"...What a terrifying brat."
Yoruichi dispelled the residual arcs of electricity on her shoulder, looking at Asuka with a complex expression.
With the battle over, Isshin Shiba, still chewing on a blade of grass, strolled between the two of them. "Incredible, incredible! Big sis, you almost activated Shunko just now, didn't you?"
"To think you'd actually get serious against a kid who isn't even fifty years old! If word of this gets back to the Seireitei, where would the Shihoin family put their pride?"
"Shut up, brat," Yoruichi glared at him in annoyance.
She then turned to look at Asuka, her gaze growing more serious. "Asuka, you've passed the basics of Hakuda... The rest is no longer an issue that can be solved through hard training."
Asuka rested his hands on his knees. "Then what's the next step? Can you arrange for me to go to the Soul Society now?"
'This...' Yoruichi turned her head, looking toward Kisuke Urahara, who had remained silent the entire time.
It really was just as Kisuke had said; they were going to lose control of this kid.
Kisuke Urahara pulled down the brim of his hat, obscuring most of his face, and gently waved the folding fan in his hand.
"I thought it would take him at least a year to handle the curriculum I set..." Kisuke Urahara's voice was so low that almost only he could hear it. "Right now, with his Hakuda alone, an ordinary Seated Officer probably wouldn't last ten exchanges against him."
The training plan he had originally designed was meant to serve as a sort of "frustration education."
For the past three months, his and Yoruichi's original intention was to force Asuka to calm down in the face of an absolute gap in strength.
To make him realize that there was an insurmountable chasm between him and a Captain-class Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13.
As long as that chasm existed, Urahara would have ample reason to refuse Asuka's request to go to the Soul Society.
After all, that guy Aizen was still there. If he set his sights on Asuka, it would be troublesome.
But now, this plan seemed to be failing.
Kisuke Urahara could only let out a helpless laugh. "Little Asuka, you've certainly improved... enough to give this shopkeeper a headache."
Watching Urahara step closer, Asuka straightened his posture and spoke in a muffled voice, "Do I have the qualifications to go to the Soul Society now?"
"Also, I keep feeling like you're hiding something from me. Do you know where she is?"
Isshin Kurosaki, standing off to the side, froze for a moment and looked at Urahara in confusion. "She? Who? Is Asuka looking for someone?"
Urahara did not answer Isshin.
His eyes, always hidden in the shadows, were rapidly calculating all the possibilities.
If he continued to hide the truth, Asuka would likely resort to extreme measures, perhaps even releasing his Spiritual Pressure recklessly in Karakura Town to attract the Soul Society's attention, thereby forcing a Senkaimon to open.
If that happened, things would spiral completely out of control.
But if he told him the truth...
"Mr. Tessai, please take Dr. Kurosaki upstairs to see if the tea water is boiling," Urahara suddenly said.
Tessai Tsukabishi frowned, looking at Asuka, then at Urahara.
He knew this meant Urahara was about to discuss "official business."
Tessai looked toward Isshin, only to find that the man had already tactfully prepared to leave on his own. "Tch, acting all mysterious..."
When adults interacted, everyone knew their boundaries.
Once the hidden door at the exit closed, only the three of them remained in the training ground.
"You can tell me now, right?" Asuka stared at Urahara. "Where exactly is Shinobu?"
Yoruichi walked up to Urahara and sighed helplessly. "Kisuke, you can't hide it anymore. This kid's intuition is getting sharper. If you don't tell the truth, he really will tear down your shop."
Kisuke Urahara remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he folded up his battered fan.
"Asuka, before I tell you, I need to confirm one thing." Urahara's tone became unprecedentedly serious.
"If you find her, but she is no longer the person you remember..."
"Or rather, if she has already found her own peaceful life, and your appearance would shatter that peace, or even put her life in danger... even so, will you still go?"
Asuka's eyes did not waver in the slightest. "There's no need to test me. I know what kind of person she is. Even in a desperate situation, she wouldn't give up."
"I'm not looking for her to change anything. I just want to confirm her safety, to ensure that when she needs protection, I can arrive in time."
"After all, I brought her here, so I should take responsibility to the very end."
Urahara looked at Asuka.
In that instant, he seemed to see something in Asuka that had long died within himself—or perhaps, something that had never existed in him at all.
A pure conviction, an obsession untainted by any personal gain.
In the face of this obsession, he would find a way to overcome any difficulty and strive to defeat any powerful enemy...
"She is in the Soul Society."
Urahara finally spoke, every word seemingly spat out only after careful consideration. "Gotei 13, Fourth Division. Her name is still Shinobu Kocho, and her current position is... Sixth Seat."
Thump.
Asuka's heartbeat violently skipped a beat.
Even though he was mentally prepared, when that name was connected to a position he had never imagined, his Spiritual Pressure actually fluctuated chaotically for a split second.
"Fourth Division... Sixth Seat." Asuka repeated the words, his expression odd.
'How could that be... Even counting the days I've spent training, it hasn't even been half a year in total...'
'Little Shinobu became a Soul Reaper?'
"Don't be in a rush to celebrate," Urahara coldly interrupted Asuka's reverie. "The Fourth Division is a relief squad. While they aren't famous for their combat prowess, they are also under the most core surveillance of the Seireitei."
"Her becoming a member of the Fourth Division means her soul information has been recorded in the Shin'o Academy's archives, and her Spiritual Pressure fluctuations are monitored by the Great Spirit Book Gallery."
Urahara stepped closer to Asuka, looking directly into his eyes.
"You have indeed grown much stronger, Asuka, but your current identity is that of a powerful wandering soul of unknown origin."
"I can figure out a way to send you into the Soul Society, but if you just swagger in like that, what awaits you won't be a reunion, but a manhunt by the Second Division's Executive Militia."
"You will be executed as a dangerous element, and Miss Kocho will be thrown into the Maggot's Nest for colluding with the enemy or being deemed a dangerous individual."
Asuka clenched his fists. "But you already promised me. What else do you want me to do? Keep delivering goods for you here?"
"Don't misunderstand, little Asuka. I will, of course, keep my promise."
Urahara pulled a pre-prepared, slightly yellowed envelope from his sleeve. "First, I have to find a way to... wash your record clean. In other words, I need to give you a legitimate identity."
"I will give you a letter of recommendation to enter the Shin'o Academy, left behind by an old friend of mine."
"Only then can you legitimately appear before Shinobu Kocho, instead of recklessly dropping from the sky, slaughtering your way into the Seireitei, and getting both of you sent to Sokyoku Hill..."
Meanwhile, in the Soul Society, at the Shin'o Academy.
"The theory of Bakudo here lies not only in the convergence of Spiritual Pressure, but also in the perception of spatial flow."
The man extended a slender finger and tapped lightly in the empty air, causing a small, transparent geometric shape to materialize.
"Do you feel it? Hinaki, Nichika."
Sosuke Aizen sat in the seat of honor, looking gently at the two young girls before him.
As a highly prestigious star instructor at the Shin'o Academy, Aizen not only managed the daily affairs of the Fifth Division but was also frequently invited to lecture at the academy.
However, this was the first time he had ever given private tutoring to two recently enrolled children like today.
Many passing students cast envious or even jealous glances, but upon seeing the two children's snow-white hair and their elegance that seemed carved into their very bones, they all lowered their heads and walked away.
"They must be daughters of some noble family."
"Definitely. Just look at that aura, it's completely different..."
The two little girls paid no mind to the gossip.
They exchanged a glance, their movements so synchronized it was as if they were the same person.
"Yes, Instructor Aizen. It feels like... searching for an extremely fine thread in the wind."
The corners of Aizen's mouth curled up slightly, revealing an approving smile.
"An exceptionally brilliant insight. You both did wonderfully."
As Aizen spoke, he set down the pen in his hand with utmost naturalness.
He even picked up the teapot on the low desk and poured a cup of light tea for each of the two children.
"Very few children can adapt to the rhythm of Reishi in such a short time. It makes me somewhat curious..."
Aizen seemingly unintentionally adjusted his glasses, a faint gleam flashing across the lenses.
"Before you came to this world, in what you would call your 'previous lives'."
"Did you also undergo similar breathing or perception training there?"
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