Fate In Bleach (278)

Chapter 278 - Exposure

"Ichigo!"

Shino Madarame cried out as she watched Ichigo Kurosaki nearly crushed beneath the Gillian’s foot. She tried to run towards him, but a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she collapsed.

“Miss Madarame, it’s not your time to intervene yet. Please wait a moment.”

Kisuke Urahara’s voice echoed in Shino’s ear, which gave her relief. Previously, she had only known him as a peddler, traveling between the Soul Society and the World of the Living. However, after her brother, Ikkaku Madarame, and Yumichika Ayasegawa visited the World of the Living, she learned Urahara’s true identity from Ikkaku.

This man, with his sandals and bucket hat, was the former captain of the Twelfth Division!

A Gillian was an insurmountable opponent for her and Ichigo, but against a captain-level Shinigami, it was hardly a threat. After all, if captains couldn’t even handle a Gillian, they wouldn't be the Seireitei’s “highest fighting force.”

Only a Vasto Lorde class Hollow could truly rival a captain.

Therefore, Shino cried out, “Captain Urahara, please save Ichigo! That’s a Gillian! He’ll be killed!”

"Relax, Miss Madarame. You need to trust Ichigo. He wouldn't charge in there without the resolve to die. Your actions are insulting his courage. But rest assured, if Ichigo truly faces danger, I will intervene.”

A powerful gust of wind swept through Karakura Town, stirred by the clash of spiritual pressure. Urahara adjusted his hat. If anything were to happen, he would instantly eliminate the Gillian and save Ichigo.

Isshin Kurosaki might accept his son being injured, but if Ichigo died right before his eyes, Urahara knew he would never forgive him.

While Isshin’s strength, in Urahara’s estimation, posed no real threat to him - after all, he had killed Isshin’s Mod Soul decades ago without even using Bankai - Urahara didn’t want to risk provoking him.

“Haaaaaaa!”

Despite being nearly crushed beneath the Gillian’s massive foot, Ichigo desperately held it aloft, preventing it from fully entering their world. While half its body had already emerged, with Ichigo blocking its leg, the Gillian was stuck, unable to gain a foothold.

However, its immense size granted it strength far exceeding that of smaller Hollows. Under the strain, the ground beneath Ichigo's feet crumbled, cracks spiderwebbed outwards.

“Haaaaaaa!”

Facing this life-or-death crisis, Ichigo felt a surge of power erupt from deep within his soul. His spiritual pressure exploded and began bathing his body in a white aura. He channeled that surging energy into a powerful slash that rushed upwards and cleaved through the Gillian’s leg.

“Roar!”

The Gillian let out an ear-splitting shriek as Ichigo’s attack sent it reeling back fully into the black void.

“This… This is Ichigo?”

Shino stared in disbelief. How was this possible? Ichigo’s spiritual power was derived from her. Her strength should have been his limit. But Ichigo’s spiritual pressure had far surpassed hers.

She felt that Ichigo’s spiritual pressure was even greater than hers when she had been a low-ranking seated officer, before releasing her Zanpakutō.

"Yes, this is Ichigo."

Urahara, seemingly responding to her unspoken question, confirmed her suspicions. However, Ichigo’s spiritual pressure wasn’t from Shino. In that moment of crisis, using Shino’s spiritual power as a key, he had unlocked a portion of his true strength.

Even Urahara was surprised. That Ichigo could unleash such power, comparable to a high-ranking seated officer, with only a sliver of his potential unlocked, what heights could he reach once his true strength was fully awakened?

Urahara added several new paths to his plan for Ichigo.

But for now…

While Ichigo had successfully repelled the Gillian, his inexperience as a Shinigami meant he couldn’t control the surge of power that had erupted from within him. His spiritual pressure continued to rise, exceeding his ability to contain it.

If it continued unchecked, he would explode for he would be unable to withstand the strain.

Just as Urahara was about to intervene, Uryu Ishida, the one who had initiated this competition, approached Ichigo. Ignoring Ichigo’s protests, he stepped on Ichigo’s chest, using his Quincy powers to absorb Ichigo’s overflowing spiritual energy. He channeled that energy into his bow, transforming it into arrows that he shot skyward.

…

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

An alarm blared from a monitor within the Twelfth Division barracks, drawing the attention of a nearby Shinigami. He approached the monitor and tapped a few keys on the keyboard, transforming the streams of data into a visual image.

The image displayed a Gillian, half its body having emerged from a Garganta, entering the World of the Living.

“Damn! A Gillian is invading the World of the Living!”

The Shinigami immediately tried to pinpoint the location and identify the stationed Shinigami. He needed to alert the rescue squad. His fingers flew across the keyboard.

“Karakura Town? So it’s a Heavy Spiritual Ground, no wonder a Gillian appeared.”

“Let’s see who’s stationed there…”

“Twentieth Seat Shino Madarame of the Thirteenth Division?”

Seeing the name, he hesitated. The Fifth Division was the rescue squad. When other divisions encountered danger during missions, they would contact the Fifth Division for assistance.

But this Shino Madarame wasn’t an ordinary Shinigami. Her brother was Ikkaku Madarame, the Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division, rumored to have achieved Bankai.

If they sent the Fifth Division to handle this Gillian, and they failed to save Shino Madarame, he would be held accountable by Ikkaku Madarame.

Thinking of this, he decided to send the rescue request to the Eleventh Division instead.

But then, to his surprise, he witnessed the Gillian being repelled back into the Garganta by a slash from below.

“Is this Madarame that strong?”

No one knew Hollow strength better than the Twelfth Division. After all, several of their captains had been experts in soul research. Both Shinigami and Hollows had been their subjects.

Typically, only high-ranking seated officers could defeat a Gillian. It seemed this Twentieth Seat Madarame wasn't as simple as he had assumed.

But then, his expression shifted. Adjusting the monitor's zoom, he saw that the one who had repelled the Gillian wasn’t Shino Madarame, but an orange-haired teenager.

What was going on?

Wasn’t the stationed Shinigami in Karakura Town Twentieth Seat Madarame?

“Click, click, click…”

His fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up images of Kisuke Urahara and Shino Madarame.

“There!”

“No, wait…”

He zoomed in on Shino Madarame’s face, and lines of data appeared on the screen. Reading the data, cold sweat dripped from his brow.

“Oh my god!”

He knocked his chair over as he scrambled to his feet, fear twisting his features. Ignoring the fallen chair, he ran through the barracks, yelling, “Captain Kurotsuchi!”

…

“Clank, clank, clank, clank…”

Half an hour later, the sound of a wooden mallet striking a wooden board echoed through the Seireitei.

It was the captain summons!

After years of silence, a captain’s meeting was being held.

“Troubled times are upon us,” Shunsui Kyoraku murmured.

As the captain of the Eighth Division, responsible for intelligence gathering, he was one of the few who truly understood the current situation. With the Quincy’s prophesied return approaching, an uneasy calm had settled upon the Seireitei.