"Something's wrong."
The office of the Third Division's captain still carried the lingering scent of his predecessor's sweet perfume. On his fourth day as the new captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya frowned as he studied the report before him.
That was the beginning of it all.
"What?! Just now... by myself?!"
"Yeah! I'll be back in two days, so take care of tomorrow's work!"
As soon as he saw the report, he left the 10th Division headquarters for an investigation. The report stated that several squad members had lost their lives in the World of the Living, which fell under his division's jurisdiction, due to damage caused by Hollows. The two of them had been working in pairs and had strengthened their vigilance, but there were reports of incidents where the spiritual pressure of two squad members vanished simultaneously, suggesting that the enemy was beyond the capabilities of squad members below lieutenant rank.
Staring at the captain's retreating figure as he turned his back on the gate, Fuyushiro realized that the culprit behind this incident was an entity that even he and his lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, who was making a commotion beside him, could not handle.
Surprisingly, the captain returned from the human world just two days after the uneasy atmosphere began to spread. The expression on his face showed relief, joy, and brightness. It seemed he had experienced something extraordinary, but he did not share the details with Fuyushiro or the others.
And the next day, Captain Shiba Isshin of the 10th Division disappeared from Soul Society.
Naruki City
One of the candidates for the current major spiritual site being analyzed by Aizen Sosuke's faction, it had been prepared as an experimental site for a major plan over the past four years. Several members of the former Gotei 13 captains, including the enigmatic Hirako Shinji, had been confirmed in the surrounding area, and the plan also aimed to uncover the whereabouts of Urahara Kisuke, the former 12th Division captain believed to be supporting them.
"Final confirmation complete. We can begin at any time."
Three men dressed in black gathered at a secret observation facility in a corner of Naruki City. As they stared at the footage, a new figure joined them.
"Good work. You really put your heart into it this time. I'm looking forward to it."
"I used all my knowledge and experience to create White. All that's left is your plan."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you both, but this isn't going to be a spectacular show. I just want to lay two large groundwork pieces and a few smaller ones."
The two men, Ichimaru Gin and Tosen Kaname, spoke, and the small figure lowered the hood of her spiritual pressure-concealing cloak, looking embarrassed. Revealed was a girl with a delicate, childlike face and flowing, lustrous black hair. But this girl, who seemed so out of place, was none other than the mastermind behind this horrific human experiment and the person responsible for its planning: Momo Hinamori.
The most powerful person in the room smiled magnanimously at her as she joined the others staring at the screen.
"Then show me, Momo. The path you will lead this world down."
At the command of the transcendent being who had forced everyone to kneel, Aizen Sosuke, the girl responded with a delicate smile.
It was night. In the cold rain of Naruki City, a single Hollow descended.
Its designation: White.
Created by feeding the souls of countless Soul Reapers to the poison of thirteen high-ranking Soul Reapers who had been turned into Hollows by the Hogyoku, it was the ultimate experimental subject of Aizen's faction. Though it possessed combat prowess capable of matching a Gotei 13 captain alone, its true value lay in its ability to "Hollowify targets."
It transformed unstable parasitic Hollows into mature forms, and during parasitism, it consumed the target's soul itself, elevating their spirit to a higher dimension—an ability that transcended the laws of this world.
"But even experiments on degraded specimens resulted in soul suicide, even for a third-seat member of the Gotei. I can't imagine that completed form, especially against a Quincy, the Hollow's natural enemy, could withstand it."
Ichimaru Gin tilted his head in confusion. Unlike Tosen, who was an expert, he was recalling the failure from eighty years ago.
However, the young girl in charge showed no signs of distress.
"Hinamori is trying to eliminate the flaws by pushing the target onto Urahara Kisuke."
"Pushing it onto Urahara Kisuke?"
Ichimaru's eyes widened at the outlandish suggestion. Urahara Kisuke was the target he had been searching for. It was speculated that he was moving between various historical sites of spiritual significance, and they had chosen Naruki City, an important candidate for the current era, as an experimental site to confirm his whereabouts.
Assuming that Urahara was in this area, the plan was to exploit his goodwill and use his advanced technology to prevent the target's soul from committing suicide. It was a reckless gamble that defied logic.
"Hmm, that would be amazing if it actually worked."
Ichimaru couldn't help but glance at his superior beside him. He had hoped for some kind of reaction, but the man was staring at the spiritual pressure reaction screen around the observation facility.
"As I thought, he's here."
The man, Aizen Sosuke, smiled deeply. Following the cold smile, Ichimaru shifted his gaze to the secondary screen in the video room and saw a red dot labeled "Shiba Isshin" floating over the map of Naruki City.
"Why is the 10th Division Captain in the living world? I didn't hear anything about that at today's captains' meeting."
"So that's why he's been relentlessly attacking the squad members here all this time."
"Did he rush here without even using a Spirit Seal for his subordinates? That's not something a captain should do..."
Despite being startled by the high spiritual pressure readings, Ichimaru couldn't help but admire him. That man, Shiba Isshin, was a bold and compassionate member of the Shiba clan, and the 10th Division under his command was responsible for this area of Naruki City.
Everything was part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Hinamori glanced sideways and looked amused.
In the video, Shiba and White collided violently. Realizing the difference in their fighting abilities after one exchange, the Soul Reaper began to attack with his Shikai, but he was struggling against the dance of the Hollow and the scythe claws on both arms. When spiritual pressure is similar, the number of techniques is a major factor in determining the outcome of a battle.
"Hinamori, what are you going to use that man for? Surely not for combat data at this point?"
"No, we're also collecting data. We're already pushing him pretty hard, and if we can see Captain Shiba's flame-based Bankai, it should be useful for researching countermeasures against the Captain-Commander's Ryujin Jakka. It's part of our strategy."
"I see, that's clever."
After Tosen nodded in agreement, Shiba finally activated his Bankai as the girl had wished.
Enveloped in intense flames, his form resembled a flame spirit. Leaving a trail of red light like a comet, he attacked from all directions, severing one of White's arms. Now White was in danger. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before he was defeated.
"Maybe I went a bit too far."
"Even the captain's Bankai is too much to handle."
"No, it's White..."
Tosen, who had stood up from his chair to retrieve the experimental subject before it was killed, turned around involuntarily at Hinamori's words. Before he could ask her what she meant, she muttered, "Seal it later..." and activated something with the auxiliary device she had taken out of her pocket.
Weaponry Unit 2, activate
Immediately afterward, a flash of light erupted from White's severed arm. It flew straight toward Shiba Isshin. Trapped by the light piercing his lower body, the Soul Reaper was immobilized, unable to move.
"This is Szayelaporro's weapon. It's a restraining weapon that detects the spiritual pressure of Soul Reapers and tracks them. I had them reference the spiritual information of my data."
"Huh, that's an interesting toy. Did you have that spider woman named Loly make it?"
"I think so. Loly is very talented, so I want to transfer her to this research facility. Szayelaporro seems to have grown tired of her abilities, so maybe I can negotiate with him..."
Former subordinate officer Loly Aivirrne. Over two hundred years ago, Szayelaporro created her as an artificial Hollow based on the Bankai of the eighth generation Kenpachi. She is capable of sharing spiritual information using Anti-Hierro threads, and several of these Anti-Hierro-replicated binding weapons were implanted into White's body as countermeasures against Shiba Isshin.
"Hinamori. The explanation is fine, but White is going to kill Captain Shiba."
"Oh, really?"
The terrifying ability of the Hollows, said to be able to separate worlds. White was gleefully tormenting the defenseless Shiba Isshin. As the battle turned in the opposite direction as Tosen had warned, one of the main characters was about to disappear.
But at that moment.
"So that's how it is."
Aizen Sosuke, who had been watching the surrounding spiritual pressure reaction screen, laughed.
The name displayed was Kurosaki Masaki. The main target of this experiment.
His lips curled upward, his eyes wide open. The man, with a vicious grin on his face, stared at the girl standing beside him, who was smiling broadly, with eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Aizen was the only one who understood. He grasped the meaning behind the series of events she was orchestrating and the path to the future she was pulling toward.
"Voooooahhhhh!!"
Suddenly, the white figure on the screen let out a roar and leaped into the air. With blinding speed, a new character, Kurosaki Masaki, joined the battle between the two. Despite being terrified by the hideous monster, the young pure-blooded Quincy student bravely fought back with her spirit bow. However, the Hollow would not allow itself to be held back and closed the distance in an instant.
And just as White bit into the target's neck,
"Got you!"
The spirit arrow held in one hand was fired at the unguarded head of the experimental subject.
Without hesitation, Tosen zoomed in on the image, and everyone watched the two figures overlapping. The true purpose of the experiment began here: parasitizing the pure-blooded Quincy to turn the target into a Hollow. If it failed, White would continue the battle. But if it succeeded...
"Self-destruction mode activated, success!"
"No, not yet!"
Ignoring the cheers, Hinamori activated her device again and issued commands to the various mechanisms embedded in the experimental subject.
All weapons, self-destruct
As the swollen White exploded, a distant sound of something shattering echoed. Then, just as something flashed across the edge of the screen, the video room was engulfed in the light of the explosion...
In the restored footage, the back of a man in a captain's haori shielding a female student was visible.
"Phew."
Ichimaru heard the relieved sigh of the girl next to him. At the same time, Tosen relaxed his tension, and everyone's attention shifted to the responsible party, Hinamori.
"What's up, Momo? Those two seem to have a good vibe, but wasn't what you wanted to do be the Cupid between the Soul Reaper and the Quincy?"
"More importantly, Urahara Kisuke. If that man doesn't show up, everything will be for nothing."
"Yeah, we don't have time to play matchmaker between enemies."
Hinamori Momo's plan moved to the next phase. The girl, who had tightened her resolve once more, seemed to be worried about something other than her comrades' concerns.
"I have some errands to run. I think Urahara Kisuke will appear when that person activates their Hollowfication. Please continue monitoring them."
"Wait, Momo? Ah, she's gone."
Hinamori, wearing a white Soul Reaper uniform and carrying strange devices and objects she had taken out of a box, left the observation facility. Ichimaru, watching her back with a troubled expression, swallowed hard, thinking about the series of coincidences she had caused today.
Karakura Town
A town recently famous for its strange incidents, popular among occult enthusiasts. Its true nature was a geyser of spiritual energy that shifted every few decades to a century, known as a "heavy spiritual site." In this land where many people with high spiritual power, either innate or acquired, were born, a man had made his home.
His name was Urahara Kisuke.
He was the former captain of the 12th Division of the Gotei 13 and the director of the Research and Development Institute, who had been exiled from his homeland after being falsely accused of a crime in Soul Society. With his exceptional intellect, he had created numerous inventions and was now tackling a century-old challenge.
Hollowfication.
This was an ambitious attempt to elevate a soul to a higher dimension by infusing it with a Hollow soul and destroying the boundary between the two souls. However, this dangerously unstable process typically resulted in the subject becoming a monstrous creature driven mad by the mingling of their own soul and the Hollow's soul. Ultimately, it destroyed the boundary between the soul and the outside world, leading to soul suicide. This scheme defying the laws of this world was not a technology that could be controlled by human hands.
And on that day, the genius was trying to save a patient.
"I will tell you how to save that child."
Two young men were arguing while holding an unconscious female student. One was a Soul Reaper, the other a Quincy. Despite their unusual combination, both cared deeply for the girl, Kurosaki Masaki, and were struggling to find a way to save her.
Urahara led them to his secret laboratory at his home. There, he pointed to the only hope for one of the two young men. It was a final, desperate measure that would require a great sacrifice.
"I understand. I'll do it."
But the response was immediate.
Urahara was astonished by the man who had made the decision to abandon his glory, power, and entire life without a moment's hesitation: Shiba Isshin, the captain of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13. Though he acknowledged his lingering regrets, he chose to save the girl's life. He knew that the man he once was, who had abandoned his benefactor out of attachment, would mock him tomorrow...
"I will save her."
Thus began the task of connecting the souls of the girl, the Quincy Masaki, and the Soul Reaper Isshin, whose existence was diametrically opposed, using their self-made artificial bodies. If the principle was that the souls would saturate and explode due to the infused soul suicide, then the opposite force could prevent the collapse.
That was the plan.
"What the hell is this Hollow...!"
While analyzing Masaki's soul with the barely intact spiritual equipment, Urahara sweated profusely in desperation. A fierce spiritual pressure storm raged around the room, and the white Hollow matter spewing from the patient's mouth had already covered most of her face.
This is impossible. The Soul Reaper connected to Masaki's artificial body, Shiba Isshin, was a captain of the Gotei 13. A soul with the highest spiritual pressure, whose existence could not be suppressed. Urahara turned pale at the toxicity, which was on a different level from the eight patients he had treated before.
The terrifying image of the Hollow he had heard about from Isshin flashed through his mind. Looking back, he thought it was like fighting a Vasto Lorde-class Hollow, and the genius gasped in disbelief.
If this situation was not accidental, then the true power of that Hollow was the ability to "parasitize and forcefully Hollowfy the one it bites."
A Quincy who had been parasitized by a higher-ranked Hollow to the point of forcing a captain to use his Bankai. Imagining the fate of such a Quincy, Urahara bit his lip in helplessness.
At that moment, a massive spiritual pressure suddenly flew toward him from behind.
"Activate."
The technique was too powerful. Urahara tried to close the distance with Flash Step, but it was too late, and he was captured by the intruder's preemptive strike.
The technique used was a yellow light barrier. Recognizing it as something similar to the Negacion used by Hollows, he readied his Zanpakuto and faced the opponent through the barrier.
"Hello, Urahara Kisuke."
The figure was a petite woman.
She wore white Soul Reaper robes and bore the mask of a Hollow. There should have been another Quincy youth outside, but how had she managed to deceive his eyes? Urahara acknowledged the shocking fact that the enemy had infiltrated his base and desperately tried to remain calm while searching for a way to escape.
"Who are you, young lady?"
"Yes, then call me 'The Bookworm.'"
A being who couldn't be sensed through spiritual pressure... no, likely a spirit entity housed in a special artificial body. Her voice, distorted by powerful perception-blocking techniques, was complex, and aside from sounding quite young, nothing else could be discerned.
"You don't seem like the type who enjoys reading, though."
"I do. I often read regular books in my free time, but I prefer things that aren't just a string of words."
"You seem to enjoy riddles despite your youth."
The woman chuckled, "That's right."
She was an unsettling figure.
Her appearance clearly linked her to the recent patient, Kurosaki Masaki, and the entity that had parasitized her, yet for some reason, he felt no hostility toward her. It wasn't the arrogance of someone confident in the barrier trapping him either.
"So, what do you want from me, bookworm?"
"I came here to negotiate with Urahara about how to handle the Hollow entity White that's inhabiting Kurosaki Masaki."
"!"
As expected. Urahara carefully hid his surprise while heightening his vigilance, waiting for the woman to speak.
But she said nothing and slowly pulled a strange object from her pocket.
"Please place this inside Shiba Isshin's artificial body. It will allow the power of the Soul Reaper to be channeled more efficiently into Kurosaki Masaki's soul."
"What...!"
Urahara finally dropped his calm facade. The technique of controlling Hollowfication was something he had specialized in for years. However, this woman not only understood the technique perfectly but also already had the necessary items to solve the problem.
"Do you really believe me?"
"Is that so? Then there's no choice."
When he tried to intimidate her, the woman reacted unexpectedly. She quickly gave up on negotiation and approached Masaki on her own. She didn't seem to be affected by the chaotic spiritual pressure.
When asked what she intended to do, she replied, "I know what I'm doing," and began to integrate the object into the part of Isshin's artificial body where the chains were connected. She seemed to have considerable experience and was very skilled.
"...!"
"Success."
Immediately, the rampaging spiritual pressure of Masaki began to calm down.
What was needed in a dialogue between technicians was not words but results. Establishing a spiritual connection that bridged physical distance was not an easy technique, and witnessing it greatly altered the credibility of this entire situation.
Judging from the fact that the situation was stabilizing, it seemed that Masaki could indeed be saved.
"What's the price?"
The question was asked out of pride as a technician. Given enough time, he could have prepared the necessary equipment himself. But it was that woman who had saved Masaki here. Even if it was a setup, he had refused the deal she had offered.
"Confidentiality. After about ten years, even White will calm down, but until then, please keep it a secret from everyone."
"That's a pretty vague deadline. Well, I understand."
Urahara couldn't gauge the other person's true intentions behind such a demand that couldn't even be called a price. Was it atonement for past sins, or was she simply performing her job mechanically? Either way, the initial impression of her as a villain had faded.
"Don't go digging around too much, or it'll break, you know? I understand how you feel, but that device is one of a kind, so please take care of it."
"Wow, you're quite the bookworm, aren't you? Why not change your name to 'Mind Reader'?"
"No way, that's too suspicious. You'd be the butt of jokes for the rest of your life."
The girl laughed in disbelief, hugging her shoulders. Urahara felt an indescribable sense of unease at her expression.
Despite being a complete stranger, she approached him with an odd familiarity, as if they were old friends. Yet, there was a hint of innocent malice, as if she was enjoying the situation, making her seem like someone whose core was fundamentally different from that of a normal person.
"This incident is your doing, isn't it? Why did you do this?"
"Because it was necessary. For this world."
Despite his resolve to ask the core question, the response was abstract. However, it didn't feel like she was trying to evade the question. Her voice was calm, as if she truly believed what she was saying.
If he trusted his instincts, this girl wasn't lying at all. The device was genuinely meant to save Masaki, and there must have been some unavoidable circumstances behind the heinous crime. At least, she didn't seem to have any clear intention of being an enemy.
Of course, he couldn't think of her as an ally either.
"Then, until we meet again."
With those words, the girl released the barrier with a flash of light. When his vision cleared, she was nowhere to be seen, and Urahara let out a sigh of frustration.
He suddenly thought.
If that girl's Hollowfication technique originated from the great evil of destiny, Aizen Sosuke...
"We need to reevaluate our combat strength estimates."
While rejoicing over the success of the treatment and smiling at Masaki, Urahara trembled inwardly at the sheer magnitude of the enemy whose end was nowhere in sight.
***
"That Quincy really survived."
"I never thought it would go this smoothly..."
Three men and a girl stared at the screen. Hinamori Momo, who had returned from some errand, appeared with a beaming smile and opened a bag of sweets.
Her smile, as bright as a flower in full bloom, signaled that the entire plan had been successfully completed.
"Well, it's time for us to move forward with our plan."
The relaxed atmosphere froze at Aizen's single statement. His eyes, filled with dark joy, scanned each of his three comrades.
"We've located Urahara Kisuke's whereabouts. Hirako Shinji and the others will be found soon as well. Everything is now in our hands."
At the king's laughter, Ichimaru couldn't help but hold his breath. The embodiment of wisdom, having concluded all possible scenarios, had finally made his decision.
"The execution of our plan..."
Glaring at the former Soul Reaper and Quincy couple gazing affectionately at each other on the screen, Aizen Sosuke declared.
"Twenty years later."
***
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