Yachiru Unohana.
She had lived for nothing but 'battle.'
Combat was her only true joy and happiness. Whether she was cutting down the weak...
Or cutting down the strong...
She could always savor that pleasure with a heart that felt brand new.
Thus, she was the first to sense the explosive Reiatsu of Letzt Stil, and she was the first to rush toward Ichigo.
However, seeing that power—which had surpassed her own for a fleeting moment—wither away so rapidly before her eyes, she felt a profound sadness.
.
.
.
"...!"
He vanished.
She swung her blade to finish the fallen Quincy, but for some reason, her sword failed to reach him.
Then, from behind her, a Reiatsu she was sensing for the first time—yet felt strangely familiar—began to flow out.
'A Soul Reaper's... Reiatsu...?'
In that instant, Unohana instinctively turned and swung her blade. A massive greatsword blocked her Minazuki.
"...You. What happened to you?"
"...I'm not really sure myself."
The Soul Reaper, now dressed in pitch-black Shihakusho—the man who had been a Quincy until a moment ago—smiled awkwardly.
He immediately used his Zanpakuto to push Minazuki away, and both of them leaped back several meters to reset their stances.
She couldn't understand it.
A Quincy on the verge of death had obtained the power of a Soul Reaper? It was impossible.
But his Reiatsu was the real thing.
A tingling thrill crawled up her skin, tightening around her heart.
'Surely, earlier...'
Yes, while he was collapsed, he had picked up a nameless Zanpakuto—an Asauchi.
Had that awakened him as a Soul Reaper?
Now that he had become a Soul Reaper, his Reiatsu felt even more complete.
His burning Reiatsu touched Unohana's skin, continuously heightening her excitement.
Then, he slowly pointed his Zanpakuto toward Unohana.
"One thing's for sure... the fight isn't over yet."
Ah, yes.
So that was it.
If that was the case...
"What is your name?"
"...Ichigo."
Ichigo.
Rolling the name in her mouth, Unohana smiled ecstatically.
"Yachiru Unohana."
She spat out her name as if issuing a decree and lunged forward.
Ichigo, as if he had been waiting, raised his blade.
One of them would die today.
.
.
.
Looking at a corpse burning in the flames, Yamamoto quietly turned his back.
"The war is over. Kill the remnants without exception."
"I'm already on it."
8th Division Captain Batsunsai Katori replied as she stabbed her naginata into the heads of fallen Quincies to ensure they were dead.
"And Furofushi?"
"She's recovering. Apparently, her opponent was quite strong. I should have been the one to fight him..."
She muttered regretfully.
"That Reiatsu from earlier."
"It appeared again. He's resurrecting like it's a hobby."
Katori gestured with her chin toward the direction where Ichigo and Unohana were.
She was flabbergasted by the Reiatsu that had first amplified in a bizarre, unknown way and then reappeared as a Soul Reaper.
"...The Kenpachi is there, so it will be handled soon."
Even if he had become a Soul Reaper, the fact that he was a Quincy remained unchanged.
With that thought, Yamamoto stared at the Seireitei, which had been half-destroyed by the influence of Letzt Stil.
"The remaining Quincies?"
"Over there. They should be completely surrounded."
Where she pointed, the surviving Quincies were surrounded by Soul Reapers, their faces filled with despair.
The light of hope had long since vanished from their eyes.
And at that moment.
A pillar of Reishi like blue flames soared into the sky from the center of the encirclement.
.
.
.
-Clang!!
-Screeech!
Blades clashed repeatedly as they lunged at each other.
Sharp metallic sounds filled the air.
'...She's definitely insane.'
Ichigo broke a sweat as he blocked her strikes.
Currently, Unohana was slowly, very slightly, increasing her speed and strength.
She was intentionally training Ichigo through combat.
It was like watching someone teach a child who had just taken their first steps.
...And Ichigo perfectly met her expectations, growing at an unbelievable rate.
As a Sternritter, he was already well-versed in swordsmanship. Though his style wasn't focused on 'slaughter' like Unohana's, he was sufficiently trained.
As their Zanpakuto clashed, Ichigo somehow began to feel the emotions Unohana held.
Joy, ecstasy, happiness, anticipation, climax.
The pure happiness of a child eating candy for the first time radiated from her.
Despite fighting for his life, the corners of his mouth twitched upward.
'...This is dangerous.'
It was dangerous.
He was so happy it gave him goosebumps.
A sensation as if he himself were becoming a murderer.
He felt as if he were beginning to empathize with her love for battle.
In this moment, all worries and thoughts melted away like snow.
Fear and sadness were nowhere to be found; only the sensation at the tip of the blade remained vivid.
-Slash
His arm was cut, his leg torn. As his wounds increased, his movements grew faster.
He couldn't stop.
Because that was the proper etiquette for this festival they were both enjoying.
They parried each other's blades and distanced themselves again. Just as Ichigo regripped his blood-soaked Zanpakuto—
Suddenly, an explosion sounded from somewhere in the distance, and a massive Reishi pillar soared into the sky.
"..?!"
"...?"
Both Ichigo and Unohana stopped their fight for a moment and looked in that direction.
Unohana loathed stopping a fight, but this was something that forced her attention.
A massive pillar that looked like rising blue flames reached high into the sky.
"What is that..."
As Ichigo tried to figure out the cause of the pillar, Unohana spoke to him.
"It seems the time to truly end this is approaching."
She spoke with a heated voice, then smiled as she flicked the blood off her blade with a swing.
"To think such a raw diamond was in the Quincy camp... What a shame. If you had been a Soul Reaper from the start, I would have raised you further before killing you."
"....Gee, thanks."
Ichigo retorted, baffled, before slowly raising Zangetsu.
"Even without mastering Shikai... the fact that you are contending with me, the Kenpachi, proves your worth."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Shikai, and Kenpachi.
He didn't know what they were, but they sounded like impressive titles.
Ichigo took a deep breath.
Then, he shouted toward the woman waiting for him.
"Here I come, Yachiru—!!!"
"Come, Ichigo—!!!"
Both moved their feet at the same time, lunging toward each other.
When the blades swing, one of them will die.
Ichigo bit his lip and swung his sword.
Just as their blades were about to touch—
-BOOM!!!
"..!!"
Between the two of them, a Reishi pillar erupted from the ground just like the one before.
Intense light blinded them, and a hand reached out from the pillar, grabbing Ichigo's arm.
"Wait—?!"
Ichigo was pulled into the pillar and vanished, and soon the pillar itself faded away.
The Reishi pillar disappeared without a trace, and Ichigo was completely gone.
"........"
Yachiru stared blankly at the spot where Ichigo had vanished. She placed a hand over her racing heart and quietly closed her eyes.
For now, she wanted to savor this regret and lingering excitement.
.
.
.
"Cough... wheeze..."
"...Are you alright, Ichigo?"
"Do I look alright to you..."
Ichigo looked up, gasping for air.
In front of him stood Haschwalth, looking concerned.
Looking around, he saw the surviving Quincies holding their breath in the shadows.
They were all watching Ichigo with tense expressions.
"Where the hell were you... I couldn't see you from the start, and I could only faintly feel your Reiatsu..."
"...I was carrying out His Majesty's orders. This, too, is part of—"
"Ichigo!!!"
As Ichigo questioned Haschwalth with a mix of scolding and worry, someone lunged forward and grabbed Ichigo by both shoulders.
"You crazy bastard!! You used Letzt Stil there?!"
"Ow, ow, that hurts, hey!"
Ichigo was shaken by Bazzard. His wounds reopened, and blood flowed out, further soaking his Shihakusho.
"Bazz-B. Look at Ichigo's condition."
"Ah... ahem."
Only after Haschwalth intervened did Bazzard notice Ichigo's wounds and let go.
Ichigo chuckled and dusted off his Shihakusho.
Then, realizing he was wearing a Shihakusho and had used Soul Reaper powers, he hesitantly spoke while glancing at Haschwalth, Bazz-B, and the other Quincies.
"Uh, about me using Soul Reaper power, actually..."
"That you're a hybrid with both Quincy and Soul Reaper powers?"
"..! How...?"
Ichigo's eyes widened as Bazz-B asked, shrugging as if he already knew.
Haschwalth explained while looking at Ichigo.
"His Majesty told only us a few days ago. That you might awaken Soul Reaper powers."
"...."
Ichigo lowered his head, quietly mulling over those words.
"His Majesty..."
"........"
"......."
Haschwalth remained silent with his eyes closed, and Bazz-B turned his head away, clicking his tongue.
"...I see."
Ichigo clenched his fists tightly.
In the end, he had achieved nothing.
Despite his name, he couldn't protect the Emperor—his own father.
He looked up and stared blankly at the ceiling. As he muttered something, his body slowly collapsed.
"Hey, Ichigo! Ichigo!! Ichi..."
.
.
.
"Why are you back so soon, Ichigo?"
"Uh.... I don't know?"
"You seem to have been busy."
Zangetsu said with a smirk.
At those words, Ichigo lay flat on the roof of the apartment for a moment, recalling everything that had happened in this war.
He had used Letzt Stil to stop Furofushi when he was on the verge of death.
Afterward, he met Unohana and gained the upper hand, only to lose his spiritual power and face death again.
In that situation, he awakened his Soul Reaper powers and met Zangetsu in his inner world.
With that power, he fought Unohana and grew through the battle.
And at the final moment with Unohana, Haschwalth rescued him.
The reason he used the word 'rescued' was that he believed he would have lost to Unohana in the end.
'She was clearly holding back her strength until the very end. She was only revealing it bit by bit...'
...Perhaps it would have been better to die then.
He couldn't protect what he wanted to protect, and he hadn't even won.
As Ichigo thought self-deprecatingly while staring blankly at the sky, Zangetsu spoke in a low voice.
"So, don't you want to know the 'next part,' Ichigo?"
"...Oh, right."
Ichigo sat up abruptly and looked at Zangetsu.
The prophecy—or whatever it was—that someone identical to him would be born in the future.
"What do you mean? Someone exactly like me will appear?"
"...Listen carefully, Ichigo."
Zangetsu lowered his head and caught his breath for a moment before speaking to Ichigo.
"You were never meant to be born in this era in the first place."
"...What does that even mean? I don't understand anything yet. Speak so I can understand."
As Ichigo replied with a frown, sounding frustrated, the corners of Zangetsu's mouth curled up.
"I tried to explain it in a way that wouldn't shock you too much, but... well, if that's what you want, so be it."
With those words, Zangetsu pointed a finger at Ichigo.
"The name of your 'original' is 'Ichigo Kurosaki.' A boy born in Japan—ordinary, but with the unique spiritual ability to see ghosts."
"Wa-Wait. Original?"
Original?
Did that mean he was a copy?
Ignoring Ichigo's confusion, Zangetsu raised his voice.
"I'll give it to you straight, just as you wished, Ichigo!! That boy is the one who will strike down Yhwach in the future, stop his ambitions, and bring peace to the world!!"
"Wait!!! Stop!!"
It was strange.
It didn't make sense.
Striking down His Majesty and bringing peace?
Did that mean His Majesty was an evil man?
It was wrong. He felt like he shouldn't hear any more of this.
However, Zangetsu did not stop, and eventually, he reached the truth.
"Do you understand!! You were crafted by borrowing a fragment of the soul of that being to be born 1,000 years later, using power collected from tens of thousands of Quincies, the Emperor's blood, and the sacrifice of 'The Almighty's' vision...!!"
Zangetsu's eyes gleamed coldly.
"A 'living shield' for Yhwach, created to protect himself from the future 'Ichigo Kurosaki.' That is what you are, Ichigo!!!"
The world Ichigo believed in collapsed.
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