Soul Society, Seireitei.
Beneath the massive white tower of the Senzaikyu, a fierce battle capable of shaking the Seireitei had just come to an end.
Ichigo Kurosaki leaned heavily on his massive Zangetsu, kneeling on one knee, bathed in blood.
His Shihakusho was already in tatters, his body covered in wounds of all sizes.
Especially the deep, bone-revealing gash on his shoulder—a souvenir left by Kenpachi Zaraki.
Behind him, the demon-like, overwhelmingly powerful Kenpachi Zaraki lay in a pool of blood, his jagged longsword broken.
Yet, he was laughing.
Laughing with immense joy and absolute satisfaction.
"Haha... Hahaha... What a... fantastic fight... Ichigo..."
"Yeah... it was..."
Ichigo responded with great difficulty, his vision already beginning to blur.
Although he had won, he had reached his absolute limit.
His Spiritual Pressure was nearly drained dry, and the dizziness from massive blood loss was constantly swallowing his consciousness.
"Rukia... I still haven't..."
He struggled, trying to stand up, wanting to continue advancing toward that towering structure.
But his body refused to obey, and he pitched heavily forward.
"Idiot, that's enough."
An agile figure appeared beside Ichigo, scooping him up before he could hit the ground.
It was the dark-skinned beauty in her human form, Yoruichi Shihoin.
She looked at the unconscious Ichigo in her arms, her eyes filled with both admiration and heartache.
"To defeat Kenpachi Zaraki... you've pulled off a miracle that even I find unbelievable."
Yoruichi glanced around.
Although Kenpachi had fallen, the commotion here was too massive, and other reinforcements were rapidly converging on their location.
Her sharp senses had already caught several powerful, familiar Spiritual Pressures closing in.
Byakuya Kuchiki... Sajin Komamura...
"We can't stay here any longer."
Yoruichi made a prompt decision.
"Those other kids have already been captured... Now, only this idiot Ichigo is left."
"If he falls into the hands of the Gotei 13 too, this rescue mission will be a complete failure."
She had to take Ichigo away.
Find a safe place, treat his injuries, and let his Spiritual Pressure recover.
But in this massive Seireitei, where was it truly safe?
Her gaze shifted toward the direction of the Fourth Division barracks.
Yoruichi grinned, revealing her mischievous fangs. "Looks like I'll have to trouble you, Miss Kocho."
She hoisted Ichigo onto her back, executed her Flash Master footwork—unmatched in the Soul Society—and vanished into the labyrinthine complex of buildings.
Meanwhile, in the First District of West Rukongai, Junrinan.
Although the entire Seireitei was in a state of tense martial law due to the Ryoka invasion and the impending Sokyoku execution, the residents of the Rukongai outside the Seireitei were largely unaffected.
In the commercial street of Junrinan, there was a high-end glasses shop named Silver Dragonfly.
Not only did Rukongai residents frequent it, but many Soul Reapers and nobles also considered it their top choice for custom-made eyewear.
At this moment, two strange figures stopped at the shop's entrance.
One of them wore the captain's haori of the Ninth Division and a visor covering his eyes. It was Kaname Tosen.
Following behind him was a person entirely shrouded in a black cloak capable of isolating Spiritual Pressure detection.
"I don't understand why we must come here at this critical moment. Lord Aizen is waiting for us to rendezvous inside the barracks, we should..."
"There is no rush."
The cloaked figure, Soya Azashiro—who had just used the chaos to escape from Muken—gently waved his hand.
"Since I made a promise to Aizen, I will fulfill it. But before that, I have some personal debts to settle."
Before Tosen could ask further, Azashiro had already stepped into the glasses shop.
Inside, the owner, Ginjiro, was carefully wiping a pair of gold-rimmed glasses with a piece of deerskin.
He was once the Vice Captain of the Sixth Division but had long since voluntarily left the squad to run his family's eyewear business.
Seeing Tosen's figure, he was puzzled but still hurried forward with fearful reverence.
"Oh my! If it isn't Captain Tosen! This... is truly a rare visit..."
"I heard Ryoka have invaded, is everything alright? At a time like this..."
Tosen remained silent, simply waiting quietly for Azashiro in front of him.
Azashiro scanned the interior of the shop, his gaze finally landing on the wall behind the counter, where portraits of past owners hung.
His eyes stopped on one particular portrait.
The man in the painting wore thick-framed glasses and looked honest and good-natured, much like the current owner.
After a moment of silence, he pulled a heavy cloth bag from his robes and placed it on the counter with a thud.
The bag fell open, revealing it was brimming with gold Kan.
It was the highest denomination of currency circulated in the Soul Society. The value of this single bag was enough to buy ten shops like this one.
Ginjiro had seen the world, but he had never seen so much money at once. "This... this is..."
"Two hundred and fifty years ago."
Azashiro spoke calmly. "During a battle, I inadvertently caught this shop in the crossfire."
"The owner at the time... seemed to have suffered vision damage because of me, ultimately forcing him into early retirement."
"That was my fault."
He pointed at the bag of money. "This is the compensation, along with over two hundred years of interest. Please accept it."
Two hundred and fifty years ago?
Hearing this, Ginjiro seemed to recall some past event and furrowed his brow slightly.
"Well then, it is about time I took my leave."
Without waiting for Ginjiro to ask any questions, Azashiro turned and walked out of the shop.
Although Tosen was full of doubts, feeling that this action was completely superfluous and meaningless...
He didn't say much, simply following silently.
'I hope your actions don't bring any trouble to Lord Aizen,' he thought to himself.
The two returned to the street, walking toward the gate as if nothing had happened, preparing to rendezvous with Aizen.
Not far away, at a roadside stall.
A massive, fat man, currently stuffing his face with fried rice crackers, was silently observing everything.
The Vice Captain of the Second Division, Marechiyo Omaeda.
Today's Ryoka invasion was a top priority, and he was leading the Onmitsukido in investigating suspicious activities in the Rukongai.
He had noticed Tosen the moment he entered the Junrinan district.
'Is that... Captain Tosen? Who is that person with him?'
As a member of the Onmitsukido, although he usually looked like a fool who only cared about gluttony and flaunting his wealth...
In reality, his sense of smell for suspicious auras was incredibly sharp.
That cloaked figure who walked out of the glasses shop... his Spiritual Power level was very weak, looking just like an ordinary Plus.
But what he was wearing...
Omaeda narrowed his small eyes—already squeezed into mere slits by his fat—and crushed the rice cracker in his hand to dust.
As the eldest young master of a wealthy family, he was all too familiar with such high-end goods.
That was a Reishi-concealing fabric recently developed by the Department of Research and Development. Such a material could only be requisitioned with special approval from a Captain or higher.
And now, it was being worn by a mysterious person who wouldn't even show his face?
'Something's wrong... Something is very, very wrong!'
'Should I follow them... No, better not... Captain Tosen feels like bad news...'
'But I just know there's a problem here...'
Omaeda licked the crumbs off his fingertips, the light in his eyes flickering.
'Damn it, if I make a huge contribution this time, I'll definitely make Captain Soi Fon treat me to a good meal!'
Making up his mind, he utilized the unique footwork of the Onmitsukido, silently vanishing into the shadows of the crowd.
Trailing far behind those two people.