Ten Unohana Returns

As Ichigo gradually learned more about Soul Reapers, he also came to understand just how weak he was. As he continued killing Hollows, he gradually grew stronger.

However, Ichigo also encountered his strongest enemy since gaining his Soul Reaper powers—the Hollow that had killed his mother.

Ichigo was furious and refused to let Rukia intervene, insisting on dealing with the Hollow himself. Rukia happened to meet a Soul Reaper, a senior from Soul Society, and by chance learned about Ten Unohana from him. She stopped paying attention to Ichigo and stayed there listening to stories about Ten.

After enduring countless hardships, Ichigo finally killed the Hollow that had murdered his mother...

He was also gravely injured.

For the next few days, Ichigo stayed at Kisuke Urahara's shop to recover from his injuries...

In the Valley of Screams in the Dangai,

Ten Unohana was still excited as he looked at Yuzu and Karin, who had grown up. He had also discovered that they had some ability to control space and time. It wasn't much, but they did have a little.

"Yuzu."

"Karin."

"Come here."

By now, because of the disruption to the Dangai's timeline, Yuzu and Karin were no different from four- or five-year-old children.

"Daddy."

"Daddy."

Holding Yuzu and Karin, Ten Unohana said, "Haven't you always wanted to know what's outside the palace?"

Karin asked in confusion, "Didn't Mommy say it was the Dangai?"

"Then what's outside the Dangai?" Ten Unohana asked with a smile.

Yuzu said excitedly, "Outside the Dangai? Is it where you used to live, Daddy?"

Ten Unohana smiled. "That's right! So, Yuzu, Karin, see if there's anything here you want to take and hurry up and get it. We're leaving tomorrow."

"Ah—you mean we have to wait until tomorrow?"

"Yes! Once we leave, it'll take some effort if you want to see this place again," Ten Unohana said with a smile. "So hurry up and get ready!"

"Okay!"

"Mm!"

Masaki slowly walked out just then. Watching Yuzu and Karin dash to their rooms, she smiled and asked Ten Unohana, "Honey, can we leave now?"

Ten Unohana nodded. "Yes. I didn't expect Yuzu and Karin to gain abilities related to space and time because of the Dangai's environment. They haven't fully manifested yet, but the first signs are already showing. That means Yuzu and Karin can travel through the Dangai to the World of the Living under our protection!"

The World of the Living

"My name is Yuichi Shibata."

A parrot spoke.

The Hollow that could spit explosive leeches appeared.

This time, however, it wasn't the main concern. After all, Rukia still had her powers and could defeat the Hollow, to say nothing of the many helpers at Ten Unohana's villa in the World of the Living.

Yet the one who defeated that Hollow was neither Ichigo nor Rukia, but Yasutora Sado. Yoruichi noticed these irregularities and thought, Is this because the Hōgyoku has awakened? Everyone with high spiritual power nearby is starting to gain powers.

What had happened to Yasutora Sado caught the attention of Ichigo, Orihime Inoue, Tatsuki Arisawa, and a number of their classmates. They too gradually began thinking about their own powers.

Their inner strength directly affected how the Hōgyoku awakened their powers.

And one person had been watching the changes in Yasutora Sado and Ichigo. That person was none other than Uryū Ishida.

Ever since learning that his father had died because of a Soul Reaper, Uryū Ishida, who already hated Soul Reapers, had grown even more eager to prove himself stronger than them. But he couldn't find Rukia.

So he had to settle for the unfortunate Ichigo. Ichigo fell for his provocation, flew into a rage, and accepted the challenge.

Thus, everything followed naturally.

Under Aizen's guidance from behind the scenes, all sorts of Hollows began entering the two's attack range. The excess Hollows were then sent to other humans with high spiritual power...

As for Orihime Inoue, she still awakened her ability, Shun Shun Rikka, at a critical moment.

The only difference was that Tatsuki Arisawa, a human with high spiritual power, also caught up in this great Hōgyoku evolution.

Tatsuki Arisawa had a gauntlet on her hand. Though called a gauntlet, it was actually quite different from one, for its long claws gleamed coldly, dark and bloodthirsty.

Compared with these,

Ichigo and Uryū Ishida's battle was rather distinctive, with all kinds of contests!

Finally, Ichigo and Uryū Ishida gradually realized something was wrong. There were too many Hollows; it was a little abnormal.

The Dangai

Ten Unohana walked slowly along with Masaki, Yuzu, and Karin, but...

"This is... Hollow Bait used by Quincy!!" Masaki said to Ten Unohana.

Ten Unohana frowned. "What idiot did this? What a nuisance." He did not move to kill the Hollows.

Soul Society's Twelfth Division monitored the Dangai. Ten Unohana wanted revenge on the Twelfth Division for controlling the Kōtotsu and Kōryū and sending him and the others to the Valley of Screams in the Dangai, and he didn't want the Twelfth Division to know he had left it. So he chose not to kill the Hollows. Not only did he refrain from acting himself, he also stopped Masaki from acting. Instead, he used a silver chain to pass through the multitude of Hollows.

"Daddy, I don't feel very well," Karin said.

Yuzu also chimed in, "Me too, Daddy."

Ten Unohana thought, Is it because the timeline is gradually correcting itself? At that thought, he comforted Yuzu and Karin. "Then get some sleep first. You'll be fine when you wake up."

"I want to see the World of the Living." Karin didn't want to sleep.

Yuzu also said, "I want to see the World of the Living you told us about too, Daddy."

"Thump, thump, thump."

A Gillian walked slowly through the Dangai...

"Huh?"

Ten Unohana called to Yuzu and Karin. "Do you want to ride on that?" He pointed at the innocent Gillian in the Dangai, tempting the two girls.

Yuzu and Karin were children who couldn't resist temptation. Both promptly shouted, "I want to ride it! I want to ride it!"

Ten Unohana looked at Masaki. "Masaki, do you want to get on?"

Masaki smiled at Ten Unohana, then nodded.

Looking at the Gillian, Ten Unohana said to Masaki, Yuzu, and Karin, "Up we go." With that, he scooped up all three and leaped onto the Gillian's head.

Ten Unohana said leisurely, "Now we have a ride. I've suddenly got so much time on my hands!!"

Compared to Ten Unohana's leisurely time, things were rather grim for Ichigo and Uryū Ishida in the World of the Living. Since their enemies were all small fry, the women at Ten Unohana's villa lazily pushed the task onto one another, none of them wanting to go. Only Rukia remained, staring blankly at the chaos before her and thinking, Who on earth is coming with me?

Unlike the unreliable women in Ten Unohana's villa, Kisuke Urahara was worried that Isshin would come looking for trouble later, so he headed for the battlefield.

Seeing that the women were still arguing endlessly, Rukia said, "All right, I'll go on my own first. Come over once you've decided."

"Oh no, Rukia's angry."

"It's all your fault."

"It's not my fault, all right?"

Ignoring the women's quarrel, Rukia left the villa. She rather liked the atmosphere among them; it was much better than the lifelessness of Soul Society. The women didn't think anything would happen, so they paid no attention to Rukia's departure and continued their pointless squabbling. After all, Ten Unohana had been gone so long without returning, and this was the only way they could vent some of their impatience.

But what they didn't know was that Ten Unohana was sitting atop the head of a Gillian on its way to the World of the Living, fast asleep. Beside him, Masaki watched Ten Unohana, Yuzu, and Karin sleeping soundly and gave a wry smile...

The Gillian eventually reached the World of the Living, but since it couldn't open a Garganta, it could only tear a huge hole in the sky to pass through.

"Mr. Kurosaki, I've come to back you up." Only when he saw the Gillian appear did Kisuke Urahara emerge from hiding and greet Ichigo Kurosaki in his usual comical voice that made people want to punch him.

"Kisuke Urahara?!" Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't know why Kisuke Urahara had come.

Urahara, meanwhile, didn't concern himself with all that. He said to Ichigo, "Mr. Kurosaki, leave these small fry to us. Just concentrate on dealing with that big fellow."

He then calmly pointed at the Gillian. "Mr. Kurosaki, it looks like there's no time."

Ichigo didn't know that the Gillian was beyond his current ability to handle. Hot-blooded, he charged straight at it.

Rukia finally arrived on the scene just then. At the sight of a Gillian, a Menos Grande she had never seen before, Little Lulu was understandably astonished. She then saw Ichigo charge forward and wanted to stop him; after all, she had promised someone she would look after him. But Kisuke Urahara stepped in front of her.

Rukia asked in confusion, "Urahara, do you want to kill Ichigo??"

Without waiting for Kisuke Urahara to speak, Rukia said again, "Forget it. Do as you see fit. It's your business anyway."

Ichigo was promptly taken down in a single blow by the Gillian. The Gillian itself also began to take notice of him and started gathering a Cero.

Masaki shook Ten Unohana.

"Ah—" "That was a good sleep!"

"Huh? Have we reached the World of the Living? Hitching a ride really is fast!!" Ten Unohana said.

He woke Yuzu and Karin, who were in his arms.

"Yuzu, Karin, wake up, wake up."

"Mm, what is it, Daddy?"

"We've reached the World of the Living. Get up and have a look!" Ten Unohana said, setting Yuzu and Karin down on the Gillian's head.

"Wow—"

"Wow—"

Two cries of amazement came from Yuzu and Karin.

Unlike the two little girls' cute exclamations, however, Ichigo Kurosaki was screaming and shouting beneath the Gillian.

"Ah! That's so noisy!" Yuzu said with a frown.

At last, Ichigo Kurosaki finished shouting and began his attack.

"Ah—"

With Ichigo's shout, a blade of light broke through the Gillian's Cero and flew straight from its feet toward the top of its head.

"Tch—" Ten Unohana scooped up Yuzu and Karin and dodged the blade of light along with Masaki. Then he looked back at the Gillian. Injured, it began slowly returning to the Dangai.

Seeing this, Ten Unohana shouted, "Thank you, ride whose name I don't know!"

Then he looked at Yuzu and Karin in his arms and shouted happily, "I, Ten Unohana, have returned!!!"