join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
The next day!
Ishikawa walked on the streets of West 38th District, tallying the losses from yesterday's battle.
The more he tallied...
The worse Ishikawa's expression became.
Centered around the Everything Store, the surrounding houses were all destroyed.
These houses weren't too bad; Ishikawa could rebuild them himself, but...
The greatest loss wasn't the houses, but the farmlands in the suburbs behind the Everything Store. The area at the center of the battlefield had been completely flattened.
Fortunately, at the Captains' meeting, Commander Yamamoto had clearly stated that all resident losses would be compensated by the Gotei 13.
However, Commander Yamamoto made no mention of the repair work for the houses or the reconstruction of the Everything Store.
Ishikawa didn't dare ask...
After all, those Espada had come for him, and the losses of the West 38th District residents could be said to be because of him.
Consider it payment for his life!
Shaking his head slightly, Ishikawa didn't dwell on it further. Regarding why the Espada had targeted him, Ishikawa chose to tell the truth.
The reason was simple.
Previously, he hadn't wanted to say, fearing that the Commander Yamamoto would kill him to continue sealing the Hōgyoku; although the probability was small, even if it was just 0.00...01%, Ishikawa wasn't willing to take that risk.
But now it didn't matter. Anyway, judging by what Yoruichi said when she arrived later, Urahara Kisuke ultimately failed to preserve his blood, and the unsealing of the Hōgyoku had become inevitable!
After yesterday's battle, about 10 minutes later, Yoruichi and Kukaku-Aneki arrived with Ichigo and others who had just finished their Bankai training.
Soi Fon secretly followed behind them...
By the time they arrived, Ishikawa was already cleaning up the battlefield.
Nodding in response to the residents who greeted him, Ishikawa arrived in front of his Everything Store.
On the ruins of the Everything Store, a large group of villains were pushing carts, clearing the original debris. And to the side... Uzuki had Ganju push several large wine barrels. This time, she didn't charge, but instead provided free alcohol to these villains working for free.
And above the ruins, a petite figure was happily running around, none other than Yachiru.
Ishikawa looked around, finally settling on a cleared flat area. Zaraki was sitting there, wrapped in bandages, holding his Zanpakuto and staring at the sky, as if hoping the sky would tear open from his gaze.
"How are your injuries?"
"Let's fight!!"
...Ishikawa.
Hmm, it seems he's recovering well.
Zaraki was carried back by Yachiru after the battle ended yesterday. At that time, his body was covered in sword wounds, but from Yachiru's description, the opponent's condition was not much better than Zaraki's.
In fact, if the Negative Mask had arrived a little later, the battle between them might have already ended.
This kind of anticlimactic battle obviously couldn't satisfy Zaraki. After treating him yesterday, Ishikawa originally wanted to transfer him to the Comprehensive Relief Station for recuperation.
But...
This guy just wouldn't leave, no matter how much Ishikawa told him that the Espada wouldn't be coming back.
Ignoring Zaraki's eager gaze, Ishikawa went to the original backyard of the ruins and said to the villains who were cleaning up: "First, clear out the backyard. After the reconstruction is complete, members of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute will come to reinstall the transfer stakes."
"Got it!"
"No problem, you can rest assured, we'll make sure it's done beautifully."
"It's good that it was destroyed. I've long felt that the tavern should be expanded. Every time I come, I have to squeeze in."
"Yes, Ishikawa-sama, let's build a two-story... no, a three-story grand tavern this time. It'll be more convenient for drinking later."
"..."
Ishikawa glared at Takashi in annoyance: "Three stories? Can you build it?"
These guys, besides fighting, could basically only clear out ruins and garbage. The subsequent reconstruction work would all have to be done by Ishikawa himself.
However, Ishikawa was indeed planning to expand the tavern a bit.
The layout wasn't going to change; it would still be a tavern on the first floor and the Everything Store on the second.
Although after this incident, Ishikawa had considered simply opening a shop in West 1 District, having lived in West 38th District for more than ten years, it was impossible not to have feelings for it.
After thinking it over, Ishikawa ultimately decided to rebuild at the original location.
For this, he even bought the farmland beyond the back wall. Anyway, after Commander Yamamoto's battle with Baraggan, that area was basically unsuitable for farming, so it could be used to expand the tavern.
Besides expanding, it wasn't entirely without changes.
Ishikawa planned to use part of the expanded second floor as a tavern as well.
Because his bedroom and the Everything Store didn't need such a large area.
Walking further in, there were several tables set up in the cleared area.
"Ishikawa-sama!"
Himura sat next to Nishijin Ori and immediately waved when she saw Ishikawa arrive.
Nishijin Ori, as always, remained silent, nodding when he saw Ishikawa.
To the side, Oyama brought a few of his subordinates, acting as waiters, continuously bringing drinks over.
"You all should go do what you need to do. You don't have to stay here all the time."
Nishijin Ori and the others arrived here last night. They had lived in West 80th District for many years and only received the news after the battle had ended yesterday.
The Espada arrived too quickly, leaving Ishikawa no time to gather people. Many of the villains present only slowly arrived afterward, and many others... due to the destruction of the transfer stakes, were still making their way from other areas to the west, likely gathering in about half a month...
Before the transfer stakes were reinstalled, Ishikawa couldn't notify them, so he simply didn't bother.
After Nishijin Ori and the others arrived, no matter how much Ishikawa tried to drive them away, these guys just stayed there, refusing to leave.
"Boss, when are we going to attack Hueco Mundo?"
Oyama handed Ishikawa a cup of sake and said with a murderous look: "The brothers are all holding their breath. As long as you give the order, we'll go to Hueco Mundo right now. What was that phrase you told me last time... Ah, right, that's called 'returning a favor'!"
Slap—
Ishikawa directly slapped Oyama on the back of the head, making him stumble:
"Scram!"
Attack Hueco Mundo?
Going to Hueco Mundo now would be completely walking into the lion's den. Ishikawa currently didn't want to encounter Aizen, whose mindset had greatly changed after fusing with the Hōgyoku.
Aizen, after fusing with the Hōgyoku, was indeed powerful.
But Ishikawa always felt that fusing with the Hōgyoku... or rather, before completely fusing with the Hōgyoku, this process might affect a person's thoughts, making them a bit neurotic.
Of course, it's also possible that he simply felt invincible, so he became reckless!
In any case, Ishikawa currently had no desire to have any contact with Aizen.
"Alright, I'm going."
Oyama chuckled, rubbed his head, stood up, and went to the side.
Ishikawa turned his gaze to another table, a wry smile appearing on his face.
"Impressive, you even want to proactively attack Hueco Mundo?"
Kukaku-Aneki sat next to Yoruichi and said teasingly: "Do you want me to go with you?"
"How could that be?"
Ishikawa quickly shook his head: "Oyama was just talking nonsense. What's there to go to a desolate place like Hueco Mundo?"
"Hmph."
Shiba Kukaku glared at Ishikawa: "You know it's desolate, yet you always run to Hueco Mundo."
"Hehe—"
Ishikawa chuckled, not refuting, but instead looked at Ganju next to him: "Ganju-nii, how's your recovery?"
"What could happen to me?"
Ganju flexed his muscles: "It's just that my Reiatsu is a bit overdrawn. I'm telling you, if you hadn't carried me then, I could have buried that dead skeleton that spewed black fire."
"I believe you!"
Ishikawa laughed, then looked at the others at the same table, focusing on Ichigo, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Although he already knew this guy was a cheat code...
But when he felt the Reiatsu on Ichigo, Ishikawa couldn't help but inwardly scorn his own system.
If he remembered correctly, this guy had only been a Shinigami for about two months, yet his Reiatsu had already reached the level of a mid-tier Captain, and this was without Bankai.
Once he used Bankai, purely in terms of Reiatsu, he might not be much weaker than Ishikawa himself.
And himself...
Hmm!
I'm different from him. I am where I am today entirely through my own efforts. There's no need to compare myself to someone who cheats.
With this time...
It's better to think about how to make friends.
Unfortunately, in yesterday's battle, he didn't manage to talk to Harribel.
If she hadn't immediately tried to severely injure him, Ishikawa would have tried to get closer to her no matter what.
With the Hōgyoku unsealed, Aizen should now be working on fusing it with his own Hōgyoku.
Ishikawa couldn't yet determine when he would make his move.
But he had to use this time to gain as much experience as possible.
Ishikawa looked at the system interface.
Aside from his physique growing due to stat allocation, his Reiatsu had basically not changed. All other aspects had grown to some extent after this battle.
Reiatsu: Top-tier (518922 / 1000000)
Looking at the Reiatsu on the system interface, Ishikawa frowned.
Time was still too tight. After his physique surpassed his Reiatsu, his body, the vessel, continuously expanded, and he would no longer encounter the so-called 'limit barrier'.
If he had enough time, Ishikawa could completely invest all experience points into his physique, while his Reiatsu would rapidly grow through Reiatsu Imprint.
As long as his physique was higher than his Reiatsu, Reiatsu Imprint would continue to function.
But the time left for Ishikawa was still too little.
And...
Ishikawa himself didn't want to do that.
Because such direct growth would prevent the Reiatsu from undergoing transformation.
That is, the so-called soul combination exchange.
Although this method of growth was slow, it could greatly increase the density of one's Reiatsu. Given enough time, Ishikawa could even raise his Reiatsu density to the same level as Aizen after fusing with the Hōgyoku!
But for now, Ishikawa could only temporarily give up on using the 'limit barrier' for Reiatsu transformation.
To cope with future battles, he needed to at least reach the first stage in the system's ranking.
However...
Ishikawa wasn't entirely sure how much Reiatsu was needed to be rated as the first stage.
Because Ishikawa's current strength was already considerable. Although his Reiatsu was only considered mid-tier among the Captains of the Gotei 13.
But Ishikawa's Reiatsu, after the soul combination exchange, had already reached an extremely high density, and the power it could unleash far exceeded what its numerical value suggested.
If combined with his physique and various combat skills, Ishikawa could barely fight an enemy whose Reiatsu intensity reached 700,000.
As for above 700,000, or even above 800,000.
Ishikawa would find it very difficult even to defend against their attacks. Aizen was an example.
In Ishikawa's view, Aizen's Reiatsu, while not reaching the infinitely close to the upper limit, or even truly reaching the upper limit, like Commander Yamamoto's; was at least above 800,000, or even 900,000 in intensity.
And after fusing with the Hōgyoku, his Reiatsu would not only be extremely dense but also numerically terrifying.
Therefore, Ishikawa's first goal was to reach the first stage in the system's ranking.
And the second goal...
Ishikawa looked at Ichigo's Zanpakuto.
He needed to use this time to completely master his Zanpakuto's abilities.
Unfortunately, to do this, he would have to wait for his Zanpakuto to fully recover.
In yesterday's battle with the Espada, he had once again completely destroyed his Zanpakuto, which had only barely recovered a little.
After being destroyed last time, although his Zanpakuto had no consciousness, Ishikawa could still barely feel his Zanpakuto's consciousness gradually awakening. But after yesterday's battle, Ishikawa's Zanpakuto had completely vanished, even that little bit of consciousness was gone.
He didn't know if it was because it had been continuously destroyed by Ishikawa, so it instinctively feared Ishikawa...
A Zanpakuto that had been repeatedly damaged obviously wouldn't recover in a short time. However, as long as the Zanpakuto recovered, Ishikawa could completely use the Tenshintai to train Bankai, thereby forcibly increasing the Zanpakuto's proficiency on the system interface.
At that time, his Reiatsu intensity should also increase accordingly.
Before that, he must increase his physique as much as possible.
And Kido...
Originally, Ishikawa felt that the Kido he had mastered was comprehensive enough, but yesterday's battle made him realize that his Kido was still severely lacking.
Especially targeted Kido used to counter specific opponents.
Compared to conventional Kido, this type of Kido could exert a greater effect when dealing with specific opponents.
For example, the Earth Wall that Ishikawa modified during the battle this time.
However, the plan was good, but to achieve it... either required waiting, or dedicated study.
Especially...
Current experience points: 862
The meager experience points were the biggest obstacle.
Ishikawa couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This battle would have been better fought in Seireitei.
Normally, fighting for Seireitei... or when others mistakenly thought he was fighting for Seireitei, he always gained a large amount of favorability.
But this time...
This battle was fought silently. From beginning to end, only he participated. Many people only felt terrifying Reiatsu and had no idea who was fighting.
The people whose favorability towards Ishikawa increased were basically the residents of West 38th District.
It was a loss!
Thinking of this, Ishikawa looked at Yoruichi, and also... Soi Fon, who, after the Captains' meeting, ostensibly went towards the Second Squad, but actually secretly followed behind him, coming to District 38 to secretly observe Yoruichi from a distance.
A warm smile immediately appeared on Ishikawa's face.
He had discovered that to increase Captain Soi Fon's favorability, he still had to start with Yoruichi.
After all...
Soi Fon would even stare blankly for a long time when she saw Shihōin Yushirō, who closely resembled Yoruichi.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr