“Wait!
Wait!
Wait!” Kisuke Urahara hurriedly stopped Ichigo.
“Let me go over the precautions first!”
“Huh?” Ichigo looked confused.
“What precautions?
Don’t we just go over there and start slashing everything?”
“It’s not that simple.” Uryū pressed down on Ichigo’s head, pulling him back.
“If you’re short on brains, you should listen to someone who actually has some!”
“Ugh…
fine!”
“First, let me introduce this to you.
This isn’t just a door; it’s a Reishi Converter.” Kisuke Urahara wiped his forehead; dealing with a brainless Ichigo was truly a challenge.
“The Soul Society is a world of souls.
Aside from Ichigo, who can freely become a Shinigami, the rest of you have normal physical bodies.
Therefore, you need to use the Reishi Converter to transform your physical bodies into spiritual ones.”
“Oh, I see—” Ichigo nodded, looking as if he finally understood.
“Let’s go then.”
“I told you to wait!” His cane blocked the way as Kisuke Urahara continued, “That was just for your general knowledge.
The important part is what happens after you enter the portal.”
“There’s no real difficulty in the Reishi conversion or entering the gate; you just need to keep moving forward.
However, there is one problem: time.”
“Time?”
“Yes.
After all, we aren’t using orthodox methods.
This door can only exist for four minutes.
If you don’t pass through within that time, you’ll never be able to get out.” Kisuke Urahara said with a solemn expression, “Furthermore, to prevent intrusions, there is a gas known as Kōryū inside.
It’ll be very troublesome if you get entangled in it.”
“Basically, we just need to be fast,” Ichigo said nonchalantly.
“We haven’t been spending our time lately for nothing.
No one’s afraid of something like that.”
“Is that so…”
The others remained silent.
Looking at the determined expressions of the rest of the group, Kisuke Urahara knew he had overreacted.
These few wouldn’t be intimidated by something as simple as Kōryū.
‘As expected…
they really are a wonderful bunch of kids.’
“Now, one last thing!” Kisuke Urahara said seriously.
“Our goal is not to fight!
It is to expose Aizen’s true colors!”
“You don’t need to do much.
Aside from rescuing Kuchiki, all you need to do is make the Seireitei as chaotic as possible!
Only through chaos will Aizen be forced to do what he intends!
Once he has completed his plans, he will naturally expose himself!”
“As long as you ensure your own safety, go ahead and cause some mayhem!”
“Yeah!!”
Filled with excitement, the four of them stepped through the gate, accompanied by Yoruichi Shihōin in her cat form.
With her ability to transform into a cat and her unmatched mastery of Shunpo, she was undoubtedly the most suitable adult to accompany them to the Soul Society.
Regardless of their objective, having a local with both strength and experience was bound to make things much easier.
After passing through the gate, there was only a straight corridor, surrounded entirely by deep purple gas.
This was the so-called Kōryū; any spirit caught in its grip would find it difficult to escape.
“Let’s move!”
The moment they stepped in, the four humans and one cat began to run.
Excessive use of Reiatsu would intensify the reaction of the Kōryū, so they could only rely on pure physical strength to sprint.
Fortunately, even the slender Uryū and Orihime had seen their physical stamina increase greatly during this time, and their control over Reiatsu had reached a new level.
Even if their physical strength wasn’t enough, they could use a limited amount of Reiatsu to augment their movement.
Soon, a white light appeared at the end of their vision.
In just one minute, they were halfway there.
Once they passed through that white light, they would reach the world of souls: the Soul Society.
*Clack, clack, clack, clack—*
“What’s that sound?”
A strange noise suddenly echoed from behind.
Orihime, who was running at the back, looked back and saw something resembling a locomotive roaring as it rapidly approached!
“It’s a Kōtotsu!” Yoruichi recognized the creature and shouted, “It’s a scavenger-like thing that appears every seven days!
Run!
You’ll be crushed!
It’s incredibly fast!”
Hearing this, everyone hurried their pace.
However, the Kōtotsu’s speed matched its appearance; it was as fast as a high-speed train, and it quickly caught up to them.
“Tsk!” Ichigo, who was in the lead, looked back and clicked his tongue.
“Just my luck!
We’re almost there!”
After complaining, Ichigo slowed down, reached Orihime’s side, and hoisted her onto his shoulder in one swift motion.
“You’re so light, Orihime.” Ichigo accelerated again.
“Ah…
okay…”
Lowering her head and covering her face, Orihime’s cheeks flushed deep red, and wisps of steam seemed to rise from her head.
She looked incredibly cute…
unfortunately, a certain guy who only knew how to charge forward missed the sight entirely.
“We’re almost there!”
They were only a dozen meters from the end.
The Kōtotsu was still dozens of meters away from the nearest person, Uryū; even if someone twisted an ankle now, they could still easily leap across.
“Go on ahead, Orihime.”
Slowing down, Ichigo set Orihime down and turned around, drawing his twin blades.
“Eh?” Orihime blinked, stunned.
“What are you doing, Ichigo?”
“Hmm?”
Behind her, Ichigo’s Reiatsu surged rapidly.
Yoruichi also noticed something was wrong, and when she looked back, the cat nearly jumped out of her skin in shock.
“What are you doing, Ichigo!”
“Is that even a question?!” A slightly savage smile played on his lips as Ichigo pushed his Reiatsu to the absolute limit.
“It’s been chasing me for a while!
If I don’t give it a taste, it’ll think I’m a pushover!”
“Don’t be reckless!
That’s not something a Shinigami can handle!
It’s an existence that is almost like a ‘rule’ of nature!”
“Heh!” Golden ripples shimmered across the black blade.
Crossing his left arm over his chest, Ichigo laughed loudly, “Rules?
I’ll smash those rules to pieces!”
As he spoke, a golden light illuminated the entire corridor.
The deep purple Kōryū vanished in an instant, melting away like winter snow in the spring.
The black short blade swung violently, releasing a massive crescent-shaped slash that flew toward the multi-story tall Kōtotsu!
“I’m not done yet!” Raising the long blade in his right hand, his golden light not dimming in the slightest, Ichigo continued, “Zangetsu—”
The black long blade descended, and another flash of golden light appeared.
Another golden crescent slash was released from the tip of the blade; this one was even faster, instantly catching up to the first.
One horizontal, one vertical—the two slashes merged at that moment, forming a massive cross-shaped attack that slammed directly into the giant creature.
“This…?!!!”
Under Yoruichi’s incredulous gaze, the golden cross-slash cut through the Kōtotsu like a knife through butter.
The moment it made contact, the creature was split open, dissolving into particles of Reishi that scattered into the air.
Only then did Ichigo’s final words slowly drift over.
“Getsuga Jujisho!”