Because of how strange the green-haired girl was, Rukia had no choice but to open her Denreishinki and request assistance from the Soul Society.
After all, the Grand Spirit Book Archive contained records of everything in existence. No matter who this girl was, they'd be able to find it.
If not, they could at least ask the Twelfth Division for help.
But to their surprise, the entire Department of Research and Development was too busy investigating the Dangai incident to respond.
Even Captain Mayuri himself was working in the field—let alone the others.
Well… except for one.
That was the strange Shinigami with one half of their hair dyed green and the other yellow, the one who'd helped Akon earlier with tracking Senkaimon usage.
At that very moment, as the entire department scrambled over the Dangai anomaly, Mayuri and his team—Kenpachi and the others—lost all contact with the Research Bureau after being ambushed inside the Dangai!
Meanwhile, Byakuya, Tōshirō, and Renji—who were heading there to reinforce Mayuri's group—discovered something vital.
Because of how suspicious the item was, Byakuya brought both Tōshirō and Renji directly to the First Division's barracks to present it to Yamamoto himself.
And what was this mysterious object?
It was a Fourth Division badge—one unmistakably belonging to Kurosaki Ichigo!
Even stranger, the badge still had Ichigo's spiritual pressure lingering on it!
But… Ichigo had never entered the Dangai during that time.
So why was his badge there?
With no answers, Unohana Yachirō—once again acting in Yamamoto's place—sent a message to Rukia:
"Thirteenth Division Officer Kuchiki Rukia, Chizuru, and Fourth Division Third Seat Kurosaki Ichigo—report to Soul Society immediately. Urgent classified matter."
Upon receiving the summons, Ichigo and the girls immediately headed to Urahara's shop, hoping to gather more intel.
But, to their surprise, Kisuke also had no clue what was going on.
After hearing the full situation, Urahara nodded solemnly.
"Strange indeed. But, Kurosaki-san, I'd advise against heading to Soul Society right now. A few days ago, Yoruichi-san went there too… and she hasn't been heard from since."
Ichigo's expression darkened.
"Yoruichi-neesan lost contact?"
"Then I have to go."
Senna didn't hesitate either.
"I'm going with you!"
She knew Ichigo too well. With so many people he cared about in the Soul Society, he wouldn't rest until he knew they were safe.
Kisuke, trusting Ichigo completely after the Aizen incident—especially because Ichigo hadn't hidden any physical issues from him—finally sighed.
"Alright, I'll open a Senkaimon for you. It's an untraceable type… ideal for covert movement."
Using Kisuke's secret Senkaimon, the three entered the Dangai.
But this time… the space looked different.
The walls were no longer flowing. It was clean—unnaturally so. And there wasn't a trace of spiritual pressure.
If it weren't for the Hell Butterflies guiding them, they wouldn't have believed this was the Dangai at all.
After all, just a month ago, Aizen had destroyed the Kōtotsu—the creature that maintained balance in the Dangai.
And for the past month, the Soul Society had been dispatching large numbers of Shinigami to deal with spiritual residue left in Karakura Town.
Rukia frowned, relaying these details to Ichigo and Senna.
But suddenly, from behind, a monster carrying a massive golden lantern charged at them!
The three instantly took off running.
Senna shouted, "Didn't Aizen kill the Kōtotsu?! Why's it back?!"
Sure, Kōtotsu was a natural phenomenon and might regenerate eventually—but the sudden return was beyond suspicious.
As they ran, something fell from Ichigo's robes—his Fourth Division badge.
It fell right into the Dangai—exactly the one Byakuya would later find.
The Kōtotsu's speed grew faster and faster.
Ichigo gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Bankai!"
Though he didn't have much power left, after activating Bankai, he grabbed both Rukia and Senna and blasted toward the Soul Society at top speed.
They broke through in one rush—but were separated upon arrival due to the Kōtotsu's interference.
Ichigo landed alone and quickly located the girls' spiritual pressures, deactivating his Bankai as he began walking toward them.
But before he got far, he looked up and saw… Hitsugaya Tōshirō standing on a rooftop.
They'd been through a lot together. And recently, it was Tōshirō who'd convinced Hinamori to stop clinging to Ichigo and return to Soul Society.
On top of that, he had somehow become really good friends with Ichigo's little sister, Karin.
So he was basically family.
Ichigo smiled. "Yo, Tōshirō! You see where Rukia and Senna landed?"
But Tōshirō didn't respond.
He drew his Zanpakutō and pointed it at Ichigo coldly.
"Drop your blade, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ichigo froze.
This isn't right.
Tōshirō would never speak to him like that!
And before Ichigo could process what was happening, Tōshirō leapt from the rooftop and slashed down at him.
Ichigo blocked the strike and shouted, "Tōshirō! What are you doing?!"
But he didn't get an answer.
Soon after, Byakuya arrived with several other lieutenants, surrounding him:
Izuru Kira (3rd Division)
Iba Tetsuzaemon (7th Division)
Hisagi Shūhei (9th Division)
Now he was completely surrounded—by two Captains and three Lieutenants.
Seeing his big brother-in-law, Ichigo sighed in relief.
"Byakuya… what's going on?"
But the only response he got was the gleam of Senbonzakura.
"Apologies, Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya said coldly.
"But as a primary suspect, I have no choice but to place you under arrest."
Ichigo stood in place, stunned. Was this really happening?
He couldn't believe it.
And where were Soi Fon, Unohana, or Rangiku? Why weren't they here?
In the prison cell, Ichigo's heart was full of confusion.
What had happened to the Soul Society?
Why had he suddenly become the prime suspect?
Were the others okay?
Just as his thoughts spiraled, he heard familiar voices—
"Ichigo!" Rukia called softly.
He turned to see Rukia and Senna appear outside his cell, holding his Zanpakutō.
Before he could speak, the girls gestured for silence.
Ichigo quickly covered his mouth.
Thanks to them, he escaped easily.
But he couldn't understand—why were they breaking him out?
"What's going on? Why am I being arrested? What about Unohana? The others?"
But the girls didn't have time to explain.
"Something's wrong in Soul Society," Rukia said grimly.
"We need to get out of here first."
They began sneaking away—but their escape didn't go smoothly.
They ran into… Renji and Ikkaku.
"Rukia! Kurosaki Ichigo! Senna!" Renji shouted.
"Renji?" Rukia looked at him, confused.
Renji shouldn't be stopping them.
But then he shouted something that stunned all three of them.
"Rukia, why are you with Ichigo?! We found his Fourth Division badge in the Dangai at the exact time Mayuri and the others disappeared!"
Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna were all shocked.
Ikkaku added, "That's right! Captain Kenpachi vanished too! Ichigo—what do you have to say for yourself?!"
Ichigo couldn't answer.
Because it was his badge that had fallen there…
With no evidence to clear his name, Renji and Ikkaku sighed and released their Zanpakutō.
"Roar, Zabimaru!"
"Extend, Hōzukimaru!"
They knew exactly how strong Ichigo's group was—so they didn't hold back.
Ichigo went to draw his blade, but Rukia and Senna stopped him.
"Ichigo, leave this to us!" Rukia said, stepping forward.
Senna smiled. "Yeah! You've protected us enough—it's our turn now."
As Renji and Ikkaku charged in, the girls rushed to meet them:
Rukia vs. Renji
Senna vs. Ikkaku
"Rukia! You'd fight me over Ichigo?! Are you betraying the Soul Society?!" Renji shouted mid-combat.
But something felt… off.
The tone sounded like Renji, but something about him was too eager to fight her.
And Renji's combat style—wild and aggressive—didn't feel right.
Same with Ikkaku—he abandoned defense completely, wildly jabbing at Senna with his spear.
Rukia flared her spiritual pressure and overwhelmed Zabimaru with ease.
But before either girl could push further—
"Bakudō #73: Tōzanshō!"
A chantless Kidō spell exploded beside them!
It was Yoruichi!
She had already infiltrated the Soul Society—and sealed Renji and Ikkaku in one strike.
She shouted, "Don't waste time! Come with me!"
The trio exchanged glances—and immediately followed her.
She led them to a hidden base within a mountain cave on a cliffside.
"Yoruichi-neesan! Are you alright? What's going on?!" Ichigo asked.
Yoruichi shook her head.
"I'm fine. But those weren't the real Renji and Ikkaku."
Everyone's eyes widened.
Senna asked urgently, "Then what were they?!"
"They were artificial souls placed inside Gigai that copied Renji and Ikkaku's abilities," Yoruichi explained.
"In fact, those artificial bodies are a special kind of Gigai we call Rei-kai—spirit shells."
"In short, they're like clones—and they're even stronger than the originals."
Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna all frowned deeply.
Stronger than the originals?
How was that even possible?
(End of Chapter)
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