The next morning, in the dining room of Urahara Shop.
Sasuke appeared at the dining table with faint dark circles under his eyes and an expressionless face, looking even worse than usual.
“Good morning, Sasuke-kun.”
Kisuke Urahara fanned himself, greeting him with a smile, as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss.
He pushed a steaming cup of tea towards Sasuke.
“Didn’t sleep well last night?
Is the bed here too hard, and you’re not used to it?”
Sasuke pulled out a chair and sat down, giving him a faint glance, knowing in his heart that Kisuke was asking about his Spiritual Pressure’s disturbance last night.
“It’s fine,” he uttered two concise words, lowering his gaze and picking up his miso soup.
Seeing that Sasuke wasn’t taking the bait, Kisuke Urahara didn’t mind, resting his fan against his chin and casually changing the subject.
“Speaking of which, Miss Kuchiki didn’t look too good when she left yesterday.
After all, transferring Shinigami powers to a Human is a grave crime in Soul Society, a crime among crimes.”
His eyes playfully scanned Sasuke’s face as he spoke in a joking tone.
“Not reporting a grave crime committed by a comrade is an out-and-out crime of abetting, Sasuke-kun.
Why didn’t you do that?
You clearly seemed to dislike her.”
Sasuke’s motion of drinking soup paused slightly.
He slowly put down his bowl, looked up, and met Kisuke Urahara’s gaze directly.
“I have no comrades.”
His voice was as cold as ever.
“Secondly, I hate writing those boring reports.
Her life or death has nothing to do with me.”
Sasuke didn’t give Urahara a chance to press further.
He leaned forward slightly, throwing the question back.
“Rather, it’s you, Shopkeeper Urahara.”
Sasuke turned the tables, his tone carrying a hint of accusation.
“As far as I know, the ‘gigai’ you gave her is supposed to help Shinigami who have lost their powers slowly recover their spiritual energy by working within it, right?”
Kisuke Urahara’s fanning motion stopped.
Sasuke’s gaze sharpened.
“But yesterday, I didn’t feel any signs of spiritual energy recovery in that woman.
On the contrary, her Soul was still being continuously suppressed and decomposed by something.”
“What you gave her wasn’t an ordinary gigai.”
Kisuke Urahara’s smile stiffened for a moment.
His constantly narrowed eyes slowly opened, revealing undisguised surprise.
He hadn’t expected that this young man, with just a brief encounter, could perceive this point.
“Oh my?”
Kisuke Urahara quickly reverted to his playful demeanor, chuckling.
“Sasuke-kun is truly observant; he noticed even such a subtle detail.”
“Indeed, it truly isn’t an ordinary gigai.”
He didn’t explain the true purpose of the gigai.
Instead, he changed the subject, leading the conversation in another direction.
“However, being able to discern this indicates that Sasuke-kun’s perception and analysis abilities regarding spiritual energy far exceed ordinary people.
This will be a great help for me in researching the power within your body.”
Sasuke snorted coldly, not pressing further.
Through the other party’s reaction, he had already confirmed his suspicion.
Rukia Kuchiki, from the moment she stepped into this shop, had already fallen into this man’s scheme.
And himself…
Sasuke picked up the now somewhat cool tea in front of him and drank it in one gulp.
Perhaps, he was also in the same situation.
Just as the air began to fall silent, Kisuke Urahara’s brow suddenly twitched slightly.
The fan in his hand paused mid-air, and his gaze turned towards the window.
“Oh my, oh my…” He let out an ambiguous sigh.
A Spiritual Pressure, not particularly powerful but full of chaos, was rapidly approaching from afar.
Sasuke naturally sensed it too; it was the Spiritual Pressure of a Hollow.
Kisuke Urahara closed his fan, gently tapping the tabletop with its ribs, his expression a half-smile.
“It seems our substitute Shinigami-san has run into trouble,” he said leisurely, his gaze subtly glancing at Sasuke.
“Miss Kuchiki gave all her power to him, so she probably can’t help much now.”
His tone shifted, carrying a seemingly fake concern.
“This is troubling.
If this substitute Shinigami can’t even handle a Hollow of this level, and if the commotion gets too big, attracting the attention of others from Soul Society…”
Kisuke Urahara paused here, looking at Sasuke meaningfully.
“At that time, if unrelated Shinigami come to Karakura Town to investigate everywhere, it might affect our upcoming research on Transmigration to another world, Sasuke-kun.”
Sasuke put down his teacup.
He naturally understood Kisuke Urahara’s hidden meaning.
“…Troublesome.”
He was full of impatience but still rose from his chair.
Just as Kisuke Urahara expected, he couldn’t allow anything to interfere with his plan to return.
Looking at the empty seat, Kisuke Urahara’s smile became a bit more genuine.
“He’s such an unlikable child, isn’t he?
He cares deeply inside, but his words…”
“Meow~”
A light meow interrupted his soliloquy.
Yoruichi had appeared on the dining table at some point, elegantly licking her paw.
“Is it really alright to let him handle it?”
Yoruichi spoke.
“Given that child’s way of doing things, aren’t you afraid he’ll make a huge mess?”
“Don’t worry, Young Miss Yoruichi.”
Kisuke Urahara closed his fan, his smile fading.
“Although he acts erratically, he knows what’s important.
Moreover, Ichigo also needs some real pressure to grow quickly.”
Yoruichi was silent for a moment, seemingly accepting this explanation.
“More importantly, Kisuke…”
Yoruichi’s tone became serious.
“What we should really be worried about now is that girl from the Kucihki family.”
“Hmm,” Kisuke Urahara responded.
He knew what Yoruichi was going to say.
“Are you really planning to let her stay in the Human World like this?”
Yoruichi walked to the window, gazing at the distant sky.
“That thing inside her…”
Kisuke Urahara slowly spoke, “There’s no other way.
To prevent that person from noticing, this is currently the only method.”
“That gigai will continuously decompose her Soul, gradually transforming her from a Shinigami to a Mortal.
At that time, the Hōgyoku will completely fuse with her Soul, and even that man won’t be able to extract the Hōgyoku from her.”
“I understand your plan.”
Yoruichi turned around, somewhat worried.
“But you and I both know the rules of Seireitei.
If a Shinigami doesn’t return for so long without reason, they will definitely send people to investigate.”
“If only a regular pursuit squad comes, it’s fine.
But if that man senses something and sends someone…”
Yoruichi didn’t say the name, but both of them knew.
Aizen Sōusuke.
The man lurking in the shadows of Seireitei, coveting the power of the Hōgyoku.
“I know, of course.”
Kisuke Urahara sighed, resting his fan against his chin, his brows furrowed.
“That’s why we need more time to complete the Fusion process as quickly as possible before Soul Society reacts.”
Yoruichi continued to ask, “But, Urahara, have you considered another problem?”
“Hmm?”
“Uchiha Sasuke.”
Yoruichi’s tone became even more complex.
“He can see through the abnormality of the gigai today; tomorrow, he might discover deeper things.
If he reports these matters to Seireitei…”
Kisuke Urahara fanned himself and smiled.
“Don’t worry.
Although he is a registered Shinigami of Seireitei, from his demeanor, he doesn’t seem to have any loyalty to Seireitei.”
“…”
…..