XX-level Hokage

If we try to force it, we've barely taken action here, and they're already calling for backup. "But if that's the case..."

Ichigo reached for his Zanpakuto and grasped the giant, cleaver-shaped Zanpakuto in his hand.

"I'll distract them, and you can use this opportunity to sneak in and find Rukia, okay?"

In other words, they further dispersed the already dispersed troops, employing a feint attack strategy to carry out the dispersion to the end.

With that, Ichigo used the bandages on Zangetsu to wrap his hand around the hilt of the sword to prevent the Zanpakuto from being taken away again. Ichigo was ready for battle.

Shiba Ganju, who had witnessed Ichigo's preparation and determination, merely lowered his eyes slightly. He beckoned to Ichigo, gesturing for him to switch places with him.

After stealing a few glances at the Third Division's base, just like Ichigo had done earlier, he slightly curled the corners of his lips and merely lowered his eyes a little. He spoke with considerable confidence.

"No need for all that trouble. Hmph, these guys are guarding against simple-minded guys like you who think about using brute force to invade. If you actually try to force your way in from the front, you'll fall into their trap."

"...? Wait, wait a minute, have you been corrupted by that Uryu guy and started attacking me?!"

"But they won't expect that I'll be working with you." "Ignoring my question, huh!"

Ignoring him completely, Shiba Ganju waved to Ichigo, signaling him to shut up and hurry up and follow. The two of them pressed themselves against the wall, moving as cautiously as if they were thieves.

Actually, there are no blind spots around them now. Although they are moving close to the wall, if someone looks this way and takes a closer look, they will notice something is wrong.

Perhaps they were lucky, but the two of them made it to a narrow passage located at the back of the Third Division barracks without any major incident. There was an equally narrow wall on one side.

Ichigo cautiously looked around, but didn't see any Shinigami patrolling.

Then he looked up at the wall, which was three times his height. "I understand, we have to climb over this wall, right?"

Ichigo isn't short, and a wall three times his height is definitely heavyweight. Even if Ichigo were the world high jump champion, he couldn't jump over such a high wall.

Fortunately, he cannot be judged by common sense now.

He could gather spiritual energy beneath his feet to create a platform for standing; even he could do that. Looking at the wall now, it seems more like it's designed to keep out honest people than malicious ones.

However, what Ichigo didn't expect was that Shiba Ganju was even more formidable than he had anticipated. "There's no need for all this trouble."

As he said this, Shiba Ganju stretched out his hand towards the wall beside him and placed his right hand on it. Just as Ichigo was about to ask him what was wrong with him, something strange happened.

The once solid wall suddenly changed, as if countless small round balls had appeared on it like a rash, enough to kill someone with trypophobia on the spot.

But Ichigo quickly realized that it wasn't that something had happened to the wall, but that the wall itself had been broken down!

The solid wall was turning into fine sand at an incredibly fast speed! And this fine sand could no longer maintain the shape of the wall; large amounts of sand silently scattered...

Suddenly, a door appeared right in front of Ichigo.

"What kind of move is this?" "A family secret technique."

Shiba Ganju clapped his hands casually and raised an eyebrow at Ichigo. "Want to learn? If you can pass any stage and become a member of the Shiba family, I'll teach you...?"

Before Shiba Iwagi could finish speaking, the silently falling sand was suddenly torn apart by something.

From the other side of the wall, something suddenly flew straight towards him through the passage opened up by Shiba Ganju. Before he could react, it landed on his chest.

Shiba Ganju didn't even have a chance to struggle before being blasted away, crashing heavily into the wall on the other side of the passage. Something bright red and warm splashed in front of Ichigo, with a few drops even landing on his face.

As if realizing it too late, Ichigo didn't react for half a second. He stared blankly at Shiba Ganju, who had been slammed into the wall. A huge gash had opened up in Shiba Ganju's chest, and blood gushed from it, staining his clothes red.

Something incredibly fast was retracted from Shiba Ganju's body, but Ichigo couldn't see it clearly at all.

"Rock Eagle——!!!!"

"Don't rush, it's your turn next."

The voice that responded to Ichigo was completely unfamiliar to him.

It was a bright red-haired man carrying a knife who walked out from the entrance they hadn't yet had a chance to enter.

He gave Ichigo a brutal and ruthless smile. "Roar, Zabimaru!!!"

Ichigo used the giant moon on the sword as a shield.

He was simply forced back by the immense force, and even with his feet braced against the ground, he was still knocked backward. He finally managed to stop, not because his opponent was exhausted, but because his opponent had already sheathed the blade he had swung.

Looking up, sure enough, he saw a figure leaping directly into the air from the ground, wielding a blade as it descended towards Ichigo. The opponent wielded a Zanpakuto with a bizarre appearance, which in some ways surpassed even Ichigo's cleaver-like Zangetsu.

It was a large sword similar to a cleaver, except that it had numerous protrusions on the blade and was divided into six sections.

The opponent can wield and use this knife freely like a whip. Silver steel cables and chains connect the sections of the blade, allowing the greatsword to become flexible and retractable.

Shiba Ganju was knocked away before the opponent could even get close, for this reason: the blade was wielded like a soft whip, but it was more lethal than a soft whip.

The air itself seemed to be torn apart as the elongated, segmented blade shot straight down from above towards Ichigo. If this attack had struck, Ichigo would likely have suffered the same fate as Shiba Ganju.

Having finally arrived here, Ichigo was just one step away from Rukia Kuchiki. How could he possibly be willing to stop here? Gritting his teeth, Ichigo retreated with all his might.

Although it hurt to be hit by the pebbles that flew up when he collided with the ground, at least he dodged the snake-like blade that came at him.

Lacking ranged attack capabilities, Ichigo struggles against enemies capable of freely switching between close and mid-range combat. As long as the opponent doesn't actively approach him and maintains distance, Ichigo finds it difficult to launch an effective offensive.

Not only that, "naive!"

Having missed his first strike, Renji Abarai, who was standing three times the height of Ichigo, sneered, twisted the hilt of his sword, and pulled it out of the ground like a fishing net. At the same time, he swung it towards Ichigo, who was standing nearby.

Ichigo's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively swung his Zangetsu sword at the incoming Zabimaru. But as expected, Zabimaru was neither a true whip nor a straight-lined sword.

The part that collided with Zangetsu was blocked, but the segment at the tip of the blade further forward was rapidly and abruptly rotated at a drilling angle under the action of the steel cable and steel chain.

Like a venomous snake, it plunged the protruding part deep into Ichigo's body. A scream of excruciating pain escaped Ichigo's lips.

Chapter 72: Shock and Anger

Renji Abarai repeated the same operation, but Ichigo, whose body was pierced by the sharpest protrusion of the snake tail, didn't have time to react, and his entire body...

This caused him to be thrown out.

He first slammed hard against the wall before landing on the ground.

Bright red liquid oozed from his waist and abdomen, gradually staining the surrounding blood red.

If I had to say, he was a bit better than Shiba Iwa. He didn't lose his ability to fight on the spot because of the unexpected attack. Ichigo covered the wound on his waist with one hand, but even so, blood kept oozing from between his fingers.

With his other hand, he used Zangetsu for support. After an instinctive cry of pain, he immediately gritted his teeth and persevered. Now, he was doing the same, struggling to stand up.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding one

Six crisp sounds rang out in succession, the six-sectioned, seven-segmented blade, the snake-tailed mace extending like a long whip, returned to Renji's hands. Compared to...

Just now, it's more like I'm putting in the effort.

The connecting steel cables and chains have disappeared, leaving only the blade and its body connected together. The back of the blade and half of the body are black, while the rest is silver-white.

However, in reality, Renji Abarai's Zabimaru is a double-edged sword; the part considered to be the back of the blade can also be used to cut. If someone were to actually...

Therefore, being careless will inevitably lead to a severe loss.

Although it looks like a large, bold sword like a gorilla, its back also hides a venomous and vicious edge like a snake: "You must be Ichigo."

Standing atop the high wall, Renji, holding the Serpent's Tail Pill, did not continue his attack but instead looked down at Ichigo and suddenly spoke.

Ichigo was immediately startled. He frowned deeply, looked up at Renji, and met Renji's gaze. "You know me?"

"Orange hair, a terrifyingly large Wanli, it really is you."

Renji Abarai pointed Zabimaru at Ichigo, lowering his voice and demanding, "I don't even want to ask where you got your power from. I only have one question: what do you want to do now?!"

"do what

Because he was clenching his teeth, Ichigo's voice sounded slightly strange. He was gasping for breath due to the pain, and his breathing was slightly labored.

But his gaze towards Renji Abarai didn't waver in the slightest, and without even thinking, he uttered the answer that had led him there: "That's to rescue Ruki—"

Before Ichigo could finish speaking, he suddenly felt a chill run down his neck. Before he could even see what was happening, instinctively, Ichigo jumped to the side.

Where Ichigo had just stood, a flash of silver light accompanied the sharp sound of tearing through the air. Ichigo felt a stinging pain on his cheek, and something flowed out and slid down his face.

Looking back at the spot where he had just stood, the snake tail that Renji Abarai had retracted extended once more and pierced into the ground where Ichigo had just been standing.

"you--"

"Shut up!!!"

Thinking that Renji Abarai was playing a trick on him, Ichigo had only uttered one word when Renji Abarai silenced him with an even louder and angrier roar.

Despite launching a sudden sneak attack, which would have killed Ichigo if he hadn't dodged quickly, he's now acting even more furious than Ichigo. "Stop being so self-satisfied!!!"

All that could be seen in Renji's eyes as he looked at Ichigo was rage, and even a hint of hatred.

"It's all because of you that Rukia is in this predicament. She should have just quietly hidden away and enjoyed her newfound power, instead of causing all this trouble. I really... no, I'm going to kill you right now!!!"

The snake tail that had been driven into the ground was retracted, and Renji Abarai pounced on Ichigo from the top of the wall like a falcon hunting its prey—"Die!!!!"

If we maintain our distance and continue using the same mid-to-long-range tactics as before, utilizing the advantages of our Zanpakuto to relentlessly attack Ichigo, we can gradually build up injuries on him and eventually defeat him.

But now Renji Abarai has withdrawn Zabimaru and is charging towards Ichigo from the top of the wall like a rocket.

Perhaps he was blinded by excessive anger, or perhaps he had concluded from his previous probing that Ichigo was not as good as him and that he would not lose even if he fought him at close range.

The whistling of the wind reached Ichigo's ears.

In Ichigo's eyes, Azanami and the Zanpakuto he gripped tightly in his hand rapidly enlarged. "Damn it!"

At the critical moment.

Ichigo gritted his teeth and swung the giant Zangetsu in his hand.

Almost simultaneously, Renji Abarai charged forward at high speed, swords clashing, sparks flying. With a resounding thud, Ichigo was spared death.

However, the force of Renji Abarai's fall from the height nearly caused Ichigo to lose his balance and kneel. Even so, he was knocked back a distance, his feet leaving a clear gash in the ground. "What do you mean by that?!"

Ichigo cried out and glared fiercely at Renji Abarai.

He had no thoughts about Renji Abarai attacking him. After all, they were enemies, and it would be strange if he didn't swing his sword at the other and think about defeating him.

What really bothered him was what Renji Abarai said. "You're...you're Rukia's friend too?!"

"How could that be? Just friends, you bastard!!!"

Renji, who had just defeated Ichigo, tumbled backward and landed. But as soon as he hit the ground, he launched another attack on Ichigo, using the wall as his ground and attacking Ichigo at an angle parallel to the ground.

This attack style, which is not usually seen, made it difficult for Ichigo to defend himself. Even though he desperately swung his Zangetsu to block or counterattack, Zabimaru continued to tear and leave wounds on his body.

"Rukia... because of you, she committed a grave crime!! Even so, everyone still wants to protect her, wants to help her, even though..."

Therefore, it's highly likely that she won't even be able to continue as the Grim Reaper!

Alternatively, one could wield the snake tail as a large sword with slashing power, or extend the snake tail and use techniques similar to a soft whip to strike Ichigo.