The footage continued to play.
Once the swirling blast of Hollow dust finally dispersed,
Ichigo Kurosaki reached back with his hand and drew from the towering pillar of spiritual pressure surging up behind him—
before everyone's eyes,
he pulled out that massive Zanpakutō whose blade was sharply split into black and white.
"Zangetsu…"
Ichigo called out the name.
The real Zanpakutō was born, and the moment it appeared it was already in a released state.
At the same time,
because Zangetsu's Shikai form was so striking and unique,
it was impossible not to notice.
There was no proper hilt,
no visible guard,
and at the end of the blade, a mass of white cloth was wrapped around it.
Most importantly,
the blade itself was enormous and unimaginably sharp.
It wasn't a normal oversized sword at all—more like a gigantic cleaver, one solid piece from base to tip.
The moment this scene was revealed,
the spectators immediately exploded into discussion.
"What a huge chopping blade!"
"Why do I feel like… I've seen something just like that at the wet market downstairs? Just blown up a few sizes!"
"Seriously though… its shape is kind of similar to Kenpachi Zaraki's Nozarashi after it's released. Both of them look insanely brutal!"
"As expected of the protagonist's Zanpakutō! It really never lets people down!!!"
Even though
Zangetsu's released form
looked a bit strange—no, honestly… it really did look like a supersized butcher's knife—
after just watching that middle-aged man who might be the sword spirit, "Old Man Zangetsu,"
not a single spectator dared to joke about it.
On top of that,
quite a few people naturally thought of Nozarashi.
That was also an enormous chopping blade, and it had split a meteorite in two with a single swing.
So,
no one dared look down on this newly born Zangetsu even the slightest bit.
"Gin…"
"Tōsen…"
"Did you notice?"
"The edge of this Zangetsu's blade is made up of two colors: black and white."
Inside Las Noches,
Aizen's keen eyes picked up on that detail immediately.
Then he asked, with a meaningful tone, "Don't you think it looks familiar?"
"?!"
Ichimaru Gin let out a light snort,
furrowed his brows, and in the next second thought of something. He replied,
"Captain Aizen… are you talking about White?"
"White?!"
Kaname Tōsen's eyes flew open wide.
In his mind, the vicious image of Hollow White surfaced at once.
From head to toe, its body was pitch-black.
Only the mask over its face, the loose hair spilling down, and the hole in its chest blocked by white were of a different color.
In other words…
White was just like the Zanpakutō Zangetsu—
it was also made up of only two colors.
Thus,
the hint hidden in that was self-evident.
"Aizen-sama…"
Tōsen asked respectfully,
"So, in your view… do you believe Kurosaki Ichigo's Shinigami power might be connected to White?"
The moment he asked that,
Tōsen couldn't help but doubt himself on the inside.
Shinigami.
Hollows.
They were clearly two separate races.
Unless someone broke through the limits of that barrier and became a transcendent being,
or,
like Shinji Hirako and the others,
learned to control Hollowfication and became Visored, balancing the two powers—
otherwise,
for any given Shinigami,
their Shinigami power for their entire life would never have anything to do with Hollows.
At least,
that was true for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Even the strongest captains were purely relying on their Zanpakutō—on Shinigami power—to fight.
"Tōsen…"
"Don't be in such a hurry to deny it…"
Aizen's lips curved, showing a faint smile.
"In this world, there is no such thing as a rule that never changes."
"And insisting on using conventional thinking to judge everything… is the shallowest way to look at things."
Between the lines,
what he meant was very clear:
Aizen felt that the possibility he was thinking of was quite high.
Zangetsu.
White.
Their appearance shared the same black-and-white color scheme.
There was no way that was just a simple coincidence.
He had done far too many Hollowfication experiments.
In Aizen's memory, White was the only Hollow that had been created using a Shinigami soul as raw material.
Therefore,
once he made that connection,
Aizen grew even more suspicious that the so-called Zanpakutō spirit, that "Yhwach,"
was most likely just a deliberate misdirection.
The one truly connected to Kurosaki Ichigo's Shinigami power…
was White.
Its existence was very likely the real sword spirit.
Of course,
for now that idea had only popped into his head on a whim.
And,
at the current stage,
this speculation was a bit too outrageous.
So Aizen just mentioned it in passing and didn't continue the discussion any further.
As for this part of the clip,
about the birth of the Zanpakutō Zangetsu,
it finally came to an end under Aizen's watching gaze and drew the curtain on that scene.
————
"Captain Kenpachi…"
"Good thing your Nozarashi showed up on screen a few episodes earlier…"
"Otherwise, with such a similar design, all the spotlight would have been stolen by Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Inside the First Division's barracks,
Madarame Ikkaku rubbed his bald head and joked with a grin.
Honestly speaking,
when it came to Zangetsu's appearance, he personally found it pretty pleasing.
At the very least,
it looked a lot cooler than his own Hōzukimaru.
"Tch…"
"Ikkaku, are you really putting yourself down already?"
Kenpachi Zaraki bared his teeth in a wide grin.
"Forget whether this Zangetsu is actually a pure hacking-type Zanpakutō or not—"
"If it wants to be compared to Nozarashi, it'll have to get my approval first!!!"
Kenpachi was excited.
Since Kurosaki Ichigo had already regained his Shinigami powers,
the next step should be invading the Soul Society to save his friend, right?
According to what they already knew about the story, the next big arc was the Soul Society rescue, right?
So.
Who would be his next opponent?
"Logically speaking…"
"As the vanguard responsible for combat, our Eleventh Division should be first in line! Does that mean…"
Ayasegawa Yumichika rubbed his chin, but before he could finish his sentence—
the previously black projection screen suddenly lit up.
A stream of numbers and site codes flashed and disappeared,
and then,
new footage began playing.
Blue skies and white clouds.
Between two rows of towering stone walls was a long, narrow passageway.
Two blood-stained figures
were brandishing their weapons, locked in a fierce battle.
Every clash of their Shihakushō-clad bodies produced the ring of metal colliding.
"Clang—!!"
As the camera moved in,
the spectators quickly saw clearly who was fighting against Kurosaki Ichigo.
"This is…"
"Madarame Ikkaku!!!"
Inside the First Division,
the captains only needed a single glance.
Then, as one, they all turned to look behind Kenpachi Zaraki.
At the bald man who had just been loudly praising how badass Zangetsu looked.
No one had expected this.
When Kurosaki Ichigo cleared the "Soul Society dungeon,"
the very first "elite monster" to spawn from the mob pool
would actually be Madarame Ikkaku.
"Third Seat of the battle division, huh?"
The Head Captain commented calmly,
"In terms of power, he's the strongest man beneath the captain class."
"As Kurosaki Ichigo's first opponent, that's quite appropriate."
"Exactly…"
Kyōraku Shunsui chuckled.
"And the key point is that Ikkaku's Zanpakutō—Hōzukimaru—is also a hacking-type weapon."
"That'll only highlight Zangetsu's traits in combat even more, don't you think?"
Those words,
to be blunt,
were pretty cruel.
They were already treating Madarame Ikkaku as nothing but a background prop.
Whether he won or lost didn't really matter.
What everyone wanted to see was the protagonist's performance.
Ikkaku just had to cooperate and play the role of a good tool character.
"…"
After listening,
Madarame Ikkaku was speechless.
Did they really have to bad-mouth their own guy so openly?
Who was the real "invading menace" here anyway?!
————
"Brat…"
"Listen up. From here on, I'm going to make sure you never hold a sword again!!!"
Brandishing his released Hōzukimaru,
Ikkaku lifted the tip of the spear, fighting spirit boiling over as he declared.
However—
once those words were transmitted to the real world through the video playback,
they immediately sent the spectators into laughter.
"Is this supposed to be a 'try not to laugh' challenge?"
"We give up, we already lost!"
"Make Kurosaki Ichigo unable to hold a sword and cripple his Zangetsu?"
"That's something that, at the very end of the story, only the Spirit King-class Yhwach ever managed to pull off!!!"
————
Sure enough.
Not long afterward—
"Ikkaku…"
"This is clearly not going too well…"
"The stronger your opponent gets, the more bloodstains appear on you!"
"You're obviously on the back foot, completely suppressed by Kurosaki Ichigo!"
Ayasegawa Yumichika frowned,
worried for his friend.
"I didn't expect Kurosaki Ichigo to be this strong."
"Zanpakutō Zangetsu… in its very first real battle after being released, it's actually overpowering the Eleventh Division's Third Seat!"
To say he wasn't shocked
would have been a lie.
No one knew Ikkaku's true level of strength better than Yumichika.
All these years,
if it weren't for his admiration of Kenpachi Zaraki and his vow to follow that man for his entire life,
Ikkaku would have long since activated Bankai during his duties.
If any other division had a vacancy in the captain's position,
Madarame Ikkaku would absolutely be qualified to fill it.
His strength was not that of an ordinary seated officer—he had already brushed against the threshold of the captain class.
Precisely because of that…
Yumichika was even more astonished.
He hadn't expected this rookie Ichigo to be so powerful.
Zangetsu was still only at Shikai.
Sure enough,
his worry turned out to be justified.
After another series of slashing exchanges—
"Slash—!!!"
Ichigo's figure, both hands gripping his blade, rose up slowly in the camera.
The edge of the sword pointed down.
With overwhelming force,
he swung Zangetsu down, carving out a massive arc of spiritual energy.
The result
was decided instantly.
"Boom!!!"
Just as everyone expected.
Even though Ikkaku instinctively tried to block with Hōzukimaru,
the moment Zangetsu's blade light came crashing down,
both man and weapon were smashed apart together.
Even the spear shaft
was cut cleanly into two pieces,
and a thick, bloody line burst across Ikkaku's body.
"Tch…"
"Even his Zanpakutō got blown apart?"
"As expected… there's no way Kurosaki Ichigo was ever going to lose."
"But he really didn't hold back at all, huh…"
The spectators sighed one after another,
thoroughly impressed by Ichigo's first real battle.
The Third Seat of the battle division
wasn't some random nobody.
If even someone of that level could be defeated with a single overwhelming strike from Zangetsu…
then,
from here on out,
if anyone in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads wanted to stop Kurosaki Ichigo from charging through as the so-called "invading menace,"
only the captains themselves
were qualified to step in.
————
"Heh heh…"
"Congratulations, Isshin-san. Your son has officially stepped onto the road to becoming one of the 'big three' monstrous newcomers."
Inside the Urahara Shop,
Kisuke Urahara grinned playfully as he offered his congratulations to Isshin Kurosaki.
Honestly,
he thought this was pretty incredible as well.
Never mind anything else—just in terms of courage alone, Ichigo's was flawless.
One person, one Zangetsu.
And he actually dared to take his friends and invade the turbulent Seireitei, the very heart of the Shinigami.
By comparison,
even the Arrancar army over in Hueco Mundo had never managed to pull off such a thing.
As for the pure-blood Quincies of the Invisible Empire—
right now, they were so scared that if they so much as poked their heads out, they'd get wiped out in an instant.
They could only hide in the shadows, not daring to make a sound.
The difference in nerve
couldn't be more obvious.
Once again, it highlighted the bravery and resolve of the young Ichigo.
"Yeah…"
Isshin nodded, smiling with pride.
"Beating the Third Seat of the battle division—that's a record well worth praising."
"But I'm afraid next… that monster Kenpachi Zaraki is going to step in for his subordinate."
According to the typical netizen way of thinking,
if you beat the underling, it always ends up provoking the boss.
The story would automatically "spawn" an elder monster who came knocking to avenge his subordinate.
That kind of formulaic plotline—
as someone who often slacked off at work,
reading webnovels during the night shift at the clinic whenever he had spare time,
Isshin was more than familiar with it.
And,
the moment he mentioned Kenpachi Zaraki's name,
a clear look of wariness flashed in Isshin's eyes.
In the earlier episodes of the ranking,
Kenpachi's title as one of the "Five Special War Powers"
had already proven how terrifyingly strong he was.
Even Yhwach himself had taken special notice and marked him in his heart.
So,
even at this point in time,
with Nozarashi not yet awakened,
just bringing up that man—
another first-timer who'd exploded onto the stage with no sense of "fairness" whatsoever—
was enough to make Isshin anxious.
Given Kenpachi's brutality—this was the guy who had once used a dual-blade style to one-shot an Espada—
there was no telling…
the same thing
might happen to Ichigo too.
"Kenpachi Zaraki, huh…"
Yoruichi frowned slightly, her tone firm.
"With the gap in spiritual pressure alone staring him in the face, the Ichigo of this period… no matter what, there's no way he can beat him."
From an objective standpoint,
aside from some kind of cheat, there was no path to victory.
For Kurosaki Ichigo,
to defeat Kenpachi with nothing but Shikai—
that kind of miracle only happened when the difference in spiritual pressure was overridden.
Sui-Feng had personally experienced that kind of despair in front of Aizen once.
And then,
before long,
the footage lit up again.
Madarame Ikkaku was no longer out on the outer edges.
He had made his way to a deeper region in the central area of Seireitei.
"Rumble—!!!"
All of a sudden, an overwhelmingly powerful spiritual pressure
crashed down from the sky, crushing the air itself.
It even surged straight out of the screen,
slamming into the spectators head-on and startling most of them half to death.
"What an insane spiritual pressure…"
"Damn… this feels way too familiar!"
"This is… Kenpachi Zaraki! That wild beast aura is unmistakable!!!"
"He's actually Kurosaki Ichigo's next opponent!!!"
The audience's eyes all flew wide open.
While gritting their teeth against the pressure, many of them held their heads, feeling dizzy.
The king of pure melee.
Captain of the Eleventh Division.
The man known as the most "manly" Shinigami in all the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
And,
in the footage that had already been shown,
he had once single-handedly killed three Sternritter in a row.
He had forced Yhwach to personally step in to stop him.
In short,
after that round of ranking focused on Nozarashi,
everyone had become extremely familiar with Kenpachi Zaraki.
They had all acknowledged
just how overwhelming his power truly was.
Even when compared across the entire world,
against all other races' strongest fighters, he was among the absolute top tier.
No one had expected…
that in only the second real fight of Ichigo's invasion,
his difficulty level would be bumped up this high already.
To this rookie,
Kenpachi Zaraki was nothing less than a full-on Demon King boss.
"In a moment…"
"Kurosaki Ichigo is definitely going to suffer a crushing defeat, right?"
Back in Las Noches,
Aizen watched the screen with a calm expression, but his face was more serious than ever.
He couldn't help but admit it to himself:
even he,
in that future battle,
had been cut down by Kenpachi in a single stroke.
So,
for someone who was still just a newcomer—
it was hard to imagine Kurosaki Ichigo's fate turning out any better than his own.
At the very least…
the idea that Kurosaki Ichigo might defeat Kenpachi—
frankly,
only a madman would dare believe that.
If this man who'd been restrained for so long could be taken down so easily,
he wouldn't later rampage through Hueco Mundo,
swaggering around soloing the Espada.
In short,
the battle that was about to begin
was nothing less than a life-or-death fight for Kurosaki Ichigo.
And at the same time, it would be a high-stakes gamble for Nnoitra and the others who were betting on the outcome.
They all held their breath,
waiting for the clash between the "invading menace" and the Demon King Kenpachi Zaraki to officially begin.
(End of Chapter)
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