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"Iron… hey, look closely! Check the expressions on me and Isshin!"
Urahara Kisuke took a slow, deep breath.
What he saw left him completely stunned. On the screen, his own face had the exact same expression as Yoruichi and Shiba Isshin — tense, guarded, like they were bracing for a deadly threat.
And all three of them were staring in the same direction.
Which meant…
Whatever they were looking at must have been an enemy unlike anything they'd ever faced.
"It really does look like that… Manager, it seems you're all fighting some unknown powerhouse!" Tessai Tsukabishi felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. His throat moved on its own as he swallowed.
Even through a projection screen, he could feel the suffocating pressure on that battlefield.
Heavy. Oppressive. Crushing.
It almost felt like he was standing right there with them.
And he wasn't just anyone — he had once been a Great Kidō Chief. Even putting Kidō aside, his spiritual pressure easily ranked among the stronger Captains.
Yet the weight coming from the screen alone made him feel like he might pass out from sheer pressure.
Which only meant one thing:
Whoever the shopkeeper and the others were facing right now… was unbelievably strong.
"This is too weird…"
"I have absolutely no memory of this fight. Not a shred. But the realism in that footage… it has to be real!"
"What in the world is going on?!"
Urahara's eyes narrowed.That razor-sharp mind of his was running at full throttle.
The little shop — normally filled with lazy, easygoing air — grew heavy and tense just from his silence.
Elsewhere — Karakura Town, Kurosaki Clinic
"You've gotta be kidding me."
"That's… my Zanpakutō?! And the uniform too? Seriously?!"The shout nearly blew the roof off the clinic.
At his desk, stethoscope still hanging around his neck, white coat still on, Kurosaki Isshin stared at the screen.
And stared at the him on that screen — wearing a black shihakushō, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yoruichi and Urahara.
His eyes went wide like dinner plates.
A Zanpakutō.Shinigami robes.
Which meant…
The powers he lost more than twenty years ago… were completely restored?
Isshin straightened instantly, sitting up like a man waking from a long nap.
The usual laid-back expression vanished from his face.
He fixed his eyes on the screen.
Inside, emotion surged wildly.Shock. Joy. Suspicion.
"Is… is this one of Kisuke's pranks?"
After calming himself for a moment, that was his first thought.
Holographic projection, edited footage, special effects…
With Kisuke's genius, pulling that off wouldn't be hard at all.
But then Isshin frowned."But if this is one of his pranks, wouldn't it be way too elaborate? Something this realistic would take a ridiculous amount of effort."
"And knowing Kisuke…"
"Would he really bother going this far just to mess with me?"
Isshin seriously doubted it.
Every prank Urahara had ever played amounted to the same handful of nonsense — tricking people, slipping laxatives, offering expired food…
Annoying? Yes.Over-the-top? No.
Besides, the shop was always struggling.Mostly because Urahara was too lazy — always sleeping in, running off to fish, or hiding in the basement doing experiments.
So Isshin really couldn't imagine Kisuke putting in this much effort just for a joke.
Not to mention there was nothing to gain from it.Even if he fooled Isshin, it wouldn't amount to much.
Total waste of time.
"But then…"
"Where is this insane sense of realism coming from?!"His eyebrows twisted so tightly they looked like the kanji for "river."
Just like the old Kidō Chief, Isshin also felt an almost suffocating pressure.
Actually, even stronger.
"This spiritual pressure isn't fake. It feels like it's right in front of me. No video in the world could make something feel this real!"
The more he analyzed, the more his scalp tingled.
Even at his peak, he could fight Aizen before the Hōgyoku. His sensitivity to reiatsu far surpassed ordinary Captains.
He still didn't know who the enemy was.
But the waves of spiritual pressure surging through that battlefield made the very air tremble.
There was no question.
This battle was very likely real.
"No… I have to ask him right now!"
Realizing how serious this might be, Isshin snatched the landline from his desk and immediately dialed Urahara's shop.
He needed answers.Right now.
What was this video?What was happening in those scenes?
He had to know the truth.
Meanwhile — Soul Society, Seireitei, 2nd Division Barracks
"That's… Yoruichi?!"
CRASH!
A teacup shattered on the floor.
Hot tea splattered across the immaculate wooden planks.
The calm of the barracks evaporated in an instant.
2nd Division Captain, the icy and infamous beauty Soi Fon, stared at the screen.
Her pale, elegant face — usually expressionless — was now frozen in absolute shock.
"She really is alive!!!"
The words slipped out like she didn't even mean to say them.
Soi Fon trembled. Her lips shook.Her eyes darted wildly.
Shock. Hostility. And… a burst of joy she struggled to hide.
A hundred years ago, when she was still a young girl…
She had just joined the Gotei 13, nothing more than a small attendant constantly trailing behind Yoruichi.
Day after day, that admiration grew, becoming almost obsessive.
Even after a century… that feeling never truly faded.
And now, after only one glance at the screen…
She couldn't hide how overwhelmed she was.
"Captain, are you… okay?" Ōmaeda's timid voice came from the side.
He looked from the broken teacup to Soi Fon's completely uncharacteristic expression.
He shrank his neck immediately, too terrified to say another word.
"Ahem… I'm fine."
Soi Fon shot him a cold look, took a long breath, and forced herself to calm down.
But her gaze toward the screen remained complicated.The calm was only surface-level.
"Captain Soi Fon…"
"Not just Yoruichi. Even Shiba Isshin and Urahara Kisuke showed up! This is unbelievable!" Ōmaeda muttered in awe.
A hundred years ago, he'd only been a kid, but since his father was the former 2nd Division Vice Captain, he often wandered around the barracks.
He'd seen the shopkeeper and Yoruichi many times.
And Isshin? He had been the Captain of the 10th Division.Everyone knew that.
"Yeah…" Soi Fon nodded stiffly. "I didn't expect the three of them to appear together. And it looks like they're in the middle of a battle."
Her brows drew tight.
As the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, her instincts were sharper than anyone's.
And her gut told her…
Their appearance together wasn't a coincidence.
In fact…
There might be a massive conspiracy hidden behind it.
"..."
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