Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was not afraid at all, and even seemed somewhat eager to make a move.

“I will use my methods to hinder all your research projects. This is the limit of what I can do. After all, as the captain, I have to set a good example for the team members. Fighting or even more intense verbal confrontations are not allowed.”

Aizen sighed, his voice filled with deep helplessness.

It seems to be an admission that Mayuri Naneh has no good solutions, and this show of weakness is a way to get the other party to "go easy on him".

But Mayuri Kurotsuchi's expression was even worse than his.

Even with a mask on, it's still so obvious.

"Aizen Sousuke... one day I will make you sit in that chair in place of your disciple for me to study!"

After that, he turned around and left.

"Eh?"

Ōmaeda was stunned. He just left?

"Well, those kids haven't committed any serious crimes; on the contrary, they've done good deeds. So no matter how unreasonable Captain Soi Fon's attitude is, his idea is impossible to realize. Besides, there's also Sousuke-kun... Hahaha, if someone else said this, Captain Kurotsuchi might not take it seriously, but with Sousuke-kun's connections and influence, it's a fatal blow~"

Kyoraku's smile was full of sarcasm.

"However, on the other hand, I've also heard a bit about the Spirit Arts Academy's freshman assessment. The equipment that Captain Nie sold is supposedly developed based on his own conditions, so if there's a problem, like a test failure, it means that the person being tested has exceeded Captain Nie's limits in some way, right? That's why it caught his attention."

As he spoke, Kyoraku sighed again in front of Ōmaeda and Aizen, his gaze turning toward the west of Seireitei.

"That's the sensitivity of scientists. No wonder the Technology Development Bureau always manages to come up with some strange things, unlike us laymen who, even though we've heard about them before, still treat them like children who need to be protected."

"However, in fact, even from such a distance, one can vaguely feel the spiritual pressure emanating from Rukongai. It's like having a hole punched in the sky, so you can see it as soon as you look up. This is not something a child could do."

"Unbeknownst to us, they have already protected Seireitei once in our place."

"So, I can understand both Captain Kurotsuchi's curiosity and Sosuke's emphasis on it."

"The future of Seireitei and the Gotei 13 is destined to be related to your actions... I have a feeling about that."

Aizen adjusted his glasses and replied earnestly, "Thank you for your kind words. I hope they can truly shoulder the future of Seireitei and the Gotei 13. If so, I can say that my wish has been fulfilled."

"Sort of? Does Sosuke-kun have other ideas? I didn't realize you had your own little schemes."

"It's nothing to mention, so please don't make fun of me, Captain of the Kyoto Band."

Kyoraku stopped joking and turned to the stunned Omaeda, reminding him:

"Let's go, Vice-Captain Ōmaeda, it's time to take us to Captain Soi Fon."

"Oh! Right! Come with me quickly. The captain isn't in a good mood. He just happened to interrogate Shinomiya again. If he's not perceptive enough and offends the captain like that orange-haired brat did, saying the wrong thing and getting locked in the dark room, that would be terrible."

Ōmaeda quickly led the way.

"Are they not hurt?"

Aizen asked with concern.

"There were injuries, but they were all superficial and nothing serious... It's a miracle that we didn't have to spend several days in a general sanatorium after dealing with that kind of enemy. We're really lucky."

"But that's precisely why it would be too much to ask to be tortured by the captain."

"Vice-Captain Ōmaeda seems to have a deep-seated prejudice against Captain Soi Fon."

"No prejudices, just opinions!"

"Oh? Is that so? Tell me about it?"

Omaeda froze on the spot, his raised foot hovering in mid-air, as if time had stood still. He truly wished time could stand still.

Unfortunately, the chilling killing intent mixed with spiritual pressure rushed towards me, stabbing me like knives.

"Team...captain?"

Omaeda had no time to pay attention to Kyoraku and Aizen's reactions. He mechanically turned his neck to look ahead and saw that the person he had been criticizing was standing with Shinomiya Mikoto at the entrance of the team's cell. It seemed that the interrogation was over and there didn't seem to be any conflict. In fact, judging from the distance between them, it seemed that... they got along quite well?

"Ah."

Soi Fon twitched the corners of her mouth, her smile icy cold.

But she said nothing.

He simply shifted his gaze from Ōmaeda to Kyoraku and Aizen.

"I know why you've come. Don't worry, everything has been clarified, you can go back with peace of mind."

"Can't we leave now?"

We're all intelligent people; there's no need for small talk.

Kyoraku also lowered his hat brim and spoke frankly.

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow in displeasure: "Do you want them to drag their injured and exhausted bodies back to their own quarters? My Second Division barracks isn't just a prison. What's wrong with leaving them a few rooms to stay in for one night? Besides, they helped me out. If I can't even do this much, people will say I'm heartless."

Aizen and Kyoraku instinctively looked at Ōmaeda.

"?!"

Ōmaeda opened his mouth wide, his face filled with despair.

No, don't look over here at this time.

What do you mean?

He doesn't remember any of the kindness shown to him as a collaborator, but only remembers what he said about him, right?

"Ah."

Soi Fon gave another cold laugh, but still said nothing.

Even Shinomiya Takayuki felt a little uneasy about this reaction, and could only look at Ōmaeda, who had brought in reinforcements, with a sympathetic gaze, as if to say, "If you survive, we'll be friends after tonight."

Yes, after tonight.

Now it is not.

Therefore, there is no need to take action.

"Then, Captain Soi Fon, we'll be going now."

"Ah."

Soi Fon's attitude softened considerably when facing the Fourth Prince. Although she only snorted, a sense of goodwill could be felt.

They then specially arranged for people to receive everyone.

It was a truly VIP treatment.

Although the room didn't have a soft bed, it did have soft pillows, and you could go to the public bathhouse to shower and enjoy a late-night snack.

As for Ōmaeda, he was kicked out of the Second Division and sent to patrol at night. He can forget about sleeping tonight; even if he tries to slack off, someone will be watching him. It's really heartbreaking.

This stark contrast left Aizen and Ichigo, who had just been "released from prison," puzzled.

What exactly did the Four Palaces Lord do?

"It's nothing. I just gave a detailed report of the information I had and then offered some conjectures."

"That's it?"

Ichigo didn't believe it.

"Of course it's not just a casual remark; that would be too disrespectful to Aizen-sensei."

As Aizen's disciple in name only, how could I stoop to the level of "language communication"?

"My conjecture is based on real-world folklore investigation cases, such as 'At the Mountains of Madness,' 'The Dunwich Horror,' 'Shadow of Innsmouth,' and 'The House of the Dead.' It also provides insights from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology, micro-expression analysis, trace evidence analysis, and detective studies, which set the tone for the subsequent investigation and also brought a lot of professional inspiration to Captain Soi Fon."

"Maybe I'm not very professional, but I could tell she was very satisfied. She even seemed to have a sense of... well, triumph after hearing about my research methods for dealing with strangers?"

Chapter Twenty-One: Whoever Has the Money Sells To Whom

Three days later, according to the current calculation method, it will be the "Golden Week".

The Soul Society does not have this public holiday, but it has ushered in a new two-day weekend.

Early in the morning, Shinomiya-sama dragged Ichigo and Rindo back to Junrin-an.

Without alerting the elders or Shiba Kukaku, they went straight into the woods outside the city.

This strange behavior left Ichigo completely baffled.

"Shinomiya, what exactly are you up to? Did you leave something important here, so you brought us back to find it?"

“You’re absolutely right. We’re here to find something, but it’s not mine. I don’t even know what it looks like.”

The Four Palaces Master stood on a large rock, gazing at the surrounding terrain, seemingly confirming his location in order to define the search area.

"what is this?"

Ichigo looked back at his fellow members of the living group, puzzled, trying to find an answer.

Luntang shook his head slightly. Even if one has a keen sense of other people's emotions, it doesn't mean one can know what other people are thinking.

However, there is one thing he can assert.

The fourth house will not do meaningless things.

"I shared some information with the captain of the second division and finally figured some things out."

The Four Palaces Master seemed to be answering the two people's questions, or perhaps talking to himself.

"Would that hot-tempered, cold-faced woman be so kind as to share information with you? You haven't been tricked, have you?"

Despite winning the fight, they had their own people arrest them, which made Ichigo have a particularly bad impression of Soi Fon.

Why do you think I share real-life paranormal cases?

"...What paranormal cases? Aren't those just fictional literary works?...So, it's hard to say whether she lied to you or not, but you definitely lied to her."

"There's a saying that goes, 'Art imitates life.' People can learn a lot of new and interesting things from literature, and then..."

"And then what?"

Ichigo frowned, his curiosity piqued without him even realizing it.

"Then when you are talking to someone, you can't help but express your feelings, and you will often give a few vivid examples based on your own situation."

The four palace officials spread their hands.

"See, the intelligence has arrived."

"..."

Ichigo was speechless.

It took a long time to react.

So it turns out that Shinomiya said that on purpose.

The aim was to induce Soi Fon to connect the information he had investigated with the stories he had described, thereby encouraging him to engage in divergent thinking.

No matter what I think of, I feel extremely excited because I see the light at the end of the tunnel and more possibilities.

Soi Fon subconsciously believes that this is all thanks to Shinomiya, and her affection for him increases greatly. She also can't help but show off her "gains".

In order to increase credibility and maintain his self-esteem and authority as captain, he will inevitably present true and reliable information as evidence.

Therefore, there is almost no possibility of being deceived by false information.

Unless it's all an act from beginning to end.

But that grumpy, cold-faced woman had absolutely no reason to do that.

"Shinomiya, it's such a waste of your talents to be a folklorist. If you were a diplomat, you wouldn't be far from the real world and the 'bang'."

"Dealing with humans is not as interesting as dealing with supernatural events."

The Four Palaces Venerable One said indifferently.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. I learned some things about the two students before they disappeared from Soi Fon's perspective, and with the Hollow's last words before it died, I roughly understand why they disappeared."

"His dying words? I think he called out someone's name."

Ichigo tried hard to recall.

"It wasn't the one you shot, it was the one I killed."

The Four Palace Master interrupted.

"Before he died, that guy said that the two students seemed to have appeared in Rukongai because of something, and then they just happened to run into the Hollow Hand. I'm sure that thing is somewhere in Runlin'an. Now we need to find it and take it for ourselves."