Consolidating their combat forces assumed that Ichigo and the others were actually combat forces to begin with. Right now, aside from Ichigo, the rest were somewhat lacking. Moreover, even Ichigo himself had issues he desperately needed to resolve.
Of course, Urahara had long since arranged for Hirako to handle Ichigo's problem, and Kōe had also informed Renji of this matter. The prerequisite was to keep it a secret from Ichigo. After all, from Ichigo's perspective, people like Hirako were still neither friend nor foe. A moderate sense of urgency would help stimulate his training.
"You guys have a sick sense of humor." *What moderate sense of urgency?* Renji felt they were just messing with Ichigo. "Even if you explain it clearly, Ichigo will still train hard."
Kōe scoffed, muttering to himself absentmindedly, "I explained things very clearly at the Shin'ō Academy too, yet didn't some people only come to their senses after taking a beating?"
"Ahem! W-Well, having pressure definitely makes you improve faster. Plus, that kid Ichigo has been in a bit of a slump lately, so we definitely need to straighten him out!"
Renji chuckled nervously to ease his embarrassment. How could he not know who Kōe was talking about? But on second thought, it seemed the other party had missed a point. "U-Um, we didn't see Ishida this time. And according to Ichigo, it seems Ishida has already lost his Quincy powers."
"Leave Quincy matters to the Quincys. The impact of his companions getting hurt is no less for him than it is for Ichigo. We'll talk about it after he regains his power. For now, just focus your attention on the others."
"Are we sending them all to that Mr. Hirako together?" Renji asked casually. Noticing Kōe looking at him like he was an idiot, he probed, "Is there a problem?"
"Why would I send them there? To learn how to control Hollowfication? Are you suggesting I conduct Hollowfication experiments on them first?" Kōe threw out three questions in a row, looking at Renji with a playful expression as he teased, "You're starting to harbor some sinister intentions, Abarai."
"No, that's not what I meant!" Renji finally experienced the feeling of being overanalyzed. "If not Mr. Hirako and his group, is there anyone else who can teach them?"
"That's why I told you to eat more earlier. Once you've built up your stamina, Chad will be left to you. As for Inoue Orihime, I have other arrangements."
*Left to me? I'm actually someone capable of guiding others now?!*
For some reason, a sudden sense of responsibility welled up in Abarai's heart. If only to live up to Teacher Kōe's trust, he absolutely had to train Sado Yasutora into a qualified combatant!
"Then I'll need to wear a mask when the time comes! And I'll have to find a way to conceal my Reiatsu signature. Oh, right, and my Zanpakutō... my Kidō is a bit unstable when I use it, so wouldn't it be bad if I accidentally hurt him?"
"Stop for a second." Kōe interrupted the muttering Renji. *Wear a mask? Conceal his Reiatsu signature? What goes through this guy's head all day?*
"You just need to go all out and assist Chad with his training."
"Huh? Weren't we supposed to give him a moderate sense of urgency?" Renji looked thoroughly confused.
Kōe explained impatiently, "The situation is different. Whether it's Bankai or Hollowfication, we can give Ichigo a direction. But Chad and Inoue's abilities are unique, and what they lack right now is the basics. The methods used to train Ichigo not only won't work for them, but might actually have the opposite effect. As long as they actively want to improve their own strength, we just need to provide them with an environment to familiarize themselves with their powers."
"But they aren't being active about it right now."
"Then we find a way to make them active. The city they live in just experienced a disaster, and their companions were injured because of it. Those kids' hearts are anything but calm right now. Our arrival might ease that a bit, but if even we struggle desperately against the Arrancars, they'll realize they have absolutely no way out."
Renji couldn't help but swallow hard. To scheme against their own people to this extent... it was truly hard to imagine how terrifying it would be if Kōe were their enemy.
"But the Arrancars shouldn't be coming back anytime soon, right?"
Before Renji could even finish his sentence, Tsukabishi Tessai hurried into the room. "I've detected a faint spatial fluctuation, Manager."
"Numbers?"
"Unknown as of yet. They vanished without a trace after entering the World of the Living."
Urahara turned his gaze toward Kōe. Or rather, the eyes of everyone in the room were now focused on Kōe.
"Kaien and Renji, prepare to move out. There's no need to inform the others about the enemy infiltration just yet; let them strike first." Kōe's gaze swept over the two of them as he continued his instructions. "Remember, showing weakness to the enemy isn't just to consolidate our forces; it's also a way to extract intelligence. That is equally important."
"But I'm worried this isn't just a simple probe from the enemy," Kaien reminded him with a frown.
Kōe reached out a hand to reassure him. "With our current combat strength in the World of the Living, stalling for time won't be difficult. Even if something unexpected happens, Urahara and I will be ready to respond at a moment's notice."
"Just focus on dealing with the enemies in front of you. After all, they aren't the type you can handle easily. You might not even need to feign weakness to find yourselves at a disadvantage."
"Yes, sir!" Kaien and Renji bowed in unison before exiting the room.
Once the two had completely left the Urahara Shop, Urahara finally spoke up, asking Kōe, "Your people?"
Kōe shook his head. It was highly necessary for Ichigo and the others to deepen their understanding of the Arrancars. Although Grimmjow had acted on his own in his past life's canon, Ulquiorra's appearance made Kōe realize that Aizen's responses wouldn't necessarily follow the original history.
Because of this, he had prepared to have his own subordinates put on a show, but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary now. It was hard to imagine Aizen sending someone to probe them again after only a single day. If dispatching Ulquiorra to Karakura Town previously was truly to confirm the location of the Jūreichi, then sending someone again was even more unlikely.
Therefore, the Arrancar heading to Karakura Town this time was highly likely to be Grimmjow. It seemed that the little panther he had failed to find in Hueco Mundo had still set his sights on the tempting prey that was Ichigo.
"If they aren't your people, then Kaien and the others are very likely to run into trouble," Yoruichi chimed in, a trace of worry in her tone. "The strength of a mature Arrancar isn't something they can handle right now."
"Danger breeds urgency. Sometimes, the enemy is the best teacher," Urahara explained with a smile. "Mr. Abarai surely never imagined that even though Kōe told him his plan, he is still a target rather than an assistant."
"That was the original plan. But since Mr. Aizen also wants to use us as a whetstone, we'll just have to see who ends up being the final blade."
"But whether it was the original plan or not, he was still unknowingly deceived by you," Yoruichi concluded.
"Relaxing one's guard naturally makes it easy to be deceived. Besides, I didn't lie to them at all."
Kōe smiled, speaking with profound meaning. "I only said that Ichigo and the others are indispensable combat forces for this war. I never said that consolidating our forces was solely to deal with this war. They need to start getting tense for the future."