"This is impossible—!!"
"A human breaking Kido on their own?!"
"How could something so outrageous happen?!"
Rukia muttered incredulously to herself.
While Rukia was shocked, Ichigo grabbed a baseball bat and charged out.
"Hey! Stop!"
Rukia tried to stop him.
But Ichigo ignored her, continuing to rush out.
Watching Ichigo's back as he disappeared, Rukia couldn't help but murmur, "Just what is he...?"
Upon reaching the first floor, Ichigo saw a large hole in the wall, chaos everywhere. His father, Isshin, lay covered in blood on the floor. His sister, Yuzu, was held in the grasp of a tall, grotesque monster.
"That's a 'Hollow'?"
Earlier, hearing Rukia talk about 'Hollows', Ichigo hadn't grasped it visually. But now, facing it directly, the pressure felt like a mountain crashing down.
"I thought the 'evil spirits' she mentioned looked human..."
"Now it seems like a monster..."
Under the Hollow's Reiatsu, Ichigo broke into a cold sweat, trembling all over.
"Dammit! What am I afraid of?!"
Ichigo pinched himself hard, using pain to stay calm.
"Don't be afraid! I've seen enough ghosts! In the end, it's just a ghost!"
Ichigo comforted himself.
"Yuzu, don't be afraid! I'll save you!"
"Ahhhh!!"
Ichigo yelled, charging at the Hollow with his bat.
Bam!
Ichigo couldn't even see the Hollow's movement before being sent flying.
If he hadn't blocked with the bat at the last moment, that strike could have killed or severely injured him.
Crack!
The bat that blocked the Hollow's attack snapped in two.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Hollow stepped heavily toward Ichigo, each step causing the ground to shake violently.
Reaching Ichigo, the Hollow suddenly grabbed at him!
Just then, Rukia arrived in time.
Schlick!
A blade light flashed. The Hollow's right arm was severed. Yuzu, previously held, fell with the severed arm.
"Yuzu!"
Ichigo shouted, rushing forward to catch Yuzu.
While Ichigo, Rukia, and the Hollow confronted each other, a figure quietly appeared inside the first floor of the Kurosaki House.
This figure was none other than Toshiro.
Ever since Rukia arrived in the Living World, Toshiro had been monitoring events closely.
Not long ago, Toshiro noticed Rukia's contact with Ichigo and knew the plot had truly begun. Ichigo would soon awaken his Shinigami powers.
To personally witness Ichigo's awakening, Toshiro specifically came to the Living World from the Soul Society.
Moreover, to avoid detection, Toshiro didn't use the Gotei 13's public Senkaimon but used the Shiba Clan's private Senkaimon.
Since the Shiba Clan moved out of the Seireitei and Isshin left the Soul Society, only Toshiro used the Shiba Clan's Senkaimon.
So it practically became Toshiro's private gate.
This time, Toshiro came to the Living World without anyone in the Soul Society knowing.
Glancing outside where Ichigo, Rukia, and the Hollow faced off, Toshiro withdrew his gaze, looking at Isshin lying covered in blood on the floor.
Thump!
Toshiro directly kicked the 'unconscious' Isshin on the floor.
"Hey! Get up, Captain. Stop pretending to be dead!"
Toshiro said, looking at the 'severely injured and unconscious' Isshin.
"Yo, long time no see, Toshiro."
The 'severely injured and unconscious' Isshin sprang up from the floor, showing no signs of injury.
With Isshin's Advanced Captain-level strength, getting severely injured by an ordinary Hollow was impossible.
Pretending to be gravely injured was just to force Ichigo to awaken his Shinigami powers in a crisis.
"Yeah, it really has been a long time, Captain."
Toshiro said with some emotion.
Ever since Isshin left the Soul Society years ago, Toshiro hadn't seen him again.
During this time, Toshiro considered visiting Isshin, but due to training and work, time was scarce. Moreover, Toshiro worried that visiting might expose Isshin's whereabouts.
Thus, for many years, Toshiro and Isshin hadn't met.
"By the way, Toshiro, why did you suddenly come to the Living World?"
Isshin asked.
Toshiro glanced at Ichigo and Rukia outside. "Nothing major. Just came to see your precious son awaken his Shinigami powers."
"Speaking of which, Captain, you're really ruthless. To make your son awaken his powers, you held back from intervening. If anything went slightly wrong, your son and daughters could have died by the Hollow's hands, right?"
Toshiro asked.
"Hahaha... Toshiro, you underestimate me. It's just an ordinary Hollow. If anything really went wrong, I could have intervened in time to save Ichigo and the others."
Isshin said.
Earlier, although Isshin lay on the floor pretending to be gravely injured, his focus remained firmly on the situation. If anything happened, he would have acted immediately.
After all, while Isshin wanted Ichigo to awaken his Shinigami powers, he didn't want his children harmed.
Then, as they chatted, they watched Ichigo and Rukia's performance outside.
"Oh, right, Toshiro. Do you remember that time I was attacked by a strange Hollow in the Living World years ago?"
Isshin suddenly asked.
"Of course I remember. That incident led to you leaving the Soul Society, Captain."
Toshiro said.
Isshin said solemnly, "Back then, you even fought the mastermind controlling that Hollow. Based on our judgment at the time, that mastermind was a Shinigami from the Soul Society. And now I know..."
"That mastermind, the traitor of the Soul Society, is..."
"Captain of the 5th Division, Aizen Sosuke!"
Before Isshin could say it, Toshiro proactively answered.