Chapter 399

2-in-1 chapter:  

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Who knows how much time passed before Ichigo slowly opened his eyes.

What appeared before him was an unfamiliar ceiling.

He frowned slightly, as if trying to remember something.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he shot up.

“Kaelith-san… Kaelith-san!!”

“Please calm down, Kurosaki-san.”

A voice spoke from the side.

Ichigo turned in surprise and saw a man wearing a traditional yukata, with messy straw-colored hair, looking at him seriously.

“You are…”

The man pulled out a small folding fan and snapped it open with a snap.

“Hehe, my name is Kisuke Urahara. I am one of Kaelith-san’s subordinates.”

Kaelith-san’s…?

Ichigo’s expression turned anxious as he grabbed Urahara’s clothes.

“Where is Kaelith-san? Where is he?!”

“Kaelith-san… he…”

Urahara’s expression turned grave.

After a few seconds, he sighed.

“As expected, Kaelith-san has already been detained.”

“Kurosaki-san, you may not know, but in the Soul Society, giving Shinigami powers to a human is considered a capital crime. Even someone as powerful and influential as Kaelith-san cannot escape judgment.”

“His final fate… will likely be execution.”

“Before he was captured, he specifically instructed me to come to the Human World and ensure your safety—so that Soul Society couldn’t get to you.”

“I suppose… I haven’t let him down.”

As he spoke, he raised a sleeve to wipe his eyes.

Ichigo looked at him with some confusion.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but when Urahara mentioned Kaelith facing execution, he seemed… a little happy?

Realizing his enthusiasm had slipped, Urahara quickly cleared his throat.

“Kurosaki-san, let me check your wound.”

Saying that, he removed the bandage on Ichigo’s shoulder.

He had just been about to make a remark when he froze.

The two penetrating wounds left by Gin Ichimaru had already almost completely healed.

Urahara fell into silence.

He had always thought Kaelith’s abnormality was unmatched.

He hadn’t expected someone even more abnormal to exist.

No wonder Kaelith-san and Aizen-san were both so interested in this boy named Ichigo Kurosaki.

In fact, if it were him, he wouldn’t be able to resist a raw gem like this either...

Now realizing Ichigo’s value, Urahara, who hadn’t been too eager to involve himself in the situation, suddenly felt much more motivated.

He opened his fan and held it up in front of his face, his expression serious.

“Kurosaki-san.”

“Kaelith-san’s life is hanging by a thread.”

“You’re the only one who can save him!”

Ichigo’s eyes turned resolute at those words.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t have to tell me—I’ll definitely bring Kaelith-san back!”

“I don’t care about Soul Society or the Central 46.”

“If they want to kill Kaelith, they’ll have to get through me first!”

Without hesitation, Urahara raised his hands and started clapping…

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First Division, office.

Hitsugaya sat upright at the desk, expression serious, occasionally picking up his pen to correct the reports in front of him.

Under normal circumstances, this should’ve been a very solemn scene—

If not for the hand messing with him from above.

“Oh my, I never noticed before—Hitsugaya’s hair is so soft and fluffy. Even softer than Hisagi’s head.”

Kaelith stood behind Hitsugaya with a pleased look, fingers buried in the boy’s hair.

The young captain finally couldn’t take it. Face reddened, he said:

“Captain Kaelith, please focus on your work and stop disturbing me!”

Kaelith widened his eyes.

“What? Are you disobeying the orders of your captain?!”

“I’m in the Sixth Division, not the Eleventh—you’re not my captain!”

“Hmph, Sixth Division? You know your captain’s been missing for quite a while now, right?”

Kaelith gave a smug laugh.

“With no captain, you’ve got no protection!”

“Come quietly under my command, and I might even keep you safe!”

A don symbol formed on Hitsugaya’s forehead—his blood pressure spiked.

Just as he was about to throw back a reasoned rebuttal to Kaelith’s outrageous behavior, he heard Kaelith say:

“Suddenly, I feel like this would suit little Hitsugaya.”

As he spoke, he reached into the shadow-space and pulled out a cat-ear hair clip, placing it on Hitsugaya’s head.

“?”

Hitsugaya didn’t react in time. The moment he realized what had been put on his head, his rage exploded.

“Captain Kaelith!!”

“Haha, don’t be mad, don’t be mad… Come on, little Hitsugaya—give me a ‘meow’?”

“Absolutely not! Never!”

Hitsugaya lifted his hand in fury to remove the clip, but Kaelith skillfully redirected his movement with precise control.

In the room, Soifon, Ukitake, and Kyōraku watched the scene with expressions of exasperated amusement.

While dodging Hitsugaya’s flailing, Kaelith casually said:

“Come to think of it, didn’t you join the Gotei 13 to repay me for saving your grandma?”

Hitsugaya froze mid-movement.

His expression turned solemn. He nodded.

“Correct.”

Kaelith grinned wide.

“Well then, let’s make it simple. Give me one ‘meow’ and we’ll call your debt repaid. Sound good?”

“This kind of deal doesn’t come around twice~”

Soifon narrowed her eyes, already seeing the metaphorical devil’s tail wagging behind this shameless man’s back.

Hitsugaya gulped.

Just one “meow” to repay the debt…

Though it sounded ridiculous, it was strangely tempting.

Before becoming a Shinigami, he didn’t understand the gap in power between Shinigami.

Back then, he believed that with enough training, he could become Kaelith’s right hand.

If he worked hard enough, maybe he’d get a chance to help Kaelith in a crucial moment, shielding him from a powerful enemy—and thus repay the favor.

But after becoming a Shinigami, he realized the gap between Shinigami could be greater than that between a Shinigami and a common animal.

With his current strength, let alone blocking Kaelith’s enemies... it was questionable if he even had the right to stand on the same battlefield when Kaelith fought seriously.

After a few seconds of contemplation, he pursed his lips, looked up at Kaelith, and—

“…Meow.”

Kaelith was stunned.

So were Soifon, Ukitake, and Kyōraku watching from the side.

Damn it. How could this kid be this cute?!

Ukitake’s expression was complicated.

Kyōraku grinned wide.

Soifon shook her head lightly.

When it came to finding cute points, this bastard truly had a talent.

Kaelith gave Hitsugaya’s hair a vigorous rub.

“Ah, little Hitsugaya—you were born to be devoured by your captain!”

“Captain Kaelith, please have some decency!!”

As Hitsugaya protested loudly, a member of the Court Guard suddenly appeared in a flash step inside the room.

“Report! Captain Kaelith, we’ve received a report from the Eleventh Division! A patrol squad encountered a Ryoka intrusion in East District 8 of the Rukongai!”

“What?! A Ryoka?!”

Kaelith’s expression turned fierce.

“In my great Seireitei—thousands of elite troops, a million in arms—and mere Ryoka dare invade the Soul Society?!”

“Someone! At my command!”

“All Shinigami of the Divisions, prepare for combat immediately!”

“Notify the squad at the scene to record the Ryoka’s appearance and transmit it to headquarters at the fastest speed—distribute to all divisions!”

“Upon identifying a Ryoka, execute on the spot!”

Without hesitation, the court guard member shouted in response:

“Yes, sir!!”

With a flash, he vanished from the room.

As he delivered the orders, he couldn’t help but feel excited.

He had always served as the Captain-Commander’s messenger.

When Kaelith first took over, he clearly didn’t care for the job.

At the time, the thought of handing the post to a slacker like him had made the man uneasy.

But today’s Captain Kaelith was clearly fired up.

It seemed he had finally understood the weight of the responsibility that came with being Captain-Commander.

The Gotei 13 was going to rise again.

Thrive and prosper!

Back in the office, Ukitake looked a bit surprised.

“Ryoka… At a time like this, for a Ryoka to appear—it’s probably not a good sign.”

Kyōraku, thoughtful, looked toward his younger brother.

“Kaelith, we don’t even know who the Ryoka is—are you sure it’s right to issue a kill order so quickly?”

Kaelith lifted his chin.

“Of course. Anyone who dares trespass into the Soul Society is provoking the Gotei 13. They must be struck down—hard.”

“…Oh?”

Kyōraku nodded, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

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Rukongai, East District 8.

Rukia stood with a dozen subordinates, expression stern, eyes locked on the orange-haired boy before her.

The kid looked no older than Hitsugaya. If it weren’t for the powerful spiritual pressure radiating from him, she wouldn’t have believed this was the Ryoka who broke into the Soul Society.

She raised her voice:

“Ryoka! Who are you? Why have you trespassed into the Soul Society?!”

Looking at the girl in front of him, Ichigo replied in a low voice:

“Where is Kaelith?! What have you done with him?!”

“Eh?”

Rukia was momentarily stunned.

How did this human boy know about Lord Kaelith?

Though she didn’t understand the reason, judging from the uncontrollable fury in the boy’s eyes and the boiling fighting spirit on him, he probably wasn’t looking for Lord Kaelith for anything good.

As she considered whether to subdue him first and take him in for questioning, a squad member suddenly appeared beside her.

“By order of the Acting Captain-Commander—if any divisions encounter a human intruder, execute them on the spot!”

Hearing this, Rukia showed a look of understanding.

As expected, the visitor had come with ill intent!

Under Ichigo’s gaze, she drew her Zanpakutō:

“A mere human has no right to know these things.”

“Hmph, is that so? Then I’ll beat it out of you!”

Ichigo raised his hand and pulled the large blade from his back.

Rukia didn’t hesitate either, raising her Zanpakutō with a swing:

“Dance—Sode no Shirayuki!”

As her blade turned pure white, the surrounding air temperature dropped by several degrees.

“An ice-type Zanpakutō, huh…”

Ichigo nodded slightly, holding Zangetsu diagonally at his side.

In the next second, to Rukia’s surprise, his speed suddenly surged!

She couldn’t even see the motion of the boy before the blade was already upon her!

Rukia pushed off the ground hard to dodge back while raising her Zanpakutō to block the attack.

But just as she reacted, Ichigo accelerated a second time as if he had predicted her movement.

Her sword couldn’t reach the path of the massive blade in time.

I'm going to be killed…

This cold realization rose in Rukia’s mind.

She hadn’t repaid Lord Kaelith’s kindness, hadn’t even taken part in a single proper mission, and now, on a routine patrol, she was about to be slain by a human with a single blow.

I’m really… so useless…

She closed her eyes, prepared to face death.

Then, a sharp pain struck her chest.

It was an impact—not the pain of flesh being torn.

Rukia fell to the ground, opening her eyes in confusion.

She saw a bruise forming along her collar.

At the last moment, that orange-haired boy had turned the blade and struck her with the blunt edge?

Rukia looked across in shock.

The orange-haired boy hefted his Zanpakutō over his shoulder:

“Hey, Soul Reaper—can you tell me now?”

“Where’s Kaelith Yurei?!”

Rukia tried to rise but couldn’t due to the intense pain in her chest.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to speak:

“I’ll never tell you…”

Just then, other squad members rushed over.

“Fifth Seat Yurei!”

“Are you alright, Fifth Seat Yurei?!”

“Bastard! If you want to kill Fifth Seat Yurei, you’ll have to step over my dead body first!”

Several Shinigami stood between Ichigo and Rukia, blades drawn.

Hearing the way they addressed Rukia, Ichigo looked a bit confused.

Yurei?

Why does this girl have the same last name as Kaelith?

Is it just a coincidence?

“Yurei” isn’t that rare a surname, but… something feels off about this.

As Ichigo pondered, a figure suddenly dropped from the sky.

“Hahahahaha!!! I heard there’s someone strong around here?!”

Ichigo raised his arm to shield himself.

Squinting, he got a clear look at the newcomer.

A towering man over two meters tall, built like a steel tower.

With a menacing grin on his face—regardless of his actual strength, that look alone would scare 99.999% of people in the Human World.

A small girl with short pink hair lay across the man’s shoulder, smiling at Ichigo.

Ichigo frowned slightly.

This man was strong—and clearly someone important.

He opened his mouth:

“Where is Kaelith?”

At this, the man raised an eyebrow.

“Oho? You wanna meet the boss, kid?”

“I don’t really care, but not just anyone can see the boss.”

“Beat me first—then we’ll talk!”

With that, he swung his sword directly at Ichigo.

BOOM!!!!

Ichigo raised Zangetsu horizontally to block Kenpachi’s slash.

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