August 8, 1:30 a.m., Urahara Shop.
After receiving the message that sounded like it came straight from a crime scene, Ichigo had said goodbye to Isshin and come straight here.
However, outside Urahara Shop, he ran into several people he hadn't expected to see.
Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Sado Yasutora had all arrived at Urahara Shop along with him.
But Wu Biao, who should have arrived by now, was nowhere to be seen. Ichigo couldn't help worrying; after all, Brother Biao had said he was going off to train, and wherever he had gone was bound to be extremely dangerous.
However, the group didn't wait outside. Instead, they headed down to the vast underground space beneath Urahara Shop.
"Wow... that's amazing. I never knew there was such a huge space beneath this shop. It's just like a secret base!" Orihime exclaimed, her face full of surprise and excitement. She even began touching everything around her in wonder.
"Your reaction is wonderful!" Tsukabishi Tessai took Orihime's hands and said through his tears, "I, Tessai, am truly moved."
"All right, everyone, look over here." Urahara Kisuke held out a hand slightly and snapped his fingers. With a bang, a gate formed from four stone pillars appeared out of nowhere. A strange ripple appeared in its center, and countless talismans were carved into the pillars.
"This is the Senkaimon, the gate to Soul Society."
Urahara Kisuke paused, then looked over everyone and said, "Even though one person is missing, I'll explain things to you first. It doesn't matter anyway. Even if Mr. Wu Biao heard the explanation, his pitifully tiny brain wouldn't retain a word of it."
Ichigo's mouth twitched. If Brother Biao heard that, he'd definitely blow up. Though what Urahara said was true...
"Wu Biao?"
Uryu raised an eyebrow, then looked at Ichigo. "So the guy who dared to shout 'Pegasus Meteor Fist' and 'Rozan Sho Ryu Ha' in public was called Wu Biao!"
Ichigo nodded, blushing... Knowing Brother Biao was honestly embarrassing.
"He's the one who saved my brother, right?"
Sado asked from the side. "The one who helped Yuichi?"
Ichigo smiled and nodded. Though Wu Biao had stayed at his house for less than half a year, everything that had happened during that time had made Brother Biao indispensable. Before they knew it, all of them had received a lot of help from him.
"All right!" Urahara Kisuke clapped his hands, interrupting their conversation. "Since you all know that tardy idiot, I won't bother introducing him."
Idiot?
Everyone's mouths twitched. What had Brother Biao done to Mr. Urahara?
Why did this Mr. Urahara, who looked like he had such a good temper, dislike Brother Biao so much...?
Urahara Kisuke paid no heed to their confusion and continued explaining on his own. "As you know, Soul Society is a world of spirits. To enter it, you have to become spirits. But the only ones who can move around in spirit form are Soul Reapers, like this."
As he spoke, Urahara Kisuke took his cane and jabbed Ichigo. Ichigo, wearing his Shihakusho, was knocked right out of his body, which promptly collapsed to the ground.
"You..." Ichigo pointed at Urahara Kisuke, gritting his teeth.
Ignoring him, Urahara Kisuke continued, "Apart from Mr. Kurosaki, the only way for you to move around in Soul Society is to install a Spiritron Conversion machine above this gate and turn yourselves into Reishi."
"So, you can enter without your souls leaving your bodies," Ishida said, pushing up his glasses.
"Exactly. As long as you pass through this gate, you can enter Soul Society in your original forms!" Urahara Kisuke nodded, then raised a finger, his expression turning serious. "But we can keep this gate open and connected to Soul Society for only four minutes."
Everyone's expressions changed at once.
"Th-then can we make it?"
"Normally, it's impossible!" Urahara Kisuke said in a perfectly calm tone, entirely unconcerned with how they felt. "This is reckless to begin with. Even if we do everything we can to stretch it, we'll only have four minutes. If you don't reach Soul Society before then... you'll be trapped forever in the space between the Human World and Soul Society!"
Everyone frowned at that. But not one of them, not even the most timid Inoue, showed any fear. Now that they had come this far, they wouldn't be afraid of death!
After all, Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke had already warned them about the dangers of Soul Society!
"Well then, now we just have to wait for Wu..." Urahara Kisuke suddenly stopped, then twirled the brim of his hat with a wry smile. "Better late than never, I suppose. Speak of the devil!"
"Hey, if you keep this up, Brother Biao's definitely going to blow up!" Ichigo said indignantly.
"Wahahahaha..."
Before Urahara Kisuke could reply, deafening laughter came from the Urahara Shop above.
Bang, bang, bang...
The laughter was accompanied by a series of explosions, and the faces of the entire Urahara family turned grim.
"Manager, could it be..." Jinta swallowed with difficulty.
Slap—
Urahara Kisuke slapped himself, his face as dark as a pot. "My fault. I shouldn't have expected that dumbass to find the entrance!"
At that moment, Urahara Kisuke had only one urge: to use a Hadō above number ninety to blast that brainless idiot upstairs to smithereens!!!
Tessai plopped down on the floor. He pulled out a handkerchief from who knew where and kept wiping the tears from his face. After all, he had built this underground space with great care, and, most importantly... he would have to repair it.
Ichigo and the others exchanged glances, all seeing the confusion in one another's eyes. They didn't understand why the whole Urahara family had suddenly changed like this. Only Ishida seemed to have guessed what was going on; the corner of his mouth twitched.
Boom—
Their confusion didn't last long. A deafening explosion answered it. The blue ceiling above them, as blue as the sky, darkened and cracked. Then, with another loud blast, the whole thing shattered.
A somewhat bulky figure fell down with the rubble, shaking the entire underground space. Dust swirled around him.
"Is that Brother Biao?" Though Ichigo phrased it as a question, he sounded certain. After all, who else would make such a... high-end, stylish, and explosive yet brainless entrance but Wu Biao?
"Damn, why'd you dig this place so deep when you had nothing better to do? Are you all bears or something?" Wu Biao's voice came from the dust, and as it rang out, a figure gradually came into view.
"..."
Ichigo covered his face.
Ishida's mouth twitched, and he silently turned away.
Sado just stared blankly, not knowing how to react.
As for Orihime, her eyes sparkled brightly. She had clearly spotted something that interested her greatly.
"First, we don't need to hibernate like bears. Second, even if we did hibernate, we wouldn't need a place this big. Third, Mr. Wu Biao, your brain is already on par with a bear's, so how could you miss such an obvious entrance? And, most importantly, fourth..."
Urahara Kisuke took off his hat and scratched his head vigorously. It was the only way he could show just how exasperated and speechless he was.
"May I ask if Mr. Wu Biao has wandered onto the wrong set? Or have you spent the past seventeen days on some island in the middle of the ocean, dragging boulders around and delivering milk door-to-door, chased by dinosaurs that went extinct ages ago; facing the sea every morning and shouting 'Hami hami melon'; and is that Kanonji actually 'Master Roshi,' a three-hundred-year-old pervert who took off his shell and went incognito?"
"..."
What a roast!
Ichigo and the others' mouths twitched. Who knew Mr. Urahara could talk this much...
"Dumbass, what are you even talking about? I can't understand a word!"
"Have you never watched Dragon Ball?" Ishida interjected from the side.
"What the hell is Dragon Ball? Brother Biao only watches Saint Seiya!" Wu Biao clenched his fist, the veins bulging on his arm, and let out a long, loud cry. "My Cosmo is burning! Where's Soul Society? Get out here and fight!"
"..." Everyone covered their faces.
Urahara Kisuke asked darkly, "Then may I ask... what is this Turtle Hermit Gi you're wearing, with the character on the chest changed from 'turtle' to 'Biao'?"
That's right, a Turtle Hermit Gi.
At that moment, Brother Biao was wearing an orange Turtle Hermit Gi, with that two-person-high backpack on his back. That was why his silhouette had looked so bulky earlier...
But the point was the Turtle Hermit Gi. The guy was actually wearing a Turtle Hermit Gi!!!
"This?" Brother Biao tugged at his clothes, looking proud. "This is the exclusive gi for the first disciple of our Kanonji School. Master Kanonji himself bestowed it upon me!"
That old chuuni!
"I think we should call the copyright protection agency and report this bastard for changing one character on another school's uniform and using it to fool an idiot!" Urahara Kisuke cursed angrily.
Then Urahara Kisuke clapped his hands, his expression solemn. "All right, now that everyone's here, let's get ready to go!"
"He changed the subject so awkwardly. Is he so embarrassed by Brother Biao that he wants to erase him from his mind completely?" Ichigo couldn't help remarking.
Only Brother Biao looked utterly confused. He was still trying to figure out who the idiot Green Hat had been talking about...
Then Brother Biao sincerely asked, "Hey, Green Hat, who were you talking about?"
"...I think everyone understands who I meant. Get ready. The moment the gate opens, rush in. Time is precious!"
He was really acting as if Brother Biao didn't exist!
Everyone was speechless. They had to admit that with Brother Biao's entrance, the tense atmosphere had vanished in an instant...
"Hey, could somebody explain? Is this Soul Society? Where's that effeminate Soul Reaper? Tell him to come out! Brother Biao said he'd fight him!" Wu Biao shouted in confusion.
A vein clearly bulged on Urahara Kisuke's forehead. Yoruichi, who hadn't said a word, was secretly amused. She rarely got to see Urahara at a loss!
"Brother Biao, Soul Society is through this gate!" In the end, Ichigo was the one who explained it to the confused Brother Biao. He also grabbed him as he prepared to jump through the moment he heard that. "You have to wait for Mr. Urahara to open it!"
"Oh, oh! Then what the hell are you waiting for, Green Hat? Hurry up! I've been holding it in for half a month, and now I just want to pin that effeminate guy down and beat the hell out of him to let off some steam."
"He's shouting extremely lewd words with a perfectly serious, passionate expression, and he isn't even blushing!" Ishida said expressionlessly.
Urahara Kisuke now really wanted to release Benihime and give Brother Biao a good thrashing. He was the one who had caused all the delay...
"Ready!" Urahara ignored Brother Biao, called out to everyone, then crouched down and gathered his spiritual power, shouting, "Open!"
Everyone leaped at once and vanished from the spot... Brother Biao alone looked left and right. "What the hell, couldn't you give me a heads-up first, dumbass?" With that, he jumped straight into the blue-glowing Senkaimon.
Urahara Kisuke, standing beside the Senkaimon, couldn't help trembling all over. He suddenly felt an urge to withdraw his spiritual power, sever the portal, and leave that bastard trapped forever in the space between the Human World and Soul Society...
Of course, it was only a thought. Yoruichi and the others were inside, after all!
—
Brothers, thanks to your support, the new book's climbed to second place on the rankings! Please keep voting for recommendations! I'll get back to writing!
Before you continue