XX-level Hokage

Ichigo did not answer his question, or perhaps, even Ichigo himself did not know the answer.

Supported by the power surging deep within his body, Ichigo regained the strength to stand up once more, and a smile appeared on the lips of the man behind him.

[Very good, just like that, Ichigo. Don't stop, keep moving forward until you are satisfied.]

Then, there was that figure that no one but Ichigo could see. And that voice that no one but Ichigo could hear.

He vanished into the darkness as if dissolved, leaving Ichigo alone once more. "I'm going to go, one by one."

As if to remind Renji Abarai, Ichigo gripped the hilt of Zangetsu with both hands and slammed his foot into the ground. The tiny fragments of dust and sand on the ground were instantly swept away.

With a deafening boom and a howling wind, Ichigo appeared before Renji Abarai, thrusting his massive Zanpakuto, Zangetsu, at him. "Don't underestimate me, you bastard!!"

Roaring, Renji Abarai raised his Zanpakuto to parry. But this time, he was shocked; what struck from Ichigo's Zanpakuto was an unstoppable force as large as a mountain.

Even just blocking it made my arm feel numb.

If things continue like this, they will lose their ability to fight. When this shameful judgment flashed through his mind for a moment, Renji Abarai had already chosen to retreat.

He took advantage of the distance Ichigo had covered with his attack to retreat backward, while simultaneously swinging his Zanpakuto violently.

The snake tail extended, its seven-section blade snapping at Ichigo like the sharp fangs of a snake.

Ichigo calmly observed the blade hurtling towards him, leaned his body, and then bent down, allowing the snake tail to fly over him.

It's not just the power of the attacks that has changed; even the speed has increased.

It was as if, in that brief instant, Ichigo's strength had increased several levels, suddenly rising from an ordinary mid-level officer...

His skill level has improved to the point where he can fight against a vice-captain like Renji Abarai, and even defeat him! He has received a comprehensive improvement.

But the speed and level of this power increase were completely unheard of for Renji Abarai, and he had never even imagined it. "This guy's just lucky," Renji Abarai thought to himself, as if trying to comfort himself.

Instead of retracting Zabimaru, he twisted the hilt of his sword, transmitting his spiritual pressure to every part of Zabimaru. As a result, Zabimaru hovered in the air, once again swooping down on Ichigo, who had dodged the attack.

Without any calculation, it seemed to be just based on...

Responding instinctively, Ichigo leaped up at the same moment Zabimaru attacked, flying through the gaps in Zabimaru's swirling attack and once again dodging Zabimaru's assault.

Renji Abarai's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints.

But refusing to acknowledge the reality before him, he immediately launched a third attack! This was the strongest strike he had ever delivered, combining the power of the previous two attacks!

However, this final blow, which carried the confidence of both Asan and Renji, was not neutralized by Ichigo's lucky dodge.

Instead, it was the spiritual pressure that enveloped Ichigo that caused the entire Zangetsu sword, imbued with the same level of power, to vanish into nothingness upon impact! Facing the attacking Zabimaru once again, Ichigo did not choose to dodge this time, but instead met it head-on with the Zangetsu sword in his hand.

Furthermore, to prevent a repeat of the incident where the swords clashed but the blade tip pierced him, the spiritual pressure contained within the crescent moon was released in one breath the instant the two swords collided.

It resembled a wall, a crescent moon, and even more so, a gust of wind that blew Zabimaru away!

The juggled snake tail fell to the ground as if it had lost its power, no longer possessing the agility that Renji Abarai had previously displayed.

Chapter 75: First Awakening (Part 2)

This is because the weakness of Zabimaru is that after extending its reach, it can only perform a maximum of three long-range attacks. After three consecutive attacks, it must be pulled back and...

Only by shrinking the snake tail ball back to its original shape can it unleash its stretching attack again.

This is why the third attack is the most powerful of the three, because if the outcome is not decided in the third attack, a huge gap will be left.

And now, that gap has appeared. It was Ichigo's good luck that he stumbled upon it by sheer chance.

Or had he already seen through Zabimaru's attack trick from the previous attacks? Was it just that he didn't have enough time to react then, but now he was finally able to neutralize it?

All that was known was that Renji Abarai's only option was to retrieve the Zabimaru as quickly as possible to prevent Ichigo from seizing the opportunity. However, before Renji could retrieve the Zabimaru, Ichigo took several steps in one breath, suddenly rushing towards Renji in the shortest straight line.

Before Renji Sanai's eyes.

The same attack was once again presented to Renji Asanami, but Renji Asanami was unable to replicate the first time he blocked it.

Even though he instinctively raised the Jabi-maru, it was no longer a large sword with its blades pieced together; instead, it was a soft chain made of steel cables and steel cords. With a deafening roar, it exploded right in front of Renji, at point-blank range.

Before his nerves could even register the necessary avoidance commands, and before his eyes could process what he was seeing, the steel cable and chain were severed. The crescent-shaped beam of force had already reached Azanami Renji's eyes— *Bang!*

The severed blade of the snake tail fell to the ground.

From the severed spot, a torrent of blood gushed from Asanami Renji's body! Damn it!

Asan, clutching the broken knife in his hand, knelt on the ground. A sound of resentment escaped his throat.

If you're truly this angry because of us, and genuinely want to protect Rukia with your own hands...

Despite having defeated Renji, Ichigo's face showed no trace of pride or joy. The blood gushing from Renji's body also spilled onto the very person who had caused it all.

"If that's the case... what are you doing now?" Renji and Ichigo stared at each other.

"You should be inside there, taking Rukia away, not here stopping us. Even if you want to defeat me, you should..."

It's about fighting for Rukia, about striving for something, not just about simply indulging in anger!

My vision started to shake.

Asan and Renji Peng collapsed to the ground, lying motionless in a pool of blood. The ground began to shake.

The power receded from my body like a tide, as if my body had been used to its limit.

Ichigo's body collapsed as if all his strength had been drained, but before that, he used Zangetsu to support himself.

My vision started to blur and darken. I was about to give up.

But Ichigo gritted his teeth and gave the order to his body with all his might, desperately standing up again and staggering forward.

He reached out his hand to the very end of fate, and had finally made it here. How could he possibly accept dying here?

He collapsed just a step away from Rukia.

However, defeating Renji Abarai with such a physical condition was already the limit; Ichigo was at his last gasp.

He could no longer hold on. That's reality, and it has nothing to do with mere willpower.

Ichigo, dragging Zangetsu no Mikoto forward, only managed two steps before collapsing, just like Renji and Naruto...

Mottled spots. Rippling waves.

A scorching, impactful storm hit my face. A sticky, smelly liquid dripped down my face.

Shouts appeared in my ears. Angry roars.

Ichigo can't see anything.

It seemed as if some sound was constantly booming in my ears, and something was stirring in my mind.

A multitude of seemingly informative images swirled in my mind, yet I couldn't discern even a single useful detail. Instead, I felt an intense discomfort, as if my brain was about to burst.

He felt as if he were lying inside something wet, enveloping him.

He curled his fingers, trying to grab something, but in the end he grabbed nothing, only the illusion that the liquid had escaped from his hands.

Suddenly, he regained consciousness. "Rukia!!!"

Ichigo cried out, panting and gritting his teeth as he woke up.

His heart pounded, a chill ran through his body, and as he gasped for breath, he looked around in terror, only to find himself in a strange place.

Simply put, this place is somewhat similar to the area under Kisuke Urahara's general store.

And he should be lying in the hot spring? "This is..."

"Kurosaki-kun? You're awake?!"

A familiar voice came from the side, and Ichigo subconsciously looked over. Not far away, Orihime was looking at him.

"Where's Rukia? Why am I here?" "It was Yoruichi who brought us here."

Uryu Ishida answered Ichigo. "As for Rukia..."

At this point, even Ishida Uryu couldn't help but turn his face away.

Something seemed to have happened to Rukia Kuchiki, leaving Ishigami Yuuryu unsure how to tell Ichigo, who had just woken up. A shadow fell over Ichigo's heart. He opened his mouth, intending to ask if Rukia Kuchiki had been killed.

Although he did his best to defeat Asanami and Renji, his body was at its limit at that time, and he could no longer continue fighting.

He even felt strained taking one more step. He knew nothing after that.

According to Ishida Uryu, Yoruichi, who had been slacking off since the beginning, probably found them and brought them here to hide. "You're lucky, kid. I happened to be nearby at the time, so I brought you back before anyone else found you."

A deep, resonant male voice came from the side, and who else could it be but Yoruichi the Black Cat, stepping out from behind the rocks with cat-like gait? Meeting Ichigo's gaze, Yoruichi spoke without any hesitation.

"But that's all I could do. After all, I'm just a cat, and it took a lot of effort to bring the two of you here. You can't expect a cat to do too much, can you?"

"We were lucky enough to disguise ourselves as Grim Reapers, sneak into the chaos, and then be found and retrieved by Yoruichi before the Grim Reapers could discover our identities."

Upon hearing what Yuryu said, Ichigo noticed that he and Orihime were both wearing Shinigami's Shinigami uniforms.

Making Uryu Ishida, a Quincy who hates Shinigami the most, wear a Shinigami's Shinigami uniform would probably be more painful for him than killing him, and it's hard to believe he could endure it.

"Where is Chadu?"

Ichigo noticed the key words in Ishida Uryu's words and also realized that Chad was not there, so he asked further.

Don't worry about that kid. He's been sent to the Fourth Division, which is the Gotei 13's special facility for treating the wounded. At least he's safe there.

Compared to the situation investigated by Ishida Uryu and Inoue Orihime, who had only a superficial understanding of the Soul Society, Kuroneko Yoruichi was undoubtedly more familiar with the Soul Society, and his words were more convincing.

Chapter 76: The Meeting

"Where's the rock vulture?" "I'm here."

After Inoue Orihime moved aside, she noticed Shiba Iwato sitting behind her. Shiba Iwato, who was shirtless, was wearing bandages.

He was ambushed by Asanami Renji and taken down in just one move.

While it feels a bit like a character deviating from their established persona, the fact that sneak attacks deal triple damage is unavoidable. In comparison, fighting Renji and Asano initially felt like being completely outmatched by the agitated Ichigo – that was truly pathetic. "Wait, wait! Is it really okay for me to soak in this hot spring?!"

Suddenly realizing he was in an even worse situation, Ichigo panicked. He frantically tried to climb out of the hot spring, but was overtaken.

Yoruichi, who had come to step on his head, was pushed back down.

"Be honest, this hot spring has healing properties. You can recover from your injuries by lying in it. It's a rare find for most people. I wouldn't have given it to you if your injuries weren't so severe."

"Hey?"

Upon hearing Yoruichi's words, Ichigo realized that his injuries did not seem as serious as he had imagined.

Although there were still unhealed injuries, I could no longer feel pain when I moved my hands and feet. My conversation with Renji Abarai back then resurfaced in my mind.

Kisuke Urahara told them that the situation was different from the actual situation, and what happened after they broke into the Seireitei, Renji Abarai's final accusation, and the truth are still unknown.