Gin told Shin everything he had learned. Of course, Shin already knew this information. However, this confirmed that Gin was genuinely cooperating.
...
Time returned to the morning.
Ichigo and Yamada were making their way to the Palace of Repentance at the summit when they suddenly sensed a terrifying Reiatsu.
Ichigo was fine, but Yamada was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer power and collapsed.
Ichigo could only carry Yamada away from the center of the Reiatsu, and Yamada handed over the key to the Palace of Repentance that he had stolen.
He absolutely could not retreat. No matter who the person ahead was, he had to defeat them.
The newcomer had a fierce look, scars on his face, an eye patch over his right eye, and wore a white Captain's haori.
Captain of the Eleventh Division!
Kenpachi Zaraki!
"You're Kurosaki Ichigo? I originally wanted to fight that Nohara guy, but I couldn't find him anywhere."
Zaraki revealed a slightly ferocious smile. "Ikkaku told me you were his disciple, and that you're strong too."
"Come, let's fight."
Ichigo gripped Zangetsu tightly with both hands, his Reiatsu continuously rising.
—
Shin sensed Ichigo's Reiatsu immediately. By the time he arrived, Ichigo and Zaraki were confronting each other.
He looked toward Yachiru, who was lying on the rooftop watching the battle, and walked over.
Yachiru noticed him too. "Who are you?"
Shin smiled gently. "My name is Nohara Shin, and I suppose I'm the teacher of that orange-haired guy down there."
"Ah! So it's you. Ken-chan and I have been looking for you."
Yachiru pointed to her cheeks with both index fingers and smiled sweetly. "Oh, right, my name is Kusajishi Yachiru. Nice to meet you."
Looking at the adorable pink-haired loli, Shin felt like he was being completely melted by her cuteness.
Yachiru's intuition told her that the person in front of her was not an enemy.
"Shin-chan, are you here to help Ichi-chan? You can't do that. Ken-chan is really looking forward to this fight." Yachiru said, looking down at Zaraki.
Shin shook his head. "I'm just here to watch. I won't interfere with Kurosaki's fight."
"Then Shin-chan, come with me."
Saying this, Yachiru pulled Shin down to lie on the rooftop with her.
...
"I'll let you take one swing first."
Zaraki pulled open the front of his Shinigami robes.
"What? Are you kidding me? How could I possibly slash someone who isn't defending themselves?"
Ichigo was much calmer now, even when facing a powerful enemy. Although Zaraki's Reiatsu was high, the pressure he felt was not as strong as the one Shin exerted.
Seeing that he wasn't making a move, Zaraki said, "If you won't cut me, then let's just start."
Having said that, he drew his Zanpakuto, which had a jagged, saw-like blade.
In the next moment, the two clashed.
Zaraki, wielding his sword with one hand, forced the two-handed Ichigo back.
Zaraki was fast, but the bells in his hair undoubtedly gave away his location. Because of this, Ichigo was always able to defend and counterattack in time. He seized an opportunity and slashed at Zaraki.
Zaraki didn't dodge at all, taking the blow to his chest, causing blood to stream out.
But Zaraki burst out laughing. "Yes! That's it! Keep coming!"
"Ken-chan looks really happy." Yachiru exclaimed joyfully.
'Zaraki is just a battle maniac.' Shin muttered internally.
Zaraki, like Ichigo, was a cheater, growing stronger the more he was cut. Soon, he was covered in cuts, yet he laughed wildly and excitedly.
Facing this crazy opponent, Ichigo felt a shiver of fear. This was the first time he had ever encountered someone so recklessly disregardful of their own life.
Getsuga Tensho!
Not wanting to get entangled with Zaraki any further, he immediately unleashed his strongest attack.
Watching the pale blue attack rush towards him, Zaraki became even more excited. He could feel the power behind that strike.
"Excellent! Was this the attack that defeated Ikkaku?"
He then erupted with golden Reiatsu, blocking the Getsuga Tensho with his Zanpakuto and altering its trajectory.
The nearby building immediately collapsed.
"That's a decent amount of power. But it's still lacking."
Ichigo was momentarily stunned when he saw Zaraki block the Getsuga Tensho.
Zaraki seized the opening and stabbed his Zanpakuto at Ichigo. Ichigo tried to block horizontally, but felt a sharp pain in his chest—Zaraki's sword had pierced right through Zangetsu.
"Your Reiatsu faltered."
Saying this, Zaraki pulled out his Zanpakuto.
Crack!
Zangetsu snapped in response.
Shin looked at the Zangetsu that had broken again. "Now it really has turned into a kitchen knife."
Ichigo fell to the ground, unable to move, bleeding profusely.
Seeing this, Zaraki turned and prepared to leave.
"Shin-chan, aren't you going to save Ichi-chan? He looks like he's dying." Yachiru looked at Shin.
"It's fine, he won't die. Besides... the fight isn't over yet."
Shin knew Ichigo was about to unleash his true power.
"Oh..." Yachiru nodded, looking bewildered.
Inside his inner world.
Ichigo saw Zangetsu again. Zangetsu handed him a generic Asauchi and tossed Zangetsu away.
As Ichigo was about to catch it, he saw a figure in white catch Zangetsu instead. Staring at the face that was identical to his own, Ichigo was stunned.
"Who... who are you?"
"No need to ask who I am, right? Partner."
Zangetsu then said, "Ichigo, if you want to wield me again, you must defeat him—which is yourself."
The Zangetsu in White Ichigo's hand emitted powerful Reiatsu, as if it were burning the air itself. For the first time, Ichigo realized that Zangetsu was such a powerful sword.
"You only focus on getting stronger yourself. Have you ever paid proper attention to your Zanpakuto?"
"Or do you think your Getsuga Tensho is strong enough?"
As White Ichigo spoke, he unleashed a Getsuga Tensho that sliced through several buildings.
'So strong! Is this move called Getsuga Tensho? It's so much stronger than mine.' Ichigo thought.
"To have such a powerful sword and still be beaten into that state, it's truly incomprehensible."
White Ichigo continuously unleashed Getsuga Tenshos, forcing Ichigo to dodge repeatedly, leaving him in a sorry state.
Ichigo gradually realized that in the past, he had focused only on training himself to become stronger, forgetting that his Zanpakuto was also a part of his own power.
He called out Zangetsu's name, pleading for Zangetsu to fight alongside him.
The Asauchi in Ichigo's hand transformed into Zangetsu, and he unleashed a Getsuga Tensho stronger than any before, slicing the building behind White Ichigo.
—
Ichigo stood up again, Zangetsu was restored to its original state, and his wounds stopped bleeding.
He slashed at Zaraki with a speed faster than before and another wound appeared on Kenpachi's chest.
The situation was instantly reversed, and he began to suppress Zaraki.
Zaraki stopped holding back, ripping off the eye patch over his right eye and unleashing a Reiatsu several times greater than before.
It turned out that his eye patch had been custom-made by the SRDI specifically to absorb his Reiatsu.
Both sides were preparing their strongest strike.
The Reiatsu emanating from Zaraki's body formed a massive golden skull.
The two collided, and the shockwave from the battle destroyed all the surrounding buildings.
When the dust settled, Zangetsu was seen deeply embedded in Zaraki's chest, while Zaraki's Zanpakuto was plunged into Ichigo's body.
Both of them collapsed.
Shin and Yachiru approached the two fighters.
Looking at the surrounding devastation, he sighed, "You two really are masters of demolition."
"Ichi-chan, thank you. Ken-chan hasn't had such a fun fight in a long time." Yachiru thanked Ichigo.
"Yachiru, take him to get healed. I'll take Kurosaki now too."
"Okay. Bye-bye, Shin-chan."
"Goodbye."