"This..."
Isshin looked at Masaki, who was eating happily, then at the person beside her who looked helpless.
"What's going on?"
Turning his head, he saw Kisuke sitting to the side, while Ethan, the former Captain of the 10th Division, sat at the other end of the table, fiddling with something in his hand.
"Oh, Captain Shiba, have a seat."
Isshin observed the situation carefully. It seemed that perhaps nothing was wrong.
Even after sitting down, he was still confused, but Masaki looked completely healthy, which reassured him. He was not foolish. Connecting Ethan's previous words with the fact that Masaki was indeed here, it was clear something had happened, but it seemed to have already been resolved.
"Can someone tell me what exactly happened?"
The Quincy named Uryu did not look pleased. From the moment Isshin appeared, Uryu had been radiating faint hostility toward him. Isshin had no choice but to ask Masaki directly.
"It wasn't anything serious. See? I'm perfectly fine now."
"What do you mean not serious? Do you know how dangerous it was just now?"
Uryu immediately lost his temper. He was very dissatisfied with Isshin for involving Masaki, believing that she had faced such danger and been harmed because of him.
Before Isshin arrived, Masaki had suddenly fainted, and strange symptoms appeared on her body. If he had not found this general store in time, he did not dare imagine what would have happened.
Fortunately, the strange man who gave him the card had indeed cured Masaki and helped him understand what had happened. She had been invaded by a Hollow.
The Hollow she defeated and forced to self destruct had not been completely destroyed. Instead, it had parasitized her body. If not handled in time, she would have been eroded and killed by that Hollow. In Kisuke's words, it would have led to soul suicide.
Uryu had never encountered such a situation before and did not know what to do. However, Ethan seemed completely unconcerned. Although Uryu was displeased, since Ethan had noticed Masaki's condition early, he must have had a solution.
The facts proved Uryu's judgment was correct. Ethan indeed had a way to deal with it.
His strength was sufficient now, and with his elevated perspective, even the special Hollow named White that Aizen created was merely a cluster of spiritual particles in his eyes. All he had to do was remove the spiritual particles that had invaded Masaki's body.
If it were like Hirako and the others, where the Hollow nature had fully fused with their own spiritual particles, it would have been troublesome.
Masaki's condition had not reached that stage. Moreover, she was human, not a Shinigami composed entirely of spiritual particles. Ethan simply pulled White out of her body. What he was currently playing with was that cluster of spiritual particles representing White.
After listening to the fragmented explanations from Uryu, Kisuke, and Masaki, Isshin finally understood the full situation. Only then did he realize how dangerous it had been.
He turned to look at Ethan, who was still playing with the spiritual particle cluster in his hand. That mass of spiritual particles emitted a black aura with traces of eerie white within. Was that the Hollow that had invaded Masaki?
"Is that it?"
"That's it."
Isshin now had a general understanding, but Uryu was not satisfied. He wanted to know who these people were. He could not sit there eating and drinking like Masaki, as if nothing had happened.
"Who exactly are you?" Uryu stared mainly at Ethan, while regarding Kisuke as someone running errands. "I heard him call you Captain. You're a Soul Reaper too, aren't you?"
Although Ethan did not emit the unique spiritual pressure of a Soul Reaper and seemed like an ordinary ghost, Uryu was not foolish enough to truly treat him as one.
"Used to be."
"Used to be?" Uryu was stunned and glanced at Isshin. This Shinigami dressed differently from the ones he usually saw, clearly a special case, and he had called Ethan Captain. Uryu had assumed Ethan was a high ranking figure in Soul Society. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not a Soul Reaper now. I'm also a wanted criminal in Soul Society."
"Uh..."
Uryu did not expect that answer and did not know how to respond. He looked at Isshin with a strange expression. If Ethan was wanted, why was this Shinigami not arresting him?
Isshin understood his thoughts and explained bitterly, "He used to be my Captain. I can't beat him."
"..."
Such a simple answer that Uryu had not even considered that possibility.
The table fell silent, broken only by the occasional sound of Masaki eating.
Ethan continued playing with White in his hand, occasionally glancing at the others.
According to the original development, after Masaki was invaded by White, Kisuke's solution was to connect Isshin's spiritual power with Masaki's, using his Captain level spiritual power to suppress White.
The price was that Isshin would completely lose his Shinigami powers and even the ability to see Hollows, living only as an ordinary human.
Isshin agreed, and Masaki was saved. She quickly realized he had made a great sacrifice.
Because of that inseparable connection, they eventually became husband and wife and gave birth to Ichigo.
At the same time, White transferred from Masaki into Ichigo, allowing him to possess the powers of Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollow simultaneously.
Now that White had been directly removed by Ethan, Isshin did not need to lose his powers. Could they still get together? Would Ichigo still be born?
As for Aizen's experiment, it could not proceed as planned. If Aizen learned this, would he come from Soul Society and fight Ethan to the death?
"What are you thinking about?"
"Cat. The cat talked."
Isshin already knew the black cat could speak, but Uryu and Masaki did not. When Yoruichi suddenly spoke in her cat form, it startled them.
"..."
Although Uryu appeared cold on the outside, he was hot tempered and straightforward inside, unlike his future self who would hide his thoughts well. To Ethan, this was novel. It was like seeing a young Byakuya making exaggerated expressions and acting immature. The contrast was amusing.
"I was thinking that Isshin might not be able to return to Soul Society."
"What do you mean?"
Isshin had felt relieved when he saw Masaki was safe. If nothing unexpected happened, he would return and continue serving as Captain of the 10th Division.
As for Ethan's situation, he intended to keep it secret. He did not believe the claim that Ethan and Kisuke had betrayed Soul Society to conduct experiments. There had to be a hidden reason.
"Experiment. Could it be?"
Isshin suddenly thought of something and looked at the object in Ethan's hand.
He had been ambushed by a Soul Reaper during the fight. Previous incidents had shown that some Soul Reapers were covering up the truth, which explained why the deaths of those Shinigami had been difficult to investigate. Could this be related to the incident decades ago when several Captains and Lieutenants were attacked and Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Ethan fled?
"Your reaction is still quick."
"Captain, do you know who did all of this?"
"Of course. How could I not know my opponent?" Seeing Isshin's expression, Ethan remembered he did not know who ambushed him. "You don't need to dwell on it. Being injured by that person without preparation is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Who is it?"
"Sosuke Aizen."
"It's him?"
Isshin's expression turned serious as he realized how troublesome this was.
He had thought it was some ordinary individual. He did not expect it to involve a Captain of the Gotei 13. However, that also made sense. An ordinary Shinigami could not force Ethan and Kisuke to flee to the Human World.
"Who is that?"
Uryu and Masaki listened quietly. Even though Isshin and Ethan spoke vaguely, they could grasp the outline. Someone in Soul Society was causing trouble, and that person held a high position.
Neither answered Uryu's question. Isshin already understood why Ethan said he could not return.
"Captain, do you think Aizen will make a move against me?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Ethan placed the object in his hand on the table. "Didn't he already make a move against you?"
(To be continued.)