"I-Im—Impossible… Ikkaku… Ikkaku, who mastered Bankai, was actually defeated by something as childish as that move from Fūjin Taichi?!"
Tetsuzaemon Iba watched with his own eyes as Ikkaku Madarame was flicked nearly a hundred meters away by Taichi's "Demon Brow-Flick," and he was utterly stunned.
Could it be… could it be that he truly possesses beyond–captain-class power?!
"Hey, Iba!"
Taichi suddenly used Shunpo again and appeared at Iba's side, raising his right hand and slowly mimicking the motion of flicking someone's forehead.
Startled out of his wits, Iba instantly used Shunpo to retreat far away, putting a great distance between them.
"Damn it… a feint?" Cold sweat ran down Iba's forehead. That guy… he did that on purpose, didn't he? Just now he clearly had the chance to use that bizarre Kidō, but…
"Iba, you must be wondering why I didn't attack immediately just now," Taichi said with a smile as he lowered his hand.
"Tch…"
Though unwilling to admit it aloud, Iba felt embarrassed inside. Being frightened like that by a fake move—it was humiliating.
"Because… you were never my enemies to begin with."
Taichi tilted his head slightly and looked toward Sokyoku Hill. The spiritual pressure there had already settled down.
He could sense that both Ichigo Kurosaki and Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressures had vanished. Clearly, after an intense battle, the two had knocked each other out.
"…"
Iba remained silent, pondering the meaning behind Taichi's words. If we aren't his enemies… then who is?
"Alright, I'm heading off. Clean up the place and go back too."
With a casual wave of his hand, Taichi opened a cross-shaped dimensional passage and stepped inside.
"Wait!" Iba suddenly called out. "Vice-Captain Fūjin—why are you helping the Ryoka invade the Seireitei?"
"There's no particular reason. But if you insist on one… I just happened to get dragged into it."
With that, Taichi disappeared into the passage.
"Vice-Captain Fūjin… he's becoming more and more unfathomable. Still… what he said might have some truth to it," Iba muttered thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
At that moment, a series of urgent wooden clappers rang out. Then the voice of the Communications Division officer echoed throughout the entire Seireitei:
"Notice: To all Captains and Vice-Captains—there has been a change regarding the execution date of the prisoner Saitō Tsukuyomi!
The new execution date is set for seventy-two hours from now, at noon. This is the final ruling. There will be no further changes to the schedule!"
"I repeat: The execution date of the prisoner Saitō Tsukuyomi has been changed!
The new execution date is set for seventy-two hours from now, at noon. This is the final ruling. There will be no further changes!"
"What?! It's been moved up?!"
Iba was shocked.
What is Central 46 doing? Skipping the trial and sentencing Saitō Tsukuyomi to death was already outrageous…
And now they've advanced the execution date to just three days later, eliminating even the original one-month grace period? That's absurd!
…
At the same time, inside the underground training grounds beneath Sokyoku Hill, Orihime Inoue withdrew Shun'ō and Ayame from Kasumiōji Hoko's body and turned to Taichi.
"Um… I've already repaired the injury to her heart. But I don't know why she still hasn't woken up…"
"…"
Taichi extended two fingers beneath Hoko's nose to check her breathing, then looked at Yoruichi Shihōin, who was in her black cat form.
"Her heartbeat and breathing have clearly returned… so why is she still asleep?"
"I don't know," Yoruichi shook her head. "This is the first time I've seen something like this too."
"How can that be? Isn't your Shihōin family the 'Heavenly Gifted Armaments (Tenshi Heisō)'? Don't you have something like a Resurrection Stone or an Elder Wand lying around?"
"Hey, kid!"
Yoruichi's sharp gaze locked onto Taichi. "I've been suspicious for a while now… Who exactly are you? How do you know my background so clearly?"
"Uh…"
Taichi hesitated for only a brief moment before replying casually:
"I found it in the archives of the Great Archive."
"The Great Archive? That's a top-secret place guarded for generations by the Tsunayashiro family. How could you possibly have been there?!"
"Heh, did you forget this? Two quick slashes and I can go anywhere in heaven or earth!"
Fūjin Taichi patted the Zanpakutō · Ichi (One) at his waist proudly.
"I see… so that's how it is."
In her black cat form, Yoruichi Shihōin carefully examined the two Zanpakutō hanging at Taichi's waist and muttered thoughtfully,
"Come to think of it, you're only the third person I've ever seen who wields dual Zanpakutō—"
"Heh, that just means you're not well-informed," Taichi scoffed. "There's Emiya Shirō from Homurahara Academy, Kirito from the Underworld, and even Zoro from Sabaody Archipelago—they've got three swords!"
"Th-three Zanpakutō?!"
Yoruichi's amber cat eyes widened like brass bells. "That's a power only legendary gods are said to possess!"
"Gods? You Shinigami believe in Jehovah too?!"
Now it was Taichi's turn to be shocked. Could there actually be 'gods' in the world of Bleach?
"Not exactly," Yoruichi shook her head. "When we say 'god,' we mean the Creator—without a name. But according to the records in the Great Archive, the founding ancestor of the Royal Clan, Kazama Mamoru, was a direct blood relative of that god."
"Kazama… Mamoru ?"
It was the first time Taichi had heard of the Royal Clan—the Kazama family—in this world. Could that be one of the four most ancient noble houses of Soul Society?
"Yes. More precisely…"
Yoruichi stared intently at him. "About a thousand years ago, the Royal Kazama family experienced a 'palace coup.' The young prince, Kazama Gōen, was stripped of his name by the family head, Kazama Tenshi, and exiled from Soul Society. After that, he changed his surname to Fūma."
"Oh… and then?"
"And then… a hundred years ago, the sixth successor of the Fūma family, Fūma Kamano, dissatisfied with the family's increasingly corrupt code, changed his name again and drifted into the Rukongai—where he disappeared without a trace."
"Hmm…"
Taichi stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "Yoruichi, I've heard enough of these old aristocratic soap operas. What I want to know right now is—how do we wake Hoko?"
"Hmm…"
For once, a rare seriousness appeared on Yoruichi's face. After a long pause, she finally said:
"If there's only one person in this world who knows how to wake Kasumiōji Hoko… it would be Kisuke Urahara."
"Urahara Kisuke?!"
Taichi's eyes flickered.
That's right! If that guy can create the Hōgyoku, then waking Hoko shouldn't be beyond him!
Perfect… I also have a small matter I'd like to discuss with him.
No time to waste—let's head to Karakura Town at once.
Let's go!
...
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