The Reigai uprising was quelled in less than half an hour. The three captains remaining in the Seireitei – Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia Kuchiki, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi – had all encountered their Reigai counterparts.
Byakuya and Rukia, fearing being overwhelmed by the other Reigai captains, had retreated. Only Mayuri, through cunning and a bit of trickery, had managed to defeat his Reigai, uncovering some of the secrets of their creation. He had even fashioned himself a convincing disguise using the Reigai's eyes, allowing him to infiltrate their ranks.
To his surprise, Mayuri discovered that the Reigai, having replaced almost every captain and lieutenant within the Gotei 13, weren't interested in ruling the Soul Society. They seemed to be searching for something.
The prime suspect, a section chief within the Twelfth Division's Dangai Precipice World Research Lab named Kageroza Inaba, was currently missing. The three worlds – Hueco Mundo, the World of the Living, and the Soul Society – were all within the scope of his search.
Judging by the Reigai's creation, Inaba hadn't delved into Hollowfication research. Mayuri deduced he wouldn't be in Hueco Mundo. He was likely in the World of the Living. Otherwise, Inaba wouldn't have manipulated the Kōtotsu to create a time lag between the Soul Society and the World of the Living.
Rukia's arrival in the World of the Living was twofold: to check on the captains and to investigate Inaba's objective. Knowing what he sought, and what he intended to do with it, would allow the Soul Society to formulate a counter-strategy. Otherwise, the combined power of so many captain-level combatants rampaging through the Seireitei would leave it in ruins, regardless of the outcome.
"The Soul Society… is in such chaos?"
Ichigo Kurosaki was startled by Rukia's account. He shook his head. Under normal circumstances, he would have joined the fight. However, his spiritual pressure, having been fully expended in his final Getsuga Tenshō against Aizen, was barely enough to sustain him, let alone engage in another high-intensity battle.
"Captain Kuchiki, after my fight with Aizen…"
"I see…"
A look of understanding crossed Rukia's face after hearing Ichigo's explanation.
The Dangai connected the Soul Society and the World of the Living. The Kōtotsu could manipulate time within it. Hueco Mundo, however, was different. It was accessed through Garganta, pathways torn through the fabric of space. Within the Garganta, there was nothing. Travel required creating a path of spiritual particles, a process unaffected by the Kōtotsu.
This meant that after Rukia had left the Soul Society, Byakuya Kuchiki had traveled to Hueco Mundo through a Garganta and contacted Ailin.
Did she even need to remain in the World of the Living? She had come seeking reinforcements and to investigate Kageroza Inaba. Had the original captains remained in the Soul Society, Ailin, given his personality, might not have intervened in the Reigai uprising. However, with the entire Gotei 13 replaced by imposters, he wouldn't tolerate such instability, not when it threatened Haruko Kuchiki's peace of mind. The Reigai were likely already dead.
Should she return?
Rukia's hand rested on her Zanpakutō's hilt as she considered her options. She had intended to contribute, yet the entire incident seemed to have resolved itself without her involvement.
Bang!
A ripple of spiritual energy appeared beside her and Ichigo.
A young woman with short green hair, clad only in a thin garment, stumbled out of the portal and collapsed at their feet.
"This spiritual pressure…" Rukia looked at the unconscious woman, a puzzled frown on her face. The woman's spiritual pressure identified her as a Shinigami, yet her lack of a Shihakushō and a Zanpakutō suggested otherwise.
"Hey, are you alright?" Ichigo, less concerned about the woman's identity, rushed to her side. He tried to rouse her, but she remained unresponsive.
"Move aside, Ichigo."
Rukia looked around and didn't notice anything unusual, so she took a few steps forward, half-crouched in front of the girl, and released green spiritual pressure from the palms of her hands.
"Strange…"
As her healing Kidō flowed into the woman, Rukia was startled. The woman's body was unharmed, yet it felt… undeveloped, like a newborn infant. But that was impossible. Newborn souls, whether in the World of the Living or the Soul Society, manifested as infants. Even Yhwach, at birth, had been a helpless infant, gradually regaining his senses and powers as he absorbed the souls of his followers.
Unless this woman wasn't a normal being, but a scientific creation, like the Reigai. But was she truly the same as the Reigai? And if so, who was her original?
"Found you…"
"Who's there?"
A voice echoed through the night. Both Ichigo and Rukia looked up, startled.
Several figures emerged from the darkness. A flash of white light streaked towards them.
"Look out, Ichigo!"
Recognizing the familiar chill, Rukia grabbed the green-haired woman and used Shunpo to evade the attack.
The white light slammed into the ground where they had been standing, erupting into a wave of ice that froze everything within a thirty-meter radius.
It was Rukia's "Second Dance, White Ripple," one of Sode no Shirayuki's Shikai abilities.
As Rukia looked up, she saw her doppelganger, Reigai-Rukia, holding a Zanpakutō with white ribbons fluttering from its hilt. Behind the Reigai stood an elderly man with half-green, half-yellow hair. Beside him were Izuru Kira, the Third Division's lieutenant, Renji Abarai, the Sixth Division's lieutenant, and Momo Hinamori, the Fifth Division's lieutenant, all Reigai.
Ichigo Kurosaki avoided the attack and looked at Rukia who was guarding the green short-haired girl. He then looked at Reigai-Rukia who was holding a Zanpakutō in her hand, ready to attack them at any time, and showed a look of surprise.
Hearing about the Reigai was one thing. Seeing them was another. He couldn't tell the two Rukias apart. Their spiritual pressure, their appearance, even their Zanpakutō… they were identical.
"Hey, Ichigo."
Rukia sowly stood up and drew her Zanpakutō. She looked at her Reigai and then at Ichigo. "I won't be able to protect her during the fight. I'll leave her to you."
"Huh? Sure." Ichigo, despite his surprise, nodded. In his current state, fighting a captain-level opponent was unwise.
"Captain Rukia of the Ninth Division…" Kageroza Inaba, the man with the two-toned hair, stepped forward.
"Captain Kuchiki, I have no desire to fight you. If you hand over the girl, I'll leave without further incident. However, if you refuse…"
"Since when does a mere soldier threaten a captain?" Rukia interrupted before Inaba could finish.
"Judging by your attire, you're a seated officer of the Twelfth Division, are you not? Did your superiors not teach you the proper decorum when addressing a captain?"
Had she still been a lieutenant, Rukia might have tolerated Inaba's threat. However, as the Ninth Division's captain, responsible for maintaining order within the Seireitei's prisons, she had learned a valuable lesson: To prevent the unchecked abuses of power once wielded by the nobles, who disregarded the lives of those beneath them, indulging in torture and murder on a whim, strict laws were necessary. And laws, in Rukia's view, were simply rules that everyone had to follow.
The hierarchical structure within the Soul Society, deeply ingrained by centuries of noble rule, persisted even after Ailin and Aizen's purge. While the nobles themselves were gone, the mindset they had cultivated remained. Subordinates had to show deference to their superiors. It was a rule etched into the very souls of the Soul Society's inhabitants.
While Rukia disliked this rule, she couldn't deny its effectiveness in maintaining order. Or rather, most conflicts stemmed from violations of this rule. It was a form of self-preservation for those lower in the hierarchy.
As a captain, Rukia wouldn't be offended by a subordinate's disrespect. However, she couldn't guarantee the same for other captains. A vindictive superior could easily assign a disrespectful subordinate to a series of dangerous missions, ensuring their demise. To avoid such a fate, subordinates had learned to adopt a subservient demeanor, downplaying their own abilities to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
Having been taught by Ailin, Rukia possessed a strong moral compass. She disliked this rule. However, until a more equitable legal system was established, this was the law of the land. As an upholder of the law, she wouldn't tolerate Inaba's insubordination. It was an occupational hazard, a consequence of her duties.
"Decorum?" Inaba's face darkened at Rukia's words, a long-forgotten memory resurfaced.
Centuries ago, before becoming Kageroza Inaba, he had been Ōko Yushima, a member of the Ninth Division's Detention Unit. He had been weak, the target of constant bullying. Had he not been deferential? He had been the epitome of subservience. Yet, his dignity had been trampled upon regardless. He had even been expelled from the Ninth Division for being "too weak to fulfill his duties."
Being expelled from the Gotei 13 was a mark of shame, a disgrace even the students of the Shin'ō Academy would scorn. Joining the Gotei 13 was the ultimate aspiration of every academy student. Less than ten percent of each graduating class were selected. Those who failed were met with envy, which, in Yushima's case, had manifested as malicious glee.
Fortunately, he had been rescued by Kirio Hikifune, then-captain of the Twelfth Division, who had invited him to join the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. There, he had discovered his talent for science, eventually becoming a member of Kirio Hikifune's "Temporary Soul" research team.
He had even invented a byproduct of the Temporary Soul – the Modified Soul. And from this creation, he had conceived the idea of the Soul Soldier, a being created from a Shinigami's spiritual pressure, possessing power comparable, even superior, to its original.
However, after Hikifune's promotion to the Zero Division, his research proposals had been rejected by the Central 46. All data on Modified Souls had been sealed, his research into Soul Soldiers forbidden, and he himself sentenced to imprisonment within the Second Division's Maggot's Nest.
Facing this injustice, a spark of madness had ignited within him.