In the original plot, Renji only realized this situation after being reminded by an outsider. He finally learned the true name of his Zanpakuto's Bankai and obtained the power of Bankai.
Ethan's sudden reminder to Renji about this was meant as a small experiment. Was it possible that as long as the Shinigami correctly called out the name of the Zanpakuto, they could directly obtain the corresponding power? Or had Renji already met the requirements at that time, allowing the Zanpakuto to naturally unlock this part of its power?
Through Renji's experience, Ethan understood that as long as Renji correctly shouted the name of his Zanpakuto's Bankai, he could obtain the power of the true Bankai. However, he was currently unable to control this power well, which seemed to prove that there was a reason his Zanpakuto had not granted him the true Bankai earlier.
Watching Renji release Sōō Zabimaru, then spend very little time barely controlling his Bankai before impatiently running off to get beaten again, Ethan did not stop him.
Time was indeed running out, and Ichigo was making his final effort, trying to further enhance his power.
However, he awkwardly discovered that ever since he released the Tensa Zangetsu state, which he was not sure counted as Bankai, his power had stopped increasing, as if he had hit a bottleneck.
Ethan knew what was happening, but Ichigo had already made his choice. Ethan's advice to him was simple. Do not expect to continue increasing your power in a short time. Just do what you need to do.
After several battles, Ichigo had a premonition that this would be his final battle in Soul Society. Full of confidence, Ichigo finally arrived at the Sōkyoku just in time and blocked the fire phoenix created by the Sōkyoku, which was about to execute Rukia.
Since the execution had already begun and Byakuya was standing below, it proved that Renji, who had left earlier, had failed to rescue Rukia. Not to mention the current Byakuya who had received training and guidance from Ethan, even the Byakuya from the original plot was not someone Renji, who had just mastered Bankai, could contend with.
The current Renji's strength was still immature. He was defeated without even seeing Byakuya's Bankai, which left him very frustrated.
Byakuya clearly held back. Although Renji looked seriously injured, his vital areas were not harmed, and he quickly recovered after simple treatment.
At this point in the story, the events occurring throughout the Seireitei were coming to an end.
Aizen no longer hid himself. Although the fake death he had created earlier was successively discovered by Hitsugaya and Unohana, he did not mind at all.
By now, there was no need for him to hide his true intentions behind a mask. He could openly reveal his ambitions to all the Shinigami.
At this moment, the Gotei 13 had also fallen into internal division. Some Shinigami sensed something unusual or had already discovered Aizen's conspiracy, so they began to act. For example, Shunsui and Ukitake sensed something wrong and prepared to stop the execution, while Hitsugaya directly clashed with Aizen, or rather, was completely overwhelmed.
Another group of Shinigami were still unaware of the situation. Led by Yamamoto, this group was very dissatisfied with the two disciples who had suddenly rebelled. The chaos caused by the Ryoka invasion suddenly turned into internal conflict within the Gotei 13.
Yamamoto confronted his two disciples, Shunsui and Ukitake.
Soi Fon was led away by Yoruichi.
In the distance, Zaraki faced Captain Sajin Komamura of the Seventh Division.
One by one, everyone found their opponents. Ichigo and Byakuya, who remained at the original location, began fighting. Ichigo prevented Byakuya from chasing Renji, who had taken Rukia away.
Ethan hid on the already destroyed Sōkyoku and watched the two fight.
The other battles were mostly the same as in the original plot. These two, however, were directly influenced by Ethan. He was very curious about what changes would appear in this battle.
And indeed, the battle between Byakuya and Ichigo was very different from the original plot. It could even be said that it had completely deviated from it.
Although Ethan had only guided Byakuya for less than ten years in the past, he had laid a very solid foundation for him.
Moreover, before leaving Soul Society, he had specifically left Byakuya a detailed training manual. As long as Byakuya followed the contents of the manual, his strength would steadily and continuously improve. For Shinigami with extremely long lifespans, stable and continuous improvement is very difficult.
Counting the time, it had been one hundred years since Ethan left Soul Society. During these hundred years, Byakuya had diligently followed the manual Ethan left behind to train. His strength...
In any case, it was not something Ichigo, who had only undergone a few days of crash training, could compare with, even after receiving a power boost. After all, Byakuya had also received a power boost this time.
At this moment, Ichigo provoked him again. After entering his Tensa Zangetsu state, he challenged Byakuya to also use Bankai.
"Bankai? Do you think I need to use Bankai to defeat you?"
Not only did Byakuya refuse to use Bankai, he even stopped using his Shikai and fought Ichigo purely with swordsmanship.
As a result, Ichigo awkwardly discovered that Byakuya, no longer relying on Senbonzakura, seemed even harder to deal with.
He also noticed that when fighting Byakuya, he occasionally felt as if he were fighting Ethan. The opponent occasionally revealed certain combat habits similar to Ethan's.
Ichigo was not the only one who noticed this. Byakuya also realized it. Although the imitation was crude and far from perfect, those small combat techniques were indeed somewhat similar to that person's.
"Who has been guiding your training recently?"
Ichigo's strength had increased greatly. From their last encounter until now, only about a month had passed. To go from an ordinary person who could not even clearly see his own movements to someone who could barely fight him head on was extremely difficult, even with outstanding talent. Someone must have been guiding him.
"This..."
Ichigo did not know whether he should answer this question. He already knew that Ethan had once been Byakuya's teacher, but that person seemed to be a fugitive from Soul Society now. He probably should not reveal Ethan's identity.
Even though he said nothing, Byakuya could guess.
"From your reaction, I can tell that you know his identity."
"..."
Byakuya suddenly sheathed his sword.
"I am curious. When he guided your training, did he not emphasize the importance of fundamentals?"
Ichigo did not understand why Byakuya suddenly started talking about such things, so he casually replied.
"Well... because time was too short, most of it was practical combat training. But we did practice the basics at the very beginning."
"Is that so? I see... No wonder..."
"No wonder what?"
Ichigo seemed to see a burst of red light erupt from Byakuya's body. Before he could wonder whether it was his imagination, Byakuya had already disappeared.
"No wonder your fundamentals are so poor."
The voice from behind was accompanied by sharp pain. Ichigo tried his best to dodge, but he was still struck by an attack that felt like a heavy hammer, sending him flying sideways.
While flying through the air, he tried to turn his head to look at Byakuya, but the place where someone should have been was empty. Instead, a shadow flashed diagonally above him, followed by another heavy strike that slammed him straight toward the ground.
With a loud boom, the solid stone ground was smashed into a crater by the heavy impact, sending dust everywhere.
When the dust settled, Ichigo lay in the center of the large pit, coughing up blood. Byakuya was crouching nearby, looking down at Ichigo lying on his back.
"Your control over your own power is extremely crude. If it were not for certain combat habits, I would never believe you had received his guidance."
Those who had been guided by Ethan, whether Yoruichi or Byakuya, shared one major characteristic. Their control over spiritual energy was extremely precise, and their way of using spiritual energy was different from most Shinigami. It could be said that Byakuya had stepped onto a path of becoming stronger that was completely different from the original plot.
Training in the ten times gravity chamber was something he completed shortly after Ethan left. In the past few decades, he had already mastered all the content within the manual Ethan left behind.
The current Byakuya did not rely on his Zanpakuto like ordinary Shinigami. Even if he abandoned his Zanpakuto entirely and relied only on the intensity of his spiritual pressure cultivated through his own efforts and his various methods of using spiritual energy, he could still surpass most captains.
The technique he used just now, which could instantly multiply his combat power, was also learned from the manual. The reason he used this move to defeat Ichigo was precisely because he realized that Ichigo had received guidance from Ethan.
"Is he trying to prove something?"
Ethan, hidden in the shadows, could not clearly understand Byakuya's thoughts. Perhaps Byakuya was not thinking that deeply and simply felt that this was the fastest way to defeat Ichigo.
However, Ichigo being defeated did not mean everything was over, because Aizen appeared at the perfect moment.
"Oh?"
Looking at Ichigo lying on the ground and Byakuya standing there completely unharmed, Aizen pushed up his glasses.
"As expected of Captain Kuchiki."
"Aizen..."
Byakuya looked at the suddenly appearing Aizen and was only slightly surprised. When he saw Rukia, who had been captured and brought back beside him, he suddenly thought of something.
"Was all of this your scheme?"
"Oh my. As expected of Captain Kuchiki, you react very quickly."
(To be continued.)
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