Nozomi flash stepped to Ichigo's side and knelt down to check the two wounded Shinigami.
"These wounds were caused by a Hollow. Better let Orihime handle it—her powers are more suited for healing."
Ichigo nodded, and Orihime came running over quickly to treat the two.
Rukia muttered in exasperation,
"Captain Ukitake keeps sending weaker and weaker Shinigami. He really has turned Karakura Town into Soul Society's training grounds."
Senna, perched on a nearby rooftop, laughed.
"Well, Karakura's defense force is overpowered. If I were Captain Ukitake, I'd probably do the same."
Loly pouted.
"Still, fighting Hollows every day is so boring…"
Ichigo waved it off.
"Whatever. Let's just take them back to my place. Geez… what do they think I am?"
At the Kurosaki Household
Things had changed.
With more girls moving in—and Nel and her companions staying over—Ichigo's family had bought out both neighboring houses.
Rukia, Saigo, and Nozomi now lived next door.
After all, the Kurosaki house was still a functioning clinic, and often took in patients.
On the other side lived Nel's trio.
Though recently, her two Fracción had returned to Hueco Mundo for duties, possibly catching some business opportunity or dealing with instability.
Since Aizen's defeat, Hueco Mundo's strength had plummeted.
Even though Ulquiorra, Harribel, Grimmjow, and Yammy remained—
They were still a shadow of the previous Espada.
To maintain the realm's stability, Nel occasionally had to return and take charge.
Ichigo wasn't thrilled about it—
But for the sake of the balance between the three worlds, even Nel couldn't refuse.
The Next Day
Rukia left early with Senna and Nozomi—storming off to complain to Ukitake Jūshirō.
The Shinigami sent this time were ridiculously weak.
A single regular Hollow nearly killed them.
Even with Rukia's group watching over them, things could've ended badly.
Meanwhile, Orihime and Tatsuki came to Ichigo's house to visit the two injured Shinigami.
Isshin no longer tried to hide anything—though Yuzu remained clueless.
As the middle sister, she was the only one who didn't know what Ichigo was really doing.
Karin, on the other hand… well, blame Tōshirō Hitsugaya for that.
Hitsugaya: "Can you please stop dragging me into this!?"
Seeing Orihime and Tatsuki arrive, Ichigo smiled.
"Good timing. They just woke up. Hey, what were their names again?"
Before the two could answer, a sudden spike of reiatsu surged behind Ichigo!
"Allow me to answer that!"
A red-haired man stood confidently in the room.
"I am Äs Nödt von Ebern!"
He wore a pristine white uniform and oozed arrogance.
But Ichigo didn't even flinch.
"I don't care who you are. Just get off my bed."
"No. I refuse." Von Ebern said smugly.
Ichigo didn't have the patience.
Roundhouse Kick!
He sent the guy flying out the window with a single kick.
Orihime kindly opened the window for him.
She's definitely the kind of girl who hands you the knife when you're setting the house on fire.
Everyone else?
They didn't lift a finger to help.
Their logic was simple:
If Ichigo couldn't beat him, they definitely couldn't either.
So with Uryū and Chad in the lead, they just kept eating their bread in peace.
The two new Shinigami looked on in utter disbelief, clinging to each other as they stared around the room.
Downstairs, Yuzu and Karin didn't even glance up.
They were already used to Ichigo's nonsense.
Outside
Ichigo, now in Shinigami form, followed the intruder outside.
He noticed something odd—a Hollow mask on the man's shoulder.
"You're an Arrancar?"
Ichigo was confused.
Aizen was imprisoned. The only person who could still create Arrancar… was Urahara.
And there was no way Kisuke would keep that a secret.
But then, Von Ebern got offended.
"I'm not an Arrancar!"
He revealed a bracelet from under his sleeve.
Ichigo's eyes widened.
Though the design differed slightly, it was unmistakably similar to Uryū's Quincy pendant.
"A Quincy?!"
But… how could a Quincy have a mask like that?
As Ichigo pondered, Von Ebern raised a massive weapon—
Though he called it a bow, it looked more like a cannon.
He laughed darkly, and fired white Hollow-like blasts toward Ichigo!
Ichigo slashed them all in half with ease.
But Von Ebern didn't stop.
He kept launching volleys of attacks with his oversized bow.
Ichigo dodged them effortlessly.
This… wasn't like any Quincy he'd seen before.
"What's wrong, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Von Ebern taunted.
"Is dodging all you can do? Show me your Bankai! I'm not someone you can defeat so easily!"
Ichigo narrowed his eyes.
"You want me to use my Bankai? Why?"
"Can he… disable it somehow?"
He wasn't too concerned—
This game of cat and mouse was starting to bore him.
"Fine. As you wish—Bankai!"
But just then, Von Ebern pulled out a circular device.
"Got you."
It transformed into a black cross that covered the sky, unleashing pillars of dark light that trapped Ichigo.
A ritual began.
"Dissolve. Let the sea become cloud, the cloud become rain, and the rain become rot. Let all form fade into formlessness. Let the chalice fall, and let joy end!
Your power… is mine."
Ichigo's Bankai shihakushō began to melt.
But instead of panicking—Ichigo smiled.
"HRAAAHH!!"
Getsuga Tenshō!
He swung Tensa Zangetsu.
The binding light beams were instantly shattered!
"Enough of this nonsense!"
His black Getsuga smashed into Von Ebern—
burning half his body in a single strike!
The man howled in pain and disbelief.
"WHY?! Why hasn't your Bankai vanished?!"
Ichigo flash stepped behind him.
"What do you mean… 'vanished'?"
He placed his blade at Von Ebern's throat.
"I wasn't interested in you before…
But now I've got a lot of questions. You're coming with me."
He reached out—
But just then, a shadow blocked his path.
Von Ebern smirked.
"Relax. This shadow only hides those who are chosen."
And with that, the darkness wrapped around him—
And he vanished from Karakura Town.
Even Ichigo had never seen such an ability.
But Von Ebern's mask and twisted demeanor revealed his true allegiance.
Hueco Mundo?
No…
"Could he be from Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo muttered.
But… why would a Hollow have Quincy powers?
After all, Hollows and Quincies were natural enemies.
Shinigami merely purify Hollows—
But Quincies erase them completely.
Meanwhile, in Soul Society
The Research and Development Bureau noticed something terrifying:
The number of Hollows across the world was plummeting.
Every second, another was being wiped out—by unknown forces.
Vice-Chief Akon immediately reported it to Mayuri.
Both were deeply disturbed.
If this continued, the balance of the three realms would collapse.
And then… an incident occurred in Rukongai.
The 64th District of West Rukongai—Shinkyoumen
Its entire population vanished overnight.
The Eleventh Division dispatched Ikkaku (3rd Seat) and Yumichika (5th Seat) to investigate.
They found nothing but footprints.
Two types only: barefoot and straw sandals.
And they all led to a single point—
Then stopped.
"They were gathered here… and vanished with some ability." Yumichika deduced quickly.
This couldn't have been done by Hollows.
If Hollows attacked, people would scatter—not leave neat footprints.
So… who had the power to do this undetected?
Squad 1 Barracks
A group of white-robed, masked intruders appeared in the Captain-Commander's quarters.
Not Yamamoto's room—he'd retired to teach at Shin'ō Academy.
This was Unohana Yachiru's domain now.
"Oh?"
She looked at them with cold amusement.
"To think anyone could sneak past me into this room…"
The lead intruder stepped forward.
"Greetings, Captain-Commander Unohana. We are here to deliver a declaration of war."
His tone was polite—
But his words were venom.
"And frankly, I'm disappointed.
This room—supposedly the most secure in Soul Society—was laughably easy to infiltrate.
Your security is pathetic."
Unohana didn't flinch.
"No need to worry.
I am the security."
The intruder scowled.
"I didn't expect the new Captain-Commander to be such an arrogant woman!"
Elsewhere: Shin'ō Academy
Yamamoto Genryūsai and his former Lieutenant, Sasakibe Chōjirō, were also attacked by these same white-clad enemies.
BOOM!
But their target… was Sasakibe.
Why?
It went back to a tragedy one thousand years ago—
During the war between Soul Society and Yhwach.
Yamamoto led the original Gotei 13 into battle.
Besides Unohana, one other veteran survived that war—
Sasakibe Chōjirō.
He had played a critical role in that conflict.
He'd hidden inside the corpses of fallen Quincy—
And ambushed Yhwach during the final battle.
His Bankai had paralyzed the enemy,
allowing Yamamoto to land the killing blow.
That moment was the true reason Yhwach lost.
So now—
Yhwach wanted revenge.
But he hadn't known Yamamoto and Sasakibe had retired.
His plan to ambush Chōjirō failed.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked Squad 1!
The Quincy enemy looked Unohana in the eye.
"In five days, Soul Society will be annihilated by the Wandenreich—the Invisible Empire."
"Not that it matters. I'm sure you've already guessed who we are."
"Farewell."
They turned to leave—
But Unohana was never going to let that happen.
"You think you can come and go as you please?
What do you take this place for?"
Her blade flashed—ready to cut them down.
But in that moment, a shadow whisked them away.
(End of Chapter)
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