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"So it's a Shihakushō. Which squad do you belong to?" Renji crouched, Zanpakutō resting against his shoulder as his sharp eyes fixed on Kurosaki Ichigo.
"What?" Ichigo tilted his head, Zangetsu balanced loosely across his shoulder, confusion plain in his tone.
"That sword… what is with that size? Such a massive Zanpakutō," Renji muttered, astonished as his gaze traced the oversized blade.
Ichigo glanced down at his weapon and shrugged with casual indifference. "Really? Is it that big? Compared to Rukia's, sure, it's way larger—but I hadn't thought much of it."
"You idiot! Why did you come here? Leave quickly!" Rukia shouted, desperation and anger warring in her voice. The sight of Ichigo stirred her, but more than anything, she wanted him gone before the fight swallowed him. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel·fıre·net
"Does that need saying? I came here to take you back." Ichigo's lips curved in a confident smirk as he pointed his blade toward the Shinigami. "Rukia, are these the ones who're trying to drag you away? From the way you spoke… you're saying they're strong? Good. Then they're mine."
Renji narrowed his eyes, realization dawning. "So that's it. You're the human who stole her spiritual power." His tone carried contempt as his grip tightened around his blade. He was about to rush forward when a calm voice stopped him.
Renji froze. "Captain Shiraha?" He turned, uncertain, while Byakuya and Rukia also shifted their attention, their gazes quietly questioning Shiraha's intent.
Shiraha stepped forward, his expression calm, his presence steady as the air bent faintly around his spiritual pressure. "Kurosaki Ichigo… do you still remember me?"
Ichigo frowned, studying him. His spiritual pressure was flickering, surging between the strength of a seated officer and a vice-captain, unstable and strange. He knew this man's face, but the memory wouldn't surface. "You are…?"
"It's only been six years. Have you already forgotten your savior?" Shiraha's smile was faint, touched with a quiet reproach.
Ichigo's eyes widened. "Six years ago… you— you're the one who killed that Hollow!"
The memory hit him like a flood. Six years earlier, Grand Fisher had struck, and Ichigo's mother had nearly been devoured. It was this man—this captain before him—who had cut the monster down. If not for Shiraha's blade, Masaki Kurosaki would have been lost. Ichigo had awoken after fainting with fragments of memory, told Isshin and Masaki everything, but his parents had hidden the truth. They had called it a hallucination from shock. Over time, Ichigo convinced himself it had been a dream, until now, when Rukia had given him her power and the truth of that night returned in full.
"Thank you. Truly." Ichigo bowed deeply, gratitude burning in his eyes.
"Brother… what's going on?" Rukia asked, bewildered.
Shiraha looked at her gently. "Rukia, don't forget—I've been stationed in the living world for ten years. Karakura Town falls under my watch. Six years ago, when Kurosaki Masaki was attacked, I struck down the Hollow. That night, I saved her life—and, in a way, his."
His words weren't entirely for explanation. They were deliberate, binding a thread of favor to Ichigo, ensuring the boy remembered who he owed. Ichigo was still weak now, but Shiraha knew better than anyone—the boy's growth would be staggering, impossible to measure by common sense.
"Even if you saved me and my mother," Ichigo said, his voice firm as he raised Zangetsu, "I can't just let you take Rukia away in front of me. Forgive me, but you'll have to go through me."
"Remarkably brave," Shiraha murmured with a flicker of admiration before turning to his lieutenant. "Renji. It's your turn. Show me your growth. Don't hold back—release straight to Shikai."
Renji grinned fiercely, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Yes, Captain Shiraha. You won't be disappointed." His hand slid across the blade as he called out, "Roar—Zabimaru!"
In an instant, his Zanpakutō transformed, the steel unraveling into a segmented blade, six jagged sections snapping out like the body of a serpent.
Renji swung Zabimaru, the segments extending and retracting with whiplash speed. "What's wrong, kid? Is that oversized blade of yours just for show?" he taunted, slamming his weapon again and again against Ichigo's sword.
Sparks flew with every clash. Steel shrieked against steel as Ichigo barely managed to block each strike, his feet skidding back across the pavement under the sheer force.
"Damn it! Who is this guy?" Ichigo thought as he gritted his teeth, struggling to keep Zangetsu from being torn from his grasp.
"Completely suppressed…" Rukia whispered, despair creeping into her voice as she watched Ichigo forced back.
"Brother, if Renji underestimates him, he'll lose," Shiraha remarked lightly at Byakuya's side.
Byakuya's eyes did not waver. "I see no chance of victory for that boy."
Shiraha only smiled. "Don't forget, brother. This boy already repelled a Menos Grande Gillian. His strength isn't only what you see now."
Byakuya glanced at him, a flicker of surprise breaking through his stoicism. "You value him that highly?"
"Let's wait and see," Shiraha said simply, his smile calm.
Zabimaru snapped back, then lashed forward with brutal speed. The blade carved across Ichigo's shoulder, tearing flesh and splattering blood. Zangetsu slipped from his grip, the weight dragging it to the ground.
Blood streamed freely down his arm as Ichigo's knees buckled, his body collapsing to the street.
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