As expected—
Next, the footage cut again and switched to the battle scene.
"Claaang—!!!"
The sound of countless blades clashing rang out.
Ichigo Kurosaki and Byakuya Kuchiki's silhouettes flashed past each other again and again as they crossed swords, launching into a fierce battle on top of Sōkyoku Hill.
"Unbelievable…"
"Compared to their last clash on the suspension bridge, this time Byakuya doesn't have any advantage at all. He can't suppress Ichigo anymore…"
As the freeze-frame replay showed them forcing each other back again and again, the audience quickly realized:
In this fight, in simple Shikai vs Shikai, Ichigo was actually the one taking the upper hand!
What was more—
He was even holding his sword with one hand,
wearing a confident smile as he actively provoked his opponent:
"Hurry up and use it—your Bankai!"
"I'll use my Zangetsu… to smash it to pieces!!!"
His eyes were firm and brimming with confidence.
Along with his growing strength, the Ichigo at this moment had completely shed the immature aura of a high-schooler.
He no longer had that flustered panic he'd shown when he first arrived in the Seireitei.
After plowing through this entire "dungeon" and undergoing all that tempering,
he now looked for all the world like
a Shinigami strong enough to stand alone—someone at captain level!!!
"Heh heh…"
"Gotta say, it's pretty rare to see little Byakuya on the losing end for once. This is practically the king of humiliation!"
Inside the Urahara Shop,
Yoruichi crossed her arms over her chest, laughing with glee at his misfortune.
She could easily imagine it.
Right now Byakuya Kuchiki himself was probably panicking like crazy on the inside.
He was the one getting completely crushed.
If—
His Bankai went up against Ichigo's Bankai and still lost,
then he'd really be getting his head stepped on by Ichigo Kurosaki, his Zanpakutō being outclassed from start to finish!
More importantly—
Up to this point, inside Ichigo Kurosaki's body, his two top-tier cheat codes—
Hollow Ichigo,
and "Old Man Zangetsu"—
were still on standby at any time.
The instant Ichigo was in danger, they could jump out and take over the fight.
So,
no matter how you looked at it,
the final outcome of this battle was already destined to be Byakuya Kuchiki's complete defeat!!!
Kisuke Urahara smiled playfully.
"Heh heh… to Byakuya Kuchiki, this actually isn't such a bad thing."
"Losing to the main character is normal enough, isn't it? Didn't Kenpachi lose to him too…"
"As long as it's not a defeat that's too utterly one-sided, he should still be left with a little dignity."
With that,
in the video,
the fight continued and became even more intense.
———
"Scatter, Senbonzakura…"
Faced with Ichigo's provocation,
Byakuya Kuchiki was enraged.
After a few cold, cutting lines in reply, he released his Zanpakutō.
The myriad cherry-blossom-like blades scattered—
but as they closed in mid-flight, they were completely carved apart by Zangetsu!
They simply couldn't get close.
"Getsuga Tenshō—!!!"
Acting fully of his own will,
Ichigo Kurosaki unleashed his most iconic technique with a swing of his blade for the very first time.
A massive crescent-shaped wave of spiritual power, sharp like a blade,
tore open a terrifying gouge in the surface of Sōkyoku Hill!
In the end,
it hit dead on.
Within the blast and shockwave, Byakuya Kuchiki's sleeve was sliced clean off.
His arm was injured, blood flowing nonstop—his noble pretty-boy image was finally shattered, and for once he looked a little bedraggled.
The moment this scene appeared,
it was transmitted to the real world, and the viewers there immediately started heated discussions.
The ones who were the most excited, of course, were the Arrancar in Hueco Mundo.
"Ha…"
"Nice one, Ichigo Kurosaki!!!"
"Finally the tide has turned. This time it's our Hollows' turn to sit back and enjoy watching the captains of the Gotei 13 getting wrecked from start to finish!"
Nnoitra Gilga laughed viciously, clearly in an excellent mood.
At the same time he glanced back at the dark-skinned Arrancar, Zommari.
Zommari's lips were also curled up right now.
His mood was just as good, carrying a feeling of indirect payback.
"Tch…"
"We don't exactly have any personal grudge against Ichigo Kurosaki…"
"But this time, our whole Hueco Mundo really has no choice but to support him."
Hands stuffed into his pockets,
Grimmjow said coldly.
In this round of the ranking,
up to this point, Ichigo Kurosaki had been clearing stages all the way, one after another beating the captains half to death.
Grimmjow,
along with the other Espada, had been watching from the very front row.
Putting themselves into the scene, the Hollows got even more excited, watching in full immersion.
Even those who'd never actually seen Ichigo in person before—
because of Hueco Mundo's hostile relationship with the Shinigami and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads—
instantly treated him as "our side"!
They practically turned into Ichigo's die-hard century-old fans, every one of them shouting themselves hoarse for him!!!
Meanwhile,
under the satisfied gazes of the Arrancar,
the video
continued to fast-forward.
"Ichigo Kurosaki…"
"Since you've been demanding it this whole time, I'll grant your wish."
Byakuya's spiritual pressure erupted.
His Zanpakutō, Senbonzakura, reached Bankai—countless massive blades rose up, standing to either side of him,
then dissolved into surging rivers of cherry blossoms.
This time, by relying on that all-encompassing, overwhelming barrage,
he finally managed to blast Ichigo Kurosaki's body and wound him!!!
"Captain Kuchiki…"
"Your Bankai really is amazing, you've completely crushed Ichigo…" Renji Abarai hurried to flatter him.
However—
Byakuya answered him with nothing but contempt.
"Using Bankai against a Shikai… I don't think that's anything worth being proud of."
His pitch-black eyes stared at the screen,
his gaze locking onto the Zanpakutō called Zangetsu.
Byakuya said with certainty:
"If nothing unexpected happens, next up… will be the true debut of Zangetsu's Bankai."
"Only if I can defeat Ichigo Kurosaki in that state will I have any reason to feel pride."
And sure enough,
Byakuya wasn't wrong.
In the video, a massive surge of blue spiritual pressure erupted from within Ichigo Kurosaki's body.
"Byakuya Kuchiki, I'm going to use Bankai."
"Even if you don't believe what I say, your eyes can still see for themselves, right?"
At that instant,
when his aura climbed to its peak,
the reiryoku filling the sky was so exaggerated it even seemed to tug at the heavens above Seireitei.
Ichigo Kurosaki raised his hand,
blade pointing down toward the ground, his left hand bracing on his right as the bandages wrapped around his arm.
"Is it coming?"
"My Bankai's debut…"
In reality,
Ichigo himself stared wide-eyed,
his gaze full of naked expectation and excitement.
Even though before this,
in the previous two rounds of rankings,
Tensa Zangetsu and the black tailcoat had already been shown once,
back then it was different.
Back then, including Ichigo himself, the whole world's viewers only thought of him as a side character.
Every time he appeared,
he was overlooked, his presence low and his screen time short.
But this time,
Zangetsu's Bankai was the main focus of the entire Shinigami world.
As the rightful main character,
he was at last standing at the center of everyone's attention.
Of course Ichigo couldn't hide his excitement.
He was endlessly looking forward to
the very first time he unleashed his Bankai ability in full.
And the result
did not disappoint him in the slightest!!!
"Bankai—!!!"
As the release command
left his lips,
his aura roared up like a tornado, scattering the clouds.
All of Sōkyoku Hill shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
Amid that earth-shattering commotion,
the black tailcoat appeared in style, wrapping itself around Ichigo Kurosaki's body.
Zangetsu's appearance also changed:
no longer a giant cleaver, its blade had become a slim, pitch-black edge.
The hilt and guard were especially striking, clearly showing a swastika-like "ban" shape.
"Too cool!!!"
"As expected of the main character!!!"
"In this form, Ichigo Kurosaki's radiance totally overshadows Byakuya Kuchiki—his coolness just doubled!!!"
This time,
it wasn't just the strong ones who were amazed.
Even more of the female characters were utterly bewitched by Ichigo's handsomeness.
Orihime Inoue went without saying—
he was her future husband to begin with, she practically got on her knees and worshiped him even more.
And the "big sisters" like Rangiku Matsumoto and Kūkaru Shiba also couldn't help stealing extra glances.
As for the biggest perverts of all, Mashiro Kuna and Lisa Yadōmaru—those two just started drooling outright, staring in a complete daze!!!
Looks and strength rising together—
this was the first true Bankai of Zangetsu,
bringing viewers the three most direct, visceral impressions all at once.
Ichigo's own charisma
was also fully displayed at this moment, to the very limit.
———
"Handsome and strong…"
"A-Ichi really never lets anyone down…"
Inside Squad One,
perched on Kenpachi Zaraki's shoulder,
even the tiny loli Yachiru's big round eyes shone as she sighed in admiration.
"Tch…"
"Bankai against Bankai…"
"Now Byakuya Kuchiki's advantage has completely vanished…" Kenpachi sneered on purpose.
After watching the entire sequence just now,
he still felt that his own knock-down, drag-out brawl with Ichigo had been way more fun!!!
However—
this time,
Byakuya Kuchiki didn't stay silent.
His expression cold, he replied, "Kenpachi Zaraki… stop spouting that self-satisfied stupidity of yours."
"Senbonzakura's Bankai doesn't have just one stage."
Those words
were practically a pre-emptive trailer.
And sure enough, the next clips played out exactly like that.
"Swish—!!!"
After the Bankai "ceremony" ended,
relying on his outrageous speed and agile style,
Ichigo Kurosaki closed in and seized an opening.
He drove the blade
straight into Byakuya Kuchiki's body, injuring him a second time, and even more seriously than before!!!
This time,
his captain's haori was stained red.
Byakuya's image became even more disheveled.
"Is Ichigo going to win?"
"Looks like that captain can't do anything to you anymore…"
In Karakura Town,
inside the high-school campus,
Tatsuki Arisawa, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora "Chad" Sado all stared wide-eyed.
They were incredibly eager to see Ichigo Kurosaki swing his Zanpakutō again and bring Byakuya down,
ending this battle in overwhelming fashion.
"Hard to say…"
Ichigo in the real world shook his head.
Even though he was excited too, he calmly analyzed things.
"If I remember right, during Byakuya's own ranking, didn't we see large-scale sword formations more than once?"
"So this time probably won't be an exception either, right?"
Sure enough—
no sooner had he finished speaking
than an enraged Byakuya Kuchiki released the second form of his Bankai.
"Senkei—
Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
A gigantic space of floating blades appeared, pink, dazzling motes of light
forming a glowing domain that completely enclosed Ichigo Kurosaki.
Once he fell into the sword formation…
Ichigo's movement speed visibly dropped.
And—
Byakuya even played dirty:
he pulled one of the manifested blades into his hand, stabbed through the sole of Ichigo's foot to pin him down,
then fired a blast of Byakurai right into him.
The bolt exploded violently, blowing a bloody hole straight through Ichigo's torso!!!
"You've gotta be kidding…"
"He got blasted just like that?"
"The situation turned around way too fast! In the end, Ichigo still lost out in battle experience!!!"
Inside the Urahara Shop,
Isshin Kurosaki's pupils contracted. He couldn't help letting out a regretful sigh.
There was nothing for it.
In pure combat strength, the difference between the two wasn't that big.
But when it came to experience,
Ichigo's accumulation was far too shallow.
He ultimately still hadn't built up enough.
And he didn't fully understand all of Senbonzakura's abilities either.
Letting his guard down even once—
this result had, in truth, been within expectations.
It was just that the scene itself looked a bit too bloody.
"Ah…"
Kisuke Urahara's smile faded.
Even he, who had always been watching with an optimistic attitude,
couldn't help knitting his brows now.
"In a situation where he's all alone with no support, unless a miracle happens, there's almost no way he can turn this around."
"Yeah…" Yoruichi said worriedly. "Just look at Byakuya Kuchiki's eyes—he clearly intends to kill."
"Once he gets the chance, he won't let Ichigo off easily."
With her understanding of Byakuya Kuchiki,
at a time like this,
even if she were to go back to the battlefield as a captain,
there was no way she could stop Byakuya from continuing to strike.
He'd carry out an execution right on the spot.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Is Ichigo Kurosaki really going to be taken out?"
Over in Hueco Mundo,
all the Espada stiffened, every brow tightly furrowed.
Just a few seconds ago,
the whole Arrancar army had still been cheering for Ichigo Kurosaki and his Zangetsu,
acting like crazed fans bouncing on their toes.
They hadn't expected—
before they could even enjoy his Bankai properly, it all suddenly collapsed.
In the blink of an eye, Ichigo Kurosaki was already lying in a pool of blood.
It was genuinely shocking!!!
"Next…"
"Either Byakuya falls, or Zangetsu fails to protect him… one of the manifestations has to jump out and fight in Ichigo's place…"
"Otherwise… this battle won't have any chance of victory left."
On the throne,
Sōsuke Aizen's gaze was icy as he spoke with certainty.
He had a strong intuition.
As part of the power that made up the Zanpakutō "Zangetsu",
Old Man Zangetsu—
and even Hollow Ichigo, as the true spirit of the blade—
couldn't possibly just sit back and watch Ichigo Kurosaki get killed.
If that happened,
once their Shinigami host died,
they themselves would face enormous trouble.
It might even jeopardize their very existence.
———
At that moment,
on the screen,
Ichigo Kurosaki lay in the blood, his body caught in a whirlpool of reiryoku,
desperately shouting, "Move… move!!!"
"What did I come here for in the first place!"
"If I can't defeat him… then everything I've done will have been for nothing!!!"
Tears slid down his cheeks, his expression filled with despair.
His body had gone stiff.
He swayed unsteadily, as if he might collapse at any second.
However—
right then, something eerie happened.
"?!"
"What's going on…"
"The video image—black bars are appearing on the top and bottom of the screen, and they're expanding?"
"Is this hinting that Ichigo Kurosaki's personality is about to be overlapped and replaced?"
The viewers were shocked to discover
that just while Ichigo Kurosaki was erupting with that desperate will to survive and screaming,
the video itself had begun to distort.
It suddenly shifted into something different from the previous simple blackout,
instead becoming a strong, unmistakable signal.
At the same time—
in the very next instant,
before the audience could figure out what was happening,
from the direction of Hueco Mundo came that one-of-a-kind electronic, distorted voice, exploding like a speaker cranked to maximum:
"Booo—oom!!!"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, if you go and break the promise I made, you're really going to make things difficult for me, you know…"
That familiar voice rang out.
"What are you doing now, huh? Trying to ruin Ichigo Kurosaki's path forward?"
He was very obviously worried about Ichigo.
But very quickly—
in that instant, it was like a nuclear bomb had gone off,
detonating in the hearts of every viewer across the entire Shinigami world,
setting off an earth-shaking wave of shock and excitement.
"Holy—!!!"
"That's… Ichigo Kurosaki's true form!!!"
The very existence that had personally gone to seek out a Substitute Shinigami
suddenly appeared.
Right in front of the Shinigami world, they were now watching Ichigo Kurosaki's true "self."
The shock was so great it bordered on madness.
He'd actually broken through even the "blade" that separated him from his inner world.
And more than that—
through the lens of the video,
everyone could clearly see those white, mask-like substances, the hallmark of Hollowfication,
gathering on Ichigo Kurosaki's face, forming a Hollow mask.
This omen meant only one thing—
next up,
Hollow Ichigo was going to make his formal entrance!
This was Ichigo Kurosaki, the strongest warrior yet, with Hollow Ichigo in the driver's seat—once he came out swinging, he'd probably just slap Byakuya to death in an instant!!!
(End of Chapter)
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