s closest sect-family, seeing his recovery made them even happier than if their own bodies had healed.

The old man, in rare form, gathered the entire sect and held a celebration in the First Division with sake.

Kaelith raised his hand:

“Sensei, you’re still recovering—you can’t drink. Just enjoy the smell from the side.”

That day, the temperature in Seireitei rose by ten degrees for unknown reasons.

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Player Kaelith has entered the map: “Fifth Division Barracks.”

He engages in dialogue with key NPC: Sōsuke Aizen and presents the item “Sealed Right Arm of the Soul King.”

Sōsuke Aizen’s favorability increased significantly!

Current favorability: (Encrypted Content)

Sōsuke Aizen, pleased, crosses out five entries from his personal Kaelith Grudge Log.

Current number of grudge logs: (Data Overflow)

Holding the sealed jar containing the Soul King’s right arm, Aizen was unable to put it down.

The husky’s grown up—it’s bringing home money now. How touching.

Just as he was about to offer praise, Kaelith flashed that all-too-familiar smile.

Seeing that look, Aizen knew instantly—this guy was about to drag him into something again.

Sure enough, under his gaze, Kaelith rubbed his hands together and grinned:

“Sōsuke, the old man gave me a task—he wants me to organize a training drill for the Gotei 13.”

“My original plan was simple: I’d be the final boss, and they’d all take me on. I’d knock them down one by one.”

“But Sensei wants to instill some real urgency, so he suggested we use unfamiliar opponents.”

“What do you think we should do?”

Aizen chuckled and shook his head.

Such a minor task didn’t warrant his involvement.

Kisuke Urahara would be more than enough to handle this.

Just pull a few people from Hueco Mundo, stage an invasion event—problem solved.

But just as he was about to say that, something occurred to him.

Right—this was a perfect opportunity.

He gestured Kaelith over. Kaelith’s eyes lit up and he leaned in.

Aizen quickly explained his plan…

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Human World, Karakura Town.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

The once nine-year-old Ichigo was now twelve—on the cusp of adolescence.

Having advanced from elementary to middle school, though his appearance was still youthful, his aura had matured.

The experience of battling Hollows had given him an edge absent in ordinary people.

While most couldn’t sense it, individuals familiar with danger—like yakuza bosses—would instinctively think: “This kid’s future is limitless.”

Normally, students like this—those who stood out so starkly—would struggle to integrate into Japanese school life.

But Ichigo was never alone.

Not to mention his childhood friends Mizuiro and Tatsuki.

Even Uryū Ishida, the Quincy, attended the same middle school.

Though Uryū always looked reluctant, he still frequently teamed up with him.

In addition, there were those Ichigo had once helped: Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado—they stayed close afterwards as well.

This group—excluding the obviously dangerous (Orihime Inoue)—was seen by others as the delinquent clique, and classmates kept their distance.

Ichigo didn’t care.

A life already rich with experience, a spiritual world already full—people like that don’t bother with the opinions of ordinary peers.

Even after Kaelith left the Human World without explanation, Ichigo kept training.

His own parents became his teachers.

Under the guidance of Isshin Shiba and Masaki Kurosaki, Ichigo’s strength kept growing rapidly.

His dad once said that Ichigo’s current strength would’ve been enough to qualify as a captain in the previous generation.

Ichigo didn’t know what that meant, and his father had just laughed it off.

On this day, Ichigo was home alone—his parents off on another trip.

They’d taken Karin and Yuzu but left him behind.

Ichigo pondered deeply.

“Am I really their biological son?”

Wearing a little apron, he went to the open kitchen, made dinner, and set the table.

Just as he was about to eat, he frowned slightly.

Crack!

Ichigo’s spirit form split from his body and leapt out the window to the street outside.

There, he saw a Senkaimon opening at his doorstep.

From within, a figure burst out.

Seeing who it was, Ichigo smiled.

Kaelith!

But the smile quickly vanished.

Something was wrong.

Kaelith didn’t look as pristine as usual.

His white haori was stained with red blood.

His Shihakushō was torn in several places.

Clutching his Zanpakutō tightly, Kaelith wore a grim expression, running fast while glancing back toward the portal.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures followed close behind.

Their faces were covered by black cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed.

They wore cloaks designed to suppress spiritual pressure, making it hard to read their reiatsu.

As soon as they emerged, the two pursued Kaelith.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The moment they caught up, they unsheathed their Zanpakutō and launched over a dozen strikes.

Kaelith barely blocked most but was still hit a few times.

Blood sprayed from his shoulder.

The two attackers seized the opening, stabbing him through both clavicles from front and back—pinning him in place.

Kaelith struggled briefly, then lost strength.

Ichigo’s pupils shrank.

“Bastards—get away from him!!!”

He roared, drew his Zanpakutō, and charged—

“Getsuga! Tenshō!!”

Ichigo swung down hard, a wave of blue spiritual energy tearing forward.

This time, he channeled his Blut Arterie into the blow, far surpassing normal output.

He wouldn’t normally use this level of force on an enemy.

But against these two—he held nothing back.

The two figures showed a flicker of surprise.

But they did not panic.

They withdrew their blades from Kaelith and dodged to the sides.

Only Kaelith remained in the blast path.

Ichigo’s heart dropped.

He flashed forward using Hirenkyaku, placing himself between Kaelith and the incoming Getsuga just in time.

He raised his blade to intercept his own strike—

*BOOM!!!!*

A massive burst of spiritual pressure exploded above Kurosaki Clinic!

In the smoke, Ichigo swung his blade, clearing his vision.

He stood protectively in front of Kaelith, like an enraged beast, his spiritual pressure flaring toward the two Reapers ahead.

“Who are you?!”

“Why are you attacking Mr. Kaelith?!”

One of them replied in a low voice:

“Criminal Kaelith, for violating Soul Society law by granting Shinigami powers to humans.”

“The Central 46 has issued an order—Kaelith is to be arrested and executed.”

“Wha…”

Ichigo’s eyes went wide.

Kaelith… gave Shinigami powers to a human—

Wasn’t that referring to himself?

And for something like that, they wanted to execute Kaelith?

What kind of logic was that?!

While he was still stunned, the other masked man turned to his companion:

“Hey, what are you doing? How can you just leak classified information like this?!”

Masked Man A chuckled:

“This isn’t just some random person.”

“Look closely… that’s Kurosaki Ichigo. According to the records, he’s the human Kaelith granted Shinigami powers to!”

“What?!”

Hearing this, Masked Man B was shocked and turned to Ichigo.

“Hmph… so that’s how it is. Then there’s nothing more to say. Perfect—let’s take this kid out too.”

With that, he drew his Zanpakutō and pointed it at Ichigo.

Listening to the two talk, Ichigo let out a cold snort.

“Who’s taking out who—we’ll see about that.”

He swung Zangetsu and charged straight at the two of them.

The masked men didn’t respond at all to Ichigo’s assault.

Not until he got within range did one of them finally speak:

“Bankai.”

“Suzumushi Tsuishiki.”

As the words were spoken, an invisible barrier instantly spread out.

Ichigo’s vision went completely black.

Momentarily surprised, he quickly calmed down.

A power that deprives him of vision, huh?

Annoying, but still within manageable limits.

He’d just use his spiritual pressure to sense—

Hm? His spiritual pressure sensing was gone too?

Very quickly, Ichigo realized—it wasn’t just his sight or Reiryoku perception.

His sense of touch, smell, hearing…

All of his senses had been sealed.

Damn—how was he supposed to fight like this?

His first reaction was to swing Zangetsu, sending a dozen Getsuga Tenshō slashes in all directions to block any possible approach.

These Getsuga didn’t fly out like normal, but transformed into sharp slicing lines, wrapping around the air around him.

It was a special technique he developed by combining a Quincy’s control over Reishi with Shinigami power.

Unless the enemy could shrink down to the size of a figurine and slip through the gaps, it would be nearly impossible to reach him in a short time.

With that buffer, he’d have time to find an opening.

Either outlast the technique, or find a flaw in its mechanics…

Shk!!

While Ichigo was rapidly analyzing, his Reiryoku suddenly fed a signal to his brain.

A blade had pierced his shoulder.

With all senses blocked, he didn’t even feel the pain.

But Ichigo knew—he’d taken a serious hit.

Damn it… he had sealed the space around him. How had the enemy gotten in?

He swung Zangetsu again, slashing around himself.

Shk!!

This time, the shoulder on his sword arm was also pierced.

Ichigo was furious.

Were these guys toying with him?

Why weren’t they going for a fatal blow?!

Furious, he released a massive burst of spiritual pressure!

Outside the black barrier, Gin Ichimaru retracted Shinso, clicking his tongue in admiration:

“Well now… back in the day, even I was called a genius, a monster by the academy.”

“But compared to this kid, I was downright mediocre.”

“No wonder Lord Kaelith stayed in the World of the Living with him for over half a year, never returning to Seireitei.”

Tōsen glanced at him:

“Captain Ichimaru, we are simply executing Lord Kaelith’s orders. Don’t let your personal feelings interfere.”

“Hmph… that’s easier said than done.”

Gin Ichimaru smiled.

But the smile was hidden beneath a cloth mask, invisible to the eye.

Under Ichigo’s impact, the barrier of Suzumushi Tsuishiki finally couldn’t hold out any longer and shattered.

Bathed in light once again, pain surged through Ichigo’s shoulders and straight into his brain.

The intense pain made him suck in a sharp breath.

He gripped Zangetsu tightly, ready to go all out against the two of them.

But just then, a wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed his mind.

Ichigo staggered, barely able to stay balanced in mid-air, then slipped and fell from the sky, crashing to the ground.

Above, the two masked figures looked down at him.

“Shall we finish him off?”

“Hmph, no need… when I stabbed him just now, my blade was laced with Captain Mayuri’s special poison. He’s as good as dead.”

“You really are a devious one.”

“Hehehe, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

As they spoke, the two of them grabbed the unconscious Kaelith nearby and headed toward the Senkaimon.

“Kaelith… sir…”

Ichigo lay on the ground, staring with blurred vision as he reached out his hand toward Kaelith.

Kaelith looked back at him and smiled.

His voice echoed in Ichigo’s ears:

“Don’t come looking for me, Ichigo.”

“Seireitei is too dangerous—if you go now, it’ll only mean death.”

“Forget about me. Live on…”

Ichigo could no longer hear the rest.

Driven by Mayuri’s specially formulated drug, he fell into a deep sleep.

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