In Soul Society, a strange phenomenon drew everyone's attention. People raised their heads one after another, only to see the shadow of another world reflected in the sky above Soul Society.
Those Shinigami who had been to the World of the Living knew that it was no other world.
It was the World of the Living.
As for Tsunayoshi, who had traveled all over Karakura Town, he recognized it at a glance. The city hanging in the sky was the very city where he lived—Karakura Town.
Standing in the newly renovated Sawada residence, Tsunayoshi could not help but feel a headache coming on.
One wave had yet to settle before another arose.
Looking at the scene overhead, he recognized the incident immediately.
The movie: Memories of Nobody.
The heroine looked like a cute high school girl, and the mastermind behind the scenes intended to use the Valley of Screams to make the World of the Living and Soul Society collide, all for the sake of revenge against Soul Society.
Tsunayoshi scratched his head. In the end, he decided to head for Squad One. He did not know whether the little information he had would be of any help.
When Tsunayoshi arrived at Squad One, just as expected, a captains' meeting had already been convened.
He listened in for a while and discovered that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had far more detailed information than he did. This was not the first time Soul Society had dealt with an incident involving the Valley of Screams. It was simply that this time, the matter had become far more serious, involving the possible collision of two worlds.
Soul Society and the World of the Living were two separate worlds. They could only be connected through the Dangai.
Around the Dangai, there were numerous spaces of varying size formed from wandering souls gathered together. These spaces were known as the Valley of Screams.
The cycle of souls among the three worlds was not absolutely stable. Some souls encountered irregularities during the process of reincarnation and drifted outside the Dangai. When enough of these souls accumulated, they formed spaces like the Valley of Screams.
Soul Society had dealt with incidents involving the Valley of Screams in the past, but they had never encountered one as severe as this.
The reason Soul Society and the World of the Living could now see each other was because an enormous Valley of Screams had appeared between the two worlds. This Valley of Screams was like a massive bubble, connecting both worlds together.
The situation was extremely dangerous.
The number of souls inside the Valley of Screams was limited. Once the souls within were gradually consumed, the Valley of Screams would begin to shrink. Soul Society and the World of the Living would then be pulled toward it, ultimately causing the two worlds to collide.
The souls that composed the Valley of Screams were called Blanks.
Originally, they were no different from ordinary souls. However, these souls had all lost the memories that belonged to them, becoming like walking corpses.
Their memories gathered together in turn and manifested in a special state. Soul Society called that manifestation the Memory Rosary.
Blanks would instinctively search for the location of the Memory Rosary, while the Memory Rosary could also consume the number of Blanks. Once the two acted together, the space of the Valley of Screams would rapidly collapse, accelerating the process of the two worlds' collision.
According to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's speculation, the Valley of Screams currently located between the two worlds was trending toward stability. That meant something had gone wrong with the Memory Rosary inside this Valley of Screams.
At present, Soul Society needed to prepare on two fronts.
First, they would set up an exceptionally powerful Kidō formation and forcibly sever the connection between the Valley of Screams and Soul Society.
Second, they would locate the Memory Rosary and take the initiative into their own hands.
Yamamoto accepted Mayuri Kurotsuchi's proposal and assigned personnel according to both approaches. Only after that did he look toward Tsunayoshi and ask,
"Sawada Tsunayoshi, do you have any other suggestions?"
"The Memory Rosary should have the appearance of a purple-haired high school girl. On my way here, I already sent a message to Ichigo and asked them to help search Karakura Town for her."
"Very good. Captain Hitsugaya, assist Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki and locate the Memory Rosary as quickly as possible," Yamamoto added.
At that moment, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's expression changed. He took out an instrument and tapped it twice before stepping forward.
"We have received a message from Captain Kuchiki. An abnormal concentration of Reiatsu has appeared in the World of the Living."
"So the Memory Rosary is near Byakuya?"
Tsunayoshi's expression turned strange as he asked.
If he remembered correctly, the movie's heroine was supposed to meet Ichigo, right?
How had it become Byakuya Kuchiki instead?
"Contact Captain Kuchiki and have him closely monitor the Memory Rosary's movements," Yamamoto said. "If there is nothing else, return and make preparations. The Senkaimon will be prepared outside Squad Ten's barracks. Captain Hitsugaya will lead the team to the World of the Living."
The meeting was dismissed.
Tōshirō walked over to Tsunayoshi, and the two left side by side. Tōshirō asked directly,
"Are you going back to the World of the Living too?"
"I am. I'm rather curious why the Memory Rosary appeared near Byakuya."
Tsunayoshi thought for a moment before replying.
The heroine of Memories of Nobody was one of those unresolved regrets for many Bleach fans. After this incident, she would disappear. Since he had gone to the trouble of coming to the world of Bleach, Tsunayoshi decided he might as well go back and see it for himself.
"Looks like you still have other information. Do you know who's behind this?" Tōshirō asked, glancing at the absent-minded Tsunayoshi.
"Oh, a clan exiled by Soul Society into the Dangai, I think. I forgot the exact name."
"Why didn't you say that earlier?"
That could be considered very important information.
"Relax. They're not that strong. Byakuya alone might even be able to wipe them all out."
Tsunayoshi spoke with complete indifference. This movie had come out early in the series, so the villains' strength was only so-so.
"I'll contact Captain Kuchiki and let him know we're coming."
"No rush. Don't you want to see whether the Memory Rosary really latched onto Byakuya?"
Tsunayoshi narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Tōshirō fell silent for a moment, then suppressed the urge to notify Byakuya Kuchiki.
Watching drama was human nature.
Just now, none of the captains had wanted to take on this job. Naturally, Tōshirō was also happy to conveniently find some amusement along the way.
"All right, I'm heading back first. You wait for your people."
Tsunayoshi patted Tōshirō on the shoulder, then immediately slipped away. Tōshirō, however, was not as free as he was. He still had to wait for his squad members so they could act together.
After returning to the World of the Living, Tsunayoshi immediately used Reiraku to locate Byakuya's Reiatsu.
Beside Byakuya, there was another unfamiliar Reiatsu. Presumably, that was Senna, the Memory Rosary.
Tsunayoshi's eyes turned as he suppressed his own presence and headed toward Byakuya's location.
Inside a large commercial plaza, he found the target of this trip.
At that moment, Byakuya was following behind a lively young girl as she browsed through the shopping mall.
From the girl's bouncing purple pineapple-like ponytail, Tsunayoshi recognized her as Senna, the one Seireitei was searching for.
What was strange was why Byakuya would be shopping together with Senna.
He did not seem like the type to do such unnecessary things.
Not only that, he had even changed his clothes.
Tsunayoshi knew that whenever Byakuya came to the World of the Living, he wore suits. This had also been influenced by the Tenth.
But now, Byakuya had actually changed into casual clothing.
He wore a yellow-brown stand-collar ribbed knit shirt paired with white casual trousers. Over it, he had on a brown long coat with a turned-down collar. There was even a pair of decorative square-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
It was completely different from Byakuya's usual style.
Likewise, Senna's clothing was not the school uniform Tsunayoshi remembered. She wore a white knit top with denim shorts, thick white tights over her legs, and a long trench coat that looked extremely similar to Byakuya's.
Tsunayoshi could not help suspecting that their outfits had come from the same shop.
Hiding behind a massive pillar, Tsunayoshi silently opened the small chat group used by his human-world companions.
[Strawberry, Strawberry, this is Lion. Respond if you copy.]
[Tsunayoshi? What are you messing around for?]
Ichigo replied.
The group had split up across every corner of Karakura Town to help Tsunayoshi find someone, but from the look of it, Tsunayoshi did not seem like he was anxiously searching at all.
He even had time to joke around with the nicknames they had casually come up with.
[I already found the person. She's at Jiō Plaza. Big White is accompanying her right now. There's something fun to watch. Come quickly.]
[Captain Kuchiki? Why is he accompanying the Memory Rosary? Is he trying to fall in love?]
Tatsuki replied.
A girl's focus was clearly different. She immediately grasped the key point.
[Hehe. Remember to split into pairs. Don't let Big White recognize you. Tatsuki-chan, bring me a hat.]
Tsunayoshi gave his instructions. His spiky hair was rather distinctive, after all. Wearing a hat could conceal it slightly.
[There's really something going on? Wait there. We're coming right now!]
After Ichigo replied, the group fell silent.
Everyone was on the move.
When it came to watching juicy drama, everyone was very enthusiastic.
It was truly difficult to imagine what it would look like if that cold-faced noble prince of Soul Society fell in love.
It was simply too exciting.
A chill crept up Byakuya Kuchiki's back.
He still did not know that he had already become a spectacle in the eyes of others. When his gaze returned to the girl before him, who was currently choosing accessories, that spring-like warmth swiftly drove away the cold.
Senna was holding two pairs of earrings and asking him which pair looked better.
Byakuya, using Soul Society's aesthetic sense, selected the pair with a more classical style for her.
In truth, even now, Byakuya still did not know why he had appeared here.
Clearly, after Senna's battle, they had only exchanged a few words. After that, Senna had dragged him along, and he had put on his Gigai before following her into this shopping mall.
Perhaps it was the bright look that flashed through Senna's eyes when she saw the beautiful goods in the World of the Living's shopping mall that had attracted Byakuya.
As someone who strictly obeyed rules, he had told the girl that shopping required money in exchange.
Seeing the slightly regretful look in the girl's eyes, Byakuya had taken the initiative to ask Senna whether she wanted to browse around together.
The girl had no money.
And what he lacked least was money.
Just like that, half-pulled and half-willing, Byakuya began shopping through the mall with Senna.
As he watched Senna's lively and adorable figure, he even unconsciously ignored the reply Soul Society had sent him.
Somewhere in the unseen, it was as though a voice was telling Byakuya that he should accompany Senna on this trip.
Otherwise, he would surely regret it.
Even Byakuya himself did not know what he thought of Senna.
His meeting with Senna had begun with the tremor in his heart when she called him "Lord Byakuya."
He clearly wanted to ask this girl what relationship she had with Hisana.
But each time the words reached his lips, when he saw Senna's sweet smile, Byakuya could not ask.
He had a strange feeling.
The moment he asked the question, the fragile beauty surrounding Senna would be torn to pieces.
A little later, then.
He would accompany her a little longer.
With that self-hypnosis in mind, Byakuya accompanied Senna through one shop after another.
He had even changed into an entirely new outfit.
Byakuya was no fool.
He knew that the two of them looked like a young couple out on a date.
Although reason told him that he should not do this sort of thing with Senna, gradually, even he himself no longer wanted to shatter this brief moment of beauty.
Emotion drove Byakuya to immerse himself in it for a short while.
When he had been in love with Hisana, they had never gone shopping together like this.
First, after Hisana married into the Kuchiki Clan, her health had never been good. On the rare occasions she had been able to go out, she had used that time to search for Rukia.
Second, the honor and pride of nobility had bound the Byakuya Kuchiki of that time. He could not completely ignore how passersby viewed the Kuchiki Clan and walk down the street with his wife like an ordinary person.
Even Byakuya himself did not realize it.
Wandering these unfamiliar streets together with Senna, where no one knew them—
Was this not also a way of making up for his own regrets?
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