Hearing this name, Naraku Sora knew he hadn't mistaken her.
The two sisters looked as if they were cast from the exact same mold. Despite the significant age gap, there was absolutely no difference in their appearances.
The only difference, perhaps, was their personalities.
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have a younger sister, right?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Hisana's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.
"M-My Lord, how do you know about Rukia?"
"Could it be that you've seen that child somewhere?"
At this point, an unnatural flush appeared on her face, and she became visibly agitated.
"Calm down," Naraku Sora reassured her. "I was just guessing."
Hearing this, Hisana was visibly disappointed and began to recount her past actions in a low voice.
In her earlier years, she and Rukia, who was still an infant, relied on each other to survive.
Unfortunately, she had no talent for spiritual power and couldn't enter the Spiritual Arts Academy. Lacking the ability to raise Rukia, she had no choice but to abandon her.
She had regretted it more than once since then, but she could never find the sister she had abandoned.
Naraku Sora expressed his understanding.
In the resource-deprived Inuzuri District, even normal souls struggled to survive.
Let alone a weak woman with no abilities, burdened with an infant who possessed immense spiritual talent and constantly needed food and water.
The sheer difficulty of survival was beyond an outsider's imagination.
Therefore, whatever choice Hisana made was not surprising.
If the two of them had stayed together, they probably would have starved to death on the streets before ever getting a chance to change their fate.
One could only say that fate was truly a strange thing.
In the original timeline, after surviving alone in the Rukongai for many years, Hisana accidentally met the grown-up Kuchiki Byakuya.
It was love at first sight for both of them.
Later, Kuchiki Byakuya withstood immense internal pressure from his family and forcefully married her into the Kuchiki clan.
But this was also the beginning of a tragedy.
As a soul with absolutely no spiritual talent, the pressure Hisana faced living in the Kuchiki clan was immense. Coupled with the intense guilt of abandoning her sister, she frequently went to the Rukongai to search for traces of Rukia. This led to her falling ill from overwork, and she passed away a few years later.
But now, everything was different.
Because he was here.
Naraku Sora casually reached out and pulled. Suddenly, a dejected young man with messy blond hair and a face as bitter as a gourd appeared beside him.
"Are you going to persecute me again, Lord Naraku?"
Kisuke looked as if he had already accepted his fate, having predicted what was about to happen next.
"I bet your next sentence will definitely be..."
"Improve Miss Hisana's aptitude."
Hearing Naraku Sora's words, Kisuke revealed an expression that said, *'I knew it.'*
He gave up struggling, carefully observed the young woman sitting on the ground for a few seconds, and then said with a serious face,
"Her spiritual body is weak due to a chronic lack of water, coupled with a frail soul. If Lord Naraku takes her to the Seireitei..."
"She will definitely die within ten years."
Naraku Sora nodded. This didn't exceed his expectations.
Even with his level of Kaidō, he couldn't completely cure Hisana. If it were the Shino Pharmaceutical Institute, which exclusively served the Five Noble Families, they certainly wouldn't have any solutions either.
Therefore, in the original timeline, Hisana's fate was sealed the moment she entered the Seireitei.
Hearing Kisuke's words, a trace of disappointment flashed in Hisana's eyes.
Few people were unafraid of death.
But at this moment, she wasn't thinking about herself, but rather her sister Rukia, whom she had abandoned many years ago.
Clearly, Hisana was also a deeply conflicted person.
"My Lord, I know my request is very presumptuous, but if possible, please help me find Rukia."
"Even if it's just to see her one last time..."
As she spoke, Hisana bowed her body and knelt deeply.
Naraku Sora reached out to pull her up and said frankly,
"Since I brought it up, I'm definitely going to help. Besides, with you here, finding Rukia won't be too troublesome."
"However, as I said before, I am not a good person."
Hisana looked at him in confusion.
"Saving others without any reward is a very thankless task."
Naraku Sora looked completely serious.
Beside him, Urahara Kisuke quietly curled his lips.
*'This bastard, aside from being completely inhumane when persecuting me, is actually quite commendable in other situations.'*
*'So whatever this guy says next definitely won't be a particularly difficult demand.'*
*'No one understands Naraku Sora better than I do!'*
Just as Hisana was trying hard to think of anything valuable she had on her, she suddenly heard Naraku Sora's voice.
"So, to repay this favor, you will spend the rest of your time working for me."
Hisana raised her head blankly, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Such a massive favor, and the required repayment was merely to work?
*'This Lord seems a bit too kind!'*
"As for finding Rukia..."
Naraku Sora placed his hand on top of Hisana's head, carefully distinguishing the nature of her Reishi.
There were no two completely identical souls in the world.
But as biological sisters, Hisana and Rukia shared a certain similarity in their spiritual bodies.
He only needed to identify the similarities, and then—
Pesquisa, fully open!
An imperceptible fluctuation instantly spread outward—one kilometer, ten kilometers, a hundred kilometers...
In just the blink of an eye, it covered the entire Inuzuri District and continued to extend outward.
Yamamoto sensed it and cast a sidelong glance.
*'This foolish disciple is only slightly weaker than me in combat power; in all other aspects, it seems he has completely surpassed me.'*
*'Even if I actively underwent Hollowfication, I might not be able to achieve a Pesquisa of this scale.'*
On the other hand, Naraku Sora still looked relaxed, as if he had energy to spare.
In response to this, the Espada all appeared very calm, taking it as a matter of course.
In their minds, Great King Naraku, who had changed the fate of countless Menos Grande, was an omnipotent existence to begin with.
There was nothing he couldn't do.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and grinned.
"Found her."
South District 70, under the shadow of a house.
A petite figure hid within, staring intently at a roadside stall with firm and sharp eyes.
She looked like a small beast about to strike.
Living in the outer districts of the Rukongai, if one wanted to survive, they had to learn to throw so-called morality to the back of their mind and resort to any means necessary.
The young girl hadn't eaten for three days, but because of her extremely strong spiritual talent, she appeared much more energetic than a normal soul.
However, by the same token, relying solely on water couldn't satisfy her bodily functions; she absolutely needed to get food.
She constantly monitored the stall owner's movements. As long as the other party relaxed even slightly...
*'A good opportunity!'*
The girl caught the exact moment the owner's attention shifted. Stomping her small feet, she dashed out of the shadows and lunged toward the stall.
However, the food she should have touched in an instant remained out of reach, no matter how hard she tried to close the distance.
The girl turned her head in bewilderment, only to see a large hand gripping the back collar of her clothes, holding her fate.
With a gentle lift, she was hoisted into the air.
Their eyes met.
After a brief stare, the girl lowered her head in fear, but she quickly snapped out of it.
*'Wait a minute, I haven't even succeeded yet. What right does this guy have to treat me like this?'*
Consequently, she glared back righteously.
"What do you think you're doing to me?"
"Bastard, put me down right now!"
"The Soul Reaper patrol area is just up ahead! If I scream, they'll rush over immediately!"
Naraku Sora looked at the girl, who was like a stubborn little beast, with great interest.
She was a bit different from the Rukia in his memory, but considering she was still young and hadn't experienced much yet, it seemed perfectly normal.
"Don't worry."
"Even if you scream until your throat is hoarse, no one will come to save you."
Rukia took a deep breath, clearly not believing Naraku Sora's words, and immediately opened her mouth to scream for help.
Soon, two Soul Reapers arrived via Flash Step.
Then, they witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The Prison Warden of the Shino Prison, the beloved disciple of the Head Captain, the most revered Lord Naraku among the Soul Reapers, was dangling a stubborn-looking little girl by her collar.
He looked as if he was preparing to commit some sort of crime.
The two exchanged a glance and, in less than a second, made the most correct decision.
They pretended they hadn't seen anything, turned their heads, and walked away.
Rukia was dumbfounded.
*'Has the Soul Society become this corrupt?'*
*'Even Soul Reapers turn a blind eye to bullying happening right under their noses?'*
*'Damn it, is there any hope left for this world?'*
Even with the warm sunlight shining on her, Rukia still felt a bone-chilling cold enveloping her entire body.
She felt as if she could already foresee the tragic events that were about to unfold.
*'Ugh, the agony!'*
Just as Rukia was preparing to accept the ravages of fate, she suddenly felt the grip on the back of her neck loosen, and her dangling feet touched the ground.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you."
Naraku Sora said seriously, "I was commissioned by your sister to come and save you."
"Sister?" Rukia was a bit bewildered.
Naraku Sora nodded.
"That's right. Your sister sacrificed her freedom in exchange for your future."
"From today onward, you will never have to scramble for food again."
Rukia's eyes widened, revealing a look of disbelief.
How could she not know she had a sister?
But seeing his serious demeanor, it seemed like he was telling the complete truth.
Just then, a group of people whose aura was completely out of place with the surrounding environment appeared at the end of the street.
"Look, she's here. You two can talk amongst yourselves."
Naraku Sora shoved Rukia toward the visibly excited Hisana, then turned and walked over to Yamamoto's side.
He wasn't very interested in the upcoming display of deep sisterly affection.
"Teacher, what do you think?"
Yamamoto glanced at the two sisters reuniting, his gaze lowering slightly as he said in a deep voice,
"Are you referring to the endless chaos in the Rukongai?"
Naraku Sora nodded. *'This old man still understands me.'*
"Aside from the inherent flaws in the system, it's mostly due to a lack of resources and manpower. This isn't a problem that can be solved by martial force alone."
Yamamoto frowned.
Ever since becoming the Head Captain of the Gotei 13, the things he wanted to protect had only increased.
But precisely because of this, he had come to realize his own powerlessness.
What he excelled at was destruction, not creation.
Being able to maintain things to this extent was already the limit of his abilities.
Seemingly sensing Yamamoto's inner conflict, Naraku Sora grinned and said frankly,
"Teacher, you've already done very well."
"But no one is omnipotent. All we can do is identify the problems and then hand them over to capable people to solve."
"Wouldn't you agree, Kisuke?"
Beside them, Urahara Kisuke's facial features contorted, his expression twisting into a grimace.