"It's all because of me... If it weren't for me, Grimmjow wouldn't have appeared, and he wouldn't have..."
Ichigo Kurosaki leaned on Tensa Zangetsu, his heart filled with self-blame. Against the backdrop of the azure flames, his eyes were dim, and he appeared extremely dejected and indecisive.
"Now is not the time to be depressed, Mr. Kurosaki."
Kisuke Urahara, protected by his Benihime's Chikasumi no Tate, cut a path through the raging sea of blue fire with his blade and arrived at Ichigo's side.
"Mr. Urahara..."
Seeing Kisuke Urahara, Ichigo Kurosaki was like a helpless child who had found someone to rely on.
His heart was extremely anxious at this moment, as if being roasted by the external Reishi flames. Guilt and self-blame were constantly gnawing at his soul.
People with a higher sense of morality tend to automatically shoulder pressures that don't belong to them, and Ichigo Kurosaki was such a gentle man with a saintly heart.
Moreover, this was the first time he had seen a friend die in front of him, powerless to do anything.
Although Grimmjow was once an enemy, after their battles, a subtle friendship had formed between the two competitive men.
He was blaming himself, feeling guilty, and afraid—afraid that his friends back in Soul Society had also met with an accident like Grimmjow.
"It's time to retreat," Kisuke Urahara said softly.
"What did you say?" Ichigo couldn't believe it.
The already disheartened Ichigo was actually waiting for the reliable Mr. Urahara to make a decision for him on what to do next. He didn't expect to hear the word 'retreat', which sounded like a clap of thunder in his ears.
"The enemy has no patience for those without value and will destroy them like they did Grimmjow. This means that Miss Inoue, Mr. Sado, and Miss Nel, whom he didn't kill immediately, are valuable to him.
"For now, their lives are guaranteed. And with hostages in his hands, I'm sure you can't fight with all your heart, Mr. Kurosaki."
What Urahara didn't say was that, based on the enemy's behavior of collecting female Arrancar and the forceful kiss to declare ownership, he was also a lecher.
So, until he got tired of these women, Bai Yuetong most likely wouldn't harm them.
Of course, he wouldn't say this directly to Ichigo Kurosaki; the young man probably couldn't handle it.
As for why the male Chad was still alive, it might have just been a matter of convenience, or he might have been spared due to his status as a human Fullbringer. It could also be that the enemy was just using him to force Orihime Inoue to heal people.
In any case, the fact that he didn't kill Chad immediately meant that he was safe for now.
"Mr. Urahara..."
Ichigo Kurosaki understood the subtext of Urahara's words and looked extremely conflicted and pained.
Chad, Inoue, and Nel were safe, which meant that the Soul Reapers in Soul Society—Byakuya, Renji, Rukia, and others—were not.
But to ask him to abandon his companions right here to go save another group of friends was pure torture for Ichigo Kurosaki.
Because it was tantamount to betrayal. No matter how you dressed it up, it was a betrayal of friendship. And no matter which side he chose first, it was a betrayal of the other.
Although his companions on either side would probably understand his predicament, for the highly moral Ichigo Kurosaki, he couldn't deceive himself. This was the ultimate torture for him and would become a knot in his heart that he couldn't easily untie.
Besides, even if he went to support Soul Society now, could he really turn the tide?
After witnessing Bai Yuetong's overwhelming power and his despicable methods, Ichigo Kurosaki was not so confident anymore.
Once he started to feel depressed and lose confidence, Ichigo's sensitive and fragile heart would overthink things. And once he overthought, he would fall into a severe state of mental self-consumption.
Once he fell into mental self-consumption, Ichigo Kurosaki would enter a vicious cycle of self-suppression. The power within him would become unbalanced, and his strength would fluctuate, becoming strong one moment and weak the next.
"Mr. Kurosaki, perhaps you are the enemy's main target. Otherwise, he would have treated you the same way he treated Grimmjow long ago.
"So, their real purpose might be to capture you alive. If you stay here for a long time, unable to make a decision, the enemy will use Miss Inoue and the others as threats to force you.
"Leaving Hueco Mundo now is the best choice for both you and them. Otherwise, your kindness will only bring suffering to companions who would not have been harmed."
Seeing Ichigo Kurosaki getting stuck in his own head, Urahara immediately analyzed the situation for him, making him understand that leaving Hueco Mundo right now was the best option.
"Hmph, trying to escape? Don't even think about leaving Hueco Mundo! Even if I have to bet this life His Majesty gave me, I will stop you!"
Quilge roared, raised his Reishi saber, and charged forward through the burning sea of fire, fearless of death.
It was this very action from Quilge that served as an assist, temporarily pulling Ichigo Kurosaki out of his mental self-consumption and making him determined not to let the enemy succeed.
"I understand, Mr. Urahara!"
Ichigo Kurosaki finally showed a determined look in his eyes, no longer indecisive, which made Urahara feel very relieved.
"Go, Mr. Kurosaki. I'll hold them off for you for a moment. I won't let them interfere with you."
Urahara opened the Senkaimon, and Ichigo Kurosaki decisively jumped in, speeding towards his destination.
"Damn it! Why are you just watching? Why did you let Ichigo Kurosaki go to protect Soul Society?"
Quilge failed to stop Ichigo Kurosaki and was even cut a few times by Urahara. When he tried to use his 'Jail' again, he was stopped by the slowly approaching Bai Yuetong, which made him furious.
"Calm down, Instructor. The war in Soul Society is probably over for now. Our mission to hold back Ichigo Kurosaki has been successfully completed.
"If Ichigo Kurosaki wants to go protect the now-devastated Soul Society, then let him. Besides, the world behind that gate isn't Soul Society, it's the World of the Living, right?"
Bai Yuetong looked at Urahara.
Just now, through his 'Share' ability, he had synchronized with the senses of some female Quincy and saw the abnormal phenomena of high temperatures, dehydration, and sudden rain in Soul Society. He guessed that the old man Yamamoto was about to die.
Not long after, the sight of the Soldat launching a large-scale assault on Soul Society confirmed that the strongest Soul Reaper of the millennium, old man Yama, had been killed by Yhwach, and the war in the Seireitei had temporarily come to an end.
And the facts were indeed so. His Majesty believed that the Gotei 13 had been defeated and the Zero Division should be coming out soon. He began to order the Sternritter members in Soul Society to retreat for now and wait for the Zero Division to assemble.
And Bai Yuetong, while synching with Meninas, had asked for a favor: to show mercy in time and bring the female Soul Reaper she had beaten to near death, Rukia Kuchiki, back to the Wandenreich as a prisoner of war.
Unlike other Soul Reapers, Rukia held a very special meaning for Ichigo Kurosaki.
Because Rukia was the beginning of Ichigo Kurosaki becoming a Soul Reaper, his life mentor, the guide who broke his ordinary daily life and led him into the fantastical world of reality, a true beacon of hope that saved him.
She was the one who made the rain in Ichigo Kurosaki's heart, which had been falling since his mother's death, finally stop for the first time. She allowed the self-loathing, self-destructive Ichigo to truly walk out of the shadow of the past, to have the courage to face the future and live positively and optimistically.
And she had appeared many times when Ichigo Kurosaki needed her most, giving him the courage to fight his fears and face the future, and the important power to protect his family with his own hands.
If one wanted to use and manipulate Ichigo Kurosaki, the best way was actually to hold his beloved mother, Masaki Kurosaki, in the palm of one's hand.
However, Masaki was already dead and couldn't be captured as a hostage for now. So, having Rukia in hand was not a bad alternative.
"What?!"
Quilge's eyes widened. His strange gaze shifted back and forth between Bai Yuetong and Urahara, finally settling on Urahara.
What a treacherous and sinister villain, and an extremely dangerous person, to be able to trick Ichigo Kurosaki into fleeing Hueco Mundo for the World of the Living without batting an eye, completely disregarding the lives of the Soul Reapers in Soul Society.
Does he think it's too late to go to Soul Society now, so he wants to protect his effective forces? What a decisive and cruel man.
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