A Conversation with Isshin Shiba

The clinic door closed gently behind me, shutting out the noise of the street. The interior space was small, but it was neatly and warmly furnished. Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor, and the air was filled with a faint smell of disinfectant and a subtle fragrance of herbs.

Masaki Kurosaki was clearly very familiar with the place. As soon as she entered the room, she smiled at the two of them and said, "You two chat first, I'll go prepare some tea and snacks." After saying that, she walked briskly towards the inner room, her footsteps fading into the distance.

Isshin Shiba and Liu Hao sat facing each other at a round table by the window. Sunlight streamed onto the table, casting long shadows of the two men.

After a moment of silence, Isshin Shiba spoke first, his voice carrying a clear scrutiny. "You're known as the 'Fourth Division Hermit,' never leaving Seireitei except for missions. Why have you suddenly come to the World of the Living?"

Liu Hao didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Isn't it all because of your troublesome nephew? Did he come to the World of the Living to find you?"

"You came looking for me, what happened?" Isshin Shiba's eyes sharpened.

"I barely managed to save him and his wife from Aizen's experiments," Liu Hao said calmly, yet with an undeniable seriousness. "I was afraid he'd run into the World of the Living and get into some danger again."

Isshin Shiba's expression relaxed slightly. "I see... no wonder he said you saved his life."

"That's all in the past." Liu Hao waved his hand, as if it were just a trivial matter. "Give me Kisuke Urahara's address. I'd like to go and meet this former Captain of the Twelfth Division and the founder of the Research and Development Institute."

"What's your purpose?" Isshin Shiba's vigilance rose again.

"No particular purpose," Liu Hao replied casually, then changed the subject, "By the way, did Kaien mention that beautiful woman from earlier?"

"What's wrong?" Isshin Shiba, puzzled.

"He didn't say it would be best." Liu Hao smiled slightly, a smile carrying a certain meaning. "Leave me your contact information so I can find you in the World of the Living later. Also... if you have any important life events in the future, try to let me and Vice-Captain Kaien know."

"Tch, are you a riddle teller?" Isshin Shiba frowned in displeasure. "You're just trying to keep me in suspense."

Liu Hao's smile faded, and his expression turned serious. "It's a good thing you don't know. Just like when you saved this pretty girl, if I had told you beforehand, could you have been so lucky to save her? If you hadn't, wouldn't you have regretted it?"

These words struck a nerve. Isshin Shiba fell silent, his mind replaying that night: the attack by the White, Masaki's near-death experience, and his own reckless choice...

"Um... okay, I understand." He finally said, as if giving in, but then pressed on, "What do you want with Mr. Urahara?"

"To create Gigai, so it'll be easier for me to move around in the World of the Living world later," Liu Hao answered frankly. "And while I'm at it, I'll inquire about the Visored."

Isshin Shiba frowned again. "What do you want with those people?"

"They're all victims of Aizen, let's unite our forces." Liu Hao's tone was casual, but his face wore an "I don't care if you believe me or not" expression. "They'll all be returning to Soul Society eventually anyway, so let's build some rapport now."

Isshin Shiba at Liu Hao for a long time, finally shaking his head helplessly. "Could it be to eliminate any future threats?"

"It's not like I harmed anyone, why should I nip it in the bud?" Liu Hao rolled his eyes, then his expression turned serious. "By the way, I encountered a Hollow on my way here, similar to the one you fought in the World of the Living, only much weaker."

He paused, then lowered his voice. "However, my ability is rather special. When it tried to transfer into my soul, I dealt with it. Otherwise... I would have had to stay and keep those Visored."

These words caused Isshin Shiba's expression to change drastically. "You know that Hollow I encountered back then?"

"I know, it's White." Liu Hao's tone was terrifyingly calm. "Didn't it transfer to that pretty girl just now? Otherwise, how could you have lost your power?"

"Uh..." Isshin Shiba's voice was filled with disbelief and astonishment, "How come I feel like you know so much? It's said that Aizen did it, but I feel like it was you who did it, otherwise how do you know so much?"

Liu Hao gave him a disdainful look. "For you now, it doesn't matter whether it was me or Aizen who did it. After all, you're just a weakling without any power right now."

These words were merciless, but they were the truth. Isshin Shiba opened his mouth, but ultimately could only lower his head in frustration. "Uh... okay, you're right."

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat heavy, Liu Hao suddenly turned and called out to the inner room, "Alright, stop hiding, little beauty Kurosaki. Come here for a moment, I'll leave you some kind of insurance so you don't die without knowing why."

After a brief silence, the door to the inner room opened. Masaki Kurosaki emerged, scratching her head with one hand and carrying a tray in the other, a sheepish smile on her face, "Uh... I didn't hide it."

She placed the plate on the table with a simple cup of tea and a few biscuits, then looked at Liu Hao curiously. "What kind of insurance?"

"The powers within you are too mixed, and all of them are extremely powerful, making you an easy target for those with ulterior motives." Liu Hao's tone became serious. "I need to leave you a backup plan, for use in a critical moment."

After saying that, he turned to Isshin Shiba: "The same goes for you. The power you left behind before was too conspicuous. I'll leave another layer of power. Let's not let our Captain die without knowing why."

Isshin Shiba helplessly shrugged. "Do as you please. Anyway, killing me and Masaki is just a piece of cake for you."

"Don't exaggerate my abilities." Liu Hao rolled his eyes and began to mobilize his internal energy. "My strength is at most about the same as Tōshirō's. By the way, he took over your Captain."

As he spoke, his hands began to trace complex trajectories in the air. It was not a chant of the Kidō, nor any known spell, but a more ancient and fundamental way of wielding power. Golden light spilled from his fingertips, weaving into two miniature three-dimensional runes in the air.

The runes rotated slowly, as if stars were flowing within them, radiating a gentle yet profound light.

"He even said he was about the same strength as Tōshirō," Isshin Shiba couldn't help but retort as he watched the scene unfold. "When he became Captain and asked you to investigate me, you gave him a good beating. Don't think I don't know that."

Liu Hao didn't stop what he was doing, only responding calmly, "Come on. If he hadn't been so reckless, I wouldn't have had to beat him up. Aizen and the others are really looking for you two, these two unexpected test subjects."

"Tch, I didn't blame you for anything," Isshin Shiba sighed. "After all, Tōshirō still too young; it's good for him to encounter some setbacks."

As he spoke, the two runes were completed. Liu Hao pushed them with both hands, and the runes flew towards Masaki Kurosaki and Isshin Shiba respectively. The moment they touched their bodies, they disappeared like water droplets merging into a sponge.

At the same time, Isshin Shiba could feel the power imprint that originally belonged to Liu Hao within his body beginning to move, merging and reorganizing with the new power, and finally settling in a hard-to-reach place deep within his soul.

Masaki Kurosaki's eyes widened in surprise. "Amazing! I could feel your Reiatsu lingering on Isshin before, but now I can't feel it at all, and I can't feel it on my own either!"

"It's alright, after all, I've improved quite a bit in strength." Liu Hao withdrew his hand, a hint of fatigue showing on his face, but he quickly recovered. "This technique usually absorbs surrounding Reishi to accumulate power, and when faced with a fatal threat, it will be activated by the power I left behind. As for whether to use it for attack or healing... that's up to you."

"It can even cure diseases?!" Isshin Shiba.

"I'm from the Fourth Division, a Medical Corps, so naturally my main focus is on treatment," Liu Hao said matter-of-factly.

Isshin Shiba curled his lip. "Tch, someone who can defeat the Captain of the security force has the nerve to call himself a member of the Medical Squad."

Liu Hao looked at him like he was an idiot. "How can the Medical Corps save people if they don't have the skills? Do you even know that Captain Unohana is the First Kenpachi?"

"What?!" Isshin Shiba feet, the chair scraping loudly on the floor. "How is this possible?!"

"That's not right," Liu Hao said, looking puzzled. "Doesn't your Shiba Clan have any records of this? You don't even know about it?"

"Uh..." Isshin Shiba sat down awkwardly, "Who reads history books for no reason?"

Masaki Kurosaki listened from the side, completely confused, but seeing the familiar and relaxed interaction between the two, she let down her guard. She could sense that although Liu Hao was mysterious and powerful, he truly meant them no harm.

After a brief silence, Liu Hao spoke again, "Alright, I've achieved one of my two objectives in meeting you. The rest is... give me Kisuke Urahara's address."

"Okay." Isshin Shiba no longer hesitated, got up, took out a piece of notepad from the drawer, quickly wrote down the address, and handed it to Liu Hao.

Liu Hao took the note, glanced at it, nodded, and then turned to Masaki Kurosaki: "Oh, right, there's something else I need to trouble you with, beautiful Kurosaki."

"What's wrong?" Masaki Kurosaki asked curiously.

"Please contact Ryūken Ishida or Sōken Ishida for me," Liu Hao's tone became serious. "I have some things I'd like to discuss with them."

Masaki Kurosaki blinked. "What do you want with Xiaolong and your uncle?"

This question also put Isshin Shiba on guard, "You're not thinking of eliminating the Quincy, are you?"

"Tch, they're all under the Twelfth Division's surveillance. Why would I eliminate them?" Liu Hao shook his head helplessly. "Just like that pretty Kurosaki, it's about saving lives."

"Aizen has his eye on them?" Isshin Shiba pressed.

"It has nothing to do with Aizen, don't overthink it." Liu Hao waved his hand. "I just wanted to finish everything since I've come to the World of the Living once. Otherwise, having to come back again would be too much trouble."

Masaki Kurosaki thought for a moment, then finally nodded. "Okay, so when should we meet?"

"Give me your phone number," Liu Hao said. "I'll contact you again after I finish talking with Kisuke Urahara."

Isshin Shiba wrote down another string of numbers. Liu Hao put away the two slips of paper and got up to leave.

"You're leaving already?" Masaki Kurosaki, somewhat surprised. "We haven't even had our tea yet."

"Next time," Liu Hao smiled, "I have other things to do. Remember, what I left for you... don't tell anyone, including Kaien."

His tone suddenly turned serious, and the two nodded unconsciously.

As he reached the door, Liu Hao stopped and glanced back at the two of them. Sunlight streamed in from outside, casting a long shadow of him, and the expression on his face became somewhat blurred in the light and shadow.

"Oh, right," he suddenly said, "If one day in the future you feel that power within you suddenly become intensely hot... don't hesitate, make a choice immediately. To fight or to flee, to attack or to defend, trust your intuition."

After saying that, he didn't linger and pushed open the door to leave.

The door closed gently behind me, shutting out the warm light and shadows inside the clinic.

Masaki Kurosaki and Isshin Shiba stood by the table, silent for a long while.

"Who exactly is he?" Masaki Kurosaki asked softly.

Isshin Shiba shook his head, his gaze fixed on the direction Liu Hao had disappeared into outside the window. "Someone... who knows too much."

"Is what he said true?" Masaki Kurosaki touched her chest, where she had just felt a warm power flow into her. "About Captain Unohana?"

"I don't know," Isshin Shiba smile, "But regarding his strength... it's probably true. Tōshirō may be young, but to become Captain, his strength is definitely not weak. Someone who can beat him..."

He didn't finish speaking, but the meaning was already clear.

The two sat down again, but the tea on the table had gone cold, and the snacks remained untouched. The clinic returned to silence, with only the ticking of the clock on the wall reminding them that time was still passing.

At this moment, Liu Hao was already walking on the streets of Karakura Town. He glanced at the address in his hand, identified the direction, and then started walking.

The sun shone brightly, and the streets were bustling with traffic and pedestrians hurrying by. The hustle and bustle of the World of the Living contrasted sharply with the tranquility of the Soul Society, but Liu Hao felt unusually at ease—perhaps because he came from a similar world, or perhaps because the awakening of his Imperial Heart allowed him to better integrate into any environment.

He walked along, pondering his next plan.

Kisuke Urahara, the Visoreds, the Ishida Family... these are all crucial forces in the future war. If we can establish contact beforehand, if we can avoid some tragedies, if we can unite more forces...

Therefore, when facing Aizen, Yhwach, or those unknown threats, the chances of victory will be greater.

Of course, all of this is contingent on him being able to persuade these people.

Kisuke Urahara's wisdom and caution, the Visored's vigilance and hostility, the Ishida Family's complex stance... each side is not easy to deal with.

But Liu Hao did not back down.

He has completed the nine stages and steps of the Imperial Path, awakened his Imperial Heart, and mastered his power. He is no longer the bystander who hides in the Fourth Division, cautiously avoiding risks.

He is a participant, a changemaker, and... a guardian.

For those he cared about, for those lives he wanted to save, for the world he gradually came to identify as "home".

Liu Hao raised his head and looked at the distant sky. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, but he didn't squint; he simply gazed at it calmly.

Then, he quickened his pace.