"Eh, Ichigo, you still don't know?"
Seeing Ichigo's expression, Yoruichi curiously looked at Kukaku.
"Kukaku, you didn't tell Ichigo?"
"Uh... haha..."
Kukaku was momentarily stunned, then laughed awkwardly.
"I forgot..."
There was no helping it. Kukaku's interaction with Ichigo was only the day Ichigo and the others entered the Soul Society to find her. At that time, Kukaku had indeed confirmed Ichigo's identity and later intended to explain it to him.
But who would have thought she would be sneak-attacked by Tosen later? Although she later seized the opportunity to beat Tosen severely, she still let Tosen be taken away by the Negacion.
For those few days, Kukaku regretted not just killing Tosen outright and was sulking alone.
By the time she remembered Ichigo, Ichigo and the others had already returned to the human world.
"Kukaku-nee, what exactly do you want to tell me?"
Seeing Kukaku and Yoruichi like this, Ichigo couldn't help but ask.
"Aren't you already calling me 'nee'? And you still don't know what I want to say?"
Kukaku gave Ichigo a look and said impatiently.
"Ah?"
Ichigo was startled and took a few steps back.
"What kind of joke is that?"
"Kukaku-nee, I'm only sixteen this year, I'm not even dead yet..."
As far as Ichigo knew, people like Yoruichi and Kukaku, although they didn't look very old, were at least several hundred years old.
How could he possibly be Kukaku's brother?
"Ichigo, haven't you noticed that except for the hair color, you look almost exactly like our big brother, Shiba Kaien?"
"What does that prove?"
Ichigo stubbornly retorted.
Indeed, the first time he saw Kaien in the Seireitei, Ichigo noticed their striking resemblance.
He now realized why Miyako was distracted after seeing him and got sneak-attacked and severely injured by a Hollow.
And perhaps it was precisely because he had seen someone who looked very similar to him in the Seireitei that when he saw the Hollow Ichigo in his Inner World, the mental impact wasn't as strong.
"There are even many people in the human world who look exactly alike!"
"If they're not blood-related, what are you panicking about?"
Seeing Ichigo like this, Kukaku pouted: "Your father, Shiba Isshin, is our uncle."
"Over twenty years ago, Uncle left the Seireitei due to some accidental circumstances and eventually stayed in the human world, marrying into the Kurosaki Family..."
Hearing Kukaku say this, Ichigo was instantly stunned.
His father was indeed named Kurosaki Isshin.
His mother was named Kurosaki Masaki.
Before, Ichigo thought Kurosaki was his father's surname, and his mother took his father's surname after marriage.
But from Kukaku here, he learned that his father's real name was Shiba Isshin.
It was only after marrying his mother that he changed his name to Kurosaki Isshin.
"Wait a minute..."
"According to what you're saying, my dad should be very strong..."
"Correct."
"Even among the many Captains of the Gotei 13, his strength was considered very strong."
Saying this, Kukaku looked slightly unnatural.
After all, in the four tiers divided by Kyoya, Isshin was only in the third tier, one tier weaker than veteran Captains: Unohana, Kyoraku, and Ukitake.
Saying Isshin was strong was still a bit awkward for Kukaku.
Of course, Kukaku quickly dismissed this awkwardness.
Isshin's strength not being that great was only relative to Kyoya.
How many could truly catch Kyoya's eye?
Even she herself only truly stepped into the third tier after comprehending the ultimate technique of the Rokushiki and receiving the Zanpakuto bestowed by Kyoya-sama.
"But..."
"I can definitely say, my dad doesn't have any Reiatsu."
Saying this, Ichigo clenched his fists.
If his dad was really that strong, how could his mother have died when he was nine years old?
"Hmm, this question, I can answer you."
The one who said this was Kisuke.
"Over twenty years ago, Captain Shiba entered the human world to pursue a Menos Grande, was ambushed, and was in a critical moment. It was Miss Kurosaki who lured out that Hollow by using herself as bait and killed it."
"And Miss Kurosaki also fell into a Hollowfied state because her body was invaded by the Hollow's spiritual pressure."
"In the end, to save Miss Kurosaki, Captain Shiba used all his Reiatsu to transform into a seal to seal the Hollow power within Miss Kurosaki."
"Precisely because of this, having lost his power, Captain Shiba began living in the human world, and a few years later married Miss Kurosaki..."
"So that's how it is."
The others hearing this suddenly understood.
"Counting it this way, Kurosaki-kun really is Kukaku-nee's cousin."
Orihime pointed her index finger at her chin. "Then Miyako-nee is Kurosaki-kun's sister-in-law?"
"Hmm."
Kukaku nodded.
"However, I haven't told my big brother and sister-in-law about Uncle's matter."
"So, they still don't know Ichigo is our cousin. They thought Uncle died in an accident over twenty years ago."
"Haha, over twenty years ago, Captain Shiba violated the Seireitei's ban and gave Shinigami power to a human."
"Now, Shiba Miyako also gave her Shinigami power to a human..."
"Can't tell, the Shiba Clan's tendency to violate the Seireitei's edicts is really engraved in their bones."
Kisuke opened his small fan, covering his mouth as he teased.
Kukaku snorted but didn't say anything to refute.
The Shiba Clan had been different from those nobles of the Seireitei for millions of years.
Those nobles betrayed the Soul King and still use the Soul King's name to rule the three worlds, truly shameful.
All along, the Shiba Clan wanted to make the Four Great Noble Families' crimes known to the public, to let the people of the three worlds judge the great nobles who betrayed the Soul King.
But the Shiba Clan obviously also didn't expect the wickedness of human hearts.
For the nobles of the Seireitei, what truth? Only what was beneficial to them was true.
What was not beneficial to them, or might even damage their rule, was false.
Therefore, the Shiba Clan's fate was imaginable.
For ordinary people, violating the Seireitei's bans was a capital offense.
But for the Shiba Clan, their clan had been carrying out their ancestor's will for millions of years.
Only, later perhaps they also realized that the nobles didn't care about the so-called 'truth'. Moreover, this world indeed maintained stability under the rule of the Seireitei's nobles.
Additionally, the establishment of Yamamoto's Gotei 13 made them see that the rules of this world were gradually being perfected.
Therefore, there was Isshin joining the Gotei 13 to become a Captain, and later Kaien joining the 13th Division to become Lieutenant.
The Shiba Clan was also using its own way to reintegrate into the Seireitei.
"This doesn't add up..."
Ichigo said solemnly: "According to what you're saying, my mother was at least someone capable of fighting and defeating a Menos Grande."
"But why did she die at the hands of that Hollow disguised as a little girl when I was nine?"
Being able to see souls was an ability Ichigo had since childhood.
When he was nine, Ichigo saw a little girl by the river, seemingly wanting to jump in.
To save that little girl, Ichigo broke free from his mother's hand and ran towards the river.
Only later did he know that little girl was a terrifying monster in disguise.
His mother, Kurosaki Masaki, died there protecting Ichigo.
After becoming a Shinigami, Ichigo also encountered the Hollow that had disguised itself as the little girl and killed his mother.
That Hollow's ability was very deceptive, but its strength wasn't great.
An ordinary seated officer, being careful not to let it escape, could kill it.
A Menos Grande that could make his Captain-level father pursue it was at least Adjuchas-level.
If his mother could kill such a Menos Grande, how could she die at the hands of a mere medium Hollow?
"Hmm, regarding this question..."
Kisuke hesitated, but he considered that Ichigo's current strength had reached a level where he could know these things.
Moreover, Kisuke glanced at Kukaku and the others.
With his intelligence, he naturally guessed that Kukaku and the others appearing in Karakura Town to participate in the fight against Aizen were inevitably preparing for the battle two years later.
Even if he didn't say it, probably Kukaku would tell Ichigo.
Kyoya was mysterious.
Whether it was his growth trajectory or the secrets he knew, they all exceeded Kisuke's imagination.
In fact, Kisuke even felt that probably before he even became the Captain of the 12th Division, Kyoya had already seen the future of him leaving the Seireitei.
Back then, when Kyoya asked him to make those weighted training clothes for him, he said he owed him a favor, and in the future, if Kisuke needed any help, he could directly ask him for help.
Only, back then, he suspected the person secretly conducting Hollowfication experiments might be Kyoya, so he was wary of Kyoya and didn't take Kyoya's promise seriously.
'If I had asked Captain Kyoya for help back then, things might have developed differently, right?'
Kisuke shook his head, dismissing such thoughts.
He really couldn't see through Kyoya.
For people he couldn't see through, Kisuke was always wary.
Such people were truly too dangerous.
Even Aizen… through a hundred years of observing his actions in the Seireitei and his brief meeting with him, Kisuke felt he had already figured out Aizen's thoughts, actions, and what he wanted to do.
Therefore, even though the Hogyoku in his possession was now taken by Aizen, Kisuke didn't feel Aizen's dangerousness exceeded Kyoya's.
It was just that Kyoya's consistent behavior showed he was relatively 'fair' and 'just'.
But judging from his decisive decision to leave the Seireitei and form the Revolutionary Army, he still possessed the ability to take action and decision-making power that the strong possessed.
The current Kyoya posed no threat to the Seireitei.
But if one day in the future Kyoya had a change of heart, it would undoubtedly be a catastrophe for the Seireitei.
Kisuke couldn't think of anyone who could stop Kyoya at that time.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto couldn't.
He, Urahara Kisuke, couldn't either.
Over these years, besides hiding sealing Kido within the Hogyoku that wouldn't be discovered by Aizen, Kisuke had also been trying to think of methods to counter Kyoya.
But unfortunately, the more he understood Kyoya, the more Kisuke felt that unless one could defeat Kyoya with absolute strength, otherwise, simply no one could stop Kyoya.
But wanting to defeat Kyoya… how difficult was that?
In swordsmanship, without a doubt, Kyoya was the well-deserved strongest.
Even though over these years, Kisuke had also reached the [Master Swordsman] level.
But precisely because of this, Kisuke knew even better how strong Kyoya was.
It was like both being Captain-level, but some Captains were like Sui-Feng, while some were like Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
If in swordsmanship, Kisuke was Sui-Feng, then undoubtedly, Kyoya's swordsmanship realm was Captain-Commander Yamamoto.
Calculating back and forth, the one who might ultimately be able to fight Kyoya was probably only Ichigo before him.
If he kept things hidden from Ichigo, probably in the future if something happened, Ichigo wouldn't trust him either.
After all, Kyoya had almost no concealment towards Ichigo.
Whether it was Bankai Training or the power within Ichigo, it was all Kyoya who guided him to improve.
"Ichigo, you know about Quincies, right?"
"Hmm."
Ichigo nodded and looked at Uryu.
"Uryu is a Quincy."
"But I heard from Uryu that Shinigami and Quincies are mortal enemies."
"Even though Uryu and I have a good relationship, Uryu doesn't admit he is my friend."
"Hmph!"
Uryu, hearing this, used his finger to push up his glasses and snorted.
"Correct, what Uryu said is right. Shinigami and Quincies are indeed mortal enemies."
"A thousand years ago, the Quincies of the Lichtreich invaded the Seireitei and fought a fierce war with the Shinigami."
"That war, ultimately, the Shinigami won."
"Later, because the Quincy progenitor left a prophecy, the Shinigami pursued the Quincies endlessly."
"Two hundred years ago, the Seireitei found the hidden stronghold of the Quincies in the human world, launched a large-scale attack, and ultimately exterminated the Quincies."
"Only a small portion of Quincies escaped, but they could no longer pose a threat to the Shinigami."
"Your mother, Kurosaki Masaki, was a descendant of this portion of Quincies."
"Counting it, you should be Ishida-kun's older male cousin."
"After all, your mother is Ishida-kun's father's younger female cousin."
"What?"
Hearing this, both Ichigo and Uryu were shocked.
They never imagined they had such a relationship with each other.
"Why haven't I heard my father mention this?"
Uryu frowned.