Atop a skyscraper not far away.
Kaname Tosen gripped his hilt tightly, his spiritual pressure fluctuating alongside his turbulent emotions.
"Lord Aizen... the experimental subject 'White' has been completely destroyed. Furthermore, the power displayed by that Soul Reaper subordinate is entirely beyond the scope of normal limits!"
"Should we move to intercept him now? That man's soul is unusual; it must hide secrets that transcend the boundaries of our realms!"
Aizen Sosuke stood at the edge of the curtain of rain, his deep brown eyes gazing down at Isshin Shiba, who was supporting Asuka, and the Quincy girl tending to her wounds.
He was reflecting.
Number 78—originally just a brat he had accidentally collected while secretly harvesting wandering souls in the Rukongai.
It was an accident because his former subordinate had actually been quite clever, managing to trick the boy into the laboratory right under the noses of a Central 46 search party.
It was hard to imagine... if there had been one slip-up, his plans might have been exposed prematurely.
To "thank" that man for his reckless initiative, Aizen had already fused his soul into one of his experiments.
Why had Central 46 gone to such great lengths to find a child of that age in the Inuzuri District, and more than once? Aizen had made many guesses.
An illegitimate child, theft, family scandals... for those decadent fools, anything was possible.
Regardless of the reason, Aizen felt that perhaps this "Number 78"—who refused to tell him his name no matter what—was exactly who Central 46 was looking for.
Consequently, while conducting his Hogyoku research, he always paid special attention to the boy, replicating his latest experimental results on his body.
But the more he experimented, the more perplexed Aizen became.
The boy's body was like an abyss; no matter what materials were used on him, they vanished without a splash. This only deepened Aizen's intrigue, and the methods he employed grew increasingly extreme.
He could certainly sense Number 78's hatred—he was a sensitive man, after all—but what did that matter?
The brat was destined to be nothing more than a puzzle piece in his quest for the ultimate answer.
Until one day, Number 78 vanished.
There had been no warning. Aizen's laboratory was extremely well-hidden and protected by high-level Kido seals. He believed it impossible for anyone to infiltrate silently and rescue the mysterious boy.
Yet it happened. Every trace of Number 78 was gone.
To prevent such an absurdity, Aizen had even left a fragment of his spiritual pressure deep within the boy's soul as a contingency to track his location.
Now, even that fragment was gone.
Such a bizarre occurrence made even those in the Soul Society wonder if they were being haunted. But as the days turned into decades, Aizen gradually let the matter go.
Perhaps I overdosed the experimental materials... I'll just consider it a failed trial, he had consoled himself.
But today, seeing Asuka again, Aizen's body twitched involuntarily.
It was his spiritual pressure fragment—it was tearing away from Asuka's soul and racing toward him.
A tide of memories flooded his mind. Even for Aizen, with his vast knowledge and ambitions that could swallow the sun and moon, he found himself frozen in place.
"Another world? Another world with a complete life-state, yet entirely detached from the cycle of reishi??"
"How did Number 78 do it? Why was he able to open a gate to another world? Can that world be visited again? What are the requirements?"
Countless questions hammered at Aizen's mind, but he had no answers.
Because Asuka didn't know either.
Moreover, these memories stopped at the battle on the Mugen Train. Aizen knew nothing of his subsequent experiences, including how he had opened the Gate.
Compared to this, White was no longer important...
"Captain Aizen? Are you alright?"
The silver-haired Gin Ichimaru approached with his usual grin, noticing that Aizen had been unusually quiet and seemingly dazed today.
Is this an opening?
Gin thought for a moment, then shook his head inwardly.
Aizen realized he had lost his composure. He exhaled softly, his expression returning to its usual calm, even wearing a meaningful smile.
"No, now is not the time."
Aizen adjusted his glasses, a cold glint flashing across the lenses. "Look over there..."
"That's..." Tosen tilted his head slightly, his expression tightening.
In the center of the battlefield, Isshin Shiba was struggling to hoist the unconscious Asuka onto his back.
"Hey, little lady, can you still walk?" Isshin looked back at the girl with the bleeding shoulder, his tone full of concern. "By the way, what kind of power was that? It looked incredible!"
The girl blinked, seemingly debating with herself for a long time before speaking.
"My name is Masaki Kurosaki. I am a Quincy!"
Quincies were the mortal enemies of Soul Reapers, a feud that ended only in death. Before answering, Masaki hesitated, but ultimately chose to be honest.
Hearing the answer, Isshin was clearly stunned, making Masaki nervous.
"Is that so? A Quincy, huh? This is the first time I've seen one. I feel like I've hit the jackpot!"
—So you're a Quincy, huh?
First time seeing one in person!
Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be…
"I'm Isshin Shiba! Regardless, Quincy girl, thank you so much for today!" Isshin bowed gratefully before quickly adding, "Do you need to see a doctor? That wound..."
"I'm fine, Mr. Shiba... But compared to me, your companion looks like he's in bad shape..."
Isshin had noticed it too. Asuka's current condition was extremely strange; his spiritual pressure was fading at an incredible rate.
The power he had shown just now... it was practically Captain-level spiritual pressure, but now he was as weak as a...
"Who's there!"
Just as Isshin prepared to use Shunpo to take Asuka away, two figures draped in black cloaks abruptly blocked his path.
"My, my, Shiba clan boy. Fighting in this state will give you wrinkles, you know."
A voice that was incredibly flippant yet held an underlying sense of stability rang out in the rain.
The cloak was pulled back, revealing a green-and-white striped bucket hat.
Kisuke Urahara lowered the brim of his hat, obscuring half his face. A folding fan blocked his mouth, leaving only his sharp eyes gleaming in the shadows.
"Who are you?" Isshin didn't recognize the man and looked at him warily, but his guard vanished the moment he saw the other face.
"Ya... Lady Yoruichi!!"
As a member of the Shiba clan, he naturally recognized the famous commander of one of the Four Noble Families.
"Yo! Shiba brat!"
The other cloak was tossed aside, revealing iconic purple hair and golden slit pupils.
Yoruichi Shihouin stood with her arms crossed, smiling down at him with a predatory flash of her fangs, her tone carrying its usual authority.
"It's been a long time. You're still as reckless as ever!"
"To think it would be Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin... So they were in Karakura Town after all. It seems tonight's audience is larger than I anticipated."
Aizen turned around, his cloak swaying in the wind and rain. "It is not yet time. It is better if we do not expose ourselves before them."
"Is it alright? If we act together, perhaps..."
"No need, Gin." Aizen interrupted him with a smile, his gaze profound. "I want to see what changes occur in Number 78 under Kisuke Urahara's observation."
"Though he deviated from the original goal, he has surpassed it..."
"Withdraw. Tonight's experiment... has yielded data more precious than we anticipated."
Covered by their spiritual pressure-concealing cloaks, the three figures vanished silently into the darkness as if they had never been there at all.