Chapter 164: Stopped at the Thirty-Seventh Second
"Oh, interesting!"
For a fighter of Ichigo Kurosaki's purity, the collision of fists is the best form of communication—bar none. Words can lie, and thoughts can deceive, but a launched fist does not. (Well, except for Aizen's fists, which blur reality and illusion, but he's an exception.)
In the fifteenth second of those two minutes and twenty-six seconds, Ichigo—sensing through his "human host" the Giant of Light—noticed that the "scent" of the old man had suddenly changed.
In the Bleach world, Ichigo became the second physical entity of power after the Soul King. Simultaneously, he is an entity of Purity. His gaze and attention carry an infectious quality; the old man, under his influence, had begun to take on the colors of Purity and grow "intense." But in this heartbeat, that ultimate purity was "contaminated." It became less pure.
The ability to resist the purity infection from the King of Purity himself revealed a very subtle piece of information. Ichigo didn't intervene; instead, he watched with keen interest to see what surprises this world could bring him. To this end, Ichigo allowed the Giant's reactions to "slow" slightly, giving the enemy a two-second window.
Ever since Ichigo defeated Fisher and claimed the title of the Strongest Creature on Earth, he had developed a bit of a habit born of loneliness. He often gave enemies a chance to perform, even "selling" some of his own blood to get his adrenaline pumping. (Though, to be fair, the original Ichigo was often the type who wouldn't fight seriously until he took a hit.)
The old man seized those two precious seconds.
In the eighteenth second, the Giant of Light threw a punch heavy enough to weigh ten thousand tons. But instead of retreating, the old man surged forward, cutting into the Giant's flank—the blind spot of the strike.
To Ichigo, whose will was anchored to the Giant, the idea that such a move could evade his fist was laughable. With a slight twist of his waist, his fist followed the rotation, slamming forward with even greater ferocity.
But the result exceeded Ichigo's expectations.
In that instant, the old man's massive, distorted form became even more warped, covered by a deep darkness until he turned into a pitch-black silhouette. The Giant's fist inexplicably swung through empty air, merely snapping a nearby skyscraper in half and launching the upper section into the clouds.
Strangely, the old man didn't counterattack. He continued to step forward as if merging into the Giant's body—no, more accurately, he was lunging into the shadow cast by the Giant beneath the sun!
Ichigo sensed something bizarre. It wasn't a lack of power or skill; it was a strange phenomenon occurring naturally. He pondered what had happened in those three seconds.
With his peerless Purity, Ichigo possessed a transcendent, saint-like battle-intellect. There was no phenomenon in combat he couldn't crack with a single glance. If one glance wasn't enough, he'd take two.
He found the clue. It wasn't on the old man, but on the members of the Legion of 666 Beasts rioting through Beika. They held up their hands, the Mark of the Beast glowing brilliantly, and shouted:
"Great Light Demon! We are willing to lead the way for the Alien Invasion Army! We are on your side...!"
Outside the world barrier, the real Ichigo tilted his head in confusion. He wasn't confused by their words; Mo Yu had explained the script. Ichigo was playing the "Super Villain Leader of an Alien Invasion." He didn't mind the role; it felt realistic compared to being a "Security Guard."
The Radiant Council had discussed how to handle indigenous populations if they ever found a new world. The Soul Kings on the council didn't share mortal morality; their survivalist tendencies were understandable. Ichigo's gentle and just nature naturally conflicted with that.
But the Ichigo of World No. 0 wouldn't waver. Wavering lacked Purity. He would simply keep his hands in his pockets and walk forward, clenching his fists at the critical moment to beat every "Impossible" into submission. Ichigo became the strongest not to choose between Option A or B, but to realize an Option C: a perfect ending where everyone can laugh. Until then, he didn't care if the world saw him as a villain. If they did, it just meant more strong opponents would line up for him to "taste."
Ichigo's confusion was about the mechanics: How did their words affect the old man and the battle?
This was new. In his world, bystanders just added commentary; they didn't change the fight. But here, the audience mattered. Ichigo activated his high-purity brain, using his peerless wisdom to divine the answer.
Second twenty. He understood.
"Oh, I see. In those three seconds, those people leveraged the 'Case' and its supernatural extensions? God mentioned this, but seeing it is much more interesting..."
Through the Blood Oath, the old man's will had reached every member of the Legion. Their collective choice in those three seconds caused the "Beika Riot Case" to merge with Ichigo's "Alien Invasion Case."
This overlap caused their Providence to unify via the mixed Criminal Mist. That was why the Giant's punch missed.
But it wasn't over. In the twenty-first second, the old man lunged into the Giant's shadow. This was a Criminal Technique: hiding one crime beneath another. More specifically, stealing another's luck to deceive the world.
In the twenty-second second, the old man rolled into the shadow and "grabbed" it as if it were fabric, draping it over himself. His amorphous body mixed with the shadow, evolving into a Dark Giant constructed of rotting pus and writhing tumors.
"So in this world, supernatural combat is the Case. Logic, MOs, and deduction are the moves," Ichigo noted. He was a sponge, absorbing this new system. The King of Purity never stopped growing; he just sometimes lacked a direction. Beika was giving him one.
"Kid," Ichigo whispered to Conan, "the script says you're a detective. Lend me some of that power!"
Second twenty-three. The Giant of Light fell into a stance. His eyes erupted with blood-light like searchlights, locking onto the Dark Giant.
The Detective's Eyes eliminated all interference, locking onto the suspect. The Dark Giant's "skin" flickered, revealing the truth beneath. But it did more: the light projected the old man's thoughts above his head in an easy-to-read nine-panel manga format!
"Deducing the truth is one thing, but seeing a criminal's thoughts in a comic strip? Conan-kun, are you broken, or are all detectives here like this?"
Ichigo was genuinely surprised by the efficiency of the world's laws.
Second twenty-four. The Giant of Light launched a heavy punch. The pressure locked the Dark Giant in place. The Deduction Show began.
From second twenty-five to thirty-three—nine full seconds—the Detective's fists rained down: eighty-one strikes. They weren't fast by Ichigo's standards (which usually involved thousands of hits per second), but they were methodical and relentless.
Each punch was heavy as a mountain, saturated with Deduction Power. Normally, a criminal would either confess after coughing up a blood-red rainbow or have the truth leak out with their brains.
But the old man held on. He was durable, but the "Shadow Armor" stolen from the Giant was the real reason. By stealing a sliver of the Giant's Providence, he had "resurrected" the symbol of his case. The phantom of the Skeleton Reaper reappeared behind the Dark Giant.
"Borrowing a corpse to return a soul"—a standard criminal trope. It worked perfectly. The Dark Giant's power spiked to the level of a Mastermind of a World-Shaking Case, allowing him to endure nine seconds of the Giant's thrashing.
The old man even felt a surge of confidence—maybe he could go three hundred rounds with this alien god.
It was a delusion.
Second thirty-four. A fist clenched. A whisper: "Ikkotsu." (Single Bone).
Pitch-black light exploded with ultimate power. The old man knew he couldn't block it. This strike would strip away his stolen skin and return him to his original form.
His confidence shattered in a single second. But he wasn't trying to change the past or present. He wanted to change the future.
"Triple-Great Shinichi Kudo, witness me... I wager everything on this moment!"
Second thirty-five. The punch hit.
The Dark Giant didn't defend. Instead, he reached out and shattered his own Skeleton Reaper—the phantom he had just "revived." This was the trigger for the final step of his plan.
Second thirty-six. The Dark Giant was pulverized—the stolen shadow and the amorphous body beneath were crushed.
Second thirty-seven. The old man was blown to pieces.
End of Chapter
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