"Then, Shiba brat, I'll leave the cleanup to you."
'Big Sis...'
Standing outside the grand hall of the First Division barracks, Isshin Shiba's mind still echoed with her words from that night.
"We'll be taking this young man. If you bring him back, the only thing waiting for him is the dissection table at the Department of Research and Development."
"Make sure you think of a good way to fool that old man Yamamoto."
'What exactly is the situation with those two...'
'The absolute peak.'
When he was still a brat who caused trouble all day, he had heard that name countless times—Yoruichi Shihoin.
She was the undisputed prodigy, the head of the Five Noble Families' Shihoin clan, and the commander of the Tenshoin.
When he was only a few decades old and hadn't even mastered Shikai, that woman, respectfully known as the "Flash Master," already held immense power.
Sometimes, after he caused trouble, she would grab him by the collar and toss him back into the Shiba clan's courtyard like a kitten.
Yet, someone like her had committed the most severe treason in the Soul Society over the past century—
Aiding the mastermind behind the Hollowfication experiments, Kisuke Urahara, and fleeing to the World of the Living...
However, that perception was shattered that night.
As the head of a branch family of the Shiba clan, Isshin was not completely ignorant of the darkness within the Soul Society.
Although the Shiba clan had gradually been marginalized from the core of the Five Noble Families, he still knew a thing or two about the secrets and taboos flowing in the shadows.
'Big Sis Yoruichi doesn't seem like what they say...'
'Just what exactly is going on...'
"Oh! Isshin, you're here so early?"
A lazy voice interrupted Isshin Shiba's thoughts.
He turned around to see a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat and a pink, floral-patterned haori, lazily walking over with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
"It's not early, Captain Kyoraku. We're the only ones who haven't gone inside."
"Ah? Is that so? Haha."
The newcomer was the Captain of the Eighth Division, Shunsui Kyoraku.
He shook the wavy bangs on his forehead, let out a few embarrassed, dry laughs, and gestured for Isshin to enter the grand hall of the barracks with him.
The light slanted across the floor, reflecting the shadows of everyone in the room.
"Since you're here, why are you sneaking around outside?"
The old man seated in the center of the room slowly opened his eyes. Those aged eyes were not cloudy; they possessed a profound depth that seemed to see through time itself.
Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the founder of the Gotei 13 and Captain of the First Division.
No joy or anger could be seen on his wrinkled face. He merely leaned on his walking stick and looked at the two men who had just walked in.
"Oh my, don't be so strict, Sensei. Isshin just recovered..."
"You too, Shunsui. Furthermore, we are in the middle of a meeting."
"...Understood, Head Captain."
Shunsui Kyoraku shrugged at Isshin Shiba and stood to the side helplessly, seemingly unbothered.
However, as he walked past his close friend, the white-haired Captain of the Thirteenth Division, Jushiro Ukitake, the latter still caught the sly gleam in his eyes.
'Is Shunsui intentionally arriving late to share the pressure, knowing Captain Shiba is going to be reprimanded today?' Jushiro Ukitake thought.
Failing to report to the Head Captain after receiving an investigation order, deploying to the World of the Living on his own authority, and causing the deaths of four squad members...
It was by no means a trivial offense.
"Then, let us begin. Captain of the Tenth Division, Isshin Shiba."
"Yes, Head Captain."
Isshin Shiba bowed slightly, but the tragic scene of that rainy night a few days ago involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
"Regarding the special entity that appeared in Naruki City, it was a humanoid Hollow with no prior records." He spoke calmly, slowly reciting the draft he had rehearsed in his mind countless times. "Its characteristics include black armor covering its entire body and a unique combat instinct..."
Isshin reported the details of his battle with White, the abilities the enemy displayed, and how he was ambushed by an unknown Zanpakuto, recounting everything to the Head Captain without missing a single detail.
"An ambush?"
A Captain wearing a strange hat with his face painted black spoke up sinisterly, sending chills down everyone's spines. "Who could silently ambush a Captain? Could it be that there is a traitor among us? Or is it simply that your vigilance is too poor, Captain Shiba?"
"At the end of the day, your failure to retrieve a sample of that Hollow is already a grave sin."
He was the Captain of the Twelfth Division and the current President of the Department of Research and Development, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Opposite Mayuri, a tall man with a strange hairstyle and a single eyepatch—the Captain of the Eleventh Division, Kenpachi Zaraki—let out a cold snort, seemingly indignant at such despicable tactics.
"An enemy that could force Captain Shiba into a bitter struggle..." The Captain of the Third Division, Gin Ichimaru, chimed in with a smile. His narrow, fox-like eyes revealed a dangerous, playful aura. "My, my, the World of the Living really is a terrifying place, isn't it, Captain Aizen?"
"Captain Shiba has already done a great service for the Seireitei by repelling such an unknown threat."
Aizen spoke gently, his tone filled with the understanding of a colleague. "Although it is a bit of a pity, it is good enough that he returned safely."
Hearing this, Isshin Shiba shot him a grateful look.
In this high-pressure interrogation environment, having an easygoing Captain step in to smooth things over truly relieved a tremendous amount of pressure.
The other Captains did not express their opinions on the matter, silently waiting for Captain Yamamoto's orders.
Head Captain Yamamoto, seated at the head of the room, fell into a long silence.
After a long while, the old man narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Isshin thoughtfully.
"I understand."
"Isshin Shiba, although you should be punished for acting on your own authority, you made a prompt decision and minimized the damage to the World of the Living, which is no easy feat."
"Therefore, your violation of squad regulations this time will not be pursued."
"Hell yeah!... Uh, no I mean... Thank you very much!!!"
Isshin Shiba somewhat awkwardly blurted out his true thoughts, then immediately bowed to the Head Captain in respect.
"However..." Captain Yamamoto changed the subject, looking directly into Isshin Shiba's eyes. "Your report only mentions the situation regarding this Hollow. Are you certain there were no other anomalies?"
He had indeed concealed many details.
About that Quincy girl, Masaki Kurosaki.
About Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin.
And about that Fifth Division member, Asuka, who still left him completely baffled...
Thinking of this, he deliberately glanced at the Captain of the Fifth Division, Sosuke Aizen.
The man still maintained that gentle, elegant demeanor, his personality seemingly so good it bordered on soft, and he was looking back at him with a smile.
"...Yes! Nothing was left out!"
The order to dismiss the meeting rang out, and the Captains dispersed in small groups.
As Isshin walked out of the hall, he looked up at the sky of the Soul Society, but his heart was worried about the people in another world.
'Masaki... and that boy named Asuka... I hope they are alright...'
The World of the Living, Karakura Town.
On a morning after the gloomy rain, the air carried the fresh scent of mixed dirt and grass.
Masaki Kurosaki sat upright on a bench by the window, her right hand gently touching the bandaged wound on her shoulder.
It was the bite mark left by White.
The originally hideous, bloody wound had already begun to heal after being treated with some kind of special spiritual power.
A cup of cooled black tea sat in front of her, the last wisp of curling steam blurring her vision.
Masaki muttered to herself.
As the last descendant of a pure-blood Quincy family, she had been adopted by the Ishida family, who were also pure-blood Quincies. Since childhood, she had been taught that [Soul Reapers are the enemies of Quincies].
She thought again of that somewhat careless, reckless man, feeling that he didn't fit the description of a so-called fated enemy at all.
Not to mention that young man named Asuka. Although he felt strange, he was also a Soul Reaper, right?
Masaki pushed open the window, letting the morning breeze blow into the room.
'Did those two... return to the Soul Society? Will they get scolded when they go back?'
'Quincies and Soul Reapers... Could these fated enemies, who had slaughtered each other for a thousand years in the long river of history, truly not coexist in the same world?'
Karakura Town, Urahara Shop.
In the vast, wilderness-like underground training ground, the scent of various potions and Reishi concentrates floated in the air.
"...Is he still not awake?"
"The fluctuations of his Spiritual Pressure have stabilized, but in this state... it's uncertain how long it will last."
"...Is it Hollowfication? That reaction."
"It doesn't quite look like it. If worst comes to worst..."
Kisuke Urahara, wearing his green-and-white striped hat, no longer had his usual playful demeanor.
The folding fan in his hand tapped rhythmically against his palm. The shadow beneath the brim of his hat obscured his eyes, but one could feel his heavy solemnity.
"...It would be best to seal him in a Gigai."