Explanation

Liu Hao's description of "heart-wrenching" pain was like a heavy stone thrown into a still lake, sending ripples through Kaien Shiba's heart and leaving him deeply puzzled.

He stopped and turned to face Liu Hao. His eyes, usually so bright and cheerful, were clouded with doubt. "Liu Hao, I understand how much you treasure your companions, and I understand your fear of losing them. But... there seemed to be a more specific, more... targeted concern behind what you just said. You said you were afraid 'Rukia would experience that kind of heart-wrenching pain someday,' and even mentioned 'if that bond were forcibly severed in the cruelest way'..."

He frowned slightly, fixing Liu Hao with a sharp gaze. "Why are you so 'certain' that the person who might cause Rukia such terrible pain... would be me? Or rather, why are you so sure that Rukia's heart-wrenching pain would have something to do with me?"

Liu Hao stopped as well. He turned his head slightly, avoiding Kaien's overly direct, questioning gaze, and looked toward the hazy outline of Rukongai in the distance. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts, or perhaps drawing fragments from a distant memory. The wind on the hillside seemed to grow colder.

After several breaths of silence, Liu Hao finally spoke. His voice was lower than before, and his words held an almost dreamlike certainty, as though he were stating an established fact.

"Because... in one 'possibility,' Rukia will kill you... with her own hands."

Kaien's pupils contracted sharply, and his body stiffened almost imperceptibly. It was not fear, but the absurdity of those words and... the chilling certainty they carried.

"And you, at that time..." Liu Hao continued, his voice cold and analytical. "You thought that by leaving your 'heart' with her, you could pass on some conviction or comfort. But you overlooked... or rather, you couldn't truly understand what it would mean to the girl forced to raise that blade: the devastating impact of ending the life of the person she respected and trusted most, the person she regarded as an older brother, with her own hands... and the wound that would never heal."

"Liu Hao!" Kaien's voice rose in incredulous shock and offended anger. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm standing right here, perfectly fine! I'm still alive! What you're saying... is complete nonsense!"

Liu Hao finally turned back to meet Kaien's shocked, angry gaze. His eyes were unnaturally calm, almost eerily so, as if he had not been the one to utter those astounding words. He did not argue. He simply stared at Kaien with that chillingly calm gaze and spoke slowly.

"Why am I so sure? Lieutenant Shiba, this isn't being sure. It's... something I witnessed."

"You... what did you say?" The anger froze on Kaien's face, replaced by deeper confusion and suspicion. Witnessed? That word was even weightier than certainty, even more... inconceivable.

"I've 'seen' it." Liu Hao spoke softly, but his words struck Kaien's heart like a hammer. "Your death. The boundless fear and despair in Rukia's violet-gray eyes as she held her blade, frozen in an instant and then utterly shattered."

"That's impossible!" Kaien almost growled, instinctively taking half a step back, as though trying to put distance between himself and the young man who had suddenly become strange and dangerous. "I'm still here! I'm not dead! Who... who exactly are you? Or has some evil magic bewitched you?!"

Liu Hao seemed to have expected his fierce reaction; not a ripple of emotion crossed his face. He did not answer the question of who he was. Instead, he turned his gaze back to the distant horizon, as though speaking to some invisible presence.

"To prevent it from happening... I actually have a way. But I don't know what kind of chain reaction forcibly changing this 'turning point' would cause. The future... could go in a completely unknown direction, or even a worse one."

"I'm not dead!!" Kaien insisted again, his voice trembling slightly with agitation. But he forced down his anger, trying to understand what Liu Hao's words implied. "Wait... you said 'one possibility' and that you'd 'seen' it... and then 'turning point' and 'chain reaction'... Liu Hao, do you... know something? About... about certain things that are 'destined' to happen?"

Liu Hao did not answer directly. Instead, he abruptly asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Lieutenant Shiba, do you... remember the 'captain Hollowfication Incident' that shook all of Seireitei over a hundred years ago?"

Kaien was taken aback, his frown deepening. "Of course I've heard of it. It's one of Seireitei's greatest secrets and disgraces. Supposedly, several captains and lieutenants were corrupted by Hollow powers... and ultimately exiled. Why bring it up?"

"Because the mastermind behind that incident..." Liu Hao said coldly, stressing every word, "is still hiding beneath Seireitei's light to this day, safe and sound. And you, along with your beloved wife, Shiba Miyako... will die in the future because of his 'test subject.'"

"What?!" Kaien felt as though lightning had struck him. The blood in his body seemed to rush to his head before turning ice-cold. He seized Liu Hao's shoulders, gripping so hard that Liu Hao frowned slightly. "Explain yourself! What mastermind?! What test subject?! What the hell is going on?! How do you know all this?!"

Liu Hao did not pull free. He merely tilted his head and looked at Kaien with a mixture of sorrow, helplessness, and resolve, then spoke slowly.

"I told you... I've 'seen' it. Not just your fate, but almost every major event that will take place throughout Soul Society in the next several years. Originally... I wasn't supposed to reveal any of this to anyone. It goes against certain... 'rules,' and it could also bring about unpredictable changes."

His voice carried an almost martyr-like gravity. "But you came to me today and pressed me this far, and you've already noticed something unusual about me. And I can't stand by and watch you and Miyako walk toward that fated tragedy, or watch Rukia bear guilt and pain she should never have had to endure... So perhaps... telling you part of the truth is the only chance we have to change certain things."

Kaien released him, but kept his eyes fixed on Liu Hao, breathing heavily. "Tell me... what?"

Liu Hao took a deep breath, as though making a momentous decision, and his voice grew clearer and more solemn.

"The true purpose of the Hollowfication Experiment a hundred years ago was to test the possibility and limits of Soul Reapers acquiring Hollow powers. The captains and lieutenants forced to undergo Hollowfication were the products of that experiment. They were later called the Visored and fled into exile in the World of the Living. The true planner and perpetrator at the time placed all the blame on Kisuke Urahara, then captain of the Twelfth Division and director of the Research and Development Institute, forcing him to flee."

He paused, watching Kaien's reaction, then continued.

"This time, the mastermind hiding behind the scenes is going to conduct the reverse experiment—to test the effects of Hollows acquiring Soul Reaper powers. He'll release a group of special, modified 'experimental Hollows.' One of them is called Metastacia."

At the unfamiliar name, Kaien's heart sank.

"This Hollow's abilities are extremely strange." A chill entered Liu Hao's voice. "Through contact with a Soul Reaper, it can temporarily 'erase' their Zanpakuto. At the same time, it abandons most of its Hollow body and assumes an almost invisible spiritual form. Then... it forces its way into the Soul Reaper's body and forcibly 'merges' with them."

Kaien's face began to turn pale.

"And your wife, Shiba Miyako..." Liu Hao's voice dropped, reluctant to continue. "She was the first 'merger' target chosen by this Hollow. After the merger was complete, Miyako, under its control... killed her own subordinates."

"No... impossible..." Kaien murmured, swaying slightly.

"To restore your wife's dignity and uphold the honor of the Soul Reapers, you decided to face the monster that had merged with her alone. But because you didn't know its abilities, your Zanpakuto was 'erased' the instant it made contact. You could only fight it barehanded." Liu Hao's description was like a cold blade cutting through Kaien's composure. "Captain Jūshirō Ukitake, to honor your resolve to 'fight for dignity' and avoid further casualties... stopped Rukia when she tried to come to your aid."

"In the end..." Liu Hao closed his eyes, as though unable to bear the scene he was about to describe. "During the fierce battle, the Hollow left Miyako's body, which was on the verge of collapse, and instead... entered yours."

Kaien shuddered violently, his face as white as paper.

"Under its control, you lost your senses and began attacking indiscriminately, including... Rukia. And in her extreme panic and fear, and her concern for you, Rukia... instinctively drove the Zanpakuto in her hand into your body."

A deathly silence fell over the hillside. Only the wind wailed.

"That blow briefly restored your senses." Liu Hao opened his eyes, bottomless sorrow in them. "But... it was too late. As you lay dying, you told Rukia you were leaving your 'heart' with her... You thought it would pass on some conviction and lighten her burden. But you didn't know, or rather, you couldn't know... that killing you, the person she regarded as an older brother, with her own hands would become a wound on her soul that would never heal, a torment more prolonged and despairing than 'heart-wrenching' pain."

Kaien staggered back several steps and leaned against a tree, barely managing to stay upright. His head hung low, his hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, his body trembling uncontrollably. The scene Liu Hao had described was too real, too detailed. Every detail seemed steeped in blood, making it impossible for him simply to dismiss it as "ravings" or a "hallucination."

"...So," Kaien said at last, raising his head, his voice as rough as scraping sandpaper, "what's this 'way' you mentioned?"

Liu Hao watched him struggle in pain, his own feelings too complicated to put into words. But he knew he could not soften now.

"The way is simple, but also difficult," Liu Hao said slowly. "Have Miyako immediately apply to step down as Third Seat of the Thirteenth Division and take a clerical position within the division. Or she could leave the front lines altogether for the time being, staying at the barracks or at home and handling internal affairs. Reduce her chances of going out on missions and encountering that Hollow as much as possible. As long as she doesn't become its first target, everything that follows... might have a chance of changing."

Kaien fell silent. The solution did sound "simple," but for a Soul Reaper who loved fighting and believed in protecting others, especially a Seated Officer, voluntarily withdrawing from the front lines was almost unacceptable. More importantly...

"But... if we do that..." Kaien's voice was dry. "If Miyako steps down, then the one who encounters that Hollow could be another member of the division... It could even be Rukia, or someone else innocent. How... how can I shift the danger onto others for the sake of my and Miyako's safety?"

"Then," Liu Hao said, his voice abruptly turning cold and sharp as he stepped forward and stared Kaien down, "would you rather watch your wife die alongside you, then leave Rukia with that 'unbearable pain,' forcing her to live in the shadow of that day for the rest of her life? Lieutenant Shiba, sometimes an excessive sense of responsibility and so-called 'fairness' are nothing more than another form of weakness and avoidance in the face of a predetermined plot and tragedy! You can't protect everyone! But at least you can try to protect the person you love most, and... the girl who looks up to you like an older brother, but who will bear a shadow for the rest of her life because of you!"

Kaien was stunned by Liu Hao's almost ruthless challenge. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Liu Hao's words lashed at his heart like a whip, laying bare the dilemma he least wanted to face.

Seeing his tormented expression, Liu Hao softened his tone slightly, though his words remained grave.

"And there's something else I have to tell you, Lieutenant Shiba. That mastermind has been 'watching' me to some extent ever since I entered Shin'ō. If you die because of that experimental Hollow this time, then I'll very likely come fully into his sight through some 'coincidence' or 'accident' and become a target he needs to 'deal with.' Given our current strength, if we face him... you can probably imagine how it would end. That's also why I've had to conceal what I know and act cautiously all this time."

Kaien jerked his head up, a flash of horror in his eyes. He realized that what Liu Hao had revealed was not merely a prophecy concerning his personal fate; it also involved a vast and dangerous web of conspiracies, and all of them might already be caught in it.

"...You said you've 'seen' events from the next several years." Kaien's voice was weary and hoarse. "If I... if I can't verify a single thing you've said, how am I supposed to believe you? This is too... too unbelievable."

Liu Hao seemed to have expected the question. He did not directly address whether Kaien should believe him. Instead, he raised his head again, looking at the open hillside where they stood and the clear blue sky overhead, unobstructed by anything. His gaze was distant, as though fixed on something invisible.

"Do you know why I deliberately brought you out of Seireitei, to this open, deserted hillside, before telling you any of this?" Liu Hao asked softly.

Kaien started and looked around. The view here was indeed unobstructed, and sunlight fell directly on the ground. Aside from a few scattered trees and wild grass swaying in the wind, there were hardly any shadows to hide in.

"You mean... the mastermind can hide in 'shadows'?" Kaien ventured, a chill rising in his heart.

"No, not him." Liu Hao shook his head, still looking at the sky. "The ones hiding in the shadows are another force, a greater crisis in the future. That shadow won't truly emerge until after the mastermind's affairs have temporarily subsided... and it's enough to overturn the very foundations of Soul Society. So we have to spend the next few years getting as strong as possible, strong enough to face that greater storm in the future."

A greater crisis? Overturn the foundations of Soul Society? Kaien felt dizzy. The future Liu Hao described grew darker with every layer, each more suffocating than the last.

"In that case..." Kaien's voice held a trace of suppressed agitation. "Why don't you report it?! Tell the Captain-Commander and Central 46 everything you know! With all of Seireitei's strength combined, couldn't we deal with one hidden traitor and a future crisis?!"

At that, an intensely bitter smile appeared on Liu Hao's lips, full of helplessness and mockery.

"Report it?" he repeated, as though he had heard an enormous joke. "Because the person who can truly resolve all of this hasn't appeared yet. And none of us... myself included, currently has enough power to oppose that mastermind, much less counter his ability. Most importantly... I don't have any evidence."

He turned and looked straight into Kaien's eyes. "Do you think Kisuke Urahara, the former Twelfth Division captain hailed as a genius and the first director of the Research and Development Institute, was so easily framed and made to take the blame, with no choice but to flee to the World of the Living in disgrace? Even he could only choose to retreat. What right do minor players like us, who aren't even Captain-level yet, have to expose that long-woven web covering all of Seireitei?"

Kaien was speechless. Kisuke Urahara's name was still legendary among the Research and Development Institute and some veteran Soul Reapers. If even someone like him had failed...

"Besides," Liu Hao said, his voice growing lower, "the mastermind's ability is precisely the kind that's hardest to guard against and expose. As long as he 'sees' you once, your five senses and your perception of the world may forever be trapped in the 'dream' he weaves, unable to distinguish truth from falsehood. In his 'domain,' he can easily make everyone believe the 'facts' he wants them to believe. Fighting him in our current state would be like throwing an egg against a rock."

Kaien's heart sank to its lowest point. Liu Hao's description painted an enemy who was almost flawless, wielding nearly godlike control. Despair swallowed him bit by bit, like an icy tide.

"...Then are we supposed to just... stand by helplessly and watch him plot everything?" Kaien's voice was full of frustration and powerlessness.

"At least until we have enough strength and find a reliable method, yes." Liu Hao's answer was cruel but realistic. "We have to endure, look for a chance of survival in the gaps of the 'dream' he has woven, and build up our strength. Any rash action could bring disaster down on us and... turn all of Seireitei to his side."

"Just like... everyone is inside a grand, lifelike dream he's woven..." Kaien murmured, feeling a chill seep into his bones.

"Exactly." Liu Hao affirmed the comparison, his gaze still on the horizon, as though looking that invisible enemy in the eye. "His ability is a perfect... Dream Weaving."

Another long silence followed. The wind swept across the hillside, rustling the grass, but it could not disperse the heavy, almost stagnant air between them.

After a long while, Liu Hao withdrew his gaze and looked at Kaien again. His eyes had regained their earlier calm, but deep within them was an unmistakable resolve.

"So, Lieutenant Kaien Shiba," Liu Hao asked softly, though his tone carried immense weight, "now that you've heard all this, have you... decided which path to take in the future?"

Kaien met Liu Hao's gaze. In those calm eyes, he read something extremely subtle, yet undeniably present... a threat? Or perhaps a certain determination to ensure the secret would not get out?

He gave a bitter smile and spoke self-mockingly. "If I said... I don't agree with your proposal, and I don't believe the 'future' you described... judging by the look of you, I probably wouldn't be able to leave here easily today, would I?"

Liu Hao did not answer, merely looking at him in silence. But that silence was itself an answer.

Kaien let out a long sigh and rubbed his throbbing temples. Everything Liu Hao had revealed was too astonishing, yet its logic, its details, and its insight into certain dark aspects of Seireitei made it impossible for him to dismiss it entirely as a madman's ravings. Especially when Miyako and Rukia's safety was involved, the instinct that it was better to believe it than risk dismissing it overrode everything else.

"People from your Shiba Clan... are all pretty decent." Liu Hao suddenly changed the subject, his tone somewhat wistful. "Honestly, in the future I 'saw,' when I learned that you and Miyako died because of a despicable experiment, I felt terrible about it too. After all, there really aren't many seniors like you, so cheerful and devoted to the people you care about. Oh, right, your rather unreliable uncle, Isshin Shiba, even gives up the family name in the future."

"Uncle Isshin?!" Kaien jerked his head up, surprise showing in his eyes again. "Did something happen to him too?!"

"More or less, but what happens to him... can't be stopped, or rather, it's one link in another vast chain of cause and effect." Liu Hao's tone carried a kind of fateful resignation. "In your case, I might still be able to find a way to intervene and save you. But his situation... I'm completely powerless. Don't worry, though, he won't die. On the contrary, later on he lives... quite comfortably. Although his wife eventually dies, he'll have three children in the future. Overall, you could say he gains some things and loses others in life."

"Auntie... will die too?" Kaien pressed anxiously. "Then... can we find a way to save her too?"

Liu Hao looked at his anxious expression, a complicated glimmer passing through his eyes. "Yes. But..."

He paused, fixing his gaze on Kaien. "Would you be willing... to let me 'save' you?"

"Of course I'm willing to have you save Auntie!" Kaien answered without hesitation.

Liu Hao slowly shook his head, his tone growing emphatic. "I mean... you and your wife, not your aunt."

Kaien froze. He understood Liu Hao's unspoken meaning: saving Isshin Shiba's future wife, Masaki Kurosaki, might require some kind of price or involve a more complicated chain of cause and effect. Liu Hao's focus—or rather, the tragedy he was currently able and willing to try to change—was that of Kaien and Shiba Miyako.

"Uh... well..." Kaien's confidence faltered, and a look of conflict crossed his face. "Other than having Miyako give up her Seated Officer position and step back from the front lines... is there really no other way? Maybe we could find that Hollow ahead of time, before it causes any harm, and..."

"Lieutenant Shiba." Liu Hao cut him off, his tone suddenly becoming unusually serious, even carrying a hint of warning. "Everything we've discussed here today, especially the specific information about the 'future,' the 'mastermind,' and the 'experimental Hollow'—for some time to come, perhaps a few months, perhaps a year or two—you must never mention any of it to anyone again!

"Even if one day I bring it up and ask you about it myself, you must act as though you've never heard it! You can only explain to others that I grew uneasy because I saw how much Rukia and Renji respected and relied on you, and that I was afraid their friendship with me would no longer be as pure because of your appearance. That's why I became distant and wary of you. Do you understand?"

Liu Hao's sudden, stern warning left Kaien somewhat bewildered. "Uh... why are you saying this all of a sudden? Didn't you just..."

"Because of the 'rules,' and because of 'safety.'" Liu Hao's voice was grave, his eyes sharp as blades. "The more you know, the more likely you are to reveal something unusual without realizing it. And that mastermind... his perception and insight are far beyond your imagination.

"The slightest discordant 'noise' could draw his attention. What we need to do now is blend into the 'everyday life' he has woven as much as possible, without causing any unnecessary ripples.

"So forget the parts of our conversation today about 'prophecies' and 'conspiracies.' Only remember my 'excessive concern' for your personal safety and my 'unreasonable request.' This is to protect you, Miyako, Rukia, and Renji, and also to... secure that tiny chance at a future."

He looked at Kaien's still somewhat bewildered and conflicted face, then added one final thing. "As for whether you take my advice and have Miyako withdraw from the front lines for now... that's your choice. I can't force you. All I can say is that, under the conditions currently known to us, this is the method I believe most likely to change that tragic ending. The decision is yours."

With that, Liu Hao stayed no longer. He turned and followed the path they had come by, walking alone toward the Fourth Division. The setting sun stretched his shadow long behind him. He looked somewhat lonely, yet there was an unshakable firmness about him.

Kaien stood alone on the hillside, watching Liu Hao gradually walk away. Then he turned to look at the vast, open wilderness behind him, bathed in the golden afterglow. The evening breeze stirred his short, dark-blue hair, bringing no cool relief, only a bone-deep chill and heaviness.

Liu Hao's words weighed on him like the most complicated cipher and the heaviest shackles. Fragments of truth, the shadow of the future, his companions' safety, his own responsibilities, a prophecy he could hardly verify, a powerful enemy he could not oppose... All of it tangled together, nearly crushing his reason.

He slowly crouched down, ran both hands into his hair, and remained motionless for a long time.

At last, the setting sun sank completely below the horizon. Darkness spread swiftly like ink, swallowing the hillside and the figure caught in profound confusion and a difficult choice.

The future, like the descending night, was deep, unknown, and fraught with danger. The only certainty was that some seeds had already been planted, and some choices had to be made soon. Beneath Seireitei's peaceful surface, the undercurrents had already begun to surge faster.