Once everyone's excitement had finally died down, they realized that there was practically nothing left around them.
Ichigo scratched his head.
"This... we're probably going to have to bring soil over from somewhere else to fill this in."
"There is no need for that. There are other ways."
A crack spread open in front of the group.
Kisuke Urahara, wearing a hooded cloak and looking thoroughly travel-worn, jumped out through the fissure.
"Sorry to trouble you, Benihime."
A gigantic figure resembling a woman in a kimono appeared behind Urahara.
Following Urahara's instructions, Benihime released numerous stitch-like fissures into the surrounding area.
The fissures absorbed the Reishi scattered by Tsuna's attack.
Using the fissures as their center, the land gradually began rebuilding itself.
"The surrounding Reishi is quite abundant. Give me a little time, and this place will be restored to its original state."
After saying that, Urahara nodded toward Tsuna.
"Good work."
Before Tsuna could say anything, Ichigo spoke up on his behalf.
"Seriously, Shopkeeper! Where the hell did you run off to when we needed you? You only show up after everything's over. You're just like the cops back in Karakura Town!"
"Sorry about that, Kurosaki-san."
Urahara pressed his palms together apologetically.
"I happened to have something else to take care of at the time."
"We're saving the world here! What could possibly be more important than that?"
Ichigo clearly wasn't going to let him off that easily.
"All right, Ichigo. The Shopkeeper's abilities aren't exactly at their best when it comes to fighting head-on."
Tsuna tried to make excuses for Urahara.
"Yeah, but I've never actually seen the Shopkeeper fight head-on, so—"
Ichigo hadn't even finished speaking when someone nearby suddenly shouted Tsuna's name.
He turned around.
Tsuna had collapsed onto Tatsuki.
While calling out for anyone who could help, Tatsuki carried Tsuna to a flat section of ground.
"Shopkeeper! Captain Unohana! Please, take a look at him. Orihime, you come too!"
Tatsuki didn't need to say anything else.
Everyone with healing abilities immediately gathered around Tsuna.
Urahara and Retsu Unohana first examined Tsuna's physical condition.
Only after that did they allow Orihime Inoue to use Sōten Kisshun.
"Tsuna-kun's body isn't suffering from any major problems."
Unohana calmly gave her assessment.
"From what I can tell, he's simply exhausted himself too severely."
"I agree with Captain Unohana."
Urahara nodded.
"It seems the power Tsuna used at the very end placed an enormous strain on his mind and spirit. That's why he lost consciousness the moment he released that power."
"Understood. Thank you, both of you."
Seeing that Unohana hadn't used Kaidō, Tatsuki realized that Tsuna's condition probably wasn't a physical injury.
Even so, she thanked them.
"Orihime, how is he?"
Tatsuki turned toward Orihime.
"My powers have almost no effect on Sawada-san."
Orihime slowly shook her head.
As she spoke, she withdrew her Fullbring.
What Tsuna needed now was rest, not the continued application of Fullbring.
"The mental and spiritual strain Tsuna experienced in that final state has already exceeded the range that Inoue-san's powers can repair."
Urahara explained.
"Orihime's power is, at most, on the level of the Soul King. But Tsuna's final state, where the seven attributes merged into one, had already begun to surpass the Soul King's level."
"Inoue-san's Rejection simply isn't capable of repairing that kind of damage."
"Then does that mean Orihime won't be able to heal Tsuna in the future?"
Tatsuki immediately asked.
That was extremely important information.
"As long as Tsuna isn't injured while using that particular power, she'll be able to heal him."
Urahara answered.
"Shopkeeper, Tsuna can heal any other injuries himself, right? So what you just said is basically useless."
Ichigo didn't hold back at all.
Anyone capable of beating Tsuna badly enough to require Orihime's healing would, at the very least, need to possess power comparable to the Monk.
Without that level of strength, even if someone managed to injure Tsuna, he could simply convert his power into the Sun attribute and heal himself.
Taking all of that into account, Ichigo felt that Urahara had essentially stated the obvious.
"That is indeed the situation."
Urahara smiled wryly.
"If Tsuna fights at full strength, the battlefield has already reached a level that none of us can easily enter."
"Then are we supposed to hide behind Tsuna for the rest of our lives?"
As someone who had grown alongside Tsuna, Ichigo was obviously unwilling to accept that.
"No."
Urahara's expression became serious.
"There is another way."
"Learn to surpass Bankai."
"The power of Zanpakutō fusion is your ticket onto Tsuna's battlefield."
"Beyond Bankai?"
Ichigo rubbed his chin.
"If I remember correctly, Tsuna combined Fullbring, Shinigami power, and Hollow power to achieve it, right?"
"I wonder if Zangetsu has any ideas."
He muttered to himself.
If the situation had been more appropriate, he would have immediately entered Tōjō and gone to his Inner World to find Zangetsu.
Urahara noticed the envious looks from the others.
He opened his mouth to reassure them.
"Don't worry."
"The Soul King left potential within every one of you."
"As long as you continue training, you may also be able to achieve your own Beyond Bankai."
Tatsuki believed Urahara's words without hesitation.
That confidence came from having walked alongside Tsuna all this time.
Uryū, meanwhile, seemed deep in thought.
He had already sensed something when Tsuna broke free of his seal.
At that instant, he had inexplicably developed an interest in the sword as a weapon.
That was extraordinary.
According to the Quincy principles he had always known, Quincies used bows and arrows, not other weapons.
"Kisuke Urahara... the Soul King..."
Yamamoto didn't finish his sentence, but Urahara understood exactly what he meant.
"Former Captain-Commander, how about we wait until Tsuna wakes up before discussing this?"
"That way, we won't have to repeat ourselves several times."
"Very well."
Yamamoto did not object.
He was rather interested in hearing Tsuna's own position on the matter.
"Until then, Captain-Commander, please issue the necessary orders regarding the Gotei 13, the Seireitei, and that brush."
Urahara's gaze shifted toward the broken brush floating in the air.
Yamamoto walked over to him.
"In my opinion, seal it."
"I'm not particularly confident that I can seal him."
Urahara shook his head.
The Monk possessed the power of black.
A completely black environment would instead strengthen his abilities.
"Then—"
Yamamoto had not finished speaking when a white light descended from the heavens.
At the same time, two points of light separated from it and entered Urahara's and Yamamoto's foreheads.
"If the Soul King still wishes him to remain his servant, then let him go."
Urahara shook his head helplessly.
Those two points of white light had carried a message from the Soul King to the two of them.
They had neither the right nor the ability to interfere.
They watched as the broken Ichimonji slowly rose into the heavens through the beam of light.
Yamamoto said,
"I'll leave the elevator connecting the Seireitei and the Soul King Palace to you. Set its location in the First Division."
"Former Captain-Commander, I still have to repair this entire area!"
Urahara wailed.
"I know."
Yamamoto turned away.
"For now, I have no other orders for you. The elevator can wait."
With that, Yamamoto left.
With his experience, how could he fail to see that Urahara was subtly asking him to stop assigning him more work?
There was already more than enough to deal with in the Seireitei.
Besides, he needed to bring his troublesome disciple back first.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, I have one request for you."
Yamamoto looked at Ichigo.
"Go to Hueco Mundo and bring back all of the Gotei 13 personnel who evacuated there."
He pressed his Reiatsu into the Substitute Shinigami Badge hanging at Ichigo's waist, leaving a mark upon it.
"With this, Kyōraku Shunsui will believe you."
"That's easy. I'll go right now."
Ichigo's good-natured personality naturally meant he had no intention of refusing.
"Wait, Ichigo. I'm coming with you."
Shinji quickly followed him.
"Otherwise you'll get lost."
The former Visored leader had a secret means of communicating with the other Captains.
"What are you planning to do?"
Byakuya Kuchiki looked toward Tatsuki.
"The Kuchiki family has the best medical facilities."
"There's no need, Captain Kuchiki."
Tatsuki smiled and declined.
"We'll just go straight back to Tsuna's house. That place was built by the Kuchiki family too, wasn't it?"
It was naturally more comfortable to stay in one's own home than someone else's.
"Don't worry, Captain Kuchiki."
Unohana spoke up.
"I'll remain there until Tsuna wakes up."
Seeing that the medical personnel were already arranged, Byakuya had nothing more to say.
He simply nodded.
"Tch. Boring."
Kenpachi Zaraki spoke in his usual arrogant tone.
"Byakuya Kuchiki, if you've got nothing else to do, come fight me!"
"All right."
Kenpachi received a response he hadn't expected.
He had already prepared himself for Byakuya to refuse.
He was accustomed to being rejected.
That sudden acceptance actually left him momentarily stunned.
Byakuya felt much the same way as Kenpachi.
After witnessing such powerful battles, it was inevitable that he would feel dissatisfied with his own strength.
His desire to fight was exceptionally strong.
However, Byakuya knew Kenpachi's personality all too well and added a condition.
"We fight until the entire Gotei 13 has returned."
It wasn't that Byakuya didn't want to continue fighting.
He had a family now.
He needed to return home to take care of his wife and child.
"Got it. What a pain."
Kenpachi complained as he left together with Byakuya.
"In that case, if there's nothing else, I suppose we're dismissed."
Kensei Muguruma put his hands behind his head.
"You lot, stop right there."
Yamamoto immediately called after the Visored.
"Take the members of Squad Zero to the Fourth Division, then station yourselves at the various transport points and wait for the returning Captains. Have everyone assemble in the First Division."
Yamamoto had no hesitation about treating the Visored as free labor.
Why hadn't he given the same assignment to Byakuya and Kenpachi?
Simple.
Those two appeared to possess greater potential for growth than the Visored as a whole.
Among the Visored, only Shinji had truly caught Yamamoto's attention.
Kensei was about to complain out of habit, but Hiyori immediately ran off without saying a word.
Only then did Kensei remember that Kirio Hikifune was still lying somewhere in the Seireitei.
They needed to hurry over and rescue her.
With Hiyori taking the lead, the others could only reluctantly carry out Yamamoto's orders.
Strangely enough, Senjumaru Shutara, who was completely exhausted, had been blown outside the danger zone by the Reiatsu released during Tsuna and the Monk's battle.
After watching the entire battle, she was surprisingly unharmed.
Soul King Palace — Before the Soul King's Curtain
The black and white energies detached themselves from the broken Ichimonji.
The two energies merged together, reconstructing the Monk's form.
Ichimonji was reforged and repaired.
Its unnecessary components were removed, leaving behind only its writing ability.
The Zanpakutō, which had once been a long-handled blade, was transformed into a brush slightly longer than an arm.
The newly reshaped Ichimonji fell into the Monk's hand.
His eyes regained their clarity.
His consciousness had returned completely.
The newly reconstructed Monk no longer possessed his former robust physique.
Instead, he resembled a withered corpse that had been washed by Tsuna's natural storm.
The Soul King had not wasted even the slightest amount of energy restoring the Monk's body.
As long as he could continue moving, that was enough.
The Monk looked around at the familiar scenery and then down at his frail body.
His expression became complicated as he looked toward the man within the crystal.
When the Soul King had originally been sealed away, the Monk had naturally known that he was still alive.
But perhaps because of the passage of time, or perhaps because he had spent so many years occupying a position of authority within the Soul King Palace, the Monk had gradually begun to ignore the simple fact that the Soul King was still alive.
That was what had caused him to gradually become intoxicated by power and authority.
Until today, when he had even devoured pieces of the Soul King with his own mouth in his madness.
From the moment he chose to consume fragments of the Soul King instead of offering a devout prayer, the Monk's defeat had already become inevitable.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789