"Sage Mode…"
"The system's really planning to push me past the limits of a Shinigami!"
The instant the notification finished, Bai Chen's dark eyes lit up. His handsome face broke into unconcealed delight.
He had only just awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and mastered basic genjutsu—his final weakness, the last missing piece, finally patched. And now, barely any time later, the sign-in system was piling on another upgrade.
He felt a surge of anticipation.
Even in the ninja world, true Sage Mode users were rare. By absorbing natural energy and forming senjutsu chakra, a practitioner could elevate ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu to an entirely different tier.
Of course, Sage Mode came with risk: fail to balance natural energy and you turned to stone.
But Bai Chen didn't have to worry about that at all.
The system had localized and refined Sage Mode into pure spiritual power. It would simply amplify his reiatsu massively—no side effects, no instability, none of hollowfication's mental erosion.
Only power.
"Only pity is… it didn't specify duration or cost."
He smiled faintly.
"Though that probably scales with my reiatsu."
And his reiatsu had just undergone evolution after absorbing Soul King power. Both quality and quantity were at a peak. He was fully confident he could sustain it.
A wild thought surfaced—
What if my Sage Mode has no time limit at all?
A perpetual state.
A true next-stage hollowfication.
Meanwhile, watching Bai Chen's expression shift from surprise to joy to outright eagerness—
Shiba Isshin froze.
…Wait.
Was Bai Chen actually excited to go to the Human World?
If he'd known that earlier, he wouldn't have spent the last few minutes worrying about rejection—almost even ready to kneel and beg.
Isshin coughed awkwardly to hide his embarrassment.
Good thing he hadn't done that.
If word got out, he'd be a laughingstock across the Gotei 13.
Bai Chen quickly reined in his excitement and turned back to Isshin, nodding seriously.
"Captain Shiba."
"Leave this matter to me."
"I can't promise exact timing—but I will uncover the truth."
"And I'll drag out that 'Shinigami-hunting monster.'"
His tone carried absolute confidence.
Because he knew something Isshin didn't:
Once he entered the Human World, Aizen would definitely notice.
And once Aizen noticed—
White would come.
Rainy night.
Ambush.
Inevitable.
Isshin exhaled in relief, then forced a wry smile.
"With you investigating, the truth will surface."
"…Still."
His expression dimmed.
"Because I'm a captain…"
"I can't go with you."
The regret in his voice was genuine.
No matter how much he trusted Bai Chen, he wanted to handle his own subordinates' deaths personally.
But Bai Chen suddenly spoke again.
"If you could enter the Human World…"
"without anyone detecting you—"
"Captain Shiba… you wouldn't refuse, would you?"
Isshin froze.
Shock replaced disappointment instantly.
"What do you mean?!"
"You've got a way to sneak me in with you?!"
He didn't quite believe it—
but he desperately hoped.
Bai Chen smiled and nodded.
"Do you remember a few months ago, when I went to the Human World for Soul Burial training?"
"I received a set of tools from Urahara Kisuke."
"One of them is called the Spirit-Concealing Garb."
"It masks the wearer's reiatsu signature."
"And if you layer Kidō: Kyokkō on top—"
"It renders the user completely invisible."
Isshin stared, mouth hanging open.
"…What?!"
"Urahara Kisuke? Hidden tech gear?"
"You've been sitting on something like that?!"
The shock was real.
Urahara Kisuke—the former Twelfth Division captain, exiled alongside Shinji and the others. A legendary genius whose technological brilliance surpassed the entire Soul Society.
If such gear came from him…
Then yes.
It might actually fool everyone.
"I left the Spirit-Concealing Garb in my quarters," Bai Chen said casually.
"I'll retrieve it. Once you're wearing it, we can depart immediately."
He turned and walked off.
Isshin hurried after him, still half-stunned and half-thrilled.
Soon after—
at the northern Senkaimon of Seireitei.
Wrapped in a black cloak, Isshin whispered in awe:
"This thing's incredible…"
"We walked all the way here and nobody noticed me at all!"
He had doubted Bai Chen's claims at first.
Now he was convinced.
"This is basically an infiltration artifact," Bai Chen said lightly.
"With it, you won't have to worry about surveillance or tracking."
Isshin stiffened.
"…So there are others in Soul Society who have one too?"
The implications were terrifying.
Perfect stealth tech in the wrong hands meant assassination, spying—anything.
Bai Chen only gave him a knowing look and changed the subject.
"Let's go. Time matters."
He stepped through the Senkaimon.
Isshin followed.
Human World — Karakura Town outskirts.
They emerged high above the city.
Isshin frowned.
"Wait—weren't we supposed to investigate Narumaki City?"
"You rerouted through the Hell Butterfly and came to Karakura instead."
"No incidents have happened here. Why come?"
Bai Chen sighed inwardly.
He obviously couldn't say:
I'm here for a sign-in reward.
So he improvised.
"Didn't Rangiku note something?"
"All incidents occurred in cities surrounding Karakura."
"That's abnormal."
"So why not wait at the center and see what comes?"
He pointed directions.
"You search east. I'll take west."
"Three hours. Meet back here."
Isshin accepted and left.
Once alone, Bai Chen's trajectory shifted immediately toward Karakura's outskirts.
Toward a hidden location.
The Visored stronghold.
Before leaving Urahara Shop last time, he'd deliberately asked about their whereabouts. According to Urahara, their base wouldn't move anytime soon.
Soon, Bai Chen arrived near the concealed site.
Ding!
"Sign-in sequence initiated."
"Duration: five seconds. Interruption counts as failure."
Bai Chen's eyes burned with anticipation.
Once the countdown ended—
his power would rise again.
And he would gain control over a legendary force:
Senjutsu.
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