"Tsuna, wait!" Ichigo chased after him.
"Tsuna, are you okay?"
The moment Tsuna climbed out of the crater, Tatsuki rushed over. Seeing Ichigo hurrying after him, she asked curiously, "Ichigo, what's wrong?"
"No, Tsuna said my idiot old man is coming to Soul Society in a couple of days?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah. Didn't Uncle Isshin tell you?" Tatsuki replied.
"Wait!" Ichigo suddenly caught something off. "Why do both you and Tsuna know? I'm the one with the Kurosaki name, right?!"
"You can't hide anything," Tsuna said bluntly. "If something's on your mind, it shows. If we told you, do you think you could've focused on rescuing Rukia? You probably wouldn't have even gotten past Madarame Ikkaku."
Ichigo choked on that and forced a rebuttal. "What are you talking about? I had Bankai back then. Beating a bald guy like him would've been easy!"
"Everyone knows how you are—your strength depends on your emotions." Tsuna waved him off and began walking away from Sōkyoku Hill. "If you're not injured, go help move the wounded. Stop overthinking."
"How is this overthinking?!" Ichigo shouted, watching Tsuna and Tatsuki walk farther away. Just as Tsuna said, his thoughts were already in turmoil. Gritting his teeth, he chased after them. "Wait for me!"
Due to Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, most of the injured had already been relocated outside Sōkyoku Hill before the main battle began. There weren't many wounded left at the execution grounds. Even Urahara and the Visored lieutenants had returned to help carry people.
"My, my… what a complete mess," Urahara said, as usual hiding his mouth behind his folding fan while approaching Tsuna.
"You're just upset about your secret training space with Yoruichi getting wrecked, aren't you?" Tsuna teased.
Aside from Sōkyoku Hill, the underground training area where Tsuna and Ichigo had emerged was also in ruins—it had originally been built by Urahara during his time in Soul Society.
"Not just that," Urahara replied. "I originally planned to use this place as your base in Soul Society. What a pity."
"Plans can't keep up with reality. Blame Ichigo—he lost control right when we were visiting the Shihōin residence. So we had no choice but to use Yoruichi-san's place instead."
Another pot successfully dumped onto Ichigo's head. Veins bulged on his forehead as he tried to argue. "Tsuna—!"
"Shopkeeper, here—this is for you."
At that moment, Uryū returned after handing Lisa over to Hiyori and Mashiro. With a flick of his finger, a small white sphere landed in Urahara's hands.
"Much appreciated. Inoue is quite reliable," Urahara said with a smile, putting it away.
"By the way, is it really okay to send that guy undercover like that?" Ichigo asked, worried. "What if Aizen finds out?"
"Oh? Calling him 'big brother' already? You should be calling him 'Inoue-senpai,'" Tsuna teased.
Unsurprisingly, Ichigo lunged at him again, but with Tatsuki's help, Tsuna easily restrained him.
"Relax. Aizen isn't that petty. As long as someone is useful to him, he doesn't care whether they're truly a spy."
"Well now, it seems we still have quite a bit of information to exchange, Sawada-kun."
Kyōraku Shunsui's laid-back voice suddenly sounded nearby.
"When that Arrancar using flexible techniques attacked… that was your man, wasn't it?"
While hiding in the shadows, Kyōraku had observed the battlefield clearly. He had already found Inoue Hao suspicious—like he hadn't been fighting seriously.
Now, combining Uryū's "defeat" and Tsuna's words, everything made sense.
"What? Planning to get something for nothing, Captain Kyoraku?" Tsuna narrowed his eyes.
"Not at all. Didn't the old man promise compensation? We can add more on top of that."
"Fine." Tsuna looked reluctant. Then he turned to Urahara. "Shopkeeper, you handle the negotiation. Just tell me the result."
Kyōraku showed a hint of surprise. From his observation, Tsuna and Urahara were merely partners—yet Tsuna trusted him completely with negotiations?
"Don't look at me," Tsuna said. "All I want is the freedom to move around Soul Society without restrictions. I don't really care about anything else."
Kyōraku understood immediately.
Only someone with absolute confidence in their strength could say something like that so casually.
Just as Kyōraku was about to probe Tsuna further, Tsuna interrupted:
"Captain Kyoraku, you didn't come here just to chat, did you? Don't you have Gotei 13 matters to handle?"
Several veins popped on Kyoraku's forehead. For some reason, Yamamoto had practically dumped all the aftermath work onto him.
He could only console himself—once this was over, he'd go drink.
"Well… Sawada-kun, even Captain Unohana has been severely injured. Would you be willing to help treat the other captains?"
He rubbed his hands together, clearly eyeing Tsuna's Sun Attribute Dying Will Flame healing ability.
Unohana hadn't been in serious danger initially—but Aizen's strike had forced her into a near-death state. With Squad 4 leaderless, Kyōraku had no choice but to seek alternative help.
"I can help," Tsuna said, "but my ability consumes the patient's physical potential. Ideally, Squad 4 should stabilize them first before I treat them."
The nature of the Sun Attribute was activation—stimulating cellular activity to accelerate healing. Naturally, this came at a cost.
"I understand. I'll notify Squad 4 immediately."
At that moment, Kyōraku deeply missed Nanao. With no lieutenants around, he had to handle everything personally.
"Captain Kyoraku, I'll come along. We can also discuss intelligence," Urahara added, looking every bit the sly merchant.
"Let's go," Tsuna said. "We should check how badly the captains are injured."
"Tch, Renji—you were talking big before. Why are you lying down now?"
After spending time together, Ichigo and Renji had grown close, so Ichigo didn't hold back in mocking him.
"Kurosaki Ichigo… just you wait—ugh!" Renji winced as his wound flared.
Outside Sōkyoku Hill, the captains of the Gotei 13 and the Visored lay in two separate rows.
On the Gotei side, only Yamamoto, Kyoraku, and Zaraki remained relatively uninjured. The rest were down—Unohana Retsu was even unconscious after being critically wounded by Aizen.
As for the Visored, once they learned Aizen had left Soul Society and the battle was over, they relaxed—and promptly collapsed into sleep.
Yamamoto stood quietly with his cane, his gaze shifting between Sasakibe and Tsuna.
Kyōraku had already left to bring medical personnel from Squad 4 and the Central Medical Institute, led by Yamada Seinosuke.
Normally, they wouldn't intervene in Gotei affairs—but today was an exception.
Meanwhile, Zaraki Kenpachi stood staring at Unohana.
The image of her blocking Aizen's strike replayed endlessly in his mind.
For the first time in a long while, he had felt death.
If Unohana hadn't stepped in, he had no doubt he would have died.
His eyes drifted to the scar on her chest.
Someone that strong… who could have left such a wound?
Too many questions. Too many thoughts.
Kenpachi shook his head violently. Thinking wasn't his style—battle was the only answer.
He walked over to Tsuna.
"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Fight me. Now."
…Of course it's you.
Tsuna sighed. "Captain Zaraki, give it some time. When we fight, we'll do it properly—with everything on the line. That's the only way it's satisfying."
Kenpachi paused, then asked, "With swordsmanship? That strange style of yours?"
After fighting Aizen, Kenpachi had begun to appreciate swordsmanship.
Individually, neither he nor Unohana could defeat Aizen—but through her mastery of the blade, they had managed to suppress him.
Now, Kenpachi's interest in swordsmanship was growing.
"It's not necessary for you," Tsuna said. "After a few more fights with me, you'll understand."
Too short to reach his head, Tsuna patted Kenpachi's arm instead.
Ignoring Kenpachi's daze, Tsuna walked toward Orihime.
She was currently treating the most critically injured person—
Momo Hinamori.
Inside the Sōten Kisshun, Momo's eyes had completely lost their light. Orihime was barely keeping her alive—she couldn't even repair the wound in her chest.
Seeing Tsuna approach, Hitsugaya rushed forward—almost collapsing in the process.
"Mr. Sawada… please, save Momo!" His voice was hoarse.
"Stay put. Don't get in the way."
Tsuna pressed him back down with one hand and walked to Orihime.
"Orihime, what's going on? Even your rejection ability can't fix this?"
This shocked Tsuna.
Orihime's power rejected phenomena itself—a rule-level ability. Healing fresh injuries like this should have been effortless.
So why… was Momo's condition frozen?
"I… I don't know…" Orihime's voice trembled. "There's something inside her… rejecting my rejection…"
She was on the verge of tears.
"Calm down. Demon Spade—Demon Lens."
A monocle appeared over Tsuna's eye. Through it, he could perceive the truth.
What he saw surprised even him.
It wasn't that Momo was rejecting Orihime's power—
She had already accepted death.
Compared to her physical state, her heart had already crossed that line.
A person whose heart has died…
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