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The World of the Living.
"Strange… I really can't remember anything like that happening! If I'm not wrong, Karakura Town's been peaceful for the past ten years. We haven't even had a single Gillian show up!"
While Hueco Mundo and Soul Society were in chaos over the appearance of the countdown video, Urahara Kisuke—watching from inside his shop—didn't look any better.
He rubbed his chin, face darkening as he analyzed, "Judging from the spiritual pressure fluctuations, one of the two Arrancars in that video should be an Adjuchas-class Hollow. If a Hollow of that level entered the Living World, the Gotei 13 would sense it instantly. But there wasn't a single Shinigami present in the video."
Thinking back to the earlier battle scene, Urahara's brows tightened. He was no longer watching with amusement.
After a closer look, he realized there were far too many things that didn't make sense.
The first and biggest issue: the Arrancar appearing in Karakura at all.
Everyone knew Karakura Town was a spiritual hotspot, a place where strange phenomena gathered.
But because Shinigami were stationed there year-round, the city—despite its huge population—rarely had any serious incidents. At most, a few wandering spirits might occasionally attack humans.
Those were just normal Hollows.
Even a rookie Shinigami could deal with them effortlessly.
As for Menos-class Hollows? They'd never appeared.
Adjuchas-class Arrancars? Forget it.
And yet…
Even with such a huge threat appearing right in the open, there wasn't a single sign of a Shinigami arriving at the scene.
It made no sense at all.
Listening to Urahara's serious breakdown and staring at his unusually solemn face, Tessai blinked in confusion and finally asked, half-skeptical, "Boss… this video isn't another one of your pranks, is it?"
"What do you think?"
Urahara shot him a helpless look.
Sure, he pulled pranks all the time—but this time was definitely not one of those moments.
The appearance of the countdown video made his instincts twist uncomfortably.
Especially those battle scenes… scenes that had never happened before. He could practically smell conspiracy in the air.
"Oh come on, I know you too well. Cut the act already."
Even though Urahara's expression seemed perfectly serious, Tessai had been fooled by his shopkeeper's tricks for a hundred years straight. It was only natural he'd suspect this was just the latest of Urahara's inventions.
"…"
Urahara was speechless.
Seeing the smug little smile on Tessai's face, the one that said I see right through you, he had no idea how to convince him otherwise.
And right at that moment—
The pitch-black screen suddenly lit up again.
The abrupt change snapped both of their gazes back to the floating display.
"Hey—! It changed! It's a new scene!"
Tessai stared hard at the glowing screen.
This time the reflection in his eyes wasn't the outskirts of Karakura anymore, but tall city buildings.
"Why does this look so familiar…?"
Urahara narrowed his eyes, studied the view, paused… then suddenly jolted. "No wonder! Tessai, this place is the downtown district of Karakura!"
"You're right! It's literally identical!"
Tessai said that, then shot Urahara a teasing look. "Boss, your sense of timing is pretty good. Switching scenes at just the right moment to keep the audience hooked. I'm guessing you've got something wild lined up next, yeah?"
Urahara ignored his sarcasm completely.
His eyes were glued to the bottom-right corner of the screen.
One second later—
The camera shifted, and two more figures appeared.
"Holy crap!"
"Wait—that's Ichigo's dad and Yoruichi, isn't it?!"
Before Urahara could say anything, Tessai's shout exploded beside him.
He rushed closer to the screen, mind going blank like someone had slammed a thunderbolt into his skull.
What stunned him wasn't just seeing two familiar faces.
It was their clothing.
Yoruichi was wearing her combat outfit.
And Isshin… was wearing a Shinigami uniform.
Everyone knew the most defining trait of a Shinigami was the shihakushō.
It wasn't just a uniform—it was tied directly to a Shinigami's spiritual pressure, representing the state and completeness of their power.
In other words—
A Shinigami who lost their powers couldn't possibly manifest a shihakushō.
Everyone knew that.
But in the video…
Kurosaki Isshin was clearly wearing one.
Even worse—on his waist hung a Zanpakutō.
And not just any Zanpakutō.
It was Engetsu… which should not exist anymore.
"Boss!"
Tessai finally snapped out of his shock.
The muscles on his cheeks twitched from how hard he was clenching them. He grabbed Urahara by the collar, practically spitting words in his face:
"Explain! Now! What is going on?! Why is Lady Yoruichi fighting? When did Kurosaki Isshin get his Shinigami powers back?!"
Urahara flinched.
His collar tightened around his neck so hard he almost couldn't breathe. He waved frantically, signaling Tessai to calm down.
"Tessai—breathe first! Calm down, please!"
Only after hearing that did Tessai let go.
But his mind was a total mess. After so many unexpected shocks, his normally steady composure had completely collapsed.
"Talk. What's happening?"
"If I told you I can't explain any of this… I doubt you'd believe me." Urahara sighed heavily, frustration practically dripping off him.
Compared to Tessai, his emotions were even more tangled.
Isshin's shihakushō had shaken Urahara to his core, making every hair on his body stand on end.
Back then, when Isshin was still Captain of Squad Ten, he'd willingly sacrificed his Shinigami powers to save Kurosaki Masaki's life. That entire process had been carried out under Urahara's supervision.
He'd personally watched Isshin lose his powers—watched a captain fall to ordinary human status.
After that, Urahara had never stopped researching ways to restore Isshin's powers. He'd even made a breakthrough recently; the restoration drug was almost complete.
Thinking of that, a chill ran down his spine.
The experiment wasn't done.
But Isshin had already regained his Shinigami powers?
That was the truly terrifying part.
"So this really isn't a prank…?"
Tessai was finally wavering.
If the first video—the one showing a fight with the Arrancar—could barely be brushed off as "special effects," then Isshin's restored powers definitely couldn't.
Because he could feel Isshin's spiritual pressure.
Even through the glowing screen.
"Tessai… look closely at our faces."
Urahara inhaled deeply.
He had noticed something terrifying—his expression in the video, as well as Yoruichi's and Isshin's, looked exactly the same.
They all looked like they were facing a deadly threat.
Which could only mean one thing.
The enemy they were about to face… was unimaginably strong.
"..."
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