"?!"
"This guy…"
Inside the Eleventh Division
When they saw the massive figure sprawled across the screen…
Kenpachi Zaraki frowned, then flashed a disdainful, feral grin.
"Wasn't this the loudmouth from that earlier ranking on Nozarashi?"
"The trash I chopped into eight pieces with my Zanpakutō?"
"And he thinks he's worthy to be Kurosaki Ichigo—and Zangetsu's—opponent?"
Yeah.
In Kenpachi's mind, Yammy was pure garbage—just like the Vizards. Every time they showed up, they got beaten into the dirt!
Honestly…
If not for the ranking video cutting back and inserting this part of the story…
He would've tossed Yammy to the back of his mind ages ago—he'd practically forgotten what the guy could even do!!!
"Agreed."
Byakuya Kuchiki nodded and said coolly, "Even if he can change his number and become the Cero Espada… his strength and power don't truly match that title…"
"Compared to that Black-Winged Demon Lord, he's still far behind."
Byakuya's evaluation was just as blunt: Yammy was trash, nothing more than a defeated opponent from the past.
However…
Renji Abarai, standing behind him, thought it through and offered a guess:
"Captain… is it possible that Bull-Head Ichigo won't even need to come out?"
"If Ichigo just puts on his Hollow mask, he could one-shot this guy with a single swing."
In other words…
The point of showing this fight was mainly to tell the audience one key piece of information:
After Bull-Head Ichigo was revealed…
Ichigo's Hollowfication ability upgraded right along with it!
Especially the pattern on the mask—it changed completely!
No longer the old red-and-white interwoven markings.
Instead…
It became the same style as Bull-Head Ichigo's—
A bull-horn mask streaked with black vertical lines!!!
"Hm?"
"So it's a mask upgrade?"
Hearing Renji's words, the other Captains suddenly understood.
They immediately agreed with the speculation.
Power-ups didn't come for free.
When you beat an enemy, you gain something afterward—your strength rises.
That kind of formula was so common the Captains all recognized it instantly.
Once they figured that out…
No one argued anymore.
They fell quiet, and with the same expectant gaze…
They stared at the screen—at Kurosaki Ichigo's figure—
Waiting for the moment he activated Hollowfication and put on that bull-horn mask!!!
Back to the video
"Hm?"
"You're… Kurosaki Ichigo!!!"
A gigantic head lowered to look down.
The instant Yammy spotted Ichigo, he flared with rage.
And the contrast between them was stark.
Ichigo's expression was unshakably calm—his stance was sharp and confident.
His bright eyes were filled with certainty.
It made it obvious that after the battle above the Sky Dome, Ichigo had changed.
From the inside out…
His confidence had grown, and his mindset had become steadier.
He'd taken another step toward becoming a top-tier powerhouse!!!
"Yo…"
"How long's it been? And you're already this huge?"
"I've gotta say—I'm impressed…"
With Tensa Zangetsu in hand…
Ichigo even had the composure to tease him to his face.
But…
Those words—
Especially the phrase "this huge"—
Reached the real world…
And some viewers immediately took it the wrong way.
The tone shifted into something very different.
"Huh?"
"Down there… it really is huge!"
"Back during that earlier ranking, maybe everyone was too busy watching Kenpachi chop people up!"
"So nobody noticed… this Yammy guy is naturally built like that…"
Outskirts of Karakura Town — the Vizards' turf
Lisa Yadomaru pushed up her glasses and, with a blatantly lustful gaze, sized up the crotch of the gigantic Wrath Beast on-screen.
And she gave her conclusion with total confidence.
It was big. No question.
Too bad Yammy was ugly as sin—and he was an Arrancar.
Otherwise…
If he came to the Human World and made his contact info public…
There'd definitely be tons of "prosperity blossoms" lining up to add him as a friend!
Instead, he could only hide out in Hueco Mundo…
Living on edge every day, grinding for pocket change!!!
"Seriously…"
"Lisa-chan, you're starving."
Shinji Hirako rolled his eyes, helpless.
"At this point you're so pent-up you're fantasizing about Yammy?"
"Even that Hueco Mundo 'rich guy' gets you going now?"
Honestly, sometimes it really wasn't surprising the Vizards' combat power looked shaky.
Arrancar and pure-blood Quincy?
All they ever thought about was evolving, getting stronger, gaining new abilities.
But the people around him?
All day long it was nothing but random nonsense—just pure degeneracy!
No wonder they kept losing!!!
And right then, on the screen, Yammy's murderous roar rang out at the perfect time:
"Kurosaki Ichigo…"
"I'm gonna butcher you—avenge Ulquiorra!!!"
The massive bellow came with a gathering Cero, aimed downward—
Locked onto Ichigo and the spot where Rukia Kuchiki stood.
It fired in an instant!!!
"Tch…"
"Ulquiorra…"
"Watch closely—without using a Kuro Cero (Black Cero), my normal Cero is still insanely powerful!"
Watching this, Yammy—the one actually in the moment—crossed his arms, lifted his mouth into a smug grin, and deliberately provoked them.
The meaning was obvious.
He was rubbing salt in the wound again—
Dragging Ulquiorra's death back onto the table and stomping on it.
And that instantly stirred up the worst memories.
But…
Only a few seconds later—
Yammy got his face slapped in.
"Whoosh—!!!"
Raise a hand.
Swing the blade.
No fancy counter-technique.
Not even his signature move, Getsuga Tenshō (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer).
In a tight close-up, Ichigo simply flicked his arm.
A black blade edge—
Carved a massive crescent slash through empty air!
It swept behind him and detonated against Yammy's forehead—
Triggering a double explosion!
The Cero didn't even finish forming—
It blew up inside Yammy's mouth instead, misfiring and exploding back on him!!!
When that scene hit the audience—
Because it showed just how dramatically Ichigo's power had risen—
It naturally caused an uproar. People erupted into discussion:
"So strong!!!"
"Ichigo's strikes got way stronger!"
"Just a basic swing is already as strong as when he used to go all-out with Getsuga Tenshō!!!"
Inside the local shop
Isshin Kurosaki's eyes widened in shock and delight.
He even instinctively compared—
His own strength back when he still had his Soul Reaper powers—
Against Ichigo's current level.
And he concluded his son had surpassed him.
Not by a little.
Ichigo clearly had the kind of power worthy of a Captain-class Soul Reaper!!!
"Yeah."
Beside him, Kisuke Urahara agreed.
"Looks like Bull-Head Ichigo appearing that one time didn't just bring Ichigo back at full health."
"Instead, it seems his Soul Reaper power was released even further… and his control over the Zanpakutō Zangetsu…"
"Has also become much more natural and effortless."
Urahara couldn't help but marvel.
If you evaluated Ichigo's strength before the Hueco Mundo arc—
Objectively speaking, he was at most around an average Captain's level.
Most of the time, when he beat powerful enemies…
It was mainly because he flipped a switch and relied on a power-up.
But now—
After the battle above the Sky Dome, after fighting that Black-Winged Demon Lord—
Even without Hollowfication…
Even without leaning on any power-up…
Ichigo's combat power had clearly risen an entire tier.
Across the whole world, no strong fighter had any right to underestimate him anymore!!!
"So he's this strong without Hollowfication…"
"If he puts on the mask, his Getsuga Tenshō could probably hit even harder—maybe enough to cut someone down in two swings…"
Someone murmured, full of disbelief.
Thinking back—
In earlier footage,
when the Espada and Arrancar first invaded Karakura Town…
Ichigo was so weak back then…
Grimmjow beat him down barehanded.
And yet…
It hadn't even been that long!
He hadn't even finished the Hueco Mundo run yet!
But Ichigo's power—
And his ability to control both Soul Reaper and Hollow power—
Had already undergone a complete transformation, like rebirth through fire.
It was…
Once again, in front of the entire world…
A living demonstration of what it meant to be a once-in-a-thousand-years super genius!!!
After that—
Against a background filled with dust and smoke—
During the brief moment Ichigo spoke with Rukia…
The Wrath Beast's gigantic fist suddenly slammed in from behind—
A sneak attack loaded with rage and resentment, smashing toward Ichigo's back!
But Ichigo slipped away with effortless agility.
And then—
A chase began.
Yammy lumbered forward with his enormous body, shouting as he ran.
He tried to catch Ichigo's darting figure, sprinting at full speed—
And without realizing it, he was being drawn away.
Far from the area they'd been in earlier.
Rukia's safety was no longer threatened.
She was secured.
"Is it time?"
"You lured Yammy away on purpose…"
"Because if you one-shot him immediately, and that massive body collapses, it might cause collateral damage?"
At that instant—
The audience all around the world sensed what was coming.
Their eyes followed the camera—
Locking onto a straight-on view of Ichigo's face.
And sure enough…
"Too much talking."
"I'm not flying around because I'm running away!"
"Now that it's just the two of us…"
"I can go all-out—and finish you!!!"
As the words fell—
Spiritual power gathered.
And in that moment, a bull-horn mask formed on Ichigo's face!
Beneath the dark markings—
His eyes changed too, the color shifting to a yellow-brown hue.
His voice turned mechanical—
And at the same time, a huge red crescent slash erupted with a single swing!!!
"BOOOOM—!!!"
No surprises.
A massive crescent shockwave—
A clean, brutal headshot in one strike!
In full view of everyone, it violently blew Yammy's head apart—
And tore through the vast desert below, kicking up a storm of explosive shockwaves!
Just like that…
Yammy's Wrath Beast body—
Collapsed without any suspense, fell, and vanished into the sandstorm.
The battle was over.
And the scene's ending froze on—
Ichigo, wearing the bull-horn mask—
One hand gripping his blade, standing in the sky—
A stylish back view that brought the segment to a close.
Once again, it hammered the audience with intense visual impact—
And a thunderous display of power unleashed!!!
"Unbelievable!!!"
"Ichigo… a new mask, even stronger power!"
"Future you… you've grown again, reaching a whole new stage!!!"
Karakura Town — high school campus
Even after the screen went black,
Tatsuki Arisawa, Yasutora Sado, and Orihime Inoue stood there stunned for a long while—
Only barely managing to recover.
But this time…
Ichigo himself didn't respond.
Instead—
As the protagonist, as the person benefiting from this "viewing privilege"—
The appearance of that bull-horn mask in the video meant that, in the real world…
He gained the same power in sync.
On his handsome face—
That distinct white Hollow material surfaced.
Not long after, a lifelike bull-horn mask fully formed—
Identical to the one from the video.
"…Boom!!!"
Even though Ichigo didn't do anything—
His power right now—his spiritual pressure—multiplied.
The feeling was as if—
His Soul Reaper power and Hollow power—
Had both been released further from deep within his soul.
And the speed of that growth—
Matched what they'd just seen in the video.
That only shocked his friends even more!!!
"Ichigo…"
Staring at him—
At Ichigo himself—
Now wearing the bull-horn mask—
A look that felt both familiar and yet strangely new—
Tatsuki couldn't help but sigh:
"If it were some other strong fighter…"
"And they found out you're getting the protagonist's special viewing benefit…"
"That you can easily gain the same kind of power as Bull-Head Ichigo…"
"I bet every last one of them would lose their minds!!!"
And then—
Before the audience could even fully recover from Ichigo's sudden power increase—
Not long after,
The dark screen lit up again.
This time—
The battlefield finally shifted away from Hueco Mundo—
Returning to the place everyone knew all too well:
The Karakura Town battlefield.
But now—
Ichigo's opponent wasn't an Espada.
It was their leader—
Aizen Sōsuke!!!
Midair
Aizen faced off against Shinji.
But suddenly—
The space behind Aizen cracked apart.
"BANG!!!"
Mirror-like fractures splintered across it—
And Ichigo burst through.
His black shihakushō, restored to full form along with his fully recovered spiritual pressure, flared behind him as he dove forward.
Zanpakutō in hand—
Dark red spiritual pressure coiled around the hilt—
And before the audience even understood what was happening…
He slashed down with absolute confidence, firing a dark-red crescent wave straight at Aizen!!!
"BOOOOM—!!!"
The explosion shook the screen.
Aizen's figure was swallowed by that dark-red light.
And it wasn't just one strike!
Facing the camera, Ichigo swung again—
And in the opposite direction he launched another crossing slash wave!
In an instant—
The entire sky over Karakura Town—
Was dyed dim and oppressive by the dark-red glow!
When that scene reached Hueco Mundo—
It immediately sparked widespread discussion again.
Even the top leaders there—
Were shocked.
"Tch, tch, tch…"
"So during the Karakura Town battlefield… there really was a 'double-layer' form like this."
Gin Ichimaru wore his foxlike smile, clearly amused.
"Captain Aizen… I didn't expect someone as careful as you to make a slip and get caught by Ichigo's sneak attack."
Anyone could tell—
Those two slashes just now?
Ichigo swung with killing intent.
Whether they could actually injure Aizen was another matter.
"Gin…"
From his throne, Aizen's gaze remained calm and his voice cold.
"It wasn't a slip. It was calculation."
"After everything you've seen happen in Hueco Mundo… are you still not clear on this?"
"Every experience Kurosaki Ichigo has had—including what's happening right now—has always been within my grasp."
Aizen's lips curled upward—
Sketching a confident arc.
He had no intention of believing that even his fused, strongest self…
Could be taken out so easily by a cheap sneak attack.
If anything—
Aizen felt it strongly:
Perhaps facing Ichigo head-on—
Hearing Ichigo speak with his own mouth about every ordeal and every bit of growth—
Would be the real point.
Because all of it…
Was a life script he had prepared from the very beginning—
Planned carefully, step by step!!!
(End of Chapter)
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