"He... he actually finished it in one strike?! Isn't that a bit much? Is that guy really Ichigo's idiot dad?" Kon looked at Isshin's towering, majestic figure, utterly shocked.
"How do you feel? After avenging the great wrong, does your heart feel a bit better?" A figure suddenly emerged from the darkness and spoke.
"It's only half avenged. I wouldn't call it a great wrong avenged yet."
Isshin seemed to have known of the newcomer's presence long ago, showing no surprise.
"Speaking of which, I didn't expect you to come too..."
"—Toshiro!"
The newcomer's figure was clearly visible under the moonlight. It was Toshiro, who had rushed from the Soul Society upon learning of the situation in the Living World.
"I was just about to rest after finishing my work, but I suddenly heard that an Arrancar had appeared in the Living World, so I came to check it out. It seems I'm too late... the Arrancar is already taken care of." Toshiro said.
"Haha, no problem if you're late. It wasn't exactly a strong opponent anyway. No need for a big shot like you to step in." Isshin laughed.
"Well, well, saying that makes it sound like you're the weak one." Toshiro couldn't help but tease.
Although Isshin hadn't gone all out, preventing Toshiro from accurately judging his full strength, Toshiro was certain that Isshin's power had definitely reached Beyond Captain-level.
"So, how is it? After avenging Masaki, do you feel better inside?" Toshiro asked again.
Regarding Masaki's death, when Toshiro came to the Living World months ago because Ichigo awakened his Shinigami powers and met Isshin, Isshin had told him about it.
Even if Isshin hadn't said anything, Toshiro already knew, perhaps even more than Isshin himself.
"Heh, as I just said, it's only half avenged. And besides... strictly speaking, it's not even half. Although Grand Fisher was the direct murderer of Masaki, you know Masaki's death wasn't that simple. The real murderer is still out there free. How can my heart feel good in this situation?" Isshin smiled bitterly.
He knew that Masaki was incredibly powerful. If she hadn't been stripped of her Quincy powers by Yhwach's [Auswählen] at that critical moment, how could she have died at the hands of a weakling like Grand Fisher?
Moreover, even if Masaki had miraculously survived Grand Fisher, stripped of her powers by the Auswählen, she would have withered and died on a sickbed, just like Uryu's mother.
Therefore, the true murderer of Masaki was Yhwach. A weakling like Grand Fisher wasn't even worthy of being considered the enemy who killed his wife.
In fact, Isshin didn't really harbor much hatred for Grand Fisher.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Grand Fisher live all these years, intending to leave him for Ichigo to deal with.
Seeing Isshin's sorrowful expression, Toshiro stopped discussing Masaki and changed the subject. "Speaking of which, this is the first time I've seen you wear Shinigami clothes since you left the Soul Society twenty years ago."
Although Toshiro had met Isshin when he came to the Living World months ago, Isshin hadn't been in Shinigami form. Even though he had been 'freed' after Masaki's death and could recover his Shinigami powers, he still looked like an ordinary human.
Thus, this was the first time in twenty years Toshiro had seen Isshin in his Shinigami attire.
Seeing him again now, Isshin wore a Shihakusho, a tattered Captain's Haori draped over his left shoulder, giving him a unique air.
Hmm... except the number 'ten' on the haori had disappeared.
It is unknown whether it was because the haori was too tattered or because Isshin no longer considered himself Captain of the 10th Division and had deliberately erased it was unclear.
"So, what do you think? Cool, right? Honestly, wearing the Shihakusho again after twenty years feels nostalgic even for me." Isshin said somewhat emotionally.
"I don't know about cool, but compared to back then... you've aged quite a bit." Toshiro suddenly said.
"Ah? Aged?!" Isshin was taken aback.
"Yeah, that's right. Back when you hadn't left the Soul Society, you were a sharp, capable young man. Now you've turned into a sleazy, greasy middle-aged uncle." Toshiro said with a 'disgusted' look.
In fact, Toshiro wasn't wrong. Back when Shiba Isshin hadn't 'married' into the Kurosaki Family and become Kurosaki Isshin, he did indeed look like a handsome, dashing young man.
But now, after only twenty years, Toshiro was still the same Toshiro, showing no signs of aging, while Isshin had 'aged' considerably, going straight from 'young man' to 'middle-aged uncle'.
The main reason for this was that Isshin had entered a special Gigai prepared by Kisuke to save the Hollowfied Masaki.
While inside that special Gigai, Isshin had completely lost his Shinigami powers, becoming, in a way, no different from an ordinary human. Even his lifespan had shortened to that of a human.
Thus, in just over twenty years, Isshin had gone from his 'prime youth' to his 'still charming' middle age.
"Yeah, in just over twenty years, I've aged this much. But... Toshiro, you look the same as back then, still like a kid. No change at all, hahaha..." Isshin laughed, unashamedly teasing Toshiro.
"Isshin, you bastard..." Isshin's words hit a sore spot, making Toshiro grind his teeth in anger.
After chatting and catching up with Isshin for a while, Toshiro suddenly glanced at a shadowy area not far away. "Alright, I've caught up with Isshin. You should come out now..."
"—Urahara Kisuke!"
"Yo, Captain Hitsugaya, Kurosaki-san. Long time no see." Kisuke's figure emerged from the shadows, casually greeting Toshiro and Isshin.