Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha’s Wedding

A month later.

Konoha suddenly became lively.

Every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers.

Every villager wore a smile.

For no other reason than the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju’s wedding day was drawing near.

This showed just how beloved Hashirama Senju was.

"I’m benefiting from Hashirama’s glory. If I were getting married alone, they probably wouldn’t be this happy."

Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha stood atop Hokage Rock, gazing at the sea of people below. For the first time, envy showed in Madara’s eyes.

Izuna Uchiha felt equally envious.

Being in charge of the Anbu certainly meant holding power, but it also caused the people around him to constantly distance themselves from him.

After all, anyone would fear a special force like the Anbu.

"Lord Madara, I don’t think so. Teacher certainly deserves people’s respect, but many of those voices are also offering you their blessings."

"Rather than standing here alone and watching from afar, why not step into the crowd and listen for yourself?"

"I believe the result won’t disappoint you."

Chu Yang appeared behind the brothers with a smile and handed over a scroll. He did not know what it contained; Tobirama Senju had instructed him to deliver it to Madara Uchiha.

"Kid, I heard you’ve already mastered the secret techniques of those four Ninja Villages?"

Madara Uchiha took the scroll from Chu Yang, amusement in his eyes as he teased, "Those are secret techniques with entirely different Chakra natures. Even Tobirama Senju would find that difficult to accomplish in a month, wouldn’t he?"

Chu Yang replied sincerely, "I learned them under Teacher’s guidance, but I still have to thank you, Lord Madara. If not for you, I wouldn’t have had the chance to learn those secret techniques."

Madara Uchiha smiled. "You praised your teacher and flattered me at the same time. At such a young age, you already know how to conduct yourself flawlessly."

Chu Yang chuckled.

Izuna Uchiha asked, "Did you come because of the wedding?"

Chu Yang nodded. "The Senju clan and the Uchiha clan have different wedding customs. Since the two of you intend to hold the wedding together, the details need to be discussed properly. Otherwise, it might turn into a joke when the time comes."

Madara Uchiha frowned impatiently. "Didn’t I say it already? Do whatever is convenient for you. I don’t care about such things."

Scratching his head awkwardly, Chu Yang said, "The problem is, Teacher Hashirama said the same thing…"

"That Hashirama!" Madara Uchiha laughed in exasperation and shook his head helplessly. Then he nodded. "Fine. I’ll go discuss it with him and try not to make things difficult for you juniors."

Chu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much, Lord Madara."

Madara Uchiha’s gaze suddenly settled on Chu Yang. After staring at him for quite some time, he slowly said, "Don’t call me ‘Lord’ anymore. Just like you call Hashirama, call me Teacher."

Chu Yang froze.

What was this all about now?

Chu Yang’s hesitation gradually darkened Madara Uchiha’s expression. He said coldly, "What? Is my strength inferior to Hashirama’s, so I’m not qualified to be your teacher?"

The bone-chilling cold snapped Chu Yang back to his senses. He immediately waved his hands. "I absolutely didn’t mean that. It was just too sudden, and I was a little lost…"

"Brother, stop frightening him." Izuna Uchiha laughed to smooth things over. "He can’t decide something like this. You should talk to Lord Hashirama about it later."

"That’s true." Madara Uchiha nodded and stopped pressing the matter.

Chu Yang had the distinct feeling that one brother was playing the villain while the other played the good cop, and that they were targeting him.

"Teacher Tobirama also just received word that the other Four Kage will personally attend to offer their blessings."

Chu Yang hurriedly brought up the main reason for his visit, wanting to get away from the brothers as soon as possible.

"Hah, blessings? Hashirama marrying Mito Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, must have made them restless."

"They merely want to see Konoha’s situation for themselves. They haven’t given up yet!"

"Let them come and see! After this wedding, whatever ambition they have left will be crushed into dust!"

Once Madara Uchiha finished speaking, Chu Yang made an excuse and left.

Izuna Uchiha watched his departing back, then turned to Madara Uchiha. "Brother, didn’t we agree to take things slowly? Why did you suddenly get impatient again?"

Madara Uchiha shook his head. "I only wanted to test the kid’s attitude. If he showed such resistance to becoming my disciple, how could he marry a woman from the Uchiha clan in the future?"

Izuna Uchiha sighed. "For the continuation of the clan, you’ve really gone to great lengths."

Madara Uchiha smiled. "The current situation is already good enough. As for Yang… that’s just my greed. I’ve never envied Hashirama in my life, except when it comes to taking disciples…"

The brothers talked for a while longer before setting off together for the Hokage’s office, where Tobirama Senju was still handling government affairs.

Everything would return to normal only after the wedding ended.

The fact that the Four Kage would attend in person to offer their congratulations delayed the wedding by several more days.

Several days later.

Caravans from the four great nations entered Konoha one after another.

The smaller nations, led by the Land of Iron, came together as an alliance to celebrate the wedding.

Konoha assigning the Seven-Tails to them was an immense favor. It meant those small nations could use it to gather strength capable of contending with the five great nations.

That was the most practical way to achieve peace.

If the four great nations attending the wedding reflected reluctant submission, then the alliance of smaller nations had come with genuine gratitude and blessings.

Chu Yang could tell from their expressions.

The Four Kage headed straight for the Hokage’s reception room as soon as they arrived.

When they passed Chu Yang, their gazes were no longer as friendly as before.

One Nine-Tails was enough to shatter all their sense of security.

As Hashirama Senju’s only Direct Disciple, Chu Yang was responsible for receiving and attending to these important guests.

After they entered the room, Chu Yang remained on guard outside until Tobirama Senju arrived.

The Uchiha brothers were there as well.

Those three were perhaps the three people in all of Konoha who were the least to be trifled with!

Hashirama Senju was absent.

Clearly, they considered him an unnecessary hindrance.

With his do-gooder personality, he really would affect the performance of the other three.

Chu Yang suddenly felt a little sorry for the Four Kage.

Because they were about to face an embarrassing situation where they could neither outtalk nor defeat their opponents.

Tobirama Senju patted Chu Yang on the shoulder, then pushed open the door and entered.

Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha followed close behind.

The intimidating chill made goosebumps rise all over Chu Yang’s body.

He quickly shut the door.

It was, at least, a way to preserve the last shred of dignity for the four Kage.

Standing outside, Chu Yang could not hear a single sound.

The silence was terrifying.

The future Second Kage, who were also guarding outside, looked even more nervous than Chu Yang.

Time passed second by second.

No one outside even dared to breathe too loudly.

Creak~~~

The door opened.

The guards outside immediately stepped forward.

Chu Yang turned and saw the four Kage slowly emerge.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but their faces looked somewhat pale.

The four Kage did not say a word. Accompanied by their guards, they hurried away.

Chu Yang entered the room and found Tobirama Senju and the Uchiha brothers still sitting there calmly.

Chu Yang grinned. "Judging by those Kage’s reactions, it seems Teacher said something rather extraordinary."

The corner of Tobirama Senju’s mouth lifted slightly.

Izuna Uchiha smiled brightly. "We did say a few harsh words. We gave those guests quite a fright."

"Still, they should recognize reality, lest they embarrass themselves in the end."

Madara Uchiha rose to his feet and said indifferently, "Hmph! A pack of fools. We gave them this peace only because we were willing to. They can’t even understand something so simple, yet they dared to make demands of us!"

Chu Yang asked in surprise, "What conditions did they propose?"

A cold gleam flashed through Tobirama Senju’s eyes. "One clansman each from the Senju clan, the Uchiha clan, and the Hyuga clan…"

"Tsk, tsk. So they had their eyes on Kekkei Genkai…" Chu Yang shook his head helplessly. "Those people are truly greedy."

Izuna Uchiha sneered. "That’s why we gave them a few warnings."

Chu Yang teased them gleefully, "I hope those lords are still in the mood to attend the wedding."

Tobirama Senju stood up and said meaningfully, "They will be."

Three days later.

The grand wedding was officially held.

Just as Tobirama Senju had said, the Four Kage attended with smiles across their faces, without the slightest sign of reluctance.

They looked very happy, almost happier than if they themselves were getting married.

Four newlyweds.

Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki.

Madara Uchiha and a woman named Mai Uchiha.

Before the witness of countless people, they became husband and wife.

Chu Yang did not know whether Madara Uchiha liked the woman, but at least he did not seem to dislike her.

Bleach world.

A long time had passed since the incident involving Motokawa Yosuke.

Karakura First High School had just finished its midterm exams.

Without question, Chu Yang ranked first in the class.

Ichigo Kurosaki ranked third.

Across the entire school, Chu Yang was still first, while Ichigo Kurosaki had fallen to fifteenth.

He had excellent grades, outstanding athletic ability, disliked socializing, and always kept to himself.

The students often compared the two because of their similar styles.

In a sense, Ichigo Kurosaki had become Chu Yang’s backdrop.

Whenever others brought it up, Ichigo Kurosaki claimed not to care, but in truth, his curiosity about Chu Yang was stronger than that of any other student in the class.

Because no one else had seen Chu Yang fight Hollows with his bare hands.

Ichigo Kurosaki still remembered it vividly.

Why was this person so strong?

And what was that Fullbring the Soul Reaper mentioned that day? Did I have a similar power too?

Questions like those had troubled Ichigo Kurosaki during this time.

He had originally held no interest in power at all.

Yet because of Chu Yang, Ichigo Kurosaki had faintly developed a competitive spirit.

Just as Ichigo Kurosaki was secretly competing with Chu Yang in his heart,

he happened to encounter Rukia again.

Rukia was chasing a Hollow.

Ichigo Kurosaki had not planned to meddle, but the thought of Chu Yang somehow made him follow after her.

As a result, Ichigo discovered that the Hollow was attacking his family.

Fortunately, Ichigo’s arrival caused the Hollow to shift its target.

Ichigo tried to fight back, only to be sent flying by the Hollow.

He was no match for it at all.

So this was what it felt like to fight a Hollow?

Ichigo Kurosaki was covered in blood, yet his mind remained clear. His head was filled with images of Chu Yang fighting Hollows.

Why?

Why could he do something like that?

But I couldn’t?

Just as Ichigo was about to be killed by the Hollow, Rukia blocked the fatal blow for him at the critical moment.

"Idiot, if you keep spacing out like this, you won’t be able to protect your family!"

Ichigo Kurosaki finally came back to his senses and hurriedly asked Rukia what they should do now.

Rukia drove the Zanpakuto in her hand into Ichigo’s body.

All of her power as a Soul Reaper was forcibly absorbed into Ichigo’s body.

Ichigo became a Soul Reaper!

Facing the oncoming Hollow, Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto high. Terrifying Reiatsu poured forth like liquid mercury flooding the ground.

With a single slash, Ichigo cut the Hollow in two!

After killing the Hollow, Ichigo had not even had time to celebrate before his vision suddenly went dark.

When he woke again, it was already the next morning.

Strangely, neither his father nor his two younger sisters remembered anything from the previous night.

Was I dreaming?

Looking at the house that seemed as though it had been ravaged by a tornado, Ichigo dismissed that thought.

What happened last night was real.

On the way to school, Ichigo would sometimes lower his head and stare at his hands. He could hardly believe these hands had slain a Hollow last night.

"I wonder who’s stronger, me in Soul Reaper form or Yang…"

Filled with curiosity, Ichigo pushed open the classroom door.

He was looking toward Chu Yang when he spotted an unexpected figure.

Ichigo froze completely.

Rukia stood beside Chu Yang, chatting and laughing with him.

She was even wearing the school uniform!

"What’s going on?"

Lunch break.

The three gathered on the school rooftop.

Rukia explained her current situation to Ichigo and Chu Yang.

Only then did Ichigo learn that he had absorbed all of Rukia’s powers.

Chu Yang picked at his ear. He had already known the whole story.

"Until I recover my powers, I’ll be staying here for a while. I hope you can keep it a secret."

Rukia looked at Chu Yang, feeling somewhat uneasy. From what she remembered, Chu Yang did not seem like someone easy to talk to.

"I know. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back first." Chu Yang yawned and headed for the stairwell.

"You agreed just like that?"

Rukia stared blankly at him.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Chu Yang turned back with a puzzled expression, then simply left.

Rukia turned to Ichigo and said, "I thought he would ask something of me. After all, I’m a Soul Reaper."

"He’s not that kind of person." Ichigo shook his head and walked toward the stairwell. "All right, I’m heading back too…"

Before he could finish, Ichigo felt a hard punch land on the back of his head.

"You actually ambushed me!"

Ichigo Kurosaki spun around furiously.

Then he suddenly discovered his body lying on the ground. Looking down, he realized he had already become a spirit.

"You’ve only just become a Soul Reaper. There’s still a lot you don’t know, so I need to teach you a few things."

Elsewhere, Chu Yang, knowing the plot had begun, was considering whether he should intervene.

He was very interested in the power of Zanpakuto and Kido.

The other versions of himself in other worlds needed such power as well.

And if he wanted to obtain Zanpakuto and Kido, the best way was to follow Ichigo Kurosaki into the Soul Society.

Lost in thought, Chu Yang failed to notice that he walked straight into a student while going downstairs.

Strangely, neither of them was hurt.

It was like two walls colliding.

Chu Yang looked up at the boy standing much taller than him.

Yasutora Sado!

Chad had been troubled lately.

Ever since he got a parrot from a friend last time, he had become incredibly unlucky.

It was more than just choking while drinking water.

Either he nearly got hit by something falling from the sky, or he was nearly run over by a car.

In short, every incident had been life-threatening.

It left Chad distracted, so he planned to go to the rooftop for some air, only to collide with Chu Yang.

"Sorry." Chad instinctively held Chu Yang by the shoulders and apologized.

Then he realized Chu Yang was standing perfectly steady, showing no sign of having fallen.

"I’m fine." Chu Yang waved a hand, then looked at Chad’s somewhat haggard face and asked, "Your complexion looks pretty bad, though. Haven’t you been resting well lately?"

Chad hesitated as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he only shook his head and said he was fine.

Chu Yang smiled. "I heard the parrot you brought to school today is that cursed parrot everyone’s been talking about lately?"

Chad asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"I said I heard about it." Chu Yang patted Chad on the shoulder and reminded him, "If anything seems off, you can talk to Ichigo Kurosaki. He can handle it."

"Ichigo?"

Chad still wanted to ask why, but Chu Yang had already gone far away.

After school, Chad took his usual route home as always, except he now carried an exquisite birdcage with a parrot inside.

The parrot was eerily quiet, and its eyes occasionally revealed a human-like gaze.

Neither Chad nor the parrot noticed Chu Yang silently following behind them.

A human child’s soul was hidden within that parrot. His name was Yuichi.

Yuichi’s soul had been forcibly stuffed into the parrot’s body by a Hollow.

It had done so for revenge.

When that Hollow had still been human, it was a murderer who committed every evil imaginable. During one crime, it targeted Yuichi and his mother. Yuichi’s mother was killed by the murderer while protecting him, while Yuichi, in the chaos, grabbed the murderer’s foot and caused him to fall to his death from their apartment balcony.

Filled with resentment, the murderer became a Hollow and began taking revenge on Yuichi.

It was a scoundrel rotten to the core, both in life and in death.

In Rukia’s words, it should have been sent to hell to suffer punishment for eternity!

Chu Yang wanted to deal with this Hollow that had once been a murderer himself.

And conduct a small experiment while he was at it.

He could not help it. He had wanted to find other Hollows to experiment on lately, but he had not gotten the chance.

Because he had not encountered a single Hollow.

It had to be said, the Soul Reapers were quite efficient at their jobs.

Chad lived far from school. Taking the bus would have been faster, but he still chose to walk.

He knew that if he went somewhere crowded, he might drag innocent passersby into danger.

There had been far too many accidents caused by him these past few days.

After walking for a while, Chad suddenly felt his heart pound. Whenever disaster was about to strike, he had felt something similar before.

Chad warily scanned his surroundings when a blaring horn suddenly sounded behind him.

An out-of-control truck was charging straight toward him.

Another traffic accident!

After realizing what was happening, Chad hurriedly threw himself toward the open space on his right. Even as he fell, he clutched the birdcage tightly against his chest.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The urgent horns came with a howling gust of wind as the truck sped past Chad.

Boom!!!

The truck slammed straight into a utility pole by the roadside, and most of the cab instantly collapsed.

"Whew~~~"

Sitting on the concrete ground, Chad let out a long breath. "That was close."

"It wasn’t close. It was coming for you."

Chad looked up and saw Chu Yang walking past him. He asked in surprise, "Yang, why are you here?"

Chu Yang did not answer. He simply walked step by step toward the out-of-control truck.

"What do you mean, it was coming for me?" Chad got up, holding the birdcage as he followed Chu Yang.

When they reached the truck, Chu Yang pointed at the cab. "See for yourself."

Chad looked into the cab, and his expression abruptly changed.

The driver’s seat was empty!

This was a driverless truck!

"You should leave first. You might get caught in it later."

Chu Yang pointed toward the entrance of the alley and spoke to Chad.

"What do you mean?"

Chad asked nervously.

Chu Yang shook his head. At the end of the street, a humanoid Hollow with blue-green skin had already appeared.

He ignored Chad and approached it alone.

Using Wood Release, Chu Yang formed a wooden sword in his hand, then coated it with Armament Haki.

Finally…

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. His breath transformed into ribbons of flowing light, brilliant as a galaxy.

This was the ultimate state of the Breathing Technique.

Source Breathing!

A terrifying aura spread from Chu Yang’s body, surging outward like a tide.

The Hollow halted, its body trembling slightly.

This human before it was not a Soul Reaper!

It could not sense even the slightest trace of Soul Reaper power from him.

But…

Death loomed over it like a shadow!

That horrifying aura was not even Reiatsu. It was truly nothing more than aura.

How many battles had he experienced, and how many enemies had he killed, to accumulate such a terrifying presence?

For the first time, the Hollow felt fear toward an ordinary human.

Chu Yang moved faster and faster.

Under the evening sun, his figure stretched into a lingering streak of light.

Empowered by Source Breathing, the wooden sword in his hand seemed to come alive.

One slash!

Chu Yang had already appeared behind the Hollow.

Sword energy wrapped around the Hollow, flowing in dazzling colors as though it had been submerged in a galaxy.

"Aaaah!!!"

The Hollow screamed not from pain, but from fear.

It could feel the parts of its body wrapped in the bands of light collapsing and disintegrating. At this rate, it would be completely dead in ten seconds at most.

Chu Yang reversed his grip and stabbed the wooden sword into the ground, resting his hand on the hilt as he carefully observed the scene.

"Source Breathing has broken through its current bottleneck and become a higher-dimensional power. Judging from the results, its ability to harm spiritual bodies is already very close to that of a Zanpakuto."

"If used together with a Zanpakuto, it would definitely create an extremely terrifying power."

"Most importantly, Source Breathing is improving every day. At least for now, I still can’t sense where its limits lie. If it keeps developing…"

As he pondered, the screams abruptly stopped.

Chu Yang looked up and saw a grotesque, terrifying gate hanging high in the air.

Hell Gate opened and dragged the murderer’s soul into hell.

Chu Yang froze.

He had thought Source Breathing would completely slay the Hollow, but the situation before him seemed different.

"Next time, I need to find a stronger Hollow for an experiment. Otherwise, they won’t hold up."

Chu Yang sighed regretfully, then left the alley.

A moment later.

Rukia and Ichigo were drawn nearby by the intense Reiatsu, and then they saw Hell Gate in the sky.

They happened to witness the murderer’s soul being dragged into hell.

Rukia’s face was full of shock.

"There clearly aren’t any Soul Reapers nearby!"

"What happened?"

Just as Rukia panicked, Ichigo spotted Chad standing at the street entrance.

He hurried over.

"Chad, why are you here?"

When Ichigo reached Chad, his attention was drawn to the parrot in Chad’s arms. He sensed a human soul hidden inside it.

Chad told him everything that had just happened, then took Ichigo to see the driverless truck.

"It was a Hollow!"

Rukia silently appeared behind them, startling them both.

"Your classmate killed a Hollow."

"It isn’t strange for him to manage that with his abilities, but…"

Rukia stopped halfway through her sentence.

She stood there with furrowed brows, concern and confusion in her eyes.

"Yang told me that you could handle it…"

Chad solemnly handed the parrot to Ichigo.

Only while sending Yuichi’s soul on did they learn the full story.

The next day.

At school, Rukia found Chu Yang and asked him for the details of his battle with the Hollow yesterday.

Chu Yang only said it was about the same as last time.

Although she had not seen it with her own eyes, Rukia’s instincts told her that Chu Yang was lying.

She could only leave the questioning at that.

Her relationship with Chu Yang was not particularly close. If she kept pressing, she could not guarantee that he would not get angry.

Moreover, whenever she faced Chu Yang, she often felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

That dread had nothing to do with romantic feelings. It came from instinctive fear.

Rukia did not want to admit it from the bottom of her heart, but her fear of Chu Yang was objectively real.

Soul Reapers were exceptionally sensitive when it came to sensing souls.

Rukia’s fear originated from Chu Yang’s soul.

She guessed that Chu Yang’s soul must be hiding an enormous secret.

After school.

For once, Rukia did not return to Ichigo’s house. Instead, she went to an unremarkable general store.

The store’s owner was a middle-aged man in a bucket hat, always wearing a smiling expression no matter who he looked at.

The moment he saw Rukia, he became enthusiastically welcoming and began promoting the goods in his shop.

"You know what state I’m in right now, so stop making such boring jokes, Mr. Urahara!"

Rukia rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, alright, I apologize." Kisuke Urahara raised both hands in surrender. "How’s the Gigai? Are you getting used to it?"

Rukia moved her body around a little and nodded. "So far, it’s fine."

"Of course it is. Everything in my shop is top-quality." Kisuke Urahara stood and shouted into the store, "Ururu, bring out the Soul Candy from the warehouse."

"Yes, Mr. Urahara!"

An extremely soft, sweet voice came from inside, so quiet that it was nearly impossible to hear without listening closely.

After a while, a little girl with twin ponytails emerged holding the Soul Candy and handed it to the waiting Rukia.

"This is the Soul Candy you asked me for. You know what to be careful about, so I don’t need to say much, right?"

Kisuke Urahara said he would not say much, yet he still could not help rambling as he reminded Rukia of one precaution after another.

Unable to bear it any longer, Rukia hurriedly cut him off. "Mr. Urahara, I came here this time because there’s something else I need to tell you."

Kisuke Urahara looked at Rukia with some surprise. "What is it?"

"It’s about a human." Rukia told him what had happened since she met Chu Yang, specifically mentioning the uneasy feeling Chu Yang gave her.

Kisuke Urahara fell silent for a while before smiling. "Humans like him may be rare in the World of the Living, but they are not nonexistent."

"Time always produces a few extraordinarily gifted people, people with powers that even Soul Reapers find hard to imagine."

"For example, Ichigo Kurosaki, who is carrying out your duties as a Soul Reaper in this era, also possesses exceptional potential within him."

Rukia seemed convinced by Kisuke Urahara’s explanation and silently nodded.

"As for that sense of dread…" Kisuke Urahara spread his hands helplessly. "How would an old lifelong bachelor like me understand the sparks of love that you young people create by accident?"

"You’re asking too much of me."

Rukia jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end and angrily shouted, "I told you it’s not that!"

"Not that…" Kisuke Urahara stroked his chin, his gaze suddenly becoming profound.

Just as Rukia thought he was about to say something serious, he suddenly said, "Then maybe your Gigai has fallen into disrepair."

"Forget it." Rukia did not want to listen to his nonsense any longer. After thanking him, she left the general store without looking back.

As he watched Rukia’s departing figure, Kisuke Urahara’s expression gradually turned solemn.

Of course, he knew that the reason for Rukia’s dread was not some nonsense about romance or a malfunctioning Gigai.

Kisuke Urahara understood very well that if a Soul Reaper felt instinctive fear and dread, it meant the gap between their souls was one of absolute suppression.

And such a gap could never exist in an ordinary person.

"Interesting. Truly interesting." Kisuke Urahara chuckled softly, half reclining on the tatami as he stretched. "I thought one Ichigo Kurosaki was troublesome enough. I didn’t expect there to be another one!"

"Aren’t you going to take a look?"

A tall man wearing glasses and a small mustache suddenly appeared behind Kisuke Urahara.

Tessai Tsukabishi had once been the Commander of the Kido Corps in Soul Society, the Grand Kido Master everyone spoke of.

And Kisuke Urahara, who appeared frivolous and unreliable, had formerly been the captain of Squad Twelve in Soul Society’s Gotei 13, while also serving as the director of the Research and Development Department.

A century ago, the two had been falsely accused in connection with the "Hollowfication Experiment" and had no choice but to flee Soul Society. They opened this general store in the World of the Living, called Urahara Shop.

"Something this interesting? Of course I have to see it for myself." Kisuke Urahara slapped his thigh. The smile on his face suddenly vanished, replaced by a grave expression.

"Maybe it’s another experiment by that bastard Aizen…"

One in the morning.

Chu Yang, who had been asleep in bed, suddenly opened his eyes.

A figure stood before the windowsill, looking at him with smiling eyes.

Seeing the man in the bucket hat, Chu Yang did not appear particularly surprised.

He silently sat up, leaned against the headboard, and frowned. "What I hate most is being disturbed while I’m sleeping. The second is being disturbed while I’m eating."

Chu Yang’s calm composure made Kisuke Urahara even more interested, and he could not help asking, "Wouldn’t a normal person either scream or get angry in a situation like this? Shouldn’t they do something?"

"I was just about to." Chu Yang grinned. "Did you think I was chatting with you?"

"No."

"I was telling you in advance…"

"Why you’re about to get beaten up!"

When Chu Yang revealed his killing intent, Kisuke Urahara finally understood what Rukia had meant by that sense of dread.

It felt as if an invisible hand had seized his throat.

He could barely breathe.

And that feeling came from the level of the soul.

If even Kisuke Urahara felt that way, Rukia’s experience needed no further explanation.

In the brief instant he was distracted.

A fierce blade was already pressed against Kisuke Urahara’s face.

The chill pierced his bones.

It was a wooden sword, yet Kisuke Urahara felt that it could tear him apart.

Clang!!!

The wooden sword was blocked by the cane in Kisuke Urahara’s hand.

Yet the wall behind Kisuke Urahara exploded with a thunderous blast, as though struck by an invisible force.

A massive hole had appeared in Chu Yang’s room.

When the wind blew through it, the temperature abruptly dropped.

"Your morning temper is even worse than I expected."

Kisuke Urahara still looked as carefree as ever, even teasing Chu Yang at such a tense moment.

"A guy who comes in the middle of the night to disturb someone’s sleep has no right to say that."

Chu Yang spoke coldly, and his entire aura changed once again. A great amount of scorching breath burst from his mouth and nose.

Kisuke Urahara’s expression sharpened. At last, the smile disappeared from his lips, and his face became grave.

What kind of power was this?

He had never seen anything like it. He could not even be certain whether it belonged to Fullbring.

As Source Breathing erupted, the force transmitted through the wooden sword multiplied several times over, instantly exceeding Kisuke Urahara’s expectations.

The floor beneath Kisuke Urahara’s feet cracked. He was nearly unable to withstand the monstrous force and could only take half a step back to redirect it.

But the moment his foot shifted, the pressure on his cane became like a tsunami.

Wave upon wave stacked atop one another, each stronger than the last, nearly swallowing him whole.

Boom!!!

In the end, he crashed violently into the middle of the road. The ground instantly sank several meters, cracks spreading outward until they formed an enormous web-like fracture.

"Cough, cough…"

Kisuke Urahara, lying in the deep crater, pushed aside the rubble covering him. He looked disheveled, but he had not suffered any serious injuries.

"No Zanpakuto, no Shikai, no Bankai, yet he possesses such powerful strength with Fullbring alone?"

"And he still has strength to spare. It looks like ordinary Soul Reapers would not be his match. At the very least, he’s comparable to a vice-captain."

"As for whether he has captain-level strength, that still isn’t clear…"

After muttering to himself for quite a while, Kisuke Urahara let out a long sigh, as though relieved. "There isn’t the slightest sign of Hollowfication on him, so he probably has nothing to do with Aizen. Even I couldn’t create something like this. He certainly couldn’t either."

Kisuke Urahara shouted, "Young man, I apologize for tonight. Let’s stop here…"

Chu Yang silently appeared before him.

He raised the wooden sword high and stabbed it down viciously!

Kisuke Urahara’s pupils suddenly shrank.

"Damn!"

In that flash of lightning, Kisuke Urahara used Flash Step.

The sword tip nailed his bucket hat firmly into the pile of rubble!

The crater collapsed several more meters.

The area shook violently as though the earth were turning over. Countless people were awakened in the middle of the night.

Adults shouted in panic, children cried, and the sounds mixed together in utter chaos.

Kisuke Urahara flickered away and retreated into the distance, rubbing his head in frustration. "This guy really has a terrible temper. If we keep fighting like this, the entire street will get caught up in it."

I shouldn’t have provoked him so recklessly…

Just as Kisuke Urahara considered how to deal with Chu Yang next, Chu Yang did not attack again. He merely stood in place, watching him with a stern expression.

Kisuke Urahara was utterly confused.

What was he doing?

Had he gotten tired and decided to take a break?

"Restore this place to how it was." Chu Yang pointed at the devastated street, then actually returned home through the hole in the wall.

He went home!

Kisuke Urahara stared in astonishment.

"He really is quite the unconventional young man…"

After making that remark, Kisuke Urahara actually lowered his head and began repairing the road. Whenever someone came out to look, he erased that person’s memories.

A short while later, even the hole in Chu Yang’s house had been repaired.

"Mr. Urahara, what are you doing here?"

Kisuke Urahara turned around and found Rukia and Ichigo Kurosaki standing not far away, staring at him.

"Haha…" Kisuke Urahara gave a dry laugh and scratched his head. "Nothing. I was just bored, so I came out for a walk."

They absolutely can’t find out that I got beaten into the ground!

Rukia asked suspiciously, "Just now, I sensed two extremely powerful Reiatsu clashing. I thought a powerful Hollow had appeared in this area, but you’re the only one here."

"Did this place just go through a battle?"

Kisuke Urahara avoided their questioning gazes and turned his head aside. "No. Nothing happened here."

Ichigo Kurosaki said, "I think I just saw you repairing a house. Did you damage someone else’s home?"

"Who said that?!" Kisuke Urahara immediately denied it. "I merely saw that this house had fallen into disrepair, so out of the kindness of my heart, I helped repair it."

"That’s very suspicious, Mr. Urahara." Rukia walked straight up to Kisuke Urahara, her eyes examining his face.

"If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going!" Kisuke Urahara only wanted to slip away as quickly as possible.

Click~

Chu Yang’s front door opened.

Chu Yang stood in the doorway and coldly stared at Kisuke Urahara. "You forgot to say sorry."

Kisuke Urahara: "…"

Rukia had not expected this to be Chu Yang’s house. She stared blankly at him, then connected the dots and realized why Kisuke Urahara had come here.

Rukia widened her eyes as she looked at Kisuke Urahara. "Mr. Urahara, could it be…"

Kisuke Urahara scratched his head awkwardly. "I was just curious, so I came to take a look. I didn’t expect this young man to have such a bad temper."

Chu Yang narrowed his eyes and glared at Kisuke Urahara with an unfriendly expression.

"Sorry." Kisuke Urahara immediately turned back and gave a slight bow. "Please forgive my discourtesy tonight."

Hearing the apology, Chu Yang closed the door in satisfaction.

Seeing Chu Yang’s reaction, Rukia wore an expression of realization. "So the commotion earlier really was you two fighting."

"Mr. Urahara, can you tell us about it in detail?"

Kisuke Urahara shook his head without hesitation. "No."

Rukia grew anxious. "Why?"

Kisuke Urahara curled his lips. "He’s just an ordinary human. There’s nothing to talk about."

Ichigo Kurosaki said, "You look pretty guilty…"

"Shut up!"