I'm in Bleach, starting with Unlimited Blade Works.

As expected of Urahara, he has never disappointed her.

"Alright, then Soi Fon and I will go back and wait for your good news."

"Ah."

After watching Yoruichi Shihouin and Aya Hachisho's figures disappear into the distance, Kisuke Urahara produced a black night-clothes from somewhere, draped them over his shoulders, and instantly his spiritual pressure, scent, and figure vanished from the spot.

Then, using the concealment ability of the Dark Cloak, Kisuke Urahara silently sneaked into the Ninth Division's warehouse and set his sights on the Zanpakuto of the Third Seat of Hoshino.

In two days, it will be the day Hoshino Hibiki will be tried. Based on Urahara Kisuke's previous understanding of Hoshino Hibiki, such a proud person would definitely not allow the Central 46 to "judge" him so easily...

……

"The breath of freedom..."

As expected, Yoruichi Shihouin did not deceive Erin.

The next day, the Ninth Division received the verdict from the Central 46th Chamber.

Because both the head of the Kuchiki family and the "victim" Haruko Kuchiki submitted sufficient evidence to prove Erin's innocence, Erin did not need to go through the trial of the Central 46 Chambers and was directly declared innocent.

As for Hoshino Hibiki...

Because he violated Captain-Commander Yamamoto's order, no one in the First Division dared to plead for Hoshino Hibiki.

Hoshino Hibiki's Zanpakuto abilities, and his actions of directly controlling the Zanpakuto of other captains in front of the Kuchiki family, led the nobles of the Central 46 Chambers to believe that Hoshino Hibiki was uncontrollable.

The system of Soul Society can be described as utterly corrupt.

But the fact that this corrupt system could be maintained for thousands of years shows that the nobles who rule the Soul Society are not fools.

They may not be particularly strong, but they have many ways to expel powerful Shinigami from Soul Society who are beyond their control.

……

Having retrieved his Zanpakuto, Erin, escorted by the members of the 9th Division, walked out of the 9th Division's prison gates.

"Mr. Erin, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Outside the gate, Haruko Kuchiki, dressed in plain white, bowed to Erin with red eyes and apologized.

"Ugh……"

Seeing Haruko Kuchiki's outfit, Erin sighed.

He knew that Kuchiki Sojun would die, but he didn't know that Hoshino Kyouga would be so decisive, taking action immediately after being imprisoned.

To some extent, Kuchiki Sōjun bears undeniable responsibility for his death.

"Please accept my condolences, Miss Kuchiki."

Erin's words of comfort brought tears to Haruko Kuchiki's eyes again.

"Mr. Erin, my father asked me to invite you to attend my brother's funeral procession..."

Chapter 31 Agree

"An invitation for me to attend Kuchiki Aozumi's funeral procession?"

Erin was somewhat surprised.

The Soul Society is the world where the souls of humans who die in the present world reside; it is the "afterlife."

The people of Soul Society are more like "souls" than people.

However, those who possess the extraordinary energy of "spiritual particles," capable of absorbing the souls of even more spiritual particles and using them in various ways, are known as "Death Gods."

When a member of the Rukongai dies, their soul dissipates as spirit particles.

Because Shinigami possess spiritual pressure and absorb spiritual particles, their souls are much stronger than those of ordinary Shinigami.

Therefore, after the Grim Reapers die, their bodies remain in the state of corpses for a period of time before they completely dissipate into spirit particles.

Furthermore, when spiritual pressure reaches a certain level, even after death, the corpse will not transform into spiritual particles for hundreds of years.

In Soul Society, it is generally believed that after a soul is converted into a spirit particle, it will become a new, pure soul and be reincarnated into the human world. If a corpse does not convert into a spirit particle after death, it means that the person will never be able to reincarnate.

Thus, in order to enable the sacrificed Shinigami to be reincarnated more quickly, a "team funeral" ritual began to circulate in Seireitei at some point.

The so-called "team burial" is a ritual in which the bodies of the sacrificed Grim Reapers are burned to allow their bodies to become spiritualized more quickly.

The Grim Reapers believed that the faster the body could be spiritualized, the faster it could be reincarnated into the mortal world.

Although Kuchiki Ginrei was deeply grieved by her son's death, she did not want to delay the time for her child's reincarnation, so she decided to hold a "team funeral" for him tomorrow, which is the third day after Kuchiki Sojun's death.

At that time, the Kuchiki family will naturally invite some relatives and friends to see Kuchiki Sojun off.

However, Erin did not expect that he would be among those invited.

"Since Captain Kuchiki has invited me, it would be too rude of me to refuse."

"I will go with Captain Yoruichi at that time."

Although Erin and Kuchiki Ginrei had some unpleasantness a few days ago because of Kuchiki Haruko, now that Kuchiki Ginrei has shown kindness to him, Erin won't act superior.

"no……"

Upon hearing Erin's answer, Haruko Kuchiki was taken aback, then shook her head, her hands and feet moving somewhat awkwardly.

After a long pause, Haruko Kuchiki finally mustered her courage, her face flushed, and said to Erin, "Erin-kun, what my father said was that he wanted Erin-kun to be my friend and to help me receive the guests who come to pay their respects."

In fact, what Kuchiki Ginrin meant was that Kuchiki Haruko should invite Erin to host the guests together as her fiancé.

Now, Kuchiki Ginryu has confirmed that Hoshino Kyouga is the murderer of her son, Kuchiki Sōjun. No matter how much she valued Hoshino Kyouga before and wanted him to marry into her family, it has all come to nothing.

Now that Kuchiki Sojun is dead, the Kuchiki family is showing signs of decline.

If the Kuchiki family does not want to follow in the footsteps of the Tsunayo family, they must quickly send a signal to the outside world that the Kuchiki family is still powerful.

Otherwise, those nobles would covet the Kuchiki family like bloodthirsty sharks.

Once Kuchiki Ginrin passes away, one can imagine the terrifying end that will befall the Kuchiki family.

That day, Erin's battle with Hoshino Hibiki was, in a way, a way of making Erin's name known.

If Erin were to become the son-in-law of the Kuchiki family, he could deter most people with malicious intentions.

Once Erin completes his Bankai training, the Kuchiki family will be free from worries for several hundred years.

However, Haruko Kuchiki was too shy to directly ask Erin to be her fiancé. At the same time, Haruko was also afraid that Erin would refuse, so she only said that she would accompany her as a "friend".

"To help you receive guests as a friend?"

Although Haruko Kuchiki didn't say it outright, Erin wasn't stupid.

Who is qualified to receive guests alongside Haruko Kuchiki?

Erin raised an eyebrow and looked Kuchiki Haruko up and down.

It must be said that Haruko Kuchiki has inherited the excellent genes of the Kuchiki family. Although she is still a bit green, it is foreseeable that she has a lot of room for growth in the future.

Should I agree?

Erin stroked his chin.

As the head of the four noble families, the funeral of Kuchiki Sojun, the eldest son of the Kuchiki family, was attended by almost all the upper-class officials of the Seireitei.

This definitely includes the thirteen captains, including Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

If we could meet these important figures, Erin's Unlimited Blade Works would surely gain many more powerful weapons.

This even includes Captain-Commander Yamamoto's Ryujin Jakka, the oldest and strongest fire-type Zanpakuto in Soul Society.

And, the strongest Zanpakuto of the lightning type—Genryomaru.

If Erin misses this opportunity, the only time he might see Captain-Commander Yamamoto again is more than a hundred years later, when Aizen Sousuke's Hollowfication experiments cause Soul Society to lose six captains.

promise!

Only a fool would agree to that!

With that thought in mind, Erin smiled and nodded under Haruko Kuchiki's anxious gaze.

“Aren’t we friends? If helping you receive guests is helpful, I’d be happy to do so.”

"Okay, see you tomorrow morning, Erin-kun."

Having received Erin's consent, Haruko Kuchiki patted her chest, breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and waved to Erin before turning back to the Kuchiki family home.

She wanted to tell her father that Erin had agreed to help her receive the guests.

"Ha ha……"

Erin didn't look away until Haruko Kuchiki's figure disappeared around the corner.

"Perhaps, having such a lovely wife isn't such a bad thing after all..."

"but……"

Thinking of the crisis that would later occur in Seireitei, Erin finally shook his head and let out a sigh.

If even you cannot guarantee your survival in the thousand-year blood war, the more people you care about, the more painful it will be.

Think about the enemies you might encounter in the future: Aizen Sousuke, who has completely fused with the Hogyoku; Yhwach, the founder of the Quincy of the Wandenreich, and his Quincy army; Kenpachi Sōsō, the eighth generation...

Even Captain-Commander Yamamoto and the members of the Zero Division were considered as his imagined enemies.

In comparison, no one knows what will happen tomorrow.

Only by becoming strong can one protect everything that matters to them.

Putting those thoughts aside, Erin walked toward the Second Division.

Thinking about anything right now is pointless.

The best course of action is to seize every opportunity to strengthen our capabilities.

Just think, if I had had my current strength that night, not only would Kuchiki Ginryu not have been able to find me, but even if she had, what could Kuchiki Ginryu and Hoshino Hibiki have done together?

My own abilities dictate that I can only work hard quietly and then amaze everyone.

When I possess invincible power, what does it matter if I become an enemy of the entire world?

Chapter 32 Xianghe's Defection