10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven
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"Relax, my injury has healed."
Retsu stared at Ichigo in fascination at his assuring words. His regeneration rate was unbelievable. However, she was not that surprised. Hollows possessed a high regeneration rate and as someone who possessed the power of Hollow, Ichigo would naturally have the ability as well. Of course, only Retsu could accept what happened easily.
"What was that power?" Renji couldn't help but ask. "You felt exactly like them. I even doubted I was looking at you when I arrived here."
"Don't lump me with them, Renji," Ichigo scoffed with a frown. "They are synthetic, the products of the Hōgyoku. They are way beneath me who was born with it."
"What do you mean you are born with it?"
"Is that Renji my friend or Abarai Renji the Lieutenant of the Sixth Division asking?"
Renji gaped as he stared at Ichigo. The cold look in Ichigo's eyes told him if he said something wrong, their friendship would end there. He wasn't wrong. Eventually, he came to a decision. His friendship with Ichigo was more important than his curiosity. He shook his head and apologized for being pushy.
"Soul Society is a place without a backbone. They change their regulations and opinions easily. They have made decisions that leave thousands of people bearing grudges against them. We don't know how Soul Society reacts to my heritage. I would like to keep things civil between us, Renji, no matter how much I trust you."
"I get it. Sorry for sounding judgmental… I was just surprised."
Another presence joined them, appearing right in front of Ichigo.
"Ichigo, are you all right?"
"Healthy as always. How was your fight, Rukia?"
"I managed."
"Good job."
Ichigo patted Rukia's head, causing her to swat his hand and chastise him for treating her like a child. Ichigo smiled lightly at that before telling everyone to regroup at the school. They quickly went to school with Shunpō. They had a lot to talk about, but they mostly wondered how Ichigo had fared against Grimmjow. They wanted to know how strong he was.
Upon reaching the rooftop of the school, they were greeted by Orihime who had just finished treating Ikkaku. The bald Shinigami looked worse for wear. Yumichika was also covered in dust which was a rare scene to see.
"You are done badly, aren't you, Tōshirō?" Ichigo remarked.
"I was," Tōshirō accepted solemnly. "How did you fare against the Sexta Espada? Grimmjow Jaegerjacques, is it?"
"Oh, that guy? He was decent… and lucky."
Ichigo hummed to himself, earning a confused look from Tōshirō. Ignoring the look, he recalled the last blow he had received from Grimmjow. Granted, he had been caught off guard, so he couldn't activate his Blut Vene. However, he couldn't believe Grimmjow could pierce his Hierro. He had genuinely praised Grimmjow when he called him a rat who bit like a tiger.
"What do you mean he was decent?" Tōshirō asked.
"Ichigo-kun defeated the Sexta Espada and almost killed him when another Espada interrupted him and then ran away with the Sexta Espada," Retsu explained before Ichigo could open his mouth.
"By decent, how strong was he?" he asked in anticipation.
"Combine his Fracción and multiply their power by five. Around that much, I guess," Ichigo gave his rough estimate.
A bitter smile crossed Tōshirō's face. One Arrancar was already enough to injure him that badly. He had even been helped by his Lieutenant. Kurosaki Ichigo had been a human two months ago and he hadn't received his Bankai yet. Despite that, he had managed to defeat an Espada without a scratch. Tōshirō was not stupid enough to think it was a fluke.
He was embarrassed by his ability. He had always been regarded as a genius by the Gotei 13 for his achievement. He was used to being better than anyone else. He had never felt as incompetent as he did at this moment. Kurosaki Ichigo, just like Aizen Sōsuke, reminded him that he was just slightly better.
Rangiku noticed her captain's distress, so she put her hand on his shoulder assuringly. She had never seen him so distraught before. Her captain was a confident individual. He had always been the best at everything. Her heart twisted seeing her captain look so defeated.
"We have two options right now," Ichigo stated, earning everyone's attention. "We can either continue attending the class like nothing happened or go to Kisuke and explain what happened."
"I think it is best to consult him since Soul Society is also working with him on this matter," Retsu suggested.
"Agreed. We need to figure out our opponent as much as we can," Tōshirō agreed.
Ichigo and the captains turned to the rest of the Shinigami who didn't voice their opinion. Ikkaku shrugged non-committally, Yumichika waved his hand gracefully, and Renji nodded silently. Decision made, they returned to the class and entered their Gigai or body in Ichigo's case.
Ichigo and the Shinigami who were in the same class with him stood up from their seat the moment Orihime and Chad entered the classroom. Following their example, they packed up and then excused themselves to the teacher. Ikkaku and Yumichika also did the same thing in another classroom. The teacher didn't even dare to stop them.
Retsu happened to be in the teacher's office, so she didn't have to end her lecture briefly. She stood up from her seat, told the staff she was not feeling well, and then left the school with Ichigo and his friends. Compared to the rest of the group, she handled the situation in the least eye-catching way.
A couple of minutes later, they found themselves before the Urahara Shop. As if expecting their visit, Kisuke promptly came out of his shop the moment they arrived and told them to get in. His shop was packed, but his living room still managed to accommodate them. Without wasting any time, everyone recounted their encounter with Grimmjow's Fracción.
Kisuke listened carefully to their recount and took notes of the notable key points. It was quite worrisome that the Shinigami were pressed this much by the Arrancar. Aizen hadn't even used a perfect Hōgyoku to create them. The prowess of the Hōgyoku sent him to a somber realization that things would have gone awry had Ichigo failed to secure his Hōgyoku.
"Well, why do you not tell us your story, Ichigo-kun?" Kisuke inquired curiously. "Out of everyone, apart from Captain Unohana, you have the least bothered face. Something is telling me you did well against your opponent, the Sexta Espada, wasn't it?"
"Grimmjow was a tough opponent. He would have drawn quite a lot of blood if I hadn't used my Hollo power," Ichigo said, startling those who heard it for the first time. "However, I still can defeat him 100 times out of 100 fights only using my Shikai. And if I already master my Shikai, one Getsuga Jūjishō will obliterate him even if he is in Resurrección."
"Are you saying that you haven't used your Shikai to its potential, Ichigo?" Tōshirō asked, mildly flabbergasted.
"I have quite a unique heritage. There are a lot of things to do to master my power."
Tōshirō wisely didn't ask for further details. Ichigo wouldn't have been so cryptic if he had wanted to tell them about it. The conversation resumed and everyone listened as Ichigo described what Grimmjow was capable of. Unlike what they did, he barely told them what he had done. However, they could still somehow gauge the extent of his power based on how much damage he had dealt to Grimmjow.
"Given your current power, how far can you fight against the Espada?" Kisuke inquired contemplatively.
"Is it going to be a consecutive battle or are you just asking about my limit?"
"Why don't you tell us both?" Retsu suggested.
Ichigo hummed contemplatively before answering, "I am not quite sure about the power gap between the Espada, but assuming that each Espada is three times stronger than the one ranked right below them, my limit will be the Tres Espada. If I am going to fight them consecutively, using everything I have at my disposal, I can go up to the Quatra Espada."
"Ho-ho-ho…"
Kisuke fanned himself as if he were trying to cool down his burning excitement. His scientist intuition was telling him that Ichigo could already go up against the Primera Espada. After all, assuming that each Espada was three times stronger than the one ranked right below them was an exaggeration.
If that was truly the case, the Primera Espada would be as strong as Yamamoto. At that point, the Arrancar might as well overthrow Aizen. As strong as Aizen was, he was not as strong as Yamamoto. If he had been as strong, he wouldn't have run to Hueco Mundo. He would have faced Yamamoto head-on and achieved his goal of creating Ōken.
As absurd as it was, something was telling him Ichigo already knew the power level of every Espada. Ichigo was an extremely protective individual. Given his calmness, even after fighting such a fearsome opponent as Grimmjow, he was confident in his victory. Ichigo had never been bothered by the Arrancar.
"Anyway, Kisuke, about my request…"
"Ah, yes. I have found a way to open the Garganta to Hueco Mundo."
Retsu's eyes narrowed. "What are you planning, Urahara-san?"
"Well…"
"I am going to Hueco Mundo," Ichigo explained in Kisuke's stead, shocking Retsu. "I can already open a Garganta on my own, so I don't need Kisuke's help, but you will need it."
"Are you genuinely planning to go alone?" Rukia asked in disbelief.
"I can no longer train without endangering the humans, Rukia. Hueco Mundo is the only place for me to keep growing," Ichigo explained. "As of the moment, it's wiser to let me go alone."
You are too weak to follow me.
The message was clear for everyone to hear.