The method Rukia thought of was not something she invented herself.
Rather, it was knowledge preserved within Soul Society.
As a member of the Kuchiki Clan, Rukia had access to certain historical records unavailable to ordinary Shinigami.
According to those records, under special circumstances, a Shinigami could transfer a portion of their spiritual power to a human.
Naturally, there were conditions.
The recipient had to possess sufficient spiritual awareness and latent spiritual power.
Ordinary humans could neither perceive a Shinigami nor withstand spiritual power transfer.
But spiritually aware humans were different.
Spiritual power originated from the soul itself.
A human with exceptional spiritual power would, upon death, retain that potential as a soul.
Such individuals often possessed the qualifications necessary to become Shinigami after entering Soul Society.
Historically, there had been rare instances in which Shinigami temporarily transferred their powers to others.
However, the practice was heavily restricted by the laws of Soul Society.
After all, the recipient was merely borrowing power.
Such individuals did not possess an Asauchi of their own.
Nor could they awaken a true Zanpakutō spirit through the normal path of a Shinigami.
The power they wielded was temporary and borrowed.
Nevertheless, rules meant little in the face of imminent death.
At this moment, Rukia had no alternative.
The Hollow before them was too strong.
She was severely injured.
Ichigo's sisters were unconscious.
And Ichigo himself was powerless to stop the monster.
If she did nothing, everyone present would die.
Fortunately, they were in the Human World.
Soul Society's supervision over events in the living realm was far from perfect.
By the time anyone discovered what had happened, the immediate crisis would already be over.
Moreover, Ichigo had already demonstrated abilities that exceeded those of ordinary humans.
He could see spirits clearly.
He could perceive Hollows.
Most astonishingly, he had broken free from Bakudō #1: Sai through sheer force of will.
His spiritual power was extraordinary.
If she transferred part of her Shinigami power to him, perhaps he could finish what she no longer had the strength to accomplish.
The Hollow was already wounded.
One decisive strike might be enough.
Making her decision, Rukia looked directly at Ichigo.
"Do you want to save your sisters?"
"Do you want to protect your family?"
Ichigo answered without hesitation.
"Of course I do."
Rukia nodded.
"Then there's a way."
"What way?"
She quickly explained.
The method sounded completely absurd.
To gain Shinigami power, she would have to stab him with her Zanpakutō.
Under normal circumstances, any sane person would refuse immediately.
Yet Ichigo did not hesitate.
His sisters were in danger.
Nothing else mattered.
Seeing his determination, Rukia raised Sode no Shirayuki and thrust it toward his chest.
Originally, she intended to transfer only a portion of her spiritual power.
Just enough for Ichigo to act in her place while leaving herself sufficient strength to continue her assignment afterward.
But the instant her spiritual power entered his body
Everything changed.
A terrifying force erupted from within Ichigo.
Instead of receiving only part of her power, he absorbed it all.
Every last drop.
Rukia's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What?!"
Her spiritual power vanished completely.
A moment later, weakness overwhelmed her.
She collapsed to the ground.
Then she witnessed something she would never forget.
A torrent of spiritual energy exploded from Ichigo's body.
Black robes materialized around him.
A massive Zanpakutō appeared in his hands.
Far larger than any ordinary blade.
The spiritual pressure pouring from him dwarfed anything she had anticipated.
For an instant, even the Hollow seemed stunned.
Then Ichigo moved.
One swing.
Just one.
The enormous blade cut through the Hollow effortlessly.
The monster split apart before it could even react.
A burst of spiritual particles scattered into the night sky.
The battle was over.
The Hollow had been destroyed.
And standing in its place was a newly born Substitute Shinigami.
Elsewhere in Karakura Town, inside Urahara Shop, Kisuke Urahara observed the entire event.
Using his surveillance methods, he had been monitoring the situation from the beginning.
After witnessing the outcome, he rubbed the stubble on his chin.
"What an unexpected development."
Even he had not anticipated events unfolding quite like this.
The meeting between Rukia Kuchiki and Kurosaki Ichigo had been a coincidence.
Yet because of that coincidence, Ichigo had now become a Shinigami.
The gears of fate had turned once again.
Thinking of the situation, Urahara could not help wondering how Isshin and Masaki would react when they learned the news.
After a moment's thought, he chuckled.
Probably not very strongly.
As Ichigo matured, his spiritual power had continued growing at an astonishing rate.
Ordinary spiritually aware humans saw blurry outlines.
Ichigo saw spirits with complete clarity.
Ordinary humans could not resist Bakudō.
Ichigo shattered one.
Even without Rukia's intervention, it was only a matter of time before the power sleeping inside him began to awaken.
The only uncertainty was which power would emerge first.
His Shinigami heritage.
His Quincy heritage.
Or the Hollow power sleeping deep within his soul.
Now, however, the answer had been decided.
Rukia's spiritual power had acted as a catalyst.
The balance between the various powers inside Ichigo had shifted.
His Shinigami power had awakened first.
In Urahara's view, that was probably the best possible outcome.
After all, compared to the dangers associated with uncontrolled Hollow power or Quincy influence, awakening as a Shinigami offered the most stable path forward.
If Isshin learned of it, he would likely be relieved.
After all
Ichigo had finally taken his first step toward understanding the truth about himself.
"Still…"
Urahara's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"This may be a good opportunity."
Compared to Ichigo, the person who interested him more at the moment was Rukia Kuchiki.
As expected, the complete transfer of her spiritual power had left her stranded in the Human World.
Without spiritual power, returning to Soul Society would be impossible.
Nor could she properly carry out her mission.
Sooner or later, she would require assistance.
And when that happened, Urahara intended to intervene.
Because there was something hidden within Rukia that very few people knew about.
Something connected to the Hōgyoku.
Years earlier, after creating the Hōgyoku, Urahara had become increasingly concerned about the possibility of it falling into the wrong hands.
Especially the hands of Sōsuke Aizen.
To protect it, he had devised an ingenious method.
Rather than hide the Hōgyoku in a physical location, he concealed it within a soul.
Using advanced Gigai technology and specialized spiritual techniques, he sealed the Hōgyoku deep inside a specially prepared human Gigai carried by Rukia. This was the canon method by which he hid it from detection.
Because of the nature of the seal, even someone standing directly in front of it would struggle to detect its existence.
For many years, the Hōgyoku remained hidden.
More recently, Urahara had begun researching methods of neutralizing or destroying it altogether.
Now fate had delivered Rukia directly into the Human World.
Perhaps this was the opportunity he needed.
Meanwhile, far away in Soul Society, another man was reaching his own conclusions.
Sōsuke Aizen.
For years, he had searched for Urahara's Hōgyoku.
Although he never located Urahara himself, his investigations had not been fruitless.
Eventually, he discovered an important truth.
The Hōgyoku was no longer in Urahara's possession.
Urahara had hidden it elsewhere.
And although the trail was exceptionally well concealed, Aizen's patience and intelligence eventually uncovered fragments of the truth.
Recently, he had identified a likely target.
That target had left Soul Society.
That target had been dispatched to the Human World.
And now that same target had become involved with a boy Aizen had already been observing for years.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
Even more interestingly, that target had just lost her Shinigami powers.
As he reviewed the reports before him, Aizen slowly smiled.
The corners of his mouth curved upward.
"Interesting."
The game he had been waiting for was finally beginning.
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