Chapter 103 - Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name

Chapter 103 - Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name

The battle was over.

Although the power of Ryūjin Jakka was terrifying, the spiritual pressure it consumed was equally immense.

Now, Gilgamesh's spiritual energy was nearly depleted, and he could barely maintain the Bankai of Kennō.

Without hesitation, Gilgamesh began walking toward the fallen Ichigo.

The others didn't know if Ichigo was alive or dead, but Gilgamesh knew.

Through the illumination of his Omniscient Star, Gilgamesh had read Ichigo's thoughts.

He knew that it was Ichigo controlling the body now, not White Ichigo.

White Ichigo had been beaten into submission and had retreated to Ichigo's inner world to heal.

Urahara, thinking that Gilgamesh was about to finish Ichigo off, remembered something from his notebook and, gritting his teeth, used Shunpo to stand in front of Ichigo.

Before Urahara could say anything, he heard Gilgamesh speak: "Don't worry, I'm not here to finish him off."

"The one who fought me just now was his Zanpakuto, not him."

"He's innocent."

Hearing this, Urahara was stunned and instinctively asked, "Then what do you intend to do?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Urahara realized his mistake.

Fortunately, Gilgamesh didn't take offense, but he didn't answer either. Instead, he walked up to Ichigo, gently tapped him with the golden staff-like Kennō that had reverted back, and said softly, "High-Speed Regeneration."

The next moment, liquid-like white bones emerged from Ichigo's ears, nose, and mouth, enveloping him.

Urahara recognized High-Speed Regeneration. He had seen Ichigo use it before.

But he never expected that Gilgamesh would be able to control High-Speed Regeneration.

Isn't Gilgamesh's Zanpakuto the king of Zanpakuto? How could it control even the powers of a Hollow?

Suddenly, Urahara seemed to realize something. His eyes deepened as he looked at Ichigo and muttered, "Is the power of a Zanpakuto rooted in the Hollow?"

As he spoke, an image of Sōsuke Aizen flashed through Urahara's mind.

Though Urahara had lost his memories related to Ichigo, his instincts told him that this might be connected to Aizen.

Gilgamesh, however, paid no mind to Urahara. He simply retracted the restored Kennō back into his Gate of Babylon.

Then, Gilgamesh turned his crimson eyes toward Urahara and asked, "Can we sit down and talk now?"

Urahara, who had been deep in thought, snapped to attention at these words and quickly regained his composure. His tone lightened as he responded, "Of course."

"But before we sit down for a proper chat, we might need to deal with those two uninvited guests first."

As he spoke, Urahara glanced toward the distance, where Ginjō and Tsukishima stood, looking disheveled.

The power of Shakunetsu Jigoku (Inferno Hell) was too overwhelming.

Even though Ginjō and Tsukishima hadn't been in the center of the inferno, they had still been affected, and their positions were no longer hidden, forcing them into the open.

At this moment, Ginjō and Tsukishima were watching warily, their eyes filled with undisguised hostility.

Ginjō despised the Shinigami, and as his loyal follower, Tsukishima harbored the same hatred.

Gilgamesh's gaze shifted toward them.

The instant Ginjō and Tsukishima locked eyes with Gilgamesh, they immediately fled without a moment's hesitation.

Gilgamesh had opened his mouth, seemingly to say something, but seeing this, he closed it again silently.

Urahara watched quietly, saying nothing.

In truth, Urahara was still curious about how these two individuals, who held such animosity toward the Shinigami, would eventually become his allies in the future.

Back at the secret base, Urahara and Yoruichi of the Future quietly listened as Gilgamesh recounted the reason for their arrival.

They weren't surprised by the revelation that Central 46 wanted to deal with Gilgamesh.

When Gilgamesh finished, Urahara gently stroked his chin and said, "So, it seems that the sudden appearance of the Kōtotsu (Cleaner) was one of their tricks."

"But why the explosion of the Kōtotsu caused you to travel through time is something even I can't figure out. We'd probably need to get our hands on that sealed divine artifact to fully understand it."

As he spoke, Urahara seemed to recall something and looked at Gilgamesh, saying, "Coincidentally, not long ago, the Soul Society experienced a disaster that destroyed about one-third of the Seireitei, causing massive casualties."

"Perhaps that incident is related to your time travel as well."

"As for your two missing companions, there's a good chance they are also in the Soul Society."

Gilgamesh seemed to have thought of something and couldn't help but ask, "Do you know what caused the disaster?"

Urahara answered without hesitation, "It was caused by an extremely concentrated gathering of reishi."

As he spoke, Urahara took out the photos and videos he had collected on the incident and showed them to Gilgamesh.

As Gilgamesh looked at the photos and videos, reflecting on the strange occurrences after his time travel, he finally understood what had happened.

It seemed that he had traveled to the timeline of Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name.

Bleach: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name was one of the Bleach movies. The plot revolved around everyone suddenly losing their memories of Rukia Kuchiki.

Although Ichigo, as the protagonist, initially lost his memories of Rukia too, he quickly remembered her, and the story unfolded from there.

One noteworthy point was that because no one in the Soul Society remembered Rukia Kuchiki, they also didn't remember Ichigo.

This led to Ichigo, when entering the Soul Society later, having to face off against the Gotei 13 alone.

Watching Gilgamesh's expression, Urahara couldn't help but ask curiously, "Lord Gilgamesh, do you perhaps know something?"

Gilgamesh didn't answer but instead asked back, "Urahara, do you remember ever capturing a Hollow with a unique ability?"

"Though that Hollow was weak, its scythe-like tail had the power to erase memories."

Urahara froze, and Gilgamesh's words awakened long-lost memories.

Back when Urahara had been the Captain of the 12th Division, he had indeed captured such a Hollow with a unique ability.

Connecting the Hollow's powers with the lost memories, Urahara suddenly realized what had happened.

While that Hollow was weak, on its own, it couldn't possibly erase all memories of Rukia Kuchiki.

But if aided by some external force, it wasn't impossible.

And that external force was the massive concentration of reishi.

Urahara hadn't expected that the current disaster in the Seireitei would be connected to him.

At the same time, he was even more puzzled about how Gilgamesh knew about this. Had something similar occurred in Gilgamesh's world?

As Yoruichi of the Future, his closest friend, watched Urahara, she could tell what he was thinking and said, "Kisuke, you once read The Epic of Gilgamesh."

"Do you remember how humanity praised the supreme wise king who returned from his journey to immortality?"

Urahara furrowed his brow as if trying to recall.

But the memories were too distant, and Urahara couldn't remember clearly.

At that moment, Ichigo, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, "The one who witnesses all things!"

Hearing this, Urahara's pupils shrank, and his heart trembled violently.

At that moment, Gilgamesh stood up and said, "Let's go to the Soul Society."

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