[The Next Day, Urahara Shop]
"So this is the place?"
Kurosaki Ichigo stood there with his hands in his pockets, silently looking at the rather run-down little shop in front of him.
After talking with Ishida Ryuken, he had already made up his mind.
Even if what lay ahead was a conspiracy, he still had to walk straight into it.
The people had to be saved.
That said, now that he knew about Urahara Kisuke and Rosse's schemes, he wasn't going to stupidly let himself become nothing more than a chess piece.
After thinking about it for an entire day, he had figured out a crucial point, and also what he believed to be the key to turning the situation around.
No one knew about his relationship with Aizen, and that was their hope of flipping the board.
As long as Rosse and his accomplices were exposed before Aizen was framed, there was a chance this crisis could be resolved.
And if he wanted to do that, the first step was that he had to go to Soul Society.
"Yo, isn't this Kurosaki Ichigo? What brings you to my place today?"
The door of the general store opened, and Urahara Kisuke seemed to have already expected Ichigo's visit. He greeted him with a flippant smile.
Frivolous. That had always been Urahara Kisuke's style.
But in Kurosaki Ichigo's eyes, Urahara Kisuke's frivolity felt more like contempt toward him, and a sense of ease from knowing Ichigo had already stepped into the game.
"Tell me. Where did Inoue go?", Kurosaki Ichigo stared straight at Urahara Kisuke, as if suppressing his anger.
He hadn't felt it before, but only now did he realize it.
Acting had actually been the most important lesson Aizen ever taught him.
Back then, he had strongly resisted learning how to express fake emotions. In the end, Aizen had forced him to learn anyway. Even after finishing, he still didn't quite understand why he needed to learn those things.
Only now did he finally understand.
So Aizen had already known this day would come, and had been teaching him how to break through it long in advance.
If Rukia and Inoue Orihime hadn't been taken, and if Aizen hadn't been framed, with his personality, he really might not have been able to put on an act.
But now, for everyone's safety, there were some things he had to do, whether he wanted to or not.
"Yo~ Yo~ Yo~ What a scary expression. But Inoue's situation has nothing to do with me. As far as I know, she was suddenly taken away by Shinigami one night," Urahara Kisuke laughed, raising both hands above his head, looking completely innocent.
In this game, everyone had their own schemes.
From Urahara Kisuke's perspective, whether Rosse had issues or not, Aizen still had to be dragged out first.
And assuming Rosse wouldn't go all out, and Squad Zero wouldn't intervene, Soul Society needed a force that could firmly suppress Aizen.
And the freshly awakened Captain-Commander Yamamoto was clearly the perfect choice.
Using the Hogyoku as bait, Urahara Kisuke didn't believe Aizen wouldn't take it.
Since it was already certain that Aizen would expose himself, then naturally Captain-Commander Yamamoto had to be restored, and Inoue Orihime became the key to the plan.
Urahara Kisuke couldn't quite see through Kurosaki Ichigo, and didn't know who was backing him.
But with Ichigo's strength, even if he chased all the way to Soul Society, it wouldn't really matter. He might even add fuel to the situation over there.
Only when things descended into chaos could Aizen fish for gains in troubled waters.
This was also the plan he had discussed with Kyoraku Shunsui. All that remained was waiting for Aizen to jump into the trap.
"Urahara! Cut the crap. Tell me what that Shinigami who took Inoue looked like!"
Kurosaki Ichigo shouted at Urahara Kisuke, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.
In Urahara Kisuke's view, this was Ichigo's anger over Inoue Orihime being taken, a perfectly normal reaction.
What he didn't know was that Kurosaki Ichigo's anger was directed at him.
Ishida Ryuken had already told him everything. It was Urahara Kisuke who had exposed Inoue Orihime's information to Soul Society. Even if he wasn't the one who personally captured her, Inoue Orihime being taken had everything to do with him.
"I don't really know much about that either. After all, I'm just a shopkeeper. What could I possibly know?", Urahara Kisuke shrugged innocently. He didn't want to give Ichigo any preconceived notions. It would be better to wait until Ichigo saw the people in Soul Society. By then, everything would become clear.
Anyway, Inoue Orihime was currently near Captain-Commander Yamamoto. No matter what, she wouldn't suffer any hardship.
"You bastard!"
Kurosaki Ichigo stepped forward in a very in-character manner, grabbed Urahara Kisuke by the collar, and glared at him angrily.
"Then tell me this. What exactly can you do for me?"
"Yo~ Yo~ now you're asking the key question. I can open a passage to Soul Society for you. Otherwise, even if you want to go, you won't have any way to, right?"
Urahara Kisuke didn't care at all about being grabbed, still looking like a cheerful troublemaker.
"You bastard. You were waiting for me here on purpose, weren't you?", Kurosaki Ichigo said angrily. He had thought it through. Asking this was a normal reaction.
With Urahara Kisuke acting like this, it was obvious he was inviting him into a trap. If he didn't curse at him a little, that would actually be more suspicious.
"Come on now. We're friends, after all. You and Rukia have brought me plenty of business. Now that she's in danger, I should help out somehow, shouldn't I?", Urahara Kisuke said with a grin.
"Rukia? Danger?"
Kurosaki Ichigo's expression tightened, his eyes locking onto Urahara Kisuke.
He knew Rukia would be in danger, but he hadn't expected it to come this fast.
This was all to force him into the game, doing everything possible to drag him into Soul Society.
"Don't get so worked up. This was just news from this morning. After a trial by Central 46, Rukia will be sentenced to death in half a month," Urahara Kisuke replied.
This matter had nothing to do with them. Although they had been working behind the scenes, trying to get Rukia sentenced to death in order to lure Aizen out.
They just hadn't expected Central 46 to act even faster than the timeline they had decided on.
Clearly, Aizen had made his move in this matter.
"Death sentence?", Kurosaki Ichigo's voice shot up, disbelief written all over his face.
"All she did was give me Shinigami powers. Why would that get her sentenced to death?"
"That's how things are. As for whether there's some kind of conspiracy behind it, I'm not too sure. It's possible someone is scheming behind the scenes. Who knows," Urahara Kisuke said meaningfully.
Looking at that infuriating face in front of him, Kurosaki Ichigo really wanted to smash a fist straight into it.
'What do you mean someone is scheming behind the scenes? Who exactly are you hinting at here?'
'Why not just say it outright, that it was you people who did it, and then pinned it on Aizen?'
'Heh! Those bastards from Hueco Mundo really are a bunch of utterly hypocritical rats.'
Thinking this, Kurosaki Ichigo's gaze grew colder and colder. He took a deep breath and forced his voice to steady.
"Open the passage to Soul Society for me. I'm going to Soul Society right now."
He had to leave now.
If he delayed even a bit longer, he was afraid he might actually end up killing Urahara Kisuke.
At least for now, he couldn't do that yet. Otherwise, everything would be ruined.
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