I Am a Heroic Spirit

As soon as he finished speaking, Abarai Renji put his hand on the blade, and the Zanpakutō in his hand instantly changed into a different appearance. A blade like a fang appeared and stabbed out, splitting the Zanpakutō into sections.

"Roar! Snaketail Pill! Look ahead, in front of you is your food!"

After his Shikai, Abarai Renji was no match for Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Ryuki. In just a few seconds, he was seriously injured.

"Goodbye, little ghost..."

Standing in front of the unconscious Arisawa Ryuki and the powerless Kurosaki Ichigo lying on the ground, Abarai Renji slowly raised the Jabimaru and said with a sneer.

However, just as he was about to kill Ichigo Kurosaki and Ryuki Arisawa, and just as Byakuya Kuchiki and Jushiro Ukitake were about to speak up to stop Renji Abarai, an extremely powerful spiritual pressure suddenly erupted from Ichigo Kurosaki's body, and its strength was enough to suppress Renji Abarai.

Ukitake Jushiro was surprised, but then smiled with relief. As expected of a man with the same appearance as Haiyan, his current spiritual pressure was no less than that of any vice-captain in the division.

Kenpachi Zaraki stared at Ichigo Kurosaki with a sinister smile. Interesting, is this guy the same type as me?

Aizen looked surprised, but his eyes were calm as water. This spiritual pressure was all within his expectations.

Ichigo Kurosaki's explosive attack was not something Abarai Renji could resist, at least not someone who had not lifted the restrictions. Within a few minutes, Abarai Renji was defeated. Under Ichigo Kurosaki's crazy attack, Abarai Renji had no time to lift the restrictions at all.

Just before Kurosaki Ichigo's Soul Zanthō was about to kill Abarai Renji, something unexpected happened. Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned on the spot, looking at the Soul Zanthō in his hand in disbelief. Strictly speaking, he was looking at the empty space where only the handle was left.

Ichigo Kurosaki looked towards where Byakuya Kuchiki was, and saw a piece of the blade between Byakuya Kuchiki's two fingers. That was the part that had disappeared from his Soul Zanthō.

How can it be……

Ichigo Kurosaki looked at Byakuya Kuchiki in shock. He saw Byakuya Kuchiki casually throw away the blade. Before the blade fell to the ground, Byakuya Kuchiki's figure instantly appeared beside Ichigo Kurosaki and passed by slowly. Ichigo Kurosaki was still looking at the place where Byakuya Kuchiki was standing the moment before.

Time seemed to stand still. As the blade fell to the ground with a crisp collision sound, blood spurted out of Kurosaki Ichigo's body like a raging fountain. Arisawa Ryuki, who was lying on the ground, also twitched at that moment, and two blood arrows shot out from her body.

When exactly was it?

Ichigo Kurosaki slowly fell down, still thinking in his head.

"So slow, even falling down was so slow."

Byakuya Kuchiki said coldly as he walked past Ichigo Kurosaki.

"That's too harsh, Captain Kuchiki. For a human, this child is already very good." Unohana Retsu suddenly appeared beside Kurosaki Ichigo, squatted down, and reached out to grab Kurosaki Ichigo's right hand that was extended to Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Captain Unohana, Ryuki and Ichigo..."

Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue staggered over, and Uryu Ishida took out his spirit bow and followed closely behind.

"Don't worry, Miss Kuchiki. Captain Kuchiki didn't kill them. Because of their contribution in saving Karakura Town in the evening, they can continue to live, but the power of the Shinigami must be abolished." Unohana Retsu said gently, releasing the light of Kaidō in his hands, and healed the two fatal injuries of Kurosaki Ichigo and Arisawa Ryuki. However, in order to prevent any further accidents, Unohana Retsu deliberately put Kurosaki Ichigo's consciousness into hibernation.

Upon hearing this, both Ishida Uryu and Kuchiki Rukia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Renji, open the door." Kuchiki Byakuya suddenly spoke.

Abarai Renji glanced at Kuchiki Rukia and used the Soul-Zanking Sword to open the world-piercing gate.

Rukia Kuchiki's face turned pale and weak. She looked deeply at Ryuki Arisawa, then stood up and walked towards the gate. Renji Abarai was waiting there with a complicated expression.

"Rukia, where are you going?" When Orihime Inoue saw Rukia Kuchiki was about to leave, she quickly grabbed Rukia Kuchiki's arm and asked her.

"Sorry, I have to go back. When Ryuki and Ichigo wake up, tell them for me that I was very happy during this period, but please forget about me from now on." Rukia Kuchiki stopped, closed her eyes, and said in a voice as if she was about to cry.

"Rukia?" Orihime Inoue shouted anxiously, but Rukia Kuchiki broke free from Orihime Inoue's hand and continued to walk forward.

Inoue Orihime was pinned to the spot by Unohana Rei's spiritual pressure, unable to move. Ishida Uryuu stood there silently, saying nothing. Even though he thought highly of himself, he couldn't ignore the many captains around him.

Rukia Kuchiki stood in front of the gate, and after looking at Renji Abarai, she was ready to enter the gate together with Renji Abarai.

At this time, a voice was heard.

"That's a bit too much, God of Death. You're doing this to humans in their territory. Do you think this is Soul Society?"

"Don't you think this is too much? These two children don't seem to have done anything bad."

The green and purple figures walking down the street made Byakuya Kuchiki stop, and Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia also stopped in front of the world-traversing gate.

Chapter 241 Aizen's Proposal

Among the Shinigami who were being confronted, Ukitake Jushiro looked embarrassed, Unohana Rei x Ichimaru Gin, Kyoraku Haru remained expressionless, Soi Fong and Kuchiki Byakuya's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, and Zaraki Kenpachi's hand had already grasped the hilt of the sword.

"You two should be the Yingguo Hero Shakespeare and Sasaki Kojiro-senpai. I've heard a lot about you."

As a diplomat, Aizen walked down from the roof step by step on the air and responded directly to Sasaki Kojiro and Shakespeare.

"Shakespeare is my kind. I never thought that my name has spread to Soul Society?" Shakespeare said mockingly.

"My name is Sasaki Kojiro." Sasaki Kojiro responded to Aizen politely.

"I'm Sosuke Aizen, captain of the 5th division of Soul Society's Gotei 13." Aizen introduced himself politely. His gentle demeanor made it impossible to harbor any hostility towards him.

"Isn't the team logo very obvious?" Shakespeare spread his hands exaggeratedly.

"You pretentious guy, I really want to chop you to death." Kenpachi Zaraki jumped down from the roof, drew out his soul-slaying sword, and walked towards Shakespeare with a menacing look. With Kenpachi Zaraki's temper, it was a miracle that he could endure until now.

"Captain Zaraki, all negotiation matters should be left to Captain Aizen. Have you forgotten the captain-general's orders?" Unohana Retsu took a step forward and stood in front of Kenpachi Zaraki. His voice became more and more gentle, but it made Kenpachi Zaraki shiver.

Upon hearing the voice, Sasaki Kojiro looked towards Unohana Retsu, and his gaze met Unohana Retsu's. At a distance of ten meters, the two had their first confrontation, and their sword intent collided in the void through their line of sight.

A few seconds later, Unohana Retsu and Sasaki Kojiro both took half a step back, and their eyes turned to the side at the same time.

Shakespeare's expression changed. Although he was not very strong, his eyesight was still good. He could naturally see that Sasaki Kojiro did not gain any advantage in the confrontation with the captain of the Fourth Division.

"Oh hahahaha... funny guy."

Kenpachi Zaraki became more and more excited, and a smile full of fighting spirit appeared on his face. If Unohana Retsu had not been right in front of him, he would have killed someone.

Although others noticed that Unohana Retsu and Sasaki Kojiro had a confrontation, they were not professional swordsmen after all, and could not tell the two's attainments in swordsmanship from such a brief confrontation. They also did not know Sasaki Kojiro's strength. Although Sasaki Kojiro was a great swordsman in records, he was only a junior to Ukitake Jushiro and Kyoraku Shunsui. Even if they knew that Sasaki Kojiro was a powerful swordsman, they did not know to what extent he was.

Only Aizen, Ichimaru Gin, and Zaraki Kenpachi, three captains who are no more than 500 years old and have come from the human world to Soul Society, have enough knowledge about Sasaki Kojiro, the world-famous samurai.

"What? If you can't win the argument, you have to fight?" Shakespeare asked contemptuously.

"Of course not. We are all civilized people, so we should be reasonable." Aizen quickly took over the conversation without waiting for the other captains who were angered by Shakespeare's attitude to speak.

"Those two humans and Kuchiki Rukia have violated the laws of Soul Society. Under Soul Society law, giving the power of a Shinigami to a human is a serious crime, regardless of the reason. Therefore, they must be punished according to the laws of Soul Society."

Aizen said this with a serious face. Although what he said was very objective and fair, and sounded fine and completely reasonable, the word Soul Society appeared three times in one sentence, and he kept mentioning the laws of the Soul Society. If the souls and Shinigami of Soul Society heard it, it would not be a big deal, but it would cause resistance in the hearts of non-Soul Society residents.

"This is the real world, the human realm. Even if they make mistakes, they must be punished according to human laws. Moreover, the laws you speak of are completely illogical, so how can they even be called laws?"

Aizen's words successfully made Sasaki Kojiro feel disgusted, but the other captains did not hear anything wrong and all looked agreeable, which made Sasaki Kojiro even more dissatisfied.

Sasaki Kojiro frowned and retorted in disapproval.

Shakespeare noticed that Sasaki Kojiro wasn't very good at debating, so he spoke up, "As far as I know, this Kuchiki-kun, along with Arisawa and Inoue-kun, encountered mortal danger over two months ago. Having no choice, he gave Arisawa his power. For over two months, he's been working tirelessly to carry out his duties as a Death God, protecting the people of Karakura Town. This evening, he nearly lost his life. And instead of rewarding him, you're punishing him?"

"I don't agree with what Sasaki-senpai said. First of all, their Shinigami power belongs to Soul Society, Kuchiki Rukia is also a member of Soul Society, and Karakura Town is also an integral and inherent territory of Soul Society. Then, it is precisely because these two humans strictly carried out the Shinigami's mission during this period that Soul Society specially sent the captain of the treatment team, Unohana-senpai, to save their lives. I think in this regard, Soul Society has done its utmost." Aizen continued to speak what was reasonable in the eyes of the Shinigami, and his voice was gentle and elegant, and no one could tell what other meaning he meant.

Sasaki Kojiro's face showed annoyance. He was obviously angered by Aizen's matter-of-fact words, which was exactly the reaction Aizen wanted.

"I don't know when Karakura Town became Soul Society territory. Even Enma, the God of Death, can only rule the underworld and the dead. How can these so-called crimes be considered crimes?" Sasaki Kojiro asked angrily. "Isn't the so-called power of the God of Death cultivated by Rukia Kuchiki herself? Or was the power of the God of Death bestowed upon Rukia Kuchiki by the Soul Society?"

"Karakura Town and even the area covered by Soul Society were allocated to us by the Japanese government many years ago," Aizen said, still looking calm and composed, speaking calmly and unhurriedly even though it might irritate others. "As for the crimes..."

"As for that crime, it's all too common. It's simply the arrogance of those in power," Shakespeare sneered, interrupting Aizen. "In ancient times, every country had certain things that belonged exclusively to the nobility, the royal family, or perhaps other powerful forces. Commoners were forbidden from possessing them. If a commoner was found in possession, they would be sentenced to death. I didn't expect that after all these years, in the new century, Soul Society would still stick to its old ways."

Shakespeare's words were essentially a slap in the face of Soul Society, mocking it for being in a feudal society where things that could be popularized were used as symbols of status and strictly controlled.

Sasaki Kojiro also spoke up, "I don't know why the Japanese government allocated territory to Soul Society, but since our arrival, this land is no longer under the control of those unfilial descendants of the Japanese government."

-

"This should be considered a diplomatic incident." Hattori Heiji said in surprise. Diplomacy between the ancestors of mankind and the gods of death?

"Something big is going to happen." Conan said with a complicated expression. It was the first time he heard of such a thing. Japan's territory was divided and given to other people by the Japanese government. Is this considered a country within a country?

"Oh no, I'm in trouble." Yoko Okino stared at the video in the camera and groaned with difficulty.

It doesn't matter who it is, except her. She broadcast this incident live. No matter what kind of turmoil happens in the government, Nichiuri TV will definitely be affected. She may even be banned. Now we can only hope that the Japanese government can give some help and these heroes can reverse the situation.

As the live broadcast transmitted the recorded video to various networks, it caused a huge shock in Japan. Even people in other countries gave up sleeping after learning the news and climbed over the wall in the middle of the night to watch the current live broadcast.

Japanese government officials were even more anxious. They had assigned cities like Karakura Town to Soul Society because the Shinigami were different from humans. They did not want offerings from humans, nor would they interfere with the operation of the cities. They just wanted a name. No matter how much they thought about it, they never imagined that what happened today would happen.

In other words, if the Heroic Spirits had not appeared, even after another five hundred years, the fact that Japan ceded territory and paid compensation would not have been exposed. After all, the Soul Society would not look down on such things from Japan.

Japan is inferior to Soul Society in every way, so what does Soul Society want this little territory for? To put it bluntly, it just wants a title, to claim sovereignty, to show Soul Society's authority.

In ancient times, this kind of thing happened a lot. For example, the Celestial Empire's vassal states, such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, all bowed to the Celestial Empire and received annual gifts, but nothing in return. They just wanted a title, saying, "I'm your boss. If you have any problems in the future, or if any country dares to bully you, come to me and I'll support you." To be honest, many countries today still have this kind of relationship, but it's not openly displayed.

Today's Japan and Soul Society are like ancient Japan and Takama-ga-hara, except that Soul Society is too weak compared to Takama-ga-hara.

No matter what the Japanese government officials thought in the past, they are now having a headache. The one with the biggest headache is the Japanese Prime Minister. First, Western countries called one after another to express their gloating to him, then China across the sea also called to condemn him, and finally, the most troublesome thing for him is that parades have appeared on the streets to protest against the Japanese government's division of land to Soul Society. If he can't solve this problem, I'm afraid he will have to take the lead in stepping down.

-

"No matter what, you must give an explanation for this matter. As for that completely meaningless crime, don't bring it up. The territorial issue is not something the Japanese government can decide." Sasaki Kojiro issued the final ultimatum, and the long sword behind him appeared in his hand, revealing several inches of the blade.

The fighting spirit on Kenpachi Zaraki's face became more and more intense, and a crazy murderous intent emanated from him. If it weren't for Unohana Retsu who suppressed him, he would have already killed Sasaki Kojiro.

Although Kenpachi Zaraki was suppressed, Unohana Retsu was not much better off. Her body was trembling with intense excitement. If she had not retained a bit of rationality, she would have fought with Kenpachi Zaraki by now.

"An explanation? What explanation do you want?" The person who spoke in such a mocking tone naturally couldn't be Aizen. Ichimaru Gin tilted his head, glanced at Sasaki Kojiro, and sneered, "Only the winner is qualified to explain. Do you think, compared to us, you will be the winner?"

"Do you want to fight?" Sasaki Kojiro asked back.

"If negotiations don't yield any results, then we can only achieve the desired outcome through fighting." Aizen said to Sasaki Kojiro with an embarrassed look. If someone didn't know, who would have known that this outcome was entirely caused by Aizen?

"Fight? Lord Sasaki, it seems you have to return to Valhalla once. I don't have the ability to fight, so I can only ask you to fight these eight captains and seven vice-captains alone." Shakespeare said calmly, and his words implied that he was accusing Aizen and other Shinigami of wanting to suppress them by relying on their numbers.

"Mr. Shakespeare, you're joking. We can't outnumber the enemy. How about this? Let's schedule eight one-on-one matches. If we manage to win one, the matter of these two humans will be over, Kuchiki Rukia will be taken away, and you will no longer interfere in Soul Society affairs. How about this? If you win one match,

Chapter 242 The Eve of the Competition

Unlike the Shinigami, Sasaki Kojiro frowned in embarrassment. He didn't know where the other heroic spirits who had descended had gone, and Shakespeare had no fighting power. If he accepted the offer, how could he fight alone?

Shakespeare didn't say anything. It wasn't his turn to take action anyway. Let Sasaki Kojiro decide whether to accept the invitation to the competition. After all, he was not a Japanese. What did the battle to decide the ownership of Japanese territory have to do with him?

"Competition? Do we need a witness?" A sweet voice sounded, and everyone looked up, and then they were stunned. The beautiful figure riding a white horse made everyone fascinated at that moment, except Kenpachi Zaraki.

Unohana Retsu was the first to come back to his senses, and the others also gradually calmed down, their eyes full of admiration for the beauty. They didn't see it clearly in the previous surveillance, but now seeing it face to face, they realized that there are such wonderful human beings in this world.

"Is it Queen Mary?" Aizen asked the princess in the sky gently.

"Isn't it obvious? The seal on the crown and the glass horse have confirmed her identity. She was a princess who was admired like a flower or a butterfly in the deep palace, but was beheaded without knowing anything." Shakespeare said mockingly.

"Do you want to be beheaded, Ying people?" Samson appeared silently behind Shakespeare, with the sword in his hand already on Shakespeare's neck, and his words were full of murderous intent.

Dion and Mozart also appeared later, staring at Shakespeare with unfriendly eyes.

The expressions of Kuchiki Byakuya, Ichimaru Gin, Soi Fong and others became solemn. From the moment Mary appeared, they had been observing their surroundings, but they still could not find any trace of Samson and the other three. Even when they used spiritual pressure to perceive, they did not find anything. Such hiding ability was too strong.

A flash of understanding flashed in Aizen's eyes. A Heroic Spirit's transformation into a spirit? It would be more accurate to say it was a spirit particle transformation. By transforming themselves into spirit particles and moving around, a Heroic Spirit transformed into a spirit particle could not be detected unless a special technique was used or a barrier was set up.

Unohana Retsu felt somewhat puzzled. There was no trace of movement, no breath or spiritual pressure leaking out. Could it be that it had really turned into a transparent state of nothingness?

Shakespeare's life was threatened, and Sasaki Kojiro didn't say much. After all, Shakespeare was in the wrong, and he and Shakespeare were not very good friends. They were just fellow travelers. Naturally, he would not offend other heroes for Shakespeare who was in the wrong.

"Am I wrong, executioner?" Shakespeare said calmly, as if the sword on his neck was just a decoration.

"You bastard..." Samson's face became ferocious, and the sword had already cut a bloody mark on Shakespeare's neck.

"Okay, Samson, let him go. Actually, there's not much wrong in what he said." Mary spoke up to stop Samson's actions.

Upon hearing this, Samson slowly retracted his sword, but deliberately opened a wound on Shakespeare's neck.

"But I won't apologize. The wound is a punishment for your rude words." Mary put her hands on her hips and said to Shakespeare condescendingly.

"Haha..." Shakespeare didn't care about the bloody wound on Samson's neck and laughed softly, "That's true. Should I thank you for your kindness?"

"Well, you should thank me. If the person who is qualified to kill you had not yet arrived, I might have taught you a more profound lesson." Mary nodded seriously and spoke.

"You are wishful thinking. Do you think that idiot will attack me? Instead of leaving me to her, you might as well help her vent her anger." Shakespeare laughed mockingly. He knew who Mary was talking about. But forget it, he just expected that person to attack him. It would be better to hope for that person's reversed form.

Mary rubbed her brows in distress, then shook her head, tossing Shakespeare aside. She then greeted Unohana Retsu, "Hello, I'm Mary from France. I heard you're planning a grand tournament. Could you please let me be a witness and organizer? My Noble Phantasm can set up a suitable battlefield for you."

"Do you want to join the competition too?" Unohana Retsu asked doubtfully. She could see that although Mary's spiritual pressure was strong, it was not the fighting type.

"No, the people who want to join the competition are friends I met on the road. They share the same hobby as me, but it's precisely because of this hobby that some conflicts have arisen. They were originally driven here to help those children, but they got into an argument halfway through," Mary said. "If we were to hold a competition, they might be willing to use it to determine the winner."

"Being driven here, is it a Servant driven by a magician?" The group of Death Gods keenly noticed a certain word in Mary's words. The person Mary called a friend could only be a Heroic Spirit, but if she said he was driven, then it was most likely the magician who could summon clones of Heroic Spirits as reported in the intelligence.

Suddenly, everyone looked towards the sky on the right and saw a white bird flapping its wings but approaching without making any sound. The white bird was emitting white light all over its body and was obviously not a natural creature, but some kind of creation.

If you are a magician in the Type-Moon world, you can recognize it at a glance. This thing is the famous Einzbern family, Illya's magic costume Stork Knight.

The Stork Knight stopped after approaching, and then a man's voice was heard from it.

"I have accepted this match on behalf of the Japanese government and the Heroic Spirits. The time is set for tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 PM, and the location is here. Mr. Shakespeare and Queen Mary must be present to cooperate with our Servants in setting up the battlefield and serve as witnesses for Valhalla. Witnesses from the Japanese government will arrive tomorrow."

"Oh? Can you make decisions on behalf of the Japanese government and the Heroic Spirits?" Ichimaru Gin's words were full of disbelief.

"I have communicated with the Japanese government and obtained the endorsement rights and permission. As for the Heroic Spirits, I can send seven Servants under my command. Together with Mr. Sasaki, it is exactly the same number as yours. Alternatively, do you plan to send your vice-captain as well?" A voice came from the Stork Knight again.