Everyone looked confused as they watched (Y/N)'s face turn into one of slight distress.

Chad: Whatever's being said seems to be bothering (Y/N).

Uryu: I can hear shouting on the other end but I can't make out what's being said...

Just then, (Y/N) ended the call and turned to the group.

(Y/N): Bad news... Things got even worse.

Ichigo: What? Is there a third arrancar on the loose?

(Y/N): No... A captain class shinigami escaped Muken and is on the loose.

Everyone in the shop was taken aback by the news. The first one to speak up was Ichigo.

Ichigo: Hold up. You're not talking about-

(Y/N): No... I doubt it's Aizen... Soi-Fon would've been direct about the identity if she was. Unfortunately I don't know who it is, but apparently he wears a Squad 11 Captain coat. She said both her and Yoruichi will be here soon so we'll get more info there.

Urahara: A being who escaped Muken wearing a Squad 11 Captain coat, huh? Only one person fits that description.

Orihime: Do you know this person, Mr. Urahara?

Urahara: Not personally, though I've met their Zanpakuto spirit before.

Ichigo: Then who is this person?

Urahara: Soya Azashiro, The eighth Kenpachi.

The reality of the situation really made itself known the moment Urahara mentioned the name Kenpachi.

(Y/N): Are you sure?

Urahara: Positive. I couldn't mistake someone like that in a million years.

Ichigo: He must be a dangerous guy if he landed himself into the Muken. Isn't that where Aizen got sent?

Urahara: Yeah... The Muken is the place where only the most heinous criminals go.

"And Muken is the most guarded place outside of the Royal Palace in the Soul Society."

Coming out of a Senkaimon was Yoruichi and Soi-Fon.

Yoruichi: It seems like he hasn't found his way here...

(Y/N): Yoruichi. Soi-Fon. What exactly happened while you were in the Soul Society?

Yoruichi: Szayelaporro's attack on the Department of R&D dropped some of the barriers in Muken, which allowed Kenpachi Azashiro to escape Muken. Thankfully he's the only one to escape from our knowledge.

Soi-Fon: We need to find him and return him to the Muken as fast as possible. In his brief escape he already made contact with the Omaeda clan and infiltrated a captain meeting undetected and left just as easily.

Uryu: That's impossible!

(Y/N): The Omeada Clan? Are they strong? Lieutenant Omaeda seems to be held back by fear so I don't know how strong he is...

Yoruichi: Marechiyo's father, Marenoshin, was actually my lieutenant back in the day. Once I was exiled and Soi-Fon took my place as Captain, Marenoshin stayed as the Lieutenant for Squad 2. When he retired, Marechiyo took his place. Marenoshin is a very skilled practitioner in Kido. Obviously, he's not at the same level as Tessai and Hachigen but I'd say he's one of the better ones out there.

Soi-Fon: Unfortunately not even Marenoshin's Bakudo spells were enough to keep Azashiro contained.

(Y/N): He's that strong, huh? What exactly did this "Azashiro" do to get thrown in the Muken?

Urahara: It was his dedication to his goal...

(Y/N): Huh?

Ichigo: What do you mean?

Urahara: He's very passionate about protecting the Soul Society. From what I heard at the time, he proposed the idea to Central 46 to allow him to turn every living soul in the Rukongai District into a soldier to invade Hueco Mundo.

Nelliel: That's insane...

Urahara: And that's precisely why the idea was shot down. Though that didn't stop Kenapchi Azashiro. Azashiro decided he would go through with his plan without the need of permission.

Chad: Did he succeed?

Urahara: No, he was confronted by Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku.

(Y/N): They stopped him?

Urahara: No. They were the first two to begin the fight... the rest of the captains soon followed suit. From what I was told, he just gave up eventually. Not because he lost, but because he found out something.

Ichigo: What was it?

Urahara: He said "The Soul King is against me as well." After he said that, he surrendered himself and that's how he was imprisoned in Muken.

Ichigo: What does that mean?

Yoruichi: Kenpachi Azashiro's Bankai ability is that of fusion. He can fuse himself with anything, even the Soul Society itself. He can see and hear anything in the Soul Society.

Ichigo: So he can see... the Soul King?

(Y/N): Now that you mention it... Aizen's plan was to overthrow the Soul King...

Calavera: Who exactly is the Soul King?

Urahara: To make a long story short, the Soul King is the ruler of the realms. He regulates the flow of souls into and out of Soul Society and keeps the flow stable. Without the Soul King, the balance is lost and the realms will collapse into one.

Nelliel: That sounds a bit... terrifying...

(Y/N): So he was able to "see" the Soul King? Does that imply that the Soul King doesn't live among the rest of the residents of Soul Society?

Urahara: Correct. He lives in what we call the Royal Palace that's located above the Soul Society.

Calavera: This is a lot to take in...

(Y/N): It is... But with that out of the way, how does the Soul King play a role in all this? Did he come down from his palace and stop Azashiro? If so, why didn't he do the same with Aizen?

Urahara: No. The Soul King doesn't fight. His only role is as I said earlier. What made Azashiro give up was the group that protects the Soul King... The Royal Guard, also known as Squad 0.

Everyone (Besides Yoruichi and Soi-Fon) were surprised.

(Y/N): So a 14th squad existed this whole time?

Urahara: The Royal Guard doesn't take the standard responsibilities as the Court Guard Squad, hence why they aren't considered a part of the group. They exist only to protect the Soul King, the Royal Family and the Royal Palace and destroy anything that may upset the balance.

(Y/N): That makes sense. So the Royal Guard caught wind of Azashiro's plan. And because of his merge with the Soul Society, Azashiro knew that the Royal Guard saw him as a threat to be taken care of. Which is why he gave up.

Urahara: Right on the money.

Ichigo: Is Squad 0 really that strong?

Urahara: They are. Squad 0 consists of only five members, but those five members are stronger than the entirety of the Court Guard Squad combined.

(Y/N): That's incredible... Does that mean that Azashiro is a bigger threat than Aizen?

Urahara: No, it's simply because of what Azashiro tried to achieve with his plan. Aizen's plan would eventually lead him to the Royal Palace. Aizen would've been taken care of by the Royal Guards the moment he created the Ouken and entered the Royal Palace.

Chad: It sounds like Squad Zero isn't concerned with the protection of Soul Society...

Yoruichi: In their eyes, that's what the Court Guard Squad is for.

(Y/N): So with all that information, I'm assuming that Azashiro is trying a second plan that would hopefully not alert the Soul King and the Royal Guards.

Soi-Fon: What he has planned now is crazier than the last plan. And his new plan involves (Y/N) and the arrancar girl that attacked the Soul Society the day of his escape.

Roka, who was trying to keep herself hidden this entire conversation, flinched at the mention of her actions in Soul Society. Of course everyone on the Karakura Town Team turned around and looked at Roka, and then (Y/N). Soi-Fon then realized the implication.

Soi-Fon: We didn't get a detailed description of the girl but that look of confusion just confirmed that this is her... I honestly just thought she was another arrancar I haven't had the chance to meet but to think I'm currently standing in front of the girl that made the escape of Kenpachi Azashiro possible...

(Y/N) tried to stand in between Soi-Fon and Roka.

(Y/N): Alright, alright... look... things are bad right now. That much is obvious. But what exactly does this Azashiro guy need from us?

Soi-Fon: Azashiro speculated that your ability can evolve past just copying souls. He believes you can take the original soul of your victims. He believes with your power, the purification abilities of a zanpakuto and that arrancar girl's abilities, whatever they may be, he can purify every single hollow in Hueco Mundo.

Uryu: Even if he succeeded in wiping out every hollow in Hueco Mundo, Hollows can still be created by the souls of humans. That's simply a temporary solution to a permanent problem!

Yoruichi: He said he had a plan for that too.

(Y/N): He thought this far ahead? He surely didn't spend his time in the Muken twiddling his thumbs...

Soi-Fon: By his words...

"I am sure you've all heard of something similar in your studies of the world of the living, of the existence of doctors who perform what is known as psychosurgery. What I will be conducting is akin to that. I will be altering part of the brains and souls of humans to eliminate the elements that lead them to become hollows."

Soi-Fon: Whatever that means...

Roka: I think that's where I come in...

Everyone looked at Roka in surprise.

Roka: My ability allows me to create threads of Negacion to store and transfer information. It's because of this ability that I was able to create a duplicate of my soul and revive myself. If I had to guess, if this person got ahold of my powers, he would be able to fuse with the humans of the World of the Living and overwrite the mind and memories with what he believes are qualities that would prevent Hollows from being born from their souls.

Everyone was taken by surprise. It was almost as if the dots were finally starting to connect. (Y/N) finally understood the reason why he was able to see those gold threads. Assuming they appear the same day Roka was revived, that means Szayelaporro was probably revived at the same time.

(Y/N): Guys... You thinking what I'm thinking?

Uryu: That somehow, Szayelaporro somehow got his hands on this ability and that's how he was able to come back to life?

(Y/N): Exactly.

Ichigo: So let me get this straight. This Azashiro guy wants the power from both Roka and (Y/N) to create a world where Hollows can no longer be born?

Yoruichi: That's the gist of it, yes.

Orihime: I have a question.

Yoruichi: Ask away.

Orihime: How does Mr. Azashiro plan to take (Y/N) and Roka's powers away?

Yoruichi: By fusing with the two people in question.

...

...

...

(Y/N): Huh?

Yoruichi: With his-

(Y/N): No, I understand... What surprised me is "how" he plans to take our power...

Yoruichi: What about it?

(Y/N): On paper, it sounds like a good idea, but has Azashiro actually done this before?

Soi-Fon: We-... Has he done this before?

Yoruichi: What are you getting at?

(Y/N): If Azashiro's powers are fusion, doesn't that mean that our souls would be fused?

Yoruichi: Yeah. That's the point.

(Y/N): But if our souls fused then we'll be a completely different being. At that point, will he be able to use either ability?

Urahara: I see what you're getting at... If he wants to have both zanpakuto abilities, he would need to have both his and your souls. But if he fuses souls then he'll be combining both souls into one. Hypothetically speaking, the two abilities may mutate into something completely different.

(Y/N): Yeah exactly. Each Shikai and Bankai ability is unique to that individual, even if they may be similar in application. And that all comes down to the person's soul. There's a good chance that fusing our souls may very well create a completely different ability than he's expecting.

Yoruichi: I haven't thought about it like that.

Soi-Fon: That isn't going to stop Azashiro from trying, and considering he's seen everything that's happened in the Soul Society, he knows all of your abilities and most likely looking for a way to counter them.

(Y/N): Then that means I'll need more tricks up my sleeves... This Azashiro guy sounds intense.

Urahara: And what do you plan to do?

(Y/N): Well...

(Y/N) turned to Yoruichi and Soi-Fon.

(Y/N): I think it might be time to finally resume Shunko training.

To be continued.