XX-level Hokage

“You’d better come with me!” she said to Ichigo, turning back to him sternly. “These Hollows are not something you can handle alone.”

Ichigo's heart raced. Although he was filled with fear and doubt, he did not back down in the face of Rukia's unwavering gaze. He could only clench his fists and stand still.

"From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself for the rest of the battle." Rukia didn't say much, and instantly engaged in a fierce battle with the Hollow. Her Zanpakuto swung in her hand like a silver lightning bolt, swiftly colliding with the Hollow's body.

Blades flashed, and the air was filled with deafening explosions and crashes. Ichigo stood rooted to the spot, witnessing this life-or-death duel, his heart filled with fear. He had never seen such a powerful enemy, nor such a fierce battle.

Suddenly, a powerful spiritual energy emanated from Rukia's sword, and Ichigo felt an indescribable power surge into his body, almost unbearable.

"Catch!" Rukia's voice suddenly rang out.

He instinctively reached out and took the Zanpakuto that Rukia offered.

The knife in his hand was cold and heavy, but it carried a power that he could not ignore.

Rukia clashed with the Hollow once more, their blades flashing in the air, while Ichigo was awestruck by the power they wielded.

Although his heart was still filled with fear, he knew there was no turning back now. "Swing it!" Rukia's voice rang out again, filled with a commanding tone.

Ichigo gripped the hilt of his sword, took a deep breath, and swung it without hesitation. The blade flashed like lightning, slicing through the air and instantly cleaving a portion of the Hollow in two.

The Hollow's body trembled violently, then erupted in a bloodcurdling scream before disintegrating into countless fragments and vanishing into thin air. Rukia stood to the side, glancing at Ichigo with a look of utter shock.

“You did a good job.” Her tone was flat, but a hint of approval flashed in her eyes. “It seems you’re not as incompetent as you appear.”

Ichigo took a deep breath, the Zanpakuto in his hand still warm, his heart pounding. "What's going on?" he asked in a low voice, still somewhat confused.

Rukia walked to his side, sheathed her Zanpakuto, and calmly said, "You have become a Substitute Shinigami, and you must work with me to protect the human world from Hollows."

"A substitute Shinigami?" Ichigo muttered to himself, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"Yes," Rukia's voice grew firmer, "From now on, you will join me in destroying these Hollows." The moon in the night sky was gradually obscured by clouds, and the air grew increasingly cold.

Chapter 41: A Thousand Years Later

"Protect the world?" Ichigo was even more confused. "What are you talking about?"

Rukia ignored his questions and said coldly, "I'm here to destroy the Hollows." Her words were serious and resolute.

"Hollows are humanoid monsters that invade from the spirit world. They devour souls and harm humanity. As a Shinigami (death god), my duty is to eliminate them and protect innocent souls."

Ichigo was stunned, still unable to understand her words.

"Void? Devouring souls?" he muttered to himself, still unable to accept the scene before him.

Just then, Rukia suddenly flung open the curtains, her gaze sweeping rapidly across the street. "It's here," she whispered.

Following Rukia's gaze, Ichigo looked in the direction she was looking and saw a huge phantom appear in the darkness of the distance on the street.

It was a humanoid monster resembling a unicorn, enormous in size, with sharp fangs protruding from its mouth, and empty, hostile eyes. Its arrival seemed to freeze the surrounding air, filling it with an intense killing intent.

“Those are Hollows!” Rukia’s tone grew increasingly cold. “They don’t belong to this world; they are malignant products of the Spirit World.” As the Hollow drew closer, Rukia swiftly drew her Zanpakuto and charged forward with an aura of fearlessness.

“You’d better come with me!” she said to Ichigo, turning back to him sternly. “These Hollows are not something you can handle alone.”

Ichigo's heart raced. Although he was filled with fear and doubt, he did not back down in the face of Rukia's unwavering gaze. He could only clench his fists and stand still.

"From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself for the rest of the battle." Rukia didn't say much, and instantly engaged in a fierce battle with the Hollow. Her Zanpakuto swung in her hand like a silver lightning bolt, swiftly colliding with the Hollow's body.

Blades flashed, and the air was filled with deafening explosions and crashes. Ichigo stood rooted to the spot, witnessing this life-or-death duel, his heart filled with fear. He had never seen such a powerful enemy, nor such a fierce battle.

Suddenly, a powerful spiritual energy emanated from Rukia's sword, and Ichigo felt an indescribable power surge into his body, almost unbearable.

"Catch!" Rukia's voice suddenly rang out.

He instinctively reached out and took the Zanpakuto that Rukia offered.

The knife in his hand was cold and heavy, but it carried a power that he could not ignore.

Rukia clashed with the Hollow once more, their blades flashing in the air, while Ichigo was awestruck by the power they wielded.

Although his heart was still filled with fear, he knew there was no turning back now. "Swing it!" Rukia's voice rang out again, filled with a commanding tone.

Ichigo gripped the hilt of his sword, took a deep breath, and swung it without hesitation. The blade flashed like lightning, slicing through the air and instantly cleaving a portion of the Hollow in two.

The Hollow's body trembled violently, then erupted in a bloodcurdling scream before disintegrating into countless fragments and vanishing into thin air. Rukia stood to the side, glancing at Ichigo with a look of utter shock.

“You did a good job.” Her tone was flat, but a hint of approval flashed in her eyes. “It seems you’re not as incompetent as you appear.”

Ichigo took a deep breath, the Zanpakuto in his hand still warm, his heart pounding. "What's going on?" he asked in a low voice, still somewhat confused.

Rukia walked to his side, sheathed her Zanpakuto, and calmly said, "You have become a Substitute Shinigami, and you must work with me to protect the human world from Hollows."

"A substitute Shinigami?" Ichigo muttered to himself, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"Yes," Rukia's voice grew firmer, "From now on, you will join me in destroying these Hollows." The moon in the night sky was gradually obscured by clouds, and the air grew increasingly cold.

A sense of responsibility he had never felt before welled up within Ichigo Kurosaki. He looked at Rukia, took a deep breath, and finally nodded. "I understand," he said.

He knew that this was just the beginning, and that there was no turning back.

No one noticed that, perched in a tree not far away, Mashiro was quietly watching all of this.

"Is it finally starting? As someone who possesses multiple powers such as Shinigami, Quincy, Hollow, and Fullbring, Ichigo should be the protagonist of this world, just like Naruto."

However, I still have a feeling that I can't figure out what Aizen was up to back then. This is the first time I've had this feeling, a feeling of being unable to control him. Urahara Kisuke felt the same way. As expected, it's not difficult for a Shinigami who has lived for hundreds or thousands of years to produce some geniuses of the demonic level.

However, Rukia Kuchiki is also somewhat selfish. Is she a member of the Kuchiki family? Mashiro muttered to herself.

Name: Ichigo Kurosaki Gender: Male

Zanpakuto: Zangetsu

Shikai phrase: None (Zangetsu is one of the few "normal release type" Zanpakuto. After its first release, it can often maintain its Shikai state without a release phrase. The true Zangetsu is in its Shikai form from the moment of its birth and is no longer sealed.)

Special Abilities: Hollowfication, "Clothing-Type" Fullbring, Quincy Ability - Shadow Domain; Identity: Human, Shinigami, Fullbringer, Quincy

Optional Route: Comradeship Points: 70

Friendship Points: 10 (Starting Points + 1)

(Already obtained)

Friendship Points: 50 (Starting Points +3) Favorability: 90 (Starting Points +5)

Name: Rukia Kuchiki Gender: Female

Zanpakuto: Sode no Shirayuki

Initial Explanation: Ling Wu, Xiu Baixue's Identity: Death God

Optional Route: Lover's Affection Level: 0

好感度：10（初始点十1）好感度：50（初始点+3）好感度：90（初始点十5）

"But it's really a shame. He was born with the abilities of a Quincy, a Fullbringer, and a Shinigami. Moreover, given his bloodline, his spiritual pressure is top-notch, unlike me, who has to add points little by little. If he could master his abilities, I might not be able to beat him now. It's really annoying." With that, Mashiro opened his system panel.

Name: Mashiro Gender: Female

Soul Blade: Zero White

Initial solution level: 7 (out of 7)

解程度：1（满为3，前置条件：始解程度7）灵压：8（满为10）

Hollow Power: 3 (Maximum 10, prerequisite: Spiritual Pressure 8)

Quincy Power: 0 (Maximum 10, prerequisite: Hollow Power 7)

灵王之力：0（满为3，前置条件：灵压10、虚之力10、灭却师之力10）」

Mashiro emerged from the Sea of ​​Time a thousand years ago, by which time she had already maxed out the favorability of Saito Immortal and Shikato Hakunsai.

Because of the unique nature of the Sea of ​​Time, Mashiro brought Saito Immortal and Shikato Hakunsai to the Turbulent Void of Time. Due to the different flow of time, one year in the Turbulent Void is roughly equivalent to five hundred years in the outside world. Therefore, Mashiro spent two more years raising Saito Immortal and Shikato Hakunsai's favorability before leaving the Sea of ​​Time.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the unique nature of his time-manipulation abilities, Mashiro was unable to bring Saito, who is immortal, and Shikato Hakunsai along with him.

Chapter 42: Aizen's Plan

Mashiro then went to find Yamamoto Shigekuni, who had by then changed his name to Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.

Upon seeing Mashiro, Yamamoto was quite surprised to learn that she was still alive. He then inquired about Saito's immortality and Shikato Hakunsai's situation. Mashiro did not hide anything and told Yamamoto about the Sea of ​​Time, asking him if he had any solutions.

Yamamoto simply shook his head. His Zanpakuto possessed the most powerful destructive force in the Soul Society, but it was still an elemental Zanpakuto, and it was helpless against rule-based and spacetime-based Zanpakuto.

After learning that Mashiro had mastered the art of dispelling evil, he appointed Mashiro as the captain of the 10th Division.

Although the Sixth Division would have been a more suitable choice for Mashiro, the first vice-captain of the Sixth Division, the condition that the Sixth Division would be headed by the Kuchiki family was a condition set by the four noble families, and even Yamamoto could not change it at will.

So Mashiro began living the life of a team leader.

The 10th Division (Patrol Guard) is responsible for maintaining order within the Seireitei, handling emergencies, and issuing emergency information; they are similar to the police within the Seireitei.

However, since the Seireitei has thirteen divisions of the Gotei 13 and four noble families, Mashiro hardly has to worry about security issues, and therefore lives a very leisurely life.

Occasionally, he would read books, get closer to male Shinigami with system panels, and flirt with female Shinigami with system panels. He could say he lived an incredibly pleasant life.

So comfortable was she that even Yamamoto couldn't stand it anymore and made her take on the role of a substitute teacher at the newly established Shinigami Academy. Time passed quickly like this.

That is, until a Shinigami named Aizen Kazusuke joined the Gotei 13.

Unlike the other captains of the Gotei 13, Mashiro paid close attention to Aizen Seisuke, not only because of his status as the ruler of Hueco Mundo and the king of Las Noches as displayed on the system panel, but also because of the wariness a former ambitious figure had towards a newly emerging one.

Everything went exactly as Mashiro had predicted.

A hundred years ago, Aizen, then the lieutenant of the Fifth Division, sought power beyond the limits of Shinigami by utilizing hundreds of Shinigami-possessed individuals.

The soul of power created the incomplete Hogyoku. When he discovered that even if he poured hundreds of souls with the power of Shinigami into the Hogyoku, it would still not meet the Hogyoku's needs, and learned that the Hogyoku invented by Urahara was also incomplete, he devised a plan to take possession of the Hogyoku created by Urahara and pour it into the Hogyoku he created.

In order to find the whereabouts of the Hogyoku, Aizen Sousuke instructed his subordinate Tosen to secretly work with Ichimaru Gin to frame Hirako Shinji and his group, who were then captains of the Gotei 13, and cause them to trigger Hollowfication.

Just as Aizen was about to finish off Hirako Shinji, Urahara Kisuke and the then-head of the Kido sect, Gahishi Tessai, arrived, forcing Aizen to stop his attack. After repelling Gahishi Tessai's Kido attack, Aizen fled.

Afterwards, the Central 46 Chambers sentenced Urahara Kisuke, Tessai Katsuhiko (then head of the Kido sect), Hirako, and others to death. However, Yoruichi Shihōin later broke into the trial hall, rescued Urahara and Tessai, and helped the group escape to the human world.

After learning about the power of the Hogyoku that Aizen and Kisuke Urahara were researching, as well as part of Aizen's plan, Mashiro deliberately revealed a flaw, allowing Aizen to frame her using similar methods.

Mashiro then abandoned her position as captain of the 10th Division and came to the human world.

Because Ichigo Kurosaki was Aizen's important test subject, Mashiro disguised herself as Ichigo's classmate and stayed nearby.

Now that a Shinigami has arrived in the human world, granting Ichigo Kurosaki the power of a Shinigami, it means Aizen's plan is about to officially begin. With a light laugh, Mashiro vanished from the spot.

Karakura Town, night falls, and moonlight shines through the clouds onto the quiet streets.

The shops on both sides of the street were closed, and the street was deserted, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog in the distance and the sound of a gentle breeze.

Ichigo, on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all. As a young man who had recently been an ordinary high school student, he hadn't yet adjusted to this unusual life. Since Rukia appeared in his world and dragged him into the battle against Hollows, his life had undergone a complete transformation.