Three days later, inside Urahara Shōten in the World of the Living, Higashino Shuuichi, Kurosaki Masaki, and Urahara Kisuke stood closely gathered around Shiba Isshin's hospital bed.
"You're making a bit too big a deal out of this, aren't you?" Shiba Isshin said, looking a little embarrassed.
"Today's the day you've fully recovered, of course we're going to make it feel official. Though your arm still isn't coming back—your left one's gone for good," Higashino Shuuichi said, pointing at the missing left arm.
"That's fine. It only affects my strength by a tiny bit, so it's nothing!" Shiba Isshin said loudly, acting like it didn't matter at all.
"But speaking of which… after that Ichimaru Gin guy knocked me back, what happened in Soul Society?
Did you save Nemu?
I asked Urahara-sensei, but he said it'd be better if the two people actually involved told the story."
Shiba Isshin asked curiously.
Higashino Shuuichi and Kurosaki Masaki traded a glance, then Higashino Shuuichi stepped forward without hesitation.
"In the end… you could say we saved Nemu.
And you don't need to worry about Aizen anymore, either—because Aizen already exposed himself. Including Ichimaru Gin, the former captain of the Third Division of the original Gotei 13, and the Ninth Division's captain, Tōsen Kaname—both of them were his subordinates."
"Even Tōsen Kaname?!" Shiba Isshin said, shocked.
Higashino Shuuichi nodded.
"Yeah. Tōsen Kaname too.
And Aizen obtained that miraculous jewel he named the Hōgyoku. According to Urahara Kisuke, it's the Hōgyoku that gave Aizen the capital to fight the entire remaining roster of Soul Society's captains by himself."
"Hold on—by himself? Against all the remaining captains?" Shiba Isshin blinked, like he wasn't sure he heard correctly. "That's still the Aizen I know? Isn't that a little too insane?!"
"Yeah. If, at the very last moment, Urahara Kisuke hadn't sent those first-generation captains to help… Aizen probably wouldn't have ended up fleeing to Hueco Mundo with Ichimaru Gin."
Higashino Shuuichi put on a suitably emotional, reflective expression.
"So even with that kind of lineup, Aizen still escaped?
And he escaped while taking Ichimaru Gin with him?
Wait—what about Tōsen Kaname?" Shiba Isshin immediately spotted the hole in the story.
"Tōsen Kaname? Oh, obviously he got taken out by those Gotei 13 shinigami~" Higashino Shuuichi said casually. "Though that's just their side of the story, so it doesn't really count."
Then Higashino Shuuichi leaned in, sounding even more excited.
"The important part is what came after: the shinigami and Urahara Kisuke's first-generation shinigami captains started fighting each other. It was earth-shattering, oceans-drying, the whole dramatic package.
They say Yamamoto even used Bankai in the end, and afterward, when Soul Society tallied the damage, they found that Aizen fighting for ages still did less damage than Yamamoto activating Bankai and swinging once.
Shame I wasn't there—otherwise I'd have at least 'helped out' a little."
As he spoke, Higashino Shuuichi deliberately shifted his gaze toward Kurosaki Masaki at the side. Masaki—who'd already been a bit embarrassed to talk from the start—instantly got even more fired up.
"Well, senpai can't blame me for that, can you? Who knew that Ayasegawa Yumichika—the Fifth Seat of the Eleventh Division—would have Bankai too?!
And he could use a bunch of high-level Kidō (Demon Arts) like he'd been practicing them for years.
Even if senpai fought him, I don't think it would've gone much better, right?"
Perfect. To wash her hands of responsibility, Kurosaki Masaki decided to throw a completely imaginary jab. Shiba Isshin hadn't witnessed any of it anyway, so she could explain it however she liked.
Whether anyone would believe that last part… well, if they wanted to believe it, they would.
Higashino Shuuichi, on the other hand, had absolutely no intention of sparing Masaki's pride. He made a few thoughtful "mm-hm" noises, then said flatly:
"And who was it that tried to block someone's slash with one finger… and almost got that finger shaved clean off in one cut?
If you can't win, you can't win—stop trying to show off!"
Masaki's face flushed bright red. She bit her lip.
"That's because I saw senpai block that bald shinigami's attack like that earlier!
So I figured… I'm not that much weaker than senpai. I thought I could do it too…"
"Then why didn't you ask first before trying it in real combat?
Who charges in that recklessly?
If I hadn't arrived in time, forget your finger—your life could've been over, you know that?!"
If it had been Kisaragi Shūsuke or Yushima Ōko, Higashino Shuuichi would've pointed at them and yelled without restraint.
But Kurosaki Masaki was a middle school girl, so he couldn't quite bring himself to go all the way.
"But… I saw that one hit, and it looked like I'd already crippled him with Hairihi Pufairu (Holy Arrow)…"
Masaki immediately pouted, voice turning plaintive.
"And I thought he wouldn't have much strength left to hit back…"
Deep down, she was also a little angry.
Because back then, she clearly had the upper hand. If she'd just stayed steady and played it safe, she absolutely would've taken that shinigami down.
But because she wanted to show off, Ayasegawa Yumichika seized the opening, launched a reversal, and nearly killed her.
Good thing Kabuno-senpai arrived in time.
Still, it wasn't entirely Masaki's fault.
After all, Ayasegawa Yumichika was a shinigami Higashino Shuuichi had personally trained back in Hirugetsu Class. When it came to using stratagems and battlefield tricks, Ayasegawa Yumichika was arguably even better than both Kisaragi Shūsuke and Yushima Ōko.
So against a shinigami who felt like he was "cheating," like he'd dropped straight out of the heavens, Masaki making it this far was already a miracle.
"So? So what happened to the Gotei 13 after that?" Shiba Isshin asked.
Thankfully, he cut off the back-and-forth between Higashino Shuuichi and Kurosaki Masaki. Compared to Masaki's side of the story, Isshin was clearly much more concerned about Soul Society.
"Then you'll have to ask Kisuke about that," Higashino Shuuichi said smoothly. "After I found Masaki, I rushed her out of Soul Society as fast as I could. I honestly don't know the rest of the battle."
Higashino Shuuichi loved people like Shiba Isshin who cooperated like this—because it gave him the perfect excuse to shift the topic onto Urahara Kisuke.
To be fair, Higashino Shuuichi was also curious about the outcome.
Unfortunately, the strongest intelligence outpost he'd planted in Soul Society—Aizen—had already slipped away.
Shihōin Yoruichi had also been reabsorbed into Soul Society immediately after the battle.
As for the Visored shinigami who'd remained in the World of the Living—because of Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, they still couldn't return to Soul Society for now, but Soul Society had at least temporarily lifted the wanted status against them, letting them move freely in the World of the Living.
So Higashino Shuuichi had no way to get the battle's result from Yoruichi either.
And going to Kabuma Sayako and the others would be unnecessary.
It wasn't urgent, and Higashino Shuuichi didn't need to bother Kabuma Sayako at a time like this.
Right now, Kabuma Sayako was probably busy leading Kisaragi Shūsuke and the others while they argued terms and consequences with Yamamoto and the Gotei 13.
After all, Kisaragi Shūsuke and the others had, one way or another, attacked the Gotei 13 shinigami. That demanded an explanation—otherwise the Gotei 13's authority would be completely humiliated.
"This…"
Urahara Kisuke narrowed his eyes, hands in his pockets, smiling as he spoke.
"You could say both sides took losses.
On my side, I lost one Reigai (Spirit Duplicate) that was hosting the soul of the first-generation Fourth Division captain, Shijima Chigiri.
I didn't expect the Head Captain's Bankai to melt even a Reigai that troublesome. As expected of the strongest shinigami, indeed~"
He didn't look sad at all.
A captain-class fighting force—gone, just like that.
"And the Gotei 13?" Shiba Isshin pressed.
He was clearly far more concerned about Soul Society's condition.
Higashino Shuuichi couldn't help glancing at Isshin a bit longer.
This was only because Urahara Kisuke truly didn't care about such things.
If it were anyone else, in the aftermath of a war like this—when Soul Society had already started forgiving even Hirako Shinji's Visored group—
Yet still hadn't revoked the wanted order on Urahara Kisuke and Tsukabishi Tessai…
Try openly showing "concern for Soul Society" right in front of him.
In a heartbeat, the butcher's blade would be on Shiba Isshin's neck.
"Fourth Division Captain Unohana Retsu, Twelfth Division Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and Thirteenth Division Captain Ukitake Jūshirō," Urahara said slowly, naming three people.
Shiba Isshin froze, breathing shallow, voice trembling.
"They… all died?!"
Urahara smiled and shook his head.
"No. Aside from them, the other captains are basically all seriously wounded. Even the Head Captain wasn't spared.
Though one captain… I can't decide whether to call him lucky, or unlucky.
That would be the former Seventh Division captain, Komamura Sajin.
I heard that in that battle, he used his clan's secret art—Jinka no Jutsu (Humanization Technique).
He succeeded in washing away his shame and put on a truly fierce performance in front of all the captains… but afterward, he completely turned into a big dog that can't speak.
In a case like that, I honestly don't know whether I should count it as a sacrifice."
Shiba Isshin fell silent.
To him, it absolutely counted as a sacrifice.
Komamura-taichō had traded away his future—unable to remain human—just to defend the last shred of the Gotei 13's pride.
No matter how badly that captain might have performed in certain important battles before, this time he was worthy of the title "captain."
"Why?" Shiba Isshin asked, voice heavy. "Urahara-san… why did you go that far?
Wasn't that just creating an opportunity for Aizen?"
Inside his head, Higashino Shuuichi hesitated slightly.
The words Isshin followed up with after that "why" were a bit off. Normally, Isshin should have directly questioned Urahara Kisuke for doing something like this.
But he didn't.
A Shiba clan man who still cared about Soul Society… didn't question Urahara Kisuke over this.
That only meant one thing.
Urahara had promised Isshin something ahead of time.
It might not have been sincere, but it would definitely fit Urahara's behavior pattern up to now.
"Don't tell me it's what I suspected earlier… leveling the shinigami up?"
Higashino Shuuichi ran through it, and that seemed like the only excuse that could persuade Isshin—and make him tolerate Urahara's absurd actions.
After all, on this timeline, there was no Kurosaki Masaki binding Isshin down.
But if that was true, then Higashino Shuuichi felt he needed to reassess Urahara Kisuke's real intent.
Was he genuinely kind enough to reveal his true goal to Isshin?
Or was he hiding something?
Was this Shiba Isshin… just another chess piece of Urahara Kisuke?
For an ordinary person, that wouldn't be a question worth overthinking.
But because the person in question was Urahara Kisuke, Higashino Shuuichi had to think twice, three times.
Urahara's answer to Isshin was simple—two words.
"He won't."
Aizen, having voluntarily retreated to Hueco Mundo, would not launch any sufficiently threatening attack on Soul Society in the short term.
Isshin demanded to know why.
Urahara only looked meaningfully toward the distant view beyond the window.
"Because Soul Society has already been crippled by me. In all of Soul Society, you can barely find more than a handful of shinigami worthy of him lifting a finger.
So he won't make a move again."
The entire room went silent.
Isshin's silence came from one reason: Urahara's justification felt far too forced. For a treacherous man like Aizen—someone who didn't care about methods—how could he possibly refrain from attacking Soul Society because of something like this?
Masaki's silence came from another: this Aizen was bizarre—unhinged—how did someone that arrogant even survive this long?
And Higashino Shuuichi's silence came from yet another:
Urahara Kisuke—a man who'd barely even met Aizen a few times—somehow understood Aizen frighteningly well.
If Higashino Shuuichi weren't a transmigrator, he'd dare to say this:
In this world, the person who understood Aizen best—aside from Aizen himself—would be Urahara Kisuke.
And for Aizen, it really was exactly as Urahara said.
Facing a Soul Society full of the old, the weak, and the crippled… he had no interest whatsoever in conquering it.
Because a victory like that, to Aizen, wasn't victory—
It was humiliation.
So from the very beginning, Urahara Kisuke had been thinking along these lines when he sent Saitō Furōfushi and the others into the battlefield.
Force Aizen into Hueco Mundo, then have the first-generation captains continuously grind down Soul Society's fighting strength—keeping Aizen from ever feeling the desire to launch a full-scale invasion—until Urahara found a way to deal with him.
Was this, perhaps, the solution Urahara Kisuke had produced on this timeline—one without Kurosaki Ichigo?
"So he's really just got Aizen completely figured out, huh…"
Higashino Shuuichi murmured inwardly.
And honestly, it worked.
Aizen really did fall for this approach—especially now, after getting the complete Hōgyoku, when he'd started to swell with confidence even more.
But at this moment, Aizen still had two more urgent problems to solve.
First: he needed to understand the principles behind his body's evolution. Those consecutive evolutions in battle helped him immensely, but after the fight, they also caused him a great deal of trouble.
Second: he needed to give the man in front of him a full, comprehensive upgrade.
"So, are you ready to…?"