Chapter 84

As Ichigo screamed, three even red scratches appeared on his right cheek, exactly the same as the three scratches on his left cheek!

"Pfft--Haha, I can't take it anymore!"

At this point, Yoruichi could no longer hold back. The whole cat rolled off the rock, fell to the ground, clutched its stomach, and rolled around laughing, with even a few tears welling up in its eyes.

"Damn it! You ambushed me! I challenge you to a duel!!" Ichigo, clutching his right cheek, roared angrily at Xuanxin.

Faced with Ichigo's menacing appearance, Xuanxin simply licked his paws elegantly, then looked up innocently at Ichigo and let out a clear, crisp cry:

Meow~

Ichigo was instantly speechless, standing frozen in place. After regaining his composure, Ichigo pointed a trembling finger at the white cat before him, its face etched with innocence, and cried out in grief and indignation:

"You're talking nonsense! Don't play dumb with me! Your cat can definitely talk, right? Right!"

"Meow?"

After that response, Xuanxin completely ignored Ichigo, pretending not to understand anything, and continued grooming his fur, not even giving Ichigo glance.

Ichigo, who had never been treated like this before, stood there stunned and speechless.

Meow~

"Pfft--Alright, alright, Ichigo, Ichigo fooling around!"

Only then, having completely finished laughing, Yoruichi walked over and interrupted their 'friendly exchange,' then said with a serious expression:

"Alright, because of our actions during the day, the Seireitei's patrols will definitely be much more frequent, so we need to keep quiet for a while."

"By the way, I'll also take this opportunity to begin the second phase of your intensive training. Otherwise, going there at your current level would be suicide!"

Upon hearing this, everyone recalled the opponent in the floral robe they had just encountered in White Road Gate, and they all nodded in unison, still feeling lingering fear.

Seeing that he had appeased his wife, Xuanxin jumped off the rock and prepared to leave.

Seeing Yoruichi followed, and then the two whispered to each other, "Are you leaving? Why don't you stay and help me train these kids?"

Seeing that no one was following, Xuanxin shook his head and whispered:

"I'm currently the commander-in-chief of the defense, and I can't leave Seireitei for too long. Besides, if my identity is exposed, they'll definitely become complacent. However, I'll try my best to buy you some time in Seireitei. Also, if you need anything, you can contact me and Sister Hana."

Upon hearing this, Yoruichi nodded and did not try to stop him. She simply stood there and watched Xuanxin disappear from sight.

A moment later, at the entrance of the Second Division barracks.

When Xuanxin entered the barracks, he saw the vice-captain of the Eighth Division, Nanao Ise, pacing back and forth in front of her office, her face filled with complex emotions, as if she was deep in thought.

"Oh, it's Nanao. What brings you here?"

Hearing the voice behind her, Nanao suddenly jolted and froze in place.

Seeing Nanao's tense expression, Xuanxin smiled helplessly, then beckoned Nanao in and asked:

"Speak up, what's the matter? I'm not going to eat you."

"Yes... yes, Captain Shihoin."

Although Nanao agreed quickly, she still hesitated deep down. In the end, she chose to trust her captain, and then mustered her courage, closed her eyes, and shouted to Xuanxin:

"Captain Shihoin, Captain Kyōraku asked me to tell you that those Ryoka were... were kidnapped by Lady Yoruichi!"

After shouting those words, Nanao finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued without waiting for Xuanxin's response:

"Captain Xuanxin, I have other official duties to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. Goodbye, Captain Xuanxin!"

After saying that, Nanao didn't dare to look at Xuanxin's face and left the conference room with her head down. Fortunately, it was Soi Fon walking towards her, otherwise Nanao would have been seriously injured by the collision.

Watching Nanao flee in disarray, Xuanxin did not get angry. Instead, he pondered Shunsui Kyōraku's intentions.

After all, he already knew from Yoruichi that it was Shunsui who let them go, allowing them to leave.

But now, Senior Brother Kyōraku is going to bring this matter to the forefront, and a glint flashed in Xuanxin's eyes.

[It seems my senior brother intends to use this whole news to muddy the waters of the entire Seireitei; after all, it's easier to fish in troubled waters.]

As expected, at the captains' meeting the next day, the news that Yoruichi had rescued Ryoka spread among the captains.

Under Shunsui's guidance, the captains were all discussing among themselves, while Captain-Commander Yamamoto, sitting in the main seat, looked at Xuanxin with a thoughtful expression.

Soon after the meeting ended, Xuanxin was kept behind.

First Division, Captain's Office.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto did not interrogate Xuanxin. Instead, he invited Xuanxin to sit down and even poured Xuanxin a cup of hot tea.

The Captain-Commander even had the Sasakibe the door to prevent anyone from approaching the office.

Then the Captain-Commander looked at Xuanxin with sharp eyes and asked, "Xuanxin, are you and Kyōraku hiding something from me?"

Faced with his master's questioning, Xuanxin showed no fear whatsoever, but instead sat up straight and said solemnly.

"Master, you know there are many suspicious points about the previous Hollowfication Incident. Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara were forced to flee Soul Society, and Rukia's trial now is so similar to what happened back then."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Yamamoto didn't say much, but simply picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and gestured for Xuanxin to continue.

Seeing the Captain-Commander's reaction, Xuanxin was delighted and pressed his advantage, saying:

"So my senior and I both felt that this Ryoka and Yoruichi's reappearance would be an excellent opportunity, a great opportunity to catch the culprit."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Old Man Yamamoto's eyes as he pressed on, "Then who do you think is the real culprit?"

"The Fifth Division Captain, Sōsuke Aizen," Xuanxin said confidently.

Do you have any evidence?

"... Not yet."

Not even a little?

Not at all.

"..."

"..."

A long, awkward silence suddenly filled the room as the master and apprentice looked at each other without saying a word.

Just as Old Man Yamamoto's chest suddenly heaved, Xuanxin was even prepared to be kicked out by the old man, but what he heard next was not his master's anger, but a few coughs that were so fake they couldn't be more fake.

"Uh... cough cough"

With a few dry coughs, the Captain-Commander's aura completely deflated. He then said, "I'm getting old, and the temperature in Soul Society few days. I think I've caught a chill... cough cough."

Upon hearing this, Xuanxin was stunned, thinking:

[Master, your excuse is too far-fetched. You're the wielder of the strongest fire-type Zanpakuto, and you caught a cold because of the weather? Even saying you had an upset stomach would be more believable.]

Meanwhile, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, still immersed in his own 'art,' continued weakly:

"So, for now, I'll leave Thirteen to you and Shunsui. Until I recover, whether it's apprehending the Ryoka or investigating 'anything else'... you two handle it."

After saying that, Old Man Yamamoto walked into the room.

Seeing the Xuanxin man make such a concession, Xuanxin bowed deeply and then whispered:

"Master, there's really only the two of us here, you don't need to pretend so seriously. And to be honest, what you're doing is a bit fake!"

"... roll!"

"Okay~"

Xuanxin then quickly left the First Division. Watching Xuanxin leave, First Division, Sasakibe had overheard everything at the door, went into his office.

Captain-Commander Yamamoto watched as Sasakibe walked in, then said, "I wonder if delegating authority this time was the right or wrong decision."

Upon hearing this, the Vice-Captain Sasakibe respectfully addressed the Captain-Commander: "Captain-Commander, although Captain Xuanxin and Captain Kyōraku have rather... extraordinary personal lives, they can still be trusted when it comes to matters of principle."

"... I hope so. You Sasakibe also take a good rest with me for a while."

"Yes, Captain-Commander," said Sasakibe respectfully.

"Also, was my performance really a bit fake?"

"..."

This time, however, the only response to the Captain-Commander was silence from his old subordinates.

As expected.

The next morning, the news that "the Captain-Commander has caught a cold and has temporarily handed over power to Xuanxin and Kyōraku" spread throughout the entire Seireitei.

When this news reached the Fifth Division, Aizen was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected that the stubborn old man could trust Xuanxin to this extent, even entrusting the entire Soul Society to him.

At the same time, a hint of envy lingered in Aizen's heart, but it vanished in an instant.

He knew that the moment Xuanxin took complete control of the Gotei 13, the war between him and Xuanxin officially began.

However, in the days following Xuanxin's takeover, he did not relax his efforts against Yoruichi and the others; on the contrary, he intensified the search.

Xuanxin clearly saw Yoruichi and her group as a whetstone for the Thirteenth Division's trials, while also adding some pressure to Ichigo and his group.

Yoruichi strongly condemned Xuanxin's unusual help and doubled the punishment of "not being able to get out of bed for a month" to two months!

Meanwhile, at night, Xuanxin, unaware that his wife had given him an ultimatum, was still practicing calligraphy in front of a blank sheet of paper.

Meanwhile, Unohana stood silently behind Xuanxin, watching Xuanxin.

After seeing Xuanxin put down his pen, Sister Hana slowly walked over and stood beside Xuanxin, looking at the white paper in front of him. On the paper was written the reminder that Xuanxin had Musashi:

[All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, and lightning; thus should they be viewed.]

Unohana looked at the words Xuanxin had written, said nothing, but silently took Xuanxin's hand. Then the two looked at each other, and everything was understood.

The next day, very early in the morning.

On his way to the Second Division, Xuanxin unexpectedly encountered Sōsuke Aizen on the street.

Xuanxin paused, then the two nodded to each other in respect before hurrying away.

In truth, both of them knew that this meeting was the beginning of a declaration of war.

Meanwhile, the group that was still undergoing special training in the underground secret base was getting anxious.

As Rukia's execution time drew ever closer, they had yet to accomplish anything and remained trapped in this secret base like rats, unable to move.

Unsurprisingly, the name Shihoin Genshin became the object of everyone's resentment, and Yoruichi nodded in agreement.

On this day, Ichigo found Yoruichi and asked with red eyes, "Mr. Yoruichi, is there any way for me to quickly increase my strength?"

Hearing Ichigo's words, Yoruichi silently thought to herself, "[It seems the pressure is about the same]," and then said seriously to Ichigo:

"I do have a solution, but it's very dangerous," Yoruichi said.

"It's okay, I can overcome any danger!"

Seeing Ichigo's determined expression, Yoruichi nodded and said, "Alright, wait here while I prepare. One day will suffice."