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The Substitute Shinigami Is Bloodily Carved Apart
This time, Kurosaki Ichigo's movement was almost casual. He merely tilted his head, and Shuren's firestorm attack dissolved into nothingness.
In the next instant, Ichigo became a fading afterimage, tearing through space itself. His speed was suffocating as he ripped straight toward Shuren's defensive line.
Watching this impossible sight unfold, Shuren's heart dropped hard. A chill shot straight up his spine. The Substitute Shinigami standing before him possessed power far beyond anything he had calculated.
Ichigo was already above him, like a hawk frozen mid-dive. He was so fast that Shuren did not even have time to raise a proper guard.
Ichigo crashed down with terrifying gravity. The destructive airflow alone sent the stagnant magma pool behind them surging upward in towering waves.
Shuren crossed his arms and forced up a blazing wall of fire, trying to block the falling Zangetsu.
But Ichigo's strength was brutally overwhelming. Even through the flames, that unstoppable pressure slammed down like a collapsing mountain. The ground beneath Shuren screamed in protest and caved in violently.
Cracks spread out from beneath his feet, grotesque and tangled like a demon's web. This was raw violence, poured directly onto him by Kurosaki Ichigo.
Just as Shuren steadied himself and prepared a desperate counterattack, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
The crushing force above him vanished.
In the next moment, Ichigo had already reappeared dozens of meters away, standing atop a shattered peak like a ghost.
"Hmph!"
Shuren snorted bitterly and flung his arm forward. Clusters of flames condensed into arrows of destruction, spraying toward Ichigo like machine-gun fire.
It was pointless.
Once Ichigo entered his Hollowfied state, his speed surpassed Shuren's ability to track him. He could not lock onto the target at all. Every attack tore through empty air.
Then the nightmare returned.
Without warning, Ichigo was right in front of Shuren. Zangetsu erupted with a black-and-crimson death slash.
A colossal wave of spiritual pressure slammed straight into Shuren's chest, blasting him away like a broken doll and smashing him deep into the scorched earth of hell.
Splurt!
Before the massive slash even hit the ground, a pitch-black blade pierced straight through Ichigo's chest.
At almost the same instant, the black-and-red slash finally struck the earth. Its destructive spiritual pressure detonated violently.
Behind Ichigo, a terrifying black-and-crimson mushroom cloud surged into the sky. Two full seconds passed before the thunderous explosion arrived, carrying a shockwave that burned and crushed everything in its path.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The sound was deafening, like divine judgment crashing down. It shook the heavens and shattered the nerves of anyone who heard it.
The blast flattened the surface of the land. Jagged hills and rocky ridges collapsed in an instant, reduced to dust.
Even the rivers of molten magma lost their heat under the extreme shock, solidifying into cold, lifeless stone.
Soul Society
Seeing the image of Ichigo pierced through the chest, Inoue Orihime's pupils shrank violently. She grabbed at the projected image of his arm as if she could pull him back.
"Ichigo!"
Her trembling voice was filled with fear and pain she could not suppress.
"I'm fine. That was the Black Blade, right?"
Ichigo steadied his breathing and turned toward Urahara Kisuke. In a situation like this, Urahara was the pillar of reason for everyone present.
"Bingo," Urahara said, waving his folding fan with a harmless smile. "Looks like Kurosaki-kun's brain is finally warming up."
"Tch. Same sword. Same wound. Way too obvious."
Ichigo stared at the image of himself lying there. His expression was frozen in dark fury and frustration.
"So that's it. Future me got completely played."
"Kurosaki-kun…" Ishida Uryū started to speak, then stopped. In the end, he swallowed his words. After all, none of this had happened yet. It was only a glimpse of the future.
Karakura Town, First High School
"How can this be?!"
"No way! Kurosaki can't just fall like that!"
"I don't believe it. This is ridiculous!"
"What the hell is going on? He clearly beat his opponent!"
"Ichigo!"
"He was so close! He was about to save Yuzu!"
The teachers and students descended into chaos as Ichigo collapsed on screen. To them, he was already an idol, a symbol of overwhelming strength and blazing determination that had burned itself into their hearts.
So when that light went out, what they felt was pure rage and despair.
Hueco Mundo, Las Noches
"Oh my, how truly disappointing."
Szayelaporro Granz sneered at the fallen Ichigo, his tone dripping with mockery.
"Hollowfication, huh? Looks like another one of Aizen-sama's little masterpieces."
Tier Harribel narrowed her eyes, staring at the fleeting Hollow mask that had appeared before Ichigo fell.
"He won't die so easily. Hollow regeneration won't allow it."
Ulquiorra Cifer watched coldly, instinct screaming that this human would become his destined enemy.
As Ulquiorra predicted, none of the true powerhouses watching believed Ichigo would die from wounds like these. To someone of his level, this was not fatal.
If Kurosaki Ichigo were eliminated here, it would be an insult to those ranked above him, Uchiha Madara and Hades.
Dragon Ball World
"Hahahaha! What a joke!"
Frieza laughed cruelly as he watched Ichigo impaled by the black blade.
"That level of attack actually knocked him down?"
In Frieza's eyes, such a weak strike could never harm him even if he stood still. Injured Ichigo was immediately classified as trash, a weakling not worth notice.
"Lord Frieza, we searched the surrounding star systems," Captain Ginyu reported carefully, his massive purple head bobbing as he approached. "We couldn't find anyone from the footage."
"However, we did locate a planet whose humans resemble those characters quite closely."
Frieza glanced at him coldly. The lifeless stare made Ginyu break into a sweat.
"We will head there at once and capture every suspicious individual for you, Lord Frieza!"
Far away on Earth, Son Goku and the others trained in ignorance. They had no idea that beyond the approaching Saiyan threat, Frieza's forces were also closing in.
Back in the video, the mysterious figure holding the black blade slowly approached Ichigo.
Lying in the scorched earth, Ichigo stared at the Black Blade with undisguised shock and disbelief. The figure crouched beside him and gripped the hilt of the sword still embedded in his chest.
Splurt!
Ignoring Ichigo's agony entirely, the Black Blade yanked the sword out in one brutal motion, carving him open alive.
"AAAAAH!"
Ichigo's scream tore through the wasteland.
The Black Blade watched coldly, as if observing a stray dog in the street.
"Shut up. This kind of injury isn't worth making such a fuss over."
Rising to his feet, he raised the sword and slashed down toward Ichigo's head.
This time, the blade missed. It plunged into the scorched ground beside him, yet the sheer pressure made Ichigo shudder, drenched in cold sweat.
"Why…?"
Even now, Ichigo could not understand. His mind was full of confusion. He could not accept why one of his own would suddenly turn on him.
"What I'm doing isn't any different from what they're doing. I said it already. Here, even if you die, you just come back right away."
As he spoke, molten lava surged up from the collapsed ground nearby.
It was Shuren. The man who had been blasted away was trying to revive.
Seeing this, the Black Blade strode toward the bubbling magma. His sword became a blur as he hacked wildly and relentlessly into it.
"You're in the way. Stay down. Go die for a bit."
"You… have you betrayed us?!"
"....."