Ichigo and the others turned around and looked in the direction the squad leader pointed. Their first sight was the Seireitei, not far away, whose architectural style was vastly different from the Rukongai.
Although the Revolutionary Army had been committed to improving the quality of life for Rukongai's residents over the past twenty-plus years, catching up to the Seireitei within these two decades was impossible.
Even the most prosperous district's buildings, compared to those in the Seireitei, were like the difference between a small mountain village and a landmark structure in a big city.
"Right, that's the Seireitei."
The black cat Yoruichi jumped down from Ichigo's shoulder and said in a deep voice.
"The difference is huge..."
Even as outsiders, just from the architecture of the Seireitei and the Rukongai, Ichigo and the four others sensed the invisible yet existing chasm between the two.
Although the buildings in the Rukongai were somewhat shabby, one could still see smiles on the faces of the people around.
But when people turned their gaze towards the Seireitei, all they felt was 'severity'.
"Is Miyako-nee waiting for judgment inside there?"
Just from the external appearance of the buildings, Ichigo and the others knew that their rescue operation for Miyako might not go smoothly.
Although, from Kisuke's words, they had already prepared to rescue Miyako by force.
Still, they held a faint hope that communication might be possible.
"Time is urgent, let's go!"
"It has already been a month since Shiba Miyako was captured and brought to the Seireitei."
"We don't know if the Seireitei has already passed judgment on Shiba Miyako."
"If judgment hasn't been passed yet, we can directly take her from the Repentance Cell."
"But if judgment has already been passed, we must first find out where they are holding Shiba Miyako before we can act."
Because the lifespan of Shinigami is several times that of ordinary people, time is not so urgent for them.
Some matters can even be piled up for half a year before being handled.
This is also why the Seireitei doesn't fall into chaos even if the Captains neglect their duties for a period.
"Yeah, let's go!"
Ichigo nodded, waved to the few Revolutionary Army's soldiers, and led the three humans and one cat towards the Seireitei.
...
"Oh?"
"Kurosaki Ichigo and the others are already here at this time?"
When Kyoya sensed Ichigo and the others appearing in the Rukongai, he was taken aback.
Then, he understood.
After Miyako was taken back to the Seireitei by Byakuya and Kaien, Ichigo and the others received a month of guidance from Kisuke and Yoruichi, preliminarily mastering their own power before using the Senkaimon to enter the Soul Society.
In the Dangai, Ichigo and the others encountered the rare Dangai's cleaner, the Kototsu, which caused a disruption in the time they were in.
Ichigo and the others from a month later in the human world appeared in the Soul Society from half a month ago.
In other words, from Ichigo and the others' perspective, it had been a month since Miyako was captured and brought to the Seireitei.
But in fact, the Seireitei had only brought Miyako back half a month ago.
The reason Kyoya knew about the future half a month later in the human world was because his perception could now cover the three worlds.
Combined with his Observation Haki to see into the future and his own knowledge of the main storyline of the Bleach World, he had told the Revolutionary Army's Army Commanders those things.
"Perfect, the timing is about right..."
"Then, let's begin!"
…
"Captain Aizen, I'm back."
In the 5th Division Captain's office, Gin stood with his arms crossed, squinting at Aizen.
"Thank you for your hard work, Gin."
Aizen sat at his desk, his Captain's Haori simply draped over his shoulders, diligently processing the pile of documents on his desk.
Behind him, Hinamori Momo, with her hair in a bun, was sleeping soundly.
"Not really..."
"Knocking that boy out of the Seireitei didn't take much effort."
Gin scanned Aizen up and down with a probing gaze, "What I'm curious about is, Captain Aizen, you can make mistakes too?"
"Gin, anyone can make mistakes."
Aizen naturally knew what Gin was referring to.
The matter of Miyako was originally unrelated to him.
However, while investigating the incident of Miyako losing her Reiatsu, Aizen discovered Ichigo's existence.
Naturally, through the blood Ichigo left behind, Aizen learned that Ichigo possessed both Shinigami and Hollow powers.
This aligned perfectly with Aizen's research.
Rather, Ichigo could be seen as the ultimate result Aizen aimed to achieve with his research on the Hogyoku.
And the Hogyoku was the key item for Aizen's transformation towards becoming like Ichigo.
The Hollowfication of Shinigami and the Shinigamification of Hollows… this was Aizen's method to break through his own limits.
Of course, the method existed, but for now, Aizen had not yet applied this technology to himself.
After all, he had conducted numerous experiments in Hueco Mundo using the Hollows there.
From Gillian to Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde, the three levels of Menos, all had been Aizen's test subjects.
But even as the technology matured day by day, these [Arrancar] who gained Shinigami power did not meet Aizen's expectations.
Introducing two opposing forces was meant to break the limits of his own soul and ascend to a higher dimension.
But through the contributions of many Hollows in Hueco Mundo, Aizen also learned that the half Hogyoku in his possession could not allow him to break his limits.
Therefore, he must get his hands on the other half of the Hogyoku hidden within Miyako's soul by Kisuke.
To obtain the Hogyoku as soon as possible, Aizen manipulated members of the Central 46 to repeatedly change the proceedings of Miyako's case, wanting to solidify her charges within a month and seize the Hogyoku within her.
However, Aizen never expected that it would only take half a month for Ichigo and the others to be sent to the Soul Society.
This disrupted Aizen's plans.
Even though Aizen had Gin drive back Ichigo and the others who tried to enter the Seireitei, using the Sekkiseki Wall and the barrier to stall them-
Aizen didn't know when Ichigo and the others might directly break into the Seireitei.
After all, among their group was Yoruichi.
Who knew if Yoruichi carried any of the Shihoin Clan's [Tenshi Heiso] capable of breaking the Sekkiseki or the barrier?
Furthermore, the current Rukongai was very different from before.
Once Ichigo's group made contact with the Revolutionary Army and received their help, Aizen would believe it if they invaded the Seireitei tonight.
"It seems it's time for me to consider leaving the Seireitei."
Aizen put down his pen.
The most important goal now was to get the Hogyoku first.
But doing so would inevitably expose the Central 46.
After all, if manipulated too many times, even a fool would know something was wrong with the Central 46.
Even if no one acted during the judgment period, there would certainly be an investigation afterward.
His Kyoka Suigetsu could indeed cover up this matter.
But since he would have obtained what he needed, Aizen's next step would inevitably be to focus his energy on merging the two Hogyoku fragments, and then fusing the Hogyoku with himself to break the Shinigami's limits and ascend to a higher dimension.
Compared to these, the conflicts within the Seireitei were no longer of concern to Aizen.
Playing the pig to eat the tiger for too long could really turn one into a 'pig'.
Anyone can make mistakes!
Therefore, Aizen didn't want to be human anymore.
He wanted to become a 'God'!
...
"Hey, are you guys okay?"
In West Rukongai District 1, the few Revolutionary Army's soldiers watched as Ichigo easily defeated the White Gate's guard, Jidanbo, but was then struck and sent flying out of the Seireitei by the suddenly appearing Captain of the 3rd Division, Ichimaru Gin. They glanced at each other.
'As expected, the Shinigami of the Seireitei were still so unpleasant.'
As intruders, there was no problem with Gin repelling or even killing Ichigo and the others.
However, Jidanbo had been the guard of the White Gate for hundreds of years.
That Captain of the 3rd Division had mercilessly cut Jidanbo's arm and blasted him out of the Seireitei along with the Ryoka, then closed the Seireitei's gate.
"Jidanbo, are you okay?"
The squad leader and others stepped forward and asked.
As Revolutionary Army's soldiers stationed in West District 1, they were acquainted with Jidanbo.
"Ah, you saw my shame."
Clearly, Jidanbo's spirits were low.
"Sorry, I didn't minor in Kaido at Baltigo Academy."
"So, at most, I can only use bandages to stop your bleeding for now."
The squad leader looked at the wound on Jidanbo's arm and took out white bandages from his person.
Whether at the Shin'o Academy or Baltigo Academy, besides their main combat skills, students also had to minor in other first-aid knowledge.
This was especially true for those without talent for Kaido.
Otherwise, if a teammate was injured and one could neither use Kaido nor first aid, they could only watch their teammate die from severe wounds.
It was an experience no one wanted to have.
"Um..."
Just as the squad leader was about to bandage Jidanbo, Orihime raised her hand.
"If it's treatment, I'm quite good at it."
"Ah, Inoue, please help take care of this guy's injury."
Ichigo, also realizing it belatedly, pulled Orihime in front of Jidanbo.
Even with Jidanbo sitting on the ground, Orihime didn't even reach his waist.
The difference in size was too great.
Fortunately, Orihime's ability didn't require her to get too close to Jidanbo's wound.
Orihime placed her hand on her hairpin, then called out to her partners-
"Ayame, Shun'o!"
"Soten Kisshun - I reject!"
As Orihime called out, her hairpin emitted a yellow light. Two thumb-sized fairies materialized from the light and flew to either side of Jidanbo's injured arm, forming an oval-shaped light shield that enveloped the wound.
Within the golden light shield, the wound on Jidanbo's arm healed at a visible rate.
In just a few seconds, Jidanbo's arm, which had nearly been severed by Gin, was completely restored.
"This, how is this possible?"
Seeing this, the squad leader was dumbfounded.
Unlike Ichigo and the others, he had, after all, studied at Baltigo Academy.
For an injury like Jidanbo's earlier, even those proficient in Kaido within the Revolutionary Army would need at least a week or more to heal it.
'For this orange-haired girl to heal it completely in a few seconds… probably only Kyoya-sama in the entire Revolutionary Army possessed such ability.'
Instantly, the squad leader's gaze towards Ichigo and the others changed.
'These Ryoka were not simple!'
'This youth wearing a Shihakusho defeated Jidanbo without much effort.'
'Jidanbo, as the guard of the White Gate, possessed seat officer-level strength.'
'In the Revolutionary Army, only cadres at the leader level could surpass Jidanbo.'
'To defeat a seat officer so easily, this youth named Kurosaki Ichigo probably possessed Lieutenant-level strength.'
'And this young girl possessed Kaido skills comparable to Kyoya-sama.'
'As for the other two youths, the brawny one, although not talkative, clearly looked very strong.'
'Even if not as strong as this Kurosaki Ichigo, he's probably not far off.'
'As for the bespectacled youth...'
'From his Reiatsu, he was only slightly stronger than the orange-haired girl. But it was unknown how strong he actually was.'
"Yoruichi-san, what should we do now?"
Ignoring the squad leader, Uryu, as the brains of the group, adjusted his glasses and asked Yoruichi, "Now that the gate to the Seireitei is closed, do we have any other way to get inside?"
"Hey, Uryu."
"Is your thinking too rigid?"
Hearing Uryu's question, before Yoruichi could speak, Ichigo pointed at the Sekkiseki Wall ahead and said, "Although Yoruichi said this Sekkiseki stuff can block Reiatsu and we can't break through this wall,"
"This wall doesn't completely encircle the Seireitei, right?"
"We can just jump over it from above!"
"Wait here, I'll go first to see if that fox-face is still there."
"Hey, Ichigo..."
Seeing Ichigo leap up from the ground, Yoruichi quickly spoke up, wanting to stop Ichigo.
But how could his voice be faster than Ichigo's actions?
He had just spoken when Ichigo had already jumped over twenty meters high, about to jump over the Sekkiseki Wall into the Seireitei.
But-
Thud-
"Aaahhh-"
As expected, Ichigo directly collided with a transparent barrier, then fell from the sky and crashed onto the ground.
Boom-
"Ow…"
"Kurosaki-kun, are you okay?"
Orihime and the others hurried forward, gathering around Ichigo to ask.
"Ichigo, you're too impulsive."
The black cat Yoruichi came to Ichigo and gave him a few hard taps with her paw.