"In short, whether the Second Division is a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, we still have to go for it."
Ichigo Kurosaki's attitude was resolute; no matter how powerful the enemy was, nothing could stop him from moving forward or hinder his determination to save Rukia.
"You heard what Kaien said; we'll need you to come up with more ideas for getting into Seireitei."
Yoruichi the black Yoruichi lay limply on the futon, hunched over, stretched, and then spoke to Kaien Shiba.
"It's simple. Whether it's helping you, helping Ichigo, or helping Rukia... that stupid girl, I'll help you all to successfully enter the Seireitei."
Kaien Shiba nodded slightly to Rukia; this was a trivial matter to him.
"Thank you for your help."
Yoruichi nodded slightly. After receiving Kaien Shiba's consent, she finally felt a little more at ease. With the Shiba Clan helping to cover for them, they could relax a bit in Seireitei and avoid any unnecessary battles.
"It's too early to thank me now. I'm not helping you for free; I also have my own selfish motives."
Kaien Shiba shook his head at Yoruichi. He wasn't the kind of kind-hearted person who would help others for free. As the head of the Shiba Clan, he had to prioritize the family's interests above all else; everything had to be done with the family's interests in mind...
"Oh, so you mean you won't help us for free, but there will be preconditions, right?"
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes slightly after understanding Kaien Shiba's words.
"That's exactly right."
"I just don't know if you'll accept my conditions!"
Kaien Shiba lowered his head slightly. Although this behavior, which seemed like taking advantage of someone's misfortune, was not Kaien Shiba's style, it was the responsibility that a person in the position of a family head had to bear.
Tell me about it!
"Whatever your terms, we will do everything in our power to meet them."
Kuroneko Yoruichi his face, calmly answered Kaien Shiba.
"So, first and foremost, Ichigo Kurosaki-kun, I'm asking you this formally again: are you sure you don't want to change your Shiba?"
Kaien Shiba faced Ichigo Kurosaki with a serious and earnest expression, indicating that his question to Ichigo Kurosaki was not a joke, but rather stemmed from something more complex.
"Are you tired of living?"
Ichigo Kurosaki's forehead veins bulged; no matter what happened, he would never change his surname.
It seems you've made your choice.
" Ichigo, your choice truly breaks my heart. I was thinking that if you were to change your surname to Shiba, I would bring the entire Shiba Clan to fight alongside you!"
"Sigh... What a pity, what a pity, what a real pity. It seems our Shiba Clan is too weak, so weak that even Ichigo looks down on us."
Kaien Shiba gently wiped away non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes, putting on a disgusting, self-pitying act of crying.
"Don't use your face, which looks exactly like mine, to make such a disgusting expression!"
Looking at Ichigo Kurosaki Kaien Shiba felt an awkward sensation, as if he were looking in a mirror, especially when the other person made that disgusting, tearful face...
The thought that the other person's face was exactly the same as the one he had found, meaning that he himself would make the exact same expression, made Ichigo Kurosaki feel unbearable, even nauseous...
" Kurosaki... no, that's not right, I should call you Shiba- kun now. To save Rukia-san, just sacrifice yourself a little! It's just changing your surname, it's no big deal."
Uryū Ishida gently pushed up his glasses perched on his nose, revealing a malicious glint in his eyes behind them.
"Easy for you to say! You'd better go and make the changes yourself!"
"It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering..."
Ichigo Kurosaki Ichigo's eyelids twitched slightly. If it weren't for the fact that Uryū Ishida was a valuable asset in the operation to rescue Rukia, he would have already drawn the large cleaver behind him and given Uryū Ishida a good beating.
"What are you saying Ichigo Kurosaki?!"
They didn't ask me to change my surname!
"However, if changing my surname can save Rukia-san, then I'm willing to make this sacrifice."
"However... Ichigo Kurosaki says he'll definitely save Rukia-san, but he's not even willing to make this small sacrifice. It seems your so-called resolve to save Rukia-san even if it means death is nothing more than that."
Ishida Uryū Ishida kept mentioning Ichigo Kurosaki, constantly stimulating Shiba... Ichigo Kurosaki 'Ichigo Kurosaki heart. Uryū Ishida already knew that he was no match for Ichigo Kurosaki, and probably never would be Ichigo Kurosaki. But... that didn't mean he gave up. Since he couldn't defeat his opponent in terms of strength, he would use his brain and persuade him with his words.
"You bastard."
Ichigo Kurosaki had finally reached his limit. He clenched his fist, ready to deliver a friendly punch to Uryū Ishida.
"Alright, both of you, stop!"
"Instead of wasting your energy fighting amongst yourselves here, you should save your strength for when you can unleash it later."
Just as Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryū Ishida were about to have a hand-to-hand fight, Yoruichi, who couldn't stand it any longer, spoke up and stopped them.
"I'll spare your life today, just for Mr. Yoruichi's sake."
Having heard Yoruichi's words, Ichigo Kurosaki naturally stopped arguing with Uryū Ishida. He snorted coldly, letting Uryū Ishida go.
"Once we've rescued Rukia-san, we'll continue today's battle."
Uryū Ishida naturally wouldn't continue arguing with Ichigo Kurosaki. Since Ichigo Kurosaki gave him a way out, he took it.
"Of course, but I hope you'll still be as brave as you are now, instead of being so scared that your legs go weak and you're too afraid to fight me."
Ichigo Kurosaki looked at Uryū Ishida with confidence. He was incredibly strong now, and defeating Uryū Ishida would be a piece of cake.
"Since you, Ichigo, are unwilling to change your surname, then there's nothing I can do. In that case... although I will still help you enter the Seireitei, I will not provide you with any other assistance. How you rescue Rukia from the Seireitei is up to you. Furthermore... you must also take my younger brother, Ganju, with you on your journey to rescue Rukia. I hope he will accompany you, as this will be a good opportunity for him to hone his skills. What do you think?"
With his arms crossed over his chest, Kaien Shiba spoke with a serious expression. At this moment, the earnest Kaien Shiba truly exuded the imposing aura of the head of the Shiba Clan.
"I see."
Having grown accustomed to Kaien Shiba's carefree and irreverent manner, Ichigo Kurosaki felt a genuine sense of unease facing the serious Kaien Shiba. His expression tightened, and he became equally serious, nodding slightly.
"In that case, I'm relieved." After receiving Ichigo Kurosaki's reply, Kaien Shiba's expression returned to its previous smile. "I'll have someone bring that kid here right away."
In the Shiba Clan garden.
A man with an aged face, who looked nothing like a young man of the same generation as Kaien, but rather like a middle-aged man over fifty, and who bore a resemblance to Isshin Kurosaki, lay leisurely among the flowers.
The man's name is Ganju Shiba, the younger brother of Kaien Shiba, the current head of the Shiba Clan. Unlike Sōjun Kuchiki of the Kuchiki Clan, whose spirit body became unstable due to inheriting too much talent from the Kuchiki Clan, Ganju Shiba is a man who inherited the Shiba Clan name but not the Shiba Clan's talents.
To put it simply, Ganju Shiba is a person without talent.
Born into Five Great Noble Clans, one may lack good looks, or have a weak spiritual body, but one cannot lack talent!
For people from these large families, lacking talent is incredibly fatal; nothing is more tragic than being without talent or ability.
Although he was much older than Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and others, his strength was so weak that it made people doubt whether he was really a member of the Shiba Clan that stood at the pinnacle of Soul Society.
Compared to his older siblings who were young enough to be captains of the Thirteenth Division, he seemed rather mediocre, even inferior to some ordinary Soul Reaper...
Perhaps it was because his older siblings were too dazzling, or perhaps it was because he was surpassed by countless Soul Reaper from commoner backgrounds, that Ganju Shiba gradually came to terms with it. Rather than forcing himself to pursue the power that he could never obtain no matter how hard he tried, he decided to enjoy the power that came with being born into the Shiba Clan.
I wake up naturally every day, then go to the garden to plant flowers and grass, enjoying the beauty of this world beyond its power, and savoring... the tranquility of life.
" Ganju, your older brother wants you to go to the waiting room."
Just as Ganju was lying in the rose garden, inhaling the fragrance of roses and dozing off, a classical beauty dressed in a casual kimono, with a dignified face and an elegant beauty, and outstanding temperament, came to Ganju's side and called softly.
"Sister Du, did you say my brother called me?"
The Ganju lying on the ground opened its dazed eyes and, somewhat reluctantly, stood up.
"Yes, we had a few guests today. It might be related to them, but as for the specifics, let your older brother tell you himself!"
This classical beauty, Shiba Miyako, wife of Kaien Shiba, has a gentle smile on her face. She is poised and elegant, exuding a noble air. Anyone who sees Shiba Miyako will feel that this woman is definitely not simple.
"Sigh... alright!"
Ganju yawned reluctantly, sighed, and walked lazily toward the Shiba Clan's reception room.
"Clatter~"
"Big brother, you were looking for me?"
Ganju entered the reception room, forcefully pulled open the door, and asked Kaien Shiba with slight displeasure.
"Yes, you've arrived. Let me introduce you. These are guests from the World of the Living, planning to go to the Seireitei to rescue Rukia Kuchiki. I intend for you to travel with them to help rescue Rukia."
Kaien Shiba introduces Ganju Shiba to the identities of Ichigo Kurosaki and the others.
"Huh? Why would I do something so boring?"
Ganju Shiba was somewhat dissatisfied. He didn't intend to get involved in Rukia's mess, especially since Rukia was being held in the Second Division barracks, which harbored great terror. He feared that their rescue operation might not only fail to rescue Rukia but also result in their own downfall, which would be too much of a loss.
"Because of Rukia's connection to our Shiba Clan."
Kaien Shiba was somewhat dissatisfied with Ganju Shiba's attitude and spoke in a cold voice.
"That's Rukia's connection with you, brother, isn't it? What does it have to do with me?"
Ganju Shiba was very rebellious and looked defiant.
"This is my order as your brother and as the head of the Shiba Clan."
Kaien Shiba didn't intend to continue indulging Ganju Shiba. After all, children can never be spoiled. Only through swords and blood, only by facing enemies head-on, can one learn what courage truly is.
Only by learning to fear and then learning to face it can a person truly grow. These are the words Kaien Shiba kept in his heart, and also his expectations for his younger brother...
As the eldest brother of the Shiba Clan, he was like a brother and father to Ganju. Of course, Kaien also considered himself the head of the family, so his attitude towards Ganju was mostly one of disappointment and high expectations. Watching Ganju gradually decline, the person who suffered the most was not Ganju, who had chosen to give up, but the head of the Shiba Clan, his elder brother Ganju Shiba.
"Tsk~"
"I see."
Seeing that even his older brother, who used to dote on him the most, was treating him this way, Ganju knew that it was inevitable that he would have to go to the Second Division to die with these few crooks. He could only hope that the members of the Second Division would go a little easier on him, considering that he was a member of the Shiba Clan.
"In that case, there's no time to lose!"
" Ichigo, let's go!"
"Don't keep Rukia waiting."
Kaien Shiba stood up from his seat and began to speak with great enthusiasm.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Shouldn't that be my line?"
Ichigo Kurosaki was extremely annoyed that Kaien Shiba had stolen his lines, especially since Kaien Shiba had a face exactly like his own, which made him feel even worse, giving him a strange feeling that his life had been taken away.
"In short, we can't afford to delay any longer; every second of delay is irresponsible towards Rukia's life."
Ichigo Kurosaki reorganized his words and, as the leader of the team that rescued Rukia, delivered a shortened speech.
"Oh!!"
As soon as Ichigo Kurosaki finished speaking, everyone except Orihime Inoue her hand and cheered stood there awkwardly in silence.
Cough cough cough!
"In short, what's your plan for us to infiltrate the Seireitei?"
Ichigo Kurosaki sensed the awkward silence in the air. His face remained tense, but he kept calm and asked Kaien Shiba.
"Just take your clothes off first!"
Kaien Shiba spoke, he pulled out several sets of Shihakusho from under his seat.
(End of this chapter)