[Soul Society Arc] Part 58: Where Hollows Fear To Tread

# Urahara Shop | Underground Training Grounds #

Orihime: "Wow!! I didn't know there was such a huge space under Mr. Urahara's shop!! It's so cool!! It looks like a secret base!"

Ichigo: "...Cool…?"

Tatsuki: *Whistles* "Really impressive…"

Yato: "You barely reacted to that…"

Tatsuki: "Neither did you…"

Yato: "But I've been here before…"

Suddenly, Tessai grabs Orihime's hand with tears in his eyes.

Tessai: "I'm touched! What a sublime reaction, Inoue-san!"

Orihime: "Hee hee~ Thanks!"

Ichigo: 'Orihime really has a gift for making friends with people she just met...' - He thought briefly before turning his attention back to Chad, Uryu, and Yato. - 'She's the complete opposite of these guys...'

Uryu: "Hey, what's that look, Kurosaki?"

Urahara: "Okay, okay kiddies! Please pay attention~" - He got the young ones' attention after removing all the red liquid from himself.

Urahara uses a device that creates large pillars with a wide area of effect, equivalent to a spiritual unit, defined by four interconnected points.

Urahara: "All right! This gate leads to Soul Society. The Senkaimon, the tunnel world gate. Now, pay close attention. I'll tell you how to pass through this gate without dying... but before that..."

Urahara strikes Ichigo's back with the tip of his cane, causing the teenager's Shinigami form to be ejected from his body.

Orihime/Tatsuki/Chad/Uryu: "Whoa!!"

Uryu: "It actually comes out quite easily."

Orihime: "So, Kurosaki-kun isn't inside this Kurosaki-kun anymore?" - She asked Ichigo, pointing at her human body being held by Chad.

Tatsuki: "Hey, Ichigo, can I use him as my new punching bag someday?" - She asked with a teasing smile.

Ichigo: "Can you all stop treating my body like a mannequin? And why only me!?" - He shouted at Urahara, pointing at Yato. - "Yato's a Shinigami too!"

Tatsuki/Uryu: "What!!?"

Orihime: "Wooow!!"

Chad: "...Hmm..."

Urahara: "Even though he's dressed so casually, Yasakani-san is already in his Shinigami form, Kurosaki-san... didn't you notice he's carrying his Zanpakuto?"

Yato looks at Ichigo with a neutral expression and raises two fingers in a victory sign.

Ichigo: "Wait... how do you turn into a Shinigami without having to wear the black kimono?"

Yato: "I used my powers to sew my entire outfit from scratch." - He blatantly lied.

Ichigo: "What? But that doesn't even make sense! And my body isn't a toy for you all to play with!" - He shouted.

Kon: "Yeah! This is going to be my body for now! Stop touching it!" - The plush creature that had jumped onto Ichigo's shoulder yelled. "Oh! Inoue-san, you can touch as much as you want."

Ichigo: "Hey!! Kon, what are you doing here!?"

As the modified soul was about to respond, Chad suddenly grabs him and stares at him.

Kon: "AAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

Tatsuki/Orihime/Uryu: 'A talking stuffed animal…!'

Yato: 'Oh yeah... I forgot that Chad likes stuffed animals...'

The shopkeeper looked at Yato for a few seconds, seemingly intrigued by something but decided not to insist and returned to his explanation about the Senkaimon.

Urahara: "Everyone, eyes over here! I shall now explain the gate. This gate has a Reishi Hanken-ki, a spirit-particle conversion machine, on top of a normal tunnel world gate. The two are attached by covering the gate with Ketsugō-fu, union tags."

Ichigo: "Spirit-particle conversion?"

Urahara: "Correct. As you already know, Soul Society is a world of konpaku... It's impossible to enter this world if you're not a soul. As you might imagine, only Kurosaki-san and Yasakani-san, who are Shinigami, can move freely like spirits. Even if we remove the Konpaku from the rest of you, the Chain of Fate would still be attached to you, making it impossible for you to move much, much less travel to Soul Society. That's where Reishi Hanken-ki comes in! It converts matter, called Kishi, which makes up most things in this world, into Reishi, or spirit particles, which are the main components of souls!"

Uryu: "...In other words, even if you don't remove the Konpaku, if you pass through this door..."

Urahara: "Yes! You can enter Soul Society looking exactly the way you do now!"

Ichigo: "All right! Got it! Let's go through alrea–Oof!" - He's interrupted by Urahara hitting him with the tip of his cane.

Yato/Tatsuki: 'Idiot...'

Urahara: "Now, for the most important part~! Passing through this door isn't a problem. The conversion of spirit particles doesn't cause pain, so if you move forward, you'll really reach Soul Society. The problem is time. The Senkaimon can only stay open and connected to Soul Society for a short period... Four minutes at most... After four minutes, the door will close, and you'll be trapped in the Dangai, the precipice world between this world and Soul Society... forever... in addition, within the Dangai, there's a restrictive current called Kōryū, that paralyzes spirits to prevent Hollows and foreign invaders from entering. If even one of your limbs gets entangled in it... the possibility of passing through the Dangai within the time span... becomes close to zero."

Orihime: "Then... how can we...–"

Yoruichi: "Go forward." - Said the black cat that had suddenly appeared.

Tatsuki: "Sensei!"

Yato: "Sensei...?" - He raised an eyebrow and looked at Tatsuki.

Yoruichi: "Didn't I tell you? The heart and the soul are connected. The state of the heart is crucial. The will to go forward... will be your guide. Have no doubt. Have no fear. Don't stop. Don't look back. Don't think about those you're leaving behind. Just... Go forward. Those who can do that, follow me."

Yato: "We're about to enter a world with centuries-old adults, confusing laws, where everyone is stronger than us and knows more than us..." - He spoke in an indifferent tone, catching the attention of his peers. - "Turning eighteen and trying to find a job must feel the same..." - He commented with an ironic smile, causing everyone to look at him confused.

Ichigo: "Anyway... You're preaching to the choir... the moment we came here... all our minds were made up."

Yoruichi: "Just so you understand, boy... If you lose, you'll never return to this world."

Ichigo: "Then I just have to win!!"

After the confirmation, Urahara and Tessai positioned themselves next to the portal, preparing to open it.

Urahara: "Are you ready? Run as soon as the portal opens."

Ichigo: "All right."

As everyone prepared, Kon started to kick and protest because he wanted to go to Soul Society too, but he had been tied to the ground and his mouth was sealed shut.

Ichigo: "Kon!"

Kon: "!"

Ichigo: "Take care of my family!"

Urahara: "Here we go!!"

After the portal opened, Ichigo, Yato, Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu followed Yoruichi, passing through the portal and disappearing from Urahara's view.

The shopkeeper, in a simple motion, tried to touch the portal but seemed to have been repelled by it.

Urahara: "It's all up to you... Kurosaki-san..."

Jinta: "Boss!! Boss!!!"

The boy's voice echoed through the underground training grounds as he came sprinting toward Urahara, his sneakers screeching against the polished concrete floor.

Urahara: "Huh? What's the rush, Jinta?" - The shopkeeper raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

Jinta: "You won't believe this, boss! Look what we got!" - Jinta's face was flushed with excitement as he handed an envelope to Urahara.

Urahara's eyes sparkled mischievously as he accepted the envelope and opened it with a practiced flourish. His expression broke into a wide grin as he counted the money inside.

Urahara: "Oh my~ I didn't know you owed me anything, Jinta~" - he teased, hiding his face behind a decorative fan, the kanji "open" displayed on it.

Jinta: "The money's not mine! Look at the note that came with it!"

Urahara turned his attention to the note, curiosity piqued. As he read its contents, a knowing glint flashed in his eyes. The message seemed to please him, but he kept its contents to himself.

Before he could say anything, Ururu, the quiet yet diligent girl, rushed to join the conversation.

Ururu: "Kisuke-san! Kisuke-san! A Gigai and a Gikongan have vanished from the stock!"

Jinta: "What!? How on earth did they disappear!?" - His jaw dropped in shock.

The children began to bicker, their young voices filling the air, while Urahara watched with amusement, his mind clearly occupied with something else.

Tessai, the towering figure behind Urahara, took notice of his boss's distracted demeanor.

Tessai: "Is there something troubling you, boss?"

The shopkeeper shook his head lightly, snapping out of his thoughts.

Urahara: "Oh, quite alright, Tessai. No need to worry about the missing merchandise, kids~" Urahara's nonchalant tone carried a touch of reassurance, though his mind clearly lingered on the enigmatic note.

Jinta and Ururu exchanged curious glances, noticing the shopkeeper's unusually contemplative demeanor. Sensing that he wasn't about to elaborate further, they reluctantly left the scene, resuming their respective duties.

Urahara: "Tessai... I couldn't help but notice, did you happen to observe young Yasakani-san carrying anything besides his Zanpakuto...?" Urahara's voice took on an air of intrigue, a hint of curiosity lacing his words.

Tessai: "No, boss. He seemed to be carrying only his Zanpakuto."

A subtle smile played on Urahara's lips as he muttered to himself

Urahara: "You're quite the curious one, Yasakani-san..."