The next day.
Shin and the others prepared to return to Karakura Town. Most of the Captains and Vice-Captains were present to see them off.
Rukia bid farewell to everyone one by one, she chose to remain in Soul Society.
Jūshirō, standing nearby, introduced, "This is the official Senkaimon, and naturally, it has a Reishi Converter installed."
Then, he looked at Ichigo. "This is for you."
"This is the Substitute Shinigami Badge. With this, you can transform into a Shinigami anytime."
Shin looked at the wooden tag with the skull pattern in Jūshirō's hand and muttered inwardly, 'This thing is just meant to monitor Ichigo.'
Soul Society knew he possessed Hollow powers and would not allow unstable factors to remain outside their control.
Thinking of this, Shin glanced at Soi Fon beside him.
Soi Fon was going with them to the Human World this time. The reason given was that Arrancar had appeared in Karakura Town previously, which was likely related to Aizen.
Sending Soi Fon to the Human World would allow her to take Rukia's place, deal with any potential Aizen forces, and facilitate contact with Shin. But Shin didn't believe that explanation, especially since this point hadn't been raised during the Captains' meeting yesterday.
He figured it was the doing of those people in Central 46, sending Soi Fon to monitor him.
Shin was immensely powerful, uncontrollable, and had once been a target for Aizen's recruitment.
However, he didn't mind. Having Soi Fon monitor him was perfect.
The last person sent to monitor him was Yoruichi, wasn't it?
Shin was determined to make Soul Society suffer a double loss.
And those old geezers in Central 46, Aizen could kill them, so why couldn't he?
"Then I'll gladly accept this." Ichigo took the Substitute Shinigami Badge.
"Time to go." Jūshirō reminded them.
"Shin-chan, Ichi-chan, see you later." It was the ever-energetic Yachiru.
"Goodbye."
Shin and his group then vanished into the Senkaimon.
They didn't encounter the Kōryū this time, but when they exited the Dangai, they found themselves suspended in mid-air. Fortunately, Kisuke caught them with a flying carpet.
"Welcome back, everyone."
"Urahara..." Ichigo currently had complicated feelings toward him.
"Kurosaki, I suppose you've heard about my situation?"
"Yes."
"I am truly sorry."
Kisuke took off his hat and apologized to Ichigo. By concealing the existence of the Hōgyoku, he had essentially manipulated Ichigo.
Shin stood silently beside them. Although he was aware of the plan, he was happy to let Kisuke take the blame.
"I don't care anymore. Besides, you helped us a lot, and I'm grateful for that. The person you really owe an apology to is Rukia."
"Understood."
Kisuke spotted Soi Fon behind them. "Soi Fon-san, you've come to the Human World too."
Soi Fon completely ignored him. Because of the incident involving Yoruichi, she held absolutely no goodwill towards this man. In fact, she hated him.
Uryū broke the awkward silence. "Urahara-san, I'll get off here."
Afterward, everyone said their goodbyes and left one by one.
Seeing Soi Fon step off the flying carpet, Shin followed her.
"Soi Fon, have you found a place to stay?"
"No."
Soi Fon had just arrived in the Human World and hadn't had time to find a suitable place to settle down.
"Then come to my place. My house is quite big."
"What would it look like if I stayed at your house?"
"We're friends, aren't we? Staying at a friend's house is perfectly normal."
Soi Fon paused, but still spoke stubbornly, "I won't go."
Shin pretended not to hear, stepped forward, grabbed Soi Fon's arm, and flew toward his house.
"Hey! Let me go." Soi Fon struggled slightly but couldn't break free.
"Soi Fon is still so cute. Hahaha!" Yoruichi let out a hearty laugh.
—
Karakura High School.
A new transfer student arrived in Ichigo's class.
The newcomer was named Hirako Shinji. He had a yellow bowl cut, a strange smile, and a lazy, slouching demeanor. During his self-introduction, he wrote his name backward.
He sat in Rukia's former seat, right next to Ichigo, and greeted him, "I'm sitting next to you. Please take care of me from now on, Kurosaki-kun."
Ichigo regained his focus. "Okay, please take care of me too."
After returning to the Human World, he noticed something: his strength had decreased.
He realized he couldn't properly use his Bankai, even though he had acquired it in Soul Society. Furthermore, Ichigo felt confused and frightened by the Hollow power within him, worried that he might be consumed by it.
—
Nohara residence.
Shin returned to his daily life, petting a cat and teasing Soi Fon every day, living a very comfortable and carefree existence. However, he didn't forget his own training. Every day, he sparred with Yoruichi and Soi Fon in the underground training facility.
The training facility beneath his house had been created while they were in Soul Society, and communication had been established with Soul Society to construct a Senkaimon there.
Ding-dong!
Shin opened the door and found Ichigo standing there.
"Nohara."
"Oh... it's Kurosaki. Do you need something?"
Ichigo told Shin about his situation.
Shin guessed that Ichigo's decrease in strength was likely related to the Substitute Shinigami Badge.
When Soul Society Captains and Vice-Captains come to the Human World, they apply a Spiritual Limiter to limit their power, preventing them from affecting the souls of the Human World.
Since Ichigo had displayed Captain-level strength in previous battles, and Soul Society was wary of him, restricting his power was quite normal.
Shin said, "Kurosaki, your current Reiatsu feels chaotic to me. That's because your heart is troubled, which is why your power is unstable. What are you worried about?"
"I..."
Ichigo hesitated for a moment, but still revealed the matter of the Hollow power inside him.
"I'm worried that I might be consumed by this power." Ichigo looked deeply troubled.
Shin laughed internally.
White Ichigo was his good brother. If Ichigo was this afraid of him, he was guaranteed to scare him even more.
Shin said, "How about this? Kurosaki, spar with me. I want to see your current condition."
"Alright."
The two went down to the underground facility.
Ichigo used the Substitute Shinigami Badge to summon his Reishi body.
"Come on!"
"Hah!"
Ichigo, holding Zangetsu, charged toward Shin.
After a few moves, Shin felt that Ichigo had weakened significantly, currently possessing the combat power of a mere seated officer.
"Now it's my turn. Kurosaki, if you stay in this state, I might actually cut you down."
Under Shin's relentless offense, Ichigo struggled to defend himself. Soon, several cuts appeared on his body.
"Bankai!"
Ichigo tried to use Bankai, but nothing happened. He had failed again.
Shin kicked him away. "What? Can't use it? If you can't use it today, you'll just have to be cut down by me."