3: Chapter 3 Abilities! The Shared MiracleUpon hearing this suggestion, which sounded like a devil's whisper, Ichigo Kurosaki was so terrified that he forgot to support himself, waving his arms wildly and shaking his head like a rattle.
"hiss--!"
The chrysanthemum fell to the ground, delivering another devastating blow.Ichigo gasped, his vision blurring.
He suddenly opened his eyes, glaring angrily at the culprit in front of him.
But when his gaze met Naruto's face, which was still wet with tears but still beaming with a bright smile and eyes full of expectation, all the rebuke he felt instantly stuck in his throat, turning into a long silence.
"Cough cough."
He suddenly tilted his head back, blinked hard, trying to force back the tears welling up in his eyes, and didn't want the sympathy that arose spontaneously to hurt the boy in front of him who was stronger than anyone else.
Ichigo struggled to his feet, feigning composure as he patted non-existent dust off his hands and clothes.
Then, he awkwardly squeezed his legs together and moved in front of Naruto in an extremely unsteady manner, as if every step was on the tip of a knife.
The outstretched hand trembled slightly, as if it had survived a disaster.
"Let me give you a formal introduction," he cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, a 'youthful and vibrant' high school student who also works as a substitute Shinigami."
He deliberately emphasized the word "youth," as if reminding some unlovable brat.
"From now on, .please take care of me."
"hey-hey!"
Naruto's forced smile instantly blossomed into a wide grin as he abruptly raised his right hand to strike Ichigo's outstretched palm.
"Naruto Uzumaki!He will become fire."
Before the words were even finished, as their hands clasped together, two fresh torrents of memories surged violently into each other's minds once again.
Instantly sensing the envy and pity the other person felt, the two of them jerked their hands back as if electrocuted!
Their gazes, which had been locked, quickly averted, each turning their faces in opposite directions, a faint blush rising on their cheeks.
A subtle silence fell between the two.
"Ugh, what an awful feeling."
Kurosaki Ichigo turned his face away awkwardly, muttering to himself as he tried to hide his inner turmoil.
As if eager to break the awkward silence, he suddenly looked up and shouted loudly at the empty space around him:
"Hey!This damn space!Can't you just turn it off?"
"Click!"
With his angry shout, the already dim light in the space suddenly went out, making it pitch black.
".Um, activate?"
Ichigo's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
Vision was restored instantly.
"I wasn't talking about the light, you bastard!"
The pent-up frustration finally burst forth.The two looked up at each other, the awkward atmosphere dispelled by the little blunder, and they couldn't help but smile at each other.
Putting down his hand that had been scratching the back of his head, Naruto suddenly remembered his comrades.
"Huh?Where's Luffy?"
"Huff.huff.huff."
A loud snore clearly answered Naruto's question.
Veins bulged on Ichigo's forehead instantly.
This clueless guy!He hadn't forgotten that this straw hat kid named Luffy was also one of the culprits behind that "philosophical trauma".
Ichigo strode up behind Luffy, who was lying on the ground fast asleep.
But in the instant he raised his leg to kick, the unforgettable "dark history" shared by the three of them vividly surfaced in his mind.
He silently lowered his raised leg.Then he crouched down beside Luffy's ear, took a deep breath, and roared:
"Dinner's ready!"
"Huh?A banquet!"
As expected, Luffy's reaction to those words was completely different from Naruto's and Ichigo's.He nimbly flipped over and jumped up, full of energy.
Naruto and Ichigo, who already knew about Luffy's constitution through shared memories, were not surprised at all.
In the shared memory, no matter how severe the injury, as long as he has a big meal and a good sleep, this guy can always be fully recovered.
"Ah, hehe, it's you guys!"
Luffy scratched his head, a bright smile on his face.Although he couldn't explain why, a sense of familiarity, as if they had shared a long and eventful past, welled up within him.
He immediately extended his signature invitation:
"Join my pirate crew!"
Ichigo channeled his frustration and anger at being unable to fight Luffy into a barrage of words:
"Idiot!According to our shared memories, we come from completely different worlds!How could I possibly be your crew member?Besides—"
He deliberately dragged out the sound, with a mocking tone.
"Is your so-called 'boat' just a broken wooden barrel?"
Naruto immediately nodded vigorously in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes!I want to go back to being a ninja!"
However, the oblivious Luffy completely ignored their refusal and laughed heartily.
"Hahaha!Now I have two crew members!One Piece, here I come!"
"Uh.I knew he wasn't listening at all."
Naruto and Ichigo, who already knew Luffy's true nature through their memories, both retorted in unison.
"Oh, by the way."
Ichigo Kurosaki quickly steered the conversation back on track, surveying the eerie space with a grave expression."This space can actually bring us together from three completely different worlds.and besides those memories."
At this point, his face was filled with a mixture of grief and indignation—although if memories couldn't be shared, he would probably be the only one lying on the ground clutching a certain part of his body right now.
".It seems that we have shared our power as well."
He looked down at his clenched fist and muttered to himself, "A Devil Fruit?"
He flung his fist out tentatively, his body instinctively shouting out the move's name:
"Rubber pistol!"
His fist shot out like a cannonball as his arm suddenly extended, striking towards the far distance.
As his fist bounced back with a whooshing sound and returned to its original shape, Ichigo clenched his fist and felt no discomfort whatsoever!
at the same timeMeanwhile, Naruto was pleasantly surprised to find that after fusing with Ichigo's spiritual power, his chakra control became exceptionally smooth.
He tirelessly practiced the Three Bodies Technique repeatedly.Looking at the lifelike "himself" beside him, he excitedly shouted:
"I'm sure I'll pass the exam this time!"
When Luffy saw Ichigo use the exact same technique as him, even the same name, he exclaimed in surprise:
"Wow!So you're a Gum-Gum Fruit user too?"
Ichigo, too lazy to explain, replied irritably, "Idiot!Can't you look through the shared memories yourself?"
Luffy casually picked his nose with his little finger: "Hmm.too lazy to look."
Nevertheless, Luffy enthusiastically tried out the ninjutsu he had learned from Naruto.
Looking at the clones he created and his ever-changing body (transformation magic), he excitedly danced around: "Haha!This is so much fun!"
After a period of playful banter, the three finally sat down cross-legged again, facing a crucial practical problem:
How can they leave this place and return to their respective worlds?
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