The piercing sirens of alarms blared incessantly through the streets of Karakura Town.
Yoriichi stood atop a residential building, slowly closing his eyes.
Through the Transparent World, chaotic Reiatsu was scattered throughout the town.
The nearest Hollow was chasing several students near a school.
He couldn’t let them harm humans.
With that thought, Yoriichi vanished instantly.
In an alley behind the school, a Hollow raised its claws, lunging at a fallen boy.
The boy was pale; though he couldn’t see the Hollow, he could feel death approaching.
The next moment, a crimson blade flashed.
The Hollow’s movement froze in mid-air, a thin line appearing in the center of its mask before its entire body was incinerated by sun-like Reiatsu.
Yoriichi sheathed his sword, turned, and looked into the distance.
There were many more.
On the other side.
Ichigo Kurosaki, carrying his massive Zanpakutō, moved swiftly across the rooftops of a residential area.
Hollows instinctively pursue targets with high Reiatsu, and his two younger sisters possessed spiritual power far exceeding that of ordinary people.
Now that the entirety of Karakura Town was filled with Hollows, the Kurosaki family was naturally not safe.
“I have to catch up.” Ichigo gritted his teeth and quickened his pace again.
At the street corner ahead, a Hollow burst out from behind a wall, its jaws snapping at a fleeing woman.
Ichigo leaped from the rooftop, his massive blade striking the Hollow’s mask directly, smashing it into a roadside shop.
“Get out of my way!” The blade pressed down, shattering the Hollow’s mask instantly.
The woman fell to the ground, looking around in terror.
She couldn’t see Ichigo, only feeling a gust of wind rush past her.
Ichigo didn’t stop, continuing his journey home.
He had indeed agreed to the match with Uryu Ishida.
But now, who killed more was completely unimportant.
If even one ordinary person was injured because of this match, then they would both have lost.
Meanwhile, Uryu Ishida stood atop a high-rise building in the commercial district, his Reishi bow fully drawn.
Three Reishi arrows shot out simultaneously, traversing hundreds of meters and accurately piercing the masks of three Hollows.
He adjusted his glasses and quickly searched for his next target.
“Twenty-three.” As long as he maintained this speed, Ichigo Kurosaki couldn’t possibly defeat him.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the street below.
Uryu Ishida looked down and saw Ichigo standing in front of several passersby, being attacked simultaneously by two Hollows.
One of the Hollows lunged at Ichigo from behind.
Uryu raised his hand and shot an arrow through it.
Ichigo glanced back, then swung his massive Zanpakutō, cleaving the Hollow in two.
“You were only focused on killing Hollows and counting them, did you even look at the people around you?” Uryu Ishida leaped from the rooftop, Reishi gathering beneath his feet, allowing him to land smoothly in the middle of the street.
“By eliminating the Hollows, I was also protecting them.” “If you hadn’t used bait to lure so many Hollows, they wouldn’t have been in any danger!” Ichigo grabbed Uryu’s collar, his face contorted with rage.
Uryu Ishida didn’t back down, staring coldly at him.
“Shinigami only send Hollows into the cycle of reincarnation; sinful souls can still fall again.
Only by completely eradicating them can we eliminate this scourge.” “I don’t understand the grudges of two hundred years ago.” Ichigo released his grip and hoisted his sword onto his shoulder.
“But I can see the person in front of me who will get hurt.
Even if you win the duel, you lose the principles of being a decent human being.” Uryu Ishida’s fingers paused slightly.
He didn’t answer, but simply reassembled his Reishi bow, turned, and leaped onto the high building.
Ichigo watched his retreating figure, cursed the troublesome fellow, and continued towards the Kurosaki Clinic.
Near the school.
Yoriichi drew his sword and slashed, causing three Hollows to freeze simultaneously.
Crimson flames ignited from their wounds, and their massive bodies quickly dissipated.
Yoriichi was preparing to find his next target when the ground beneath his feet suddenly trembled.
A thick and oppressive Reiatsu descended abruptly from afar.
Yoriichi looked up, a change appearing on his usually calm face for the first time.
“A Hollow.” And, very close to the Kurosaki residence.
Damn it.
Yoriichi gripped his sword tightly and rushed towards the direction from which the spiritual pressure had come.
Outside the Kurosaki Clinic, a massive black rift stretched across the sky.
A gigantic Menos Grande, its form as massive as a skyscraper, emerged from the crack, its pale mask surveying the streets below.
Ichigo stood on a rooftop, gripping his Zanpakutō tightly in both hands.
“How could I let something like this get near my house?” The Menos Grande opened its mouth, a crimson Cero rapidly gathering within it.
Ichigo stood in the middle of the street, bracing himself.
Behind him stretched a vast expanse of residential buildings.
He couldn’t dodge.
If he moved aside, that attack would destroy half the city block.
A massive golden slash shot into the sky, colliding head-on with the crimson Cero.
The shockwave from the explosion swept through the street.
Ichigo’s feet sank into the ground, his arms trembling violently.
However, the Menos Grande didn’t stop charging.
“It’s not over yet!” He gritted his teeth, channeling all his spiritual power into his blade.
An even stronger Reiatsu erupted from within, forcefully cleaving the Cero in two.
A crack appeared in the Menos Grande’s mask, and its massive body began to recoil.
But Ichigo’s situation was equally dire.
His spiritual pressure was out of control, gushing wildly outwards.
Uryu Ishida landed on another rooftop and, upon witnessing this, his expression instantly changed.
“You bastard, why did you push yourself to the point of self-destruction in a mere contest?” Ichigo, using his sword to support himself, gasped, “I can’t watch it destroy this place.” “The contest can wait.
We have to stop it now.” Uryu looked at him, and suddenly his grandfather came to mind.
Soken Ishida had always hoped that Shinigami and Quincy would fight side by side.
But to prove that the Quincy were stronger, he had deliberately attracted a large number of Hollows, nearly killing innocent people.
What was he trying to prove?
Uryu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the obsession in them had vanished.
“I’ll help you.” He drew his Reishi bow, aiming it at Ichigo’s back.
“You hold it back, I’ll manage your overflowing spiritual pressure.” Ichigo grinned.
“You could have said that earlier.” The two forces converged in the night sky.
Ichigo swung his sword again, a massive slash slamming into the Menos Grande’s mask.
Uryu, meanwhile, gathered all the scattered spiritual pressure, condensing it into a giant spiritual arrow.
“Go up there!” The spiritual arrow shot into the sky, carrying away the out-of-control power within Ichigo.
The Menos Grande let out a low growl and retreated into the rift.
Ichigo collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
Uryu dispersed his bow and said softly, “I lost this match.” “It’s good that you understand.” Ichigo lay on the ground, weakly waving his hand.
“Don’t take your anger out on innocent people again.” Yoriichi arrived just in time, seeing the crack gradually closing, and slowly released his grip on the hilt of his sword.
It seemed the matter was over.
But the next moment, a tearing sound suddenly came from the sky.
The crack, about to close, was forcibly wrenched open by an immense force.
Yoriichi looked up.
Ichigo and Uryu also looked up at the sky at the same time.
Behind the crack, one pale mask after another was crowded together.
Densely packed.
All of them were Menos Grande.