Crossover Anime: Starting with Bankai from Demon Slayer

Chapter 297 The Legacy of the Shiba Family

"Still haven't found it, Ichigo?"

The cold sound echoed in the hollow.

Countless blades of various shapes were stuck into the ground, resembling a steel tomb.

Standing opposite him was a middle-aged man wearing a black cloak and sunglasses.

His Zanpakuto, Zangetsu.

"Is this your limit? If you can't even tell where I am, your Bankai is nothing but a pipe dream."

"Too verbose..."

Ichigo gritted his teeth and suddenly drew his strangely shaped Zangetsu: "Again! Until I beat you to a pulp!"

On the high ground on the outskirts, the short, silver-haired captain, wearing a white captain's haori, stood with his arms crossed and his brows furrowed as he watched everything.

"Too slow, too light."

Toshiro offered his calm commentary on the battle taking place.

"If you think he can master Bankai with this level of awareness, then you'd better give up as soon as possible."

"The Double Killers' sentence has been brought forward; you no longer have time to play house here."

"After this round, don't continue. Let me tell him some key points..."

'

Yoru nodded beside him, seemingly calm but inwardly a little anxious: "I know, my understanding of Zanpakuto is so-so, that's why I asked you, a genius boy, to give me some guidance."

Shinobu Kocho knelt on the ground, with neatly arranged bandages and medicine laid out in front of her, awaiting treatment after the battle.

"Captain Hitsugaya is truly strict and responsible," she suddenly said.

She smiled and asked, "I'm curious, as the captain of the 10th Division, you should have been their enemy in this invasion... Why did you choose to defect and help Ichigo train his Bankai?"

Toshiro remained silent, looking at Ichigo with a complex expression.

Rewind to a few hours earlier, to the woods near White Gate.

When Yoruichi handed the photo of Isshin Kurosaki and baby Ichigo to Toshiro, the young, genius captain felt his very soul tremble.

"This...this is...."

'

Although the man in the photo is a bit older, unkempt, and has stubble, Toshiro will never mistake his signature silly grin.

Former captain of the 10th Division, Isshin Shiba.

The man who mysteriously disappeared, whose body could not even be found, leaving the 10th Division leaderless for a time.

"He's not dead?" Toshiro suddenly looked up, staring intently at Yoruichi. "He's in the mortal world? And... he even has a child?"

"That's right." Yoruichi tossed the photo to the other person, her tone serious: "Due to some special reasons, he lived in anonymity in the mortal world, and the invading ryuka today is his son."

Toshiro was incredulous, his fingers trembling: "...Why did you do that?"

"Captain Hitsugaya, I believe you've already noticed that things aren't normal in Soul Society right now."

"Rukia's execution, the unexpected deaths of two Shiba family captains, and even the earlier Hollowfication incident... there is an unseen hand behind all of this."

"If you want to know the truth, help that boy out."

Yoruichi left those words behind and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Toshiro did not agree immediately.

Out of caution, he first found Matsumoto Rangiku, who was hiding in a corner drinking a little wine.

Rangiku was unable to participate in the battle at the White Gate, and her teammates were all injured, which frustrated her greatly, so she resorted to drinking to drown her sorrows...

"Matsumoto, stop drinking."

Toshiro snatched the bottle from him, his eyes serious: "Go to the real world immediately and investigate a doctor named Kurosaki Isshin in Karakura Town."

"Huh? Captain, what's wrong with you..." Rangiku said, her eyes glazed with drunkenness.

Toshiro slammed the photo on the table: "Ask him what he's been doing all these years! Why did he abandon the 10th Division! Why did he abandon... us?"

Hearing him say that, Rangiku's dazed eyes instantly cleared.

"Xiaobai...you mean...?"

She stared at the photo, her pupils dilating and contracting as she examined it several times in disbelief.

Without asking another question, she grabbed the photo and rushed out of the barracks without a word, almost forgetting to bring her Zanpakuto.

After arranging things for Rangiku, Toshiro went to the Penitentiary alone to confirm his suspicions.

He asked Rukia only one question from behind the railing.

"How exactly did Ichigo Kurosaki obtain the power of a Shinigami?"

In the cell, a haggard Rukia didn't understand why Captain Hitsugaya would make a special trip, but she still recounted her ordeal to him in detail.

All the clues were connected in Toshiro's mind.

Since Ichigo is the son of Isshin Shiba, he is a descendant of the Shiba family, which has the bloodline of one of the five noble families. This explains why he naturally possesses a high level of spiritual pressure.

Meanwhile, the Central 46 was eager to execute Rukia, even resorting to using the Double Exorcism...

Is it really to punish someone for such a simple crime as transferring the power of the Grim Reaper?

Or is it... that someone is afraid? Afraid that the Shiba bloodline will become great again? But that shouldn't be the case...

"Could it be infighting among the five noble families...?" Toshiro muttered to himself.

Even now, he's still unsure who's behind this, but he's certain that Room 46 is in trouble...

Come back to your senses.

Toshiro looked at Ichigo with an even more solemn expression.

"Since he is Captain Shiba's son, I can't just watch him die here without knowing why."

Toshiro turned around and looked at Shinobu and Yoruichi, revealing a rare smile that was both disdainful and conceited, something that someone with his youthful appearance would do.

"If that bastard captain finds out that I stood by and watched his son die, he'll make a huge fuss when he gets back."

Yoruichi laughed heartily and vigorously ruffled Toshiro's hair: "Not bad, Toshiro! You've grown up!"

"I already said, it's Captain Hitsugaya!"

The rain was pattering.

The 13th Division's barracks, Yuqian Hall.

This is a small building built in the middle of a lake, surrounded by ponds and koi, and is usually very quiet and elegant.

"Cough cough cough..."

'

At this moment, Jushiro Ukitake lay pale-faced on the soft couch, covered with a thick quilt, but still coughing uncontrollably.

"Sigh, with your health like this, don't worry about those trivial matters." A lazy voice came.

Kyoraku Shunsui carried a jug of sake, without an umbrella, letting the rain soak his floral overcoat, and walked straight into the house.

"Spring Water..." Ukitake smiled weakly, trying to get up but was held down.

Kyoraku sat down cross-legged, poured himself a glass of wine, and looked into the distance through the rain: "You missed the captain's meeting tonight, and the old man is a little unhappy about it."

"Sorry... cough cough, I really can't move." Ukitake smiled wryly.

"Yeah?"

Kyoraku Shunsui toyed with the sake cup in his hand, his eyes appearing somewhat obscure in the candlelight.

"But I heard that around dusk..."

"Did someone see the captain of the 13th Division, despite his illness, open the portal to the human world without permission?"

Ukitake's movements froze.

He remained silent for a long time, listening quietly to the pattering of raindrops falling on the lake.

"Chunshui, do you believe in ghosts?" he suddenly asked.

"We are death gods ourselves, dealing with spirits all day long, what are you talking about ghosts..." Kyoraku raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm talking about those who have already passed away as Death."