The son of my former vice-captain?
"That relationship is not that close. Why did his father not come to teach him personally?"
Watching Ichigo, covered in blood and lying on the street, Ethan waited until Renji and Byakuya had taken Rukia away before stepping out of the shadows.
At this moment, Ichigo was dizzy and completely unaware of Ethan's approach. Seeing that he was in bad shape, Ethan used Kaido to treat him briefly, ensuring he would not die on the way. Only then did he pick him up and carry him like luggage as he prepared to head back.
As for Uryu, who was also injured, Ethan could not be bothered. His injuries were not serious, and his father would take care of him. Ryuken, as a surgeon, was better at handling human injuries.
"Who are you?"
Uryu stood up while clutching his wound. His injuries truly did not seem serious, since he still had the strength to question Ethan.
"Instead of that, you should worry about yourself."
Ethan glanced at him, lifted Ichigo, and left with Shunpo.
Even if Uryu was concerned, he could not catch up. Besides, Ethan had treated Ichigo earlier, so he assumed this person would not harm him.
Of course, Ethan would not harm Ichigo. After all, he was the son of his former vice-captain.
After bringing him back to the shop, Ethan treated Ichigo's heavily damaged spirit body. If he had not held back, he could have completely healed him, but that would have ruined the purpose of training. He stopped at the right point.
"Oh my, truly worthy of being from the Fourth Division. That Kaido technique is remarkable."
Kisuke felt that even Unohana, the captain of the Fourth Division, might not match Ethan's current level of Kaido.
"The rest is up to you."
"Huh? Aren't you going to say something to him?"
"You should handle that. I am not very good at those things." Ethan suddenly looked at Ichigo, who was supposed to be unconscious. The boy's recovery was faster than expected. He was already showing signs of waking up. "He is waking up. If you are going to strike a pose, hurry up."
Ichigo truly lived up to his status as the protagonist. He woke up faster than Ethan had anticipated. Before Ethan could step away or hide, Ichigo had already jumped to his feet. It seemed he had been treated a little too well.
Since he was awake, it was now Kisuke's turn. Kisuke briefly explained the situation to him. Rukia had committed a serious crime and would be punished after being taken back to Soul Society.
He also forcefully suppressed Ichigo, making him understand that rushing into Soul Society now would be suicide.
"For the next ten days, you will undergo my training." Kisuke added another reason Ichigo could not refute. "Besides, if you want to go to Soul Society, I need a few days to prepare as well."
Ichigo found that he had no argument against Kisuke's reasoning and could only follow his arrangements.
Fortunately, summer vacation was about to begin. He only needed to attend school one more day, so rescuing Rukia would not interfere with his daily life.
After settling his personal matters and telling his father that he would be staying at a friend's house for a while, Ichigo began training with Kisuke and saw the vast space hidden beneath the shop.
Facing the enormous underground area concealed beneath the small shop, Ichigo was surprised, but it was only surprise. Kisuke's exaggerated words and behavior made him more speechless than anything else. He even wondered whether he should trust this strange man.
Still, the underground space was beautifully designed. Was it meant to be a garden? What kind of training ground was this?
As Ichigo looked around, he noticed a stranger standing not far away with a pure black cat, observing him.
"Who is that? I think I saw him last time too."
That was when he had been injured and brought back to the shop. After waking up, he vaguely noticed someone nearby, but his attention had been drawn to Kisuke. By the time he reacted, the person was gone. Now he saw him again in the basement.
"Oh?" Kisuke glanced at Ethan, somewhat surprised that he had not hidden but was standing there openly. "That is Mr. Ethan, and Mr. Yoruichi."
Ichigo looked at Kisuke with confusion clearly written on his face. Tessai Tsukabishi stepped in to clarify.
"That gentleman is Mr. Ethan. He brought you back last time and treated your injuries."
"So he was the one who saved me?"
Ichigo had always assumed Kisuke saved him, but it turned out to be someone else.
Despite his unusual hair color and frequent fights that led many to mistake him for a delinquent, Ichigo was actually polite and a good student. He even ranked highly in his class.
Upon learning who had saved him and healed his injuries, though he had been unconscious, he still remembered how many times he had been cut before passing out. All those wounds were gone without a trace. That level of treatment was no small matter.
Knowing this, he could not pretend not to notice his benefactor. Ignoring him would be rude. So he left Kisuke, who was still talking loudly, and went to thank Ethan.
"Oh, I am in a surprisingly good mood."
Watching Ichigo bow respectfully, Ethan calmly accepted the gratitude.
"The training ahead will not be easy. You should be mentally prepared."
Ichigo was startled by the sudden comment. It sounded like a reminder.
"I am prepared. No matter what kind of training it is, I can… no, I will definitely complete it."
"Is that so? That is good."
Ichigo felt something was slightly off, but the most important thing now was to complete the training. He returned to Kisuke to find out how it would begin.
"Let us start with restoring your spiritual power."
Ichigo's spiritual power had been destroyed by Byakuya. When he left his body this time, he did not appear as a Soul Reaper but as an ordinary soul.
The first stage of training was to adapt to this state and spar with Ururu in his normal soul form.
Despite her small size and frail appearance, Ururu's combat ability was not inferior to some ordinary Soul Reapers.
If she were not especially talented, Kisuke would not have brought her here, or rather, adopted her.
The battle ended quickly. Ichigo once again displayed his protagonist-like adaptability and adjusted to his condition in no time.
The heavy sensation and difficulty breathing he initially felt after leaving his body disappeared unconsciously once he engaged Ururu directly in combat.
"Since the first stage is complete, let us begin the second stage."
Tessai, who had been silent until now, produced a large axe and struck the chain on Ichigo's chest.
That was the Chain of Fate connecting body and soul. If it was severed, the soul could not return to the body.
In other words, it meant death.
Moreover, the severed part of the Chain of Fate would continue to erode. When the erosion reached the chest completely, a normal soul would transform into a Hollow, and a hole would appear at the point where the chain had connected.
"The only way to avoid becoming a Hollow is to become a Soul Reaper." Kisuke spoke about life and death matters in his usual casual tone. "The second stage is to regain your Soul Reaper powers."
As he spoke, he threw Ichigo into a deep pit, and Tessai used Kidō to bind his hands.
"Climb up without using your hands."
"How is that possible?"
Watching the two of them argue, Ethan felt no tension at all. It felt more like watching a comedy than life or death training.
"I will go handle my own matters."
"Going to train those few kids?"
"Oh? You already know?"
Yoruichi had not mentioned it, but she was not surprised that Ethan figured it out.
"Ichigo is still too inexperienced. It will be difficult for him to succeed alone."
With Ethan and Kisuke unwilling to intervene directly, and Yoruichi also holding back, it would indeed be difficult for Ichigo alone to completely disrupt the Seireitei, even with Aizen working behind the scenes.
"But can a few kids really make a difference?"
"That is why they need training."
Ethan did not think a few children would make much impact. In his view, it would be more effective to focus entirely on enhancing Ichigo's strength.
After all, this world had a very high power ceiling. Ethan preferred to cultivate an overwhelmingly strong individual rather than several half-developed ones.
However, time was limited, and the amount of strength each person could gain was also limited. Having several people cooperate and support each other was indeed the best option for now.
"Since they are all training, why not bring them here to train together?"
Quincy, Fullbringer, Soul Reaper. Putting them together might lead to something unexpectedly interesting.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)