Right now in the Seireitei, there was one person closely connected to Urahara Kisuke—Shihouin Kōe. It would be entirely reasonable for him to assist the Ryoka, who in all likelihood represented Urahara.
However, it was too early to jump to conclusions. Kōe's only saving grace was that he was constantly under the surveillance of the Onmitsukidō. According to their reports, he hadn't made any suspicious moves over the years, nor did he have any channels to obtain information from the outside world.
But if the ones triggering the alarm right now weren't the Ryoka, but rather someone coordinating with Ichimaru Gin, then that person was very likely Kōe. Furthermore, it would mean he had managed to rope in at least one captain right under their noses—which was not good news at all.
Of course, even if all of this were true, it didn't necessarily mean Kōe intended to harm the Seireitei. According to their intelligence, there were no familiar faces among the invading Ryoka. After all, Urahara Kisuke had taken a full eight captain-level combatants with him back then, including the Grand Kidō Chief and his lieutenant.
Those eight wouldn't even need to come all at once. If just four of them showed up, each leading a group through the four gates and scattering, combined with Kōe on the inside, the captains wouldn't have the luxury of sitting around having a meeting right now.
This could be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill, though one could just as easily see it as a smokescreen. Trying to decipher Urahara's intentions through his actions was incredibly difficult; they could only work backward from his presumed goal—Kuchiki Rukia.
Then again, maybe she wasn't the objective. But whatever it was, the fact that this unknown goal was enough to make Urahara take action already spoke volumes about its importance.
Yet at the same time, the opposition hadn't sent a fighting force that matched that level of importance, making the whole endeavor feel somewhat anticlimactic. Rather than Urahara trying to fight for something, Kyōraku Shunsui felt it was more of a warning—a warning that the Seireitei's current course of action was far too hasty and would lead to severe consequences.
There was still too little information. In that moment, he actually hoped the ones triggering the alarm were the Ryoka. As long as they could capture one or two, they might finally understand Urahara's true motives.
*'Still, Old Man Yama must be having quite the headache over this,'* Shunsui thought, glancing up at Yamamoto at the head of the room. Being led by the nose like this was hardly a pleasant feeling.
"It cannot be helped. The captain's meeting must be adjourned for now. As for how Ichimaru will be dealt with, you shall all be notified later," Yamamoto announced, his eyes narrowed. From his demeanor, it seemed as though this was merely a routine meeting interrupted by a minor inconvenience, nothing of consequence.
"All squads, return to your defensive positions within the Seireitei at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
With the order given, all the captains turned and headed for the door. Shunsui temporarily suppressed his racing thoughts. There was too little intelligence right now, and the true conflict was still hidden beneath the surface. Waiting a little longer wouldn't be a bad thing.
However, some people didn't think this was a good thing at all...
"That alarm rang at quite an opportune time, didn't it?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Do you truly believe you can slip by so easily?" Aizen walked out with his head lowered, not even sparing a backward glance at Ichimaru Gin. "You absolutely must not underestimate me."
It was rare to see Aizen speak so sternly, and his words left a deep impression on those nearby, quietly planting a seed of doubt in their hearts—a seed named Ichimaru Gin.
...
After enduring countless hardships, they had finally rescued Rukia from that place called the Seireitei. Most importantly, although his companions had suffered some injuries, they had all retreated safely. This brought Ichigo an immense sense of relief.
The problem they faced now was how to deal with the Shinigami hunting them down...
"Hunting us down?" Ichigo looked at Rukia, asking uncertainly, "Are... are they really going to take it that seriously?"
"In ancient times, you'd be considered prison breakers! So, do you think they'll take it seriously?!" Rukia roared furiously. "From today onward, you can't be with your family, and you can't go to school. We can only hide, doing our best to avoid any Shinigami dispatched to the World of the Living."
"Which means, we'll have to wander the world!"
*'She says we'll wander the world, travel everywhere, eat all kinds of delicious food, and take in the most beautiful sights, just the two of us.'*
*'Just thinking about it sounds like bliss—yeah, right! Isn't that just a pair of miserable fugitives?!'*
"W-Wander the world?!"
Ichigo jolted upright. Rukia's stern face was nowhere to be seen. It turned out it had all just been a dream. How terrifying.
The surrounding traditional Japanese architecture felt both unfamiliar and somewhat recognizable. *'My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, but the question is, where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?'*
His groggy head was hardly in a state for critical thinking. It took Ichigo quite a while to sort out his thoughts, but in this condition, it was easy to forget things—for instance, he had already forgotten exactly what he had just been dreaming about...
"Ichigo, you're awake!"
Ichigo looked toward the voice. It was Ishida Uryū, one of the companions who had come along to save Rukia.
"Ishida, did I just have a dream?"
"Did you just have a dream?" Ishida asked reflexively. He had only come to check on Ichigo's condition; how was he supposed to know what the guy had been doing in his sleep?
*'Wait, I almost let this idiot drag me off-topic. Is this really the time to be obsessing over a dream?!'*
"Stop thinking about this nonsense!" Ishida reminded Ichigo, pointing behind him as he continued, "Yoruichi is waiting up top! It's time to move out!"
"Move out?"
Right! There were less than ten days left until Rukia's execution! Ichigo finally snapped fully awake, hastily scrambling to his feet and charging upstairs. He had to hurry!
Ishida adjusted his glasses, which had been knocked askew by Ichigo. Now that Ichigo was awake, he needed to go notify the others to gather. The sun would be up in less than an hour.
About ten minutes later, everyone had made their final preparations and gathered in front of the Shiba clan's launchpad. Yoruichi crouched at the very front, delivering a final rallying speech.
"Is everyone here and ready?!" But just as the words left her mouth, Ichigo raised his hand. There was a question he simply had to get off his chest. "Why does your tail look like a staircase? No, wait, it looks more like a lightning bolt!"
"Is... is there a problem with that?" Yoruichi glared fiercely at Ichigo, a palpable wave of killing intent quietly surging toward him.
"N-No..." Ichigo admitted he was intimidated, hastily trying to butter her up. "It's still as handsome and upright as ever, still..."
"Shut up!" Ishida leaned in and interrupted Ichigo, whispering an explanation. "When you successfully finished your training, you were asking Yoruichi a question, but for some reason, you suddenly passed out. You kept a death grip on her tail, and it took a lot of effort for us to finally pry your hands off. As for the tail, well, that's how it ended up like that."
"So, I should probably shut up now, shouldn't I?"
"Glad you realize that!"
Yoruichi had no desire to continue this humiliating topic either. If these brats were smart, they would know to keep this incident buried deep in their hearts!
"No more questions, right? Good!" Not giving anyone a chance to speak, Yoruichi declared loudly, "I won't waste time with unnecessary words. You need to be prepared to put your lives on the line for this departure. Are you all ready?!"
"Ready!"
"Good! Then let's go!"