Kazuma stared closely at the black cat, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
Carefully, he asked, "Yoruichi-san?"
"Long time no see, Captain Kazuma."
A familiar voice came from the black cat's mouth, confirming Kazuma's guess.
Kazuma secretly let out a breath of relief, but on the surface, he still acted as though he had not recovered from the shock.
He hurriedly thanked her.
"Yoruichi-san, I really owe you today. If you hadn't appeared in time, I might have died at that Hollow's hands. To think a former Seventh Division captain like me would fall to such a state… how tragic!"
After saying that, he even shook his head helplessly, his face full of bitterness.
"Captain Kazuma, you're too polite."
Yoruichi waved a cat paw at him.
"But you should be more careful when you go out. You've already lost your Shinigami powers. You won't be lucky enough to run into me every time."
Kazuma nodded, his expression solemn.
"It seems Isshin already told you all about my situation. I understand. Yoruichi-san, do you have anything that can protect me from Hollow attacks?"
"I don't have anything like that on me. Come with me. We'll go to Kisuke's place and have him make you a protective charm."
"All right. Thank you, Yoruichi-san."
Kazuma spoke gratefully, then asked, "By the way, Yoruichi-san, why were you here?"
"I just happened to be passing by," Yoruichi said casually. "I sensed a Hollow's presence nearby, so I came to take a look."
Kazuma understood the situation perfectly.
Yoruichi had clearly been arranged by Kisuke and the others as a backup.
Her purpose was to prevent the worst-case scenario.
If Kazuma had truly lost his Shinigami powers and ended up being killed by a Hollow, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Yoruichi accompanied Kazuma to the Urahara Shop.
After reuniting with his old friends, there was naturally a round of greetings and reminiscence. Everyone spoke about how difficult these years had been.
After that, Kazuma obtained a protective charm from Kisuke and hurriedly left.
Once Kazuma was gone, Yoruichi turned to Urahara.
"Do you think everything he said was true?"
Urahara's brows were tightly furrowed.
"For now, there are no obvious flaws in his words, but we still need to be cautious. We cannot reach a conclusion based on this single test. We need to test him a few more times."
After all, Urahara would never so easily believe Kazuma had no problems just because of one test.
"I understand. Let's observe him for a while longer."
Yoruichi nodded in agreement.
She knew very well that the current situation was extremely complicated. Every decision could affect how the entire situation developed.
"Aizen has been making more and more moves, he may already be nearly prepared. Right now, we still cannot determine whether Kazuma is friend or foe. And we still have not figured out the identities of the two masked people who saved him. There are far too many variables in all of this."
Urahara's expression was serious, his eyes filled with deep concern.
"Kazuma should be on our side, shouldn't he?" Yoruichi frowned. "After all, Aizen stabbed him, and he killed Kaname Tōsen."
"Who can say that Tōsen is definitely dead? His body was completely destroyed. Perhaps what we saw was only the influence of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu. The stab Aizen gave Kazuma could also have been an act. There is too much uncertainty. Yoruichi-san, we can't afford to gamble."
Urahara shook his head.
He did not believe things would be that simple.
Yoruichi nodded thoughtfully.
"Then we continue with the original plan?"
"Of course. Keep a close eye on Ichigo, and on Rukia when she comes to the World of the Living for her stationing assignment."
Urahara's tone was serious.
They had to prepare for the worst possible outcome in order to deal with any crisis that might appear.
Yoruichi took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"All right, I understand. But I still hope Kazuma really is on our side, otherwise, our situation will become even more difficult."
Then she continued, "That little brat Byakuya's sister-in-law? Why do we need to pay attention to her? Isn't Ichigo enough?"
Urahara only smiled without answering.
In his heart, he was secretly relieved that Yoruichi did not know he had hidden half of the Hōgyoku inside Rukia's body.
That was a secret known only to a very small number of people.
With a matter like this, the fewer people who knew, the safer it was.
Kisuke understood very well that if this secret leaked, it would trigger an enormous storm.
Not only would Rukia's life be endangered, but the stability of the entire Soul Society might be shaken as well.
Because of that, he had always guarded this secret carefully, not daring to reveal it lightly to anyone.
However, Yoruichi's question still left Urahara faintly uneasy.
He worried that Aizen might already have noticed some clues, but he could not directly explain the truth to Yoruichi.
In the end, he could only remain silent and hope she would not keep pressing the matter.
At the same time, Kisuke was also thinking about how to deal with possible developments.
He had to make sufficient preparations to protect both Rukia and the Hōgyoku.
After all, if the Hōgyoku fell into Aizen's hands, the trouble would be enormous.
...
On his way back, Kazuma did not stay idle either.
Kisuke was a smart man.
Kazuma knew that this test was only the first. It absolutely would not be the last.
For a while, he would have to keep pretending to be an ordinary person.
For the time being, he could not even return home. Fortunately, he still had several residences in Karakura Town.
As he walked, he replayed everything in his mind, thinking through whether there had been any omissions.
Ichigo had already entered middle school, which meant Rukia would soon appear.
Kazuma had to find a way to stop Urahara and the others from suspecting him so much.
Otherwise, no matter what he tried to do, they would keep getting in the way.
Although Kazuma was confident he could act without Urahara and the others discovering him, anything done in this world would inevitably leave behind some trace.
That was unavoidable.
Thinking of this, he could not help frowning.
He needed to handle every detail even more carefully and make sure he left behind no suspicious clues.
At the same time, he had to find a way to make Urahara and the others stop testing him.
Only then would he be able to carry out his plans more freely and achieve his goals.
After all, if they kept watching him, it would be difficult for him to move.
So, he needed an opportunity.
An opportunity to make them believe he was not a threat.
...
Sure enough, over the next few days, Kazuma "coincidentally" encountered Hollow attacks several more times at just the right moments.
The ones who came to save him included Shinji Hirako, Kensei Muguruma, Rōjūrō Otoribashi, and several others.
Because of this, Urahara and the others' suspicions toward him gradually lessened, though they did not disappear entirely.
"Kisuke, after testing Kazuma so many times, shouldn't we stop for now?"
"I keep feeling that Kazuma is doing this on purpose, but I can't be certain."
"I think you're just too suspicious, Kisuke! We should set Kazuma's issue aside for now. Don't get too tangled up in it."
Urahara frowned, thinking over everything they had observed and tested during this period.
He had to admit that Kazuma's performance truly did not show anything suspicious.
Perhaps he really was being too sensitive.
Even so, he could not shake the feeling that there was some indescribable mystery surrounding Kazuma, something that made it impossible for him to completely relax.