Chapter 26: Bleach World Movie Edition — The Wandering Noah's Ark
By the time Mo Yu brought the protagonist group over, Kisuke Urahara was still conducting experiments.
He was trying to bring someone out of the Void Zone.
The experimental procedure was not complex: a sufficiently long rope with a grappling hook at the end. Urahara stood at the edge of the Void, swung the hook to snag a "person" inside, and then pulled them toward the Normal Zone.
The result of the experiment manifested just as Ichigo and the others arrived.
The "person" caught by the hook was dragged along, stumbling. However, the moment they crossed the boundary between the Void and the Normal Zone, that "person" vanished, as if they had never existed. A moment later, the grappling hook in Urahara's hand also disappeared.
The "person" selected as the test subject reappeared in a shop within the Void Zone. He was holding a shopping bag and stuffing a long rope with a grappling hook into it, as if his sole purpose for being in that commercial street was to buy a grappling hook.
"The 'people' inside the Void Zone possess their own set of simple behavioral logic. If they encounter something that exceeds that logic, they ignore causality and forcibly rationalize it. But that's not the point. The point is, through this simple experiment, I've confirmed that these people in the Void Zone don't truly... exist."
Urahara talked at length to the bewildered Ichigo and the others, though the only one who truly understood the weight of his words was Mo Yu.
Ichigo, utterly confused, interrupted Urahara's lecture. "Wait, Uncle Urahara! Explain what's going on first. How did that guy disappear when you pulled him, only to reappear over there?"
Urahara raised an eyebrow. Instead of taking offense at the interruption, he designed a small experiment on the spot for Ichigo and the others to perform. It was essentially a replica of Mo Yu uprooting the streetlamp.
A physical object from the Normal Zone would disintegrate shortly after touching the Void Zone, only to reappear inside the Void as if it had always been there. However, the traces left by the object in the Normal Zone (like a hole in the ground) did not disappear. By comparing the two, the anomaly became obvious. After a few more words of explanation from Urahara, Ichigo and his friends finally grasped the severity of the situation.
The group gasped in unison. Chad, usually silent, had the strongest reaction. He stared at the Void Zone in disbelief and blurted out, "You're saying... our world only consists of Karakura Town now? Everything outside has vanished? How is that possible? I was watching foreign TV programs just the day before yesterday!"
Chad had lived abroad as a child before coming to Japan with his grandfather. He knew English and made an effort to maintain the skill by watching English-language channels.
Urahara stroked his chin. "That was the part that baffled me the most. I also received promotional flyers for this commercial street recently. But when I thought about it carefully... while we receive information from the Void Zone, do we ever have actual physical contact? For example, besides watching the shows, have you ever actually called the mail-order numbers to buy something? Or more bluntly: I'm sure your neighbors have relatives who went on business trips to other cities. Think hard... have you actually seen them return?"
The neighborhood culture in Japan is deep. Even if neighbors aren't close, there is a basic level of checking in. Following Urahara's prompt, Ichigo and the others began to find clues that supported his theory.
Everything involving people and events outside Karakura Town existed only as information. There were zero cases of physical contact. People on business trips stayed on business trips forever. Scenery from other cities appeared only on TV or in newspapers. Even this nearby commercial street—people heard the ads, but no one had actually seen a neighbor return with a shopping bag from there.
Wait—the group suddenly realized. People did go to that commercial street. If they didn't, where did all those "texture people" come from? But those who went there had likely become the subjects of a mysterious urban legend: "My husband/wife went shopping and hasn't come back yet"—the one who is forever shopping, forever missing.
Uryu Ishida's face turned pale as he recalled similar rumors in his own social circles.
Urahara continued, "I have a hypothesis. Have you ever played computer games? The maps players walk on and the NPCs they meet exist. But behind the scenes, the game system runs data, and the results of that data are reflected in the game. For instance, cities or NPCs that are mentioned in dialogue but never actually appear on the map..."
Mo Yu had remained silent since bringing them here. He was utilizing his Omniscience authority to its limit, hoping for a flash of insight to pierce the truth. However, the effect was minimal.
Mo Yu had discovered a flaw in his Omniscience: for simple matters, it was powerful. But for complex, unprecedented problems, the authority essentially entered a state of: "This authority is currently thinking hard. Honored God, please wait. We will notify you as soon as we have news..."
However, the moment Urahara voiced his hypothesis, the Omniscience authority reacted like a bolt of lightning. Inspiration flooded in. The authority virtually gave Urahara a "thumbs up" and then shoved the inspiration into Mo Yu's brain as an intuition.
Mo Yu shook his head, clearing the strange sensation. This Omniscience authority was a bit of a letdown—just like his nerfed Omnipotence. Not only could it not find the answer on its own, it even "liked" and "shared" someone else's opinion after hearing it.
Regardless, thanks to Urahara's spark, Mo Yu finally grasped a portion of the truth.
Outside Karakura Town, it was indeed a void of chaos. The scenery Urahara and the other natives saw in the Void was essentially the result of the "background information processing" of Karakura Town—or rather, this World Bubble.
Ichigo and the others were still dazed by the hypothesis, so Mo Yu spoke up:
"Urahara is right. The world should have been complete. But starting from an unknown point, the world suffered data loss. It's like a game map where the models and textures gradually go missing. Eventually, even the logic of physical collision and spatial relationship failed. Now, only the basic 0 and 1 binary code remains, running on a crude logic and outputting fragmented information to the remaining Normal Zone..."
Ichigo and the others were "good kids" who didn't play many games, so they only half-understood. Mo Yu paused, wondering if he should continue. The truth was cruel.
But he decided to be blunt. If things continued this way, they would have to face it sooner or later.
"To put it simply: the people and things outside Karakura Town have already turned to ash. Only remnants of information flows remain. Karakura Town—or rather, the world itself—is acting on an instinct to preserve its integrity by maintaining these flows in a mechanical background program. It keeps them running to produce new information for you 'existing' people. This is the truth you can see, but can no longer touch."
Because Mo Yu was a God from the 3D world, the background data of this World Bubble couldn't be transmitted to him. That was why Urahara could see a street while Mo Yu saw nothing but a void.
Ichigo finally understood. He pointed at the bustling commercial street and shouted, "Observer! Do you mean those people over there are already dead?!"
Despite his peak Purity, Ichigo felt a chill run through his entire body. He hoped for a denial. Mo Yu gave him one, but it was colder and more cruel than death:
"No, they are not dead. Death is a term for things that once existed. If Karakura Town were to shut down this dream-like background program, they would simply... have never existed at all."
Seeing the look of impending collapse on Ichigo's face, Mo Yu slightly regretted telling him the truth. The same answer held different weights for different people. Urahara knew the truth but remained calm, his mind racing for solutions. Orihime and the others were frightened and sad, but they were still in the "ordinary person" mindset of the early plot.
But Ichigo was too gentle. He couldn't stand by and watch others suffer. Knowing the truth drove him toward despair because he realized he could do nothing but watch.
At that moment, Mo Yu spoke: "Ichigo, don't collapse just yet. To borrow a line from a certain King of Trash-Talk: 'The weak question why the world is the way it is; the strong describe how the world should be.' As a powerhouse, you should be acting instead of breaking down. Urahara, do you think this collapse is due to internal or external factors?"
Urahara looked up. "Internal. Even as I performed my experiments, the edges of the city were collapsing at irregular intervals. Sometimes a millimeter a minute, sometimes half a millimeter every half hour. The trend feels natural, like a structural failure from within the world, rather than damage from an outside force. But as you know, that's just a guess..."
"A guess is enough..." Mo Yu thought quietly. In his mind, his Omniscience authority was frantically calculating on a mental desk based on Urahara's "topic." It would occasionally stop to flip through a physics or math textbook from Mo Yu's memory at "Quantum Speed Reading" rates before scribbling again.
The result was delivered instantly. Mo Yu's eyes lit up.
"Congratulations, Urahara. There is a 70% probability that 'Spontaneous Structural Collapse' is the correct answer. That's a piece of good news. Now, I have a plan to save the world. Are you—specifically you, Ichigo—interested in joining?"
Hearing there was a plan and that he was specifically needed, Ichigo pulled himself together, his gaze hardening. "What do I need to do?"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, the time has come to test your Purity. I need you to fight!"
Ichigo clenched his fists and whispered, "Just tell me where the enemy is, and I will blast them into dust!!!"
"Good. High spirits. The 'enemy' is currently undecided. But barring any surprises, I need you to defeat the entire world."
"Then I'll T.M.D. blast the entire world... wait... THE ENTIRE WORLD!?"
The hot-blooded Ichigo looked up in shock, doubting his ears. Mo Yu ignored him and continued describing his plan.
"The code name is: [Bleach World Movie Edition: The Wandering Noah's Ark]. First, we need our lead actor, Ichigo Kurosaki, to use his absolute Purity to defeat the entire world. In a display of 'those who follow me shall prosper, those who oppose me shall perish,' you will unify the Three Worlds. Then, we will transform the Three Worlds into a ship. After that, I will lead you onto the Grand Line to find the Great Secret Treasure—er, I mean, onto the immigration route to a New World!"
End of Chapter
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