Suddenly, two Arrancar girls appeared in the sky.
One had bright red hair, the other had blue hair—they looked like twin sisters!
The blue-haired Arrancar glared at Ichigo and shouted,
"Hand over Hitsugaya Tōshirō, or we'll destroy you!"
Ichigo couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
He turned to Hitsugaya.
"Oi, Tōshirō... who the hell are these two brats?"
"Please, Ichigo... I'll explain later!" Hitsugaya replied urgently.
Before Ichigo could ask further, the two girls in the sky, known as the Fire Girl and Thunder Girl, twirled their whips and hurled fireballs and lightning orbs toward him!
Ichigo, still annoyed, roared up at them.
"Can't you see we're talking here?!"
A surge of his overwhelming reiatsu burst forth, instantly disintegrating the incoming fireballs and lightning orbs!
The two Arrancar girls froze in the air, wide-eyed in fear.
"Sister, let's get out of here! This guy is... different!"
"Yeah, let's run! I'm sure the master won't blame us for this!"
The two girls exchanged a glance and fled in terror, their figures disappearing into the sky.
Hitsugaya quickly took off after them, but Ichigo hesitated for a moment. Remembering Hitsugaya's desperate plea earlier, he sighed in frustration.
"Tch... damn it!"
Ichigo reluctantly sheathed his Zanpakutō and decided to contact Soul Society to see if they had any information on this so-called Kusaka.
But as soon as he returned home, he found that Rukia and Senna had just arrived!
Rukia was holding Hitsugaya's captain haori, her expression serious.
"Ichigo, you're back!" Senna called out excitedly upon seeing him.
Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise and relief.
"Perfect timing! I was just about to contact you!"
Rukia glanced up from the haori.
"Ichigo... you have Captain Hitsugaya's haori? Did you see him?"
Ichigo sighed and quickly recounted everything that had just happened.
After finishing, he asked,
"Kusaka. That name... I'm certain that's what Tōshirō said. Do any of you know who that is?"
Rukia, Senna, and Renji exchanged glances, all shaking their heads.
Ichigo rubbed his temples in frustration.
"Great. If none of you know, this just got a lot harder."
Rukia thought for a moment.
"How about this? Renji, take the captain's haori back to Soul Society and ask Matsumoto Rangiku. If anyone would know, it's his lieutenant, right?"
Renji nodded immediately.
"Leave it to me! What about you guys?"
Senna smiled.
"We're heading to Urahara's shop. There's not much Urahara Kisuke doesn't know, right?"
Rukia nodded, and Ichigo clapped his hands.
"Good idea! That sandal-hat bastard is shady as hell, but his intel is top-notch. If anyone knows, it's him."
"Alright, let's split up!"
Without hesitation, Renji returned to Soul Society, while Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna made their way to Urahara's Shop.
At Urahara's Shop...
"Ah, how unfortunate... I don't know anything about this Kusaka person."
Urahara Kisuke shook his fan, looking regretful.
"Even you don't know?" Ichigo frowned.
Urahara sighed.
"I'm not the Soul King, you know. I don't know everything. And besides... Captain Hitsugaya joined the Gotei 13 after I left Soul Society. It's not like I'd know much about him."
He turned to Rukia.
"By the way, Rukia-san, I heard you and Captain Hitsugaya are both from the Rukongai, right? Could you have crossed paths before you joined the Shinigami Academy?"
Rukia shook her head.
"Even though we're both from the Rukongai, we weren't from the same district. The area Renji and I came from was chaotic, but the district Tōshirō came from... it was basically as peaceful as the Seireitei.
Besides, we didn't attend the Academy at the same time, so I really don't know anything about his past."
Urahara scratched his head, clearly out of ideas.
"Well then, I'll see what I can dig up about this Kusaka person."
He rose and headed off to investigate.
Back in Soul Society...
Renji, after a quick word with Kyōraku Shunsui and Ise Nanao, arrived at Matsumoto Rangiku's quarters, where she was being held under house arrest.
Though "house arrest" was a bit generous—it was more like she was just confined to her private room.
Seeing Hitsugaya's haori, Rangiku's face filled with worry, especially when she noticed the bloodstains on it.
Renji quickly explained what had happened in the World of the Living.
"Rangiku, do you know anything about Captain Hitsugaya's time at the Shinigami Academy?"
Rangiku shook her head.
"Even though I'm his lieutenant... and it's because of me that he joined the Academy in the first place... I honestly don't know who he might have met there."
She added,
"Even Hinamori doesn't know what Tōshirō went through during those years!"
Renji sighed.
"Do you know anyone named Kusaka?"
Again, Rangiku shook her head.
Not just her—even Kyōraku Shunsui and Ise Nanao, who were in charge of information, had never heard of such a person.
It was as if... this person didn't exist at all.
Shunsui sighed.
"I'll go check the archives. Maybe I can find something about this Kusaka and his connection to Captain Hitsugaya."
"Thank you, Captain Kyōraku," Rangiku said sincerely.
In the archive room...
Shunsui and Nanao scoured every record, and finally, they found a name listed in the Academy's old enrollment records:
Kusaka Sōjirō.
He had been a classmate of Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
But...
The records showed that this person had died long ago.
Shunsui frowned.
"According to Soul Society protocols, death is determined by the complete disappearance of a person's reiatsu. That means it couldn't have been a faked death...
So if Kusaka Sōjirō is dead, then who is the Kusaka that Tōshirō mentioned?"
Even with a name, they had no clue.
Shunsui told Nanao to head back and rest while he went out for a walk.
But as soon as Shunsui stepped outside the archive building... he noticed someone following him.
Shunsui smiled slightly.
It had been a long time since anyone in Soul Society had been this bold.
He prepared to lay a trap, but as soon as he turned into an alley, a masked figure stood right in front of him.
Shunsui's senses sharpened instantly.
"Who are you?"
The figure's voice was muffled under the mask.
"Who I am doesn't matter. Shunsui Kyōraku... you're going to die.
And it will be under the blade of a Tenth Division Zanpakutō."
The figure's words sent a chill through Shunsui.
But what happened next shocked him even more.
The figure's Zanpakutō released a burst of freezing ice!
Not only that—the reiatsu emanating from the ice... was Hyōrinmaru's!
Shunsui's eyes widened in disbelief, though he quickly dodged the attack.
His floral haori was frozen solid, but he avoided injury.
Gripping his own Zanpakutō, Shunsui prepared to counterattack.
But when the masked figure's mask cracked slightly, Shunsui's eyes widened in shock.
"It's... you!"
But before he could react further, the Ōken on the figure's body began to glow!
"Ice Dragon—Hyōrinmaru!"
A familiar voice rang out, and a massive purple ice dragon surged forward, far surpassing the power Tōshirō could ever produce!
This... this was the true power of Hyōrinmaru, a level that could rival Ryūjin Jakka itself!
Even someone like Shunsui—one of the most powerful captains—was caught off guard and frozen in an instant!
How could he have anticipated that someone could wield Hyōrinmaru's power to such an extent?!
Meanwhile...
As Hitsugaya chased after the two Arrancar girls, he left some traces behind.
Kira Izuru and Shūhei Hisagi, along with a team of Shinigami, quickly surrounded him.
Honestly, Tōshirō had no intention of fighting them—this was all meaningless to him.
But Kira and Hisagi were relentless, forcing him to engage.
"Captain Hitsugaya, please return with us immediately!"
"No. I have my own mission."
"Then we have no choice but to take you in by force!"
Everyone knew Hitsugaya was a prodigy, a genius who became a captain at a young age.
But that also meant... he was the weakest among the captains.
Although his Hyōrinmaru was the most powerful ice-type Zanpakutō, Tōshirō's own spiritual pressure hadn't yet reached the level required to fully unleash its potential.
Faced with two incoming blades, Tōshirō casually deflected them, then said coldly,
"Step aside."
Kira narrowed his eyes.
"And if we don't?"
Tōshirō's gaze sharpened.
"Then be prepared to die."
With just two strikes, Kira and Hisagi were sent flying.
Hisagi even dropped his Zanpakutō from the impact!
"Bakudō 62: Hyapporankan!"
As Hisagi tried to stand, he cast the spell at Tōshirō.
"Hmph... you're not worth my time."
"Sit upon the frosted heavens—Hyōrinmaru!"
With just his Shikai, Tōshirō knocked down the entire pursuit squad!
Ichigo sensed the disturbance, but by the time he arrived, Tōshirō had vanished again.
Left with no other option, Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna returned home, waiting to see if Soul Society had uncovered any new information.
What they learned left them stunned:
Kyōraku Shunsui had been attacked and injured!
Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna were all shocked—if there was anyone in Soul Society who seemed untouchable, it was Kyōraku Shunsui.
He was the top student of Yamamoto Genryūsai, and Ichigo had never once seen him at full power, nor had he ever seen him in a truly desperate situation.
For Shunsui to be injured... it was hard to believe.
"I'm going to Soul Society. I need to know exactly what happened."
Ichigo said to Rukia and Senna.
Both nodded, and the three of them leapt out of the Kurosaki house.
But the moment they appeared...
Massive fireballs rained down on them!
Rukia reacted instantly.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
"First Dance, White Moon!"
Ice pillars surged upward, freezing the incoming fireballs with ease.
Ichigo glanced at the two Arrancar who had attacked him and Tōshirō before.
"Be careful. It's those two again."
Senna and Rukia exchanged glances.
"Shroud the night, Mirokumaru!"
Senna also released her Zanpakutō.
But this time, it wasn't just the two Arrancar.
The masked figure who had ambushed Kyōraku Shunsui also appeared before Ichigo.
"So you're the one Tōshirō was after?" Ichigo asked coldly, staring at the masked figure.
The figure said nothing—he simply drew his Zanpakutō and unleashed a terrifying aura.
"Sit upon the frosted heavens—Hyōrinmaru!"
A massive purple ice dragon roared toward Ichigo, identical in form to Hitsugaya Tōshirō's Hyōrinmaru!
(End of Chapter)
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