After that, the ranking video continued.
The sky was overcast. Raindrops fell. The atmosphere turned unbearably heavy and sorrowful.
Ichigo Kurosaki stood alone in the downpour—utterly isolated, with no one to rely on.
The situation on-screen right now was, without question, the lowest point since this round of the ranking began. Nothing else even came close.
"Don't tell me that Ginjo Kugo actually got away with it?" Tōshirō Hitsugaya couldn't stand watching anymore, frowning as he spoke.
No matter what…
Ichigo Kurosaki was the savior of the Gotei 13!
If he hadn't defeated Aizen with the Hōgyoku, then every Shinigami here would still be hanging their heads, forced to watch this video in despair.
But when he truly fell into misfortune…
Why was it that none of them—none of the captain-class Shinigami—seemed to be stepping forward to help him?
To be honest…
Watching the moment on-screen where Ichigo lost his Fullbring power…
Watching his entire look and outfit revert back into the appearance of an ordinary human…
Hitsugaya's chest tightened.
He couldn't help but empathize, feeling genuinely sorry for the "protagonist."
"…" Retsu Unohana let out a soft sigh.
That compassion unique to healers made it hard for her to keep watching, too.
Counting the time in Karakura Town…
This was already the second time, wasn't it? The second time Ichigo Kurosaki had lost his power.
Facing the same kind of pain…
Yet being forced to endure it twice in seventeen months.
Just imagining it from his perspective—
Unohana could only feel heartache for him.
Even…
Up on the highest seat—
the Captain-Commander, that old man…
His expression was tightly drawn now, brows furrowed.
In his aged eyes, there was the faintest flash of self-blame.
He, too, felt that what Ichigo was going through this time was simply too unfair.
However…
Just as the viewing mood sank lower and lower—
And just as, on-screen, after stealing the power, Ginjo Kugo looked satisfied and prepared to turn and leave at that very moment—
All of a sudden…
The camera shifted again.
As Ichigo roared in rage, demanding that Ginjo return his power—
The lens aimed at the air behind him.
Without warning… without any sign…
A slender, razor-sharp spiritual-particle longsword, faintly glowing blue, appeared in midair—
And stabbed straight into Ichigo Kurosaki's chest.
His entire body jerked stiff.
His eyes went blank.
He froze.
And because of that moment—
The viewers were shocked as well. Not a single person could've predicted it.
In such a short span of time…
Ichigo Kurosaki—already betrayed, outplayed, and suffering enough—
Actually…
Got stabbed twice in a row—front and back.
It was so absurd it made people doubt their own eyes.
Was it possible that the protagonist aura—his "cheat"—
Had truly stopped working?
Otherwise…
As the protagonist, how could Ichigo Kurosaki possibly be unlucky enough to crash this hard, this fast?
"Good grief…" Gin Ichimaru wore his foxlike smile, his tone light as he teased inside Las Noches.
"Before, it was like nobody dared to stab Ichigo Kurosaki."
"And now? It's like anyone can stab him… and then keep stabbing him in a combo."
"Aizen-taichō… looks like your 'alt account' is no longer the favored child of the meta as the chapters keep updating, huh?"
Just a moment ago—
When Ginjo Kugo struck him—
Ichigo at least still had armor and clothing to cushion the blow. He was only injured.
But this time…
That spiritual-particle sword was lethally sharp.
From behind, with Ichigo completely off-guard—
It pierced clean through him.
At that level…
For a normal human—
Even if it didn't kill him instantly, it should've left him severely wounded.
It was miserable.
However—
The moment Gin finished speaking—
Aizen immediately contradicted him.
"No."
"Gin… look more carefully. Ichigo Kurosaki's wound isn't bleeding. He isn't truly injured in the usual sense."
Seated on his throne, Sōsuke Aizen's gaze was calm, his face expressionless as he pointed it out.
"?!" After hearing that—
Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tōsen, and all the Hollows and Arrancar present—
Everyone fixed their eyes on the screen and watched closely.
Only then did they realize it was true.
There wasn't a single trace of blood—neither on Ichigo's body nor on his clothes.
It looked like he'd been backstabbed—
But in reality, his condition was clearly improving.
That aura of weakness that had been creeping in as his power was stripped away…
Was instead showing signs of rising again—like it was about to surge upward.
"Tch…"
"Let me guess. Same routine as before—someone showed up to 'inject' him with spirit power again." Grimmjow Jeagerjaquez shoved his hands in his pockets, his voice turning envious again.
Because not long ago—
They'd just watched the video segment of Isshin Kurosaki training Ichigo in Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō (Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer).
So Grimmjow immediately connected it to—
That method Zangetsu's spirit had once used in Ichigo's inner world:
Using the same kind of "stab"—
Not to hurt Ichigo—
But to pour spirit power directly into him.
Sure enough…
What played next confirmed Grimmjow's guess.
——
The camera cut.
It aimed to the other side behind Ichigo Kurosaki.
In the heavy rain, Kisuke Urahara and Isshin Kurosaki appeared.
And behind Ichigo—
Rukia Kuchiki was there as well.
Both hands gripping that spiritual-particle longsword—
Making it undeniable: she was the one who'd thrust it in.
"Rukia…" In the First Division, Byakuya Kuchiki narrowed his eyes beneath his black hair as the moment he saw his adopted sister, he instantly recalled the earlier scene.
"The posture… the same posture as that night when Ichigo became a Shinigami—are you repeating what happened back then?!"
"No…" Renji Abarai's eyes sharpened as he observed, and he couldn't help blurting out:
"This time it's different!"
"It's not just Rukia's spirit power!"
"That spirit sword… it's carrying too many familiar reiatsu signatures (spiritual pressures)!"
"It's like it's gathered a portion of power from every single captain!!!"
The spiritual-pressure fluctuations were enormous—
More than a hundred times larger than Fullbring had ever felt.
Clearly—
Rukia's appearance wasn't a coincidence.
She came with a purpose.
Using the power of the entire Gotei 13 to help Ichigo Kurosaki…
Regain his Shinigami power!
——
And sure enough—
As that spirit power poured in—
It didn't take long for Ichigo's body to respond.
Orange hair whipped up.
Clothes snapped in the wind.
A massive storm of air—like a violent tornado—erupted from inside him!
"BOOOOM—!!!"
The sky shook.
The dark clouds were forced apart.
Even the rain was halted.
The once-torrential downpour was evaporating in great swaths under the pressure of tangible reiatsu—an utterly shocking spectacle.
And as enemies—
Ginjo Kugo and Shūkurō Tsukishima stood side-by-side—
Yet they could barely withstand the crushing pressure of the gale. Even opening their eyes became difficult.
"Damn it…"
"What terrifying presence!"
"Ichigo Kurosaki didn't just get his power back—he's even stronger than before!"
"Those two Fullbringers really are trash. They missed the best chance!"
"Now that he's revived at full strength, forget killing him—hurting him at all will be hard!"
At that moment—
Inside Silbern, among the pure-blood Quincy of the Wandenreich—
They endured the oppressive force spilling out of the screen…
And started cursing nonstop.
The fight wasn't even over—
Yet those idiots had popped champagne early, putting on a show of generosity by "letting" Ichigo go…
And now—
They were about to get punished for it.
It was stupidity at its absolute peak.
"It seems…"
"The only ones who can deal with Ichigo Kurosaki…"
"In the end… are only us pure-blood Quincy—and His Majesty."
On the palace's high platform, Jugram Haschwalth's short golden hair was whipped up by the pressure-wind as he stared at the screen and spoke coldly.
He'd originally thought—
This Fullbring arc, at the very least—
Would cause Ichigo some trouble.
But now?
It turned out he'd been overthinking it.
Expecting anything from a bunch of third-rate human ability-users—
Was never realistic.
If you wanted to defeat Ichigo Kurosaki…
In the end, it could only be settled in the Thousand-Year Blood War—decided in a final clash!!!
——
Meanwhile—
Under the resentful stares of the pure-blood Quincy—
The screen-filling storm of air gradually dispersed.
With his power restored, Ichigo Kurosaki's new appearance was revealed!
He still wore the shihakushō (Shinigami robes).
But through the lens, you could clearly see—
At the crossing of his collar and collarbones—
There were distinct black stripes.
And his Zanpakutō—Zangetsu, in Shikai (initial release)—
Its blade looked different than before.
At the end of the spine where it met the hilt—
There was now a curved notch.
And the tail end also carried a thin, long black chain.
These features—
Had never appeared in any earlier footage!
"H—holy crap…"
"So it's true! Losing power and getting it back—when Ichigo Kurosaki regains his Shinigami power, his Zanpakutō 'Zangetsu'…"
"This time it upgraded too!"
"This is obviously a new version after fusing with Fullbring!!!"
In that instant—
The entire world of Shinigami shook.
Watching Ichigo's imposing, stylish new look, the viewers' eyes lit up, and they couldn't stop themselves from marveling.
Too cool.
His presence, his aura—maxed out.
Ichigo Kurosaki had become even more captivating than before.
And…
Zangetsu itself—
Just looking at it, you could tell it was strong.
It no longer gave that "butcher's cleaver" first impression.
Instead, it looked like it was finally taking on—
The form a divine-class Zanpakutō should have.
One worthy of cutting down even the Soul King.
——
"Ichigo…"
"Just as I thought—every time you grow stronger, you synchronize with the future!"
"And reality itself gets affected, changing along with you!!!"
At that time—
In Karakura Town…
On the rooftop of the high school campus—
Tatsuki Arisawa, Yasutora Sado, and the others had experienced this phenomenon before.
So when they saw the new image revealed on-screen—
They immediately turned and raced back, leaping down level by level toward Ichigo.
And sure enough, they found—
Even without deliberately releasing spirit power—
Ichigo was now wearing the same shihakushō, with the same black stripes.
And in his hand—
Blue light gathered.
In the eyes of everyone present, a brand-new second-generation Zangetsu formed—
Identical to the one in the video.
The same shape, razor-sharp, flashing with a frightening gleam.
In an instant, Ichigo Kurosaki looked unmistakable—distinct.
Compared to before, it was like he'd been reborn.
Without question—
He was stronger.
"Yeah. That's right." Facing his friends' stares, Ichigo lowered his head, smiling as he examined himself from top to bottom.
He said in delighted surprise, "It's not just my Shinigami power—it got upgraded. I can even feel a complete reiatsu again!"
"Huh?"
"That's… way too blessed…" Tatsuki Arisawa bared her teeth and joked.
Maybe in real life—
Ginjo Kugo's group would have to spend years and years, training nonstop, just to get familiar with Fullbring…
But Ichigo?
He wasn't the same.
He could level up lying down—easier than eating and drinking.
And if this kept up—
Then by the time the Thousand-Year Blood War arc finished playing…
By then—
With his strength synchronized to the future, Ichigo Kurosaki would inevitably grow into Soul-King-level power.
…
Karakura Town.
A tiny, ordinary high school—
Yet step by step, it would witness the birth of a young Soul King.
To Tatsuki and the others…
The very thought of it was dreamlike.
Just imagining it made their blood run hot with excitement.
And at the same time—
While the entire world's viewers were still stunned by Ichigo Kurosaki and the second-generation Zangetsu—
The video continued.
The follow-up was naturally Ichigo displaying his power—
Taking revenge on Ginjo Kugo and Shūkurō Tsukishima with his strengthened might!
"Yes—!!!"
Blades slashed.
Bodies tangled.
Metallic clashes rang out in an endless chain.
In close combat—
Ginjo Kugo was clearly suppressed.
Second-generation Zangetsu hounded him relentlessly, forcing him back again and again, his expression turning increasingly battered.
"Getsuga Tenshō (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer)!!!"
Facing the camera, Ichigo Kurosaki raised his sword with both hands and unleashed the technique.
And then—
Zangetsu's power did not disappoint.
It even far exceeded expectations.
Getsuga Tenshō—
It was like a massive blue cannon of light and shadow!
It violently swept across the sky, tearing through the haze—
So strongly that even the screen itself, even the translucent viewing barrier, seemed as if it might be cut in half.
Once again, it delivered an unforgettable visual shock to the audience—
A crushing sense of impact and awe.
"So strong…"
"After the power upgrade—when second-generation Zangetsu swings, it seems like it can draw out Ichigo Kurosaki's enormous spirit power even better!"
"And this is only Shikai…"
"If this were Bankai—Tensa Zangetsu (Heaven Chain Slaying Moon)—that slash might really split the sky of the living world in two with one stroke, wouldn't it?"
The viewers marveled—
Completely dazzled by second-generation Zangetsu's might.
After all—
As a benchmark and opponent—
Ginjo Kugo, after stealing Ichigo's Fullbring, now had captain-level strength. He wasn't weak.
And even so—
He still got beaten until he had no way to respond.
That only made second-generation Zangetsu's dominance stand out even more!
——
After that—
The video fast-forwarded.
To avoid dragging the battle out and defeat Ginjo Kugo quickly—
Ichigo Kurosaki simply—
Let another reiatsu storm erupt, engulfing his silhouette!
Even the image and the translucent light screen were affected, shaking violently again.
"Is it coming?"
"The detailed reveal of third-generation Zangetsu!"
"I bet even Tensa Zangetsu—and that black tailcoat look—will change in appearance too, right?"
At that moment—
Viewers all over the world held their breath.
Eyes fixed on the screen, filled with anticipation.
Sure enough…
The next reveal didn't disappoint.
When the spiritual-pressure gale dispersed, Ichigo Kurosaki's figure emerged.
His black hair was wild.
The outfit was still sleek and fitted, yet loose and broad—
But down the center, from top to bottom, it shifted from black tinged with red into orange-yellow.
It looked more textured—more refined.
And…
Tensa Zangetsu was different too!
The blade became longer and sharper, the tip clearly curving upward.
The Zanpakutō as a whole—
Radiated a chilling, killing intent.
Compared to before, it looked even more razor-edged, even more aggressive in presence.
(End of Chapter)
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