Goddess of Ice: Corrupting Bleach

Chapter 9: The Attack Continues

Chapter 9: The Attack Continues

Meanwhile, Yuna was running through Karakura town at high speed. Every time she ran past a Hollow, her sword arm would blur, resulting in the Hollo's head falling to the ground.

'That stupid four-eyes. What was he thinking activating a Hollow bait in the middle of the city?'

[Who knows? Besides that, aren't there too many? I don't think that guy expected this many Hollow to spawn.]

'True, there is no way he could have handled this many all by himself. Considering that he expected only Ichigo and him to be able to kill Hollow, this many would have easily overwhelmed him and, consequently, the whole town.'

[You think this has something to do with the person spying on Ichigo?]

'Possible. However, I think they only are taking advantage of this situation as I couldn't feel their gaze on Ichigo when Ishida started this nonsense. They only started spying on Ichigo during the middle of the accident.'

As Yuna conversed with Kurama, she noticed a tall man carrying Sado on his shoulder while Hinata stood in front of him, pointing her sword at him.

"Now, now, please calm down; I'm not trying to kidnap him."

"That is something a kidnapper would say."

The middle-aged man could only smile helplessly as Hinata immediately shot his words down. He briefly wondered how he was supposed to handle the situation before he resumed speaking.

"Look, here, you are friends with Kurosaki Ichigo, right? Sado here has just awakened a new power that made it possible for him to defeat Hollow. So, I want him to see Ichigo fight, to make him realize whether he wants to continue on this path or discard his power."

Hinata paused briefly when she heard the middle-aged man's words. She looked deeply into his eyes, and although she wasn't as good as this as Yuna, she saw no deception inside them. She thought about the situation some more before simply nodding her head.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you as well."

The man sighed in relief when Hinata finally caved in. As for Hinata following him as well, he didn't really care. Or rather, he wanted her to come with him since his boss, Urahara Kisuke, mentioned that he had some interest in Yuna's little group.

"Call the police! A sexual deviant is on the loose~"

As Hinata heard these words, two arms passed by her hips from behind and clearly aimed for her breasts. Hinata reacted at lightning speed and let go of her sword to catch the two hands just before they could reach her breasts.

"Hee~ You have gotten better, Hinata."

"Well, there are lots of training opportunities, after all, Yuna."

Yuna chuckled in amusement as she wiggled her finger, trying to get at least a slight touch in. On the other hand, Hinata's face deadpanned when she saw Yuna's wiggling fingers.

"We are in public."

"I know, right? How exciting~"

Hinata could only roll her eyes while letting go of Yuna's hands, resulting in Yuna moving them away from Hinata's breasts. Since she had "lost", she wouldn't claim her prize either.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man had no idea how he was supposed to react to what he had just witnessed. He was aware that Yuna was a rather... unique character, but he still felt like he had just witnessed a very unusual interaction. Nevertheless, since Yuna was here as well, he might as well invite her too.

"Anyway, shall we go? I feel like things are about to reach a conclusion."

Yuna nodded her head as her gaze went skyward, where hoards of Hollow were currently gathering at a single place. So, without any further delay, the small group walked towards their destination.

"*Whistle* That's a big boy."

A short moment later, the small group arrived at a huge park where Ichigo and Ishida were currently staring at a huge hole in space that showed a giant masked monster. Additionally, they were surrounded by a massive group of Hollow, painting a rather dire picture.

"N-No way, a Menos Grande!?"

Hearing someone murmuring what appeared to be the name of the giant Hollow, Yuna looked at the voice's source and noticed Rukia looking at the giant creature in disbelief.

"Menos Grande? Is that some kind of special Hollow?"

Rukia awoke out of her stupor when she heard Yuna's question and quickly explained what was in front of them.

"Menos Grande are formed when hundreds of Hollow pile and mix together. However, so far, I have only seen a Menos Grande in a book and never a real one."

While Rukia was explaining what kind of Hollow a Menos Grande was, it opened its mouth, and moments later, a long tongue shot out of it and pierced through multiple smaller Hollow. Then, it retracted its tongue, pulling all the Hollow it had previously pierced through into its mouth.

"It's eating other Hollow?"

While Ichigo was bewildered by the creature's weird behavior, Yuna drew her sword and eyed the Menos Grande while licking her lips in excitement.

"Well, guess I'll take a look if the size is the only thing that Hollow has going for it."

"Could you please leave that to Ichigo?"

Yuna was just about to attack the massive monster when a middle-aged man wearing a striped dark green and white bucket hat. He had grey eyes, messy blond hair and was accompanied by Naruto, who looked at him with suspicion.

"As expected, you really are planning something shady, Kisuke."

Uraha Kisuke's eyebrow twitched a little due to how casually Naruto called him while happily accusing him of doing something shady.

"Now, now, please don't throw dirt on my good name. I'm not doing anything shady~"

Meanwhile, Yuna let her eyes briefly wander over Kisuke before coming to the same conclusion as Naruto: Shady merchant.

"Anyway, who is this Naruto? He looks like someone who walks around a busy beach and sells fake sunglasses and watches."

"Could you stop insulting my style?"

"I don't know him too well either. Met him for the first time a few minutes ago and helped him transport two unconscious high school girls into a hidden location."

"Oioi, please formulate that differently."

While Kisuke was sweating a little due to how Naruto was currently portraying him, Yuna nodded in understanding when she heard Naruto's words.

"I assume there were no witnesses?"

Naruto seemed almost offended when he heard Yuna's question and puffed out his chest with confidence.

"Obviously. If I help someone kidnap little girls, I'll do it properly."

"Excuse me~ Could I ask you not to tarnish my name like that~"

Yuna chuckled in amusement as she glanced at more and more frustrated Kisuke before her gaze wandered back to the huge Menos Grande and the crowd of standard Hollow filling up the park.

"Anyway, since suspicious-sandal-guy wants Ichigo to deal with the big one, let's get rid of the little ones."

"Oi, who the hell is suspicious-sandal-guy?"

Hinata and Naruto ignored Kisuke's comment and simply nodded their heads, while Hinata pulled out her sword, and Naruto coated his fists in a layer of wind.

"Ready to go, nee-san."

"I'm ready as well, Yuna."

"Hehe, in that case, let's jump right into the fray."

As Yuna said that, she drew her own blade and lowered her stance, quickly followed by Hinata and Naruto.

Seeing that Yuna and Naruto were done making inappropriate comments about him, he sighed in relief while simultaneously putting more attention on the trio. He was looking forward to seeing them fight. He had already gotten a glimpse of what Naruto could do, and he was a little excited to see what the other two were capable of. The thought that neither of them could fight, didn't even cross his mind.

So, a few moments later, the images of Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto blurred as the trio propelled themselves into the Hollow horde with great speed. Not even a second later, they reached the first Hollow, allowing Yuna to cut off its head instantly.

While she was doing so, another two took notice of her, but before they could do anything, a thin metal blade decapitated one of them while the other's head was pierced through by a wind-covered hand.

Seeing the trio's flawless teamwork, Kisuke's eyes sharpened.

'Not only are these three used to combat, but they are also actually used to fighting in a team as well. I checked their backgrounds and didn't find any instances of professional training, so something fishy is going on. I can only assume that their backgrounds were faked to hide some sort of secret. Damn, now I'm really curious about what is going on.'

"Ichigo! We'll deal with the small fry, so concentrate on the big one!"

While Kisuke was deep in thought, the trio reached Ichigo and Ishida, who were still somewhat dazed due to the enemy's overwhelming size. Hearing Yuna's shout, Ichigo managed to get out of his daze and glared at the Menos Grande.

"That's right. If it's something this big, there is no point in making a plan! I'll just cut and cut and cut until there is nothing left."

Ichigo nodded in approval at his own... interesting idea and charged at the giant creature. Moments later, he swung down his sword at one of its legs, leaving a small cut behind. Unfortunately, Ichigo's sword got stuck in the Menos Grande's leg, preventing Ichigo from retreating, and earning him a powerful kick that sent him flying away.

Yuna could only shake her head at the bloody Ichigo who had just crashlanded next to her.

"Out of curiosity, what were you planning to do."

"It's simple. Since I can reach its head, I wanted to continue cutting away parts until I could reach it."

Yuna looked at him dumbfounded before she shook her head with a wry smile on her face as she remembered a game called Jenga that was rather familiar with what Ichigo had planned.

Meanwhile, Ichida looked at Ichigo like he was an idiot and fired one of his arrows at the Menos Grande, dealing exactly zero damage. He clicked his tongue in annoyance while mumbling something about coming up with a proper plan. However, before he could come up with anything, he accidentally touched the back of Ichigo's sword, resulting in his bow doubling in size.

"Ohh, as expected of my beauty, you became this big just by seeing me~"

Ichida decided to ignore Yuna's innuendo and focused on his bow instead.

'What is going on? Where is all the Spiritual Power coming from?'

He quickly realized that his weapon was flooded with power as soon as he touched Ichigo's sword, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

'Ridiculous, this is power I absorbed from Kurosaki's sword. Just how much Spiritual Power does he have for me to gain this much just by touching his sword?'

"Kurosaki, I might have an idea how we can win this."

A few seconds later, Ichida was kneeling on the ground while Ichigo was standing behind him, resting his sword on Ishida's head.

"Preparations complet! Now we can fight!"

"Are you an idiot? No, you certainly are."

"What!? Who are you calling an idiot? Like this, I'm constantly absorbing your Spiritual pressure, allowing me to power up my bow. Like this, my arrows should be strong enough to hurt the Menos Grande! Now, control your Spiritual Power and increase your output to the maximum, so we can finish this!"

Instead of adhering to Ishida's request, Ichigo awkwardly scratched his cheek while tilting his head to the side.

"Control my Spiritual Power? How do I do that?"

"Haa!? How can you not know how to control your Spiritual Power!? How in the world were you killing Hollow without knowing that?"

"No idea. I just cut them with my sword, and they die. As for my Spiritual Power or whatever, maybe it's just always at the maximum output."

Ichida frowned deeply due to Ichigo's words, and after thinking about it for a brief moment, he nodded his head. He considered Ichigo's words to be possible. However, before he could settle on that conclusion, Yuna entered the conversation.

"That's impossible. You can't always give it your all. There is a reason why there are sprint and marathon categories in regard to running. No human being can perform at 100 % all the time. In conclusion, Ichigo either uses his power instinctively or he doesn't use it at all. Personally, I'm pretty sure it's the second option."

Ishida was shocked by Yuna's words, but before he could comment any further, the Spiritual Pressure oozing out of the Menos Grande started increasing rapidly. Ishida's eyes widened in shock as he quickly prepared his bow.

"Quickly, Kurosaki! Put your sword back on my head, so we can finish this thing before it can attack."

However, Ichigo completely ignored Ishida's words and charged the Menos Grande instead, dumbfounding Ishida.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

While Ichigo was running, a red ball of energy formed in front of the Menos Grande. It kept getting bigger for a short moment and then blasted toward Ichigo, forming a red laser beam.

Ichigo's eyes sharpened as he moved his sword above his head, blocking the attack. Initially, it looked like he would falter, but the longer he blocked the beam, the steadier his posture became.

"He is... getting stronger? No, he is tapping into his Spiritual Power."

Yuna nodded in agreement when she heard Ishida's words. Now she knew why Kisuke wanted Ichigo to fight the Menos Grande. He wanted him to power up.

"Under the threat of death, every soul will tap into its potential and increase its power. This might not teach Ichigo how to control his Spiritual Power properly, but it will make it easier for him to learn it in the future."

Ishida simply nodded his head when he heard Yuna's words. Although he didn't know if her words were true, he thought that they at least made sense.

A few seconds later, a loud roar escaped Ichigo's mouth as he pushed back the red energy attack and slashed his sword upwards, resulting in a large gash appearing on the Hollow's front.

It seemed to hesitate for a short moment before turning around in an attempt to leave through the portal it had used to get here. However, just as its head was about to disappear behind bend space, powerful Spiritual Pressure crashed into the beast, making it stop.

"Since you are already here, why not stay!?"

Yuna appeared next to the Hollow's head with a vicious expression on her face. Since Ichigo got his power up and the Menos Grande was retreating, Yuna decided to finish it, So she swung her drawn sword down on the middle of its head. Unfortunately, its skin was too hard, and Yuna was in midair without a foothold, resulting in a somewhat shallow cut.

However, she had already expected that that would happen, so there was no surprise on her face as her grin grew even wider.

"HINATA!!!"

"OHH!!!"

Hinata appeared next to Yuna, her sword already cutting downward. A loud clang echoed over the battlefield as Hinata's sword smashed on top of Yuna, restoring some of its momentum and allowing Yuna's blade to deepen the cut.

Despite the duo's efforts, the Hollow was still alive, but luckily there was a third person in the group.

"Finish it, Naruto!"

"Got it, nee-san!"

This time Naruto appeared and stomped his foot on the back of Hinata's blade, deepening the gash even further, finally turning it into a fatal wound. A final loud roar escaped the Hollow as his body started crumbling away, indicating its defeat.

While the Menos Grande was dying, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto landed next to each other with satisfied expressions on their faces. This was the first time in this life that they defeated something worth defeating, so the trio was in a good mood. Yuna and Hinata weren't even too bothered that the swords they carried were pretty much done for, as their blades were nicked and bent out of shape. Normal swords clearly weren't made to cut through the skin of a Menos Grande.

"*Phew* What a nice hunt."

"Yup, it's been a while, nee-san."

"Yeah, it has been an especially long time since it was just us three."

Hearing Hinata's words, Yuna and Naruto nodded in agreement, while the other people in the vicinity were somewhat perplexed by the trio's conversation. They couldn't help but wonder what kind of hunts they were talking about.

However, before anyone could comment on that, another burst of Spiritual pressure covered the vicinity, attracting everyone's gazes. Ichigo was currently wiggling around on the ground as his sword was distorting like crazy. Seeing that, Yuna rubbed her chin as a frown appeared on her face.

"This is slightly dangerous. While clashing with the Hollow, there was a proper outlet for Ichigo's Spiritual Power, but now that that outlet is gone, and Ichigo still doesn't know how to control his power, it's all flowing inside his weapon, which is currently incapable of holding so much power."

Ishida had a similar guess. However, he had a different problem as the moment he came too close to Ichigo, his bow started distorting and growing at an absurd pace.

Seeing his bow growing, Ishida's face twisted in shock as he started pondering the situation at lightning speed.

'The power in my bow is overflowing due to Ichigo's power. If this continues, my bow will be destroyed. No! I'll just have to get rid of all the excessive power!'

As he came to that conclusion, Ishida raised his bow and created a huge arrow which he smoothly shot skyward. This allowed his bow to shrink a little, but due to the overabundance of energy in the air, it grew back immediately. He cursed under his breath as he made more arrows and shot them into the sky, using up the excess energy and helping Ichigo in the process.

"What are you doing, Ishida!?"

"Shut up!"

Hearing Ichigo asking him a question, Ishida immediately shot him down and continued shooting more arrows.

"I- I know what you want to do, but you might lose your arm. Don't overdo it."

"I said: Shut up!"

Following the second, "shut up" Ishida started a little speech while still trying to pretend that he was ignoring Ichigo. Basically, he wanted no thanks for helping Ichigo and was only doing so because he hated Shinigami, so he had to keep Ichigo alive so they could continue their fight. In other words...

'He's a Tsundere.'

[Yup, full-on Tsundere, no matter how I look at it.]

'I-I'm not saving you because I like you; I hate you, stupid~'

[Hahaha, somehow that image is both funny and disgusting enough for me to almost throw up in my mouth.]

'I wonder if it's Ichigo x Ishida or the other way around.'

[*Urgh* Now you are really pushing it.]

'Pushing it? Nonono, I only want to know who is pushing their d...'

[YESYESYES, I got it, I got it!]

A while later, Ishida finally managed to stabilize his weapon, and Ichigo fell to his knees. Seeing the duo's condition, Yuna could only shake her head.

"Who the hell almost dies due to their own power? That's a rather sad way to go, isn't it."

Instead of answering, Hinata and Naruto simply nodded their heads in agreement. The highest priority in their training has always been control, so neither of them could even imagen that their power would go out of control. At least not in an uncontrolled environment like Ichigo's just did.

Suddenly, a tall, muscular man flew towards the hole that was still somewhat visible in the sky. If Yuna remembered correctly, he was the guy who moved Sado around. Simultaneously, two young kids appeared and started squashing a few nearby insects causing Yuna to squint.

'They are crushing the devices used to monitor Ichigo. Why are they doing it now and not while the fight was happening? Let me see; I guess their faction and the one who is frequently monitoring Ichigo have similar goals but also quite a few differences. Seems like things around Ichigo are even more hectic than I expected.'

"Ara, seems like things went well. Good joy, good job, hahaha."

Meanwhile, Kisuke approached the trio and happily started chatting with them as if there was nothing fishy going on. It was easy to guess that the large man, who was currently fixing the hole in the sky, and the two children crushing monitoring devices were of the same faction.

"If it isn't the shady merchant. Good to see you here, as I have a few questions for you."

Kisuke chuckled goodheartedly, but before he could comment further, his senses sharpened as he immediately took a more cautious stance. Without him even realizing it, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto had spread out a little, surrounding him in the process.

'Yeah, these definitely aren't normal kids.'

Since his opponent appeared to be rather serious, he took on a more serious facial expression as well.

"Very well, I have a few questions of my own. How about taking turns?"

Yuna hummed in acknowledgment as she reduced the pressure she was oozing to show that she wouldn't mind a civil conversation.

"Very well, here comes the first question: Why are you and another faction I don't know grooming Ichigo to become stronger?"

Kisuke had to try really hard not to change his facial expression when that question was asked. He briefly wondered whether he should try to get rid of the trio to prevent information from leaking out but discarded the idea rather quickly.

'Currently, these three are either neutral or allies. Although Kurosaki is the most important person in this plan, having these three as enemies might be an unwanted variable. The speed at which they arrived near the Menos Grande was no joke, so I might not be capable of catching all three of them. For now, I won't take any drastic actions.'

Kisuke was about to answer Yuna's question when a smirk appeared on her face as she relaxed her stance.

"So you have decided to talk it out first, huh? Good decision. Anyway, it's not like I want you to spill your deepest, most hidden secret. Just give me what you can, and I will do the same."

Kisuke was somewhat bewildered at how easily Yuna could read what decision he had come to, resulting in him increasing Yuna's assumed danger level even further. He took a deep breath as he prepared himself for a conversation that undoubtedly would be rather dangerous. He gave his surroundings a brief glance, and after making sure that Ichigo and Ishida had fainted and that Rukia wasn't nearby, he started talking.

"I can't tell you all the details, but what I can tell you is that Kurosaki has the potential to become very powerful. More powerful than anybody else. The other faction and I both want Ichigo to reach that level."

Yuna squinted her eyes as she digested what she had just heard. After a short moment, she simply nodded her head in understanding and notion Kisuke that it was his turn to ask a question.

"Who are you three? No matter how I look at it, you are not normal high school students. Whether it's your strength, combat experience, or ability to cooperate. All of them are abnormal."

Yuna nodded her head in understanding, and after briefly thinking how she could best structure her answer, she resumed talking.

"As you undoubtedly have gathered some information about us, you probably have already realized that most of our resume is fake?"

Kisuke quickly confirmed Yuna's question as he eagerly waited for her to continue.

"Well, up until our adoption, everything is real, but afterward, everything was edited. Instead of growing up normally, we grew up in a Shinobi Village deeply hidden inside a forest. There, we were trained to become skilled Shinobi. Just like in your case, I can't tell you everything, but let's just say something went wrong, and here we are: Three young adults with the skills and strength to kill a bear barehanded."

Hearing Yuna's claim, Kisuke couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in doubt. Obviously, he had heard about Shinobi before, but that was usually either inside fiction or at some kind of tourist attraction.

"I'm sorry, but you must be aware that that claim is rather hard to believe."

Yuna could only shrug her shoulders when she heard the doubt in Kisuke's voice. After all, she would have been more surprised if he had just eaten every piece of information she gave him without question.

"True, it's rather hard to believe, isn't it? Well, our obvious skills in combat aside, how about I show you something else? Make a guess. How many hidden weapons am I currently carrying?"

As Yuna said that, she spread her arms, allowing Kisuke a better look at her clothes. He couldn't help but frown when he heard Yuna's words; after all, he was once part of Seireitei's stealth force, so being incapable of discerning that someone was wearing hidden weapons was a huge blunder.

He inspected Yuna's clothes, but no matter how much he looked, he couldn't find anything, making him frown.

'Is she bluffing me? Why would she do that? I don't get the situation.'

"You aren't carrying any."

"Hehe, too bad, that's wrong~"

As Yuna said that, she flicked her wrists, resulting in two small daggers appearing in her hands, making Kisuke's eyes go wide.

'She was really carrying something!? Shit, it's been a long time since I was last active; I must have gotten rusty. Nonetheless, even if I'm rusty, I guess there is no longer any point in doubting her.

"Fine, I believe you about going through Shinobi training. Although I still find it weird, it's the most reasonable explanation I have so far. Anyway, your turn."

Yuna nodded her head in agreement as she opened her mouth and resumed talking.

"Very well, next question: Who is the other person spying on Ichigo~"

A shiver went through Kisuke's spine when he heard the tone of Yuna's voice. On the one hand, it had a certain sweetness to it, like she couldn't wait to receive a piece of excellent news; on the other hand, it sounded like a demon awaiting the announcement of the next soul it was supposed to harvest.

Despite that, Kisuke straightened his spine and quickly answered Yuna's question.

"His name is S?suke Aizen, one of the Captains of Seireitei, but I hope you won't interfere with him or spread this information up to a certain point in time. Him having his way, for now, is a crucial part of my plan, and I truly hope you won't meddle too much."

Yuna pondered Kisuke's request for a short moment before humming in acknowledgment without really meaning it. If she found a good opportunity, she would undoubtedly mess with him to no end.

"Fine, but there is one thing I need to make absolutely clear: S?suke Aizen is my enemy."

Kisuke simply nodded his head at Yuna's declaration. Obviously, he had no trouble with that, as it was the same for him.

"Very well, I believe it's my turn again. This one is specifically directed towards you little brother."

As Kisuke said that, his gaze wandered from Yuna to Naruto, who nodded his head, indicating that he was ready to answer.

"Why can you use wind like that? Controlling wind that freely without a Zanpakuto should be impossible."

Hearing that question, Naruto could only shrug his shoulders with a wry smile on his face.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but who knows? Personally, I just feel very close to the wind, and someday I somehow managed to control it a little. From there on, I continued training this unknown ability, bringing it to the current point."

A frown appeared on Kisuke's as he thought about Naruto's answer that wasn't really an answer. Although he briefly considered that Naruto simply lied to him, the young didn't give of such a feeling as he was confidently holding eye contact, waiting for Kisuke to say something.

Moments later, Kisuke visibly deflated before he immediately bounced back as a goofy smile appeared on his face.

"My~ It can't be helped; it can't be helped. How about you occasionally visit my shop, so I can test a few things?"

Instead of answering Kisuke's request, Naruto took out a phone and held it to his ear.

"Yes, mister police officer, the suspicious man is back. He invited me into his shop and wanted to do some kind of experiment with my body. Yes, like always; green and white striped hat, yes. Okay, please hurry up."

As soon as Naruto was done talking, his phone vanished back into his pocket, and his gaze returned to Kisuke.

"Sorry, very important call. What were we talking about?"

Yet again, Kisuke's eyebrows started twitching in irritation. He really wondered why these damn twins acted so rampant but decided to shelf the matter. Somehow, he felt like he would only get another nonsensical answer.

"Anyway, let's stop here, as I'm done with asking questions for now. I'm not willing to give out information for free."

Hearing Kisuke's words, Yuna's face fell as an annoyed expression appeared on her face.

"Seriously, you make me all hot and bothered (for information), and then you leave me hanging. Are you into tease and denial?"

Kisuke could only facepalm when he heard Yuna make yet another innuendo. He briefly pondered whether he should retort, but he discarded that idea. He could already feel a headache coming.

"Anyway, I'm leaving. I have accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish, so there is no point in staying any longer."

"Wait for a second; at least give me a little freebie. How long is this round of 4D chess going to last, and when can I start kicking against the table?"

'Yep, that headache is definitely coming.'

As these thoughts briefly passed through Kisuke's mind, he refocused on Yuna and briefly considered telling her that she shouldn't interfere at all, but considering what he had seen of her personality so far, that was pretty much begging her to run amok.

"*Sigh* This mess should be over in about a year. As for when you can interfere: in a few months. You will know exactly when that will be. It's a rather obvious incident."

[Wow, did this guy just assume that you would be capable of using common sense to realize when you can start messing with people?]

'Well, Kurama, nobody is perfect. But I wonder what kind of incident he is talking about. Mhh, I guess me arriving home today would be a good point.'

[*Sigh* I wonder for how long have these two factions been carefully building their card houses just for you to burst into the room, scantily dressed, drunk, and with a giant sword in hand.]

'Well, that wouldn't be the first time that happens.'

[I know, that's why I'm mentioning it.]

'Hahaha, don't be like that, Kurama. I'll control myself this time.'

[I appreciate the lie, so thanks, I guess.]

'Hehe, no big deal.'

Meanwhile, in a nearby safe-house, three people wore different expressions. One was excited, one was worried, and the last was stoic. These three people were Tatsuki, Orihime, and Sado, who were brought here by Kisuke's people so they could spectate the fight.

"Amazing! What amazing power! Naruto definitely has to teach how to do that. *Mmpf* He better not think that he can act so bold in front of me and not teach me how to fight like that!"

As Tatsuki remembered how assertive Naruto went after her, she couldn't help but blush while a small giggle escaped her mouth.

While Tatsuki was giggling, Orihime's expression grew even more worried.

"Is this where we choose our path? What am I supposed to do?"

Hearing Orihime's words, Tatsuki got out of her daze and briefly glanced at Orihime.

"If I were, to be honest with you, Orihime, you are not a fighter."

Orihime flinched when she heard Tatsuki's words before lowering her head. Although she felt that to be true, she still wasn't happy about that. Meanwhile, Tatsuki saw her downed expression and only shook her head with a wry smile.

"Please don't misunderstand me, Orihime. I said you are not a fighter; I didn't say that you shouldn't help. You can heal and shield people, making it rather obvious that you are a better fit for supporting people rather than fighting directly."

Orihime somewhat relaxed her posture as she nodded her head in agreement. Although she had something she could attack with as well, she had very little confidence in actually launching a proper attack. Rather than aggressively attacking, she would rather use her power for defense.

After briefly making up her mind, some confidence returned to Orihime's gaze as she started considering how she could improve herself.

On the other hand, there was not a smidgen of doubt in Sado's mind.

'Ichigo's fighting this creature, so I'll do the same. I'll grow my power, making sure I can protect everyone I want to protect.'

Meanwhile, in Seireitei, Aizen had a satisfied smile on his face as he watched Ichigo wound the Menos Grande. He had planned for Ichigo to have such an encounter soon, but Ishida's action allowed him to speed up his plan.

"Everything went even better than planned. How satisfying. However..."

Aizen squinted his eyes as he looked at the Yuna, Hinata, Naruto combo that killed the Menos Grande.

"... how fascinating. A mere three humans actually achieved a level of power that allowed them to kill Menos Grande. Truly fascinating. Additionally..."

Aizen's gaze wandered towards another screen that simply showed the picture of an orange-haired young woman.

"... this one is the most interesting. Albeit not as strong as the other three, this one has the power to reject things. Marvelous, a power that might even surpass a god. I wonder how far it can be developed. After I finish setting my base up properly, I'll definitely have to capture her and inspect her power properly. As for the other three..."

Yet again, Aizen let his gaze wander. This time, he inspected monitors that displayed pictures of Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto.

"... The twins interest me. One is the leader of that little group, and the other has an unknown wind-based power. Should I capture both or just one of them? Anyway, that matter can be solved later. For now, I'll have to arrange some people to capture Rukia."

Aizen couldn't help but smirk when he internally went over all the events he had planned for the near future. He had prepared a lot of things. Some plans don't matter whether they succeed or not, some do, and some a somewhere in between. Picking the ones that will lead to the best outcome will be a huge challenge, but he loved nothing more than a good challenge.

A bit of excitement gleamed in Aizen's eyes which he quickly suppressed. He was looking forward to pulling all of Seireitei into his game and winning it all in the end.

"Finally, it's time for the main act to begin."

Meanwhile, a few days later, in the world of the living, two people were standing in the air and observing the device one of them was holding.

"Okay, now that we are here, where is the compass scroll?"

"No idea."

"Huh!? Eh, whatever. Let's release the Hellbutterflies; they will find her."

There was a brief pause between the two before two almost entirely black butterflies flew in a certain direction.

As the duo was following the butterflies, one of them took out a few pieces of paper and started reading them.

"Capture her, and if that is impossible, kill her, huh? Is that really the job for a Shinigami? Oh well, we are coming for you, Rukia."