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Currently at chapter 131
The goal had been achieved.
Remaining in Soul Society was no longer wise.
Kanbaru didn't use the illicit Senkaimon that Kurotsuchi Mayuri had constructed in secret. Instead, he returned to the Wandenreich—the shadow realm of the Quincy—by invoking the Quincy shadow migration technique, something only pure-blooded Quincy could wield freely.
From there, he passed through the Invisible Empire's veil, emerging discreetly back into the Human World.
This roundabout route ensured no spiritual traces remained. Not Soul Society's surveillance. Not Urahara's. Not even Yhwach's.
He was clean.
Back at his house in Karakura Town, Kanbaru quietly shut the front door. His gaze drifted.
Behind him, from the still shadows near the hallway, a black cat emerged—its golden eyes gleaming with intelligence, fixed directly on him.
"Yoruichi."
Kanbaru sighed and stepped forward, lifting the feline into his arms.
She didn't resist.
He carried her into the room and closed the door behind them.
But when he turned around—
His pupils contracted.
"Hey—can you not change so suddenly?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Standing there—no longer a cat—was Shihouin Yoruichi, completely transformed, stretching as if nothing had happened.
"Yo~ What's with the overreaction? It's not like you haven't seen it before."
"You still can't just pop out of cat-form like that! You caught me completely off guard, damn it!"
"Then maybe try blinking while yelling at me?" she teased with a mischievous smile. "You're lecturing me while your eyes are glued wide open. Kinda sends mixed signals~"
"I was correcting you," Kanbaru said stiffly, trying his best to maintain a straight face.
(Too close! Is this what they mean by a full-frontal ambush?!)
Yoruichi tilted her head slightly, the smugness radiating from her posture.
Then, with a flick of her hair, she grinned.
"Oh, is that why you're gawking? If you're done 'correcting' me, toss me something to wear."
Kanbaru sighed and tossed her a clean shirt.
Yoruichi caught it with one hand, then—completely unbothered—changed right in front of him. Kanbaru tried to look away. He failed.
(That shirt's way too white for this situation…)
Once dressed, she flopped down cross-legged across from him with a carefree smile.
"See? You're enjoying this, but pretending not to. You're so easy to read."
Kanbaru scowled, cheeks twitching.
"I'm not. I'm not. Don't twist things."
Three layers of denial. Classic flustered guy defense.
Yoruichi smirked and leaned forward with teasing eyes.
"Oh? Shy now? Don't worry—we've got plenty of time to have a... deeper conversation."
Kanbaru's face blanked.
"Stop saying things that sound that ambiguous, damn it!"
Just then, a nervous voice interrupted.
"U-um... I just came to get something... You believe me, right?"
Kanbaru and Yoruichi both froze—then turned their heads with perfectly synchronized death glares.
Kurosaki Masaki stood frozen in the doorway, one foot halfway inside.
Her face had gone completely pale.
(They're gonna kill each other... and then kill me!)
Masaki held her hands up, flustered. "I-I just came to grab my laundry! I swear!"
Kanbaru: "???"
Yoruichi: "???"
Wait. Why are your clothes here?
And more importantly—
Why are you blushing?!
Suspicion flared instantly in Yoruichi's eyes. She squinted at Masaki. Then at Kanbaru. Then back again.
Smiling slyly, she suddenly threw an arm around Kanbaru's shoulders and changed the subject:
"So where'd you sneak off to today, hmm?"
She'd been searching since sunrise.
But Kanbaru's Reiatsu had vanished—not suppressed. Just gone.
Not even a trace left in Karakura Town.
Kanbaru remained calm. "I got lost."
Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "Lost?"
"Yeah. Ended up next door. Naruki City."
Yoruichi smiled brightly... too brightly.
"Wow. You 'got lost' and wandered into another city? You expect me to believe that?"
> (Zaraki Kenpachi: I can do that.)
Back when she first followed Kanbaru around, he was a master at avoiding detection.
But this?
He was just trying to change the subject.
She sighed, deciding not to dig deeper. For now.
Instead, her golden eyes drifted toward Masaki again, clearly preparing to continue teasing her—
But suddenly—
Yoruichi froze.
Her pupils narrowed.
"What the hell...?"
In that moment, she felt it.
A surge of violent spiritual pressure erupted somewhere in Karakura Town.
It was no ordinary Hollow.
That was an Adjuchas-class Menos Grande.
Powerful. Controlled. And timed too well.
Kanbaru stood up slowly, his expression hardening.
"Is it Aizen again?" Yoruichi muttered.
Karakura was a land saturated with spiritual energy—but lately, too many high-level Hollows had been appearing.
It couldn't be coincidence.
Yoruichi's brow furrowed.
"Aizen... he's still probing."
For nearly a hundred years now, the man had been running controlled tests, sending higher-level Hollows into spiritually rich areas—especially near people like Ichigo, Urahara, and now, Kanbaru.
Each attack wasn't random.
It was calculated.
And this time...
He might've gotten more than he bargained for.
The objective had been achieved — lingering in the Soul Society any longer would be unwise.
Kanbaru didn't utilize the illicit Senkaimon crafted by Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Instead, he carefully invoked the ability unique to pure-blooded Quincy: generating a portal through shadow space. By slipping into the shadow realm of the Wandenreich, he emerged safely back into the present world, eliminating all traceable footprints of his movements.
It was a seamless transition.
Returning home, Kanbaru quietly shut the door behind him. A subtle movement in the darkness caused his gaze to shift.
A black cat slinked from the shadows, golden eyes glowing with intelligence, fixed on him unblinking.
"…Yoruichi."
Recognizing her immediately, Kanbaru scooped her up in his arms and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
But as he turned—
"Whoa—!"
His pupils constricted.
"Don't just transform like that without warning! You scared the hell out of me!"
"Please," Yoruichi smirked, now fully in her human form, casual and unbothered, "it's not like it's your first time seeing me like this. Why so shy now?"
"I'm not shy—just startled! You caught me completely off guard, you know?"
"Then next time, try blinking while lecturing me. You're just staring. Hard. You obviously enjoy it…"
"I do not enjoy it," Kanbaru muttered, averting his eyes with a straight face. "I'm correcting you. It's indecent."
Her teasing smirk only widened.
This woman was too much.
After several seconds of tension, Kanbaru tossed a white garment toward her, his expression unreadable.
"…Put this on."
Yoruichi caught it effortlessly, and with zero hesitation, began changing—right there in front of him.
Kanbaru grit his teeth and forcibly looked away, his eyes twitching.
Damn it. Why does she always do this with no shame at all…?
The outfit was a clean one, though rather—well, white.
Once dressed, Yoruichi plopped down cross-legged on the floor in front of him. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she leaned in.
"Come on… Don't act like you didn't enjoy it. You were practically burning holes into me with your gaze. Be honest."
Kanbaru scoffed and turned his head.
"I'm not. I didn't. Don't make stuff up."
Yoruichi grinned wider and teased:
"Ohhh~ playing hard to get? It's okay, we've got plenty of time for some deep, meaningful conversations in the future."
"Don't say vague, suggestive stuff like that!" Kanbaru snapped, face slightly flushed.
Just then—
"A-Ahem. I just came in to get something… okay?"
The nervous, stammering voice belonged to none other than Kurosaki Masaki.
Kanbaru and Yoruichi instantly turned to her with synchronized death stares.
Masaki: "…"
Terrifying.
The pressure in the room instantly doubled.
Were these two about to fight—or worse—team up against her?
"…Why are you here?" Yoruichi asked flatly, lazily licking her thumb, though her golden irises sharpened dangerously.
Kanbaru narrowed his eyes as he gently tapped his spiritual longsword against his fingernail.
"Yeah, I'd like to know that, too."
"I-I… just came to get some clothes I left here…" Masaki stammered, fingers nervously intertwined, cheeks flushed red.
Kanbaru: "???"
Yoruichi: "???"
Hold on—why are your clothes here?!
Also, why are you blushing?!
Yoruichi's sharp golden eyes flicked between Masaki and Kanbaru with suspicion.
Slowly, she threw an arm around Kanbaru's shoulders and changed the subject:
"…Where did you sneak off to earlier today?"
Since the crack of dawn, he had vanished without a trace. Not even his Reiatsu could be sensed in all of Karakura Town. It was as if he'd temporarily ceased to exist.
"…Got lost," Kanbaru replied calmly.
"Got lost?"
"Just ended up near Naruki City. Took a wrong step."
Yoruichi blinked. "You got lost and ended up in a different city?"
Even someone like Nanao wouldn't believe that, she thought.
(Zaraki Kenpachi: "I can do that.")
Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "Back in the day, you used to track me flawlessly. Now you're telling me you got lost?"
Kanbaru remained unreadable, refusing to elaborate.
Too lazy to chase the lie further, Yoruichi glanced toward Masaki to resume teasing—when something flickered in her perception.
Wait.
Her golden eyes narrowed.
"…Reiatsu. Violent. Close."
She looked out the window sharply.
A powerful spiritual pressure had erupted within Karakura Town—unmistakably Hollow Reiatsu, and from the sensation of its density and aggression, likely Adjuchas-class Menos Grande.
Her expression darkened.
"Another test…?" she murmured.
It had to be Aizen again.
Karakura Town was known as a location of concentrated spirit particles—a "heavy spirit zone." But for Adjuchas-level Hollows to appear this frequently? Unnatural.
Unmistakably orchestrated.
She'd seen the pattern for over a century.
Aizen Sōsuke. Always probing. Always watching. Always testing.
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