"This way, you'll be even more helpless against Ichigo. Once his power fully matures, turning back to make you submit wouldn't be an unwise strategy. So, how will you choose? I'm quite curious about that."
"What?! You despicable bastard!"
Hollow White furiously drew his sword and lunged, slashing wildly. Though fast, his blade cut only air.
Zangetsu had already vanished.
"You're lucky you're fast."
Hollow White scoffed, then looked up at the clear sky.
"Brother… huh? I hope you can remain this naive forever. That way, even if Zangetsu plans everything for you, you'll never be able to defeat me in the future."
"Before that, don't die as cleanly as last time… No, you'd best quickly lose with the power he gave you. That way, I'll have a chance to make you understand what power is most important to you."
"Only that kind of power… deserves to be called true power!"
…
Time returned to the present.
The Fifth Division training ground.
"…That's roughly what happened."
Ichigo frowned.
"Before coming here, I went to my inner world again, but I didn't see Old Man Zangetsu. I know he's waiting for me to be ready to summon him to the Human World for a fight, but there's only one chance, and I really can't be careless."
"If I fail, it will definitely delay the rescue of Rukia later."
"So I was thinking… could I deal with that Hollow called 'Hollow White' and team up with him to fight Old Man Zangetsu? That should increase the chances of success."
"Shimiya, do you have any good suggestions?"
"…"
Shimiya Takeru pursed his lips; otherwise, his expression would surely become extremely interesting.
"Suggestions… huh."
"Yes, aren't you best at confusing… no, you're best at dealing with people."
Ichigo looked expectant.
"Let me confirm one thing first. Your Zanpakuto said, 'as long as you hold the bow and defeat him' right?"
Shimiya Takeru mused.
"…That's right."
Ichigo recalled carefully and said with certainty.
"In that case, there's nothing to worry about."
"What are you talking about?"
"What I mean is…"
Shimiya Takeru stood up and said nonchalantly.
"Give your body to the Hollow inside you. Let him fight for you. If he wins, you succeed. If he loses, you can observe, think, and figure out a countermeasure."
"Then, come out with a perfect plan and try to succeed. If the plan fails, seeing how clumsy you are, the Hollow, having experienced failure, will inevitably be unable to resist giving you ideas."
"As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. With the two of you working together, are you afraid you won't succeed?"
"…"
The more Ichigo listened, the brighter his eyes became.
Two more days passed.
The cicadas' chirping grew more piercing, and the scorching air made the streets of Seireitei look like glistening white jade.
In these restless days, good things were not entirely absent.
After lunch, Shimiya Takeru was napping under the shade of a tree on the Spirit Arts Academy courtyard lawn. As soon as he clasped his hands behind his head, a line of ink-brush characters appeared before his eyes.
[Friends, brothers… bonds unchanged for millennia accompany many through life.]
[Under your careful guidance, your companion, like other children of destiny, successfully coexisted with the demon within him. To the world, your evil and greatness surpass that of the demon. The machine soul is greatly pleased!]
[To avoid dying prematurely like those educators who guide children of destiny to become stronger, you slowly absorb the failures of others and resolve to become stronger…]
[—You comprehend Black Flash.]
For a moment, Shimiya Takeru felt a chill in his waist.
Then, a surge of electricity coursed through his body, seemingly injecting memories of a certain technique, causing his body to undergo a strange, instinctive transformation.
"…"
Shimiya Takeru couldn't help but stand up, trying to clench his fist, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
It seemed Ichigo had successfully persuaded the Hollow inside him to team up against Zangetsu.
That's why the machine soul had this feedback.
"Black Flash… huh?"
Shimiya Takeru felt a little strange.
First Shichisen and Yuisen, and now Black Flash.
None of them were genuinely "flash-type" abilities.
It was as if they were ironically commenting on his past claim of being the "strongest flash-type Zanpakuto."
Of course, that being said.
Shimiya Takeru didn't despise any power that could make him stronger.
With a slight focus, he instantly understood the essence and principles of the new skill.
This was a technique that combined Hand-to-Hand Combat and Kido.
By the friction between one's physical strike and one's Kido spiritual pressure, a spiritual particle phenomenon called "spatial distortion" is generated, thereby causing an explosive increase in destructive power.
The increase is at least 2.5 times.
If, under normal circumstances, hands/feet + Kido spiritual pressure = 10.
After the increase, it would be approximately 316.
The destructive power increased by more than thirty times its original basis.
Furthermore, the user would also be affected by this sudden burst of power, fully activating their combat instincts and exceeding their limits.
Shimiya Takeru hadn't paid much attention to this move initially, as its prototype came from a weaker worldview. But after the machine soul's magical modification, he immediately dared not underestimate it.
"If only physical strikes are needed… can I use a sword to unleash Black Flash? Shichisen might not work, but what about Yuisen? Can they be stacked?"
Shimiya Takeru had many inspirations.
The last one particularly moved him.
If Yuisen after Shikai could trigger Black Flash.
If the destructive power increased by thirty times…
Zaraki Kenpachi might find him even before Retsu Unohana found Ichigo.
"Speaking of which, Brother Kurosaki has made initial progress. Passing the trial and completing 'Submission' should happen in the next day or two. There's still over a week until the execution. After mastering Bankai, he'll have a little time to get familiar with it."
"But I'm not slow on my end either…"
Shimiya Takeru slightly raised his head, looking straight ahead.
A dreamlike figure stood on the lawn, which was dyed golden-green by the sunlight. Just from her back, one could feel a joyful mood.
"How does it feel to be in the Human World?"
"I like this feeling of standing in the sunlight… it's very similar to how I activate my power, sparkling everywhere…"
"…"
The Mushroom Woman's words made Shimiya Takeru's mouth twitch.
Heaven knew how many times he had been blown up in the past few days just to materialize this fellow.
Since it was in the inner world, self-detonation didn't matter.
Once, he couldn't resist using it himself… but the result was still his own death by explosion.
The technique Endonemī thought of, Shimiya Takeru had actually thought of long ago—it would be strange if he hadn't—but a move that resulted in mutual destruction with the enemy seemed meaningless to him.
Battles were meant to be won. At worst, temporarily losing all power like Ichigo wasn't entirely unacceptable.
Dragging the enemy to death with him was absolutely out of the question.
"There's plenty of time. Forget sunbathing, taking you to the Human World for a sunbath is a small matter, provided… you cooperate with me to achieve Bankai."
"I've always been satisfying your needs… Yes, 'materialization' is over. Next is for me to 'submit,' right?"
The Mushroom Woman slowly turned, her smile playful.
"Bankai is essentially a vast power cultivated by its owner. To reap the rewards and make this power one's own, it needs to be 'submitted'… Normally, this involves violence and force… because it's almost like a predator digesting its food."
"But there's no need for us to do that. After all, we've been fighting each other for even longer."
"From what you're saying… it seems you don't plan to fight another battle in the Human World to determine a winner?"
Shimiya Takeru raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed. You only need to answer one question."
The Mushroom Woman smiled sweetly, looking incredibly beautiful, yet one could clearly sense a mischievous streak.
"I'm listening."
"Master, can you tell me… what is the thing that has frightened you the most to this day??"
"…"
Shimiya Takeru paused at her words, then said after a moment of silence, "I can't remember."
"Then think hard again. Tell me once you've figured it out."
"…What? Are you planning to make my Bankai take on a form that counters my answer?"
"Why wouldn't it be predetermined from the start?"
"?"
Before Shimiya Takeru could press further, the Mushroom Woman dissipated like smoke.
Leaving him alone under the tree, silent for a long time.
…
A stroll.
This was never on Suì-Fēng's schedule.
Today, she went to inspect the work of the Patrol Corps.
Recently, the number of complaints had decreased.
Not just the Patrol Corps.
The Second Division seemed to be subtly gaining more respect from people.
It had nothing to do with Ōmaeda selling laxatives to win over hearts. It was the meticulously refined regulations and guidelines Suì-Fēng had painstakingly developed that played a crucial role.
Improving work efficiency was no longer achieved through ruthless and crude methods. Sometimes, communication skills could also be effective, even more so.
There were also clever tricks learned from books in the Human World. After appropriate adjustments and integration with the actual situation in Seireitei, the original methods of intelligence gathering were also updated and iterated.
This series of changes led to the Second Division suddenly appearing somewhat profound and mysterious to other divisions.
Suì-Fēng was very satisfied.
Did she not know about the negative reputation of the Onmitsukidō that Ōmaeda spoke of?
Previously, she simply believed it was unavoidable.