User blog comment:Tinni/Ichimaru Gin/@comment-1454424-20100530144202

That's why I said for "all we know". Minus the anime intro narration, we don't know how Urahara got the hogyoku inside Rukia. My explanation does not violate any manga based facts. Urahara's base was and is West Rokongai. He spent some hours after escaping the clutches of Central 46 in Soul Society, making Gigai and planning his escape. Who is to say that was also not when he hid the Hogyoku inside Rukia.

In fact, given the revelations of the latest chapters, it is clear that the Hogyoku was already inside Rukia when she first encounter Ichigo and not placed inside her after she lost her powers as was implied by the anime intro. Why? Aizen said, the will of the Hogyoku was the reason Ichigo ended up with all of Rukia's powers. Therefore, the Hogyoku was somewhere nearby. So really, there is a mystery here but the mystery ain't Urahara.

As for his bankai, Urahara gave a very reasonable reason for why he didn't want to use his bankai to train Chad. Not all Bankai's are suitable for training. Soifon's come to mind. It's a rocket launcher. Most people can't counter it. All they can do is dodge it and then Soifon can't fire another one for three days unless she is motivated by the prospect of having Urahara trapped in Hacchi's barrier. Hardly a mystery.

Tessei - was calling Urahara-dono while he was Captain of the Kido corp. Tessei might just work for Urahara because Urahara is higher in the social hierarchy of Soul Society then Tessei or because Tessei feels he owes Urahara a debt for saving him from prison. Perfectly reasonable non mysterious reasons.

What he sells in his shop - cheap appetizer and items from Soul Society, he's a black market dealer of Soul Society items, this was explained in Book of SOULs.

Jinta and Ururu - ok, I'll give you that but that nothing to do with Urahara personally but more a mystery about who or even what (in the case of Ururu) they are. When we know more about Jinta and Ururu, they will cease being a mystery and they hardly add anything to Urahara's person mystery. They are simply two characters who Kubo whose past Kubo has left as blank slates.

Nothing you have said, is particularly mysterious. Urahara has explained himself and I see nothing in his explanation that hides a alteriar motive. In addition, as I said, if we are going with "but we don't know what he did while the fighting was going on" then Ise Nanao is the most mysterious character of them all.

I repeat, Urahara isn't a mystery. He was once but those days are long gone.