"What good thing had you in such a hurry? Huh~ You didn't call Yoruichi?" Arriving in the underground space and seeing only Urahara there, Ichiro asked curiously.
"I did, but she had something to do. No need to wait for her—she wouldn't be much help with this anyway. Look, what do you think this is?" As he spoke, Urahara swiftly unfolded a Kido barrier, then took out a heavily sealed box and placed it before Ichiro.
"What's this?" Ichiro asked.
"Watch closely." Urahara gave a mysterious smile and began removing the seals layer by layer. An indescribable ripple spread out with them.
Ichiro's expression froze. What the hell was this?!
His heart gave a violent thump. Forming hand seals, he rapidly chanted:
"Eight spans of military alignment, there shall be no retreat. Blue gate, white gate, black gate, red gate. Interlock and sink into the sea. Dragon-tail city gate, tiger-bite city gate, tortoise-shell city gate, phoenix-wing city gate—Four Beast Gate!"
Using the four gates as its foundation, a massive barrier enveloped the two of them, completely cutting off that unusual ripple.
"As expected, you know what this is too." Seeing Ichiro's reaction, Urahara smiled. "Don't worry. This barrier, combined with the underground space, is enough to perfectly isolate its presence."
"To be safe, where did you find this thing?"
"Rukongai. Didn't I tell you? I found some interesting things." As he spoke, Urahara opened the box.
"Interesting things? This is way too interesting..." Staring at the fragment of internal organs inside the box, Ichiro muttered to himself.
He was very familiar with the ripple this thing emitted. The token Zero Division had given him to enter and leave the Soul King Palace contained this very power, and this thing had another name.
Soul King Fragment!
Looking at the Soul King