"Isn't this great!! I can't believe the hostage strategy is this effective!!"
Ichigo seemed to be in a very good mood as he continued to move while carrying you as a hostage. After all, almost every Soul Reaper they encountered along the way was so shocked the moment they saw Hanataro that they immediately moved out of the path. Of course, there were those who didn't, but in those cases, Ichigo, Kukaku, or Shiba Mask would simply blow them away. Consequently, their progress was mostly smooth.
"I'm counting on you from here on too, Hanako Yamada!!"
It seemed he still remembered the name incorrectly.
"Um... my name is..."
"But if it works that well... maybe this guy is actually someone important among the Soul Reapers!?"
"Who knows? At least I don't know anyone named Yamada. The name's never even come out of my big brother's mouth."
Kukaku tilted her head at Ichigo's question. That was only natural, of course. After all, what the Soul Reapers actually feared was not Hanataro himself, but the people backing him. However, Kukaku wasn't very well-versed in the internal affairs of the Gotei 13, so no matter how much she thought about it, she wouldn't reach the answer. This feels like a premonition of misunderstandings piling up!
"But he's from Squad 4—so maybe his squad is held in high regard. Hey, you, what's your rank?"
"I'm the 7th Seat... but personally, I think it might be some kind of mistake..."
"7th Seat... that's a bit of a vague spot."
"But being the 7th Seat means he's the seventh strongest from the top, right?"
"No way! I'm not strong at all!!"
As Hanataro rushed to deny it, Kukaku tilted her head again.
"But you're in her squad, right?"
"Well... it's true that people like the 3rd Seat are about as strong as a Lieutenant..."
"What... did you say...!?"
Ichigo was shocked by what Hanataro had just let slip.
"Are you serious!? If they're as strong as a Lieutenant, that means they're as strong as Renji!?"
"Um, who might this Renji be...?"
"I think... Abarai! He said his name was Renji Abarai."
"Abarai—Eeeek!! You mean Lieutenant Abarai!?"
The name 'Renji' alone didn't ring a bell, but hearing the surname finally made Hanataro realize who he was talking about.
"If it's Lieutenant Abarai, they should be roughly as strong as him. I heard they were all in the same class at the Spiritual Arts Academy and still gather to train together sometimes."
"You mean there's a whole bunch of Lieutenant-class people just hanging around...? Squad 4 is terrifying..."
"I didn't know the details either... but if it's her place, I suppose it's possible..."
Lieutenant-class members just hanging around. It wasn't exactly a lie. However, that logic only applied to a very small group—specifically, Soul Reapers like Hinamori or Kira, whom she had trained personally.
Knowing nothing of these complicated circumstances, Ichigo was beginning to believe that Squad 4 was the strongest combat group in existence. After all, he had been utterly defeated by the Captain and then treated by her, and even Urahara, who had trained him, had been vague when speaking about her.
To make matters worse, while Kukaku knew the Captain's true strength, she didn't know the internal details of Squad 4. Therefore, she simply assumed, 'I guess that's how it is.'
In this current space, there was a severe lack of anyone to play the straight man.
"Could it be that Renji is one of the weaker ones among the Lieutenants...?"
"No way!! Lieutenant Abarai is among the top—"
Hanataro cut himself off. After all, just ten years ago—under special circumstances—a former Captain had become a Lieutenant. On paper, that person was treated as a Lieutenant, and Hanataro reconsidered that in the framework of Lieutenants, that person was likely the strongest. Additionally, he often heard that the Lieutenant of Squad 13 was quite powerful, and above all, they were a member of the Shiba family, the former Great Noble House. Even the Lieutenant of Squad 1 has had their evaluation revised in recent years to 'unobtrusive but actually quite powerful,' though the catalyst for that was a tea party.
"No, among the Lieutenants, he's probably about the fourth strongest... I think..."
"What!?"
Thus, he placed those three at the top and judged that Renji might fit in just after them. Renji would probably cry if he knew.
"Even being that strong, he's only fourth... and there are more people just as strong as that guy...? This is bad, I need to focus..."
Complacency vanished from Ichigo's face. After obtaining his Zanpakuto and training for ten days, he had easily defeated the gatekeeper Jidanbo and other Soul Reapers in the Seireitei, which had made him a bit overconfident.
Misunderstanding had piled upon misunderstanding, but considering the result turned out for the better, it was all for the best.
"Found you! So this is where you were!!"
"Who's there!?"
A single Soul Reaper appeared before Ichigo.
"Aaaaah!! L-L-L-Lieutenant Shiba...!!"
"Is he an acquaintance?"
"He's the one I just mentioned... the person I think is the second strongest among them..."
"What!?"
It seemed the moment to use his newly renewed resolve had arrived immediately. Good for you, Ichigo.
"One, two, three... hm!?"
Kaien had come here alone to clean up his sister's mess after being informed by Miyako about Kukaku. As he counted the people present, his hand suddenly stopped.
"You over there, I've seen you somewhere before...? If I recall, you're... Hanataro Yamada? From Squad 4?"
"Y-Yes! That's right!! I'm Hanataro!! From Squad 4! I'm Hanataro Yamada!!"
Hanataro made a desperate appeal. He had missed every opportunity to explain himself until now, so he was giving it his all.
"Hanataro!? It wasn't Hanako!!"
"What... did you say...!?"
Naturally, for the two who hadn't even suspected they had the name wrong, this was a total bolt from the blue. But even so, there was no need to be that surprised, right? He is a boy, after all. The name 'Hanako' would be strange, wouldn't it?
"Well, Hanako or Hanataro, it doesn't matter. Since you're there, does that mean you've sided with these guys?"
"Eh... N-n-n-no!! I, well, I was taken hostage..."
"A hostage!? Hey, Kukaku, what are you doing...?"
"I—N-no, I'm not Kukaku Shiba! I'm the Shibarian Husky Mask!!"
"Hey, now... that sounds like a breed of dog..."
The sudden appearance of her older brother was completely unexpected. Confronted with a situation that had turned sour instantly, the younger sister seemed completely shaken. Still, the fact that she changed her first-person pronoun from 'ore' to 'watashi' was quite impressive.
"Anyway, we need to talk. Stay right there and be quiet. Don't run away."
The words were heavy with the intimidation that only an older brother scolding his sister could produce, and Kukaku nodded silently and repeatedly.
"Now then, as for you... I see. It's just as Airi told me. You look just like him. It's creepy..."
"So you're the Kaien I've heard so much about..."
Ichigo and Kaien. To anyone who didn't know better, they looked so similar they could be mistaken for twins. Finally, they had their miraculous encounter. Normally, they could have laughed and talked as relatives, but right now, there wasn't a hint of that atmosphere.
"Well, I've got plenty of things I want to say and ask... but for now, you're intruders in the Seireitei. Don't think you're getting away."
"I'm not running. It looks like I can't move forward unless I beat you anyway. And besides—"
Ichigo Kurosaki and Kaien Shiba both leveled their Zanpakuto.
"And besides what?"
"If I can't even beat a Lieutenant, I'm finished here anyway! Here I come!!"
Ichigo was the first to move. Swinging his massive Zanpakuto with ease, he launched an attack on Kaien with fluid movements.
"Heh, a constant-release type? I'm seeing that for the first time."
However, Kaien avoided the attacks with plenty of room to spare. He didn't even block, choosing to dodge with body movements alone, and didn't counterattack. He seemed focused entirely on observation.
"Damn!! Why!? I can't even graze him!?"
"Even without proper education or a master, you can do this? 3rd and 4th Seats would cry... no, did Kuchiki act as his mentor? If she trained him, I guess this much makes sense..."
"What are you muttering about!!"
As Kaien continued to observe his movements and Spiritual Pressure, Ichigo's frustration boiled over. He unleashed a strike fueled by anger, but Kaien caught it without any effort.
"Ah, my bad, my bad. I just got a little curious... You're right, this isn't something to do in the middle of a fight."
"...!!"
All he did was switch his mindset from observation to combat. But that alone made the Spiritual Pressure radiating from Kaien feel suddenly heavy and terrifying, causing Ichigo to reflexively create distance.
"Be as the diamond, become as the diamond—!"
As Kaien called out the name of his Zanpakuto, the blade in his hand instantly changed shape.
"A spear!!"
"It's called Kongo!"
Kongo was once the Zanpakuto used by his wife, Miyako. As a husband, he couldn't quite forgive it being mistaken for a spear. While issuing the correction, he swung the naginata to begin his counterattack.
"Take this!!"
"Ugh...!"
The scene was the exact opposite of before. Kaien continued his assault while Ichigo desperately defended. No matter how hard he tried to counter, he couldn't find an opening. The change in weapon from a sword to a naginata altered the reach, and Ichigo struggled to find a way to attack in a fight that felt entirely different from what he was used to. He failed to block the naginata's blade several times, and wounds began to carve themselves into various parts of his body. However, Ichigo's fighting spirit didn't waver in the slightest.
"But if it's a spear, once I get inside your reach!!"
"Too naive!!"
"Guh... aaah!?"
He tried to take advantage of the naginata's reach to force a close-quarters fight, but his opponent was well aware of that. Just as he thought he had managed to close the distance by weaving through the gaps in the attacks, Ichigo took a heavy blow to his abdomen and was sent flying.
"Wh-what was...!?"
"You couldn't tell when you got hit? You approached me completely defenseless, so I just knocked you back with the pommel."
"Wh...!!"
Ichigo found it hard to believe those words. Setting aside the power of the blow from the pommel, that wasn't what had surprised him.
'Completely defenseless...!?'
He had been trying his hardest to get close, yet to his opponent, it looked like nothing more than a defenseless approach. That alone made it clear how vast the gap was between Ichigo and Kaien. Furthermore, there was the added shock that he hadn't seen the move at all, even though Kaien had swung a long naginata to hit him with the pommel.
'You've got to be kidding... and he's a Lieutenant, just like Renji...'
"...Ugh!!"
He might lose here without being able to do anything. Ichigo grit his teeth and desperately held back the weak words that were about to spill from his mouth.
"Just because I couldn't see it, just because of that, I can't afford to lose!!"
He let out a roar to bolster himself as his knees almost hit the ground.
"Uoooohhhhh!!"
"Heh, I'll at least admire your guts."
He struck out with all his might, putting everything into the blow. To Kaien, the movement was amateurish and easy to deal with, but Kaien didn't move; instead, he raised a single arm. It seemed he had chosen to block the attack head-on with just his arm.
"Take thiiiiiiiiis!!!!"
And there—aimed right at Kaien's arm—Zangetsu swung down.
"Big brother!!"
Watching from a distance, Kukaku couldn't help but scream. Perhaps because he was cornered, Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure was much higher than at the start of the fight, and the strike was packed with so much power it didn't seem possible to block it defenselessly. It was a blow that seemed destined to sever the arm and bite deep into the body.
"What...!?"
But in the next moment, the sensation transmitted to Ichigo's hands was entirely different from what he had imagined—it felt as if he had struck a diamond. The blade of Zangetsu, which he trusted so much, couldn't even cut through a single layer of Kaien's skin.
"Hah!!"
"Gah...!!"
While Ichigo was frozen in shock, Kaien punched him away with his bare hand.
'Damn it... is this the end...!!'
Having taken a powerful hit while defenseless, Ichigo's consciousness began to sink into darkness. The last thing he saw was the face of the man who looked so much like him—yet was so much stronger.
"Good grief, that was some impressive power. It would've been dangerous without Kongo's ability."
After confirming that Ichigo was completely unconscious, Kaien muttered to himself.
The ability of the Zanpakuto Kongo is compression. By compressing Spiritual Pressure, he hardened it and managed to block the strike.
That wasn't all. Ichigo hadn't noticed at all, but if one looked closely at his wounds, they would see that he wasn't bleeding at all. This was another one of Kongo's abilities: he had stopped the bleeding by coagulating the wounds.
"Now then, what should I do with this guy...?"
As Kukaku and Hanataro watched with worried expressions, Kaien muttered those words.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]