Sasuke looked at him calmly, waiting for him to continue.
Urahara's face once again wore that signature smile, "Would you allow me to examine your body?"
He added, "Don't worry, I just want to probe the state of your soul to see if that power which allowed you to traverse worlds has left any traces."
"Fine."
Faced with this request, Sasuke didn't hesitate.
Given this man's strength, if he truly meant harm, he wouldn't need to ask for permission.
If he wanted to, he could have countless ways to make Sasuke undergo the examination. Rather than waste energy, it was better to cooperate and see what he could discover.
"My, my, what a straightforward young man."
Urahara smiled even more broadly. He pulled out a device resembling a monocle from his wide sleeve and fitted it over his right eye.
"Now then, please bear with it for a moment. It might feel a bit, well, strange."
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Urahara's fingers had already swiftly tapped Sasuke's forehead, chest, and abdomen.
Sasuke could feel a gentle stream of Reiatsu probing into his body. He closed his eyes, allowing that energy to circulate within him.
The entire process lasted about five minutes.
When Urahara withdrew his fingers, the smile had completely vanished from his face. His brows were tightly knit, as if he had seen something utterly perplexing.
"What is it?" Sasuke opened his eyes and asked directly.
Urahara was silent for a moment. He removed the instrument and lightly tapped his palm with his fan, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
After a long while, he finally spoke slowly, his tone complex, "Your condition seems far more complicated than I imagined."
He looked up at Sasuke, a hint of inquiry in his eyes, "There are several very strange forces within your soul."
Urahara paused, as if thinking how to explain.
"One of these forces, you should be quite familiar with. It's full of resentment and hatred. Its essence is extremely similar to that of a 'Hollow'. One could even say it's the embryo of a Hollow that was forcibly stuffed into your soul."
"This is likely the source of that voice in your mind, the one constantly urging you to unleash your hatred."
Hearing this, Sasuke's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly, but he didn't show much surprise on his face.
He had long had a premonition about the abnormalities within his body.
"And the other one?" he pressed.
"The other one..."
Urahara's expression became even more peculiar, "The other force is completely different. It isn't chaotic like a 'Hollow'. It seems like a power you were born with, yet it isn't entirely in harmony with your soul either."
He offered a conclusion, "Perhaps these forces are the root of your traversing. Or perhaps both are unrelated. I can't determine that yet."
Urahara spread his hands, adopting a helpless expression, "Based solely on this examination, the information I can obtain is too limited. So, how about this, Sasuke-kun? I suggest you stay here with me for the time being."
"On one hand, I can continue to observe your condition and search for a stable method of traversal. On the other hand..."
He changed his tone, reverting to that shrewd merchant demeanor, "I am extremely interested in that marvelous power from that other world."
"In exchange, I can provide you with room and board, as well as some necessary guidance. How does that sound?"
Sasuke looked at him silently.
Currently, with no way to return, staying by Urahara's side was indeed a good option.
He might even receive guidance from this former Captain of the 12th Division.
"...Alright." he finally nodded.
"Then it's settled!"
Urahara Kisuke clapped his hands cheerfully, "Tessai! Prepare a guest room for our new visitor!"
Sasuke stood up, and then, without another word, followed the summoned Tsukabishi Tessai towards the backyard of the shop.
Watching Sasuke's retreating figure, the smile slowly faded from Urahara's face.
Whoosh…
A black figure silently dropped down from a hidden compartment in the ceiling, landing softly on the tatami mat. It was a black cat.
"Is he gone?" The black cat spoke in a human voice.
"Mhm." Urahara responded, his expression still grave.
"So, what's the situation?" The black cat jumped onto his shoulder, "What exactly is on that kid?"
Urahara sighed and briefly summarized his findings.
After listening, a flicker of surprise also passed through the black cat's golden pupils, "A force of resentment and hatred? A Hollow? Like Kurosaki Ichigo, with Hollow elements within his soul?"
"No, it's different."
Urahara shook his head, refuting her guess.
"The Hollow power within Kurosaki Ichigo has been a part of his soul from the very beginning. Although dangerous, it is essentially 'of the same origin'."
He paused, as if searching for an accurate descriptor.
Urahara's tone grew even lower, "But Uchiha Sasuke's situation is completely different."
"That power of his feels more... acquired. Or rather, passively generated."
"Isn't that just a Shinigami's Hollowfication?" The black cat retorted.
"No, completely different."
Urahara's denial this time was absolute, his eyes serious, "The Hollowfication experienced by Aizen's victims, like Hirako and the others, is the result of their soul boundaries being broken, their spiritual bodies eroded by the Hollow virus, leading to a fusion for survival. It's a process of external force being forcibly injected."
The black cat's golden pupils narrowed, "You mean to say that Uchiha Sasuke wasn't eroded by an external force?"
"From my examination just now, no, he wasn't."
Urahara said slowly, "His soul is remarkably clean, without any traces of external contamination. That Hollow force... it feels more like it grew out of some deep-seated emotion within his own soul."
"Grew out of it?"
The black cat's voice was filled with disbelief, "You're joking, Kisuke. If a Shinigami could so easily give birth to a Hollow, the Soul Society would have turned into Hueco Mundo long ago."
"I also thought it was impossible at first."
Urahara scratched his head in frustration, "But don't forget, he's been to another world. Perhaps the seed of the Hollow was planted then."
The black cat's voice also turned somber, "This is far more troublesome than the Hollowfication of Hirako and the others. Because its root is the child himself."
"Exactly."
Urahara closed his fan with a soft snap, "For someone like Hirako, as long as they can suppress the Hollow's power initially, that's enough. It is, after all, an external object."
"But the thing inside Sasuke is different."
He looked at the black cat and said, "It's almost the same thing as Sasuke's 'hatred'. How do you kill your own shadow?"
"To solve this problem would be equivalent to erasing his hatred. But for that child, hatred seems to be the very meaning of his existence."
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