Chapter 387: You're the One Who Stole Satoru, Aren't You
"What! What did you say?!"
In the First Division cafeteria, Satoru stood before the service window, his face contorted with rage.
Behind the window, Chōjirō Sasakibe wore an exasperated expression:
"Lord Mikami, Lord Genryūsai's special lunch has always been prepared as a single portion, never any extra."
"If you wish to have it, you can notify the kitchen tomorrow to prepare one for you as well, but there certainly isn't any today."
Satoru's face twisted in agony:
"How can this be... I'm the Acting Captain-Commander, after all! To think I can't even taste the Captain-Commander's special lunch!"
After pondering for two seconds, he suddenly grinned:
"Got it! If I change my name to Yamamoto Shigekuni right now, then this lunch becomes mine, doesn't it?"
Sasakibe: "?"
Alright. Captain Mikami is still being utterly unreasonable today. That puts my mind at ease.
Carrying a standard staff meal, Satoru walked to a dining table and plopped down.
On the other side of the table sat Seinosuke Yamada and Sōjun Kuchiki.
On Satoru's side sat Aizen.
The four of them sat together after a long time, eating in the cafeteria, instantly making the scene feel like it had returned to two hundred years ago.
Looking at the two people before him, Satoru showed a nostalgic expression:
"At this moment, I'm deeply moved."
Hearing this, Sōjun Kuchiki nodded.
Yes, he was also moved.
After all this time, his old brothers could still gather together—was there anything better than this?
Meanwhile, Seinosuke wore a guarded expression.
This guy Satoru definitely had something else up his sleeve.
Sure enough, Satoru continued:
"Seeing my two grown sons become such outstanding adults, this father is about to shed tears of joy..."
Seinosuke Yamada roared and thrust his chopsticks forward.
Satoru chuckled darkly, gripping his own chopsticks to meet the attack, and the two began an intense battle.
Although far inferior to Satoru in strength, Seinosuke Yamada—who worked with scalpels daily—possessed exceptional skill in such detailed maneuvers.
After playing around for a while, Satoru found it difficult to gain the upper hand.
Suddenly, his eyes flickered downward.
Just as Seinosuke was about to press his advantage, knock aside Satoru's chopsticks, and steal the meat from his plate, he suddenly landed hard on the floor.
"?"
Seinosuke looked behind him in confusion but saw nothing.
Aizen: "..."
Just moments before, under his watchful gaze, a hand formed from shadows had reached out and tipped over Seinosuke Yamada's chair.
Good, Satoru was still being his usual unreasonable self today—he felt reassured.
While the campus quartet ate and chatted, the atmosphere in the Sixth Division was somewhat peculiar.
In the cafeteria, Ichigo—wearing a Shinigami uniform—carried his tray and sat at an empty table.
Around him, many Shinigami eating their meals secretly glanced in his direction.
"See that... that's the captain's child."
"Mm-hmm, I remember his name is Ichigo. So handsome."
"But I heard he goes by Kurosaki, not Shiba."
"Eh? Why?"
"Not sure... maybe he's going through a chuunibyou phase."
Hearing this assessment, everyone suddenly understood, nodding as if this explained everything perfectly.
Ichigo couldn't help but roll his eyes.
You're the one with chuunibyou, your whole family has chuunibyou.
At most, chuunibyou might make someone change their given name—who would be so bored as to change their family name?
Originally, he should have been happily enjoying his third-year middle school summer vacation.
Before the break, he'd already bought several newly released LSP4 games, planning to indulge in some serious gaming.
Unexpectedly, his old man suddenly claimed to have urgent business and couldn't handle Sixth Division affairs, forcing him to temporarily help out.
In truth, Ichigo knew perfectly well—his father didn't have any urgent matters. The guy just wanted to take his mother and two sisters on a trip during summer vacation.
Tch, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
He felt like he'd been screwed over by Komamura.
Suddenly, two figures approached and sat down beside him with their trays.
Looking at these two, Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
"You are... Gin and Byakuya?"
He was somewhat surprised to see them.
One was the captain of the Seventh Division, the other the captain of the Ninth Division—what were they doing in the Sixth Division?
Ichimaru Gin smiled and nodded.
Byakuya made a disapproving sound:
"Don't act so familiar. We're not that close."
"Okay, got it, Byakuya."
"..."
Byakuya Kuchiki narrowed his eyes.
Ichimaru Gin watched the orange-haired boy with interested eyes.
"Kurosaki-kun, I heard you studied under Mr. Mikami in the Living World."
"Yeah, that's right." Ichigo nodded.
"That guy Satoru suddenly showed up out of nowhere, said I had Shinigami potential, then without any explanation stabbed me with his Zanpakutō to activate my Shinigami powers..."
Speaking of Satoru's past violence, Ichigo couldn't help but grit his teeth.
How could there be such a terrible adult in the world!
Well, actually there was - his own father was quite similar to Satoru in terms of being inhuman.
Come to think of it, wasn't his father following Satoru's lead?
Indeed, that guy had no decent people under him.
Looking at the two people of similar age (not really) before him, Ichigo rarely found someone he could complain to.
Under the gaze of Gin and Byakuya, he fiercely complained about Satoru's atrocities.
Including but not limited to daily afternoon training, various arduous trials, and devising all kinds of devilish plans despite knowing he was only eight years old.
"Hoh..."
Ichimaru Gin kept his eyes narrowed throughout, smiling like a little fox.
Only after listening to Ichigo's complaints did he gently nod.
"I see, I completely understand now."
"You understand now..."
Ichigo sighed, lamenting his lost childhood.
Eight years old, just eight years old.
For normal humans, that's still the age of playing with mud, yet he was already swinging a giant sword to kill monsters.
Was that reasonable?
Under his gaze, Ichimaru Gin slowly put down his chopsticks.
"Indeed, you must be punished by heaven."
"?"
For a moment, Ichigo thought he misheard.
"Um... what did you say?"
He couldn't help but ask.
Ichimaru Gin opened his eyes slightly.
"Having Mr. Mikami all to yourself for a whole year, and still receiving private training from time to time after that... someone like you, someone like you..."
"Must receive a little punishment..."
Ichigo: "...?"
He looked at Byakuya, wanting to ask what was going on.
He saw that, at some point, Byakuya had already stood up.
"Although you haven't been a Shinigami for long, since Satoru thinks so highly of you, it means you must have some ability."
"In that case, let us see it for ourselves."
"The Sixth Division training ground was funded by the Kuchiki Clan, so both its scale and strength are unquestionable. Let's do it there."
Ichigo fell into deep thought.
What exactly was going on?
...
...
Standing on the Sixth Division training ground, Ichigo shook his neck.
Standing before him was Ichimaru Gin.
He was no longer the greenhorn he used to be.
Seeing the white Captain's Haori on the other person, he had mentally prepared himself from the start.
Kuchiki Byakuya stood outside the arena, watching quietly.
Originally, he was going to be the referee, but Matsumoto Rangiku happened to pass by.
Hearing that Captain Shiba's son was going to spar with two Captains, she became very interested and joined in.
Standing by the edge, Rangiku raised her arm:
"Everyone! The exciting battle is about to begin!"
"From the Living World, the genius boy, Captain Shiba's son, Ichigo Kurosaki!!"
"Versus! Former Shin'ō Academy genius, current Captain of the Seventh Division, Ichimaru Gin!!"
"What will be the final outcome! Who will walk off this arena alive!"
"Let's look forward to it!"
"Then... let the match begin!!"
As Rangiku's voice, amplified by Kidō with a special broadcast effect, rang out, Ichigo suddenly moved.
Gripping his massive cleaver, he instantly crossed over half the training ground, arriving before Ichimaru Gin.
Without any fancy maneuvers, he went straight for a powerful New Year's greeting-style strike!
Although he had mentally prepared himself in advance, knowing that Satoru wouldn't choose a mediocre disciple, Gin still couldn't help but show astonishment at Ichigo's speed.
Originally, he had planned to use his Shinsō's range advantage to seize the initiative from the start.
He never expected this Kurosaki Ichigo to be so terrifying!
In haste, he could only raise his short sword, attempting to block Ichigo's attack—
CLANG!!!!
The moment their blades met, sparks flew.
Then, Ichimaru Gin's expression changed.
Under his incredulous gaze, Ichigo's strike felt like a several-hundred-meter-long dump truck fully loaded with cargo, crashing violently into his sword!
After a brief stalemate, Ichimaru Gin was sent flying through the air, smashing backward into the Reishi protective wall with a thunderous impact!
Though he instantly adjusted his posture, flipping mid-air and landing steadily on his feet, the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth revealed the damage he had sustained from that blow.
Outside the arena, Kuchiki Byakuya's eyes widened slightly.
This guy called Kurosaki Ichigo... is incredibly strong!
Suffering an initial setback, Ichimaru Gin decisively shifted his tactics.
Since he couldn't match his opponent head-on, he would utilize Shinsō's unique properties combined with his own speed to completely suppress Ichigo Kurosaki!
No matter how formidable the opponent's attack power or how savage their strength, avoiding direct confrontation would grant him a chance at victory!
With this thought, his figure flickered and vanished from sight.
In an instant, Ichimaru Gin flashed around Ichigo Kurosaki over a dozen times.
Seeing Ichigo show no reaction, he extended his short sword forward, pointing it toward the figure standing in the arena.
Sting all enemies to death, Shinsō!!
A silver streak instantly pierced through a hundred-meter distance, arriving behind Ichigo Kurosaki!
This thrust reached ultimate velocity.
Even Kuchiki Byakuya could only determine Shinsō's trajectory by observing Ichimaru Gin's movements, unable to track it visually.
As expected, the match was about to be decided!
Just as this thought crossed Byakuya's mind, he suddenly saw with astonishment how Ichigo swung his massive blade behind his back.
CLANG!!!
Shinsō's edge struck the broadside of the greatsword, sparking flecks of fire.
Ichimaru Gin showed no particular reaction to this.
He accelerated further.
Moving at such extreme speed, the afterimages he created around Ichigo now appeared to solidify into tangible forms!
All these afterimages simultaneously pointed their Zanpakutō toward Ichigo.
SWOOSH!!
Silver blades of light attacked Ichigo simultaneously from five directions!
Just as the blades were about to strike Ichigo, he suddenly disappeared from his position.
"Eh?"
Matsumoto Rangiku, serving as referee, revealed a surprised expression.
Meanwhile, Ichimaru Gin—maintaining high-speed movement midair—suddenly sensed something and turned to look beside him.
What he saw made his pupils contract sharply.
Somehow, Ichigo Kurosaki's figure had appeared right beside him!
Moreover, he had simultaneously appeared next to every single one of his afterimages!
Compared to Ichimaru Gin's slightly blurred forms, every one of Ichigo's "afterimages" appeared as solid as his real body.
Facing Ichimaru Gin, all of Ichigo's afterimages spoke simultaneously:
"Judging from your earlier tactics, you probably think I'm more skilled at frontal combat."
"Actually... the opposite is true. Compared to strength, I'm more proficient in speed."
"Also, seeing your technique just now reminded me of something."
Ichigo's gaze turned somewhat displeased.
"You were one of the people who 'abducted' Mikami before, weren't you."
At these words, Ichimaru Gin seemed to recall something, revealing a subtle expression.
Seeing his reaction, Ichigo grinned, showing a somewhat terrifying smile.
"Though I know you were just acting alongside that guy Mikami... those two sword strikes I took back then were completely real."
"Come on, Gin, let's settle that debt from back then!"
Under the watchful eyes of Byakuya and Rangiku, Ichigo unleashed terrifying power, completely suppressing Ichimaru Gin in less than ten seconds.
With a figure plummeting from high altitude and crashing violently into the ground, the sparring match reached its conclusion.
Watching Ichimaru Gin struggling to rise from the ground, Byakuya fell into deep thought.
Ichimaru Gin's strength was far beyond what part-time captains like Kensei Muguruma or Love Aikawa could compare to.
This guy was a powerhouse Byakuya had personally verified.
Whether in terms of Reiatsu, swordsmanship, hakuda, hohō, or kidō, or Zanpakutō abilities, he indisputably ranked among the upper echelon of captains.
Such a powerful individual was actually completely crushed and defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki with such ease...
As a fellow descendant of the Five Noble Clans, he refused to believe he was any inferior!
Taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the field.
A few minutes later, Ichigo put away his zanpakuto.
Looking down at the injured Byakuya lying on the ground, he grinned:
"Not bad. Though your skills need work, you've got the right spirit."
"Come find me for another fight when you get stronger."
After saying this, amidst the cheers of the Sixth Division members, Ichigo headed toward the captain's office.
After the fight came the tedious task of handling Sixth Division paperwork.
Just thinking about it made his head ache.
What to do... He was just a junior high student—why was he suffering this misfortune?
No, he needed to find someone to help with the paperwork!
After thinking for a few seconds, his gaze slowly fell upon the still-recovering Kuchiki Byakuya lying on the ground.
Byakuya, who had been mentally reviewing their battle to prepare for their next encounter, suddenly sensed a malicious stare.
Following the feeling, he saw Ichigo Kurosaki looking at him with a peculiar smile...
...
...
"Yo! Ichigo!"
Hearing that his sworn brother had come to the Soul Society, Shiba Kaien was in high spirits.
Upon receiving the news, he immediately went to the Sixth Division.
But when he pushed open the office door and saw the scene inside, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.