Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

But Byakuya made no promises, instead glancing at Zangetsu on his shoulder.

"Kid, how long do you plan to keep that knife on my shoulder?"

"Ah? Uh, sorry, I forgot..."

Ichigo awkwardly put down the sword and hung it back on his back.

"Open the portal, Renji."

Byakuya turned around and responded with concrete actions.

"oh oh!"

Renji's face lit up with joy, but when he saw his destroyed Zanpakuto, he immediately collapsed. He glared at Ichigo hatefully, then quickly ran to Byakuya's side, embedded the Zanpakuto into the void, and activated the pre-adjusted Transcendental Gate.

"Rukia, hurry up and follow me."

"……understood."

Rukia finally breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Orihime with a complicated expression, and gave her a warm smile.

"It's time to say goodbye. Take care of yourself. Don't push yourself when you're feeling weak. That way... you might see each other again someday."

"Uh-huh……!"

Orihime nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face.

Although I was extremely worried about her situation, I was even more reluctant to lose another close person.

But there's no point in saying anything now; in fact, the current outcome is already the best it can be.

Just like my brother was back then.

All I can do is let Rukia leave in peace.

Soon, the portal closed.

Rukia's figure also completely disappeared from sight.

"...Weren't you supposed to come and support us? Why did you just slip away like that?"

Ichigo started complaining, seemingly to change the subject and ease the somber atmosphere.

"They probably want us to meet up with the others and then go back through the original interdimensional portal."

With that, Hachihara jumped off the cement pipe.

"So we should go too."

The Four Palaces Lord represents a small group of four who make decisions.

"what."

Ichigo nodded slightly.

"Are Shinomiya-kun and Kurosaki-kun also going back to Soul Society?"

"Hmm, are you sure you'll be okay going home alone?"

"Of course, no problem. Don't forget I'm a substitute Shinigami. Hollows or bad guys, I have nothing to be afraid of!"

When Orihime wiped away her tears and forced a smile, Shinomiya-no-Kami remained silent.

"Idiot, he didn't mean that... Never mind, as long as we maintain this state, there's really nothing to worry about. By the way, Inoue, I have a question for you."

"what?"

Do you know someone named Chad?

"Huh? Uh, I vaguely remember."

How has he been lately?

Seeing Orihime so heartbroken, Ichigo couldn't help but worry about his best friend's mental state.

"Chad-kun... He only came at the beginning of the semester, and then dropped out not long after."

"What? You dropped out of school?"

"Ah."

Orihime said with certainty.

"According to Long Gui, he seems to have joined a strange gang and then disappeared."

"...I understand, thank you for telling me this. If possible, please help me gather information about him and tell me when I come to the mortal world next time."

Ichigo took a deep breath and made his request.

"This is no problem."

Orihime hesitated for a moment before agreeing, and then said...

"I happen to have a request as well."

"Do you want us to help Rukia Kuchiki?"

The Four Palaces Venerable suddenly spoke.

Seeing Orihime lower her head in shame, Ichigo knew he had hit the nail on the head.

"Actually, even if you hadn't said anything, I would still have been willing to help, but there's really only so much we can do. We can't just break into the prison and bring the person out, can we?"

"Huh?! There's no need to go that far."

Orihime was startled.

"Don't worry, Shinomiya said so."

Ichigo patted the Fourth Prince on the shoulder.

"That guy is probably not dead. I still have a lot of faith in Shinomiya's judgment. Besides, he said before he left that as long as you live well, there will always be a chance to meet again."

"It seems more convenient to reunite in Soul Society after death; perhaps that was her original intention."

The four palaces seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hey!"

Ichigo caught a glimpse of Orihime out of the corner of his eye and, without bothering to complain about his friend, quickly brought up Tatsuki Arisawa to appease Orihime.

"Inoue, don't listen to this guy's nonsense. If you die, Tatsuki will definitely cry himself to death!"

"..."

The excitement on Orihime's face vanished, replaced by deep disappointment.

But a sense of warmth also filled my heart.

Yes, she has close friends; she's not alone.

"Alright, we should get going. I bet Shihouin is getting impatient. I even promised him he could leave the team... Sigh, it doesn't feel good to fool an idiot."

Ichigo, Hachiman, Rindo, and Shinomiya-no-Mikoto looked at the four of them with disdain as he shook his head and sighed.

They said that, yet they showed not a shred of shame.

"Goodbye everyone!"

With Orihime waving enthusiastically, the four members of the Four Palaces rushed into the night sky.

On a nearby telephone pole, a black cat watched quietly as Orihime left the scene.

Tonight's farce has now truly come to an end.

"But then again, those kids are really something else, especially the Fourth Master. Not only is he incredibly skilled, but his strength is also not to be underestimated. His Shunpo is far superior to Byakuya's in his youth, and he looks strangely familiar, with a bit of my style from back then. It's really too weird."

I don't understand, I can't comprehend it.

The feeling of not being able to figure things out is like encountering Aizen.

The black cat shook its head, got up, and returned to Urahara Store.

The farce is over.

But there are still too many puzzling aspects.

This is not something she is good at.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: I was only thinking of him.

Karakura Town, Yumizawa, the place where the Spirit Academy team first arrived.

The entire street was a scene of utter devastation; one might mistake it for a battlefield in the Middle East.

On the rooftop, a group of medical personnel from the Fourth Division were bustling back and forth, moving between the portal and the outside world.

Seeing the dilapidated corner of the rooftop stained with blackened blood, Ichigo felt quite heavy-hearted.

"Shinomiya, I'm starting to agree with what you said when we first met."

Which sentence are you referring to?

The four palace officials casually chimed in.

"It's like...death isn't necessarily a bad thing or something."

"I vaguely remember, you were very opposed to it back then?"

Curious about their past, Hachiyahara and Rindou looked over.

"Of course! I haven't completely given up on my life... That's what I say, but now that I think about it..."

"Being able to become a Grim Reaper, knowing the truth of the world, no longer relying on others to silently protect your seemingly peaceful daily life, and being able to take the initiative to do something... I don't think this can be considered a bad thing at all."

Ichigo was filled with emotion.

Shinomiya also remarked with emotion, "You've matured a bit since you met with your family... Is this your last words to them? If you're planning to have it engraved on your tombstone as an epitaph, I suggest you make it shorter, like... We are afraid because of the invisible, and now you are not afraid... How philosophical, Aizen-sensei would be pleased to know."

"Sorry, I can't hear you. What did you just say? What did I just say?"

"...It's not just that you can't hear well, Ichigo."

Ba Ba Yuan remained silent.

“Then tell me something you can hear and remember… Look over there.”

The Four Palace Master's words made Ichigo, Hachiman, Rindo, and others look in the direction he was pointing.

Even after a large number of Hollows were lured away, a considerable number of huge Hollows remained to besiege the Soul Burial training team.

While Shihouin Yushiro is strong on his own, he can't fight against everyone alone. He can't protect everyone, and he certainly can't stop even the weaker Hollows.

These Hollows alone can put ordinary Shinigami in a tough fight, let alone a mere resurrection.

After a fierce battle, very few people died, and it was fortunate that everyone was injured.

This is why the Fourth Division's medical team is so busy and overworked.

Some were less fortunate.

The injuries were particularly severe.

In the direction Shinomiya-sama was pointing, there was a girl who looked quite young and cute, similar to Hinamori Momo, lying on the ground receiving emergency treatment. It was impossible to move her back to Soul Society.

"The carotid artery ruptured and caused massive bleeding, coupled with organ damage, and the lack of immediate treatment... Normally, it would have been beyond saving, even if Captain Unohana had come, it wouldn't have helped. But because we discovered that hot spring and sold it to the Fourth Division, the situation changed completely."

While Shinomiya was speaking, Ichigo and the others watched as the Fourth Division soldier took out a bottle of pale yellow medicine from his medical bag and slowly sprinkled it on the wound using the "Return to the Source" technique. He then drank another bottle, combining internal and external treatments to quickly stabilize the injury.

Then, they quickly bandaged the wound and carried it away on a stretcher.

"Is that...hot spring water?"

Ichigo was puzzled.

"It must be that Captain Unohana was inspired by what I did and concocted a new type of medicine. I can't say how much of the effect it has is as good as mine, but it's enough to save lives and get people back to the hot springs in time."

"It seems that we have unknowingly changed the fate of many people."

"Yeah, we made a lot of money. I got five, you got three, and Luntang got two. Our quality of life improved dramatically. Even Baba Yuan, who didn't get any money, got a lot of orders from us. Tell me... if you hadn't died, would you have had such a good thing?"

"...I haven't forgotten that you angered Ms. Unohana and used me to draw attention to her!"

"Judging from the results, your 'return track' technique has made substantial progress."

That's why I didn't hold it against you.

Just as the two were talking, they suddenly felt a chill.