Pushing open the reinforced basement door, Higashi Shuuichi stepped into the extra-dimensional space carved out by Urahara Kisuke.
Unlike the bustle upstairs, this place was silent, subdued. A few wooden beds now lined the cavernous chamber—Hirako Shinji and others lay atop them, motionless.
Across the wide expanse, only one figure moved.
Kuna Mashiro. The only "living" soul in the room.
"Wait—weren't you only supposed to wake up after mastering Hollowfication?" Shuuichi asked, suddenly recalling the fact he'd overlooked due to the earlier chaos with Nagazawa Rimi. "Kensei doesn't seem to have grasped it yet."
"That's just because he's a hot-blooded idiot," Mashiro said before Muguruma Kensei could reply. "And apparently the Hollow inside him is one too. Couldn't even beat it, and still let it out."
"What do you mean, idiot?! It acknowledged my effort, okay?!"
Kensei snapped back at his former lieutenant.
"Oh? Then transform into a Shinigami—like me."
Mashiro smirked and transitioned effortlessly—first into Hollowfication, then back to her Shinigami form.
"Tch—Mashiro! You've gone too far this time. I swear, I'll—!"
Kensei rolled up his sleeves, all thoughts of sparring with Shuuichi forgotten, now hell-bent on settling the score with his overly smug subordinate.
Shuuichi let them bicker.
It was just as well. He hadn't come down for Kensei.
He'd come for Urahara Kisuke.
"So," Kisuke said, turning from his workbench, "you're interested in humans who can see us?"
Shuuichi nodded. "Aren't you? Until now I thought only Quincies could perceive us in the Human World. But that girl today—Rimi—clearly wasn't a Quincy."
"That's not a requirement."
"Then you do know what she is."
Silence stretched in the lab, thick as fog.
Finally, Kisuke spoke. "Shuuichi… sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing."
That confirmed it. Kisuke knew about Fullbringers.
Which made sense.
If the Five Great Noble Houses of Soul Society were aware of Fullbringers, then Shihōin Yoruichi had to know. And if Yoruichi knew—so did Urahara.
Shuuichi had descended into this space for two reasons: to confirm this very suspicion… and to prepare his own exit strategy.
Aizen wanted him to stay close to Urahara and spy on the Hōgyoku. But Shuuichi had no intention of playing puppet.
Right now, Aizen was in Soul Society, and he was here in the Human World. Unless Aizen somehow seized the Imitation Hall from Tsunayashiro Tokinada, there was no way to monitor his interactions with Kisuke.
If Kisuke was willing to work with him—research Fullbringers, trace the Soul King fragments—perfect. He'd stick close, help track and capture them until the story truly began.
But if Kisuke wasn't interested? Shuuichi would move alone.
After all—rule-type abilities were power incarnate. No hacks. No systems. Just pure, unfiltered domination.
"Knowing the truth may have consequences, yes. But if we want to strike back against Aizen Sōsuke, shouldn't we use every tool we can?"
Shuuichi pressed him.
Kisuke simply shook his head.
He knew the power of Fullbringers—the Soul King's residue, a latent taboo.
Precisely because he understood, he refused.
To defeat Aizen? Yes.
To trespass against the King? No.
"You don't understand, Shuuichi."
"Maybe I don't," Shuuichi replied coolly. "But Kisuke—if I do want to understand, will you stand in my way?"
He didn't need the answer.
The Soul King taboo wasn't news to him. Just a risk.
Maybe the monk would notice. Maybe not. But Shuuichi wasn't important enough to flag the Royal Guard's attention… yet.
Especially if he laid the groundwork for Kurosaki Ichigo's emergence, and created the ideal scenario for Yhwach to fulfill his role and die.
Kisuke didn't know that part.
But Shuuichi did.
One of the few remaining advantages of foresight.
And as expected, Kisuke hesitated—but didn't object.
From his perspective, if Shuuichi got himself cursed or erased? So what?
It wouldn't affect the larger war effort.
With Kisuke's implicit neutrality confirmed, Shuuichi acted fast.
The next morning, he set out with Kisaragi Shūsuke and Nagazawa Rimi in tow.
Matsumoto Rangiku, tragically drunk, never even got to say goodbye.
On the road, in the back of a creaky carriage, Rimi sat across from him, nervous and small.
"Are you really… Shinigami?" she asked, almost in a whisper.
"As real as it gets."
Shuuichi conjured a small orb of light—Way of Binding #58: Kakushitsuijaku.
(Finally, he found a second use for this glorified GPS spell.)
He hadn't bothered hiding the truth.
At this point in history, Fullbringers weren't yet viewed as threats. Soul Society knew of them—but hadn't begun the purges led by Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
And besides, both factions had a common enemy: Hollows.
Revealing his identity might even win trust.
Especially since, after hearing more from Shūsuke, Shuuichi was now certain—Rimi was a lawful-aligned Fullbringer.
After all, who would've guessed the job Shūsuke found in the Human World was… debt collection for loan sharks?
The kid had no clue what that meant in practice.
So from Rimi's perspective, trying to protect the people hounded by Shūsuke's company wasn't malicious. It was noble.
Which made the figure behind her—a puppeteer who clearly understood her powers, and had minions—all the more interesting.
Were they Fullbringers too?
Rimi didn't know.
That's why Shuuichi brought her here today. If this group was anything like the future XCUTION, it would be a goldmine.
If he could analyze their powers, learn their structure, even harvest fragments of the Soul King from their bodies…
He'd leapfrog entire arcs.
But when they finally arrived at the so-called "base" Rimi had described, Shuuichi was struck dumb.
Dilapidated shacks. Half-naked adults. Emaciated children. Filth, hunger, despair.
Not what he expected.
"Miss Rimi!"
"You're back!"
Voices called out the moment she stepped down from the wagon.
This… wasn't the image she'd painted.
If Shuuichi hadn't realized he'd been deceived by now, he'd deserve to be scammed.
All those years of cunning, undone by a teenage girl.
He'd been played.
"The leader you mentioned…" he said coldly behind her, "…was you, wasn't it?"
Rimi immediately fell to her knees.
"Shuuichi-sama, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"But if you really are Shinigami… could you take them to your world?"
She looked up at him, voice trembling.
"I heard that in your place… normal people don't go hungry."
"I've done my best. But I can't feed them all. I can't watch them die of starvation anymore."
"You heard?"
That word struck him like lightning.
"You heard about us?"
She had knowledge a normal Fullbringer shouldn't.
Not just about Shinigami—but about Rukongai, the afterlife's slums.
He stepped closer to ask—but fate, once again, intervened.
A squad of mounted samurai thundered in, their spears fluttering with crimson flags, their armor black and gleaming.
"Nagazawa Rimi! The Lord Sabudono summons you. Come with us. Now."
The commander dismounted, glaring at her with cold authority.
He didn't even glance at Shuuichi.
"Shuuichi-sama…" Shūsuke murmured beside him, eyebrows knitting.
"I see him," Shuuichi whispered back, gaze sharp.
He hadn't planned any of this.
He'd come expecting revelations.
Instead, Rimi had lied. Then dropped hints about deeper truths.
Now, that thread was being cut off by this black-helmed samurai.
And not just him—his entourage all gave off distinct, controlled Reiatsu.
Shuuichi's interest spiked.
This "Sabudono"… whoever he was, his followers were not ordinary Fullbringers.
And where there was Reiatsu, there was potential.
Game on.