Prelude to the Plot

"Then, when Captain Shiba made his report, did he mention being ambushed?" Liu Hao's voice rang out with unusual clarity inside the dimensional barrier.

Unohana nodded, her expression grave. "Apart from the Quincy involvement you mentioned earlier, he gave a detailed report of everything else."

"What?!" Kaien Shiba jerked his head up, his face full of shock. "A Quincy was involved too? Liu Hao, what's going on?!"

Liu Hao glanced at him, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable authority. "Just listen quietly. There's no need to make such a fuss."

He turned to Unohana and continued, "Captain, what do you and the Captain-Commander... intend to do? Or rather, what do you want to know?"

Unohana fell silent for a moment, a complicated expression flashing through her ever-gentle eyes. "Can we only stand by like this and watch Seireitei lose one of its strongest fighters?"

It was a weighty question. Isshin Shiba, captain of the Tenth Division, was not only a vital pillar of the Gotei 13, but also the mainstay of the Shiba Clan. His "disappearance" was indeed a major loss for Soul Society.

But Liu Hao's answer was unexpected. "We're not losing one of our strongest fighters. We're... gaining an even stronger one in exchange."

He paused, his tone carrying a deeper meaning. "And to be honest, Captain Shiba himself seems to want to 'slack off' a little. Rather than continue serving as a captain in Seireitei and dealing with division duties that never end, he might prefer to stay in the World of the Living and lead a relatively free life."

Unohana frowned slightly. "You mean..."

"I mean," Liu Hao said, looking Unohana straight in the eye, "once Aizen's future defection is over, we can simply 'bring Captain Shiba back.' That way, not only will we have avoided losing one of our strongest fighters, we'll have gained another powerful fighter—and that powerful fighter will have a group of quite capable helpers around him."

There was a great deal of information packed into those words. Isshin Shiba would lose his Soul Reaper powers in the future, but the people around him—those "helpers" in the World of the Living—were evidently no ordinary people either.

Unohana pondered for a long time before slowly speaking. "I still find it... hard to accept. We know all this will happen, and we could try to change it, yet we can't do anything."

Her voice carried the pride of a swordswoman a thousand years old, as well as a certain helplessness.

Liu Hao understood how she felt. He sighed softly. "Captain, it's not that we can't do anything. We just can't do it 'now.' Right now, we can't guarantee anything if we rashly change a crucial turning point without someone in the future to fall back on. After all, the stability of the Three Worlds and the fate of countless lives are at stake."

He paused, his tone growing more serious. "Besides, we can't count on 'those people above.' The Soul King's consumption was planned from the start—the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Clans, the Zero Division's tacit approval... Behind the entire order of the Three Worlds lies too much darkness we know nothing about."

Unohana's expression changed slightly at those words. She had lived for a thousand years and naturally knew something of Soul Society's history and secrets. But Liu Hao's claim that the Soul King's consumption had been planned still shocked her.

"I see..." In the end, she simply sighed and accepted the reality.

Kaien Shiba, however, couldn't remain calm. He shot to his feet, his voice urgent. "But we can't just give up on my uncle like that, can we?! He's the captain of the Tenth Division, a vital pillar of the Gotei 13!"

Liu Hao looked at him, his tone calm. "Give up on him? That's the path your uncle chose for himself. Besides, forcing him to stay now would only make him regret it for the rest of his life—because the person he's going to save is your future aunt. They'll have three children together and a complete family."

"Uh..." Kaien Shiba froze, his expression complicated. "Three children..."

For a moment, he didn't know how to react to that information. His uncle having a family and children was naturally a good thing. But the thought that his uncle would lose his Soul Reaper powers as a result and remain stranded in the World of the Living forever left him unwilling to accept it.

Liu Hao watched his conflicted expression and continued, "However, your future aunt's... fate is troubling. Perhaps we can find a way to 'save' her."

"What?!" Kaien Shiba grew agitated again. "What happens to my aunt in the future?!"

"She dies." Liu Hao's answer was blunt and cruel. "She's killed by a Hollow when her eldest son is nine."

Kaien Shiba's face went pale. "Then we have to save her!!"

"Why the rush?" Liu Hao's tone remained calm. "Your aunt is still a high school student right now."

"Huh?" Kaien Shiba was stunned again, and his expression grew even more complicated. "Then my uncle... he's..."

"Yes," Liu Hao said, a teasing note in his voice. "What a 'beast' he is, going after a high school student. And as far as I know, he even stole someone else's fiancée."

"Uh..." Kaien Shiba's expression was a sight to behold. He wanted to defend his uncle, but didn't know where to begin. "Well... my uncle probably has some other reason, right...?"

His voice grew quieter as he spoke. Clearly, he didn't quite believe it himself.

"All right, don't get hung up on the details." Liu Hao waved a hand and brought the conversation back on track. "The important thing is that we need to find a way to 'leave something' on Captain Shiba. Only then will we be able to find him in the future and contact him when we need to."

He paused and added a crucial point. "And we have to keep this from Aizen's eyes and ears. If Aizen notices that we're interfering, not only will the plan fail, we'll be in danger ourselves."

Kaien Shiba forced himself to calm down and asked, "Then what should we do?"

Liu Hao thought for a moment and proposed a plan. "Find an opportunity sometime in the next two days to invite Captain Shiba to the Medical Guard Team. The pretext will be to guide our training—that's perfectly reasonable and won't arouse suspicion. Once he's here, we'll find a chance to ask Captain Unohana to bring us here to discuss the details."

Unohana nodded. "All right. I'll cooperate."

Kaien Shiba immediately said, "Then I'll go right now!"

"Don't be in such a hurry." Liu Hao stopped him. "Wait a couple of days. If we make it too obvious or act too eagerly, we'll only arouse suspicion. Although Aizen no longer pays particular attention to me, Captain Shiba, as captain of the Tenth Division, has always been one of his main targets for observation. We have to be careful."

Kaien Shiba took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "I understand."

Two days later, at the Medical Guard Team's training ground.

Liu Hao was guiding the team members through coordinated defense training. Sunlight poured over the training ground as the members worked up a sweat. Shouts, impacts, and instructions mingled, filling the place with energy.

Just then, Kaien Shiba's hearty voice came from the entrance to the training ground:

"Squad Leader Liu Hao! Look who I brought you!"

Liu Hao turned to see Kaien Shiba walking over with a tall Soul Reaper. The man had short orange hair, a resolute face, and sharp eyes. He wore the Tenth Division Captain's Haori—it was Isshin Shiba himself.

Liu Hao immediately went up to greet him and bowed respectfully. "Welcome, Captain Shiba. Thank you for coming to instruct us."

Isshin Shiba waved a hand, speaking amiably. "No need to be so formal, Squad Leader Liu Hao. Kaien said the Medical Guard Team needed some practical combat instruction, so I came to take a look."

"Please, just call me by my name," Liu Hao said humbly. "Sorry for the trouble, Captain Shiba."

Isshin Shiba nodded and dispensed with further formalities. He walked to the center of the training ground and began observing the team members' training, then offered some targeted advice and instruction.

His teaching style was completely different from Aizen's. Aizen was gentle and meticulous, with a systematic approach to theory, while Isshin Shiba was direct and practical, emphasizing actual combat. He had the team members engage in mock battles, demonstrated moves himself, and pointed out every tiny opening.

The entire process was professional and efficient.

Liu Hao stood to one side, observing quietly. His attention appeared to be on the training, but he was actually sensing the fluctuations of Reiatsu around him at all times.

Around the training ground, several faint, almost imperceptible traces of Reiatsu were secretly observing everything.

Aizen's people.

Or at least, people acting on Aizen's orders to keep Isshin Shiba under surveillance.

Liu Hao understood. Without betraying anything, he gave Kaien Shiba a look and shook his head slightly, meaning that this was not the time to act; they were being watched.

Kaien Shiba understood and suppressed his eagerness, continuing to stay by his uncle's side.

The instruction lasted about two hours. When Isshin Shiba finished explaining and prepared to leave, Liu Hao stepped forward and bowed again to thank him.

"Thank you, Captain Shiba, for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to the Fourth Division and instruct the Medical Guard Team."

Isshin Shiba smiled. "No need to be so polite. Oh, right—"

He paused, then said casually, "I was hurt a little on a mission a few days ago. I heard your medical skills are excellent, Liu Hao. Could you take a look?"

His words sounded perfectly natural, as if he truly just wanted his injury checked while he was there.

But Liu Hao knew it was a signal—either Isshin Shiba had noticed something, or Kaien Shiba had already revealed some information to him.

"Of course." Liu Hao nodded. "Please follow me."

He led Isshin Shiba and Kaien Shiba away from the training ground, through the corridors, and into the medical department. Liu Hao deliberately chose a relatively secluded treatment room. Once he closed the door, only the three of them remained inside.

"Please sit." Liu Hao motioned for Isshin Shiba to take a seat.

Isshin Shiba took off his Captain's Haori and outer robe, turning his back to Liu Hao and exposing the injury.

It was a sword wound running diagonally from his right shoulder to his left waist. Although it had already scabbed over, there was still visible redness and swelling around the edges. More importantly, judging from its shape and the residual Reiatsu, it had clearly been inflicted by a Zanpakuto.

Liu Hao examined the wound carefully, confirming his earlier judgment. But his expression betrayed nothing as he asked calmly, "Captain Shiba, your injury is healing well. Did you... get this while sparring with someone? It looks rather serious."

With his back to him, Isshin Shiba answered steadily, "It wasn't sparring. Someone ambushed me while I was on a mission a couple of days ago."

"I see." Liu Hao replied as if he hadn't known, then said, "Let me treat it for you. It should help speed up your recovery."

"Sorry for the trouble, then." Isshin Shiba did not refuse.

Liu Hao walked behind him and held both hands above the wound. Green Kaidō light flowed from his palms, gently covering it.

But this was no ordinary Kaidō treatment.

During the treatment, Liu Hao silently infused a wisp of exceptionally pure, highly compressed Reiatsu into Isshin Shiba's body. This wisp wasn't meant to heal the wound, but was... a kind of mark, a "seed" for communication.

Isshin Shiba's body trembled slightly. He could clearly sense the unusual Reiatsu—it was neither healing nor offensive, but a kind of... locator, or rather, a means of communication.

But he made no sound and asked no questions. He merely sat there quietly and let Liu Hao proceed.

Liu Hao knew Isshin Shiba had noticed, but the other man's lack of response was itself a form of tacit consent. He continued the treatment while motioning to Kaien Shiba.

"Vice-Captain Kaien, come help me for a moment."

Kaien Shiba walked over to Liu Hao and asked, somewhat puzzled, "What do you need me to do?"

"Infuse your Reiatsu into Captain Shiba's wound," Liu Hao said, increasing his own Reiatsu output as he spoke.

Although Kaien Shiba didn't understand Liu Hao's exact intention, he trusted him. He extended his hand and slowly infused his own Reiatsu into his uncle's wound.

As Kaien Shiba infused his Reiatsu, Liu Hao began a delicate operation. He "mixed" and "compressed" his own Reiatsu with Kaien Shiba's at Isshin Shiba's wound, then drove the mass of mixed Reiatsu deep into Isshin Shiba's spiritual body.

The process was extraordinarily delicate and required nearly perfect control over Reiatsu. The slightest mistake could damage Isshin Shiba's spiritual body.

But Liu Hao succeeded.

Isshin Shiba could clearly feel two currents of Reiatsu, different in nature but equally powerful, taking "root" deep within his body. They were neither invading nor parasitic, but more like... some kind of beacon, some kind of coordinates.

He neither resisted nor rejected them, merely sensing everything in silence.

Once the two currents of Reiatsu had fully taken "root," Liu Hao began the real treatment. Holding nothing back, he also brought the Imperial Sword's healing ability into play. Golden-red light mingled with the green light of Kaidō, interweaving and flowing over Isshin Shiba's wound.

An astonishing sight followed.

The wound, which would originally have needed at least a week to heal completely, began recovering at a rate visible to the naked eye. The redness and swelling subsided, the scab fell away, and new skin rapidly grew. In just a few minutes, the vicious wound vanished, leaving only a faint, almost invisible scar.

Kaien Shiba stared in amazement. "Liu Hao, your healing ability is... that good?! That's an unbelievably fast recovery!"

Liu Hao withdrew his hands, breathing slightly hard—the operation and treatment had consumed a considerable amount of his Reiatsu. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained, "It's all right, I suppose. Mainly, Captain Shiba's injury had already started to heal, and his own Reiatsu was constantly repairing the wound. Kaidō essentially works by activating the injured person's own Reiatsu and accelerating the self-healing process. I just... sped that process up a little."

Though his words were modest, Kaien Shiba knew that no ordinary Seated Officer could possibly perform healing at that level.

After the treatment, Isshin Shiba slowly put his clothes back on. He turned to look at Liu Hao, a complicated look in his eyes.

"Thank you, Liu Hao." His voice was calm. "I didn't expect the injury to heal so quickly."

Liu Hao met his eyes, his expression becoming more solemn than ever. "Captain Shiba, those two currents of Reiatsu I left in your body... are for communication."

He paused, then said deliberately, word by word, "In the future, when we need your help, or when you need ours, we can use those two currents of Reiatsu to sense and contact one another. In the future... please don't refuse our request."

His words were indirect, but Isshin Shiba understood.

He gave Liu Hao a long look, then glanced at his nephew Kaien Shiba, who stood to one side. Finally, he slowly nodded.