XX-level Hokage

Ichigo's heart sank—his worst fears had come true.

"Don't rush, tell me slowly." He held Qi Wu's shoulder, trying to keep his voice calm. "What exactly happened to Shui Se?"

"He's been sitting in his seat in a daze since he got to school this morning, his eyes are empty, like he's lost his soul!" Qi Wu was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet. "When I talk to him, he just smiles mechanically and says something about wanting everyone to be happy. That's not something Mizuki would say at all!"

Ichigo didn't ask any more questions, grabbed his backpack, and ran after Keigo towards the school.

More and more pedestrians appeared on the road, and the aroma of breakfast shops wafted in the air, but neither of them paid any attention—they knew that the small island of water in the classroom was being swallowed up little by little by "possibilities".

When I arrived at the school, the morning reading session had not yet started, and there were only a few students in the classroom.

Ichigo immediately spotted Mizuki sitting by the window—his back was straight, his hands on the table, his posture excessively upright, but his eyes, which always shone with wisdom, were now shrouded in mist, empty and devoid of any spirit.

"Mizuiro?" Ichigo walked over quietly and tentatively called his name.

Mizuki slowly turned her head, her face devoid of any emotion, displaying only an overly standard, even somewhat stiff, smile: "Good morning, Ichigo. The weather is perfect for studying today, isn't it? The classroom is quiet, and everyone is behaving well. This world is wonderful."

That smile sent chills down Ichigo's spine. The Mizuiro he knew would never speak in such a "mechanical" way—Mizuiro was intelligent, perceptive, and occasionally a bit stubborn, always speaking with her own thoughts, not like this, like a puppet with a pre-programmed script.

"Kigo, go to Urahara Store and find Inoue and Chad. Tell them to come here as soon as possible," Ichigo said in a low voice to Keigo behind him, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "Tell them that the situation is urgent, but don't alert anyone else for now."

Although Qi Wu was scared, he knew the seriousness of the matter, so he immediately nodded, turned around and ran out of the classroom.

Ichigo sat down in the seat opposite Mizuiro, trying to make his tone sound natural: "Mizuiro, didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to discuss the last question on the math test with me today? I thought about it for a long time last night, but I still couldn't find a solution."

Mizuki tilted her head, her expression unsettlingly innocent, as if Ichigo was talking about something trivial: "Math problems? None of that matters anymore. Last night I suddenly realized something—I've found a way to make everyone happy, so no one will ever get hurt again, and no one will ever be sad again."

Ichigo's heart sank even lower.

"Make everyone happy?" Ichigo cautiously pressed, a faint wisp of spiritual pressure subtly gathering at his fingertips, ready to respond to any unforeseen circumstances. "How exactly do you do that?"

Her watery eyes suddenly lit up, not with normal light, but with a flash of intense, obsessive light: "It's simple, just eliminate all the differences."

He stretched out his finger and tapped the table lightly. "You see, some people get good grades and some people get bad grades, which leads to jealousy and inferiority; some people have money and some people don't, which leads to unfairness and conflict."

"Wouldn't the world be at peace if everyone were the same—the same grades, the same wealth, the same thoughts?" Just then, hurried footsteps came from the classroom door—Inoue Orihime and Chad Yasutora had arrived.

Seeing Mizuiro's empty eyes and stiff expression, Inoue instantly understood the situation, his face turning pale: "Kurosaki-san, this is... has the fragment merged with Mizuiro?"

Ichigo nodded slightly, signaling her with his eyes not to act rashly: "The depth of the fusion is still unclear, but Mizuiro's perception has already been distorted." "Eliminate differences?" Inoue couldn't help but ask, his voice filled with disbelief, "Mizuiro clearly said that what he liked most was everyone's differences."

He said that Keigo's optimism, Ryuki's straightforwardness, and Ichigo's courage are all unique, and it's these differences that make them friends!

Upon hearing the word "friend," Mizuki's eyes remained unmoved, but his tone grew even more resolute: "Your previous thoughts were too naive. Differences only bring pain; only uniformity can bring eternal happiness." A distinct white light began to emanate from his chest, and the power of the tattered page gradually intensified. "You don't understand; perfection requires sacrifice."

"That's not sacrifice, that's deprivation!" Ichigo finally raised his voice, looking into the watery eyes, trying to awaken his deepest consciousness. "You deprived everyone of the right to choose, deprived the world of diversity, even deprived yourself—have you forgotten? In middle school, you didn't sleep for three whole days to tutor Keigo in math, and when they both passed the exam, you were happier than anyone else; on the first day of high school, you saw Ryuki overwhelmed with organizing materials, and secretly helped her sort and organize all the class's materials, but you wouldn't admit it; last week when we went to eat ramen together, you even said that it's interesting because everyone likes different flavors—these were your true thoughts, weren't they?"

For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed Shui Se's expression. A faint glint of unease flashed in her empty eyes, and the stiff smile on her lips began to loosen. "I... I remember his voice becoming somewhat hoarse," she said, "but... in that kind of world... people still get hurt."

"Getting hurt is inevitable, but we can face it together!" Ichigo leaned forward, his tone urgent and sincere. "Keigo will be sad because he failed his exams, but we can help him catch up; Tatsuki will get hurt because she fought, but she never regrets protecting her friends; I will also feel powerless because I don't have enough strength! But I have you as my companions."

These imperfections, these times spent facing difficulties together, are the most precious things!

Cold sweat beaded on his pale forehead, and the white light on his chest flickered, as if engaged in a fierce internal struggle. His expression shifted between numbness and pain, his hands gripping the hem of his school uniform tightly, his knuckles turning white: "Ichigo... I... I think I can't control myself."

“I know, Mizuiro, I know you’re struggling.” Ichigo reached out, not to attack, but to gently press on Mizuiro’s shoulder. “But you’re not alone. We will help you, as long as you’re willing to come back—back to this imperfect, but real world.”

In that instant, the four powers within Ichigo's body suddenly began to operate spontaneously: the Shinigami's spiritual pressure was steady, the Hollow power was restrained, the Quincy's energy was sharp, and the Fullbring's fluctuations were gentle.

He clearly sensed the "frequency" of the fragment within Shui Se's body and finally understood the working principle of the fragment: it was not simply "erosion," but rather a response to "the host's deepest desire—Shui Se has always been a gentle person; he has seen the sadness of his friends and the imperfections of the world, so deep down he longs for "peace where no one gets hurt," and the fragment exploited this desire, twisting it into the extreme idea of ​​eliminating differences."

“Mizuiro, what you truly want isn't for everyone to be the same, but for everyone to be treated with kindness, right?” Ichigo said softly, his voice...

It conveys understanding and acceptance, "but true peace is not about eliminating differences, but about learning to respect them—just as you respect Qi Wu's optimism and Long Gui's straightforwardness, we also respect your gentleness."

The emerald green Fullbring energy slowly flowed out from Ichigo's palm, without any aggression, but rather like a warm stream, gently enveloping his water-colored body.

Within this energy, Ichigo incorporated his cherishing of friendship, acceptance of imperfection, and unwavering commitment to "truth"—he did not attempt to forcibly peel away the fragments, but instead used his consciousness to awaken the yearning for the true nature of water.

The white light on the aquamarine chest gradually softened, no longer as dazzling as before, and the whispering from the tattered page also grew weaker.

After a while, a white page fragment the size of a fingernail floated out from the light blue collar, falling slowly like a feather, and finally landing in Ichigo's palm.

Losing the support of the fragments, Shui Se's body swayed and collapsed onto the table, her face deathly pale.

Inoue immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and said, "Double Heaven Return Shield! I refuse Mizuiro's fatigue and weakness!" Golden light enveloped Mizuiro, and his pale face gradually regained some color.

Qi Wu rushed back at this moment. Seeing that Shuise had regained her senses, he excitedly rushed over: "Shuise! Are you alright? You scared me to death!"

Mizuiro slowly opened his eyes, his gaze still somewhat dazed, but it had regained its usual clarity. Looking at Ichigo, Keigo, Namikaze, and Chad surrounding him, he said in a hoarse voice, "I...I think I just had a very long dream, a dream where everyone became the same, it was terrifying."

"It's alright, Mizuki, it's all over." Ichigo patted his shoulder and carefully put the shards in his hand into a sealed bag. "You're alright now."

That day, Ichigo brought the fragments to Urahara Store.

Kisuke Urahara held a magnifying glass, carefully examining the fragments. His brow furrowed, his expression more serious than ever before: "Just as I guessed, these fragments..."

The film does not randomly select its host.

He placed the fragment on the detector, and a series of complex spiritual pressure fluctuation data immediately appeared on the screen. "They will actively seek out people with strong unfulfilled desires in their hearts—people who yearn to change their current situation, yearn to escape pain, and yearn to pursue perfection. These people's consciousness is most easily distorted."

Yoruichi lay lazily on the counter, her tail swaying gently, but her golden eyes flashed with a sharp light: "In other words, the fragments will be more hidden next time—they might choose people who seem normal on the surface but have inner flaws, or even... capable people."

Ichigo gripped the sealed bag tightly, his fingertips tightening slightly. "We must speed up the collection of fragments; we can't let any more people be affected." "But that's almost an impossible task." Urahara shook his head, putting away the detector. "The fragments are scattered throughout the mortal realm, and may even have already..."

The funds were transferred to other countries. Furthermore, they actively conceal their spiritual pressure; unless the host's consciousness is distorted to a certain degree, we are completely unable to detect them, unless...

"Unless what?" Ichigo pressed eagerly.

Urahara unfolded his folding fan and fanned himself gently twice, his eyes grave: "Unless we can find the connection between the fragments, these fragments come from the same book, there must be some kind of resonance between them. If we can use this resonance, we might be able to locate the other fragments. But the problem is, we only have one fragment now, and its energy is too weak to trigger the resonance."

Ichigo suddenly remembered what Ginjo had said during the day, and his brows furrowed even more: "Before Tsukishima disappeared, he said that his ideals would attract many people, and if someone actively sought out the fragments, or even helped the fragments find a host, the situation would be even worse."

Just then, Ichigo's phone rang, displaying the name "Ginjo" on the screen. He immediately answered, and Ginjo's urgent voice came through the receiver, tinged with anxiety: "Kurosaki, another new host has appeared! This time the situation is much more serious than Mizuiro's—the host is a political figure in the modern world, responsible for the security management of the area around Karakura Town. He has begun using the power of the fragments to forcibly eliminate street conflicts, and now the entire area is lifeless, like soulless puppets!"

Ichigo's heart sank to the bottom.

It could even distort the reality of the entire region.

"Send me your location, I'll be right there," Ichigo said briefly, his tone firm.

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Urahara and Yoruichi: "It seems we don't have time to wait for resonance; we must take the initiative."

Urahara nodded, turned around, and took a black box from the shelf. Inside were several badges engraved with spiritual runes: "These are spiritual pressure tracking badges."

"I can sense the unique fluctuations of the fragments, though the range is limited, it's better than nothing. Yoruichi, you go with Ichigo. High-ranking officials always have guards who need to keep them occupied."

Yoruichi immediately stood up, her figure flashing as she transformed into human form, clad in a black bodysuit, her eyes sharp: "No problem, but this time we need to act quickly."

We must act quickly; we cannot allow the power of the fragments to spread further.

Ichigo took the badge, pinned it to his collar, and felt the faint sensation emanating from it. He looked out the window at the deep night, where the lights of Karakura Town were still flickering, but he knew that this peace could be broken at any moment.

But this time, Ichigo is no longer confused—he has companions, beliefs, and, more importantly, the determination to protect the truth.

Chapter 301: Distorted Justice

The night sky over Karakura Town is like silk soaked in ink, so oppressive that it's hard to breathe.

The searchlights on the top floor of the city hall pierced the darkness, but brought no warmth whatsoever—the light carried a suffocating stillness, and even the wind that swept across the square fountains seemed to shrink back.

Kurosaki Ichigo's rubber shoes crunched lightly over the gravel in the alley behind the city hall. He could clearly hear his own heartbeat and the soft thud of the silver bell beside him.

The sound of Shiro Sora's trench coat rustling together in the silence made the surroundings seem even quieter.

Yincheng's profile was taut under the streetlights. His eyes, which usually carried a somewhat carefree look, were now like ice, and even the beam of the tactical flashlight held between his fingers was steady without the slightest tremor.

"Target: Toshiro Odagiri, the vice mayor of Karakura Town." Ginjo's voice was extremely low, almost brushing against Ichigo's ear. "Three days ago, he suddenly launched the Perfect Community Plan, requiring all residents to follow uniform standards for their daily routines, shopping, and even the angle at which the potted plants are placed in front of their homes."

Ichigo frowned, his right hand unconsciously wiping the hilt of his Zanpakuto hidden in his hoodie pocket.

The sandstorms of Hueco Mundo, Aizen's conspiracies... He had seen too many crises that could overturn the world, but the idea of ​​"uniformly arranging potted plants" sounded more like the unreasonable antics of some paranoid official.

"This is at most a policy overstepping, it doesn't mean we have to sneak in, does it?" Yin Cheng suddenly stopped and turned around.

The neon lights at the alley entrance reflected a touch of crimson in his pupils, a color that instantly reminded Ichigo of the fear of being dominated by Hollows.

“Until 3:17 p.m. today,” Yin Cheng’s voice fell silent, “he held an emergency press conference at the city square, saying that those who do not comply with the rules will be subject to purification. Now, seventeen residents who have publicly opposed him have disappeared, including City Councilor Moriyama—the one who questioned the plan’s rationality on television last week.”

Ichigo paused in his breathing.

The word "purification" pierced his understanding of "ordinary policies" like an icicle. He looked up towards the conference room on the third floor of the city hall. The warm light leaking through the gap in the curtains seemed like the eyes of some dangerous creature, watching them intently.

The two climbed up to the third floor along the fire escape. The wooden door to the conference room was ajar, and from the crack came the steady yet strangely penetrating voice of Toshiro Ogiri. Ichigo held his breath and peered through the crack...

Odagiri stood in the center of the podium, his dark gray suit perfectly pressed without a single wrinkle, a brooch the size of a pigeon's egg pinned to his chest. The brooch emitted a soft white light, but when the light fell on his face, it made his normally gentle features appear unusually stiff.

A dozen or so government officials sat in the audience, their backs ramrod straight, their pens mechanically gliding across their notebooks, their eyes vacant as if their souls had been ripped out, and even the frequency of their eye movements was strikingly synchronized.

"Differences are the root of chaos, unity is the cornerstone of harmony." Odagiri's voice came through the door, flat and even. "Starting from midnight tomorrow, all residential exterior walls will be painted off-white, all residents will wear navy blue uniforms, and everyone must go for a morning run at 7:00 AM sharp on weekdays and turn off all indoor lights at 9:30 PM."

The fragments amplify the host's inner obsessions, twisting them into extreme desires, and Odagiri's obsession with "unification" has clearly been completely devoured by the fragments.

We have to stop him quickly, or who knows how many more people will suffer. Ginjo reached for the doorknob, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. "Wait!" Ichigo suddenly grabbed his hand, his gaze fixed on Odagiri's face—just now, when Odagiri said, "9:30 PM..."

When the lights had to be turned off, his eye twitched almost imperceptibly; that fleeting struggle was not the reaction a host completely controlled by the fragments should have.

“He still has self-awareness. Rushing in directly might provoke him. What if he attacks those officials?” Yin Cheng frowned, about to retort, when suddenly a very light footstep came from behind him.

The two turned their heads at the same time and saw Yoruichi Shihouin dressed in a black outfit, standing silently in the shadows of the fire escape, her golden eyes shining brightly in the darkness.

“Your concerns are valid, but there’s no time to hesitate now.” Yoruichi’s voice was somewhat urgent. “I just discovered traces of a magic circle in the basement of the city hall. Odagiri isn’t implementing any perfect community plan at all; he’s preparing a large-scale purification magic circle, intending to use the power of the fragments to purify all the residents of Karakura Town at once tonight at midnight.”

"What?!" Ichigo clenched his fist, the hilt of his Zanpakuto digging painfully into his palm. "Has he gone mad? There are hundreds of thousands of residents in Karakura Town, he..."

Do you want to turn everyone into beings devoid of self-awareness and guilt?

"The core of the magic array is on the rooftop. It must be destroyed before midnight, or the consequences will be unimaginable." After saying this, Yoruichi turned and ran towards the rooftop.

Her movements were as fast as a ghost; her black figure flashed across the stairwell, leaving only a faint afterimage.

Ichigo and Ginjo exchanged a glance and followed without hesitation.

The sound of their hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell. With each floor they went up, the white light energy in the air became more concentrated. That energy carried a kind of cold, forceful quality that made Ichigo's soul feel uncomfortable.

As they pushed open the iron gate to the rooftop, a blinding white light rushed towards them, forcing Ichigo to instinctively squint. Once his vision adjusted, the sight before him made him gasp in shock—

The entire platform was transformed into a massive circular magic circle, with intricate golden runes inscribed on the ground, and silvery-white light flowing between the runes.

The streams flowed like lively snakes, slithering across the ground like dragonflies.

At each of the eight nodes of the magic circle, a person was bound unconscious. Their wrists and ankles were wrapped in glowing vines, the other ends of which were deeply embedded in the runes in the ground, constantly absorbing the spiritual energy from their bodies.

Ichigo recognized several of them—the old lady who had argued with the supermarket staff yesterday about "why we could only buy a specific brand of milk," and the high school student who had previously held up a sign against uniforms at the school gate.

At the very center of the magic circle, Toshiro Odagiri raised his hands above his head, the fragment on his chest emitting a dazzling white light that enveloped him in a halo. His hair was disheveled by the wind, but his face held an almost devout calmness, as if he were performing a sacred ritual.

"You've finally arrived." Hearing footsteps, Odagiri slowly turned his head. There was no surprise in his eyes, only a calm acceptance of what he had expected.