"This Reiatsu!"
"It's mixed with the aura of both Shinigami and Hollow."
"First Kuchiki… now Tsunayashiro?"
"It has to be Urahara Kisuke! What a fast move, what a ruthless heart."
"This is his answer to Central 46—telling those sages that if he can destroy Tsunayashiro, one of the Four Great Noble Houses, tonight... then he can wipe out the remaining three tomorrow."
One after another, figures in standard Shinigami uniforms began arriving.
It wasn't just the nearby patrols—Gotei 13 had been alerted as well.
Several Gotei captains soon arrived at the scene, and their expressions immediately grew grave.
"Same Reiatsu signature as the Hollow incident at the Kuchiki estate."
"Without a doubt—it's the same culprit."
"But it seems their Hollowfication technology has improved. Judging from the signs at the scene, some members of the Tsunayashiro clan managed to endure the Hollow erosion, gain control of the power, and even engage the attacker in battle."
Unohana Retsu calmly scanned the ruins and the scattered Shinigami uniforms. Her analysis was as if she had witnessed it all herself—completely accurate.
"Urahara Kisuke?"
Kyoraku Shunsui surveyed the area, his face darkening.
"Based on what we know, it's all but certain."
"Kōga too, possibly. Reiatsu doesn't lie. But it seems they left in a hurry—many traces weren't properly erased."
"Captain Kyōraku," Unohana added softly, "you may want to check that spot. You might find something... unexpected."
"You mean... him?"
Kyoraku's eyes flickered. He bent down and reached into the scorched earth.
Even after being consumed by Aiyan's Yami no Teiō (Dark Emperor), there was still residual heat left behind from the molten battlefield.
"This heat… unmistakable."
"Aside from Old Man Yama, there's only ever been one Zanpakutō in Seireitei capable of this."
"Furuoki Otagawa."
Kyoraku blew lightly, letting the soot scatter from his hand.
"A First Generation Gotei Captain?"
"He was alive? Hidden away within the Tsunayashiro clan?"
Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō and Muguruma Kensei exchanged a glance—both visibly stunned.
A Shinigami from Yamamoto Genryūsai's era...
"Search the area thoroughly."
"Now that they've encountered someone unexpected, Urahara and the others might have left behind more evidence than usual."
"If the perpetrator truly was him..."
Unohana paused, then turned toward the belated arrival of the Elder Kidō Corps commander.
"If it really was Urahara Kisuke, then Chief Tomioka should recognize it immediately."
Tomioka said nothing. He simply raised his hand and began casting one Kidō after another—none of them from the known Hadō or Bakudō canon. These were either secret family arts or entirely self-created.
Everyone held their breath and watched.
"There are many residual Reiatsu signatures… but only three are relevant."
"Kōga."
"Urahara Kisuke."
"And one other—similar to the Captain's, but heavier and less fiery. It matches what Captain Kyōraku described... Furuoki Otagawa, former Tenth Division Captain of the First Generation."
When he finished, Tomioka glanced around. The captains fell silent.
"Captain Kyōraku, we've discovered something else."
Ise Nanao approached, two Shinigami behind her, each carrying a cloaking cloth. She put one over herself—and instantly vanished.
"So that's it..."
"Urahara Kisuke and Kōga used these to track Tsunayashiro Tokinada into the Great Spirit Book Gallery. And used them to assassinate Captain Kirio and Lieutenant Shutara."
"Leaving behind two of these cloaks... they must not have expected to encounter Furuoki Otagawa and be forced into battle."
Kyōraku accepted one of the torn cloaks, glancing around at the others, his voice dry but sharp.
He had personally participated in the investigation when Central 46 ordered Urahara's arrest. In Kisuke's quarters, he'd found dozens of devices Soul Society had never seen before.
So the moment he saw the cloak, he knew it had to be one of Kisuke's inventions.
"You're too good at guessing, Captain Kyōraku..."
Hiding in the shadows, Urahara Kisuke's expression darkened.
The moment he saw Nanao arrive with the cloaking cloth, he'd known the situation was dire.
The Reiatsu traces... the cloaks... it was all irrefutable. The evidence had locked the charges to his name.
And now—
He could already picture how chaotic Seireitei would become by morning.
…
And indeed, everything unfolded exactly as he feared.
By the next morning...
The Tsunayashiro incident had swept through all of Seireitei like wildfire. The news quickly reached Central 46.
As expected—
The arrogant old nobles, used to acting like tyrants, weren't frightened. They were enraged.
Feeling that the sacred authority of Central 46 had been openly challenged, they swiftly ordered Yamamoto Genryūsai to deploy additional guards to protect Central 46.
They also demanded an immediate retrial of the Urahara family.
No—not a retrial.
An escalated sentence.
All members of the Urahara clan would be declared traitors and executed by Sōkyoku in twenty-five days.
The news sent shockwaves through the Seireitei.
Capital punishment.
In the last hundred years, such a verdict had been nearly unheard of.
But when considering what Urahara Kisuke and Kōga had supposedly done—the Hollow catastrophe at both the Kuchiki and Tsunayashiro estates, and the death of a First Generation Gotei Captain—most Shinigami were shocked at first… then quietly accepted it.
However—
There was one part of the verdict that deeply unsettled several Gotei captains.
So much so, they rushed to the First Division, pleading with Yamamoto Genryūsai to appeal to Central 46.
It concerned Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru.
After Unohana Retsu confirmed that both women had undergone irreversible Hollowfication, Central 46 seemingly decided that they would need to be executed regardless.
So, to "consolidate" the punishment, they simply grouped them with the Urahara family and gave all of them the harshest sentence.
All were to be sent to Sōkyoku Hill to be executed there — on the same day.
All for false crimes.
All as part of a cover-up.
And the one who set all this in motion—
Aiyan.
He didn't seem to care about Urahara's fate or what came next.
His attention was already elsewhere—focused on his own abilities and the Hōgyoku within him.
"Captain Aiyan..."
"Since the day you put that thing in my body, my Reiatsu has been increasing nonstop. I can feel it."
"There's a voice… telling me that as long as I will it—there's nothing I can't do."
Matsumoto Rangiku stood before Aiyan, brows furrowed slightly, hand over her chest. Her expression carried the unease of someone grappling with a truth she hadn't fully accepted.
She was no longer the clueless girl from Rukongai.
She had been at the Shin'ō Academy long enough now to understand a great deal about Shinigami.
And she knew—
There were only a few people in Soul Society who could elevate their Reiatsu this quickly.
Aiyan.
Aizen.
This kind of meteoric rise in spiritual power was nothing short of terrifying.
And also... deeply unsettling.
...
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