Chapter 100: The Disaster Strikes, Aizen Stirs Up Trouble

After Kyōraku Shunsui left, Uehara Shiroha kicked back and started watching the show unfold. He unleashed his perfect level of Observation Haki, blanketing Urahara Kisuke's secret base in the Human World.

The spiritual barriers there were pretty intense, with Sekkiseki stone providing cover. Even Aizen couldn't directly sense what was happening inside - he'd have to slowly narrow down the area to pinpoint it. But for Uehara Shiroha? Not even a challenge. He easily pierced through several layers of barriers and observed the situation inside.

At this point, after surviving the "hollow crisis," Ichigo Kurosaki had just clawed his way out of despair and reclaimed his Shinigami powers. He was stronger than before, but nowhere near strong enough for what lay ahead - breaking into Soul Society to rescue Rukia.

When hollows had attacked his family, Rukia violated Soul Society's laws to make him a Shinigami so he could save his sister. His family was his greatest weakness, and Ichigo was determined to repay this debt.

To prepare him, Urahara Kisuke had developed three "treatments." The first step was dodging Ururu's superpowered punches to regain spiritual power. The second step involved cutting his Chain of Fate and becoming a Shinigami again before his soul completely hollowfied.

Just when hollowfication was about to consume him entirely, Ichigo found himself in his inner world, facing a strange guy in a black coat. Though the man kept talking, Ichigo's "Ability D" kicked in - selective deafness at its finest - and he couldn't hear a word.

Somehow, he still managed to reclaim his Shinigami powers. His spiritual pressure erupted with such force that it shattered Tessai's 99th level binding kidō. Afterward, Ichigo smashed the hollow mask forming on his face and became a Shinigami once more.

With the first two steps complete, only the third remained: cutting off Urahara's hat, with no time limit. Ichigo figured it would be easy - he wasn't the same weakling as before. "I only need five minutes to finish this last challenge," he boasted.

Reality proved a lot harsher. Facing Urahara with his released Zanpakutō, Ichigo got his ass handed to him and even felt his life threatened. In that critical moment, he returned to his inner world and saw the strange man again.

"My name is..." the man said, but even though Ichigo strained to listen, he still couldn't hear a damn thing.

Meanwhile, in his mansion on Noble Street in Seireitei, Uehara Shiroha sipped wine and enjoyed grapes peeled by his maid. While living his best life, he activated his Observation Haki to see through everything, instantly perceiving what was happening in Ichigo's inner world.

Seeing Ichigo still shouting "What did you say? I can't hear you!" he nodded to himself. "The 'Letter of D' really lives up to its reputation!"

He observed all the interactions between Ichigo and Zangetsu, recognizing that what seemed like a two-person game actually had two more observers: a "peeper" and hollow White.

Hyōsube Ichibē had just intervened, painting Zangetsu's real name black, making it impossible for him to say the name "Yhwach." Without a name, there's no power! Zangetsu, stripped of his name, couldn't guide Ichigo down the Quincy path. This was how the monk secretly controlled everything, determined to maintain the balance of the three realms at any cost.

As for hollow White, he'd put himself in a box and presented himself to Ichigo as a gift. As Ichigo's true Zanpakutō, White worked his ass off only to be completely unappreciated. Every time he revealed his identity, Ichigo would just go, "I don't want to hear it! You lied to me!" The whole thing was like some cheesy third-rate romance drama.

After achieving Shikai, Ichigo was feeling pretty cocky. He sliced through Urahara's "body" with one strike, completing the final test.

Urahara stared at him and thought with relief, "If Benihime hadn't defended me at the last second, I would've lost an arm. What incredible growth!"

He picked up his sliced hat and complained, "I'm glad you passed the final test, but did you really have to destroy my hat like this?"

"Huh?" Ichigo replied with a blank expression, Zangetsu resting on his shoulder. "I just achieved Shikai and can't control it perfectly yet! You can't blame me for that!"

Zangetsu's Shikai form lacked a conventional guard or handle, looking strange and wild. The spiritual pressure concentrated on its edge and the devastating slash it had produced left the two kids watching from the sidelines completely shocked.

"Mr. Kurosaki, this just won't do!" Urahara declared, adjusting his hat. "You made one powerful strike, but you need to make that your standard attack. Otherwise, you'll never handle the Shinigami of Seireitei - you might not even survive. The opponents you'll face are much stronger than me!"

Hearing Urahara's warning, Ichigo's expression turned serious, but there was no backing down in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Uehara Shiroha noticed that Orihime, Chad, and Uryū had also completed their respective training. Soon the Disaster Quartet would be ready to go!

They entered Seireitei through Urahara's special gate, and just like in the original timeline, encountered Kōtotsu, the Dangai's Cleaner. This thing operated on pure rules - conventional power couldn't touch it.

The "four travelers" plus one cat fled and eventually crash-landed near the Western Rukon District's White Road Gate. Ichigo, with his greatly increased strength, defeated the gatekeeper Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, and with his help, successfully broke into Soul Society.

Then he "accidentally" ran into that fox-faced Gin Ichimaru, who sent him flying back with his extending Zanpakutō. Of course, Gin's appearance wasn't coincidence but careful preparation. Aizen had predicted Ichigo would show up at the Western Gate since Urahara's sphere of influence was primarily in West Rukon.

Gin deliberately held back, essentially just saying hello. This introduction served to familiarize Ichigo with captain-level strength while giving him time to cause more commotion later. The more chaos, the better for Aizen's plan.

Besides Aizen, Uehara Shiroha was also keeping tabs on Ichigo and his friends. For him, this was just like watching a drama series - pretty entertaining stuff.

The next day, following Central 46's orders, Renji Abarai and the Onmitsukidō escorted Rukia to the Shrine of Penitence. This tower was constructed entirely of Sekkiseki stone; once locked inside, ordinary Shinigami had zero chance of escape.

The tower featured a small window perfectly positioned to view the Sōkyoku execution site. As the execution date approached, staring at that terrible instrument of death would psychologically break prisoners, making them eager to confess their crimes - hence the shrine's name.

However, Rukia remained completely composed throughout.

After leaving the Shrine with mixed feelings, Renji encountered Aizen, who had his own agenda. After exchanging pleasantries, Aizen invited Renji for a private conversation.

In his office, Aizen casually organized some documents while putting on a wistful act: "It's been so long since you transferred from the 5th Division to join Captain Zaraki. How long has it been since we had a chat like this? How are things going for you?"

"Captain Aizen, what's this about?" Renji, never one for small talk, cut straight through Aizen's nostalgia trip.

Seeing his bluntness, Aizen got right to the point: "Do you truly believe Rukia deserves death? Yes, she overstayed in the Human World and lent her Shinigami powers without authorization. These are serious offenses. But why was her original 35-day sentence shortened to 25 days? And why use the Sōkyoku - normally reserved for captain-level criminals - on her? Does that seem reasonable to you?"

"Well..." Renji stood stunned, his mind struggling to process this.

Aizen had a point though. Setting aside Rukia's noble status, how could a low-ranking officer like her "merit" execution by Sōkyoku? The perfect Sōkyoku could instantly vaporize a Shinigami's soul. Using such a weapon against Rukia was like swatting a fly with a cannon - complete overkill. All she did was pass Shinigami powers to a human; you'd think she'd desecrated the Central 46's graves or something.

Seeing Renji wavering, Aizen pressed harder: "Something feels wrong about this whole situation. It's as if some unseen force is manipulating everything from the shadows. I have a hunch..."

Watching Aizen play Renji like a fiddle with just a few words, Uehara Shiroha shook his head. "There must be someone behind this? Isn't that person YOU, Aizen? You've got some weird hobbies, man."

Aizen chose Renji for his manipulation because the redhead was impulsive and easy to deceive. Plus, it helped muddy the waters. Ultimately, it was just to satisfy Aizen's twisted pleasure in breaking people's mental defenses and pulling their strings.

However, with Uehara Shiroha around, Aizen would definitely experience more setbacks than in the original timeline.

Ignoring Aizen's mind games, Uehara Shiroha focused on Ichigo instead.

What happened next followed the original plot pretty closely. With Kūkaku Shiba's help, Ichigo's group entered Soul Society in ridiculously over-the-top fashion. The Shiba family possessed technology capable of accessing the Soul King Palace, and since the defense systems of Soul Society and the Palace were integrated, Kūkaku's cannon could punch right through Soul Society's barriers.

The four humans, plus Yoruichi in cat form and Ganju Shiba who joined midway, were all transformed into human "cannonballs!" These projectiles burst through Soul Society's defenses, scattering as they landed.

The entire Soul Society went nuts at the sight of these Ryoka falling from the sky. Thanks to Gin's earlier "welcome," the Gotei 13 took this invasion seriously. Elite soldiers patrolled everywhere throughout Seireitei.

"Ryoka" referred to spirits invading Soul Society through unauthorized means. Similar incidents had happened before, but generally, the intruders weren't especially powerful. So even though this invasion caused quite a commotion, the captains weren't particularly worried. Based on their spiritual pressure readings, these Ryoka weren't serious threats - even Vice Captain-level Shinigami could handle them.

The massive troop deployment was purely for the nobles' protection. Thus, except for the two wild cards, Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Kenpachi Zaraki, the other captains didn't actively engage but chose to observe.

After landing, these "skilled" Ryoka raised hell throughout Seireitei. Uehara Shiroha knew that with Aizen's cover and arrangements, Ichigo would cause more and more chaos, eventually forcing even old man Yamamoto to release Ryūjin Jakka.

Seeing the time was right, he stood up, ready to clean house!

In Soul Society, the Ryoka's commotion grew louder and the situation more serious by the minute. Chad bulldozed through Seireitei, knocking patrolling Shinigami left and right.

Meanwhile, Uryū easily defeated Jirōbō Ikkanzaka, 7th Division's 4th Seat. This guy was Jidanbō's younger brother, but unlike his heroic sibling, he was a complete scumbag.

Jirōbō, self-proclaimed "master of projectile weapons," used ranged attacks like Uryū. However, his strength didn't even come close to the Quincy's. Despite all his dirty tricks, he ended up seriously injured and defeated. Even if he recovered, his days as a Shinigami were probably over.

Yet this fool had the nerve to claim he wielded the strongest projectile weapon. Uehara Shiroha snorted at this. If this guy's Zanpakutō was half as impressive as his mouth, he wouldn't have lost so pathetically.

Compared to Uryū and Chad, Ichigo's exploits were even more impressive. He defeated Ikkaku Madarame, 11th Division's 3rd Seat, and then Renji Abarai, 6th Division's Vice Captain, back-to-back.

This wasn't the restrained Renji from the Human World but Renji at full power fighting on home turf. And while Ikkaku's Shikai had some tricky moves, his combat ability was solidly Vice Captain-level.

The "death-defying" Ichigo had quickly reached Vice Captain-level fighting capability. In an incredibly short time, his strength had skyrocketed, making him an even greater threat to Soul Society.

The Department of Research and Development had already raised the threat level of this Ryoka invasion. But for the nobles on Noble Street? This invasion was just a minor annoyance. They continued their drunken revelry, with music and dancing, not taking these travelers seriously at all.

Their long period of peace and privilege had made them completely complacent. To Uehara Shiroha, they were just pigs fattened by luxury, ripe for slaughter.

At that moment, the Tsunayashiro family was holding their regular meeting. Those present were the real power players of the family and potential heirs to the family leadership.

Seeing these Soul Society bigwigs obediently following his orders, clan leader if the Tsunayashiro felt immensely proud. He relished this feeling of wielding power. In his mind, authority was the only true power. Even mighty Shinigami captains had to bow before the Tsunayashiro family's influence.

Then, remembering the main purpose of this family gathering, he asked: "Any news about the Court Army's orders? Why would Central 46 issue such a decree?"

==============================================

Support me at p@treon.com/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.

=============================================