Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 127 - The Dangai Acting Up Again (Again)

"Kon?" Ichigo picked up the stuffed animal and tugged it left and right. "It's definitely a stuffed animal, and it has the spiritual pressure of a normal soul."

"And it's not some ability or technique either... whatever you are, you're definitely a soul, no question. Why do you look like this?"

"Oh oh! Let me explain that one!"

Ganju stepped forward, took Kon from Ichigo's hands, then pointed at the green-haired girl sitting in the corner with a cold, detached expression.

"That's Nozomi Kujo, the one I mentioned before, the one being hunted by Soul Reapers who came to the World of the Living with me." Ganju pointed at Kon. "What I didn't mention earlier is that after Nozomi and I arrived here, we noticed Nozomi was holding something that looked like a Gikongan."

"Nozomi had lost her memory, so we figured this Gikongan might know something. We stuffed it into the doll to see if it would work, and it actually did. Only problem is, this thing doesn't know anything. It's a Mod-Soul."

"A Mod-Soul?"

"Yeah, apparently it's some old Seireitei technology. You inject a Mod-Soul into a Gigai—the kind Soul Reapers use in the World of the Living—and you get corresponding combat enhancements out of it." Ganju thought for a moment, then continued. "But for some reason, the project got scrapped, and the Mod-Souls were all supposed to be destroyed."

"Nobody knows how Kon survived, or why Nozomi was carrying it before losing her memory."

"Do you even need to think about it?" Uryu pushed up his glasses, the lenses catching a glint that could only be called the light of intelligence. "This Nozomi you mentioned, if Nozomi was able to get hold of a so-called Mod-Soul, then Nozomi must have had some connection to that technology. That alone narrows the scope considerably."

"On top of that, Ichigo just said the spiritual pressure of those Captains felt strange, like the real ones, but off. It's possible they used technology similar to Mod-Souls to manufacture replica versions of the Captains."

Silence fell over the room. The Fullbringers' minds stalled. The analysis was reasoned and airtight, with no obvious holes, but they lacked any real knowledge of Soul Society, and even the sharper ones among them hadn't thought of any of this.

"Oh oh!" Ganju's eyes went wide. "This glasses guy is seriously smart! I was actually thinking the exact same thing!"

"You'd better have been." The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched. "Then let's keep going from where Uryu left off."

"One person—or rather, some great noble who knew about the Soul King Fragments, partnered with people connected to Mod-Soul research. Using the Soul King Fragments and technology similar to Mod-Souls, they replicated the Captains, then sent them to attack you in order to seize more Soul King Fragments."

"And Nozomi was likely one of the researchers behind Mod-Soul development. Nozomi refused to go along with the nobles, escaped from Seireitei, and took a Mod-Soul slated for destruction on the way out."

"But even after escaping Seireitei, Nozomi was still being hunted, ran into Ganju, who did the right thing and stepped in. They came to the World of the Living together. Then yesterday, they were attacked. That about right?"

That rapid-fire summary laid out the full picture. To say it again, Ichigo isn't slow. It's just that most of the time, his preferred method is to bulldoze straight through.

"Oh oh!" Ganju stared at him with newfound respect. "Didn't expect that from you, Ichigo, you've got that look about you, but your brain actually works!"

"...What do you mean, 'that look about you.'"

"There are still two problems." Uryu held up two fingers. "One, last night's attackers. Were they after the Soul King Fragments inside the Fullbringers, or were they after Nozomi?"

"Two, what happened in the Dangai? Why were Nozomi and Ganju suddenly pulled into the World of the Living? And it's precisely that point that gives rise to the first question."

"There's also a third problem." Kugo Ginjo said, expression dark. "All of your analysis assumes the Gotei 13 aren't involved."

"But are they, or aren't they?"

"Right. That's a critical question too." Ichigo's eyes narrowed slightly. "When it comes down to it, the replica Captains theory is still just my subjective guess. For your part, you're more inclined to believe they were the genuine article."

"But what I can say with certainty is that the Gotei 13 would not dare move against you openly."

"...Why."

"Because among my companions there are also Fullbringers, and I myself am a special human." Ichigo said, his tone flat. "If Soul Society chose to kill you for the Soul King Fragments, then what would I do, a friend who is also a Fullbringer, someone who is also a special human?"

"I'm not bragging, but the Soul Reapers these days would not do anything to make me think they have ill intentions toward us."

"That's... quite the confidence." Kugo Ginjo let out a slow breath. "I used to think the same way once. We Fullbringers aren't weak, even a Soul Reaper Captain can't take us down easily."

"But that confidence was completely shattered last night."

"That's because you aren't strong enough." Ichigo shook his head. "Someone once told me that strength doesn't represent everything, that there are many times when you have to compromise. A year and a half ago, I was exactly like that."

"Now, I still compromise toward certain things and certain existences. But among the very few that can actually make me compromise, mere Soul Reapers are not on that list."

Mere Soul Reapers.

Four simple words, carrying boundless confidence. Somewhere along the way, Ichigo's eyes had stopped registering Soul Reapers or Hollows as anything worth noting.

WHOOSH,

The words had barely faded when Ichigo's right hand swept through the air. Space seemed to tear open like cloth, a black void splitting apart.

"Something feels off." Ichigo frowned. "I can open the Garganta, but the targeting is wrong."

"Someone has tampered with the Dangai. Just as I thought."

"The Dangai can be tampered with?!" Kugo Ginjo said, disbelief written across his face. "Does that mean the Soul Reapers have already overcome something like the Kototsu?! I thought that thing was supposed to be the embodiment of a rule itself?!"

"Ahem, ahem..." Ichigo coughed twice. "Due to certain circumstances beyond anyone's control, the Kototsu ceased to exist over a year ago. It'll probably take another year or so to naturally regenerate."

"Don't worry about that detail. The current problem is that we've been cut off."

The Dangai separates the Three Realms. Whether it's people or specific information, everything has to pass through it. Now that the other side has taken control of the Dangai, it isn't just Soul Society that's been cut off, Hueco Mundo is in the same position.

"This also suggests the attackers and the Gotei 13 are most likely not working together." Uryu said. "If they were, there'd be no need to go through all this trouble to cut us off."

"Perhaps a rebellion has already broken out inside Seireitei."

"If that's the case." Ichigo's brow furrowed. "Then taking control of the Dangai isn't to hide what happened, it's to mount an assault on Seireitei itself."

"If every single Captain has been replicated, then Seireitei is in serious trouble."

"We'll stay here on standby just in case. Uryu, go find Urahara first, have him figure something out. If too many Soul Reapers end up dead, that becomes our problem too."

➤ Next: Theft and Distribution