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Fate In Bleach (265)
🕑 Added 2024-08-15 17:00:09 +0000 UTCChapter 265 - Trust
In Kisuke Urahara's treatment plan, Isshin Shiba had chosen to relinquish his Shinigami powers, merging them with Masaki Kurosaki’s soul to help her suppress the Hollow reiatsu within her. Having lost his Shinigami powers, he entered the Gigai Urahara had created for him, becoming an ordinary human.
Masaki, too, had lost her powers. Her Quincy powers and Ichigo’s Shinigami powers worked together to keep the ever-growing Hollow reiatsu at bay. This delicate balance changed drastically after Ichigo Kurosaki was born. The three powers within Masaki seemed to have transferred to Ichigo, allowing both Isshin’s Shinigami powers and Masaki’s Quincy powers to slowly recover.
However, the presence of two additional powers tainted Masaki's bloodline. When Yhwach initiated Auswählen, Masaki was deemed a mixed-blood Quincy and became a sacrifice for his revival. Neither Isshin nor Urahara could save her.
Furthermore, having become a sacrifice for Yhwach, Masaki’s soul had merged with his, preventing her from traveling to the Soul Society.
Otherwise, Ichigo might have had a chance to reunite with his mother.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
“Kurosaki-san, given the circumstances, will you still refuse my offer?”
Urahara approached Isshin and stood beside him, looking at Masaki’s tombstone.
“Ichigo, possessing Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollow powers, is a natural prodigy. Kurosaki-san, both the Soul Society and the World of the Living will face great danger in the future. Only strength can protect what you hold dear.
Within the Seireitei, both Aizen and the one creating those Mod Souls will undoubtedly cause chaos.
And if that’s just the Shinigami’s business, then what happened to Kurosaki-san concerns the entire world."
Urahara leaned closer to Isshin and whispered a prophecy.
“The Quincy King will regain his heartbeat in nine hundred years, his consciousness in ninety, his strength in nine, and he will conquer the world in nine days.”
“I discovered this prophecy in the Great Spirit Book Gallery. It originated from the Quincy Empire a thousand years ago, after their leader, Yhwach, was defeated by Head-Captain Yamamoto. Based on what happened to Kurosaki-san, those pillars of light were highly likely Yhwach using Auswählen to regain his strength.
In other words, unless something changes, in nine years, the Quincy, led by Yhwach, will wage war against the Soul Society, a battle that will decide the fate of the world.
I have a feeling that both Aizen and the one hiding in the shadows, Ōko Yushima, will make their moves within those nine years.
Perhaps it was precisely because of the chaos caused by Aizen and Yushima that the Seireitei was weakened, unable to withstand Yhwach’s assault, leading to his nine-day conquest.
Kurosaki-san, to me, Ichigo’s birth is akin to the Soul King’s emergence when the world was on the verge of being consumed by the Hollow progenitor. Ichigo is this world’s new savior.”
Isshin remained silent.
Ten years of ordinary life in the World of the Living had transformed the once-impulsive captain into a calm and collected man.
These past ten years had been the happiest of his life. If possible, he wanted this life to continue. But his wife’s death had awakened him from his dream.
This wasn’t a peaceful world. It was a world filled with conflict and death. He sighed, thinking of his nine-year-old son.
“Urahara, I’m just an ordinary father now. My son’s future is his to decide. Until he chooses to become a Shinigami, I don't want his life disturbed.”
While he understood Urahara’s reasoning, as a father, he wanted to shield his son from danger, not expose him to it.
Of course, his reluctance to let Urahara interact with Ichigo also stemmed from another concern. He feared that his son would become nothing more than a test subject for Urahara. After all, to Isshin, Gigai were simply tools for Shinigami to use in the World of the Living, a means of interacting with humans.
But he and Masaki had conceived three children while using Gigai. This made him wonder if he, his wife, and his children were simply part of Urahara’s experiment. After all, Urahara did have a history of conducting Shinigami Hollowfication experiments. Researchers, even those with humanity, were a rare breed.
In short, Isshin didn’t fully trust Urahara.
Urahara, with his keen intellect, sensed the distrust in Isshin’s words. His eyes dimmed.
His past actions, his curiosity leading him to conduct Hollowfication experiments, were a constant source of regret. After creating the Hōgyoku, he had vowed to never again conduct research on souls. Thus, in the century since he had left the Soul Society, he had only created minor gadgets, nothing more.
“Very well, Kurosaki-san. I’ll honor our agreement. Until Ichigo decides to become a Shinigami, I won’t contact him.”
“And if he does choose to become a Shinigami, I’ll entrust him to your care, Captain Urahara.”
Urahara looked up, but all he saw was Isshin’s receding back. Clearly, Isshin knew that his own strength wouldn’t be sufficient to properly train Ichigo. He might even lead him astray.
While Isshin was confident in his abilities, he also knew that compared to the truly strong, he was lacking.
Ten years ago, during his battle with White, he had been ambushed and seriously injured. That attack had nearly cost him his life.
He now had two suspects: Sōsuke Aizen and Kisuke Urahara. Both were experts in manipulating souls.
That Hollow, White, though possessing Hollow reiatsu, had fought with the instincts and tactics of a Shinigami.
It wasn't a typical Hollow! It was a Hollow created through Shinigami Hollowfication experiments, a Hollow with the combat instincts of a Shinigami!
Urahara had a history of conducting Hollowfication experiments.
As for Aizen, it was only after meeting the Visored that Isshin had realized they were victims of Aizen’s experiments.
Having left the Seireitei, he had discovered that darkness lurked within its seemingly pristine walls.
While his Shinigami powers were slowly returning due to Masaki’s death, he had no desire to go back. He simply wanted to raise his three children peacefully.
Thankfully, during his ten years with Masaki, he had picked up some medical knowledge. After all, Masaki had grown up with Ryūken Ishida, her childhood friend. And Ryūken was the director of Karakura First Hospital.
Masaki’s medical skills were unmatched in Karakura Town. Now that she was gone, Isshin could at least manage their “Kurosaki Clinic.”
However, he wasn’t as skilled as Masaki. Eventually, their clinic specialized in “orthopedics.”
Isshin’s mastery of bone-setting techniques allowed him to treat minor injuries like fractures and dislocations, keeping the clinic afloat.
…
Seireitei
Early one morning, the emergency captain summons echoed from the First Division barracks.
“Troubled times indeed…”
Shunsui Kyōraku, the captain of the Eighth Division, donned his straw hat and sighed.
However, he was far more composed now than he had been decades ago. This was partly due to the numerous incidents he had experienced that enhanced his mental fortitude. But the most significant factor was his own strength. Through decades of training, he had finally broken through the limits of a captain, reaching a higher realm.
While he was still some distance away from Head-Captain Yamamoto’s level, they were at least on the same tier.
This newfound strength was his greatest asset. He had done everything he could. Even if they failed, he would have no regrets.
Taking his lieutenant, Nanao Ise, he headed towards the First Division barracks.
On the way, they encountered Jūshirō Ukitake, the captain of the Thirteenth Division, and his lieutenant, Kaien Shiba. The four of them continued to the meeting together.
Kyōraku glanced at Kaien Shiba and lowered his head slightly. He remembered that night, over twenty years ago, when members of the Kyōraku Clan had participated in the attack on the Shiba Clan.
Thus, even though he and Ukitake were close friends, Kaien Shiba hadn't spoken a word to him since that night.
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