Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

Shaking with fear, Karakura Town respectfully presented a gift as a token of gratitude.

[You have grasped... also in the darkness, in the endless sea of ​​fire, only to exterminate the villains who invaded the territory—"Shihouin Senri's Shunpo Techniques"]

Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept by.

The ink-wash calligraphy was blown away.

It passes through the body of the Four Palace Master, bringing a coolness that penetrates deep into the soul.

It made his mind clearer than ever before.

All of my mental and physical energy was forcibly used to draw inspiration from the unseen.

Greedy, and efficient.

The understanding of Shunpo is advancing at an incredible speed, it's no exaggeration to say it's progressing by leaps and bounds.

No amount of exercise can achieve this effect.

Even with memory implantation, an adaptation process is still needed.

However, Shinomiya-sensei grasped the same "experience" as his predecessor, the first captain of the 2nd Division of the Gotei 13, Shihouin Senhi, through his own efforts.

That is to say...

It's not that I got what others had, but that I got the same things as others.

The Four Palaces Lord opened his eyes, which had been closed without his knowledge.

His eyes remained as bright and piercing as ever, undimmed by the wear and tear of the intense battle. In fact, they seemed to have gained something more than before.

Look at the sky, then at the ground.

Iron railings, walls, streetlights, green belts, glass windows... these things seem to be filled with indifference.

It's not that I look down on or dislike this cold and emotional impression.

It's more like... treating them as phantoms without substance.

The Four Palaces Venerable's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Then he appeared at the main entrance of the Western restaurant downstairs.

If Death were present.

Presumably, in his view, the Four Palaces Master was moving at high speed using Shunpo.

Indeed, this view is correct.

However, one point needs to be added—

This is not a high-speed movement between two points.

Instead, in a mere second, one enters the building from the rooftop, descends the corridor, overcomes numerous obstacles, and finally steps out through the main entrance.

It passed through the wall with effortless ease, like a phantom.

Or perhaps... one sees through the building itself as a phantom.

In short, it has a sense of being superior.

The Four Palaces Lord himself was unaware of it.

He only knew one thing.

Although he hadn't mastered any sophisticated techniques, his proficiency in the three fundamental skills of Shunpo—sequential stance, footwork, and Shunpo itself—had increased dramatically.

It's hard to describe it as a rapid leap forward.

It's more like a spiritual and physical transformation that brings about a comprehensive improvement.

Under normal cultivation, even a genius like him would need countless years to reach this level.

Ultimately, Shinomiya-sensei's talent in Shunpo is incomparable to those geniuses who seem to be born for a particular field.

However, his growth rate was enough to break through the defenses of those geniuses.

"It was enjoyable and beneficial, so it was a win-win situation."

Shinomiya-sama knew very well that these illusions were not entirely the work of Ishida Uryu, but were most likely related to his kind-hearted teacher.

To this, he only wants to say—

We should have more teaching methods like this.

……

"Ugh, I'm exhausted! I never want to go through this again!"

Half an hour later, Shinomiya Takayuki, Hachiyahara, and Rindou met at Minamikawaze as agreed.

Ichigo sensed the movement of spiritual pressure and rushed to the scene.

When he arrived, Hachihara was complaining bitterly.

"It was quite enjoyable at first, but there were too many illusions and real ones. I couldn't kill them all, I simply couldn't kill them all. In the end, my physical strength and spiritual energy were exhausted, so I could only avoid them."

"Luckily, they started running away for some reason, otherwise I would have had to send an e-letter to call you guys to come pick me up!"

"That's perfect, you might not have noticed that your face has started to get fuller lately."

"what?!"

Ignoring the terrified Hachihara who pulled out his communication device to take a selfie and check, he...

The Four Palace Master casually greeted Ichigo as he walked towards him.

"Are you okay over there?"

"Thankfully, we've managed to get through this... I could feel the commotion you guys were making here; it was like a war. For a moment, I even wondered if this city was going to collapse, and I almost couldn't resist taking my family and running away!"

I am trying to control the scale of the battle and mitigate its impact on the real world.

Luntang responded with an innocent look on his face.

"It's clear that you're in much better shape than Hachihara."

Ichigo knew that the two of them were of similar strength.

There's no reason why if Baba Yuan is exhausted, Lun Tang Yu should be able to relax a bit.

Therefore, if this situation occurs, it can only mean that someone is better at controlling the situation.

They achieved maximum results with minimal losses, and even after the battle ended, they still had some reserves.

"Don't worry."

The Four Palaces Master appeared very confident.

"I don't know about Hachimanhara, but I guarantee that I didn't accidentally kill a single human. At most, it caused some minor damage to the city."

"........."

Ichigo's lips twitched, speechless.

Then again.

Although it is hard to believe that behind the battle, in which most of the sky of Karakura Town was lit up by fire, there was only "minor building damage".

But in this situation, it's truly incredible that ordinary people weren't implicated.

At least he wasn't confident he could do it.

Hachihara, who was standing nearby, checked and found it was just a false alarm. He rolled his eyes at Shinomiya and said, "Actually, I'm more curious about what happened in this city that suddenly attracted so many voids."

"As for this, we'll have to ask the Grim Reaper stationed here to explain."

The four dignitaries stood with their arms crossed, leaning against a street lamp.

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked toward the street corner not far away.

Ichigo, Rindo, and Hachiman all looked over instinctively.

Two girls rushed into view, then stood there stunned when they saw the group of people.

"Uh……"

"?"

Chapter Thirty-Six: People from Soul Society

Both sides were surprised.

The reasons for their surprise varied and were difficult to explain at the moment, leading to an eerie silence.

"Hey, Shinomiya, judging from their reactions, they seem to know you."

The lively Ba Ba Yuan couldn't stand the atmosphere and took the initiative to break the silence.

He nudged the Fourth Palace Master with his elbow, and although he lowered his voice, it was still quite clear in the current environment where you could hear a pin drop.

"It's not 'seems like,' nor is it 'me,' but rather 'we'... to be precise, it's someone I know well, like Kurosaki."

Shinomiya-no-Tsurugi glanced at Rukia, then at Orihime beside her dressed in Shinigami robes, and seemed lost in thought.

Ichigo, who was called out, didn't think much of it. After his initial surprise, he raised his hand and greeted the person with a mischievous glint in his eye: "Yo, Shinigami, long time no see."

"It's not the Grim Reaper, it's Rukia Kuchiki!"

Rukia kept a straight face and raised her chin.

“I remember mentioning this great name to both of you.”

"Regardless of whether it was great or not, so much time has passed, who would remember it!"

Ichigo curled his lip, having absolutely no liking for this short woman who had sent him into Soul Society without a word.

"It's only been a few months. Compared to the lifespan of a Grim Reaper, it's just a fleeting moment. If you can't remember it, it just means you're still far from being a Grim Reaper."

Rukia laughed.

That being said, she wasn't entirely calm inside.

They met again after only a few months, and their strength improved faster than anyone could have imagined.

At such close range, an extremely strong stench of blood assaulted our senses.

There is no doubt that it is Hollow blood, with residual Hollow spiritual pressure on it.

There are countless similar traces of battle.

When it comes to fighting the Hollow, neither she nor Orihime relaxed for a single second.

However, even on the same battlefield, the intensity of the attacks varied drastically.

Let alone a freshman.

Even a death god like her, who had lived for over a hundred years and could barely be called an "elite," felt a chill run down her spine.

Just thinking about it makes me feel suffocated and unable to breathe.

But the blond-haired kid in front of them, along with the black-haired kid and the two other unfamiliar newcomers, all acted as if nothing had happened...

Completely incomprehensible.

Has the Spirit Arts Academy been taken over by those battle maniacs from the Eleventh Division?

Or... are these guys the ones who really have a problem?

While Rukia was lost in thought, Shinomiya suddenly asked, "It's only been a few months, but you've changed quite a bit. You have almost no spiritual power left. Are you planning to retire and thus groom a successor? But I don't think she's even a spirit."

Upon hearing this, Ichigo, Rindo, and Hachihachihara's gazes instantly focused on Orihime, leaving her flustered and at a loss.

Indeed, Orihime is not a spirit at present.

He was wearing a Shinigami uniform and holding a Zanpakuto.

But it is not a spirit.

Ichigo frowned and couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is going on? Inoue, how did you get involved with this guy? And how can someone who is human also possess the power of a Shinigami? Logically speaking, this shouldn't be possible."

"Eh! Um... you're Kurosaki-kun, right?"

"...Hey, although we're not very close, we're still friends of Longgui, so you shouldn't have forgotten me, right? I still remember the time you carried your brother to my clinic for treatment three years ago, so strictly speaking, you can't really be considered a friend of a friend."

"Huh!? Is that Kurosaki-san's family clinic?"

Orihime's eyes widened in surprise.