"Tsuna, the people in Soul Society seem pretty much the same as those in the Human World. Not everyone here is a Shinigami," Tatsuki said while hurrying along, sharing her observation.
"Do you remember Konsō? The souls sent here through the Soul Burial are those people. The vast majority of them live a second life in Soul Society," Tsuna explained.
"A second life? Do people in Soul Society die too?"
"Just like in the Human World, where only a small number of people possess Reiatsu, not everyone in Soul Society has spiritual power either. Those without Reiatsu have lifespans similar to humans. When their time runs out, they break down into Reishi and return to the land of Soul Society. Eventually those Reishi are reborn in the Human World. That's the current cycle of reincarnation," Tsuna summarized.
"What about people with Reiatsu? How long can they live in Soul Society?" Tatsuki asked.
"That's hard to say. Some live for over a thousand years. Take the shopkeeper and Hirako for example—they already had captain-class strength a hundred years ago. Normally, if someone has captain-class power and doesn't suffer fatal injuries, living for several hundred years shouldn't be a problem," Tsuna said, making an educated guess based on what he knew of Soul Society.
"Several hundred years… I'll work hard for that!" Tatsuki encouraged herself. She knew Tsuna was already far stronger than her, and if she wanted to keep up with him, she had to try even harder.
"Don't worry. We still have time," Tsuna said softly, taking her hand.
Orihime Inoue silently watched the two of them from behind. Just like Tatsuki, she could feel that Ichigo had been getting stronger and stronger. If she wanted to keep up with him, she would have to become stronger too.
But Ichigo had no time to think about what Orihime was feeling. His mind was completely occupied with the Shiba family.
Why had Isshin specifically asked Tsuna to bring him to the Shiba household first?
After half a day of traveling, Ichigo finally saw the Shiba residence on the outskirts of the Rukongai.
As for how he recognized it—
The lonely house standing in the wilderness had an enormous chimney, two gigantic decorative arms sticking out from either side, and a massive banner stretched between them with four bold characters written across it:
"Shiba Kūkaku."
"…Is this place always this… unique?" Ichigo couldn't help complaining.
"Alright, Ichigo, we're home. Orihime, your bread makes a perfect housewarming gift," Tsuna said as he removed the backpack from Ichigo's shoulders and handed it to Orihime.
In a sense, it was Orihime's first time visiting someone's home too, so bringing a gift was only polite.
"Wait—what do you mean home?"
Before Ichigo could question further, Tsuna had already ignored him and walked forward with Yoruichi to knock on the door.
After a while, a burly man with a small mustache opened it.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Where's Kūkaku? Tell her an old friend is here," Yoruichi said.
"…Lady Yoruichi?! Please wait a moment—I'll inform her right away," the servant replied after finally noticing the black cat on the ground and recognizing her voice.
"Also," Tsuna added, "please let her know that a descendant of Shiba Isshin has come to visit, along with his friends."
For some reason, Tsuna suddenly felt like an elder bringing a group of kids for a visit.
"Isshin-sama?!!!"
The servant cried out in shock. He hadn't heard that name in many years. His sharp eyes quickly scanned the group and landed on a very familiar feature—
That bright orange hair.
At a glance, he knew that boy carried the Shiba bloodline.
Without another word, the servant rushed inside.
Even without entering the house, Tsuna and the others could hear chaos erupting inside.
Moments later—
BANG!
The front gate of the Shiba residence burst open.
A tall woman with a voluptuous figure, wearing revealing clothes, a white headscarf, and long black hair kicked the door open.
"Which one of you is Uncle Isshin's son?!"
Her voice arrived even before she did, loud and bold enough to reveal her personality immediately.
This was Shiba Kūkaku.
After kicking open the door, Kūka finally looked at the group. Her gaze briefly passed over Yoruichi before immediately locking onto the orange-haired boy the servant had mentioned.
She leapt forward in a single bound and landed right in front of Ichigo.
Leaning extremely close—so close her chest practically pressed against him—she examined his face carefully.
Ichigo instantly turned red, and even Orihime beside him became flustered.
"Alright. Definitely our Shiba bloodline. Now call me big sister!"
Without hesitation, Kūka grabbed Ichigo's head and forced him to bow.
Naturally, Ichigo resisted, struggling until he finally broke free from her grip.
A strange glint appeared in Kūka's eyes.
If he could break free from her hold, then his strength was definitely not ordinary.
"What's going on here? Tsuna—what exactly is my old man?" Ichigo asked instinctively, turning to the person he trusted most for answers.
"Uncle Isshin's original name was Shiba Isshin. Later he changed it to Kurosaki. He and Shiba Kūkaku—well, the woman in front of you—are cousins. Strictly speaking, she's your cousin too. Calling her 'big sister' isn't wrong," Tsuna explained.
"Big sister…?"
Ichigo reluctantly accepted the idea. After living his whole life in the Human World, he never imagined he would suddenly have relatives in Soul Society.
As he looked at Kūka more closely, he noticed something—
Her other arm was a prosthetic.
No wonder he had escaped so easily.
"Your arm…?" Ichigo asked with concern.
"It's fine, kid. Old injury. I'm used to it," Kūka said casually. "Come on, let's go inside first."
She enthusiastically ushered everyone into the Shiba residence.
The servant who had opened the door earlier turned out to be one of a pair of twins, and the two of them busied themselves serving tea and welcoming the guests.
"Um… excuse me. I didn't bring much for my first visit, but please accept this," Orihime said shyly, handing over the backpack.
"Hey now, we're all family here. No need for gifts," Kūka said as she casually opened it.
"Oh? A new kind of bread from the Human World? Nice. What's your name?"
"Inoue Orihime…"
"My future sister-in-law," Tsuna added from the side.
Immediately, both Ichigo and Orihime turned bright red, while Kūka burst into loud laughter.
"Not bad! I always said whoever wants that lousy captain position can have it. As a member of the Shiba family, the important thing is producing the next generation early!"
She looked Orihime up and down, growing more satisfied the longer she examined her.
"W-Wait, sis… we're not even that old yet," Ichigo said awkwardly.
"That's fine. Starting early is good for building feelings—"
While Kūka chatted enthusiastically, Orihime suddenly gathered her courage.
"Um… Lady Kūkaku… may I take a look at your other arm?"
Kūka paused. A fierce glint flashed in her eyes before she shrugged.
"Sure. It's just an old injury anyway."
"Kūka, remove the prosthetic. Let Inoue see it," Yoruichi said firmly in a tone that left no room for refusal.
Kūka rarely saw Yoruichi speak like that. If she sounded this serious, then she meant it.
She twisted off the prosthetic arm, revealing the bandaged stump underneath.
"See? Nothing special. The arm's long gone. It can't be reattached."
It wasn't that Kūka didn't want to restore it. Back when it happened, the battlefield had been too chaotic. She had been lucky just to survive—there was no time to retrieve the severed arm.
"Orihime… please," Ichigo said quietly.
Seeing the missing arm of this relative he had only just met filled him with an inexplicable pain.
Orihime nodded.
Then she activated her power.
"Sōten Kisshun… I reject!"
Two golden lights appeared above her head, forming a barrier that enveloped Kūka's injured arm.
"Huh? No need to check. Back then when I was setting off fireworks, I accidentally blew it off—"
Kūka began explaining the past to provide information.
But Orihime wasn't performing ordinary healing.
When Kūka saw new flesh slowly forming over the severed arm, she froze in shock.
While Orihime treated her, Yoruichi padded over to Tsuna.
"Kid… this wasn't part of your plan, was it?"
"No way. I'm not that godlike," Tsuna replied immediately.
"First coming to the Shiba house… then giving the gift to Orihime, deliberately guiding the conversation between her and Kūka… And this injury is decades old. Even now Orihime is struggling to heal it. When she first obtained her powers, repairing something like this would have been impossible," Yoruichi analyzed.
Indeed, Orihime had only restored about an inch of flesh, yet sweat was already forming on her forehead. At this rate, her Reiatsu alone wouldn't be enough to regenerate the entire arm.
Ichigo unsheathed Zangetsu and placed Orihime's hand together with his on the sword's hilt.
Their souls synchronized.
Ichigo temporarily supplied his Reiatsu to Orihime, greatly easing her burden.
"Seriously… if you were going to help, you should've said so earlier," Tsuna muttered.
He stood up and said to the twin servants,
"You two are pretty good with Kidō, right? Help set up a barrier."
Tsuna had no intention of continuing his conversation with Yoruichi. Veterans like her could analyze everything endlessly.
As for Kūka's arm, Tsuna had only nudged things slightly. Whether it succeeded or not didn't really matter.
He simply wanted to make up for the regret he once had toward this one-armed beauty.
His Zanpakutō flashed.
A Mist-attribute trident appeared in his hand, and a thick fog silently spread outward with the Shiba residence at its center.
A full day passed quietly.
Orihime collapsed from exhaustion in Ichigo's arms.
And Shiba Kūkaku's arm had completely regenerated.
Even someone as bold as Kūka couldn't close her mouth in shock.
The arm she had lost long ago… had been fully restored.
But Kūka wasn't the only one surprised.
As Tsuna withdrew the surrounding mist, activity immediately stirred outside the Shiba residence.
A rough voice sounded from the entrance.
"Whoa! What's with all this fog? I couldn't even find the house. Sis, were you testing some weird fireworks again? The smoke's so thick even I got lost…"
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