Although Ichigo is also one of the Big Three's protagonists, and he also cheats...
It must be said, compared to Oda and Kishimoto, Kubo has substance.
Among the Big Three, Bleach has the most brilliantly developed supporting characters.
Therefore, although sometimes they still rely on Ichigo's power, it's not so overwhelmingly dependent on him.
In other words, although Ichigo cheats, each time it's only a small power boost or unlocking potential.
But the cheats for characters like Naruto and Luffy have no limits.
That's why Sora likes Ichigo the most among three.
Just like now, his Reiatsu is boiling all around him, but it's only risen from that of an ordinary Shinigami to that of a Seated Officer level!
Facing Ichigo charging at him, Sora only needed to release a slight amount of Reiatsu, and Ichigo was directly pressed to the ground by the terrifying pressure!
Being pressed to the ground by someone's Reiatsu was like being trapped in a gravity field. Ichigo's face showed shock, filled with incomprehension.
The current him couldn't yet understand such power!
Normally, Ichigo was just a reckless liberal arts student, not very brainy, sometimes overly sensitive, and when his mood plummeted, no one could persuade him back.
The most typical example is later in the Fullbring arc, where Ichigo thought Rukia and the others had betrayed him.
And at this moment, Ichigo was also falling into such a complete state of devastation!
To put it more simply, he shut down emotionally!
Simultaneously, not just Ichigo, but Rukia as well.
Because Rukia had now realized that although her chest had been pierced by Sora, firstly, she wasn't bleeding, and secondly, she didn't feel pain… there was only a sensation of a foreign object inside her.
"What did you do!?" Rukia asked strangely.
She lowered her head, and at that moment, she discovered an even more horrifying sight. Her chest was like water's surface, and Sora's hand had sunk directly into it!
"I didn't do much, just took something!" Sora replied.
After groping around for a while, he also found his target inside Rukia's body!
That was... a small blue-black gem!
Swish—
Sora withdrew his hand.
At the same time, a deep sense of relief spread within Rukia's body.
At this moment, she felt like she had run over a thousand meters with weights and finally taken them off!
Even if Rukia were a fool, she could sense something was off!
"What is this!!?" Looking at the gem in Sora's hand, Rukia asked in shock.
"Oh, you still don't know about this, even though it was implanted in you?" Sora smiled: "Then let me explain it to you."
"What you see now is one of the greatest inventions in the history of the Soul Society, the Hogyoku!!"
"Hogyoku!!?" Hearing this unfamiliar name from Sora, Rukia was very puzzled: "That's right, the Hogyoku!"
"And its function is also very simple!" Sora continued: "You know, Shinigami have limits, unless..."
At this point, Sora paused.
But unfortunately, Rukia didn't know the reference he wanted to make.
Rukia pressed: "Unless what?"
"Ah!" Sora shook his head and continued: "Unless you stop being a Shinigami!"
"Since you, as a Shinigami, have reached your limit, why not try Hollowfication? This is the purpose of the Hogyoku's existence!"
"To break the limits of the soul, to shatter the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow!"
"And for a clearer expression..." Sora thought for a moment: "Rukia, you've been attending school with Ichigo Kurosaki for so many days. I wonder if you've been paying attention in class."
"There's a mathematical concept about sets. If a soul ranges from 0 to -100 for Hollows, then from 0 to +100 is Shinigami. The Hogyoku breaks through the middle zero, allowing you to possess both +100 to -100 simultaneously, thus making you stronger!"
"Understand? This is the Hogyoku!"
"Of course, what I'm talking about is actually the Hogyoku's superficial function. It has a real function!" Sora explained.
"Real function!!?" Hearing Sora's words, Rukia was shocked. Its current function was already very strong, yet it had a real function?
"Correct, the real function!"
"Actually, the Hogyoku's ability is very simple… it's a universal wish-granting device!"
"Anyone can rely on the Hogyoku to obtain power!"
"For example..." Sora immersed his perception into the Hogyoku. Currently, the Hogyoku was still only Kisuke's version, not the complete form.
But it didn't matter.
Sora's status directly dominated it!
Holding the Hogyoku, Sora said to Rukia: "Strengthen your Reiatsu to Captain-level!"
With Sora's words, an extremely powerful force poured into Rukia's body.
Under this powerful force, Rukia was actually directly expelled from her Gigai! Dressed in her white Shinigami robes, she reappeared!