Lin Xuan passed through as if the place were empty, descending the stairs until he reached a room.
No one was inside. The furnishings were simple—a low table held a pipe and a white porcelain sake bottle. Two scrolls hung on the wall, bearing the characters for "The weak" and "are meat."
"Right place. I'll rest here for now."
Lin Xuan knew he'd found what he was looking for and walked in.
He wasn't fond of sitting seiza-style. With a wave of his hand, a sofa and coffee table appeared. He settled onto the sofa.
He had no particular urge to seek out the master of the house just yet.
With some rare free time, he began studying this world's power system from his seat.
This world had reishi—spirit particles. Shinigami absorbed reishi from their surroundings and converted it into spiritual power to unleash their abilities.
Shinigami combat had four fundamental disciplines: Hakuda, Zanjutsu, Kidō, and Hohō.
Hakuda was unarmed hand-to-hand combat. Hohō was flash step—the most famous practitioner being Yoruichi Shihōin, the "Flash Goddess."
Zanjutsu covered techniques performed with a Zanpakutō, including Shikai and Bankai—unique to each wielder.
Kidō referred to advanced Shinigami spells, divided into Hadō, Bakudō, and Healing Kidō. Chanting unleashed devastating power—the higher the number, the stronger the effect.
When he'd used Edo Tensei on Rukia Kuchiki back in the Naruto world, Lin Xuan had already exchanged a "Universal Copy Card" from the system shop and copied her skills.
So he'd long since mastered the ability to absorb reishi—he just hadn't had time to try it until now.
"Good. Let's see how this goes."
Lin Xuan could clearly sense the reishi around him. He focused his mind and began drawing them into his body.
In that instant, his body became like a black hole. A powerful suction erupted, pulling reishi from every direction into him.
The reishi converted rapidly into spiritual power inside Lin Xuan. A formidable reiatsu burst from his body, growing at a terrifying rate.
Most buildings in the Soul Society were constructed from reishi.
Under Lin Xuan's frenzied absorption, the surrounding structures grew unstable. Walls, floors, and ceilings began to crumble, dissolving back into reishi that streamed toward him.
In another room, two women sat at a low table in conversation.
One wore a white headband and a red bodysuit embroidered with a swirling vortex pattern. The character for "sky" was tattooed on her left arm; her right arm was a prosthetic.
She was the foremost pyrotechnician of Rukongai, current head of the Shiba family, and mistress of this house—Kūkaku Shiba.
Across from her sat a woman with purple hair tied in a ponytail, golden eyes, and brown skin—the "Flash Goddess" herself, Yoruichi Shihōin.
The two were close friends. But their conversation had hit a deadlock.
Yoruichi had come to ask Kūkaku to help her break into the Seireitei and rescue Rukia Kuchiki.
After learning Rukia was scheduled for execution, Kisuke Urahara had asked Yoruichi to return to the Soul Society and stop it.
Unlike the original timeline, Rukia didn't know Ichigo Kurosaki yet—so Urahara didn't know him either.
This time, Yoruichi had come to the Soul Society alone.
Rescuing Rukia from the Seireitei by herself was nearly impossible.
That was why she'd sought out Kūkaku—for help.
But Kūkaku hated the Shinigami. Her older brother Kaien Shiba had died by Rukia's blade—though only because Kaien was on the verge of Hollowfication and had begged Rukia to kill him.
Still, the idea of saving Rukia now left her deeply conflicted.
Their talk had stalled completely.
Kūkaku's younger brother Ganju sat in the corner, head down, not daring to interject.
There was no room for him here. Whether it was his sister Kūkaku or Yoruichi Shihōin—both had overwhelming presence.
After a long silence, Yoruichi sighed. "Kūkaku, I really need your help."
"Let me think about it some more." Kūkaku was torn.
What she was really weighing was whether risking the Shiba family was worth it.
Breaking into the Seireitei to save someone—even if they succeeded—the Soul Society would likely leave the Shiba clan no place to live.
It wasn't that her bond with Yoruichi wasn't deep enough.
If Yoruichi herself were the one captured, Kūkaku wouldn't hesitate for a second.
But the person they were trying to save wasn't Yoruichi—and Yoruichi would be risking herself too. That was what truly held her back.
"Fine. I won't force you. But at least help me get into the Seireitei," Yoruichi said.
Kūkaku nodded. Just as she was about to speak, her face changed abruptly.
Boom!
An overwhelming reiatsu erupted. The entire house shook violently. The surrounding walls suddenly shattered.
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T/N:
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