Unfortunately, Ichigo's fury couldn't change anything right now. The reason was simple — his spiritual pressure was still far too chaotic.
That Getsuga Tenshō may have looked impressive, but in truth, its power didn't even match what he had achieved while in his Shikai state.
Kagerōza evaded the attack with a single shunpo, then turned to Nozomi and calmly said, "Come now, Nozomi. Let's return to where we belong."
"No! I'd rather die than go back with you!" Nozomi shouted, her eyes filled with despair.
Senna instantly shunpo-ed to Nozomi's side, blocking the way. "That's enough, you freak! Nozomi already said she's not going with you!"
It wasn't just Senna — even Hachirō and Daisuke stood at the ready, unwilling to let Kagerōza take another step forward.
Ichigo leaned on his Zanpakutō, panting heavily. If his power wasn't suppressed, someone like Kagerōza? He could've killed him a hundred times over!
Kagerōza sneered coldly. He knew full well he couldn't take on these Soul Reapers head-on — especially not with old man Yamamoto, the strongest of them all, watching from the sidelines.
Then, with a sudden flick of his Zanpakutō, a rip opened behind Nozomi — the Dangai.
Kagerōza used it to suck Nozomi in, vanishing alongside her.
Everyone was completely stunned!
"Spatial abilities!" Ichigo growled.
"Damn it! We never should've let him get close to us! We were too careless!" Senna cursed angrily.
They had the upper hand, but just because of the bizarre power of Kagerōza's Zanpakutō, they lost Nozomi!
Rukia and Unohana both had expressions filled with rage. These spatial-type abilities were just too infuriating!
"I'm going to Soul Society to get Nozomi back!" Ichigo shouted, turning to Rukia to open a Senkaimon.
Unohana instantly shunpo-ed beside Ichigo and grabbed his arm. "Ichigo! Calm down! Without Urahara Kisuke's help, we won't make it through the Dangai safely!"
"She's right, Ichigo! If Kagerōza moved the entry point to somewhere in Rukongai, we'll waste too much time searching!" Senna added.
Rukia nodded. "Let's head to Urahara's shop. He'll know what to do!"
Hearing the three of them, Ichigo finally calmed down.
Only then did Yamamoto speak. "Leave these weaklings here in the Human World to me! Honestly… they're all so useless," he muttered, dragging the injured lieutenants away to tend to them.
Ichigo, along with his group and Unohana, rushed to Urahara's shop.
Urahara had already grasped the situation by the time they arrived. He nodded, "Kurosaki-san, the Senkaimon is ready. Do you want to use it now?"
Ichigo nodded decisively.
Soul Society
Having returned with Nozomi to the Department of Research and Development, Kagerōza immediately began his fusion experiment.
He sealed Nozomi in a large test tube and, anticipating that the Soul Reapers from the Human World would come after him, had already deployed defensive measures through the Reigai Captains at the Senkaimon.
But everything had already been anticipated by Urahara Kisuke.
Kagerōza never expected that Urahara wouldn't even use the Senkaimon!
Inside the Dangai
"Rrrgh!" Renji released his spiritual pressure with full force.
Feeling the pressure, Reigai Kenpachi immediately charged into the Dangai, clashing fiercely with Renji!
Meanwhile, Ichigo and Urahara took another route — the same naturally formed portal Nozomi had once used as a hiding place.
That passage didn't just lead to other dimensions; it also led directly to Soul Society!
Not only that — Urahara donned a special cloak he invented that completely suppressed spiritual pressure. Since there were only two cloaks, only he and Ichigo could move stealthily, while the others took a more standard route to draw attention.
While the Reigai were being lured away, Ichigo and Urahara slipped into Soul Society without anyone noticing.
They used the underground sewers of Seireitei to bypass the guards and arrived at the Department of Research and Development.
As its founder, Urahara knew this place like the back of his hand.
He quickly led Ichigo to Kagerōza's laboratory where the modified gikongan were made.
"Kurosaki-san, before we rescue Nozomi, I want to ask you something," Urahara said at the lab entrance.
Ichigo paused. "Go ahead, Urahara-san."
Having gone from distrust to trust through all they'd been through, Ichigo now truly listened to Urahara's advice.
"With your current strength… can you defeat Kagerōza?" Urahara asked calmly.
Ichigo was silent for a moment, then sighed. "To be honest, I don't stand a chance. If my spiritual energy wasn't so chaotic, I'd definitely win!"
Urahara nodded and looked around. "This place was where Kagerōza created his modified souls. I believe we can use it to help you."
Ichigo blinked. "But didn't Kagerōza fail to make a Reigai of me? Can you really do it?"
Urahara shook his head. "If even the creator couldn't make one of you, how could I? But… I can use the equipment here to stabilize your spiritual pressure."
"…How?" Ichigo asked, now interested.
"I know your spiritual pressure is heavily suppressed, but what if I greatly amplified your Soul Reaper powers? Wouldn't that help?" Urahara's eyes gleamed.
Ichigo's eyes lit up too.
"If my Soul Reaper powers increase… then I'd have full control over both my Hollow and Shinigami sides!"
He didn't say the other part aloud — even if he wanted to suppress his inner powers, it might no longer be possible.
Urahara sat down and began hacking into Kagerōza's systems. Based on the data, he created a modified gikongan — a temporary fix that could boost Ichigo's Shinigami powers.
But because of Ichigo's unique body, it was a short-term solution. To truly restore his powers, Ichigo needed to reconcile with Zangetsu.
Unfortunately, the new version of Zangetsu was still hiding in his inner world, and both Muramasa and Hollow Ichigo were currently chasing him in a chaotic internal war.
Only by pinning down new Zangetsu could Ichigo reclaim his full power.
It might take years.
"I'll leave it to you, Urahara-san," Ichigo said.
Urahara nodded, satisfied with the partially formed gikongan.
But just then — alarms rang throughout the lab!
All the equipment began to destabilize.
Elsewhere, submerged in another test tube, Kagerōza was smiling.
As the creator of the modified souls, how could he not anticipate what Urahara would attempt?
He knew the gikongan could temporarily stabilize Ichigo's spiritual pressure — but as the enemy, how could he allow that to happen?
Urahara had walked into his trap.
But Ichigo didn't hesitate.
Seeing the machine about to explode, he smashed the test tube and swallowed the incomplete gikongan.
He trusted Muramasa and Hollow Ichigo — even with partial power, he'd take Kagerōza down!
The lab exploded in flames.
Urahara sighed. "Let's head to the next lab. No way Kagerōza stored all his research in just one."
Before he could finish, they were surrounded — the explosion had drawn in 10th Division Reigai members!
"There they are! Intruders!"
Urahara raised his hand. "Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"
The low-level spell blasted the enemies away in one go.
"Kurosaki-san, let's go. I suspect Nozomi's in the next lab."
Ichigo, whose spiritual pressure had stabilized a bit, nodded. "Got it!"
The two of them raced out of the building.
But the Reigai Captains weren't fools.
After being distracted by Renji and the others, they soon realized Ichigo wasn't among them.
Some of them returned to Soul Society immediately — and blocked Ichigo and Urahara's escape!
Urahara sighed. "Ichigo, go find the lab. Leave this to me."
He transformed his cane into Benihime.
It looked like he was planning to recreate that legendary moment when Aizen fought seven captains at once!
Whether others could do it or not, Ichigo wasn't sure.
But Urahara?
He definitely could.
And he wasn't alone — the original captains had returned!
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
A powerful lightning blast consumed one of the Reigai Captains.
Yoruichi, Soifon, Byakuya, Hitsugaya, Kenpachi — even Shunsui and Ukitake were there!
And also Yoruichi's friend, Kukaku Shiba!
The reason they'd survived Kagerōza's purge was because Kukaku had descended like a goddess, saving her brother and a White Way Gate guard named Jidanbō, then blowing up Kagerōza's lab.
They hid in Rukongai to recover, and now they were fully healed.
"Leave this to us. Go!" Yoruichi shouted.
"Thanks! We're counting on you!" Ichigo replied, racing off again with Urahara.
They made a wide loop — and returned to the Department of Research and Development!
That's right — they'd left earlier to throw the Reigai off their trail.
Now that they were back, their real goal was clear: investigate Kagerōza's origins.
It was smarter than blindly searching.
Thanks to his knowledge of Mayuri, Urahara hacked into the system easily.
They found a file on Kagerōza.
It said he joined the Gotei 13 sixty years ago.
But… there was no mention of Nozomi.
Urahara frowned. "He must've altered the files. With his control over Seireitei, it wouldn't be hard."
"So what now?" Ichigo asked.
"We go to the Seireitei Library. Their records are in physical books — black and white, and not easily altered!"
They rushed off again.
After some searching, Urahara finally found the trail — a clue buried in the 10th Division's enlistment and dismissal logs.
They followed that trail to the 10th Division barracks.
And after a long series of twists and turns…
They finally discovered Kagerōza's true identity.
(End of Chapter)
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