"Cole, if you keep doing this, I feel like Captain Soi Fong will kill you."
Rukia looked at Cole seriously.
"Hah!?"
Cole's eyes turned dead-fish-like. "Are you trying to dump all the blame on me?"
Rukia's face flushed red. "I just got careless."
"Careless? Does carelessness make her face look like this!?"
Cole stared helplessly at the unconscious Soi Fong in Rukia's arms, her face doodled with whiskers and the word "king."
The two had gotten carried away earlier, unable to resist grabbing a pen and drawing on Soi Fong's face.
Cole had originally wanted to draw a cat.
But Rukia insisted on drawing a tiger.
"I think Captain Soi Fong isn't like a cat, she's more like a tiger," Rukia mumbled, cheeks red.
"If you put it that way, she's more like a killer bee."
As they chatted, both suddenly froze, looking toward Ichigo leaping across rooftops in the distance, laughing loudly.
"Cole, that's…"
Rukia stared blankly at Ichigo.
For some reason, she felt he seemed a bit strange.
Moments later, both Cole and Rukia saw the real Ichigo and Uryu chasing furiously behind the fake "Ichigo."
"Nothing. You didn't see anything."
Cole's mouth twitched as he pulled Rukia along toward Urahara's shop.
If Soi Fong hadn't come, he wouldn't have minded playing with this modified soul, but now he had no mood for it.
"Phew, thank goodness that monster didn't interfere."
The fake Ichigo on the rooftops exhaled in relief as he watched Cole leave.
As a modified soul developed by the Technology Development Bureau, his spiritual sensitivity was sharp enough to sense power levels.
If Ichigo and Uryu were kittens… then Cole was a mountain tiger.
Their strength simply wasn't on the same scale.
Thinking that, the fake Ichigo burst into laughter, patting his backside mockingly at the two chasing behind.
"You idiots, is that really your top speed?"
Behind him, Ichigo and Uryu were both red with fury, shouting as they chased harder.
Moments ago, they'd intended to duel.
But right after Ichigo swallowed the artificial soul pill and separated from his body, this modified soul mocked them both, kicked them each once, and nearly made them explode with rage.
"Stop right there!"
"You bastard, we won't forgive you!"
…
"What a lively scene…"
At Urahara's shop, Kisuke stood at the doorway, sighing.
He had been releasing spiritual threads daily, each time witnessing amusing scenes like this.
It made life far less dull.
Then he spotted Cole dragging Omaeda while Rukia carried Soi Fong toward the shop.
"Even livelier…"
He was stunned when he recognized Soi Fong.
If not for her appearance, he wouldn't have believed this tiger-faced girl was her.
"Soi Fong!"
"Omaeda!"
Kisuke's expression twisted. "Cole, you just left my shop, and now you've kidnapped a captain from Soul Society?"
Cole gave a sheepish smile.
Rukia lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Boss, is Cole back?"
Tessai came rushing out with excitement, "I knew it, Cole must be here to study kido with me—huh…"
His words froze as he gawked at Soi Fong.
Soon after, a black cat padded out.
"Meow, what's with the noise?"
"Meow!!"
The cat's eyes widened.
…
Inside the shop, Cole held Soi Fong and explained everything.
"…That's how it happened. I never expected one swing to take down such a strong captain."
Kisuke, Tessai, and the black cat Yoruichi all twitched at the mouth.
They silently pitied Soi Fong for three seconds.
Poor girl, she had come seeking vengeance, only to be knocked out cold with one strike.
Surely not even in her worst nightmare would she imagine a human-turned-Shinigami's zanpakuto in shikai could be this overwhelming.
Jinta, meanwhile, looked at Cole with awe. His earlier anger vanished instantly.
This guy was insane!
Even a captain got flattened—of course he could beat him.
"So, what do you plan to do with Soi Fong?"
The black cat Yoruichi asked, eyes narrowing.
Cole put on a stern face, growling, "Naturally, I'll torture her until she's trained into my obedient maid."
Even knowing he was joking, Yoruichi couldn't help glaring at him.
"You dare!?"
She padded swiftly toward the basement.
"You two, bring Soi Fong with me."
Cole and Rukia hurried after her.
Only after they left did Omaeda dare open his eyes, only to find Kisuke and Tessai staring at him.
He forced out a pitiful smile.
"Captain Urahara… Grand Kido Chief…"
Kisuke: "…"
Tessai: "…"
…
Down in the basement, the black cat led the way, then suddenly glanced back, warning:
"Don't absorb any more spirit energy. This space is about to collapse. If it breaks, Kisuke will come after you with everything he has."
Cole laughed awkwardly and withdrew his hand.
He could sense the instability himself.
"We're here!"
Yoruichi stopped before a steaming hot spring.
"Hm?"
Cole and Rukia blinked.
The cat padded forward. "Set Soi Fong down here. I'll wash up before meeting her."
As she spoke, her body glowed.
In the light, her form expanded—long hair spilling over her shoulders, curves outlined by bronze skin.
Rukia's eyes widened, face scarlet.
"Yoruichi-sama, w-why aren't you wearing clothes?"
Yoruichi glanced at her bare figure, then chuckled.
"Sorry, sorry. Staying a cat so long, I forgot human habits."
Cole coughed lightly.
He'd known from the original story that Yoruichi had a stunning body, but seeing it with his own eyes was dozens of times more intense.
That healthy, bronze skin.
That lithe, trained figure.
That voluptuous, breathtaking chest…
"Cole, you're peeking, aren't you?"
Rukia suddenly glared at him.
Cole shook his head frantically. "You misunderstand. I'm a gentleman. The moment I saw it, I covered my eyes."
Rukia ground her teeth. "Then why are your fingers spread apart?"
(End of Chapter)
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