Homecoming

After Byakuya left, Ye Yang called out, "Hey! Kisuke, come out quickly and take this kid back!"

Urahara smiled and accepted Ichigo; the two quickly disappeared into the night.

Looking at the heavily injured and unconscious Ichigo before him, Byakuya thought, "As expected of Byakuya, Ichigo's Chain Binding and Soul Sleep have been destroyed. Even if he revives a Shinigami, his power will disappear." He then said, "Hey, Kisuke, is this troublesome?"

"Your underling is really ruthless. Saving his life shouldn't be a problem, but whether he can regain his Shinigami powers depends on Mr. Kurosaki himself," Urahara said leisurely.

Ye Yang sighed softly, "Then I'll leave this kid to you. I need to go back to Soul Society first. Rukia's crimes this time are no small matter. I'll go back to Soul Society to find out the situation and then work with you from the inside."

"Hey? Ye Yang, do you know what I'm going to do?"

"Nonsense! Enough said, I'm leaving now." With that, he opened the Senkaimon and went inside.

Upon returning to Seireien Ye Yang heard the news: Rukia Kuchiki had been sentenced to the Sōkyoku by the Central 46 for secretly transferring Spiritual Power to humans, and the execution would take place at Sōkyoku Hill in a month!

Ye Yang already knew this outcome, but many people were puzzled because, although privately transferring Spiritual Power to humans was a serious crime, it shouldn't be enough to warrant the Sōkyoku. The Sōkyoku was generally used to execute heinous criminals, and Rukia's crime was not serious enough to Sōkyoku it.

Many people were puzzled, but they didn't say much. After all, it was an order issued by the Central 46, representing the highest judicial body in Soul Society. Even if they had doubts, they wouldn't raise any questions.

Normally, the Kuchiki Clan would give one of the Central 46 of Justice some face. If Byakuya, as the head of the family, had intervened, Rukia would at least not have been sentenced to death. But strangely, Byakuya did not intervene this time.

Ye Yang knew why Byakuya didn't show up. Back when Hisana was alive, Rukia would be the last willful act he would ever do in his life. From then on, he would protect the dignity of the nobility and would never do anything to damage the reputation of the nobility again.

Before Hisana died, she asked Byakuya to take good care of Rukia, and Byakuya agreed. However, now his vow is in conflict with his promise to Hisana, and what to do has become the most difficult thing in Byakuya's mind.

While Rukia had already been sentenced to death. Now that the result was in, Byakuya was helpless. Hisana, it seems I have to break my promise.

Ye Yang knew that Rukia would not die. Many things happened on the morning of the execution, such as Aizen finally tearing off his fake smile and officially betraying Soul Society and joining forces with Hueco Mundo. Ye Yang did not intend to stop this, because the time for the final battle had not yet come. However, he must not let Hōgyoku take the Hogyoku away!

Before returning to Soul Society, Ye Yang asked Urahara for a device to remove the Hōgyoku. This was so that the Hōgyoku could be removed in case of emergency. Urahara also gave Ye Yang a fake Hōgyoku as a precaution.

The next thing to do was wait, wait for Ichigo to break into the Seireien, until seven days before the execution, when he received news from Gin Ichimaru that Ryoka had broken into Soul Society, but he had stopped it.

However, it seems that those few Ryoka were not killed. Yamamoto convened a captain's meeting regarding this incident. Since it was a captain's meeting, Ye Yang did not need to attend, and he had no interest in the argument between those people.

However, it seems he missed a good show this time. Gin slowly walked into the hall of the captains' meeting, where all the captains of the Thirteenth Division except for Ukitake were present. Yamamoto spoke first, "You've arrived? Third Division Captain, Gin Ichimaru."

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly summon me here? It's quite a commotion. All the squad captains have gathered here for me," Gin said slowly as he walked forward. "Huh? It seems the Thirteenth Division Captain isn't here."

After remaining silent, Kaname Tōsen: "I'm on sick leave."

"Really? He's not better yet? Then you should tell him to take good care of himself," Yin said calmly.

At this moment, a voice suddenly interrupted him, "Stop joking. You don't think everyone's gathered here just to gossip, do you? Didn't you go and deal with the Ryoka yourself? And you didn't even manage to eliminate them? What happened?" Kenpachi stared intently at Gin and questioned, "With your skill level, dealing with a few Ryoka shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Yin asked with a look of surprise, "Huh? That kid's still alive? I thought he was dead. Is my intuition just slow?"

"Stop with the monkey show," Mayuri Kurotsuchi interjected. "As Captain-level, we can't possibly be unaware that the opponent's power had already vanished by the time it was used!"

Yin scratched the back of his head. "It's not like I deliberately let them escape."

"That's exactly what I mean," Nie said directly.

Kenpachi was annoyed; he was the one talking to him, so the two started arguing. Yamamoto coughed and snapped, "Stop arguing! This is really unbecoming!"

Everyone fell silent, waiting for Yamamoto to continue. "So, I've already stated the reason I called you here. This time, you acted alone without orders and failed to capture the target. As the captain, you've seriously neglected your duties. What excuse do you have, Gin Ichimaru!"

Yin scratched his head and said, "I have nothing to say, I have nothing to defend myself with. It was indeed my negligence, and I won't make excuses for myself. Whatever the punishment, I will accept it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Aizen interrupted him, "Wait a minute, Ichimaru, before that, I have something I want to ask you."

Just then, an urgent report came through: Intruders have been discovered inside Seireien. All teams, please stand guard!

Instantly, the entire Seireien went on high alert, and everyone in the meeting room looked outside. Kenpachi spoke up, "Could it be those Ryoka?" He then ignored everyone else, wanting to find the Ryoka quickly and fight them. Moreover, the Ryoka who had escaped from Gin Ichimaru's clutches were no ordinary people, and it might be a good fight!

Given the situation, the captains' meeting could not proceed. Yamamoto slammed his cane heavily on the ground. "Let's adjourn the captains' meeting for now. We'll inform everyone about the handling of Gin Ichimaru later. All squads, immediately take your positions."

The captains then slowly walked out of the conference room. Just as Aizen reached Gin's side, Tōshirō also arrived. Aizen whispered, "The alarm sounded at just the right time."

"I don't understand, what do you mean?"

"You think you can get away with this? You better... don't underestimate me!" With that, he walked straight out the door.

This conversation was overheard by Tōshirō, who happened to be passing by. Of course, he didn't know that this was just a play staged by Aizen and Gin, with the aim of making Tōshirō suspect Gin so that he could make a perfect escape!

Ye Yang, who was at home, also felt that the Shakonmaku Seireien to have been hit. If nothing unexpected happened, it should be Ichigo and the others. After waiting for many days, they had finally arrived.

He then sensed a familiar Spiritual Pressure, Spiritual Pressure was divided into four groups. Ye Yang smiled and headed towards the familiar Spiritual Pressure.

In the distance, I saw a familiar black cat on the rooftop, muttering, "Am I all alone now? But maybe it's better this way."

"Who said you're alone?" Ye Yang's voice rang out from behind. "You rarely come back to Seireien, yet you don't even go home to visit?"

"Of course I'm going back, but not now. I'll go back after this is over." Yoruichi was also a little sad. After all, she hadn't seen her parents for a hundred years. It was impossible for her not to miss home. She really wanted to rush home to see her parents right now!

Ye Yang said calmly, "Is there anything more important than going home? Didn't you come to rescue Rukia? There are still seven days until the execution. Let's go home and talk about it then."

"Ichigo's current strength is still far from enough. To rescue Rukia, he needs to learn Bankai, which requires the Tenshintai. Could you get it for me?"

Ye Yang squatted down, picked up the black cat, and said, "Come on, come home with me and get it yourself. You have to come home with me today!" Ye Yang's words were firm and left no room for argument.

Yoruichi knew Ye Yang's personality; he wouldn't give up until he brought her back. So she sighed and said, "Alright then, but you can't expect me to go home in this form, can you?" Yoruichi pointed at herself with her cat paw.

"Tch, let's go back first!" Without waiting for Yoruichi's reaction, Ye Yoruichi took her home. When they arrived, his parents were in their room. Ye Yang knocked and went in. "Mom and Dad, look who I brought back to you?" Ye Yang pushed Yoruichi forward and said with a smile.

The mother asked suspiciously, "A cat?"

A large bead of sweat appeared on Ye Yang's forehead. Yoruichi's cat form had never been shown to her family before. "No, it's not like that," Ye Yang said, taking out a set of Yoruichi's old clothes. "Go inside and change!"

Yoruichi, the black cat, entered the room with her clothes hanging down. A moment later, she transformed into human form and came out, calling out, "Dad, Mom~" Yoruichi was a little embarrassed, after all, it had been so many years since she had come back to see her parents.

"Little Yoruichi?" Tsukiyo exclaimed in surprise. She never expected that Ye Yang would bring back Yoruichi. "Mom and Dad, I'm back." She had so much to say, but she didn't know how to begin. All she could do was let her know that she was safe.

Seigen gazed intently at her daughter, and finally sighed softly, "It's good that you're back..."

Tsukiyo immediately embraced her daughter, tears streaming down her face. All the longing she had felt for her daughter for over a hundred years burst forth at this moment. She sobbed uncontrollably and held Yoruichi tightly, as if afraid that she would disappear again.

Yoruichi's eyes welled up with tears. The words she had wanted to say to her parents before, she couldn't utter now. She could only silently pat her mother's shoulder in comfort...