Turmoil in the Human World (Please Read!)

Ea!?

### For some reason, when Kaien Shiba and Isshin Shiba heard that name, they felt an ancient presence stretching back through the ages, and their hearts trembled faintly.

### Turning toward the voice, they saw Gilgamesh walking side by side with Yoruichi Shihouin. They stopped in front of the pit where the two men stood, their deep, beautiful, ruby-red eyes fixed on them.

### Perhaps it was because of the power Gilgamesh had displayed, or perhaps it was because of his natural charisma.

### At that moment, though Gilgamesh was clearly only a beautiful boy, Kaien Shiba and Isshin Shiba felt an imposing authority emanating from him.

### They even felt as though they were facing Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and their nerves tensed instinctively.

### Taking a deep breath, Isshin tried to steady himself before looking at Gilgamesh and asking seriously, "There's something I'd like to confirm."

### "Ancient King of Heroes, can you truly see the future?"

### Isshin had used an honorific.

### By now, Isshin believed that Gilgamesh really was humanity's oldest King of Heroes.

### That made Isshin a mere junior in the presence of the more than six-thousand-year-old Gilgamesh, so using an honorific was entirely appropriate.

### Even if Gilgamesh's identity was false, his strength had already earned Isshin's respect.

### Gilgamesh nodded lightly. "I can indeed see the future, but for now, I can only passively glimpse certain fragments of it."

### "So I know of the tragedies that await you, but not their exact time or place."

### Gilgamesh wasn't wrong. The original Bleach story never specified when or where either of these two incidents occurred.

### Kaien and Isshin exchanged glances, each seeing the weight in the other's eyes.

### These matters concerned their families—and their wives, no less. They couldn't help but care.

### Isshin wasn't married yet and hadn't met his future wife, but Gilgamesh's description was enough to make the depth of their feelings clear.

### He simply hadn't expected his future wife to be human.

### As the captain of the 10th Division, Isshin knew full well that Soul Reapers weren't allowed to marry humans. If discovered, the consequences would be severe. They would not only face capture by the Soul Society, but might even receive a harsh punishment.

### He didn't know what would happen in the future to make him overcome all those obstacles and marry a human.

### But that only further confirmed how deep his feelings for his future wife would be.

### After a brief silence, Kaien suddenly asked, "May I know why you told us about our future?"

### Illuminated by the Star of Omniscience, Gilgamesh saw through Kaien's thoughts.

### He knew what Kaien really meant: Aren't you afraid I'll spread this around?

### In Kaien's eyes, Gilgamesh must have had an ulterior motive for joining Shin'o Academy, given his immense strength.

### So until he achieved his goal, he should have kept his true power and abilities hidden. What he was doing now made no sense to Kaien.

### Gilgamesh smiled faintly. "My main reason for coming to Shin'o Academy is to recruit talent."

### "The Shiba Clan may have fallen from prominence, but its bloodline remains. Your innate talents are beyond those of ordinary wandering souls, which makes you one of my targets."

### "Telling you about the future is my show of sincerity."

### Kaien and Isshin looked at each other, both finding the whole thing absurd. For a moment, neither knew what to say.

### Though the Shiba Clan had fallen, it had once been one of the Five Great Noble Clans of the Soul Society.

### As the saying went, even a starving camel was bigger than a horse.

### No faction had ever tried to get the Shiba Clan to pledge itself or swear allegiance. Even if one had, the clan would never have agreed.

### The Shiba Clan had its own principles and pride.

### More importantly, the two of them—one the head of the main family and the other of a branch family—were both serving in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. They couldn't join another faction.

### At least, not now.

### Gilgamesh knew that winning over the Shiba Clan wouldn't happen overnight.

### Before either of them could speak, Gilgamesh continued, "My sincerity is only a stepping stone. It's meant to show you my attitude, not to make the Shiba Clan serve me at once."

### "I'm confident that one day, the Shiba Clan will willingly serve me."

### "That's enough for today. If I catch another glimpse of your future, I'll tell you."

### With that, Gilgamesh turned to Yoruichi. "Let's go."

### Yoruichi nodded and scooped Gilgamesh into her arms, then used Flash Step to leave.

### Kaien and Isshin watched them go, speechless for a long while.

### Though many of the questions weighing on them had just been answered, even more had taken their place.

### What was the faction behind Gilgamesh?

### Why did he want the Shiba Clan to serve him?

### Why had they never heard of him before?

### What were the source of his abilities and the nature of his methods?

### ...

### The questions kept surfacing in Isshin's mind. He wasn't one for overthinking, and the headache soon had him rubbing his temples. He turned to Kaien. "Let's head back first."

### Kaien nodded lightly.

### Then they, too, used Flash Step to leave.

### They tacitly agreed not to mention what had happened that night.

### They were willing to trust Gilgamesh, but they still found it hard to imagine that the kindhearted Sosuke Aizen was the mastermind behind everything.

### So until they had investigated the matter, they wouldn't tell anyone what had happened that night, lest they alert the enemy.

### And Gilgamesh had expected as much.

### 10th Division barracks.

### Isshin returned to his quarters without a sound. Just as he was about to open the door, a mature, seductive voice rang out from nearby, heavy with exhaustion and resentment. "Captain Shiba, you finally came back!"

### Isshin jumped, then turned sheepishly toward Rangiku Matsumoto as she emerged from the darkness.

### He could feel the resentment boiling inside her.

### Because of Kaien over the past two days, Isshin had dumped the division's work on Rangiku and vanished without a trace.

### For those two days, Rangiku had been handling the division's affairs and had barely slept.

### Her skin and hair had suffered, and she'd even developed dark circles.

### How could someone as beauty-conscious as Rangiku accept that? She was furious.

### Now that she'd finally caught Isshin, she planned to vent her anger on him.

### But before she could, she caught sight of his battered state and was startled.

### His Shihakusho and Captain's Haori were dirty and torn, and his exposed skin was covered in dust and numerous wounds.

### He looked as if he'd just come through a fierce battle.

### But that was impossible.

### If a battle like that had really broken out, all of Seireitei would be in an uproar. It couldn't possibly be this quiet.

### Rangiku froze, and before she knew it, her anger had ebbed away.

### Isshin knew exactly what she was thinking, but he wasn't going to tell her what had happened.

### His eyes shifted slightly. Before Rangiku could speak, he took the initiative and asked seriously, "Rangiku, is there something important you need? You came to my quarters so late."

### Rangiku answered instinctively, "A short while ago, I received word that Yuki Konno, the Soul Reaper our division stationed in Naruki City in the Human World, was attacked and killed by an unknown assailant. I wanted to ask what you'd like us to do."

### Isshin didn't think much of it. It was normal for Soul Reapers stationed in the Human World to die, and Hollows were usually to blame.

### He opened his mouth, ready to send someone to investigate.

### But then Isshin seemed to remember something and changed his mind. "I understand. I'll investigate this myself."

### Rangiku came back to her senses and, forgetting everything else, asked, "Captain, you're going to the Human World? Will the Captain-Commander agree?"

### A Captain-level fighter could have too great an impact on the Human World. Anyone of that rank had to get permission from Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto before going there.

### Rangiku didn't believe Yamamoto would agree to let Isshin investigate this.

### A Soul Reaper had died, yes, but sending a captain to investigate was clearly making a mountain out of a molehill. It wasn't necessary.

### Isshin only gave her a mysterious smile. "I have my ways."

### He was determined to go to the Human World.

### It wasn't because he considered the Soul Reaper's death especially important. He wanted to look for information about Gilgamesh in the Human World.

### If Gilgamesh's identity was genuine, then there had to be information about him in Human History.

### Isshin wanted to see what glorious deeds had earned this king the title of "humanity's oldest King of Heroes."

### More importantly, perhaps he could find clues about Gilgamesh's mysterious abilities and divine weapons by studying his past deeds.

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