Training in the Dangai

Amber emerged from the Senkaimon and stood in front of Urahara Shop.

He didn't immediately push the door open and go in; his mind was still replaying what had just happened.

The ward of the Fourth Division reeked of disinfectant. Xitang lay on the hospital bed, his body wrapped in bandages, his face pale, but his spirits were good. Seeing that only he and Xitang were left in the room, Hu bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching the floor.

Bewildered by Hu's sudden action, Xitang asked, "What are you doing?"

"Senior Xitang, I have a favor to ask of you." Hu's voice was muffled.

After a moment of silence, Xitang asked, "What do you want from me?"

"Please do not include Ichigo Kurosaki's matter in the report."

Xitang did not answer immediately. Hu remained in his position, not daring to look up.

After a long silence, Xitang sighed and spoke. "I will still write the report truthfully."

Hu's heart sank.

"But—" Xitang said slowly, "I will write the battle report as you and I assisting the local Soul Reapers in surrounding Grand Fisher, who ultimately escaped. I will omit the names of the local Soul Reapers."

Hu raised his head.

"That young man doesn't seem like the type to recklessly use the power of Soul Reaper." Xitang stared at the ceiling. "He saved me this time, in a way. This is all I can do. If he gets caught again, there's nothing I can do."

Amber knew that this was the limit of what Xitang could do. Reporting truthfully was his duty, but blurring Ichigo's existence was a favor.

"As long as Rukia can recover within the next month and retrieve the Soul Reaper power she left in Ichigo Kurosaki's body, everything will be fine," Xitang added.

Hu straightened up. "Thank you, Senior Xitang."

"Alright, you can go now. I need to rest."

Amber left the ward, and after walking to the Urahara Shop, he thought for a long time:

After Rukia transferred her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo, she was buried in the Hōgyoku by Urahara and placed in a specially made Gigai. This Gigai would continuously decompose spiritual energy, gradually turning Rukia into an ordinary human. Essentially, the plan was to deeply fuse Rukia with the Hōgyoku, intending for it to completely Hōgyoku after Rukia lived a human life. This was Urahara's predetermined method for dealing with the Hōgyoku, Urahara couldn't suddenly change it when the plan seemed sound. Rukia couldn't recover her Reiatsu, let alone reclaim her powers, before the plan ended, and Aoi had no way to persuade Urahara. Aizen, for the sake of the Hōgyoku, would undoubtedly try every means to bring Rukia back. Moreover, it was an undeniable fact that Rukia had violated the laws of Soul Society; Aizen only needed to present some evidence, Rukia would be openly and legitimately brought back to Soul Society.

This is a dead end, unless--

Amber touched the Jiku'a at his waist. It was Zanpakuto born from his body, which inherited Vergil's power. As long as the Reiatsu was sufficient, the power was strong enough, or—if he mastered Bankai, he could definitely destroy even the Hōgyoku.

He opened his eyes and abruptly pulled open the door of Urahara Shop.

"Mr. Urahara, I want to become stronger!"

Urahara peeked out from behind the counter, glanced at him, and smiled.

Great! Very energetic!

Half an hour later.

Kou sat in the back room of Urahara Shop, a book spread out in front of him, covered in tadpole-like writing. Tessai Tsukabishi sat opposite him, Urahara leaned against the wall, and Yoruichi lay sprawled on the table.

Three people surrounded him.

Hu flipped through the book, sweat beading on his forehead. Thanks to his Concentration, he could practically memorize everything he read. He could memorize the entire book in half an hour. But the content—unfortunately, he didn't understand it at all.

Tsukabishi asked, "What are your thoughts after seeing all this?"

Hu shook his head.

Tsukabishi sighed. "Indeed, not everyone is suited to understanding time and space through reading."

Urahara smiled. "It's alright, we have Plan B."

Hu looked up. "Plan B?"

Urahara stood up and walked to the back. "Follow me."

Deep within the Underground Training Grounds, Urahara stood beside a massive doorway.

The door frame was made of metal and engraved with Reishi circuits, much simpler than the Senkaimon used by the Feimou Corps. There were no carvings, no decorations, only a naked industrial feel.

"This is a portal I handcrafted before," Urahara patted the Senkaimon. "It's different from the ones provided by Soul Society. This portal only opens one entrance and one exit at the Dangai; there are no other security features. The user needs to go to Soul Society themselves."

Hu stared at the door.

The Dangai? Is that the place Ichigo first entered Soul Society in the original work?

Hu pondered

"The Dangai is a passage connecting the World of the Living and the Soul Society, often described as a 'corridor of souls.' It's not a stable space, but rather a gap formed by multiple layers of fractured and folded spacetime, suspended within the void that envelops everything— the Garganta." Urahara turned to look at Kotori. "The time density inside is two thousand times that of the outside. That is to say, two thousand seconds inside is equivalent to only one second outside. In that environment, time and space are almost solidified to the point of being tangible."

Hu's eyes widened.

"The best way to perceive time and space is within the Dangai," Urahara continued. "But there are also dangers within the Dangai. One is the Kōryū, an invisible stream of Reishi energy with extremely high viscosity that can hinder an intruder's progress. Usually, it takes the combined efforts of several lower-ranking Soul Reaper to use the 'Bakudō' to temporarily suppress it and create a passageway."

Secondly, there is the Kōtotsu, a massive, arthropod-like, semi-transparent train of Spirit Body. Known as the "cleaner" of the Dangai, it appears once every seven days. The Kōtotsu possesses extremely high Reiatsu and carries the power of the laws governing Dangai. Any Spirit Body touched by the Kōtotsu is instantly obliterated, making it virtually impossible to defend against.

He paused, then looked at Hu intently.

"Ye Xing, do you really want to become stronger?"

Remembering the scene from the original story where Isshin created a training ground for Ichigo in the Dangai and the final result, Koko said almost without hesitation, "Yes!"

"We can Kōryū by having the three of us take turns channeling Reiatsu. The appearance of the Kōtotsu is easy to predict; we just need to time it well to avoid it," Urahara said. "But the Dangai is no place to play around. Once you go in, be prepared to suffer."

Hu clenched his fist. "I'm not afraid of hardship."

Urahara glanced at Tsukabishi. Yoruichi jumped off Urahara's shoulder and landed on the ground, her cat tail held high.

"Let's go then."

With the opening of the Senkaimon.

After entering through the Senkaimon, a long corridor unfolds before you. The walls on both sides are dark purple, with liquid constantly dripping from their surfaces, making them appear damp. The entire space has a dark purple, gelatinous appearance, as if it were writhing with life. Bones and skeletons are scattered on the ground, the remains of Soul Reaper or humans who perished while crossing between the two worlds in the past.

The interior of the Dangai is permeated with air currents called "Kōryū," which flow continuously throughout the space and adhere to the walls. Even the slightest touch will trap you and render you unable to move. These air currents are extremely dense, resembling an invisible swamp.

Urahara raised his hand and shot out four kunai-shaped Reishi stakes, then connected the ropes to the Reishi stakes to two bracelets and put them on his wrists.

"Then I'll be in charge of fixing the Kōryū today. Whoever is in charge of teaching can do so as they see fit." Urahara then unleashed his Reiatsu, fixing a section of the area in place.

Hu stood in the middle of the corridor. After Tsukabishi and Yoruichi exchanged a glance, Yoruichi stepped forward.

"Hu, you must be tired after reading for half an hour. How about we stretch our muscles a little today?"

Amber Kaidō, "Is Yoruichi- san coming directly in this form?"

"What, you look down on cats?" The black cat licked its paw. "In your current state, you'd be lucky to even touch a single hair on my fur."

Hu was taken aback. "Just touching it is enough?"

"Just find it." The black cat narrowed its eyes. "Let's begin."

The black cat vanished as soon as the words were spoken.

Hu instinctively turned to the side—a dark shadow swept past his ear, bringing a gust of wind. He reached out to grab it, but grasped at empty air.

"Haha, kid, too slow." Yoruichi's voice came from behind him.

Amber turned and threw a punch. Beowulf's light exploded on his fist, but his fist struck nothing in mid-air. The black cat was already perched on his head.

"Your center of gravity is too high." Yoruichi's tail brushed against his forehead. "You've never fought an enemy smaller than yourself before, have you?"

Hu gritted his teeth and threw another punch. This time, he lowered his center of gravity, thrusting his fist from his waist, making it much faster than before.

The black cat jumped off the fist, flipped in the air, and landed on his shoulder.

"The shrugging motion is too obvious."

Hu shrugged, trying to throw the cat off with his shoulder. The black cat nimbly jumped away, landing on his fist, then bounced up and landed on his head.

Your body tells others what you're going to do next; your opponent isn't blind.

Amber began to intensify her Concentration state. The black cat's Reiatsu was very faint, like a dim lamp. It pulsed above her head, on her left shoulder, and on her fist, but those were all afterimages.

The true Reiatsu is behind you.

Hu suddenly turned around and threw a punch. This time there was no pre-movement, no tilting of the shoulder beforehand, and the fist exploded directly from the waist.

The black cat sprang from the void, landing three inches in front of his fist, then nimbly on his arm.

"Oh, that's not bad. You were able to detect my landing point in advance, but it's still not enough to actually hit me."

"Come on, let's keep going!"

Yoruichi jumped and leaped all over Kou, but Kou ultimately failed to catch Yoruichi.

After training, Hu practically crawled Senkaimon.

On his back sat a black cat with glossy fur, which didn't look like it had been trained by Amber for a long time.

"How are you feeling?" Urahara helped Amber up.

Amber, panting, said, "Isn't Yoruichi- san a bit too cunning? Cats are so agile; could it be that Yoruichi is actually the fastest in this state?"

Urahara chuckled, "How could that be? This is nothing. The title of 'Flash Goddess Yoruichi' didn't fall from the sky. Besides, I'm asking how you felt about your training in the Dangai this time. Were you affected by the spatial and temporal density of the Dangai?"

"No, it doesn't feel like being underwater. It just feels a bit like being underwater. No matter how I move, I can feel resistance."

"That's good. Considering it's your first time entering the Dangai and the need for adaptation, we only had you train for five hours this time. The training time and intensity will gradually increase afterwards. Alright, remember to rest well when you return to Soul Society."

Hu nodded and dragged his tired body out of the store.

The glow of the Senkaimon faded behind him, and he stood on the land of Seireitei, letting out a long breath. He walked towards Bamboo Creek Plain.

After Kou left, Urahara closed the door and went back to the inner room.

Tsukabishi sat at the table, holding a teacup. Yoruichi lay on the table, her tail swishing back and forth.

"Speak, Kisuke, what exactly happened?" Yoruichi began, "Why did you suddenly take him to the Dangai today?"

Urahara sat down opposite him and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Before Amber arrived today, I reviewed the footage of Rukia Kuchiki 'Gigai using the monitoring equipment," Urahara, taking a sip of tea. "Today, a member of the Feimou Corps named Xitang went to see Rukia. He's probably Amber's direct superior. Judging from his tone, it seemed he received orders to bring Rukia back to Soul Society."

Yoruichi's ending has stopped.

"Normally, Soul Reaper aren't forcibly brought back if they're a week late. Even if they're several months late, as long as their basic connections with Soul Society aren't severed, they won't receive this kind of arrest warrant." Urahara's voice was calm. "Now, it's only been a week late, and they've already sent people to investigate. Even the Thirteenth Division wouldn't care this much about their subordinates."

Tsukabishi put down her teacup. "You mean..."

"Rukia Kuchiki is being targeted," Urahara said. "Who? I can't guess for now. But what if—it's Aizen?"

The room fell silent.

"So you need a Plan B," Yoruichi said.

Urahara nodded. "We always need to prepare for the worst. I was still thinking of a plan, and then Ye Xing so enthusiastically told me he wanted to become stronger, so I couldn't very well refuse."

"But why him?" Yoruichi asked. "Amber's fighting methods and skills are too crude and immature. Although he learns quickly, it's still too difficult for him."

Urahara glanced at the book on the table, filled with tadpole-like writing. "But some things are unique."

Yoruichi at where Urahara was looking. "But Amber doesn't understand, does she?"

"It's precisely because he can't understand it that he's unique," Urahara explained. "If he could understand it, it would mean that Ye Xing himself possesses the corresponding space-time talent, so it wouldn't be surprising that his Shikai could cut through space-time."

"Yoruichi, space and time could never shatter like glass under normal circumstances. That was a phenomenon that occurred after he activated his Zanpakuto Reiatsu, not the power itself. His power is most likely something conceptual..."

Yoruichi was silent for a moment. "So, if he can grow up faster, perhaps—"

"Perhaps it can even destroy the Hōgyoku on a conceptual level," Urahara said.

Yoruichi stood up from the table, her tail held high.

"Are you crazy? Destroy the Hōgyoku? Even you can't do anything about that thing."

"That's why I said maybe," Urahara smiled, "It's better than nothing."

Tsukabishi her teacup and said nothing more.

Yoruichi lay down again, flicking her tail.

"I hope your intuition is right."

Urahara did not answer. He finished his tea, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

Moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on the brim of his hat.

Meanwhile, in the Fifth Division Captain's quarters of Soul Society, Aizen was watching the battle video from Karakura Town that day, as well as Rukia's Reiatsu data, and smiled, "So you're here..."