Hmph.
Still, Ichigo looked a bit awkward—after all, his old man was still standing just a short distance away.
But Unohana Yachirō didn't care in the slightest. She stepped forward and supported Ichigo. She could very clearly feel the spiritual pressure within him had dropped.
It was even more obvious than when they were in Hueco Mundo.
Isshin didn't say anything to Ichigo—just gave a nod and vanished. Kisuke Urahara didn't appear either, leaving only a rather annoyed Yoruichi behind.
It was obvious from the look on Soi Fon's face that Yoruichi had already figured out that she had snuck out.
She was fuming, but didn't even know what to say. "Seriously? Are y'all treating this like a joke?"
"I was the first one here!" Yoruichi shouted.
Tatsuki: "What are you talking about? Clearly I was here first, okay!"
As for Aizen Sōsuke's situation, Ichigo didn't say much.
To him, Aizen had already paid the price for his actions.
Ichigo had intended to kill Aizen outright, but clearly, the ones in charge didn't share that idea.
Otherwise, that seal wouldn't have activated at that moment.
Now that Aizen was no longer a threat, Ichigo had no reason to dwell on it.
To him, Aizen was just someone who could be dealt with in one slash.
What mattered more now… was figuring out what Uncle Zangetsu was really thinking.
—Meanwhile—
Byakuya, Zaraki, and Kyōraku had returned to the Soul Society after the battle.
Though none of them were injured, Yamamoto Genryūsai was not in a good mood.
He summoned the three of them over for a scolding session.
Why?
Because they'd all lost their captain haoris.
That alone had Yamamoto fuming.
It almost felt like things were back to the way they were before.
Of course, one thing hadn't returned—Ichimaru Gin was truly dead.
Even with the power of the Ōken, Ichigo couldn't bring him back after his fatal strike against Aizen.
The damage from the Hōgyoku had been too severe, and Ichigo had spent far too long fighting Aizen. By the time he returned, all he saw was a tearful Rangiku.
And to make matters worse—though Gin had betrayed Aizen at the final moment—everyone besides the reader still saw him as a traitor.
A man who had murdered the Central 46.
Such a criminal could never be buried in the Seireitei.
Ichigo, alongside Rangiku, brought Gin's body back to the place where they first met.
East Rukongai, District 62—Magahara.
Rangiku stared silently at the grave before her.
Even now, she didn't know why Gin had done it. Neither did Ichigo.
No one did.
Only Gin himself knew.
Rangiku looked at the tears in her hand, her heart overwhelmed.
But perhaps…
This was Gin's answer.
A silent, long-lasting protection.
—Karakura Town, Real World—
"Ichigo!"
Neliel had rushed straight from Hueco Mundo to the real world, of course bringing Pesche and Dondochakka with her.
But unlike before, with the help of the Ōken's power, their former injuries had been completely healed—and thanks to certain "experimental treatments," they were restored to their true forms.
Standing in front of Ichigo now was a lean, handsome middle-aged man in a tuxedo and another dressed like a gym coach, muscles rippling.
And how were they able to enter the human world?
Credit goes to the Doraemon of the Soul Society—Kisuke Urahara's newly developed Gigai, which could even be worn by Hollows.
Indeed, even Hollows could now wear artificial bodies.
The battle between the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo had severely disrupted the balance of the Three Realms.
The strongest of the Vasto Lorde-class—Starrk and Baraggan—were now dead.
Many Adjuchas-class Arrancar were also gone, and of the former Espada…
Only Harribel (No. 3), Ulquiorra (No. 4), Grimmjow (No. 6), and Yammy (No. 0) remained alive.
On the Soul Society's side, only Ichimaru Gin and Tōsen Kaname—already traitors—had died.
The power gap was stark.
Thus, in order to maintain balance between the Three Realms, the Soul Society and the surviving high-level Hollows agreed to a truce.
As for regular Hollows… well, the Soul Society was still treating them like an ant farm, hoping one day a new Starrk or Baraggan might emerge.
Of course, Neliel—being protected by Ichigo—was conveniently overlooked.
Thus, she and her three subordinates settled in the real world, living in the house bought by Rurichiyo Kasumiōji.
Rurichiyo had been sulking about it for quite a while.
But—hey, she's just a young girl. Ichigo sweet-talked her, and that was that.
Isshin was stunned when he saw Neliel.
He knew his son had many female friends, but even female Hollows?
Come on!
Even an idiot could sense her spiritual pressure was nothing like a Shinigami's.
After sending Neliel and her trio off, Ichigo returned to his room.
Rukia and Senna were sitting there, each holding one of Ichigo's hands, their faces full of concern.
Ichigo, however, just smiled. "What's with those faces? Why so serious?"
"You should be asking us that," Rukia shot back.
"Huh?" Ichigo feigned ignorance.
"How long were you planning to hide it from us?" Senna frowned.
"Based on normal logic, your spiritual pressure should've recovered by now. But we still sense it dropping. What price did you pay to defeat Aizen?" Rukia demanded.
Ichigo looked at her, feeling their worry. He let go of their hands and pulled them both into a hug.
"Relax. My powers aren't broken. I just need some time to adjust. During that time, my spiritual pressure might fluctuate a bit."
That wasn't a lie.
Ever since his fight with Aizen, Uncle Zangetsu hadn't shown up once.
Even Muramasa's power couldn't summon him in his inner world.
Which proved something:
Uncle Zangetsu… wasn't just a power.
Muramasa's specialty was manipulating Zanpakutō.
With Zangetsu gone, Ichigo could feel his Shinigami powers being greatly suppressed.
Even White Ichigo was affected.
Muramasa's powers were weaker too.
As for Hollowfication? Forget it.
He couldn't even condense a Hollow Zanpakutō on his own anymore.
Zangetsu's suppression of his Hollow powers was stronger than that of the God of Authority!
Duality?
Don't make him laugh. Right now, he couldn't even Bankai or Hollowfy.
Zangetsu had gone full-time into… suppressing Ichigo's power.
As if now that Aizen was defeated, Ichigo was no longer needed.
But Ichigo refused to accept that.
He had worked so hard to gain this power—he wouldn't give it up that easily!
Still, he didn't want Rukia and Senna to worry too much, so he downplayed it.
"Give me a bit of time. I'll be back to normal soon."
Hearing Ichigo's confident words, Rukia and Senna exchanged a glance and said no more.
But…
They couldn't see the deep anxiety inside him.
Uncle Zangetsu's disappearance had rattled Ichigo far more than he let on.
After all, this was the person who had always guided him… and now he had gone silent.
On the outside, things were worse.
Kisuke Urahara had spread the word: Ichigo had used a forbidden power to defeat Aizen and was now slowly losing his Shinigami powers.
Once that rumor hit the Soul Society, panic spread—especially among the female Shinigami.
Ichigo had to personally visit the Seireitei to calm them down—one by one.
He managed to talk down both Soi Fon and Unohana Yachirō.
Since the battle with Aizen, Unohana had resumed using her original name—Unohana Yachirō—and no one really questioned it.
After all, most people thought the similarity with Zaraki Kenpachi's lieutenant, Kusajishi Yachiru, was just a coincidence.
Kenpachi himself had only been in the Gotei 13 for less than a century, and Yachiru had been with him even before that.
No one suspected any connection between the two Yachirus.
But beyond them, there were two other female Shinigami who were especially worried about Ichigo.
One was the current Fifth Division Lieutenant—Hinamori Momo.
The other? Matsumoto Rangiku, who had been "rescued" by Ichigo many times.
Of course, neither of them knew that these "rescues" were all carefully orchestrated by Ichimaru Gin…
Now that Gin was gone, those setups had become reality.
Rangiku was Ichigo's loyal supporter now.
But Hinamori?
Ichigo wanted to tear his hair out.
Once she learned that Ichigo had been the one to defeat Aizen, she latched onto him.
"Lieutenant Hinamori, could you maybe not follow me around?" Ichigo groaned, watching the walking "blood bar of the Soul King."
She even took a long leave from the Seireitei to stay in the human world and monitor him.
"Since you were chosen by Captain Aizen, I must ensure your safety!" she said solemnly.
Ichigo couldn't even begin to argue with her logic.
It was absurd.
He beats Aizen and suddenly has a stalker?
And she wasn't the only one who came looking for him today…
Another visitor arrived—leader of the Visored, Hirako Shinji.
"Heh… Ichigo, getting stalked by my lieutenant—shouldn't you feel honored?" Shinji chuckled.
That's right. After the battle, the Visoreds were fully exonerated and welcomed back into Soul Society.
Since the Third Division already had a new captain—Tenken Suzushiro—Rose (Rōjūrō) chose to return to the Shino Academy to teach music.
Shinji was reinstated as the Fifth Division Captain.
Love Aikawa took over the Ninth Division.
Hachigen returned as the Grand Kidō Chief.
Some, however, chose to remain in the human world.
Hiyori stayed with Kisuke, her second captain.
Lisa and Hachiro decided to stay as well…
…but only to pursue Ichigo before heading back.
Which meant that, technically, Hinamori Momo was now Shinji's lieutenant.
Even Ichigo had to question Shinji's judgment—how could he let Aizen's fangirl be his second-in-command?
Whenever Ichigo looked behind him and saw Hinamori, he was nervous.
He kept thinking: "What if she snaps and stabs me one day?"
But strangely enough… Hinamori showed no signs of hostility.
Ichigo was baffled.
He swore he hadn't done anything!
—One Month Later—
Because of the previous battle, the entire Karakura Town had been relocated into the Soul Society.
Now, returning it to its original position was a massive project.
After all, the original spot still held an exact replica.
So Matsumoto Rangiku and Ise Nanao were dispatched to the human world to oversee the post-relocation procedures.
"Ah! Finally done!" Rangiku stretched, her chest bouncing and leaving Nanao with… complicated feelings.
"Hey, Nanao—wanna come hang out? Ichigo's still in Karakura Town!" Rangiku grinned.
Though Nanao was certainly curious about the one who sealed Aizen, her personality was too strict for that.
"No thanks. We still have a report to file," she replied, shaking her head.
(End of Chapter)
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