"Huh? Kinhiko, Ginhiko—why are you kneeling here? And why are there so many people in the house?"
A tall, strongly built man with a rugged face walked in. He wore a headscarf and a sleeveless white-and-green shirt, giving him a rather comical appearance.
He was one of the last remaining heirs of the Shiba family—Shiba Ganju, Shiba Kūkaku's younger brother.
Ganju glanced at the unfamiliar guests, and his expression immediately turned sour. He jumped up, pointed at Ichigo, and walked toward him while shouting:
"Who let you damn Shinigami into our house?! Get the hell out!"
Seeing the finger nearly poking his face, Ichigo didn't give Ganju any face either.
"And who are you supposed to be? Why are you yelling like that?"
"You—!"
Ganju was about to continue arguing when Kūka suddenly punched him.
The blow instantly shut him up.
Holding his head, tears almost forming in his eyes, he was about to ask why she was helping outsiders—only to receive two more punches.
After knocking Ganju into the corner, Kūka threatened:
"If you dare disturb that girl while she's resting, I'll throw you out of the house!"
Only then did Ganju notice the girl lying weakly in Ichigo's arms.
It seemed he really had interrupted her rest.
Embarrassed, he looked at his sister again—then suddenly his voice shot up.
"Big sis—your arm!"
"Idiot! Stop shouting!"
Under another suppressive punch from Kūka, Ganju quieted down again.
This time, he knew his eyes weren't deceiving him.
The hand that had just punched him… was the arm that had once been severed.
"Kinhiko, Ginhiko—take Ichigo and Inoue to the guest rooms so they can rest."
The twins immediately got to work.
To them, Orihime Inoue was now an honored guest of the Shiba family. They didn't dare show the slightest negligence.
"Big sis… this is real?"
Ganju crawled over beside Kūka and carefully pinched the skin on her arm, still in disbelief.
This time, Kūka didn't get angry.
Just like him, she was still immersed in the joy of having her arm restored.
After settling Orihime into the guest room, Ichigo returned to the reception hall.
Ganju approached awkwardly and said:
"Even though I still hate Shinigami… thanks for helping my sister's arm."
"Ganju, you can hate anyone you want—but not him," Kūka said while glancing at him. "His name is Ichigo. He's Uncle Isshin's son. Your cousin."
"What?!"
Ganju shouted in surprise and circled Ichigo once.
"No wonder you looked familiar… so you're family!"
His attitude softened slightly.
Taking the opportunity, Ichigo finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Why do you hate Shinigami so much?"
"Hmph. There aren't many good ones among them," Ganju muttered while turning his head away. "Let me give you a warning, Ichigo. Be careful not to get stabbed in the back by your Shinigami companions."
"That's impossible. Rukia isn't that kind of person," Ichigo defended.
"Rukia? Kuchiki Rukia?! That's exactly the one I mean!"
Ganju's face twisted with anger.
"She's the one who killed our big brother—Kaien Shiba!"
"How could that be…"
Ichigo couldn't defend Rukia. He didn't know much about her past.
Crunch.
While everyone was focused on Ichigo and Ganju, the sound of someone biting into a rice cracker suddenly rang out.
All eyes turned toward the source.
It was Tsuna, calmly eating the tea snacks Kinhiko had brought.
Ichigo's eyes lit up.
He immediately ran over.
"Tsuna, you know something, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't be sitting there eating like it has nothing to do with you!"
"Or maybe… I'm just not interested," Tsuna said, taking another bite of the rice cracker before sipping his tea.
"No way. I know you too well. You're only this relaxed because you already know the truth!"
Ichigo had grown up with Tsuna and understood his personality very well.
Tsuna sighed.
If Ichigo's brain worked like this all the time, fooling him would be impossible.
"It's nothing more than a misunderstanding caused by people speaking in riddles."
"And you have the nerve to say others speak in riddles?" Ichigo said with disdain. He always felt Tsuna was hiding a lot from him.
Ignoring the comment, Tsuna summarized:
"To put it simply—Miyako Shiba, Kaien's wife, was killed by a Hollow. Kaien began searching everywhere to avenge her."
"Eventually he found that Hollow. Captain Ukitake Jūshirō and Kuchiki Rukia arrived to support him. Rukia wanted to help, but Ukitake stopped her—he wanted Kaien to keep his personal honor."
"With a captain present, nothing should have gone wrong. But Ukitake's illness suddenly flared up, and Kaien's abilities were countered. He was defeated and eventually taken over by the Hollow."
"In that moment of crisis, Rukia had no choice but to kill Kaien herself."
"She returned his body to the Shiba family. At the very end, Kaien regained his sanity and even thanked Rukia."
"That's the whole story."
After a moment of processing the information, Ganju suddenly grabbed Tsuna by the collar.
"That's impossible! That can't be the truth! I don't believe it—"
A massive Reiatsu suddenly descended on him.
Ganju was instantly crushed to the floor.
Tsuna looked down at him with faintly cold eyes.
"Whether you believe it or not has nothing to do with me. Kuchiki Rukia and Ukitake Jūshirō are both in the Seireitei. If you want answers, ask them yourself."
"Don't put your hands on me."
Tsuna withdrew his Reiatsu.
If Ganju's tone had been even slightly more polite, Tsuna wouldn't have acted so harshly.
"Mr. Tsuna, I apologize for Ganju's rudeness. Please don't take it to heart."
For once, Shiba Kūkaku abandoned her usual rough demeanor.
At this moment, she looked every bit like the head of a noble house.
"So that personality of his is why you never trained him as a Shinigami?" Tsuna asked.
Kūka possessed a Zanpakutō, meaning she had once undergone proper Shinigami training.
But in the original story, Ganju never displayed real combat ability beyond his odd tricks.
The only explanation Tsuna could think of was that Kūka had never taught him Shinigami combat in the first place.
"Until today, the Shiba family planned to continue only as fireworks craftsmen," Kūka said.
Before Ichigo appeared, only she and Ganju remained of the Shiba family.
Ichigo's arrival not only meant a new generation for the Shiba bloodline, but also brought news of the powerful elder Shiba Isshin.
And now that her strength had recovered, as the head of the family she had to reconsider the Shiba family's future.
"With Ichigo around, no one will dare bully the Shiba family again," Tsuna said.
"Am I really that amazing?" Ichigo asked blankly.
Yoruichi couldn't stand it anymore and jumped onto Ichigo's shoulder.
"You have no idea what Bankai means in Soul Society. Any family that produces a Shinigami capable of Bankai immediately gains tremendous influence in the Seireitei."
"You can use Bankai?!" Ganju suddenly grabbed Ichigo's hand excitedly. "From today on, you're my best little brother!"
"Enough chatter," Kūka said. "Yoruichi, how can I help you?"
She didn't believe this large group had come only to heal her arm.
"Kid, you explain," Yoruichi said to Tsuna.
"Kuchiki Rukia has been captured by the Gotei 13. We're here to rescue her. Coming to the Shiba house first was just because Uncle Isshin asked us to bring Ichigo here."
"But since we're here anyway… we'd also like to see your specialty fireworks."
"I see. You want to use my Kūkaku Cannon to enter the Seireitei, right?" Kūka said, glancing at Yoruichi.
"Don't look at me," Yoruichi said. "It was all Tsuna's idea."
"When do you plan to depart?" Kūka asked.
"Tomorrow, after Orihime finishes resting."
"Perfect. The cannon needs time to prepare anyway."
"Kinhiko, Ginhiko—start making preparations. And you all need time to learn how to use the Reishi Core."
Kūka acted decisively, immediately assigning tasks.
Basketball-sized cores were distributed to everyone.
Those were Reishi Cores.
After Reiatsu was injected into them, they would generate spherical barriers that wrapped around the user.
Those barriers would act as the "shells" for the Kūkaku Cannon.
They would literally be fired into the Seireitei.
Unlike the original story, Ichigo didn't struggle with this step.
Having already mastered Fullbring, his control over Reiatsu was excellent, and he quickly completed the Reishi Core training.
After a night of rest, everyone gathered in the underground chamber of the Shiba residence.
This was the launch site of the Kūkaku Cannon.
Even Ganju had changed into combat-ready clothes. Since last night he had been pestering Kūka—he wanted to enter the Seireitei himself and uncover the truth about Kaien Shiba.
Standing before the cannon, Tsuna gave the final instructions.
"Everyone, once we enter the Seireitei, no one knows what will happen."
"If we get separated, use the communication earpieces immediately."
"If you encounter powerful enemies, avoid them if possible. Your safety comes first."
"By now the Seireitei has probably classified us as Ryoka—intruders from the outside. The moment we enter, Shinigami will likely come to arrest us."
"If combat is unavoidable, try not to kill anyone. We're here to rescue someone, not invade. As long as no one dies, there's still room to negotiate."
"If you're in danger, release your Reiatsu with everything you've got. I'll come immediately."
"And remember the information the shopkeeper gave you—Rukia is imprisoned in the Sōkyoku Hill tower, the white tower at the center of the Seireitei."
"Finally… let's all return safely."
Everyone poured their Reiatsu into a single Reishi Core, forming one massive shell.
The group entered the Kūkaku Cannon together.
Once Shiba Kūkaku injected her Kidō, they would be fired straight toward the Seireitei.
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