Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 109 - New Look

Passing through endless darkness, Ichigo Kurosaki, feet planted on a light shield, finally caught sight of brightness ahead. Already itching to put two cuts into Sosuke Aizen.

But bursting out of the Garganta, what met his eyes was nothing but boundless wilderness. Every building that once stood here was gone without a trace. Ichigo muttered to himself, and only then did it dawn on him where exactly he was.

"This is definitely Karakura Town." Hovering in the air, he surveyed the familiar landscape below. "But, does this place feel like Soul Society too?"

"No way. How did my great Karakura Town end up in Soul Society?!"

"So that's Ichigo Kurosaki..." Muramasa's body wouldn't stop trembling. "That oppressive force, it's even more terrifying than Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto!"

"And I'm supposed to manipulate his Zanpakuto... If a battle breaks out, this whole Karakura Town will vanish. There could be trouble for my master too."

"Ichigo!" And just as Muramasa hesitated, Uryu Ishida summoned the last of their strength and shouted: "Don't use your Soul Reaper powers!"

"Hm?"

Only then did Ichigo snap out of his daze. He looked up and took in the state his friends were in. A terrifying spiritual pressure surged. His eyes narrowed slightly, a razor-cold gleam flickering within them.

"Damn it!"

Cursing under his breath, Muramasa hesitated no longer. An enemy at that level left no room for deliberation. A strange ripple of spiritual pressure radiated from Muramasa's body.

"Bankai! Muko Jochu Muramasa!"

If Muramasa had acted immediately, there might have been a chance of triggering some unknown outcome. But Muramasa had hesitated.

Ichigo generally considered himself reasonably smart, but in his normal state, he didn't like using his head. Whether in daily life or back in his younger years during training, Uryu Ishida would often be the one to remind him of things. As a result, even when he couldn't always keep up, Ichigo trusted Uryu Ishida's words without question.

This moment was no different. Hearing Uryu Ishida's hoarse, desperate cry, Ichigo didn't understand why, but on instinct, he withdrew from his Soul Reaper state.

"Tch!"

The Shihakusho dissolved, not into his usual uniform or casual clothes, but into nothing at all. Completely bare. Ichigo's face flushed slightly. Two beautiful girls were watching from not far away.

HISS SIZZLE,

Spirit particles in the air rapidly converged onto his body. Blue light flickered and spread, covering him completely.

The light faded. A black long robe, lifted wholesale from a certain middle-aged man, replaced the Shihakusho. Ichigo looked down at both hands and felt something was missing.

WHOOSH,

A pale violet spiritual pressure passed through his body. Only now did Muramasa's Bankai reach Ichigo, but it was already too late. Ichigo had left his Soul Reaper state, and the connection between him and the Zanpakuto spirit had been severed.

"Damn." Muramasa cursed inwardly, though without real anger, looking Ichigo up and down. "Still, perhaps that isn't entirely a bad thing."

"In this state, just how much of his power can Ichigo Kurosaki actually bring to bear."

WHOOSH,

Not understanding any of it, Ichigo paid no attention to Muramasa. Golden light flickered at his feet, and in the next instant he was beside Uryu Ishida and Senna.

"What, gone for a few days and you're already this far gone?"

The teasing remark made several dark lines crawl across Uryu Ishida's face inside the ice. Ichigo swung one broad hand, and the frost blossoms that kept spreading shattered instantly.

"This side too."

Left hand raised, palm toward Senna. The golden light flashed once more, and the frost blossoms covering her vanished without a trace.

"Yasutora Sado next."

Eyes going cold, spirit particles gathered at his feet. Ichigo moved to stand before the warrior, spiritual pressure surging through the veins, Blut Arterie pushed to its maximum output.

"?!"

Pupils contracted sharply. Even though the warrior's eyes caught the movement, there was no time to react. Ichigo threw a straight punch directly into the warrior's stomach. The terrifying force sent the warrior flying several meters.

"Let's go."

Grabbing Yasutora Sado, Ichigo flickered back to Uryu Ishida and the others.

"Ichigo!"

Catching sight of the one who held a special place in their heart after so long, Orihime Inoue called out from not far away and came to join the group.

At this point, after more than ten days apart, the Special Operations Squad, Karakura Town's own unit, was reunited at last.

"What is even going on right now?" No time for catching up. Ichigo felt like his head was about to explode. "Why is our Karakura Town sitting inside Soul Society?!"

"And what the hell are those three?! What's that masked thing?! And that dragon—it feels a lot like Toshiro Hitsugaya?! And that warrior—what even is any of this?!"

"That, let's set it aside for now." Uryu Ishida pushed up their glasses, Blut Arterie running at full capacity to generate warmth throughout the body. "Can you win, without using your Soul Reaper powers?"

"Who do you think I am, huh?" Ichigo's mouth tugged at one corner. "That's pretty insulting. You really need to ask about opponents like these?"

"Kill them all, no problem, right."

"...Yeah, no problem." Uryu Ishida paused, then said: "If possible, make sure the masked one is finished off completely. Every development that went wrong started with that one."

"Got it." Ichigo waved a hand. "You all rest. Leave everything else to me."

"You've worked hard, keeping watch over Karakura Town while I was gone."

"Don't make it sound so dramatic." Uryu Ishida's mouth tugged at one corner as well. "Karakura Town is our home too. We can't just let any random riffraff come here causing trouble."

"We're counting on you, Ichigo."

"Yeah, yeah."

WHOOSH,

Activating Hirenkyaku, Ichigo stood facing the ice dragon. The terrifying spiritual pressure radiating off him was almost on the verge of taking physical form, pressing down on the ice dragon until breathing itself became difficult.

"My buddy has spoken." Ichigo smiled faintly. Not a trace of warmth in it. "So. It's time for you all to die."

Right hand extended. Spirit particles in the air were compressed and condensed, and in the next second a black tachi appeared in his grip.

"Nothing beats having a sword in hand."

The tachi's guard was shaped like the manji character, a broken chain hanging from the end of the hilt. The black robe drifted in the wind. Ichigo gripped the black blade tight, eyes filled with killing intent.

Whooo,

A casual swing. The low, heavy sound that followed was like space itself groaning. Ichigo gripped the hilt tighter. This tachi had a pretty good feel to it.

"What kind of monster is this..."

A bead of cold sweat slid down Muramasa's face. Muramasa didn't dare move an inch, sheltering behind the ice dragon and the warrior, only that gave any sense of safety at all.

"Why—with only the power of a Quincy, can this level of spiritual pressure even exist?!"

"Simply put." Ichigo's mouth tugged at one corner. "Even if your spiritual pressure matched mine and hit the limit of a Soul Reaper, it wouldn't matter. Your spiritual pressure can only reach that level. Mine is only at this level because the rules are holding it back. Understand?"

"Then again, your spiritual pressure is about what it is anyway. Saying more is pointless."

"Speaking of which, does Ichigo seem a bit taller?" Orihime Inoue watched him from a distance and suddenly said: "By about seven centimeters maybe? That would put him at around a hundred and eighty-one centimeters?"

"And also, doesn't he seem a bit more mature?"

"He does." Senna nodded. "Grown quite a bit. I thought it was just my imagination."

"Seems like Ichigo has been through quite a lot during this time too." Uryu Ishida pushed up their glasses. "And this guy, I get the feeling he just keeps getting stronger."

"The gap just keeps widening..."

➤ Next: The Flame That Burns Away Everything