Though the ninja's bloodline limits are typically inherited through genetics, Impure World Reincarnation proves otherwise. Even as a reanimated corpse, a shinobi can wield their Kekkei Genkai—showing that these powers are not solely tied to physical blood, but also embedded in the soul.
Chakra itself is a fusion of spiritual and physical energy. And when the wills of Indra and Asura can reincarnate across generations via chakra, Su Xiuyu wasn't at all surprised he could access the Mangekyō Sharingan and Rinnegan even in a soul state.
In this form, he began exploring the use of spiritual particles to release ninjutsu. At its core, it was still just energy manipulation. Challenging, yes—but certainly within reach.
Meanwhile, Urahara Kisuke had been quietly observing Su Xiuyu for days. Besides minor interactions with Kurosaki Ichigo and a few of his classmates, Su Xiuyu showed no notable activity. But Urahara remained cautious.
Su Xiuyu, of course, noticed the surveillance. He even caught Kisuke snooping more than once—but the man always played it off with that same nonchalant grin.
Then, while out shopping, Su Xiuyu's real body was ambushed—by none other than Inoue Orihime and Arisawa Tatsuki.
Karakura Town really was too small.
"Mr. Su, honestly! Two beautiful high school girls invite you to dinner, and you ghost us? So disrespectful!" Tatsuki teased, smirking.
Su Xiuyu let out a helpless sigh. "Didn't I say I've been tied up lately?"
Tatsuki huffed. "Tied up, my foot! It's just dinner! Keep dodging and I might just scream molester next time." She grabbed his arm and gave him a mock glare.
Su Xiuyu paused. She was obviously bluffing, but the message was clear.
"Alright, alright. Tonight then. Let's get it over with."
Grinning triumphantly, Orihime and Tatsuki gathered ingredients and rushed off to prep the meal. Tatsuki assured him her parents weren't home—which, honestly, was the only reason Su Xiuyu even agreed to show up.
"You girls are reckless," he said when they arrived. "This is only our third meeting. You really brought a stranger home just like that? What if I wasn't trustworthy?"
Orihime's face turned red. "You're a good person, Mr. Su! We just wanted to thank you properly…"
"I'm not saying I'd do anything," Su Xiuyu muttered. "But you two need to be more cautious."
The awkwardness was palpable, and conversation soon fizzled out. Only the sound of chopping vegetables and boiling water remained.
After some time, the two girls finally presented a full spread—modest by Western standards, but generous by Japanese tradition. Given Su Xiuyu's size, they'd made extra to accommodate.
Under their hopeful stares, he forced a smile. "It tastes great."
In truth, the food was… bland. Typical Japanese cuisine. Not something his palette enjoyed—but they'd put their hearts into it, and he wasn't about to crush their pride.
"Hey, uncle," Tatsuki said mid-meal, already buzzed from a couple of pineapple beers. "How old are you, really?"
Su Xiuyu paused mid-bite.
To them, he looked like a guy in his early twenties. But in truth… he was far older than he appeared.
"I don't really remember," he said casually. "Sixties? Maybe seventies?"
Tatsuki narrowed her eyes. "Liar. You could pass for seventeen."
Then she leaned in, her voice slightly slurred. "Ever been in love?"
"I'm married," Su Xiuyu answered truthfully.
The room fell silent.
Neither Orihime nor Tatsuki had expected that. For some reason, they felt... disappointed. It wasn't love. Not really. Just the fragile spark of youthful admiration, extinguished before it could flicker into something more.
Su Xiuyu stood and sighed.
He wasn't sure if either girl had feelings for him—but whatever they might have been, he'd made things clear. Better now than later.
As he stepped outside, a ripple in space caught his attention. Without hesitation, he activated his teleportation ability and vanished.
He arrived at the scene in under a second.
There they were—Ichigo and Rukia—again. They'd just slain another Hollow. But this time... the Gates of Hell had opened.
The massive red doors cracked open with a deafening creak. Skeletons were fused into the frame, one on each side, glaring silently as they pulled the condemned soul inside.
Information on Hell was scarce—even within Soul Society. Its rules, its hierarchy, its nature—all veiled in mystery. But Su Xiuyu wouldn't let this opportunity pass.
He immediately carved a spatial marker onto the Hollow being dragged into the abyss. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he hurled a shuriken through the closing gate.
It wasn't time to explore Hell yet—but one day, it might be. And preparation always beat scrambling at the last second.
As the gates vanished, silence returned.
Su Xiuyu left without interacting with Ichigo or Rukia. There was nothing more to gain from them tonight.
---
The next day, Orihime and Tatsuki both took a break from school. No one questioned it—Orihime's home had just been wrecked. She needed time.
Meanwhile, Ichigo Kurosaki paid a quiet visit to his mother's grave.
It was meant to be a solemn, reflective day.
Instead, it turned into a bloodbath.
At the cemetery, Ichigo came face-to-face with the same Hollow that had killed his mother all those years ago.
The battle was long and brutal. He bled. He burned. He roared.
But in the end, he won.
Ichigo avenged his mother.
And more importantly—he finally understood.
Power wasn't just for fighting.
It was for protecting the people you love.
-----------------
"Huh? Training plan?" Ichigo Kurosaki blinked, confused. The words sounded foreign, especially coming from Rukia, whose sketch of said "plan" looked more like a doodle drawn by someone with no concept of anatomy or logic.
"Yes," Rukia replied flatly. "Your family was attacked by a Hollow yesterday. Didn't you swear you'd get stronger to protect them? What, did you forget all that after a good night's sleep?"
Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. Rukia, however, wasn't smiling.
She still remembered the helplessness of that encounter. A minor Hollow had left them scrambling. Worse, she had been discovered by another Shinigami while stranded in the human world. Though they promised not to report it, she knew her secret wouldn't stay buried much longer. Her body hadn't recovered, her Shinigami powers hadn't returned, and she still couldn't go back to Soul Society.
"Okay, I get it," Ichigo muttered. "But how am I supposed to train? Go join the Kendo Club and swing a stick around?"
He wasn't exactly the club type. In fact, he belonged to the prestigious "Going Home Club"—a master of avoiding extracurriculars. But if wielding a sword came with the job of being a Shinigami, he figured he should at least try.
"The Kendo Club is useless," Rukia dismissed. "Your body's already stronger than a normal human's. Training with civilians would just be playing house. Don't worry—I'm working on finding you a proper instructor."
She had recently visited Urahara Kisuke to purchase supplies to stabilize her Gigai. To her surprise, she also learned that Kisuke had been in contact with Su Xiuyu. That, too, was something to think about later.
"Fine," Ichigo sighed. "I'll leave it to you."
---
That night, rain lashed Karakura Town.
Ichigo was jolted awake by Rukia, who told him a Hollow had appeared. Again. Lately, sleep had become a luxury—the Hollows attacked whenever they pleased. Fortunately, Ichigo's spiritual form had strengthened his physical body, and that strength now fed back into his real-world form.
Dashing through the rain, Ichigo locked onto the Hollow's reiatsu and prepared to strike—only for the creature to suddenly vanish, pierced clean through by a glowing arrow.
"What the—?!"
Ichigo scanned the surroundings, blade still raised, but saw no one. Rukia, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. That arrow... its spiritual composition felt familiar.
Whoever it was, they were gone before either of them could react.
---
The next day at school, Ichigo was still stewing over the interrupted fight when something unexpected happened.
Ishida Uryu—quiet, unassuming Ishida from the sewing club—approached him and asked to meet on the rooftop.
Ichigo blinked. If Uryu hadn't been the top student in Home Ec, Ichigo might've assumed he was about to be challenged to a fight.
Curious but cautious, Ichigo made his way to the rooftop during lunch break.
Ishida was already waiting, calm and composed, glasses catching the sunlight.
Then he dropped the bomb.
"You're a Shinigami, aren't you, Kurosaki Ichigo?"
Ichigo nearly choked on air.
"H-Huh?! What are you talking about, Uryu-san? Is... Shinigami some kind of new game? I mean, we're both grown men—no need to sneak onto rooftops to talk about RPGs, right?"
He laughed nervously, praying this was some weird misunderstanding.
But Ishida wasn't smiling.
"Oh? So the nightly patrols with Rukia, the Hollow extermination outings during school hours... all fake, then?"
Ichigo's forced grin dropped.
There was no use pretending anymore. This guy could see spirits—and apparently had been tracking him and Rukia the whole time.
"Wait... are you a Shinigami too?" Ichigo asked.
That seemed the logical conclusion. Anyone who knew this much had to be, right?
Ishida's expression twisted into pure disgust.
"Me? A Shinigami ? Don't insult me. I would never be something that filthy."
Ichigo blinked. "Huh?"
"I hate Shinigami," Ishida said, voice cold. "They're the worst kind of existence. And today, I'm going to prove it."
He extended a hand, revealing tiny glowing particles—bait.
"This will attract Hollows. Let's have a little competition. We'll see who can kill more."
"Wait, what?!" Ichigo took a step back. "I didn't agree to that!"
"I'll drop the bait near the city center. Try not to chicken out."
With that, Ishida leapt across to the next building and disappeared into the distance.
"Hey! I didn't say yes!" Ichigo yelled after him. But the guy was already hundreds of meters away.
Just then, Rukia arrived, panting. "I saw Uryu talking to you. What did he say?"
Ichigo gave her the rundown as they rushed after Ishida.
"We'll deal with him later," Rukia said. "Right now, we need to focus on the Hollows. If he actually uses that bait, this could get ugly."
As they neared the city center, the tension in the air thickened. Spiritual pressure surged in the distance.
"We need to move—fast."
---
By the time they arrived, Ishida had already set up his bow and arrow, standing on a rooftop like he owned the night.
"Rukia," Ichigo asked, "is he another wild Shinigami?"
Rukia nearly tripped.
"What? No! There's no such thing as a 'wild' Shinigami. Didn't I tell you already? It's forbidden to give Shinigami powers to humans. That's why I'm in so much trouble. And Ishida… he's clearly human."
"Then how is he doing all this?"
Rukia's expression darkened.
"He's not a Shinigami…. he's a Quincy."
Ichigo blinked. "A what now?"
"A Quincy. They're humans with the ability to manipulate spiritual particles. They use bows instead of swords, and their goal is the same as ours: destroying Hollows."
"Well, that doesn't sound so bad."
Rukia bit her lip.
"But the way they do it disrupts the balance. Soul Reapers purify Hollows. Quincies erase them. Completely. That's why Soul Society destroyed them... or so we thought."
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