"Maybe tomorrow, maybe a month from now, I'll be watching you, like a curse, following you like a shadow! Until then, live in fear!"
Number Three made a vicious vow.
Anyone could tell he was serious.
"If you dare to come, I dare to beat you!"
Hachihara scoffed.
Rindo Yu didn't say a word, but his dark eyes showed a chill.
"Who's afraid of you? Ōmaeda-sama isn't to be trifled with either… At worst, I'll just follow the Captain every day."
Ōmaeda muttered.
Shiba Kūkaku had originally wanted to say a few harsh words, but Ichigo, who had been in a frantic hurry, suddenly stood up and stared at Number Three with extreme seriousness.
"You do bad things, kill people, and then just want to leave? How can there be such a cheap thing in this world! And… I won't let you just take my sword… take my power like this!"
Ichigo's soul throbbed, responding to his will.
And so, a powerful force blurred his vision, and amidst the unreal, skewed skyscrapers, a man in a black cloak stood silently.
He wore stylish glasses, his face was cold, as if he had experienced a sea of swords and a mountain of flames, unable to be moved by the living, unable to mourn for the dead.
That being said, the man's gaze towards Ichigo was filled with deep guilt, and his low voice seemed to come from a distant place, yet also sounded in Ichigo's ears, reverberating in his heart, stimulating some hidden power to gradually revive.
"That's right, Ichigo… Don't back down, don't let yourself regret. I've already experienced that once, and I don't want to see you get hurt again, see you grieve over death. So I won't refuse to give you power to protect yourself, to protect what you cherish."
"Although your power is still far from mature, there is still much of your power left. All you need to do is abandon fear, move forward, and call out…"
"—Zangetsu!"
Ichigo's inspired shout caused the two forces within him to achieve a high degree of unity at this moment.
Number Three, who had stepped into the Garganta, suddenly felt something and looked down, discovering that the sword in his hand had turned into a vermilion blade, with a chain at the end extending out of the Garganta.
"This is…"
He subconsciously looked along the chain, and at its end, he saw a pitch-black bow held in the orange-haired brat's hand, the chain wrapped around his other hand.
"Give it back to me!"
Ichigo pulled the chain with force, unexpectedly dragging the enemy, who was more than three times his size, out of the Garganta.
Then, the chain erupted in a dazzling red light, burning Number Three like lava.
"Ah ah ah ah!"
His body, specialized for defense, appeared exceptionally fragile under this light.
Just as Number Three raised his hand to shield his face, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest, only to see another crimson chained blade plunge into his chest.
His hard body was as useless as it had been against Shimiya Takeru earlier.
The difference was that Shimiya Takeru relied on absolute numerical superiority.
Ichigo, on the other hand, utilized the Quincy-Hollow's 'arrow' mechanism.
"A… Arturo-sama… I haven't…!"
Words more bitter than tears became his last will.
Number Three's body disintegrated and vanished from where he was struck by the arrow.
Thus, a period was put to this battle that did not exist in history.
"Hoo—"
Ichigo let out a breath.
"What a flashy Shikai."
Before everyone could exclaim, a voice suddenly rang out.
The vigilance lasted only for a brief moment.
The newcomer was Shimiya Takeru.
"What are you talking about? It's so practical and cool-looking."
Ichigo retorted, unconvinced, then pouted, "Your spiritual pressure, though, is growing abnormally. You can tell at a glance that you used some very dangerous technique. Yet you still have the leisure to joke. You should just lie down obediently."
"You know me. My recovery ability has always been strong. This level of injury will be fine after a good night's sleep."
Shimiya Takeru said lightly.
The 'Compound Potion' can be used twice a day to restore a small amount of spiritual pressure and stamina. With this, it's impossible for him to remain weak for long.
"It's good that you're fine!"
Shiba Kūkaku patted Shimiya Takeru's shoulder, then looked at Ichigo with satisfaction.
"I didn't expect you two to steal the show this time, but being safe and sound is better than anything."
"I envy you guys who have already mastered Shikai. I don't know how much longer I'll have to wait. Damn it, can't you get your act together?!"
Ichigo was at a loss whether to cry or laugh, watching Hachihara grumbling at his Zanpakuto.
"Well, don't rush. This kind of thing relies more on luck. To be honest, I'm completely confused myself and don't understand what happened. I just used it by feeling… Oh, right, how do I deactivate this?"
"Idiot, didn't you say it yourself? By feeling."
Ōmaeda retorted.
"Shut up! This is my first Shikai, how would I know so much? Uh, so it's like this, right…? Huh?"
Ichigo tried to revert his Zanpakuto to its original state, and it did change, but instead of turning back into an Asauchi, it transformed from a pitch-black longbow into a shark-cutting greatsword almost as tall as he was.
He was completely dumbfounded.
He couldn't understand why this happened.
Not only Ichigo was confused, but even the experienced Shiba Kūkaku and Ōmaeda were stunned.
Hachihara and Rindo Yu had even less experience, only showing surprise.
Among everyone present, only Shimiya Takeru knew what was going on.
"It seems your Shikai has another sword form. Because you mastered it in a hurry, coupled with the special nature of Shikai, you need to skillfully control both forms before it can revert to an Asauchi."
"Two forms, a Shikai that can switch between them? This is the first time I've seen this type. But a sword and a bow, one close and one far, somehow match quite well. It's a pity they're not separate, otherwise it would be the Soul Society's third pair."
Shiba Kūkaku commented, stroking her chin.
Of course, it couldn't be a "dual sword."
Shimiya Takeru secretly shook his head.
Although he didn't know what Zangetsu was thinking.
But there was no doubt that some unknown changes had already been made.
From actively suppressing Ichigo's immature power to prevent him from being drawn into battle and getting hurt, to now suppressing immature power to prevent it from going out of control while actively giving him more power.
Therefore, Ichigo possessed two completely different Shikai.
One represented the fragmented Hollow and Shinigami power, and the other represented the fragmented Quincy and Shinigami power.
Compared to the original timeline, it only seemed like one more Shikai, but it contained profound implications.
After all, Quincy are humans, but Ichigo is no longer human.
He will live in the Soul Society as a Shinigami.
Perhaps, this was also one of the reasons for Zangetsu's change.
A single path cannot accommodate multiple identities, yet it can carry multiple powers, expanding one's own path.
From this perspective, choosing a master was indeed the right choice.
Because it was identical to Aizen's choice.
And it was even more "blue is born of indigo, yet is bluer than indigo."
Shimiya Takeru had a thought.
"Now that the Quincy power has awakened, I wonder what Bankai will be like. Will it be two different forms of Bankai? Or will it be…"
Before he could reach a conclusion, something suddenly changed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!
Accompanied by the sound of rushing air, dozens of masked men in black appeared around them, completely surrounding Shimiya Takeru and the others.
"Onmitsukidō?"
Shiba Kūkaku recognized the identities of the newcomers at a glance.
"Captain? Captain! You finally came! You don't know how miserable I've been…!"
Ōmaeda, on the other hand, immediately saw the petite figure standing in mid-air and instantly burst into tears and wails, snot and all.
"Shut up!"
Suì-Fēng's brows furrowed, her eyes full of disgust as she glared at him, then withdrew her gaze, stared at Shimiya Takeru and the others, and waved her hand, giving an order.
"Everyone, including Ōmaeda, bring them back for interrogation!"
Chapter Nineteen: machine soul Greatly Pleased, The Saint's Sword
Second Division, Barracks Prison.
Shimiya Takeru, escorted here by the Onmitsukidō, calmly pulled over a chair and sat down.
He looked around.
The spacious, clean room didn't quite fit the term 'prison cell'; it was more like an isolation room.
There were no restraints on his body to limit his movement either.
"The goal of returning to Seireitei before dawn is pretty much achieved. It would be even better if there was a soft, big bed."
Unfortunately, there was no bed.
Shimiya Takeru wasn't sleepy yet either.
The first real battle, with his life on the line, kept his cerebral cortex in an excited state.
From another perspective, it was indeed something to be happy about.
Because after a month, the familiar ink-brush characters reappeared before his eyes.
"Heaven help us, you led a bunch of rookies to win a rookie battle that wasn't even at your level. The mental effort you expended is enough to conceive a classic debut work by an amateur…"
"???"
"You killed the minion who tried to inherit the will of a loser, and you also made the beast of wrath, who would have served another loser in the future, forever lose the chance to meet his best friend. Such a cold-blooded display of the Fourth Calamity's might, the machine soul is greatly pleased!"
"You have comprehended the holy sword of a certain otherworld saint who yearned to protect his companions—"
"Shichisen has been learned."
"Yuisen is being learned…"
Shimiya Takeru's body suddenly trembled.
Despite being a spirit body, he still felt a mysterious power surge into the depths of his soul.
His brain roared, as if undergoing a storm's baptism.
Perhaps it was a storm of inspiration; in a daze, a sudden realization surged into his mind.
He subconsciously wanted to reach for his sword hilt, but his hand grabbed empty air at his waist.
His Zanpakuto had been taken by the guards when he entered.
Otherwise… this room might have already been obliterated.
A moment later, Shimiya Takeru slowly relaxed his body, and his eyes regained their clarity.
"Just as I expected, the bigger the waves, the more precious the fish."
To directly fight a Menos Grande within half a year of entering the Spirit Arts Academy was undoubtedly a rather "special" achievement and event. There was no reason for the [machine soul] to remain silent.
Now the rewards had come, proving that Shimiya Takeru's approach was correct.