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At the same moment—
Not only in the Fifth Division's underground chamber, but all across the Seireitei, the same strange thing was happening.
First Division Barracks
"What… is this?"
An aged voice broke the silence.
The Captain-Commander, his long white brows drooping like willow branches, paused mid-paperwork. A transparent screen had appeared out of nowhere right in front of him. Deep wrinkles tightened on his face as his expression sharpened with caution.
Just moments earlier, a two-meter-tall translucent display had materialized in the room without any warning.
The image on it was identical to what Aizen's group had seen—a mysterious "ranking video."
"'A rundown of the Soul Society's top fifteen strongest'...?"
Reading the text in the video, the Captain-Commander didn't look the least bit curious. Instead, he slammed a hand on the wooden desk, clearly irritated.
He was the strongest shinigami of the past thousand years.
No matter what private rankings people whispered among themselves, he was always first. That was simply fact.
Which was why anything involving "power rankings" bored him at best and annoyed him at worst. He'd even once banned such discussions in public entirely.
But the sudden appearance of this device made his mind jump immediately to one culprit—Kurotsuchi Mayuri, that unhinged "scientist" who did whatever he pleased.
This whole spectacle felt exactly like something born from one of Mayuri's experiments.
"Chojiro. Contact the Research and Development Bureau immediately and find out what's going on." His tone was low and heavy, tinged with anger he didn't bother to hide.
The old-fashioned, conservative Captain-Commander did not appreciate pranks. If he weren't trying to understand the situation, he would've smashed the screen instantly.
"Yes, Captain-Commander!"
Sasakibe Chojiro bowed and was about to leave the room when—
The screen flickered.
The video began.
[NO. 15]
[The Greatest Mind – Kisuke Urahara]
"...Kisuke Urahara?!"
That long-forgotten but familiar name made a faint ripple break across the Captain-Commander's usually unreadable eyes. He instinctively stopped Chojiro. "Wait."
"Sir… are you thinking this might be Urahara's doing?" Chojiro, a man who had served him for decades, needed only a glance to read the Captain-Commander's thoughts.
"Yes. If it were him, he certainly has the ability to create something like this… but the motive? That I don't understand." The Captain-Commander frowned, puzzled.
Kisuke Urahara.
A man who had once impressed even him. The founder of the R&D Bureau. A name buried in dust ever since the day he fled the Soul Society.
For a century now, Urahara had vanished completely without a trace.
And yet today, he reappeared in such a bizarre way. The Captain-Commander found himself unexpectedly intrigued.
"Ranked fifteenth…?"
"If he were showing off, he wouldn't put himself so low. And honestly, his combat strength shouldn't place him in the top fifteen."
He wasn't belittling Urahara—far from it. Urahara's scientific brilliance was unmatched. That was why he'd founded the R&D Bureau.
But as for pure combat ability?
In the Captain-Commander's memory, Urahara had only fought a handful of times. His performance had been unremarkable, at least compared to the monsters that usually made these kinds of lists.
"That said… shall we keep watching?" Chojiro suggested, curiosity getting the better of him as dramatic music began playing from the screen.
"Hmm… Continue."
The Captain-Commander fixed his intense, torch-like gaze on the shimmering display.
Human World – Karakura Town
Urahara Shop
"What the—? What is that?!"
"A ranking of the top fifteen strongest in Soul Society? And Boss, you actually made the list?!"
Inside the shop, Tessai—still wearing his old-fashioned work uniform—lowered his scratched pair of reflective glasses and gaped in disbelief.
A transparent screen had suddenly appeared moments earlier.
His first thought was that it had to be one of the boss's pranks.
But then he remembered—he had literally just force-fed Kisuke some medicine, and the man was currently suffering in the bathroom because of it.
So… probably not a prank.
"Could this be the Gotei 13's doing?" Tessai frowned.
Projecting holograms out of nowhere… only the R&D Bureau could manage something like that.
Which meant—
Their location might have been exposed.
The realization darkened his expression instantly.
"What are you mumbling about?"
"What ranking? And I made the list? Honestly, they should've put me at number one."
The bathroom door creaked open. Kisuke stepped out clutching his stomach, face pale with misery.
"Boss, don't tell me you didn't wipe properly." Tessai sniffed and stepped back in disgust.
"You've got some nerve saying that after force-feeding me that medicine! I've been in there for an hour!" Kisuke complained, though he didn't actually seem upset—clearly used to this kind of abuse.
"Hmm… what's this?"
His grumbling stopped the instant he noticed the glowing screen.
Just like Tessai, his mind immediately went to the Gotei 13.
"A trap from the Gotei 13?"
"Possibly."
"But still… has the R&D Bureau gotten this advanced?"
Kisuke grabbed a bottle of soy sauce from a shelf and tossed it at the screen.
The bottle passed straight through.
Not even the slightest impact.
"Oh? Interesting…"
Kisuke's eyes lit up with sharp curiosity.
"Boss… what if this is Aizen's doing?" Tessai muttered, uneasy. Besides the Gotei 13, the only person suspicious enough was Aizen—a man who had once screwed them over spectacularly.
"I'm not sure."
Kisuke relaxed again, adjusting the brim of his bucket hat. "But instead of jumping to conclusions, let's just keep watching. Business has been slow anyway—we need something to pass the time."
"And one more thing…"
"Don't make any assumptions until we know what this is."
"Right."
Tessai nodded. "Though honestly… I should be on the list too, right?"
"Oh? You think you're stronger than me?" Kisuke grinned.
"Why not? Don't forget—I used to be the Great Kidō Chief!" Tessai straightened up proudly.
"Please. That was ages ago. Have some shame."
Kisuke rolled his eyes.
As the two bickered, the screen flickered again.
A new scene appeared—
A forest on the outskirts of town. The ground was scarred with explosions, clearly a battle site.
A few seconds later—
Kisuke stepped into view, sandals tapping lightly against the dirt, zanpakutō in hand.
And behind him—
A burst of red light flashed.
"..."
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