XX-level Hokage

After uttering those words in an undeniable tone, Ichigo reached out without waiting for a reaction, towards something he had been carrying behind his back, wrapped in a white cloth.

In reality, that was the Zanpakuto born after Ichigo awakened his Shinigami powers. Like his previous Zanpakuto, the blade was ridiculously large. However, unlike the enlarged Sode no Shirayuki, this one was a cleaver-shaped Zanpakuto without a hilt or guard. Due to its enormous size...

Since it cannot be easily concealed or hidden, Ichigo can only carry it on his back for ease of movement.

Therefore, even though he has now changed into the clothes of an ordinary resident as described by Shiba Iwagi, the only thing he cannot hide is his Zanpakuto—Zangetsu—and can only simply wrap it in a white cloth strip, which feels a bit like deceiving himself and others.

However… perhaps it is precisely because this knife lacks a handle and handguard that its overall shape is quite incomplete, making it difficult for an uninformed person to discern its true nature.

Even if you tell them that their prices are based on their ability to slay, the other party is unwilling to believe it.

The alchemy shop owner hadn't noticed that Ichigo was carrying this thing and simply let him in. The white cloth strips covering Zangetsu automatically fell away from the tip of the blade, revealing the massive body beneath.

Ichigo grabbed the hilt and pulled the sword from behind his back. "!!!!"

Ichigo, who had just drawn his sword, abruptly stopped. He froze, his eyes widening in shock. "Kurosaki."

Shi Youyulong was confused by Ichigo's abrupt ending.

But the man looking towards Ichigo was instantly in the same predicament as Ichigo. "When...when?!?"

Suddenly, a man in a white robe appeared silently before Ichigo. He didn't do anything strange; he simply pinched Ichigo's half-drawn moon with his thumb and forefinger.

Ichigo was then unable to draw his sword any further.

Without a second thought, Ishida Uryu suddenly retreated to create distance between them.

At the same time, he raised his right hand. The Quincy pendant rose, and a spirit bow instantly formed around it. The next instant, a lightning-fast arrow flew straight and precisely towards the man's face.

Chapter Sixty-Six: The Echo of Rotten Wood in the River

Without the slightest warning, this man silently appeared behind Ichigo and took control of Ichigo's Zanpakuto.

With long black hair, wearing a white robe over his shihaka uniform, and handsome features, he exuded an air of nobility and wealth. Ishida Uryu attacked him without hesitation, and the arrow, as fast as lightning, was already right in front of him in the blink of an eye.

He simply smiled faintly and casually turned his head to dodge the arrow. "So fast!!"

This speed of reaction and this calm composure terrified Shi Youyu.

He only fired ordinary spirit arrows, which were nothing to be alarmed by whether they were dodged or shattered. What was truly terrifying was the man's composure and calmness.

His lightning-fast arrow seemed utterly insignificant to this man. "I sensed it... your Soul Reaper... it's quite interesting? Can I take a look?"

The smiling man said casually, "Before I noticed him, I had no idea such a person existed."

Once people noticed his presence, he instantly exuded an overwhelming presence, drawing everyone's attention to him.

His words were undoubtedly directed at Ichigo, who had obtained a Zanpakuto, because among the people present, only Ichigo possessed one. "Are you kidding me?!"

As if under immense pressure, Ichigo's forehead was slightly damp with sweat.

The other party wanted him to hand over his Zanpakuto, which was practically tantamount to surrendering, so how could Ichigo possibly agree to that?

Having finally regained his power and reached the Soul Society, entering the Seireitei, how could he possibly surrender after only a few steps inside?

just,

"I'm not asking for your opinion."

An unseen force seemed to explode between Ichigo and him. The man didn't react at all, but Ichigo was sent flying as if he had been hit by an invisible giant hammer.

He, gripping the hilt of the Zanpakuto, was no match for the man who merely pinched the blade with two fingers. As he was thrown away, Zangetsu remained firmly held in the man's fingertips, motionless.

Ichigo, launched by an unseen force, spun in the air like a top, and after landing on the ground, he rolled many times before finally coming to a stop.

"Kurosaki-san!"

And Orihime cried out in concern.

Just as Ichigo, who had finally managed to stop, was about to get up, he suddenly noticed something gleaming coldly falling and landing in front of his neck.

That's a knife.

It turns out that Ichigo, who was thrown back, landed right in front of Hinamori Momo, who had launched the attack earlier, just within easy reach of him. It's really hard to believe that this was just a coincidence.

"Captain Kuchiki!"

Diao Sentao breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the person who had arrived.

The newcomer was named Kuchiki Kyouga, the vice-captain of the Sixth Division. He was extremely powerful, even comparable to the Sixth Division Captain, Kuchiki Byakuya. If it weren't for that incident back then, he would probably be the one to succeed as the Sixth Division Captain now.

As members of the same Kuchiki family, Kuchiki Kyoga and Kuchiki Byakuya are also related. Kuchiki Kyoga is the son-in-law of Kuchiki Ginrin, who is Kuchiki Byakuya's grandfather. In other words, Kuchiki Kyoga is Kuchiki Byakuya's uncle-in-law.

Kyoga Kuchiki nodded slightly to Momo Hinamori, releasing the two fingers that were gripping Zanpakuto, which resembled a giant cleaver.

It fell and pierced the ground, firmly embedding itself in the earth.

Kuchiki Kyouga reached for the handle, grasped the handle of Zangetsu, and then pulled Zangetsu out again. It was as if...

Zangetsu is like his Zanpakuto.

Give Ichigo's Zanpakuto back!

Incredibly, it was the taciturn Chado Yasutora who launched the offensive against Kuchiki Hibiki.

This taciturn young man, who appears calmer and more composed than he seems, becomes impulsive when it comes to matters related to Ichigo.

Or rather, he couldn't bear to see Ichigo suffer, or to see Ichigo's interests harmed, especially when Ichigo's Zanpakuto, which was extremely important to him, was taken away by someone else!

Chad stomped hard on the ground, and his huge body flew straight like an arrow, arriving in front of Kuchiki Hibiki with a whooshing sound.

"The Titan's strike, blow by blow!!!"

As if gunpowder had been stuffed into his joints and arm and detonated, a powerful force erupted from his black and red-striped right arm. A strong wind swept across Chad's arm, turning into a raging storm as he swung it out. It was the Wind King's hammer that smashed straight at Kuchiki Hibiki with unstoppable momentum at extremely close range.

This attack was more powerful than Uryu Ishida's Arrow of Light, and because of its explosive force, it was almost impossible to dodge at this distance.

A punch slammed down!

With a deafening roar, the ground shook violently, and the entire ground sank about twenty centimeters in an instant. Not only that, huge cracks, like a spider web, spread in all directions, even reaching the buildings.

"We won?!"

You guys are seriously underestimating the captain of the Gotei 13!

Surprisingly, it was Shiba Iwagaki himself who unhesitatingly rejected this optimistic assessment. As the dissipating smoke gradually cleared, what appeared before them was...

Chad remained motionless in mid-air, still in the posture of throwing a punch downwards.

His pupils trembled violently, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, landing on the blade of Zangetsu... His fist, as large as a giant's.

It was easily blocked by Kuchiki Kyouga's Zangetsu.

Although the ground and surrounding buildings suffered massive damage, he himself was completely unharmed, not even a single hair on his head was disheveled. Moreover...

Kuchiki Kyoga raised his left hand, as if he were about to give Chad a lesson, and spoke casually and slowly.

"Which squad do you think I'm in charge of?" His left hand slowly clenched into a fist.

"You don't even have the strength to hit someone, and you call that a fist? You should go learn what a punch really is from the beginning!!"

For most people, the right fist is definitely more powerful than the left fist. Whether this general rule applies to Kuchiki Kyoga is unknown. The only known fact is that Kuchiki Kyoga threw a punch directly at Chad, who was standing almost inches away.

A blast of air suddenly erupted from behind Chad, causing his clothes to explode open.

It was as if he paused for a few seconds before reacting. Chad flew into the sky at an astonishing speed and disappeared into the darkness in the blink of an eye, with no one knowing where he flew off to.

"Chadu—!"

"Chad-kun—one!!" "Chad—!!!"

Chad practically flew right past Ichigo, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

of.

Ichigo simply couldn't imagine what Chad would encounter next.

Just as Chad unconditionally believed in and helped Ichigo, the bond between Ichigo and Chad was something that ordinary people couldn't understand. Ichigo roared, and even with a blade pressed against his neck, he still struggled to get up.

"...I advise you to calm down. If you do anything irrational, I'm going to hurt you."

Hinamori Momo emphasized her Zanpakuto. Although her tone was gentle, there was no sympathy or tenderness in her eyes when she looked at Ichigo. Instead, there was only the coldness of someone facing an enemy.

In other words, she's not just talking; she's actually going to take action.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Fierce Battle

In this regard.

Ichigo remained silent.

He directly grasped Hinamori Momo's Zanpakuto with his bare hand.

Blood flowed from Ichigo's hand and slid down his Zanpakuto.

Mori Momo's eyes widened slightly, unable to believe that anyone in the world would do something so reckless.

But it was precisely Ichigo's unexpected turn of events that created a moment of lapse in Hinamori Momo's attention, allowing the expressionless Shiba Ganju to appear behind her. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her shoulders.

This character understands the Soul Society and the Gotei 13 better than Ichigo and the others. Rather than protecting them or explaining the roles of the Gotei 13, he seems to be the one who takes the place of the Gotei 13 to fight Ichigo and the others when unexpected situations keep happening.

However, even so, the moment Hinamori Momo revealed a slight opening or flaw, he launched a direct attack on her without the slightest hesitation.

Before Hinamori Momo could react, he raised his knee and struck her in the waist, then casually tossed her toward Kuchimori Hibiki River as if performing a throwing technique.

Mori Momo's body was still too small, which was an insurmountable physical flaw. Under Shiba Ganju's series of swift and decisive moves, she didn't even have a chance to struggle before being tumbled and thrown out.

The whole world appeared as a jumble of colors in her eyes.

However, this dizzying and nauseating feeling of floating and weightlessness quickly came to an end.

Shiba Ganju's decision to throw Hinamori Momo at Kuchiki Hibiki seemed like a foolish move, because Kuchiki Hibiki not only wasn't thrown away along with her, but easily and effortlessly blocked Hinamori Momo's path.

But is that really the case, "Rain of Light!!!"?

Taking advantage of this opening, Ishida Uryu leaped high into the air using a nearby building and launched an attack on Kuchiki Hibiki and Hinamori Momo below.

In an instant, countless rays of light rained down from the sky. The speed was incredibly fast, like a torrential downpour sweeping across the land.

Simply put, this technique involves unleashing countless arrows of light in an extremely short time. Even Ishida Uryu, who is currently approaching the highest level of Quincy, would need to spend some time preparing to achieve this.

During this time, Shiba Ganju managed to get Ishii replaced by Uryu. The reason why Masamori Momo was thrown to Kuchiki Hibiki was also based on this.

Coupled with Ichigo's extremely irrational, yet rather childlike, reaction, in the blink of an eye, under the immense pressure from Kuchiki Hibiki, Shiba Ganju and Ishida Uryu didn't even discuss it; they simply exchanged a glance and immediately devised what could be described as a risky plan.

By placing Hinamori Momo and Kuchiki Hibiki at the same coordinates, Ishida Uryu can launch his attack without worrying about interference from other attacks. At the same time, it will also allow Kuchiki Hibiki to be distracted by the attack and focus on protecting Hinamori Momo.

Their strength cannot be increased in a short period of time, and they have already gained a glimpse into just how strong Kuchiki Hibiki is. With their current strength, it would be a pipe dream to try to fight Kuchiki Hibiki head-on.