Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 72 - Peak Entrance Right from the Start (Not Really)

"Honestly, I get it." Ichigo said it slowly, both hands closing around his blades. "You're guardians of the Three Realms' order. Keeping tabs on someone with this much power—that's not unreasonable."

"Even if we're on the same side right now, time passes. People change. For better or worse... So when I first accepted this Captain's Haori, I'd already made my peace with that."

"I'd even thought about it—that some incident might come along and drag that unspoken understanding out into the open." His spiritual pressure began to take on physical weight, pressing against the air around him. Ichigo said it plainly: "I just didn't expect it to happen this soon."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to make a big thing of it. I said I get it, I mean that."

His spiritual pressure climbed to its peak. Even without deliberately directing it at anyone, Rangiku Matsumoto, Squad 10's lieutenant, golden hair catching the light, figure unmistakable, couldn't stop stepping back. Soul Reapers without captain-level spiritual pressure didn't even have the standing to remain in Ichigo's presence.

"But Senna. You're not taking her today. Doesn't matter who shows up. I mean every word."

SIZZLE,

Tiny sparks skittered across the white Haori at his back. A thin curl of white smoke rose from the large character emblazoned on it, and then a miniature listening device, invisible to the naked eye, imperceptible even to captain-level spiritual senses, dissolved into nothing.

Sui-Feng's expression hardened. One step forward, voice carrying clearly: "Ichigo Kurosaki! These are the Captain-Commander's orders!"

"And the Shinenju, the Valley of Screams is too important to ignore! If this spirals into the worst case, two worlds end!"

"Then tell the old man to come himself!" Ichigo's eyes went cold, his voice dropping to something sharper. "Don't play moral games with me. If something goes wrong, I'll answer for it."

"Looks like you want to do this the hard way." Both blades cleared their sheaths, spiritual pressure rolling off him in waves. Ichigo said it quietly: "Those old men really went all out, sending you lot."

"Still. Out of respect for my old man, Rukia, and Yoruichi, I won't go hard on you."

It had reached the worst-case scenario. Before they'd set out, someone at the Captains' Meeting had raised the question: what if Ichigo simply refused to hand Senna over?

The answer was that there was no answer. Ichigo, who even at baseline had already pushed past the limits of a Soul Reaper, left Seireitei without a single viable option. All they could do was send the Captains and lieutenants closest to him and hope for a negotiated resolution. If that failed, they would have no choice but to concede.

"Kurosaki!" Hitsugaya's brow furrowed. "We can talk this through. There's no reason it has to go this far!"

"That'd be my preference too. I also—" Ichigo paused. "Huh?!"

BOOM!

The words died in his throat. Before Hitsugaya and the others could process what they were seeing, a terrifying surge of spiritual pressure exploded from Ichigo's body. Rangiku stumbled back again.

'That pressure... it's even stronger than half a month ago.'

The thought barely had time to form. Hitsugaya's hand went to the blade at his back on instinct, even drawing it didn't stop the involuntary retreat, two steps, three, four. That pressure made the body tremble whether it wanted to or not. It was a power that had climbed as far as a Soul Reaper could climb, standing at the absolute pinnacle of what that meant.

"One after another..." Head slightly lowered, face hidden from view, Ichigo's voice came out barely above a murmur. "I've had enough."

"Ichigo! We don't have to fight!"

Renji called out urgently, watching things spiral well past anything they'd planned for. Even with captain-level spiritual pressure now, Renji felt the gap like a wall.

"Ichigo Kurosaki! What do you think you're doing?!"

Sui-Feng had almost no prior contact with Ichigo, but the cold shout didn't come with much conviction behind it. Deep down, the nerves were rattling. Thinking back to the confident words at that Captains' Meeting, Sui-Feng wondered, genuinely, how stupid that version of themself had been. Could something like this... actually be human?

WHOOSH,

While the Captains and lieutenants were still reeling, a massive black void tore open in the sky not far above, radiating a wrong, unsettling pulse. Hitsugaya spotted it first, those sharp green eyes snapping to it instantly.

"What... what is that?!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The laugh arrived before the body did. Brash and booming, it poured out of the void, and then a large, heavyset figure came crashing through.

"Found you!" The figure swept the area in one glance, eyes lighting up, and that massive body dropped like a cannonball. "Orange-haired Soul Reaper!"

"Slow down!" Another figure emerged from the void, then four more behind them in quick succession. The one who'd spoken was tall and lanky, voice edged with complaint. "Have you forgotten how you lost your hand? Still this reckless?"

"Let him go." A purple-haired woman said, flat and unbothered. "He's roughly at captain-level power by now."

"The Blanks could only boost him so far." A tall figure, face covered by cloth, spoke in a low, muffled rumble. "He's still short of Third-class Reii. There's a real chance he ends up beaten."

"Honestly." A man with a full beard shook his head. "Don't go making trouble for the rest of us."

"It's fine." The white-haired figure who stepped out last spoke quietly, without affect. "As long as the objective is met, any sacrifice is worth it."

"Yes! Lord Ganryu!" The four answered as one.

"Ha! Got you!"

While they were still talking, the heavyset figure had already hit the ground. The round hook-like weapon swung up and drove straight for Ichigo's face.

CLANG,

"...Wh... what?!"

Those tiny eyes went wide. The weapon had connected, clean, direct, and not a single mark appeared. Sparks scattered in every direction instead, like striking a wall of solid iron.

"You people..."

Spiritual pressure surged inside him, uncontainable. A golden radiance bloomed along the length of the blade. Ichigo's face was stone, eyes locked onto these strangers with absolute focus.

"Really... enough."

The heavyset figure couldn't stop retreating, fear written plainly across their face. Certain of carrying the power of a Soul Reaper Captain, they couldn't break this man's skin. It shattered every picture of this fight they'd imagined.

"That Soul Reaper... what is going on..." Even Ganryu felt a cold sweat trace down, composure cracking for just a moment. "Something is very wrong here."

"And what is that spiritual pressure?!"

The void that had just closed tore open again. Ganryu triggered the special Senkaimon immediately, ready to leave.

"You're the ones who triggered the Valley of Screams and caused the spatial crisis."

BOOM,

That crushing pressure fell across all five figures still in the air. Bodies poised to flee locked up completely. The weight of it was absolute, not one of them could move.

"You came all this way. There's no reason to leave so soon."

The golden radiance along the blade pulled inward, concentrating at the tip. Ichigo gave these strangers a calm, quiet look. The killing intent radiating off him reached a height it had never touched before.

"I'd like to hear what brought you here." He raised the blade. "But I'm in a bad mood today. So."

"Getsuga Tensho."

➤ Next: Silent Malice