"Haven't you found it yet, Ichigo?"
The cold voice echoed through the empty void.
Countless blades of various shapes pierced the ground, resembling a graveyard of steel.
Standing opposite him was a middle-aged man wearing a black cloak and sunglasses.
His Zanpakuto, Zangetsu.
"Is this your limit? If you cannot even discern where I am, the Bankai you desire is nothing but a fool's dream."
"Shut up..."
Ichigo gritted his teeth and violently pulled out a strangely shaped Zangetsu. "Again! I'll keep going until I beat you down!"
On the high ground at the perimeter, the short, silver-haired young Captain draped in a white Captain's haori stood with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed as he watched the scene unfold.
"Too slow, too light," Toshiro commented indifferently on the battle below.
"If you think he can master Bankai with this level of resolve, it would be better to give up now."
"The execution at the Sokyoku has been moved up. You don't have time to play house here."
"After this round, don't continue just yet. I'll explain some key points to him..."
Yoruichi nodded beside him. Although she appeared calm and collected, she felt a bit anxious inside. "I know. My understanding of Zanpakuto is just so-so, which is why I asked a boy genius like you to guide him."
Shinobu Kocho sat on her knees, neatly arranged bandages and potions placed in front of her, waiting to provide treatment after the battle ended.
"Captain Hitsugaya, you are truly strict and responsible," she suddenly spoke up.
She asked with a smile, "I am quite curious. As the Captain of the Tenth Division, you should be their enemy during this invasion... Why did you choose to switch sides and help Ichigo train for his Bankai?"
Toshiro remained silent, looking at Ichigo with a complex gaze.
Several hours earlier, in the woods near Hakutoumon.
When Yoruichi handed the photo of Isshin Kurosaki and baby Ichigo to Toshiro, the young genius Captain felt his mental world tremble.
"..."
Although the man in the photo was older, scruffy, and had stubble, Toshiro would never mistake that signature goofy smile for the rest of his life.
The former Captain of the Tenth Division, Isshin Shiba.
The man who had mysteriously disappeared without even leaving a corpse behind, leaving the Tenth Division leaderless for a time.
"He's not dead?" Toshiro snapped his head up, staring intently at Yoruichi. "He's in the World of the Living? And... he even had a child?"
"That's right." Yoruichi tossed the photo to him, her tone serious. "For some special reasons, he has been living incognito in the World of the Living, and the Ryoka who invaded today is his son."
Toshiro was in disbelief, his fingers trembling. "...Why would he do this?"
"Captain Hitsugaya, I believe you have already noticed that the current Soul Society is not normal."
"Rukia's execution, the accidents involving two Captains from the Shiba Family, and even the Hollowfication incidents from before... There is an invisible hand behind all of this."
"If you want to know the truth, lend that boy a hand."
Leaving those words behind, Yoruichi vanished into the depths of the woods.
Toshiro did not agree immediately.
Out of caution, he first sought out Rangiku Matsumoto, who was hiding in a corner drinking sake.
Rangiku hadn't been able to participate in the battle at Hakutoumon, and with the squad members getting injured one after another, she was extremely frustrated and had resorted to drowning her sorrows in alcohol...
"Matsumoto, stop drinking."
Toshiro snatched the bottle away, his eyes solemn. "Go to the World of the Living immediately. Head to Karakura Town and investigate a doctor named Isshin Kurosaki."
"Huh? Captain, what's gotten into you..." Rangiku muttered, her eyes hazy from the drink.
Toshiro slammed the photo onto the table. "Ask him what exactly he's been doing all these years! Why did he abandon the Tenth Division! Why did he abandon... us."
Hearing him say this, Rangiku's blurry eyes instantly cleared up.
"Shiro-chan... are you saying..."
She looked at the photo, her pupils dilating and contracting as she scrutinized it in disbelief several times.
Without asking another question, she grabbed the photo and rushed out of the barracks without a word, almost forgetting to take her Zanpakuto.
After making arrangements for Rangiku, Toshiro headed to the Senzaikyu alone for further confirmation.
Through the bars, he asked Rukia only one question.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, how exactly did he obtain Soul Reaper powers?"
Inside the cell, a haggard Rukia didn't understand why Captain Hitsugaya had made a special trip, but she still reported her encounter to him in full detail.
All the clues connected into a single line in Toshiro's mind.
Since Ichigo was Isshin Shiba's son, that made him a descendant of the Shiba Family, which possessed the bloodline of the Five Noble Families. His innately high-level Spiritual Pressure made perfect sense.
And Central 46 was so impatient to execute Rukia, even going so far as to use the Sokyoku...
Was it really just to punish the simple crime of transferring Soul Reaper powers?
Or... was someone afraid? Afraid that the Shiba Family bloodline would rise to greatness again? But that shouldn't be the case either...
"Could it be internal strife among the Five Noble Families?" Toshiro muttered to himself.
Even now, he still wasn't sure exactly who was playing tricks behind the scenes, but he was certain that something was wrong with Central 46...
Snapping back to the present.
Toshiro looked at Ichigo before him, his expression growing even more solemn.
"Since he is Captain Shiba's son, I cannot just watch him die here for no clear reason."
Toshiro turned around and looked at Shinobu Kocho and Yoruichi, displaying a rare smile that suited his youthful appearance—a smile tinged with a bit of disdain and arrogance.
"If that bastard Captain finds out I left his son to die, he'll definitely nag me to death when he gets back."
Yoruichi laughed heartily and vigorously rubbed Toshiro's head. "Not bad, Toshiro! You've grown up!"
"I told you, it's Captain Hitsugaya!"
The rain pattered down.
Thirteenth Division barracks, Ugendou.
This was a small pavilion built in the center of a lake, surrounded by water and koi fish. On ordinary days, it was the most tranquil and elegant of places.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
At this moment, a pale-faced Jushiro Ukitake lay on a soft couch, covered in thick quilts, yet he still couldn't stop coughing.
"Sigh, with your body in this state, you shouldn't worry about those trivial matters," a lazy voice called out.
Shunsui Kyoraku walked straight into the room carrying a jug of sake. He hadn't brought an umbrella, letting the rain soak his floral haori.
"Shunsui..." Ukitake smiled weakly, trying to sit up but being gently pushed back down.
Shunsui sat cross-legged and poured himself a cup of sake, his eyes looking into the distance through the curtain of rain. "You missed the Captain's meeting tonight. The old man was a bit displeased."
"Sorry... cough, cough, I really couldn't move," Ukitake smiled bitterly.
"Is that so?"
Shunsui Kyoraku toyed with the sake cup in his hand, his eyes appearing somewhat obscure in the candlelight.
"But how come I heard that, just around dusk..."
"...someone saw the Captain of the Thirteenth Division, ignoring his illness, secretly open a Senkaimon and head to the World of the Living?"
Ukitake's movements froze.
He remained silent for a long time, quietly listening to the pitter-patter of the rain falling into the center of the lake.
"Shunsui, do you believe in ghosts?" he suddenly asked.
"We're Soul Reapers ourselves, dealing with souls all day long. What's this about ghosts..." Shunsui raised an eyebrow.
"No, I'm talking about people who have already passed away... as Soul Reapers."