Naruto: The Infinite New World

Chapter 611 Ichigo Kurosaki vs. White and the Undercurrents of the Land of Shadows

Ichigo Kurosaki ignored the masked man's nonsense and charged towards him.

"Sigh." The masked man sighed.

He really didn't want to act with the intention of killing the other person, especially since this person's background was very complicated.

A chill emanated from his body as he reached out and threw the ice senbon at Kurosaki Ichigo.

Kurosaki Ichigo swung his sword, knocking all the ice senbon away, but it stopped him for a moment.

The masked man has finished forming the hand seals.

Ice Release Secret Technique! Demonic Mirror Ice Crystal!

Ice mirrors rapidly condensed around Ichigo Kurosaki, enveloping him.

"ice?"

Ichigo Kurosaki stopped in his tracks.

The masked man slowly moved forward, merging his body into the ice mirror.

Look around.

Figures appeared one after another inside the ice mirror; they were all masked men.

"You have no chance of escaping now."

Haku's voice came from inside the ice mirror, and he threw the ice senbon in his hand at Kurosaki Ichigo.

Ichigo Kurosaki quickly swung his sword to defend.

But the attack came not from just one side, but from every angle, leaving no blind spots.

"Hiss!!"

Kurosaki Ichigo knelt on the ground, his back riddled with thorns.

You still have a chance to turn around and leave.

The masked man spoke in a cold, clear voice.

He was still trying to persuade Ichigo Kurosaki to leave.

"Turn around and leave?"

Kurosaki Ichigo's spiritual pressure erupted once again, and all the ice needles on his body flew out.

"How is that possible?!"

He hasn't rescued Tayuya yet.

"Zan Yue!!!"

Kurosaki Ichigo swung his sword at the ice mirror in front of him, and the blue crescent-shaped slash instantly rushed towards the ice mirror.

"Splash!"

The entire ice mirror shattered instantly.

"What a powerful attack."

The masked woman's mask shattered instantly, revealing a beautiful face.

He had been hiding on that ice mirror. If he hadn't moved quickly, it wouldn't just have been the ice mirror that shattered.

"A girl?"

Kurosaki Ichigo was dumbfounded, never expecting his opponent to be a woman.

"My name is Bai, and I'm a man."

Bai smiled gently.

But simply destroying one ice mirror is useless; the shattered ice crystals are rapidly regenerating.

"It seems you are quite capable."

The opponent's attack was more powerful than she had expected.

Without hesitation, Kurosaki Ichigo, regardless of whether the other party was a girl or not, was his enemy. He gripped Zangetsu with both hands and charged towards Haku.

"It was no coincidence after all."

Bai realized that the opponent had locked onto him, and that attack just now wasn't just luck.

"Zangetsu!!"

A blue slash erupted.

As the ice mirror shattered, a path leading outside was revealed.

Without thinking, Kurosaki Ichigo immediately used Shunpo to jump out of the middle.

However, the city in front of him was not the one he had imagined.

Instead, they are ice mirrors.

Ice Release Secret Technique! Demonic Mirror Ice Crystal Maze!

The white figure reappeared on each mirror surface.

Having grown up in the Land of Shadows, Haku's strength is far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even Kimimaro might not be a match for Haku now.

"Ice Release! Ice Soaring Dragon!"

Countless senbon needles flew out of the ice mirror, swirling and flying through the labyrinth, their mouths wide open as they charged straight at Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Zangetsu!!"

Kurosaki Ichigo roared!

The blue slash rushed towards the ice dragon.

The crescent moon's slash collided with the ice dragon, but only destroyed half of it. The remaining part of the ice dragon's body crashed into Ichigo Kurosaki, sending him flying.

"Your slash is indeed powerful, but your overall strength is still lacking."

Bai said coldly.

The opponent's slash was even more powerful than ordinary offensive ninjutsu.

Ichigo Kurosaki was panting, his eyes scanning his surroundings.

It can't be found.

The opponent's spiritual pressure.

Ichigo Kurosaki could sense some strange feelings, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what they were, but he could pinpoint which one of the other person was the real one.

But that strange feeling is gone now.

"In terms of physical skills, I probably don't have your strength, but your slashing and physical skills alone are not enough to fight me."

Unless one gains the power and speed to overwhelm their opponent, like by learning the Eight Gates Formation.

Otherwise, engaging in direct combat with them, who are chakra users, would only be a death sentence.

"Ice Release! Ice Soaring Dragon!"

Countless ice senbon needles quickly coalesced into three ice dragons, which charged towards Kurosaki Ichigo once again.

"I will never give up!!"

A burst of black spiritual pressure erupted from Ichigo Kurosaki's body.

"Zan Yue!!!"

The originally blue crescent moon slash was suddenly dyed black.

The burst of black slashes nearly tore the two ice dragons apart, but the power of the slashes then completely vanished.

The remaining ice dragon crashed into Ichigo Kurosaki's body, the powerful force shattering ice crystals, before finally turning into icy water and falling to the ground.

Haku looked at Kurosaki Ichigo, who was lying paralyzed on the destroyed ice crystals, covered in blood.

"it's over."

He shook his head.

If the opponent had understood their fighting style, they wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat.

Skyscrapers standing horizontally.

Ichigo Kurosaki stood on it.

"Yo, Ichigo, here we go again."

Uchiha Kin greeted Kurosaki Ichigo.

"How did I end up here?"

Kurosaki Ichigo looked around in confusion. Shouldn't he be fighting alongside Haku?

"Because you were in a near-death state, and with some kind of will, your body's survival instinct sent you here."

Kim still sat upright on the throne, his hand supporting his chin, his legs crossed, and a look of schadenfreude on his face.

"You got really badly beaten up outside."

He can see what's happening outside through Ichigo Kurosaki.

"So, can you still give me strength?"

Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Uchiha Kin, realizing that with his current power, he seemed unable to save Tayuya at all.

"If you become obsessed with power, your heart will be devoured."

Jin said with a strange expression; it felt very incongruous for him to say such things.

"And I've already given you the power."

He had long since erased Zangetsu and Hollow White's consciousness; the Zanpakuto was now entirely the power of Kurosaki Ichigo's own body.

With time and practice, he can grow stronger and gradually master the power of the cleaver.

"You've already given it to me?"

Ichigo Kurosaki fell into deep thought.

"Your current power comes from two sources. One is the power of the Zanpakuto, which is Zangetsu. As long as your will is firm, you can continuously unleash its power."

"One is the dark power I gave you, which you need to constantly think about and understand before you can improve upon it."

"The power of Zangetsu comes from your will, and the power of darkness comes from your reason. The choice is entirely up to you."

"Dark power?"

Ichigo Kurosaki fell silent, lost in thought, and gave up trying to think.

"Why is it darkness?!"

That kind of thing is obviously not a proper thing.

"You seem to have a deep misunderstanding of darkness."

Jin shook his head.

It's not a matter of misunderstanding; everyone who hears words like "darkness" is corrupt.

Kurosaki Ichigo silently complained to himself.

"Darkness exists on its own; it is defined by humankind."

"Whatever you believe darkness to be, that is what darkness is. If you believe darkness is depravity, then darkness is naturally the power of depravity. If you believe darkness is justice, then darkness is the power of justice."

"The background beyond the stars and the universe is darkness; you can't say the entire universe is evil, can you?"

Upon hearing Kin's words, Ichigo Kurosaki fell into deep thought.

"Power is neither good nor bad, but people are."

With a gentle wave of his hand, Jin touched the heart of Kurosaki Ichigo.

Bai emerged from the ice mirror.

He wanted to take Ichigo Kurosaki back and imprison him.

Since he did not die from his attack, he will now be imprisoned.

She reached out to grab his collar.

Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.

White pupils contracted and he kicked out. Kurosaki Ichigo raised his sword to block the kick, his body sliding backward a distance.

Ichigo Kurosaki stopped what he was doing, and in a flash appeared in front of Haku, slashing at Haku with his sword.

The knife sliced ​​through Bai's body, but only left a water stain.

Then, Bai's figure quickly appeared in the ice mirror.

"Since you've already fallen, why bother getting back up?"

Bai shook his head.

He threw the ice senbon in his hand at Kurosaki Ichigo once again.

"Ice Release! Ice Soaring Dragon!"

The three-headed ice dragon reappeared and charged towards Ichigo Kurosaki.

Although the opponent's slashing attack has been enhanced, it can only destroy two ends.

But this time, Ichigo Kurosaki did not make the first move.

Instead, he held his knife and watched the ice dragon charging towards him.

"Darkness? What is that?"

He still had no doubts about Jin; since he possessed his power, he could naturally use it.

"And what do you consider darkness to be? What, then, is darkness naturally?"

The background color of the starry sky is black.

The images of darkness in my mind are all words like depravity, devouring, and destruction.

It feels somewhat empty.

"Darkness can be anything."

Seeing that Ichigo Kurosaki offered no resistance whatsoever, Haku suddenly roared, "What are you doing?!"

Where there is light, there is darkness.

Darkness contains everything, but people can only see the light.

and so.

"Darkness is inclusiveness."

"Get out of the way!!"

Bai couldn't help but speak up to remind them that three Ice Soaring Dragons were enough to kill the opponent.

Kurosaki Ichigo then opened his eyes, but the whites of his eyes had turned completely black.

"Darkness, by its very nature, is all-encompassing!"

"Darkness! Zangetsu!!!"

A strong black spiritual pressure erupted from Ichigo Kurosaki's body, but it's not accurate to simply call it spiritual pressure; it's more accurate to say that the spiritual pressure was imbued with dark power.

Kurosaki Ichigo swung his sword.

The massive black slash hurtled straight toward the three ice dragons.

"boom!!!"

All three ice dragons were destroyed in an instant.

The remaining strength continues to move forward.

"boom!!!"

All the ice mirrors in front were destroyed by this slash.

A long chasm appeared on the ground.

Shiro's body fell from the ice mirror, and he looked at the mark left by Kurosaki Ichigo's sword. Even though Ichigo was panting heavily, he did not make any move.

"That's... the power of darkness?"

That was the immense power possessed by Uchiha Kin, the emperor of the entire Land of Shadows.

Why can the other party use it?

He's now hesitant, wondering whether he should make a move.

Even at this level, he still has a chance to win.

"That was truly an amazing slash."

A figure stood on a high place, looking at the result of Ichigo Kurosaki's slash.

Ichigo Kurosaki turned around and saw who it was.

"Uncle, it's you?"

Hatake Sakumo looked at Kurosaki Ichigo with a smile on his face.

"After all, there's still some work to do."

Yoruichi, the black cat that had disappeared, suddenly darted to Ichigo's shoulder.

"Be careful, this guy is not simple."

Kurosaki Ichigo was puzzled and wanted to ask something when he saw Haku instantly appear in front of Hatake Sakumo and kneel down.

"Greetings, Commander of the Tenth Legion."

Kurosaki Ichigo's smile froze as he looked at the smiling Hatake Sakumo.

The smile on his face slowly disappeared, and his hand gripped the knife.

"That means you're the enemy."

"That's fine, after all, I also bear some responsibility for driving you away."

Hatake Suzuma nodded.

"He's not someone you can defeat right now."

It wasn't Yoruichi who spoke, but a woman's voice. He turned his head and saw a slender figure slowly standing in front of him.

"Who are you?"

Kurosaki Ichigo stared blankly at the woman in front of him. He didn't recognize her, and the Visoreds didn't have her either. Could she be reinforcements that Urahara Kisuke had invited?

"You don't need to know who I am, just know that I'm on your side for now."

The woman glanced at Ichigo Kurosaki, then turned to look at Sakumo Hatake.

"This man is far more powerful than you can imagine."

Just as Ichigo Kurosaki was about to ask something else...

Yoruichi reached out her cat paw, tugged at his ear, and shook her head.

He was told to wait and see.

This woman was definitely not someone Kisuke Urahara hired.

Upon seeing the woman appear before him, Hatake Sakushige sighed helplessly.

"Chako, by doing this you're putting yourself on the opposite side of the Land of Shadows."

The woman standing before me was Chako.

"No, that's not true."

Chako, however, pointed at Ichigo Kurosaki with a smile on her face.

"Cutting-edge technology products that can use dark power—these all represent His Majesty the Emperor's approval."

Hatake Sakumo felt even more helpless thinking about that frivolous emperor.

"If you want it, I can just give it to you directly. Why make a fuss?"

Chako, however, said with a smile, "I can't possibly accept this gift from you, which you've given me as a reward."

"I'd much rather take it by force, and there are many others who feel the same way."

There are only ten Legion Commanders, but the Shadow Kingdom has more than ten Dharma Bodies.

Many people have quietly advanced to the Dharma Body level, but because there is no available position, they choose to wait and see.

The arrival of Ichigo Kurosaki and his group actually gave them an opportunity.

"Are you trying to throw the entire Land of Shadows into chaos?"

Hatake Sakumo still wanted to persuade him.

"The chaos only affects us; it won't have much impact on the Land of Shadows."

"The strong rise, the weak fall; this is His Majesty the Emperor's rule."

It was only because of the military's long-standing hierarchical system that all thoughts of launching attacks upwards were suppressed.

"Enough with the nonsense."

Black flames ignited on Chazi's body.

"Should we fight?"

This time it's an open competition for carriages and horses.

"I'll wait until you're ready."

The sorrow on Hatake Sakumo's face disappeared, and he looked at Chako with a smile.

"It seems you have a lot of confidence in yourself."

Cha Zi's smile remained unchanged.

"Maybe I just don't want this position anymore?"

There was an undercurrent in their conversation.

"Then get ready in that spot, I'm coming to grab it."

He reached out and patted Ichigo Kurosaki.

The black flames flashed and disappeared.

The two people and the cat vanished in an instant.

(End of this chapter)