Infinite: Start as a ghost

"Welcome back," Jiang Jiu said with a smile. "You've worked hard..."

"It's alright," Koga said. "From now on, I'll probably be spending more and more time outside."

"Oh?" Jiang Jiu chuckled. "So, there's already been some progress?"

Koga paused for a moment, then said, "I think they probably already know our background."

"Hmm?" Jiang Jiu was slightly surprised: "How did they find out?"

"Did you see him hanging around nearby?" Then he looked at Yanlong and thought to himself, "If that's the case, it's not surprising."

He instantly thought of Yukio and Riruka's abilities.

"Both of them have spatial abilities, so they might actually be able to spy on us secretly without being detected."

Then he thought of another possibility: "The Soul Society discovered the three of us, the Fullbringers discovered the Flame Dragon's recent activities, and Kisuke Urahara acted as the middleman."

"Hmm...we might actually have been exposed."

Thinking of this, Jiang Jiu asked, "What did they say?"

"They said something," Koga Takeshi said. "Have you been feeling down lately?"

"How did you answer?"

“What can I say?” Koga said. “Of course, I can only say that I don’t know what they’re talking about, and I can’t admit it.”

Jiang Jiu nodded: "Indeed, you don't need to admit it."

"You just said...them?"

"Have you already met with any of them?"

“Yes,” Koga said. “The leader is Ginjo Kūgo, the butler is Tsutsawa Kiriko, and there are four of them: Jackie and Liruka.”

"Are there only four of them?" Jiang Jiu asked.

“Yes, Liluka took me to a coffee shop, and I only saw four people there, including her.”

Jiang Jiu lowered her head in thought: "Was it intentional?"

"In the future, Tsukishima will pretend to be a villain to trick Ichigo Kurosaki into using his power. Is he planning to use the same trick now?"

"Coral Island," Jiang Jiu called her over, "Do you have any way to seal or alter memories?"

Coral Island approached Jiang Jiu: "What do you want to do?"

Jiang Jiu said, "I want you to tamper with Koga Takeshi's memories so that he only remembers you and Ichinose. Can you do that?"

"Yes, that's possible." Coral Island admitted, "When I was doing human research before, I did experiments in this area and developed related ghost techniques."

"However, this technology only lasts for a little over a month and can only be used on one person once. It will lose its effect if used again."

"A month?" Jiang Jiu considered for a moment. "Will it cause any harm to the human body?"

Coral Island laughed: "The side effects aren't too severe. Koga Takeshi's body will be out of balance for about a week after the Kido effect ends."

“If it’s too dangerous, I wouldn’t have discussed this with you, since the person you want to take action against is Gang.”

"I understand," Jiang Jiu said. "Please complete the memory modification for Gu He Gang tomorrow, before he leaves."

“Change his memory to say that I came to your door, and during the battle, you obtained my blood and then escaped to this place called Valley.”

"You discovered the special properties of my blood, and thus began your research in this valley."

"Yanlong is trying to find your whereabouts and has been searching the area."

"The reason you don't leave is that you want to take advantage of the idea that dangerous places are safe, and use the principle of 'the darkest place is under the lamp' to deceive them."

"In order to gain the power to fight us, Ichinose went to Urahara's shop to buy the Transcendental Body and learned Bankai."

"Can it be done?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Coral Island pondered for a moment. "I can only give it a try."

"I haven't used this ghostly technique for almost a thousand years, because there's no need for it."

"The principle behind this ghost technique is actually forced hypnosis, which belongs to the category of binding techniques."

"Your requirements aren't too difficult; I can only say the success rate is relatively high."

"That's fine. Nothing is ever perfect." Jiang Jiu smiled and said, "Then, I'll leave this matter to you."

After saying that, he turned around and shouted, "Tenbei, Yanlong, Kibune, did you hear that?"

Several people nodded...

"Since we've heard everything, let's leave here tonight at midnight."

A smile appeared on Jiang Jiu's lips.

"Fullbringers, although I don't know what you're up to, let's see who has the better methods."

Chapter 142 Misunderstandings Born of a Chance Encounter

This caused a huge uproar in the Soul Society.

The news of the death of Toshiro Hiyaban, captain of the 10th Division, spread throughout the entire Seireitei.

At this moment, the entire Gotei 13 was holding a burial ceremony.

The Technology Development Bureau discovered the news of Toshiro's death.

The spiritual records that Toshiro had imprinted in the Technology Bureau disappeared, so Soul Society knew about his death the moment it happened.

Yamamoto's gaze darkened: "Damn Kusakabe Sojiro!"

The instant Kusaka Soujiro was killed by Jiang Jiu, the shielding power of the King's Seal disappeared, and Soul Society immediately detected Toshiro's location.

Although the Spiritual Particle Records have disappeared, the Soul Society's tracking methods should not be underestimated.

When the tracking team found Shokuya, the entire valley looked as if it were in the Ice Age, clearly a result of Hyōrinmaru's battle.

Who will fight whom?

Of course, it's Sojiro Kusaka and Toshiro fighting.

Toshiro's body was decapitated, and the wound on his neck was very clean, clearly indicating that he had been slit in the throat by a very sharp blade.

Hyōrinmaru's blade has the ability to freeze, which enhances the sharpness of the Zanpakutō.

Moreover, originally, Shinigami and Hollows would disappear after being killed, turning into spirit particles and returning to the world, or being sent to hell.

However, Toshiro's body did not become a spirit; instead, thanks to the freezing, it was frozen and his body was temporarily preserved.

The entire valley, apart from Toshiro's corpse, contained two Arrancar sisters, a large number of ordinary Hollows, and an ice sculpture of Killian.

Apart from that, Kusakabe Munjiro has disappeared without a trace.

If he didn't do it, then who did?

All signs point to him as the murderer.

As for how they knew about Kusakabe Sojiro?

The vice-captains might not recognize him, but Kyoraku Shunsui woke up and it was he who told Seireitei Kusaka about his identity.

Yamamoto's face was ashen: "Only a dozen years, just a dozen years, and the Tenth Division has been missing its captain for several consecutive years."

Kyoraku Shunsui comforted him, "Uncle Yama, don't think about so much right now. Let's finish the ceremony first."

Yamamoto immediately fell silent, but his expression remained grim, and the murderous intent in his eyes only intensified.

Although stubborn, he has changed far too much compared to a thousand years ago.

Now, he can be described as a kind old man who loves the people like his own children, no longer the murderous maniac of a thousand years ago.

Toshiro's death once again awakened the demon within him.

After the ceremony, all the Shinigami in Seireitei were immersed in grief over Toshiro's sacrifice.

General Division Hall.

"Mayuri Kurotsuchi, I don't care what methods you come up with or what means you use, find Kusakabe Sojiro's whereabouts." Yamamoto was like a volcano, seemingly ready to erupt at any moment.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi seemed oblivious to Yamamoto's anger: "No way, I've never been in contact with the Royal Seal, I have no interest in it, and I know nothing about it. It's really a bit difficult for me for the Captain-Commander to suddenly make such a request."

Yamamoto's eyes were practically spitting fire.

Although Mayuri Kurotsuchi was refuting him, he was right.

Although Mayuri Kurotsuchi devoted himself to research, the nobles would never allow outsiders to easily access something like the royal seal.

Kyoraku Shunsui said, "Old man Yama, Mayuri Kurotsuchi hasn't been in the 12th Division for very long. Why don't we ask Urahara about the Royal Seal?"

Yamamoto forced himself to suppress his anger: "Go ask them."

Kyoraku Shunsui laughed and said, "Let's leave this to Captain Soi Fon."

Upon hearing this, Soi Fon's eyes immediately darted around, and her cheeks flushed red.

"I...I'll leave it to you," Soi Fon said shyly.

"That damned Kusakabe Sojiro." Yamamoto muttered the name again.

“It’s true that we should pursue Kusakabe Sojiro, but I feel there are some oddities,” Kyoraku said. “Aren’t these so-called clues a bit too obvious?”

Yamamoto said, "There's nothing obvious. Only he could have done all that in such a short time."

Kyoraku Shunsui said, "I have a feeling something's not right. I should keep a closer eye on things."

Yamamoto gradually calmed down: "So what are your thoughts?"

Kyoraku Shunsui said, "While the vice-captain was fighting that mysterious demon, Kusakabe Soujiro was still able to kidnap Captain Toshiro in full view of everyone. So why was he in such a hurry to kill him?"

“When Toshiro was escaping alone, he didn’t make a move, but he made a move at that very moment.”

"In my opinion, he was more likely trying to rescue Captain Toshiro."

“Nonsense.” Yamamoto tapped his cane heavily. “When Toshiro fled, Kusakabe Sojiro was obviously also looking for him.”

"If Kusakabe Sojiro was trying to save him, he could have approached Toshiro at any time while he was on the run."

"So, he wasn't actually trying to save him; he was also looking for him."

"The fact that they still kidnapped Toshiro under those circumstances shows how determined they were to kill him."