Starting with Kengan beating up the Pirate King

Chapter 232 Yesterday and a Week Ago
Today, Urahara Store is much larger than before and can be called Urahara Supermarket.

This place serves as the gathering place for the members of the '14th Division', providing various kinds of assistance to the Shinigami living in the human world.

When Rukia met Kane, Kisuke Urahara was meeting a guest there—a weathered man with short black hair and a thick beard. This man was none other than Ichigo Kurosaki's father, Isshin Kurosaki.

"I've decided to tell him."

Kurosaki Isshin's expression was somewhat solemn, and his voice was also somewhat heavy as he said, "That kid's spiritual power is growing stronger every day. Although it's not like what we expected, with someone coveting his special abilities, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. I can't keep Ichigo in a dangerous vortex all the time."

The other day, that kid told me someone wanted to take him abroad to play soccer. I don't really think it's a good idea, but...maybe it's a fallback plan. If he can escape for two years, that would be great. He's a high school student now, and I should give him the right to choose his own future.”

"Is that so?" Kisuke Urahara nodded slightly. "It's good that Isshin-san has made his decision. But we need to be careful. Perhaps the reason Ichigo hasn't been disturbed this past year is because he's been under our noses. If we let him leave Karakura Town..."

"That's what I'm worried about too." Kurosaki Isshin sighed, feeling a bit of a headache.

Just then, Kisuke Urahara sensed Rukia's spiritual pressure rapidly approaching and quickly gave Isshin Kurosaki a wink.

Kurosaki, who had not yet regained his Shinigami powers, did not want to show himself in front of the Shinigami, so he quickly took a few steps and hid in the warehouse.

A few seconds later, Rukia Kuchiki appeared in front of Kisuke Urahara, her expression grave and her voice urgent: "Manager, I've seen Kaneki!"

"Hmm? He's finally reappeared?" Kisuke Urahara's expression shifted slightly. He reassured her, "Tell me slowly, Rukia-san, where did you see him?"

“Karaza Honcho, C3 district.” Rukia took a deep breath and said, “Half an hour ago, I killed a Hollow there and met a boy who can see spirits, named ‘Kurosaki Ichigo’.”

wow——

A slight noise came from the warehouse, causing Rukia to pause and look inside warily.

“It’s probably a rat, don’t worry about it, continue, Ms. Rukia,” Kisuke Urahara said, squinting.

“Hmm…” Rukia paused for a moment, then told Kisuke Urahara what had happened before, and unsurprisingly saw a surprised expression on his face.

“I can’t be mistaken, Manager! And the name Ichigo Kurosaki called out, and the fact that he’s from China, both match the intelligence. That man really has been operating in Karakura Town right under our noses for a year!”

"How is this possible..."

Rukia was unaware that Kisuke Urahara's surprise was on a completely different level—if it were said that Kaneki had been hiding his spiritual pressure and hiding in Karakura Town for a year, it wouldn't have surprised him.

But he appeared beside Ichigo Kurosaki and even became Ichigo Kurosaki's friend?

You should know that because Ichigo has the blood of both a Shinigami and a Quincy, and also has a Hollow inside him, he is a key target that Kisuke Urahara is keeping a close eye on!

Over the past year, everyone who has appeared around Ichigo Kurosaki has been investigated and strictly controlled by Kisuke Urahara, because Urahara knows that Ichigo has the ability to create clones that resemble others, and he dares not relax his vigilance in the slightest.

And you tell me that he appeared next to Ichigo in his original appearance, swaggering around, and even became friends with Ichigo?

Why didn't we find him?!

With a bang, the storage room door was pushed open by Kurosaki Isshin. Before Rukia could react with surprise and wariness, Kurosaki Isshin said in a low voice, "This isn't right. Ichigo told me about the person who was going to take him abroad. I even went to see him. That guy's name is..."

"Hmm? What was his name again?" Kurosaki Isshin slowly revealed a look of shock: "I can't remember..."

……

The next day.

The air around the soccer field in Karakura Honmachi is thick with tension.

Several black figures were hidden in the shadows of the buildings, their spiritual pressure suppressed to the extreme, not daring to even sway the hem of their clothes. Among them were not only Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin, the two captains of the '14th Division' who had been stationed in the human world for a long time, but also Shunsui Kyoraku, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Byakuya Kuchiki, and their vice-captains, who had been specially summoned from Soul Society.

The fact that all five captains and three vice-captains were present was enough to demonstrate how much they valued Guan Yi. When Kurosaki Ichigo, dressed in sportswear, jogged over as if warming up, they concealed their spiritual pressure to an even more subtle degree, not even glancing directly at the entrance to the football field.

Waiting, waiting.

Two hours later, after finishing a game, Ichigo Kurosaki emerged from the soccer field, but the captains still hadn't seen Guan Yi!
"As expected? How could someone who so openly tells Rukia 'Let's play soccer today' possibly actually come?" Kisuke Urahara shook his head slightly, signaling to stop the operation.

Several captains and vice-captains gathered around, and Kyoraku Shunsui exclaimed, "This is truly appalling."

"Ah," Matsumoto Rangiku said, "So that guy just wanted us to make a wasted trip?"

"You brat," Yoruichi spat lightly.

Kisuke Urahara couldn't understand why Guan Yi hadn't shown up. What was the purpose of his actions yesterday? Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for so long that he suddenly appeared to make a joke or say hello.
Watching Ichigo Kurosaki's retreating figure as he headed home, Kisuke Urahara felt a strange sense of unease for some reason... They'd been hanging around Ichigo for a year without us noticing, and although Ichigo had clearly mentioned his name, Isshin hadn't remembered it...

"Miss Lucia," he called out through his communicator, "Proceed according to Plan Two."

Further away, Rukia Kuchiki, who had been hiding, responded and immediately came out, heading towards Ichigo Kurosaki.

When the two met face to face, Rukia immediately put on an exaggerated performance of 'what a coincidence,' laughing dryly, 'Oh, it's you, the human who can see spirits, Kurosaki Ichigo, what a coincidence!'

Two black lines appeared on Ichigo's forehead: "Hey, this looks like the place that's waiting for me... Shinigami, we meet again, what's up?"

"Um, it's nothing." Rukia chuckled awkwardly. "Well... I just wanted to ask if you're troubled by being able to see spirits, right? Would you like to come with me to our barracks to see our captain and I can help you solve this problem?"

"Ah... never mind, it feels like too much trouble." Ichigo thought for a moment and refused, "Anyway, the spirits have been mostly purified by you Shinigami, so it's unlikely I'll see them again."

"Oh, I see. Haha, that works too..."

Rukia chuckled twice more, then asked casually, "By the way, Ichigo, that guy we met yesterday, Guan Yi, wasn't he supposed to play soccer with you today? Where is he?"

It's too deliberate! Hidden in the shadows, Kisuke Urahara and the others twitched at the corners of their eyes, Renji Abarai covered his face as if he couldn't bear to watch, and Byakuya's icy face was almost about to break down.

"Yesterday? What yesterday? That was a week ago, wasn't it? I did make plans to play ball with Guan Yi the next day, but I didn't make plans for today."

The next moment, Ichigo Kurosaki's inexplicable question made everyone pause in surprise.

Rukia Kuchiki was even more astonished: "W-What? A week ago? Wasn't it yesterday?"

"You Shinigami's concept of time isn't different from ours, is it..." Ichigo muttered inexplicably, then said, "By the way, speaking of which, I wanted to ask you, why did you have that expression when you saw Guan Yi that day? Is he alright?"

"..."

Rukia remained silent for a long while, then asked incredulously, "Yesterday... what was the date?"

Ichigo Kurosaki frowned inexplicably and said, "For us humans, it's May 15th."

"Then we met last time..."

"Last weekend, May... 7th?"

Rukia: "..."

Is there something wrong with this Shinigami? Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Rukia, who had once again inexplicably fallen into a daze of shock, and felt a headache coming on.

The Grim Reapers hidden in the shadows all wore solemn expressions... What's going on?

(End of this chapter)