Chapter 91

[The base in the World of the Living has been planned and will be dispatched to World of the Living support soon.]

Seeing this, Kisuke Urahara felt a little relieved. However, he was now very curious about what this World of the Living base was. He had never heard of it before and guessed it was another new thing that Xuanxin had come up with.

However, there was no news for the next few days. Just as Kisuke Urahara was about to ask again, Yoruichi appeared at the store entrance in the form of a black cat.

Kisuke Urahara looked at Yoruichi in the Yoruichi and asked curiously, "Didn't you say someone was coming to help? Why are you alone?"

Yoruichi shook off the dew and said somewhat irritably, "The others are with Ichigo. They'll come over after school."

"Ichigo?" Kisuke Urahara asked, puzzled.

In stark contrast to Kisuke Urahara state, Ichigo and the others were utterly shocked.

Ichigo and Orihime stared wide-eyed at the familiar faces standing on the platform.

Rangiku Matsumoto Rukia, and Renji were seen wearing the school uniforms of Ichigo's school, standing on the podium as new transfer students, with Rangiku carrying a heavy backpack.

Although Ichigo and the others knew that the Seireitei would send people to support the World of the Living, no one told them that this support would appear before them in this form!

It's unbelievable that these hundreds-of-years-old grim reapers are pretending to be high school students.

What happened next did not surprise Ichigo and the others at all. After they got to their seats, they fell fast asleep, completely ignoring their schoolwork.

It wasn't until after school, when all the students had left the classroom, that Ichigo woke up the few who were still sleeping.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Ichigo could no longer contain his urge to complain, "What are you guys doing here?! What are you trying to do?!"

Upon hearing Rukia retorted confidently, "What's wrong with that? Aren't students a great cover?"

Ichigo then stopped pursuing the matter and looked at the others seriously, saying:

"Is this all support? The Hollows that have appeared recently are very difficult to deal with, and the few of you are all having your powers restricted. There's simply not enough of you."

Rangiku smiled, took her backpack out of her desk and placed it on the table, saying, "It's alright, we brought a secret weapon with us this time!"

Rukia and Renji nodded in agreement upon hearing this. Rangiku, under the curious gazes of Orihime and the others, carefully unzipped her backpack and slowly pulled out her secret weapon.

"Ta-da! This is our secret weapon!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a large white cat, still yawning, appeared in Rangiku's hand.

When Ichigo and the others saw the familiar white cat, they exclaimed in surprise:

"Ah!! Captain Xuanxin? What are you doing in my backpack?!"

Chapter 91

To Ichigo and the others' astonishment, Xuanxin twisted his hand and successfully broke free from Rangiku's grasp, after which a look of disappointment appeared on Rangiku's face.

Xuanxin landed on the table, stretched, and said, "Oh, it's evening already! Ichigo, we meet again?"

"Captain Xuanxin! Why are you here?! And why are you like this?!"

Upon hearing this, Xuanxin tilted his head and said, "Didn't you and Kisuke Urahara discover a new problem? So I came to check it out and, incidentally, to make some preparations for our future in the World of the Living."

"As for why I appear in this form, it's because I don't have a suitable Gigai, so I had to change to this form." Ichigo nodded, seemingly understanding.

After saying this, Xuanxin scanned the surroundings, then jumped onto Ichigo's head and said:

"Alright. This isn't the place to talk. Come on, Ichigo. Let's talk more at Kisuke Urahara's shop. Yoruichi is already waiting for us there."

Seeing that Xuanxin didn't want to move an inch on his own, Ichigo's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to object. He could only resign himself to becoming Xuanxin's means of transportation and heading towards Urahara Shop.

Throughout the journey, Ichigo felt as if he were being watched by a piercing gaze, as if he were being targeted by a murderous stare.

But every time he was about to turn around, that gaze would disappear again; he knew without a doubt that it was Rangiku Matsumoto's gaze.

Ichigo immediately complained, "[Captain Xuanxin! You've really put me in a bind! I have a feeling I'm going to be killed by that long-haired guy behind me any minute now.]"

Just as Ichigo finished complaining in his mind, Xuanxin on his head suddenly spoke up, "Ichigo, what are you thinking about? I feel like you're thinking about something very rude."

"No, no, you must be mistaken, Captain Xuanxin," Ichigo said guiltily.

Really?

"Really... really," Ichigo stammered.

Just as Ichigo was about to continue, Xuanxin spoke again, "Ichigo, are you feeling unwell?"

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Ichigo asked curiously.

Suddenly, Xuanxin, who had been perched on Ichigo's head, jumped onto Ichigo's shoulder and began wiping his paws with Ichigo's clothes.

"Because your sweat is almost soaking my fur! And if you really have a health problem, you could actually go see Sister Hana."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Orihime and the others all turned their attention to Ichigo and his group.

Amidst these fervent gazes, Ichigo's face flushed red, and he shouted, "I'm not sick!"

The loud noise even made passersby across the street stop and look at Ichigo with suspicion.

Seeing this, Ichigo's face turned even redder, and he quickened his pace, intending to leave as soon as possible.

Fortunately, Karakura Town wasn't very big, and it didn't take long for Ichigo to carry Xuanxin to Urahara Shop.

When everyone knocked on the door, Yoruichi, who had returned to her human form, answered Yoruichi.

Yoruichi looked at Xuanxin, who was perched on Ichigo's shoulder, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

[It seems Xuanxin does know how to restrain himself a bit.]

Then, Yoruichi called everyone in, and Xuanxin skillfully jumped onto Yoruichi's shoulder.

Feeling the weight on her shoulders, Yoruichi's smile grew even brighter, and she even gave Rangiku Matsumoto a defiant look.

Rangiku, not to be outdone, glared back, and a faint smell of gunpowder began to fill the room.

Perhaps the only one in the entire room who didn't sense the gunpowder smell was Xuanxin, because the smell would instantly disappear whenever he turned his head.

Looking at the suddenly quiet room, Xuanxin said:

"Alright, now that there's no one else here, Urahara and Ichigo, you two tell me all about those strange Hollow things."

Upon hearing this, Kisuke Urahara turned serious, and he told Xuanxin about what he and Ichigo had encountered that day.

As Ichigo and Kisuke Urahara recounted their stories, the group exchanged glances, and sure enough, they all saw a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes.

Zanpakuto can be considered the most basic form of attack for Shinigami, but if a Hollow specifically designed to counter Zanpakuto defenses appears, no one would believe it wasn't Aizen's doing.

After pondering for a moment, Xuanxin asked, "Kisuke, do you have any living Hollows here?"

Kisuke Urahara shook his head and said, "No, these Hollows are very strange, or rather, Aizen has modified them in some way, making them very difficult to capture alive."

Upon hearing Kisuke Urahara's words, Xuanxin jumped onto the table, his fluffy tail tapping against the surface.

"In that case, let's have a good talk with them tonight."

Upon hearing Xuanxin's confident words, everyone in the group revealed a glimmer of self-assurance, and Rangiku's gaze towards Xuanxin became even more fervent.

Just then, a discordant voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

"Gurgle~"

In an instant, the atmosphere that had been carefully built up was shattered by this sound.

The owner of the voice, Renji, who was standing in the corner, scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Sorry, I think I'm a little hungry."

Then everyone exchanged glances and burst into laughter, with Ichigo's voice being the loudest.

Renji immediately retorted, "Ichigo, what are you laughing at? Even if you're weak, you still need to eat more!"

The room fell silent upon hearing this, but after a moment of silence, an even more jarring laugh erupted. Amidst this laughter, Kisuke Urahara, waving his fan, said:

"It'll be ready soon, it'll be ready soon."

Soon, a sumptuous meal was laid out on the table. Ichigo picked up his bowl and looked at it. Xuanxin, sandwiched between Rangiku and Yoruichi, was about to say something.

Suddenly, Xuanxin transformed into human form, and seeing this, Xuanxin Ichigo, "Wait, Captain Xuanxin, you can transform into a human, so why did you make me carry you here?!"

"Because I don't want to walk!" Xuanxin said, picking up his bowl.

"Well..."

With just a simple sentence, Ichigo was rendered speechless.

At the dinner table, Xuanxin's rice bowl quickly became the new battleground for Rangiku and Yoruichi, who frantically piled food onto his Xuanxin.

Xuanxin was also open to all comers; he would eat as much as you added.

Watching Xuanxin calmly destroy the ever-growing "mountain of food" before them, Ichigo and Uryū exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

Finally, with the last vegetable leaf eaten by Xuanxin, this silent battle slowly came to an end.

After the meal, everyone chatted casually, while Xuanxin transformed back into his cat form and lay down on the cleaned-up table, waiting for the phantoms to appear.

Just as everyone was getting drowsy from waiting, Xuanxin, who had just been moved from the table to Yoruichi's arms, suddenly opened his eyes and ran out. Seeing this, Yoruichi and Rangiku, though they didn't know why, also chased after him.

The others hadn't even had time to react as Xuanxin and the other two suddenly left.

"Captain Xuanxin, where did they go? Didn't they say they were going to stay here...?"

Before Ichigo could finish speaking, the warning device placed in the corner suddenly beeped.

The group exchanged incredulous glances before belatedly realizing they had run after them.

"Wow, Captain Xuanxin is even more sensitive than the early warning system! Shopkeeper, your thing is no good either! It can't even keep up with Captain Xuanxin." Renji complained from the side.

Kisuke Urahara simply gave a wry smile and said nothing more.

When the group arrived, they found that the strange phantoms had already been driven together by Xuanxin and his companions, and Xuanxin had even begun his experiment.

Xuanxin drew his Zanpakuto from his waist and slashed straight down, but the drumming sound Ichigo had described did not come. The Zanpakuto still easily sliced through the Hollow's body.

However, Xuanxin watched as the ethereal form gradually transformed into Reishi and remarked, "Its hardness is indeed extraordinary."

Seeing Xuanxin so relaxed, Renji walked over, took out his Zanpakuto, and slashed down.

"Bang!" But this time, it was the familiar sound of "drumming" that came.

Seeing this, Xuanxin said, "Rukia, try switching to Kidō attacks, starting with the lower levels."

"Yes, Captain Xuanxin."

Soon, all sorts of lights began to flash on the street. Attempts to activate low-level Kidō were still unable to harm these guys. It wasn't until Kidō was upgraded to [Thirty-One: Shakkahō] that it was able to effectively kill those Hollows.

"It seems that an ordinary squad member would need to be at least level 33 to eliminate these Hollows."

After reaching his conclusion, Xuanxin said to Yoruichi and Rangiku, "Alright, the experiment is almost over. Leave one alive for Kisuke Urahara to take back later, and kill the rest."

Upon hearing this, Rangiku nodded. Instantly, the sand walls surrounding the Hollows surged towards them. Within a few breaths, the Hollows were ground to dust by the sand, leaving only one Hollow with its limbs severed lying on the ground.

Yoruichi glanced at the scene and said, "What a heartless woman."

Then, everyone exchanged glances and found a consensus in each other's eyes. "These two are at it again."

However, Xuanxin didn't say much. He simply left behind the words, "I'm going out to familiarize myself with the terrain," and then transformed into a cat once again, disappearing into the darkness.

The remaining group exchanged glances and then led the Void back to the shop.