Simultaneous Transmigration: From Japanese Anime to American Comics

Absent-mindedly, Chad decided to head to the rooftop for some fresh air, where he bumped into Chu Yang.

"Sorry," Chad instinctively apologized while steadying Chu Yang by the shoulder. To his surprise, Chu Yang stood firm, showing no signs of losing balance.

"I'm fine," Chu Yang waved it off, noticing Chad's pale face. "But you don't look so good. Haven't been resting well?"

Chad hesitated but eventually shook his head, saying he was okay.

Chu Yang smiled. "I heard the parrot you brought to school today is supposedly cursed?"

Chad was surprised. "How do you know?"

"I just heard," Chu Yang patted Chad on the shoulder, advising him, "If anything strange happens, talk to Ichigo. He can handle it."

"Ichigo?"

Before Chad could ask why, Chu Yang had already walked away.

After school, Chad took the usual route home, carrying the birdcage with the eerie parrot inside. The parrot was unusually quiet, occasionally showing a human-like expression in its eyes. Neither Chad nor the parrot noticed Chu Yang quietly following behind.

Inside the parrot was the soul of a human boy named Yūichi. His soul had been forcefully stuffed into the parrot's body by a Hollow—a former serial killer who had targeted Yūichi and his mother. When Yūichi's mother died protecting him, the killer fell to his death from their balcony. Now a Hollow, the killer sought revenge on Yūichi.

According to Rukia, such a Hollow should be condemned to Hell for eternity.

Chu Yang wanted to deal with this Hollow himself, partly to conduct an experiment. He hadn't encountered any other Hollows recently, and opportunities to experiment were rare. He had to admit that the Soul Reapers were quite efficient in their duties.

Chad lived far from school, and though taking the bus would have been faster, he chose to walk, fearing that being around people might endanger them. He'd caused too many accidents lately.

After walking for a while, Chad suddenly felt a sense of dread, the same feeling that always preceded danger. Looking around warily, he heard the screeching of brakes behind him—a runaway truck was heading straight for him!

Chad dove to the side, clutching the birdcage tightly as the truck roared past. With a loud crash, the truck slammed into a utility pole, crumpling the cab.

"That was close..."

"No, it was aiming for you."

Chad looked up to see Chu Yang walking past. "Yang, why are you here?"

Chu Yang didn't answer and walked toward the crashed truck.

"What do you mean it was aiming for me?" Chad followed behind, clutching the birdcage nervously.

When they reached the truck, Chu Yang pointed to the cab. "See for yourself."

Chad looked and his face turned pale—the truck was empty! There was no driver!

"Leave this place, or you might get caught in the crossfire."

"What do you mean?"

Before Chad could press further, a green-skinned, humanoid Hollow appeared at the end of the street. Ignoring Chad, Chu Yang walked toward it.

Using Wood Release, Chu Yang created a wooden sword, coating it in Armament Haki. Then, after taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, releasing radiant ribbons of energy—this was the pinnacle of his breathing technique: Origin Breathing.

A terrifying aura spread from Chu Yang, overwhelming the area like a tidal wave. The Hollow froze, trembling.

This human wasn't a Soul Reaper, yet the fear of death loomed over it. That crushing aura wasn't even spiritual pressure; it was simply his presence.

"How many battles has he fought? How many enemies has he killed to accumulate such an aura?"

For the first time, the Hollow felt fear toward a mere human.

Chu Yang's speed increased as he moved, leaving behind afterimages in the fading sunlight. Under the effect of Origin Breathing, his wooden sword seemed alive. With one swing, Chu Yang appeared behind the Hollow, his sword slash wrapping it in a glowing light, as if it were drowning in a river of stars.

The Hollow screamed, not in pain, but in fear, as it felt itself disintegrating where the light touched it. In no more than ten seconds, it would be dead.

Chu Yang casually inserted his wooden sword into the ground, leaning on its hilt as he observed the scene carefully.

"The Origin Breathing has broken through its current bottleneck, becoming a higher-dimensional power. Judging from its effect, it's already quite close to the damage a Zanpakutō can inflict on spiritual beings."

"If paired with a Zanpakutō, it would definitely form a terrifying power."

"The most important thing is that the Origin Breathing improves daily. At the very least, I still can't sense its limits yet. If it continues to develop..."

As he pondered, the scream in his ears abruptly stopped.

Chu Yang looked up and saw a terrifying, grim door hanging in the void.

The Gates of Hell opened, dragging the killer's soul into hell.

Chu Yang froze.

He had thought that the Origin Breathing would completely kill the Hollow, but what unfolded before him seemed otherwise.

"Next time, I'll need to find a stronger Hollow to experiment on. This one can't take much."

Chu Yang sighed, feeling slightly regretful, and left the alley.

Moments later.

Rukia and Ichigo, drawn by the intense spiritual pressure, arrived at the scene, just in time to witness the killer's soul being pulled into Hell through the gate.

Rukia was shocked.

"There shouldn't be any Shinigami around here!"

"What exactly happened?"

While Rukia was still panicking, Ichigo noticed Chad standing at the street corner.

He hurried over.

"Chad, what are you doing here?"

Ichigo approached Chad, but his attention was drawn to the parrot in Chad's arms, where he sensed a human soul was hidden.

Chad recounted everything that had happened in detail and then led Ichigo to the driverless truck.

"It's a Hollow!"

Rukia silently appeared behind them, startling them both.

"Your classmate killed a Hollow."

"With his abilities, that's not surprising, but..."

Rukia stopped mid-sentence, her brow furrowing as she stood still, concern and confusion evident in her eyes.

"Yang told me to leave it to you..."

Chad solemnly handed the parrot to Ichigo.

It was only when they sent off Yūichi's soul that they understood the full story.

The next day.

At school, Rukia found Chu Yang and asked him about the details of his fight with the Hollow the previous day.

Chu Yang simply said it was similar to the last time.

Although she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Rukia's intuition told her that Chu Yang was lying.

But there was no point in pressing further.

She and Chu Yang weren't that close, and if she continued asking, she wasn't sure if Chu Yang would get angry.

Moreover, whenever she faced Chu Yang, she often felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

This fear had nothing to do with romance; it was a primal fear.

Rukia didn't want to admit it, but the fear she had of Chu Yang was real.

Shinigami were incredibly sensitive to souls.

Rukia's fear stemmed from Chu Yang's soul.

She guessed that his soul harbored a massive secret.

After school.

For the first time, Rukia didn't return to Ichigo's house but instead went to an unassuming convenience store.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man wearing a fisherman's hat, always sporting a friendly smile.

As soon as he saw Rukia, he became overly enthusiastic, trying to sell her the store's goods.

"You know my situation, so stop with the jokes, Urahara!"

Rukia gave him a sharp look.

"Alright, alright, my bad." Kisuke Urahara raised his hands in surrender. "How's the Gigai? Getting used to it?"

Rukia moved her body slightly and nodded, "So far, it's fine."

"Of course! Everything in my shop is top quality." Urahara stood up and called into the store, "Ururu, go fetch the Soul Candy from the warehouse."

"Okay, Urahara-san!"

A soft, almost inaudible voice came from inside.

After a while, a little girl with twin ponytails brought out the Soul Candy and handed it to Rukia, who had been waiting nearby.

"This is the Soul Candy you requested. You know what to be cautious of, so I won't say much."

Although Urahara said he wouldn't elaborate, he still couldn't help but remind her repeatedly.

Rukia couldn't take it anymore and interrupted impatiently, "Urahara-san, I'm actually here for another reason."

Urahara looked at her in surprise, "Oh? What is it?"

"It's about a human." Rukia explained everything that had happened since she met Chu Yang, especially emphasizing the inexplicable fear she felt around him.

Urahara fell silent for a moment, then smiled, "Actually, humans like him, while rare in the living world, aren't unheard of."

"Time naturally produces individuals with extraordinary talent, possessing powers even Shinigami can't imagine."

"Take Kurosaki Ichigo, for instance, who's carrying out your Shinigami duties. He, too, has unimaginable potential within him."

Rukia seemed convinced by Urahara's explanation and nodded silently.

"As for your fear..." Urahara shrugged helplessly, "How would an old bachelor like me understand the sparks of love you youngsters unintentionally create?"

"You're making it too hard for me!"

Rukia, like an agitated cat, jumped up and yelled angrily, "I told you, it's not like that!"

"Oh, really..." Urahara rubbed his chin, his eyes suddenly deepening.

Just when Rukia thought he was going to say something serious, he suddenly remarked, "Maybe your Gigai is just old and worn out."

"Forget it." Rukia didn't want to hear any more nonsense. After thanking him, she left the shop without looking back.

Watching her leave, Urahara's expression gradually became solemn.

He knew all too well that the cause of Rukia's fear wasn't romantic feelings or a worn-out Gigai.

Urahara understood that for a Shinigami to feel instinctual fear, a sense of dread, it meant that their soul was being overwhelmingly dominated.

And such a disparity should never exist between a human and a Shinigami.

"How interesting, truly fascinating." Urahara chuckled softly as he half-lay on his tatami, stretching lazily. "I thought dealing with Kurosaki Ichigo would be trouble enough, but now there's another one!"

"Aren't you going to check it out?"

A tall man with glasses and a small mustache suddenly appeared behind Urahara.

It was Tessai Tsukabishi, the former Chief of the Kidō Corps in the Soul Society, known as the Grand Kidō Chief.

And Kisuke Urahara, who always appeared carefree, was once the captain of the 12th Division and the head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.

Both had been falsely accused due to the "Hollowfication Experiment" a hundred years ago and were forced to flee to the living world, where they opened the Urahara Shop.