Chapter 884: Chapter 885: The Gap Between Reality and Imagination
Feeling Isshin Shiba’s unleashed reiatsu, which had reached Captain level, Ethan realized that after he left Soul Society, Isshin must have continued serving as the Captain of the 10th Division.
He sped up and quickly arrived near the battlefield.
He did not reveal himself immediately. In his current state, if he wanted to hide, no one could detect him. The reason he stayed hidden was that he was not the only one concealing himself on this battlefield. There were several other old acquaintances present.
"Aizen..."
Standing high in the sky on reishi, dressed in specialized clothing, Aizen was completely unaware of Ethan’s arrival. His attention was focused entirely on the battle below.
Isshin was already injured. With just a glance, Ethan could tell it was a wound caused by a Zanpakutō. It was likely inflicted by Aizen or Ichimaru Gin. They had struck only once before pulling back, merely intending to suppress Isshin’s strength and prevent him from fighting the Hollow at full power.
"Experimenting again."
The entire early storyline of Bleach revolved around Aizen conducting reckless experiments. Even the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki, was merely his most prized experimental subject. Ichigo’s birth originated from today’s accident.
After conducting Hollowfication experiments on Hirako and several other Captains decades ago, Aizen had refined the technique over the years and created various special Hollows. The one currently fighting Isshin, named White, was the most unique among them.
The original plan had been to release White into the Human World to attack the stationed Shinigami. However, after sensing that several Shinigami deaths were suspicious, Isshin came to the Human World without reporting it, leading to this encounter.
Ethan observed from the side for a moment. The battle shifted again when a young female Quincy in a school uniform rushed onto the battlefield and helped Isshin defeat White, forcing White to self destruct.
"Oh dear, this is truly..."
Recalling Aizen in the later plot, always speaking as if everything was within his grasp and claiming that even Ichigo’s birth was part of his experiment, watching events unfold with unexpected twists, and even seeing Aizen himself caught off guard, was quite amusing.
"Should I go mock him for a bit?"
Before he could decide, Aizen had already left the Human World with Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tousen, returning to Soul Society.
Since they were gone, he would just mock them next time.
As his strength gradually recovered, Ethan found it increasingly difficult to suppress his true nature. He occasionally wanted to stir up trouble.
Since he could not mock Aizen, he decided to tease Isshin instead.
At that moment, Isshin was speaking with the young Quincy. Ethan revealed himself, startling both of them.
"Yo, haven’t seen you in decades. Didn’t expect you to look so pathetic the next time we met."
The sudden voice from behind made cold sweat break out on Isshin’s back. His right hand immediately gripped his Zanpakutō. The next second, he recognized the somewhat unfamiliar voice.
"Captain?"
"Ah, I’m not a Captain anymore. I suppose I should be calling you Captain Shiba now."
"An acquaintance?" The young Quincy looked at Ethan in confusion. From their exchange, she could tell they knew each other. The address of Captain also revealed his identity. "Another Shinigami?"
But this Shinigami felt different. He did not have the typical reiatsu characteristic of Shinigami, and he was dressed completely differently from standard Shinigami attire. If she could not sense that he was in soul form, she would have mistaken him for an ordinary human ghost.
"This is...?"
Although Ethan knew who she was, he could not pretend to be omniscient. It was more interesting to let others reveal things themselves.
"Ah, my name is Masaki Kurosaki, and I am a Quincy."
"A Quincy!"
"Captain!"
Isshin became visibly nervous. The relationship between Quincies and Shinigami had never been good. They had once fought a major war that ended in the Shinigami’s complete victory. In Soul Society’s records, Quincies were recorded as enemies and were supposedly exterminated.
Although there were rumors of survivors, Soul Society did not officially acknowledge them.
In short, the relationship between Shinigami and Quincies was hostile. Isshin worried that after Masaki revealed her identity, Ethan might attack her.
He was overthinking. Ethan did not care whether she was a Quincy.
"Have you forgotten? I’m not a Shinigami anymore. What are you worried about?"
"Ah, well..."
Isshin looked embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.
"Captain, what are you doing here?"
The shift was awkward. Even Masaki showed it on her face. However, Isshin shamelessly pretended not to notice. If there was anything he had improved the most after becoming Captain, it was not strength but thick skin. In all of Soul Society, only about two people could brazenly dump their duties onto their Lieutenant or even Third Seat. Including him, that made three.
"Ever since I left Soul Society, I’ve lost the purpose of my life. I drift around aimlessly all day, wandering and drowning my sorrows in alcohol. Do you have any money? I suddenly feel like buying some drinks."
"I do have Soul Society currency, but I don’t think it works in the Human World, does it?"
Isshin realized his former Captain was even better at talking nonsense than he was.
"If you didn’t bring any, forget it."
Ethan waved his hand and glanced at Isshin.
"Why are you still here? Don’t you need to go back and write a report?"
"..."
Isshin did need to return, but he was curious. Ethan’s attention had been focused on Masaki.
Although Masaki appeared carefree, her senses were sharp. Beneath her relaxed demeanor was a sensitive heart. She felt that she was being observed but did not understand why.
"Is it because I’m a Quincy?"
Then why not attack directly? Was it because of Isshin?
"Don’t worry too much. I’m not trying to kill you. I don’t have any prejudice or hatred toward Quincies." As he spoke, Ethan tilted his head slightly and looked toward a nearby shadow. "I just want to tell you, if you feel unwell, come find me at this place."
He took out a small card with the address of a general store written on it. Instead of handing it to Masaki, he casually flicked it toward a corner.
A figure stepped out of the shadows and caught the card easily, revealing himself.
"Ah, Ryuken!"
Masaki immediately recognized him. She was currently living with the Ishida family, a pure blood Quincy family, as a future daughter in law. The man who appeared was her fiancé, Ryuken Ishida.
"Alright, so you won’t worry about what I might do to this little sister, I’ll be leaving now."
As soon as he said he would leave, he disappeared without giving them time to react. No one understood how he had vanished.
"Ah, why did he suddenly leave? How am I supposed to write my report now?"
Isshin began worrying about his report. There were too many things he could not include, such as the appearance of a Quincy and encountering the Seireitei’s wanted fugitive Ethan.
"Forget it, I’ll just cut some parts and smooth it over."
He waved goodbye to Masaki and glanced at Ryuken. Why had Ethan given the card to him? And what did he mean by feeling unwell? Had Masaki been injured in the battle?
He was concerned. After all, Masaki had saved him. If she was harmed because of it, he could not ignore it.
"I’ll find time to check on her later."
Isshin returned to Soul Society and wrote a modified report. He managed to get through it. The Captain Commander did not pursue the matter further and did not punish him for leaving without authorization.
Thinking he had escaped trouble, Isshin soon returned to the Human World to check on Masaki.
However, just as he arrived, a black cat appeared in front of him and blocked his path.
He would not believe it was a coincidence. After all, how could an ordinary black cat stand in mid air?
"Come with me."
Since it could stand in mid air, speaking did not seem so strange. Isshin did not know what this black cat was, but it clearly knew his identity and seemed to be waiting for him.
"Ethan and that girl named Masaki Kurosaki are waiting for you."
Hearing both names, Isshin no longer hesitated. He followed the black cat at high speed and soon arrived at an inconspicuous general store.
"Is this the place?"
He recalled Ethan’s words. If you feel unwell, come here. Could Masaki really be in trouble?
He rushed inside anxiously. When he saw Masaki, she was happily stuffing her cheeks with food. She looked completely fine.
"..."
This was very different from what he had imagined.
(To be continued.)
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