Ichigo scratched his head and murmured to himself, "No wonder everyone keeps saying that."
The moment Kūkaku heard that, her interest was piqued.
She quickly asked, "Who else said that?"
Ichigo thought for a moment before answering, "Rukia, and that bastard who cut me. I think his name was Byakuya Kuchiki."
When Kūkaku heard Byakuya's name, her expression clearly turned ugly.
However, she quickly returned to normal and continued asking, "Rukia? You mean that little girl from the Kuchiki family, right? She's been sentenced to death."
Ichigo looked at Kūkaku seriously and said, "Cousin, I came to Soul Society this time to save Rukia! Can you help me?"
"Pfft!"
Kūkaku sprayed out the tea she had just drunk.
"What did you say? You want to break out a death-row prisoner?"
Kūkaku stared at Ichigo with wide eyes, looking utterly incredulous.
"Huh? Is that not okay?"
Ichigo looked at Kūkaku in confusion.
"Hahaha… As expected of someone from the Shiba Clan. You've got guts! But how did you get involved with Rukia?"
Kūkaku laughed while sizing Ichigo up, but then something suddenly occurred to her.
Her laughter stopped abruptly, and a trace of seriousness appeared on her face.
"I heard before that the little girl from the Kuchiki family was sentenced because she privately granted Shinigami powers to a human. Don't tell me that human was you?"
Ichigo hesitated slightly before saying, "Rukia probably… probably didn't give Shinigami powers to anyone else, right?"
Kūkaku covered her face with one hand and sighed helplessly.
In her heart, she could only think that this matter really did seem inseparable from Ichigo.
Just as Kūkaku was covering her face, Ichigo finally noticed that one of his cousin's arms was normal, while the other was a prosthetic.
He could not help but ask with concern, "Cousin, what happened to your arm?"
Kūkaku, however, did not seem to care at all.
She even lightly patted the prosthetic arm and said with a smile, "Oh, this? I'm a fireworks maker, so I deal with gunpowder every day. Back when my skills weren't refined enough, I accidentally blew it off."
Although Kūkaku herself did not mind, Ichigo, whose compassion was practically overflowing, could not allow his cousin to remain like this if there was another option.
So he turned to Orihime beside him.
"Inoue, can your power help my cousin heal this kind of injury?"
Orihime was startled by the sudden mention of her name.
Her eyes widened, and she answered somewhat helplessly, "Huh? Kurosaki-kun, I've only treated some wounds before. I've never tried something like regenerating a severed limb, so… I don't know whether I can do it."
Hearing Ichigo's words, warmth rose in Kūkaku's heart. She could not help sighing.
"Cousin, you really are a lot like Big Brother Kaien. Always caring about other people. But regenerating a severed limb isn't easy. If it were possible, I would have found a way to restore it long ago. Honestly, losing one hand doesn't affect me that much. You don't need to worry so much."
In the end, however, Kūkaku still could not withstand Ichigo's stubbornness.
After sighing helplessly, she agreed to let Orihime try and see whether she could heal her severed arm.
"Sōten Kisshun! I reject!"
Orihime loudly called out the incantation for the Shun Shun Rikka.
The hairpins in her hair released orange-yellow reiatsu, which quickly gathered together and formed a glowing mass.
Then, under her control, the light slowly moved toward Kūkaku Shiba's severed limb.
When the light touched Kūkaku's missing arm, Kūkaku immediately felt the severed area begin to warm slightly.
The place where new skin had already formed also began to itch, as though something were desperately pushing outward.
As time passed, the area covered by the light grew larger and larger, eventually wrapping around Kūkaku's severed arm completely.
When the glow faded, Ichigo was shocked to discover that a brand-new arm had actually grown from where Kūkaku's arm had been missing.
Kūkaku moved her newly grown arm, surprise appearing on her face.
She looked at Orihime gratefully, tears glimmering in her eyes.
Seeing this, the heavy stone in Ichigo's heart finally settled.
"That's great, Cousin. Now you have both hands again!" Ichigo said happily.
Orihime looked slightly exhausted.
After all, this was her first time treating such an injury, and regenerating a severed limb had consumed a large amount of her reiatsu.
"I'm so glad I could help your cousin."
Kūkaku touched her new arm, filled with emotion.
"Thank you. You've allowed me to have my arm again... From now on, I'll treasure this hand even more and use it to create even more beautiful fireworks!"
"Move! Move!"
A burst of noise suddenly came from outside the room.
No one knew how the people sent to find Ganju had passed the message along, but Ganju had charged back directly on his boar, Bonnie, like a speeding storm.
Kūkaku, who had been happily celebrating the regeneration of her arm, heard the commotion, and her face instantly darkened.
She shouted toward the door, "Ganju! What are you messing around with now?"
Hearing his sister's roar, Ganju instinctively shrank his neck.
He did not dare delay any longer and quickly jumped down from Bonnie's back before rushing into the room.
After entering, Ganju quickly swept his gaze across everyone inside.
Then his eyes locked onto Ichigo, and disbelief appeared on his face.
"B-Big Brother? You actually came back to life?"
The moment Kūkaku heard that, her anger surged.
She raised her right fist and smashed it hard onto Ganju's head, cursing loudly at the same time.
"Idiot! Open your eyes and look properly! Is he Big Brother Kaien? Huh?"
After being struck dizzy by Kūkaku's punch, Ganju finally realized he had mistaken him for someone else.
But at that very moment, Ganju suddenly noticed the fist Kūkaku had used to hit him.
It was clearly her right hand, the one she had lost before.
Ganju hurriedly pointed at Kūkaku's right hand and said, "B-Big Sis, your hand…"
"What? Are you surprised that my severed limb grew back?"
Kūkaku looked at Ganju and asked in an icy tone.
Ganju wiped his tears and choked out, "N-No! I'm just really happy and moved that your hand has finally returned to normal, Big Sis."
Kūkaku frowned and said seriously, "How can you be so reckless? Have you even forgotten basic manners?"
Ganju quickly explained, "Sorry, Big Sis! I was in such a hurry because the clansman who came to find me said something major had happened in the clan. I was worried about the family's safety, so I rushed back on Bonnie."
Kūkaku sighed helplessly.
The people sent to find Ganju really were unreliable. They had actually explained things so vaguely that Ganju became this nervous.
She turned to Ganju and said earnestly, "Something important did happen, but it's good news. Come, I'll introduce you. The person standing before you is your cousin, Ichigo Shiba. He is Uncle Isshin's son! The people beside him are his friends."
"Huh???"
This time, it was Ganju's turn to look completely dumbfounded.
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