Chapter 60 Aizen's Renewed Probing

"An internship?"

Shin looked at Shuhei with a surprised expression.

"Yes, it's Class B this time," Shuhei nodded and said.

A long time had passed since the last internship in the World of the Living. Because Class A's learning progress far exceeded that of the other classes, it was only now Class B's turn.

"Are you leading the team again?" Shin asked.

"Our class is joining forces with some students from Class B to act as supervisors for this internship. If you aren't going, I'll be the team leader," Shuhei said.

Shin muttered thoughtfully, "There shouldn't be any problems this time, right..."

Shuhei was also somewhat hesitant. "Probably not. Wasn't last time a special circumstance? Besides, the matter has already been investigated, and both the barrier team and the kidou specialists have been reinforced for this trip."

After pondering for a moment, Shin asked, "Kaniwaza and Aojika are going too, right?"

"Yeah." Shuhei seemed to remember something and added, "I checked the Class B student roster. Rukia missed the last Class A internship, so she's been temporarily assigned to Class B to participate in this one."

That sort of thing was considered normal...

Shin's gaze flickered uncertainly.

Internships in the World of the Living were usually very routine affairs, but because of the previous incident, Shin always felt a lingering sense of apprehension.

"Will you be fine leading the team alone?" Shin asked, still a bit uneasy.

Shuhei rolled his eyes. "The way you say that makes it sound like you're hoping something goes wrong."

Shin let out a breath and said, "Forget it, I'll come along too."

Hearing this, Shuhei shrugged. "That's even better. Having you there will make things much easier for me."

Shin immediately went to Hidehisa Nandate's office and informed him of the plan.

Teacher Nandate naturally had no objections and readily agreed; having Shin present would provide an extra layer of security.

However, the internships in the World of the Living were inherently safe to begin with—the space was sealed off, and only low-level Hollows were released inside. Last time was purely an exception.

#

A small coastal town in the World of the Living.

Shin stood atop the highest building, scanning his surroundings below.

A day and a night had passed since the internship began. Everything had gone smoothly so far, and Shin had not detected any abnormal spiritual pressure fluctuations.

Perhaps he was just experiencing a trauma response from the previous incident.

Among the students this time, there was no one Aizen wanted to test, and it was unlikely Aizen would orchestrate another accident of that scale. If it happened again, it would be difficult to spin an excuse like last time, and the true cause of the previous mishap might even be reinvestigated. Aizen had no reason to bring trouble upon himself.

The squad containing Rukia was performing reasonably well, though her teammates were only Class B students, and their overall performance lagged considerably behind those of Class A.

The older students in their group had to step in and intervene much more frequently than during the Class A trip.

Still, as long as nothing went wrong, it was fine.

For this internship, the barrier team and the backup squads had been significantly reinforced.

Another day and night passed. The final Hollow within the barrier was slain, and all the students gathered at the designated rendezvous point.

"Everything went smoothly," Shuhei said to Shin, letting out a breath of relief.

The previous incident had left him with a shadow over his mind as well.

"That's good. Get ready to head back," Shin smiled.

In the crowd, Rukia was waving at Shin, and Shin smiled back in acknowledgment.

Rukia hurried over to Shin's side. "President, how did I do?"

"Not bad, you're improving quite quickly," Shin praised.

Rukia offered a modest smile. After entering Class A, her learning pace was completely different from Class B's. Fortunately, she still had four private tutors at the Kuchiki family estate urging her to train every day, which allowed her to catch up rapidly.

"Still, your squad members' performance was rather mediocre. Your next internship will be with your actual classmates from your current class, and things will be much smoother then."

"They worked hard too," Rukia defended her teammates.

Shin merely chuckled. "All right, get ready to return."

Shuhei used his communication device to inform the barrier team that the internship was over and that they were preparing to return.

Soon, a Senkaimon gateway materialized right where the group stood.

"Thank you for all your hard work, everyone. You may head back now."

The students filed orderly into the Senkaimon to return to the Soul Society.

Standing off to the side, Shin's expression suddenly shifted slightly as he looked up toward a certain direction.

"Shin?" Shuhei glanced over.

"It's nothing. Must have been my imagination."

Shin spoke calmly, then shouted to the students, "Pick up the pace!"

The remaining people on site immediately quickened their steps, passing through the gateway one by one. But as the number of students left dwindled, Shin's expression grew increasingly grave.

It wasn't his imagination!

There was indeed a presence—an extremely faint spiritual pressure—rapidly approaching their location.

Shuhei noticed it too. "What is that?!"

Shin took a deep breath. "Ignore it! Back to the Soul Society! Move!"

The students nearby hadn't noticed any abnormalities and were orderly walking into the Senkaimon.

To guard against any unexpected occurrences, Shin was acting as the rear guard, planning to be the very last to retreat. But just as he was about to step through the gateway right behind Shuhei, a violent surge of spiritual pressure suddenly struck!

"Shin!"

Shin had already spotted it: a massive fireball was hurtling through the sky toward their position, and its target was none other than the Senkaimon!

At the critical moment, Shin had no choice but to halt his steps. If that fireball struck the gateway while they were passing through, becoming lost in the Dangai would be a disaster!

"Go!"

Shin let out a low cry and abruptly stopped.

"Bakudo Number Thirty-Nine: Enkaisen!"

Boom!

The fireball's power far exceeded Shin's expectations. The circular defensive shield formed of spiritual particles shattered after holding for only a fraction of a second, and a pillar of fire erupted right where he stood. Fortunately, the Senkaimon behind him had already safely closed.

From within the flames, Shin's voice slowly drifted out. "Kidou... A Shinigami this time, huh."

He walked right out of the searing flames completely unharmed. Not a single trace of scorching could be found on his body or even his clothes.

Shin noticed a figure standing atop a nearby building. The person was draped entirely in a specially made black cloak that concealed their face, leaving only a faint trace of spiritual pressure to be sensed.

Beneath the cloak, the half-exposed hilt of a Zanpakuto was visible.

This person was after him!

Of course. Judging by the Menos Grande incident last time, he had become the target of testing.

Had he overlooked this possibility simply because he was too worried about the safety of Shuhei, Kaniwaza, and the others?

The assailant seemed equally surprised by Shin's uninjured state.

As for Shin, he was busy deducing the stranger's identity. Striking at a time like this—without a doubt, this was another pawn dispatched by Aizen.

A Shinigami working under Aizen...

Surely it couldn't be Gin Ichimaru or Kaname Tosen?

The individual revealed no distinguishing traits, and the black cloak covered almost their entire body.

Shin pulled out his communication device. "Can you hear me?"

No response.

Shin put the device away, his gaze gradually growing solemn.