Chapter 75

The nine afterimages slowly faded away, and the corner of Kuchiki Senya's mouth curved upward slightly.

Three Thousand Shadow Phantoms.

After using Flash Step, he could expend spiritual power to leave an afterimage in place.

Now, he could split into nine afterimages.

Each one possessed the ability to strike once!

The afterimages were immune to any attack, immune to any control, and could not be destroyed.

To others, the afterimage clones looked exactly like him, making it nearly impossible to tell real from fake — perfect for confusing opponents.

They could also be used in combination with "Thousand-Armed God-Slaying Strike."

Six arms per afterimage, nine afterimages — he could unleash fifty-four Kidō simultaneously!

A true humanoid Kidō battery!

However.

The drain on spiritual power was enormously excessive; it could not be used for long.

Moreover.

There was another option — gathering all the afterimages into his own body to unleash power nine times greater than his own!

One could say.

Three Thousand Shadow Phantoms was no longer confined to Flash Step's body movement, but had become an overwhelmingly powerful ability for both misdirection and offense!

Not bad.

Kuchiki Senya nodded in satisfaction, casually took a sip of fine wine, and lay comfortably on a huge, soft sofa.

He rang the bell beside him.

Immediately.

Feizhen and the other maids walked in, their eyes filled with reverence toward Kuchiki Senya.

"Continue the music."

Listening to the maids' lilting songs, Kuchiki Senya narrowed his eyes comfortably, and at the same time looked down from the towering Gao Song pavilion.

The Soul Society, the Shinigami who had laid a tight net, and those lurking in the shadows — all came into view.

The Ryoka, naturally, could not escape his eyes either.

……

In the Soul Society.

Unlike the original story.

This time, Kurosaki Ichigo was not accompanied by Shiba Kukaku, but walked alone through the Soul Society's netted streets.

He had defeated the bald-headed Shinigami Madarame Ikkaku, and Ayasegawa Yumichika, who kept muttering things like "How beautiful."

Although.

His body was covered in wounds and bloodstains, compared to before, his aura had grown even stronger.

Fighting alone.

Had pushed his potential to the absolute limit!

"Rukia, Ishida, Inoue — I will definitely rescue you!" Kurosaki Ichigo shouldered his massive Zanpakutō, his expression utterly resolute.

"Kuchiki Senya, Unohana Retsu — I will defeat you both!"

"Oh?"

A man wearing a pitch-black eyepatch with a fierce face suddenly appeared, with a pink-haired, cute-looking child behind him.

"You — are you the strongest of the Ryoka?"

Kenpachi Zaraki's mouth split into a grin, a beast-like fighting spirit shining in his eyes, and his Zanpakutō was covered in dense, jagged nicks.

"You want to defeat Kuchiki Senya?"

"You've got guts!"

"Let me see if your arrogance matches your strength!"

……

At the same time.

Chad — tall, muscular, and dark-skinned — also faced his own opponent.

A hunched old man leaning on a cane, eyes slightly closed at the moment, sat before the only passage leading to Rukia's prison.

An X-shaped scar marked his bald head — a wound left from his youth.

The Ryoka's objective.

Was to rescue Rukia.

Due to the butterfly effect of Kuchiki Senya.

After Aizen's death, the Gotei 13 had gotten serious! Even the Captain-Commander had not remained at headquarters.

Instead, he had come here personally to hold the position alone!

"Could you please step aside? I don't want to raise my hand against an elder."

Chad's face was deadly serious.

……

At this moment.

Kuchiki Senya's eyes narrowed slightly, a curious smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

In the Soul Society.

Two battlefields were clearly visible.

GLOSSARY:

Kuchiki Senya, Three Thousand Shadow Phantoms, Flash Step, Thousand-Armed God-Slaying Strike, Kidō, Feizhen, Gao Song, Soul Society, Ryoka, Kurosaki Ichigo, Shiba Kukaku, Madarame Ikkaku, Ayasegawa Yumichika, Rukia, Unohana Retsu, Kenpachi Zaraki, Zanpakutō, Chad, Aizen, Gotei 13, Captain-Commander

A black-haired Kurosaki Ichigo with a shock of yellow hair, along with the burly, dark-skinned Chad (Sado Yasutora) came into view.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

The protagonist of the original work, and the first male lead.

A shock of yellow hair, clad in black Shihakushō, carrying an enormous Zanpakutō on his back.

In the Bleach World, the more bloodlines one possesses within one's body, the stronger one becomes.

And Kurosaki Ichigo, who wields the powers of four bloodlines — Quincy, Shinigami, Hollow, and Human — has pushed "hybrid vigor" to its absolute extreme, possessing astonishing potential!

The more he fights, the stronger he gets, and every now and then he can even unleash a sudden burst of power.

In the original work, an absolute cheat character.

In thirteen days, he grew to captain-level combat power.

In just a few months, he went from trash to one of the strongest fighters in all three realms!

In his "Mugetsu" form, he defeated Aizen.

And with the help of his companions, he ultimately defeated the leader of the Wandenreich, Yhwach…

As for personality.

He consistently inherited the hot-blooded anime's kindness and sense of justice.

However, he's simple-minded, prone to acting on impulse, and loves to show off.

Lacking in strategy.

Only when enemies come knocking at his door and he suffers painful losses can he truly grow.

After all.

If his companions aren't hurt, aren't tormented, aren't captured — how can a hot-blooded protagonist have his power burst?

If it weren't for his ability to power up, Kurosaki Ichigo's personality…

Would probably never have lasted long enough to face Aizen, and would have died under Bai Zai's blade on the road to rescuing Rukia…

Right now, Kurosaki Ichigo's strength is still a hair's breadth away from captain-level, so facing an opponent like Kenpachi Zaraki is entirely reasonable.

The current Kenpachi.

Only knows how to hack with brute force; he doesn't yet possess the overwhelming power of one of the five special-class combatants from the late stage of the plot.

……

Another person.

Chad (Sado Yasutora).

Taciturn and tight-lipped, he's the most inconspicuous member of the protagonist group.

He carries the bloodline of a Metastigo.

He possesses the "Right Arm of the Giant" and the "Left Arm of the Devil."