Foul Fish and Rotten Shrimp Like You?

Shinki Ichinose stepped in front of Caryatid God and drew his Zanpakuto from his waist, his face taut with tension. "Mr. Kariya, this woman..."

"Stand down, Ichinose." Caryatid God interrupted him. "You're no match for her."

That was what Caryatid God meant. A woman who could easily defeat that monster would probably be difficult even for him to handle.

But Shinki Ichinose's figure immediately stiffened.

Caryatid God frowned slightly. "What's wrong? Ichi...?"

Caryatid God stared at Shinki Ichinose's back, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Was he... trembling?

From Shinki Ichinose's perspective, the world seemed to lose its voice at that moment, leaving only that wine-red hair, intense as the setting sun and piercing as fresh blood.

No, the hair color was different, but there was absolutely no mistaking that face.

Shinki Ichinose's hand trembled slightly around his Zanpakuto. The trembling did not come from physical exhaustion, but from fear deep within his soul—the helplessness of an ant facing a colossal creature.

Shinki Ichinose's pupils shrank to pinpoints as he exhaled the name in disbelief.

"Tsugikuni... Yuko."

It was a secret that had been sealed away for a very long time, one that still belonged to the classified records of the Gotei 13.

He still remembered that time. Kenpachi Zaraki had yet to enter Seireitei, much less become a captain. Ichinose had been following the former captain then.

The defection.

That was the Hollowfication experiment from a century ago.

Kisuke Urahara, captain of the 12th Division, had seriously violated regulations by researching the Hollowfication experiment. Nearly half of the Captain-level figures in the Gotei 13 at the time had been involved, including the Chief of the Kidō Corps and the Deputy Chief.

Among all those Captain-level figures, one person's identity had been particularly striking.

Tsugikuni Yuko.

To be honest, he did not