Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

"In that case, you'll be even less able to do anything to Ichigo. Waiting until his power is fully mature before turning around and making you submit might not be a bad strategy. So, what will you choose? I'm also very curious about that."

"What?! You despicable bastard!"

Enraged, Xu Bai drew his sword and charged forward to slash, but despite his speed, he struck nothing but air.

Zangetsu has disappeared.

"You can run fast."

Xu Bai snorted coldly, then looked up at the clear sky.

"Brother...? I hope you can stay this naive forever, so that even if Zhan Yue plans everything for you, you will never be able to beat me in the future."

"Before that, don't die as easily as last time... No, you'd better use the power he gave you to lose quickly, so I can have a chance to make you understand what power is most important to you."

"Only this kind of power... deserves to be called true power!"

……

Time returns to the present.

The training ground of the Fifth Division's barracks.

"...That's roughly the gist of it."

Ichigo frowned.

"Before coming here, I went to my inner world again, but I didn't see Uncle Zhan Yue. I know he's waiting for me to be ready so I can summon him into the real world for a battle. But there's only one chance, so I really can't be careless."

"If we fail, it will definitely delay the subsequent operation to rescue Rukia."

"So I was thinking... could I take down that Hollow called 'Hollow White' and team up with him to fight Uncle Zangetsu? That should increase our chances of clearing the game."

"Shinomiya, do you have any good suggestions?"

"..."

The Fourth Prince pursed his lips; otherwise, his expression would definitely become extremely interesting.

"Suggestions...?"

"Yes, you're not the best at being obscure... no, you're the best at dealing with people."

Ichigo looked on with anticipation.

"Let me confirm one thing first. Your Zanpakuto says, 'Just defeat him with a bow,' right?"

The Four Palaces Venerable pondered for a moment.

“…That’s right.”

Ichigo thought about it carefully and said with certainty.

"In that case, there's nothing to worry about."

"what are you saying?"

"I mean……"

The Four Palace Master stood up and said casually.

"Let your body be given to the void within you, let it fight for you. If it wins, you pass the level; if it loses, you can observe, think, and find a solution."

"Then come out with a foolproof plan to try to pass the level. If the plan fails, seeing how clumsy you are, Xu, who has experience with failure, will definitely not be able to resist giving you advice."

"As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. With the two of you working together, are you afraid you can't pass the level?"

"..."

Ichigo's eyes grew brighter as he listened.

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Most Feared Thing

Two more days passed.

The cicadas' chirping grew increasingly shrill, and the scorching air made the streets of Seireitei appear like luminous white jade.

Even in these turbulent times, good things can still happen.

After having lunch, the Four Palace Masters took a short rest under the shade of a tree on the lawn in the central courtyard of the Spirit Arts Academy. As soon as they put their hands behind their heads, a line of ink-wash characters appeared before their eyes.

Friends, brothers... these unchanging bonds have accompanied many people throughout their lives.

[Under your patient guidance, your companions, like other chosen ones, have successfully achieved coexistence with the demon within them. In the eyes of the world, your evil and greatness surpass even that of the demon, much to the delight of the Machine Soul!]

[To avoid dying a violent death like those educators who guide chosen ones to strength, you slowly learn from the failures of others, determined to become stronger...]

[—You have grasped the "Black Flash"]

For a fleeting moment, the Fourth Prince felt a chill on his lower back.

Then, a surge of electricity coursed through my body, as if injecting some kind of technique into my memory, causing a wondrous transformation in my body's instincts.

"..."

The Fourth Palace Master stood up, tried clenching his fist, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

It seems Ichigo has successfully persuaded the Hollows within him to join forces against Zangetsu.

That's why [Machine Soul] gave this feedback.

"Black Flash...?"

The Fourth Prince felt a little strange.

First came "Seven Flashes" and "Only Flashes", and now there's "Black Flashes".

Unfortunately, none of them are truly "shiny".

It seems to be a sarcastic remark directed at his past self-proclaimed "strongest flash-type Zanpakuto".

Of course, that's one way of saying it.

The Four Palaces Lord doesn't mind any power that can make him stronger.

With a little focus, one can grasp the essence and principles of a new skill.

This is a technique that combines Hakuda (a style of martial arts) and Kido (a style of martial arts).

By rubbing together with its own physical attacks and its own spiritual pressure, a spiritual particle phenomenon called "space distortion" is generated, which causes the destructive power to increase explosively.

Its growth rate is at least 2.5 times.

If, under normal circumstances, the combined spiritual pressure of the hands and feet plus the Kido (Demon Path) is 10.

After the increase, it is approximately 316.

Its destructive power has increased more than thirty times compared to the original level.

Furthermore, they will be affected by this sudden burst of power, fully activating their fighting instincts and pushing them beyond their limits.

Shigu-zun hadn't taken this move seriously at first, since its prototype came from a weaker worldview. However, after being modified by [Mech Soul], he suddenly dared not underestimate it.

"If physical attacks are all that's needed... can you create a 'Black Flash' with a sword? 'Seven Flashes' might not work, but what about 'Single Flash'? Can they be stacked?"

The Four Palaces Master inspired a great deal of ideas.

The last one particularly captivated him.

If the "Only Flash" after its initial release can trigger "Black Flash".

If the destructive power increases thirtyfold...

Kenpachi Zaraki might find Ichigo before Retsu Unohana does.

"Speaking of which, things are mostly settled with Brother Kurosaki. He should pass the test and complete 'Submission' in about a day or two. There's still a little over a week until the execution, so he'll have some time to familiarize himself with it after mastering Bankai."

"But I'm not slow on my own either..."

The Four Palaces Venerables slightly raised their heads and looked straight ahead.

A dreamlike figure stands on the lawn, bathed in sunlight that has turned it a golden-green hue; even from behind, one can sense a joyful mood.

How does it feel to be in reality?

"I love the feeling of standing in the sunlight... It's just like when I unleash my power, sparkling everywhere..."

"..."

Mushroom Girl's words made Shinomiya's lips twitch.

God knows how many times I've been bombed these past few days in order to materialize this thing.

Because it's in the inner world, it doesn't matter how much self-destruction there is.

He couldn't resist using it once... but in the end, he was blown up himself.

The technique that Chenda Yami came up with was actually something that Shigu-no-sensei had already thought of long ago; it would be strange if he hadn't. But in his eyes, the move of taking the enemy down with him was meaningless.

The point of battle is to win. Even if you lose all your powers temporarily like Ichigo, it's not entirely unacceptable.

It's absolutely unacceptable to drag the enemy down with you.

"There's plenty of time in the future. Let alone sunbathing, taking you to the real world for a sunbath is a piece of cake, provided that... you cooperate with me to complete your Bankai."

“I’ve been fulfilling your needs all along… Yes, the ‘materialization’ is over, now it’s time for me to ‘submit,’ right?”

The mushroom-shaped woman turned around leisurely, her smile playful.

"Bankai is essentially a vast power cultivated by its master. In order to reap the rewards and bring this power under one's own control, it needs to be 'subdued'... Normally, this involves violence and force... because it's a process akin to a predator digesting its prey."

“But there’s no need for us to do that, since we’ve been at odds with each other for a long time.”

"From what you're saying... it seems you don't plan to have another fight in real life to settle things?"

The Fourth Prince raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you only need to answer one question for me."

The mushroom-shaped woman smiled sweetly, seemingly extremely beautiful, yet one could clearly sense a wicked sense of humor about her.

"Appreciate further details."

"Master, can you tell me... what is the thing that terrifies you the most so far?"

"..."

The Four Palaces Lord was taken aback upon hearing this, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I can't remember."

"Then think about it again carefully, and tell me when you've figured it out."

"...What? You want to change my Bankai into a form that counters it based on my answer?"

"Why wasn't it predetermined from the beginning?"

"?"

Before the Four Palaces Lords could ask any further questions, the Mushroom Woman vanished like smoke.

He was left alone under the shade of the tree, silent for a long time.

……

walk.

This matter never appears on Soi Fon's schedule.

On this day, she went to inspect the work of the police patrol team.

There have been fewer complaints recently.

It's not just the police patrol team.

The Second Division seems to be gaining more respect from people without them even realizing it.

It had nothing to do with Ōmaeda selling laxatives to win people's hearts; it was Soi Fon's meticulously crafted rules and regulations that played a crucial role.

Improving work efficiency no longer relies on ruthless and brutal methods; sometimes, certain communication skills can be effective, and even more effective.

Furthermore, the ingenious methods gleaned from books in the modern world, after being appropriately adjusted and combined with the actual situation of the Seireitei, have also led to the iterative updates of the original methods of intelligence gathering.

This series of changes has made the Second Division seem somewhat unfathomable to the other divisions.

Soi Fon is very satisfied.

Doesn't Ōmaeda know about the negative reputation of the Stealth Mobile Force that she mentioned?

In the past, I simply thought that these things were inevitable.