Restricted Death

Chapter 250 Collapse of Jade
The Kurosaki family.

The letter came to tell Kurosaki Shingo about some of the things that had happened that day. As for what had happened at the Ishida family, Kurosaki Shingo had no way of knowing about it and could only guess at it in his mind before.

He listened to the news about the Ishida family brought by the letter. The shadow of Ishida Muneaki's unknown fate had been weighing on his heart. Now that he knew his old friend was safe and sound, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly, but the worry immediately took on a different form.

"Are you Shinigami planning something big?" Kurosaki Shingo's voice was low, his fists clenched unconsciously until his knuckles turned white. His gaze was fixed on the letter, trying to catch a clue of affirmation or denial on the young man's face. The unease was so heavy that it almost permeated the air in the room.

The letter did not reveal the core plans of the Seireitei's preparations for war. He paused slightly, then answered ambiguously, "I suppose so."

When the words reached Zhenwu's ears, they were like a stone thrown into a deep pool, only stirring up more ominous ripples and making the scales in his heart sink even further.

He sighed softly, his face etched with weariness: "We guessed this day would come, but... I didn't expect Zongxian to choose to stand with you. But he must have had no choice. Longxian has been taken away by those people. I hope that in the future, there won't be a situation where father and son become enemies."

Light footsteps echoed down the corridor as Kurosaki Masaki, holding Katagiri Hae's hand, peeked out. Time had transformed the timid girl of yesteryear into a radiant young woman. Masaki looked at Shin without any hesitation, casting a curious yet slightly inquisitive gaze upon him.

"Who are you?" Kurosaki Masaki asked curiously when he saw the letter at home. The letter looked very young and did not seem to be the same age as his father.

As for the scene of her meeting with Shin when she was a child, she had long forgotten it.

Shingo Kurosaki pondered, "This is... Mr. Takami, the benefactor who once saved my life."

The letter had indeed saved his life back then, and he had always kept it in mind.

Upon hearing this, Masaki Kurosaki immediately restrained her playful nature and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Mr. Takami!"

Shin couldn't help but laugh when he saw this. Now Ichigo and Masaki were the same age, and he just happened to be their elder. It was truly a twist of fate.

Besides Kurosaki Masaki, Katagiri Hae also stood obediently not far away. After Ryugen's accident, Ishida Sogen had the foresight to send Katagiri Hae to the Kurosaki family.

In addition, the letter also learned that on the day Aizen approached him, Ishida Muneaki had sent all his family members over.

Fortunately, Aizen did not do anything outrageous or harm them at the time.

【Kurosaki Masaki】

【Favourability: 31】

[Can form the Quincy Wedge]

Masaki Kurosaki stood there gracefully, still scrutinizing the letter, her large eyes blinking as if trying to recall if she had seen the face before.

Shin left his specially made communication device with Shingo Kurosaki. The other end of the device was connected to Kisuke Urahara. Shin told Shingo Kurosaki to use it to contact Soul Society if anything happened.

After careful consideration, Kurosaki Shingo solemnly accepted it.

In some ways, he and Ishida Sogen were definitely on the same side. When they broke away from the Invisible Empire together back then, they had already chosen a path of no return.

From that time on, they had the worst possible predictions about their future.

Shingo Kurosaki gave a bitter smile, then raised his hand to signal Masaki and Katagiri to leave, and said to Shin, "To be honest, I never thought I would have this kind of interaction with you Shinigami, nor did I ever think that one day I would have to rely on you like this."

He knew very well what the consequences would be for the Quincy who betrayed His Majesty: only death.

But if it weren't for the letter before him, he might have died long ago.

Shingo Kurosaki then said, "I know... I know why you approached us in the first place, but you've already failed to achieve your goal. Even so... are you still willing to help us?"

He was referring to the fact that Ishida Sogen possessed the key to the invisible empire.

But the only Key to the Sun has been taken by Yugran, and now they have been completely abandoned by the Quincy, and may face elimination at any time.

After hearing this, Shin turned to look at the two girls, Masaki Kurosaki and Yoh Katagiri, who had left, and said slowly, "Maybe it's because I'm a kind-hearted person, but the thought that these two girls might have their lives taken away so easily in the future makes me feel very uncomfortable."

His true purpose was naturally impossible to reveal; the only way he could think of to obtain the [Quinshi's Wedge] from the system rewards was through Kurosaki Masaki.

We can't exactly try to find a solution by dealing with the people in the Sternritter.

The Key to the Sun was only one of the objectives.

After hearing this, Shingo Kurosaki was silent for a while before saying, "Sometimes I really think, if only they were just children from ordinary families. It's so unfair that this kind of fate is imposed on them."

He thought of Zongxian's son, Longxian, who was also his junior and whom he had watched grow up. He even thought that one day Longxian and Masaki might get together.

But unexpectedly, something like this happened to Long Xian. All his complex emotions eventually turned into a sigh.

After leaving the Kurosaki family, Nobu went to Urahara Store.

Kisuke Urahara was already waiting there, with a huge package beside him.

What's in here?

"Heh~" Urahara chuckled, gesturing lightly with his fan. "Some little gadgets that might come in handy in the future. The situation can change in an instant, so it's always good to be prepared." He tried to sound relaxed, but the seriousness behind his words was hard to hide.

Xin thought for a moment and then asked, "Did you bring that thing with you?"

Urahara's smile paused slightly, then deepened, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. He said nothing, but smoothly took out a specially made small box from his pocket that emitted a faint glow.

"Is that what you mean?"

He asked with a serious, almost scholarly air.

Xin's gaze was fixed on the box, and his outstretched hand hesitated almost imperceptibly, as if touching something forbidden.

The box was opened, and inside lay a strange gemstone that shimmered with light—its surface was covered with cold, hard edges, while at its core was a perfectly round sphere that constantly shifted between deep purple, dark blue, jet black, and pure white.

It is exceptionally beautiful, yet it also exudes a certain indescribable... sense of power.

This is... the Hogyoku?
Xin stared blankly at the gemstone. He could tell that it was more like a crystal of some special substance than a gemstone. Its central part was a round sphere that emitted various colors of light, such as purple, blue, black, and white, which was quite beautiful.

The letter cannot discern what kind of substance it is, but one can sense spiritual particles emanating from it, yet it also seems to be a material from the mortal world.

According to Kisuke Urahara, he has been unable to destroy it since he created it, and Shin suddenly wanted to try what would happen if he used the power of "retrogression" on it. Kisuke Urahara explained: "It is what Aizen Sousuke has been scheming and willing to do anything to get."

At the same time, his gaze pierced the letter like a probe, capturing the slightest reaction from the other party.

The letter suddenly asked, "You just handed over something so important to me so easily?"

Urahara's lips curled into a slightly teasing yet meaningful smile: "You're not Aizen."

Nobunaga sighed, closed the box, and then handed it back.

Kisuke Urahara then gave a half-smile: "What, not tempted? Do you know what kind of power it possesses?"

Xin nodded and said, "I can guess, but it's probably useless to me."

Urahara was visibly taken aback upon hearing this, then chuckled and shook his head: "It seems you still don't understand it well enough."

After saying that, Kisuke Urahara took the box, and suddenly a glove appeared on his right hand, from which he picked up the Hogyoku.

This gave me a jolt. Urahara hadn't reminded me to wear gloves when handling the Hogyoku. Was this guy up to no good, or was he testing me?
Urahara said mysteriously, "It can help you break free from the shackles of death and evolve into a more powerful being."

"Like Captain Hirako and the others?"

Urahara said, "Yes and no. Mako and the others were only in a different form due to special circumstances. However, even so, their power was greatly amplified to some extent. And the evolution I'm talking about is not just that."

Shin knew that Aizen also had a Hogyoku, but it was different from Urahara's.

Urahara created the Hogyoku by absorbing a large number of Hollows, while Aizen's was created by experimenting with the souls of hundreds of Shinigami and people with Shinigami abilities in Rukongai.

In the Hollowfication experiment of that year, Shinji Hirako and others became victims. Urahara used the power of the Hogyoku to stabilize their souls, making them "Visoreds" who broke the shackles of the Shinigami and gained the power of Hollows.

But Urahara now says that Mask is not the final form of this evolution, but rather like some kind of failure.

Shin looked down at him, then suddenly asked, "Urahara... why did you create such a thing in the first place?"

Kisuke Urahara was not surprised by the letter's questioning, and instead adopted a serious demeanor as if he were trying to recall the events.

He gently tapped his forehead with one hand: "Why... I can't even describe the feeling I had back then."

Urahara's smile was wide: "Back then, I was extremely arrogant. Captain Tachikawa, you probably can't understand the tedium of redundant knowledge. Things like the Transcendent Body are not my masterpieces at all. They are just pastimes for tea and dinner. So I had many crazy ideas back then, which led to its birth."

After he finished speaking, his smile faded, and he shrugged, saying, "But I regretted it later. This thing was obviously beyond my expectations and control. Especially after the Hollowfication incident, when I saw Mako and the others turn into Hollows, I knew that someone in this world had created something like me. At that time, I truly felt fear."

"When I learned that there was another Hōgyoku in the world, the first thing I thought of was: how is that Hōgyoku different from the one I made? I want to get it and study it carefully to see if there will be any reaction when the two Hōgyoku are put together."

"Then I realized that the holder of another Hogyoku must have the same thoughts as me, perhaps even more dangerous and deadly, so I felt fear."

slap~
The box was closed again, and Kisuke Urahara sighed softly.

"And things turned out just as I thought; the other party was an extremely dangerous guy."

Upon hearing this, Xin pondered for a moment and said, "Are you sure this thing is meant to break the shackles of death and allow humans to evolve?"

Kisuke Urahara asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Shin said, "Is it possible that you don't understand its true power, while Aizen does, which is why Aizen developed ambition, while you don't?"

Urahara Kisuke: "..."

His eyes were fixed on the letter, his gaze flickering uncertainly.

"So what do you think it could be?"

What are the abilities of the Hogyoku...?

Shin remembers that the true power of the Hogyoku is to materialize a person's inner desires according to their own wishes, but the condition is that one must possess the power to realize those desires.

This is what Aizen said.

Kisuke Urahara believed that the Hogyoku he created was a substance that could break the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows. This was only because he hoped that the Hogyoku could break the boundary between Hollows and Shinigami. Therefore, the Hogyoku would break the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows according to Kisuke's wishes.

To put it simply, the Hogyoku is like a wishing stone.

It can help you realize some of your inner desires, but only if the wish can be fulfilled by the holder of the Hogyoku.

The Hogyoku can also occupy the minds of everyone around it and draw out their power. For example, in the original work, Orihime Inoue and Chad Yasutora, who were unawakened Fullbring users, were guided to use Fullbring by the Hogyoku.

However, Shin couldn't explain this to Kisuke Urahara. He couldn't very well act like he knew more about the Hogyoku than Urahara, the creator of the Hogyoku.

Moreover, if I were to say that, it would inevitably arouse Kisuke Urahara's suspicion.

"I don't know either, I'm just saying," Xin said.

Kisuke Urahara was silent for a moment, then said, "No matter what, it is an unfortunate thing that has brought disaster to this world."

Xin laughed and said, "That's a biased view. It's always been people who bring disaster to the world. What's wrong with power itself?"

"……you're right."

Kisuke Urahara looked melancholy: "I am the one who brings disaster to the world."

Shin shook his head slightly, then said, "Don't overthink it, let's go back to Soul Society first."

After saying that, Shin took off his artificial body and took out his communication device to contact the Soul Society and ask them to open the portal.

Confidence thought to himself, suppose he obtained the Hogyoku from Urahara, and his wish was to defeat Aizen and Yhwach, could the Hogyoku help him achieve that wish?

(End of this chapter)