Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

"As members of the Kuchiki family, our mission is to protect the order of the Soul Society. If members of the Kuchiki family lead the way in violating the Spirit Law, it is an insult to the mission that the Kuchiki family is so proud of."

"So... be prepared, Rukia."

"..."

Rukia lowered her head deeply, her body no longer trembling, as if all her strength had been drained away, so she completely gave up struggling.

"rotten……!"

"Hey!"

Seeing her like this, Orihime couldn't help but want to stand up for her, but someone else stepped forward before her.

It's Ichigo.

He stared at Byakuya as if he were looking at the kind of person he hated most in his life.

"Although this guy violated spiritual laws, he didn't actually harm anyone. On the contrary, he sacrificed his own power... As the older brother, instead of protecting his younger sister when she was in trouble because of him, he wanted to punish her in the name of family?"

"No matter what the initial intention was, those who break the law are unforgivable... Kid, watch your attitude. You're not even a formal member of the team. Strictly speaking, you're still a civilian."

Kuchiki Byakuya spoke calmly.

“Someone like you has no right to point fingers at me as the captain of the Sixth Division and the current head of the Kuchiki family. This is just the first warning. If it happens again, I will teach you what proper manners are.”

"Ah...is that so? I don't really have any impressive reputation."

Ichigo's eyes flashed with anger, and he wore a defiant smile.

"But to be honest... whether it's ability or anything else, I feel I can do better than you."

"So if you're going to bring up your status, you should save your breath. That will only make me think that you're nothing special besides that."

"Bastard!"

Renji's pupils contracted. If Kuchiki Byakuya was so incompetent, then wouldn't it be even more foolish for him to be chasing after this man?

Whether out of genuine respect or personal conviction, he would never allow anyone to insult his captain.

"Take back what you said, or... I'll kill you and that woman together!"

"What do you mean by 'kill that woman too'? Explain yourself."

Ichigo's expression darkened.

"Is that even a question? Of course, we should kill her and help Rukia reclaim her power."

In the end, Renji drew his sword and pointed the tip at Orihime.

The chilling killing intent was no longer concealed.

This isn't just something I said out of anger.

He means it.

Everyone can sense this.

A resolute glint flashed in Orihime's eyes.

“Okay, if this can make up for Miss Kuchiki’s mistake, then I’m willing.”

"shut up!"

Rukia had already resigned herself to her fate, but she suddenly became anxious after hearing what she said.

"If you do that, then all my efforts will have been in vain!"

"But……!"

"Suffer to death!"

Renji was already impatient to make a move, but Rukia was on guard and immediately stepped forward to stop him.

"Stop it! Renji!"

"Get out of my way, you idiot! Do you want your punishment to get worse?!"

Renji roughly threw him away.

When Orihime saw Rukia fall to the ground with many scrapes, she panicked and tried to enter Shinigami mode as she had done when fighting Hollows in the past.

Just then, a hand was placed on her shoulder, stopping her impulse.

"The Fourth Prince...?!"

Orihime turned her head in astonishment to look at the owner of that hand.

"calm down."

The words spoken by the Four Palace Master were exactly the same as his expression at that moment.

It was this consistent attitude of words and deeds that inexplicably calmed Orihime down.

"You won't die..."

"That's not what I'm worried about!"

"Then there's nothing to worry about... because what follows is an internal conflict within Soul Society, which is not for humans to interfere with."

As if to confirm Shinomiya no Takayuki's point of view, a gleaming sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere, cutting off Renji's path forward.

Renji, forced to stop, stared at Ichigo in shock and anger.

"Kid...do you know what you're doing?"

"I'd like to ask you the same question."

Ichigo, sword in hand, stood in front of Shinomiya-no-Mikoto and Orihime, his expression cold as he questioned:

"That guy gave up his Shinigami powers to save people. If you kill Inoue here, wouldn't everything she did be meaningless?"

“It was meaningless.”

"what?"

"It means that sacrificing one's own strength to save others is meaningless and wrong! Wrong things need to be corrected, especially... before being put on trial!"

Renji growled, his anger no less than Ichigo's.

"If you heard me clearly, then get out of my way."

"...Ah, I heard you very clearly, so...I absolutely won't move aside."

"Is that so? Then don't blame me for being impolite... Roar, Zabimaru!"

The snake-belly sword, which had suddenly transformed, stretched out as Renji swung his arm.

The seven-section blade is as swift as a whip and far sharper, enough to sever the head of a Hollow.

But this level of attack was not enough to make Ichigo retreat even half a step.

He wasn't even moved.

"Crescent moon..."

Faced with Renji's direct attack, Ichigo simply raised his sword with one hand. His resolute gaze and the sudden surge of spiritual pressure made Renji pale with fear.

"Varied……!"

"—Heavenly Surge!"

The shark slash swung down with an even angrier roar.

The spiritual pressure released from the tip of the blade transformed into a colossal slash that surged into the sky, tearing apart the dark clouds that had appeared out of nowhere.

"..."

Renji stared blankly at the blade in his hand, now reduced to a small section, his pupils reflecting Ichigo's figure trembling violently.

boom!

"Whoa!"

Ichigo mercilessly punched Renji in the face, sending him flying like Rukia had been thrown away earlier. He then crashed into a wall in a more tragic manner and was swallowed up by the dust and ruins.

"hateful……!"

Renji's face was red and swollen, his hair was disheveled, and he didn't know where he had lost his goggles.

"How can she be so strong... Wasn't it said that the defeat of the Hollow was mainly due to that Shiba woman?!"

"Hey."

"?!"

Ichigo suddenly appeared in front of Renji, who froze as he tried to get up, looking up to meet those eyes.

Their eyes met, and they seemed to see something in each other's eyes.

"I want to ask you a question... The textbooks at the Spiritual Arts Academy clearly teach us to protect humanity. Is that wrong?"

"Damn it... there are good people and bad people among humans too."

Is Inoue a bad person?

"It has nothing to do with this... Whether they are good people or bad people, their lives are far less important to me than some other people."

"So that's what you think? Then I'll have to defeat you, because besides that... I can't find any other reason to convince you to give up your beliefs."

"Heh... The journey here was very quiet. I suppose you eliminated all those voids. I have nothing to say about losing to an opponent like that... Bring it on!"

As Renji spoke, he got up from the ground, holding the broken sword, refining every bit of spiritual pressure within his body, just to show his full strength in the next attack, in order to respond to the brave and fearless enemy in front of him, who even he was vaguely impressed by.

Ichigo gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Just as they were about to make their move, a strong gust of wind from the intense collision of spiritual pressure blew by, causing the clothes of the two confronting each other to flutter wildly.

"?!"

"what!"

Ichigo abruptly turned his head and looked in astonishment with Renji at the source of the "Soul Activation"—on the rooftop where the two members of the Sixth Division had initially stood.

There should have been only Byakuya left.

Now, there's one more person.

It was none other than the Four Palaces Venerable.

The two had started fighting at some point.

Although it seems more like the Fourth Prince went there unilaterally to cause trouble, in reality it wasn't without reason.

Byakuya had his hand on the hilt of his sword, looking as if he was ready to intervene in the battle at any moment... No, perhaps if it weren't for Shinomiya-no-Mikoto, he would have already made his move.

However, Shinomiya-no-Mikoto intervened even faster, placing his hand on his wrist, preventing him from drawing his Zanpakuto from his waist...

Chapter Thirty-Eight Yoruichi: This Shunpo has the flair of my younger days.

"What... just happened...?"

Rukia was shaken.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Orihime hadn't acted rashly, but then Ichigo appeared and said something that left her with very mixed feelings.

Renji was about to be defeated, but Rukia knew that this was not the end.

Because the eldest brother hasn't made a move yet.

As long as the eldest brother takes action, even if that blond brat... even if Kurosaki Ichigo grows to a level that even the vice-captain can't match at an incredible speed in just a few months, he still won't be a match for him.

And so, at the moment when Ichigo and Renji clashed again.

Rukia, however, looked at Byakuya.

If we're going to make a move, now's the only time.

She guessed correctly.

But something incomprehensible also happened.

Not only Rukia couldn't understand, but even Byakuya was staring at the young man beside him.

"What kind of trick is that?"

It appeared without any warning.

It made no sound until it appeared.