Ever since Kaien Shiba was sealed away, the Shiba Clan's days had grown increasingly difficult.
The once-glorious family gradually lost the splendor it had possessed in the past.
In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that things had grown worse with each passing day.
Yet that had only been the beginning.
Fate did not seem to have any intention of sparing this already troubled family. At that moment, terrible news arrived.
More than twenty years ago, the head of the branch family, Isshin Shiba, had unfortunately died while carrying out a mission in the World of the Living.
The news struck like a bolt from the blue, plunging the already shaky Shiba Clan into complete despair.
Kūkaku Shiba had originally carried ambitions of restoring the family's glory, but reality had dealt her a heavy blow.
She discovered that a family without powerful strength to support it was ignored by everyone.
Even their former allies and friends now acted as if they could not see them.
Faced with this reality, Kūkaku felt endless pain and helplessness.
Now, she could only hide in her laboratory every day, burying herself in the study of various fireworks.
Those brilliant and colorful fireworks could bring people brief moments of joy, but for the Shiba Clan, they could not change its declining fate.
Kūkaku was currently in the laboratory adjusting the amount of gunpowder for a firework mixture.
As she worked, she muttered, "When is this kind of life going to end?"
Suddenly, a hurried knocking sound rang out.
"Family Head, I have something important to report."
An anxious voice came from outside the door.
Hearing the knock, Kūkaku frowned deeply, and her mood instantly became irritable.
The movement of her hands nearly went wrong, almost causing her to mess up the gunpowder ratio.
She roared impatiently, "Didn't I say not to disturb me unless it was important? My experiment is extremely important!"
The person outside seemed a little hesitant, but still cautiously said, "Fa… Family Head, there is a young man calling himself Ichigo Shiba who has come requesting an audience. He is holding the badge of the branch family head, Isshin Shiba. We cannot determine whether it is real or fake, so we came to disturb you."
Kūkaku could hardly believe her ears and wondered if she had misheard.
She sent the door flying open with a kick.
"What the hell? Uncle Isshin's badge? Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"
The guard tremblingly handed the badge to Kūkaku.
Kūkaku took it and carefully examined it from every angle. In the end, she confirmed that the badge was indeed genuine.
"Where is that young man now?"
"He and his companions are waiting outside the residence."
"Hurry and lead them to the reception room. Then notify Ganju and have him come over immediately! I'll tidy up and be there soon."
"Master Ganju is not in the clan grounds."
"If he's not home, then go out and find him! Bring him back immediately!"
Kūkaku's orders immediately set the Shiba Clan into motion.
The guard who had come to report ran back at full speed, moving so quickly it seemed as if wind were blowing beneath his feet.
By the time he finally reached Ichigo and the others, he was exhausted and panting heavily.
"Mas… Master Ichigo, the Family Head asks that you wait for her in the reception room first. She will come right away."
After saying that, he immediately led Ichigo and the others toward the family residence, his steps hurried yet firm.
Along the way, Ichigo walked while openly complaining about the Shiba Clan's buildings.
"Didn't they say the Shiba Clan is nobility? Why does this place look so run-down? Are all nobles in Soul Society like this? This is seriously unbelievable."
The guard leading the way could not help showing a trace of embarrassment when he heard those words.
It was true.
The Shiba Clan, once one of Soul Society's Five Great Noble Clans, had fallen to such a miserable state.
It was truly enough to make one sigh.
If the ancestors knew about this from beneath the earth, they might be so angry that they would die all over again.
When the group finally entered the reception room, Ichigo immediately saw a huge falling-heaven collapsing whirlpool crest hanging on the wall.
The crest gave off a solemn and dignified feeling, while also carrying a powerful presence.
"It actually looks pretty impressive…"
Ichigo could not help murmuring, a trace of appreciation appearing in his eyes.
Just as he was looking around the reception room with interest, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly rang out, breaking the silence.
Ichigo looked toward the source of the laughter.
A woman with a fiery figure entered his sight.
She wore a headscarf, and her clothing was extremely revealing: a red cropped top with the Shiba Clan crest printed in the center, and a slit white skirt wrapped around her lower body.
On her left arm was a tattoo of the character "空."
Before Ichigo could ask anything, Kūkaku began murmuring to herself.
"So alike… He really is too alike. He looks just like Big Brother Kaien when he was young."
"You must be Kūkaku, right? I'm Ichigo Shiba, son of Isshin Shiba. It's nice to meet you!"
Ichigo's words pulled Kūkaku's thoughts back from her memories.
Kūkaku was eager to understand the truth of the past, so much so that she did not even have time to greet the friends who had come with Ichigo.
She asked urgently, "I… Ichigo, from what I know, Uncle Isshin died twenty years ago. Is he still alive?"
However, Ichigo knew nothing about the events of that year either, so he could only tell Kūkaku the information he knew.
"My dad never told me the specific details of what happened back then. All I know is that he's become an ordinary human now and already lost his Shinigami powers, so he's been living in the World of the Living."
Hearing this, the heavy stone in Kūkaku's heart finally fell.
As long as her relative was still alive, that was enough.
She asked with concern, "Then how is Uncle doing now?"
Ichigo gave a silly smile, completely failing to realize anything was wrong.
"My dad is doing well. He just changed his name to Kurosaki after following my mom's family name, so technically speaking, I should be called Ichigo Kurosaki."
Orihime, Uryū, and Chad looked at one another, staring at Ichigo as if he were an idiot.
They wondered whether his brain had been kicked by a donkey.
Was it really okay to say something like that directly in front of her?
Kūkaku let out a long sigh.
"I see… The name change doesn't matter. Since Uncle are living well, I can finally feel at ease."
Then her gaze swept across the people behind Ichigo.
"These are your friends? It looks like you have a good relationship with them."
Ichigo smiled and introduced everyone to Kūkaku, and they all greeted her in return.
"By the way Kūkaku, people have always said I look like Kaien. Just how alike are we?" Ichigo asked curiously.
Kūkaku's gaze suddenly softened.
She raised her hand and gently stroked Ichigo's hair.
"Big Brother Kaien was an outstanding Shinigami, the pride of the Shiba Clan. Unfortunately…"
After saying that, she took out a portrait of Kaien Shiba.
Orihime looked at the man in the portrait and covered her small mouth in amazement.
"Ah! Kurosaki-kun you really look exactly like the person in the painting! The only difference is your hair color!"