His memories were jumbled.
A pitch-black room, a lit screen, and a half-finished manga.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s body froze, his fingers on the hilt of his sword no longer tightening.
He remembered.
He didn’t originally belong to this world.
That night, he had lain in bed, staying up all night reading manga.
When he saw Ichigo Kurosaki gain the power of a Shinigami, a sudden, sharp pain had shot through his chest.
And then… That was it.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
That was his current name.
Because so much time had passed since his transmigration, his memories of his past life had remained dormant.
Only now, stimulated by the massive surge of Ichigo’s spiritual power, had all those forgotten things come flooding back.
Shinigami, Hollows, Soul Society.
“Bleach, so this is it!” Yoriichi murmured.
He raised his hands, his gaze falling on his palms.
Beneath his skin, blood flowed through his veins, muscles contracted with the movement of his fingers, and he could see even the subtle changes that occurred after the Reishi (spiritual particles) entered his body.
A transparent world.
This wasn’t a power that should exist in the world of Bleach.
Not only had his name changed to Yoriichi Tsugikuni, but he had also brought over that person’s unparalleled talent.
No wonder his body could understand any sword technique after seeing it only once.
Yoriichi looked down at his waist.
The katana that had suddenly materialized hung there quietly.
It had a plain gray scabbard, and a sun-shaped tsuba (guard) at the end of the hilt.
This was the Zanpakutō that had materialized from his soul the moment his memories awakened.
“Heroic Glory.” The blade vibrated slightly the moment the name echoed in his mind.
A warm Reiatsu (spiritual pressure) flowed through his palm.
It didn’t burn him; instead, it quickly calmed the chaotic flood of his memories.
More memories of this life surfaced.
An orphan from childhood, adopted by foster parents.
He never cried, rarely spoke, and could often stare at empty spaces for a long time.
His adoptive parents didn’t hate him because of this.
They gave him a normal family and taught him how to live like a normal person.
But during middle school, they both died in a car accident, leaving him only a house and enough savings to live on for many years.
Yoriichi was silent for a few seconds.
“Does being transmigrated mean you have to lose both parents?” He said this with a bitter smile.
This wasn’t funny at all.
Fortunately, after entering high school, he made several friends.
Kurosaki Ichigo, Inoue Orihime, Yasutora Sado (Chad), and Arisawa Tatsuki, among others.
Especially Kurosaki Ichigo.
That guy always seemed fierce, but when Yoriichi ate lunch alone, he would simply sit next to him with his lunchbox.
His reason was that he felt sorry for him being alone.
Thinking of this, Yoriichi looked up again.
“That saves me the trouble of interfering with the plot.” Inside the Kurosaki Clinic, the blinding spiritual light finally dissipated.
Kuchiki Rukia knelt on the ground, staring in disbelief at what lay before her.
Ichigo’s soul had completely left his body, clad entirely in a black shihakushō (Shinigami robe).
He held the enormous Zanpakutō in his hands, the massive blade easily taller than Rukia herself.
“How could this be…” Rukia looked down at her hands, her shock impossible to conceal.
She had only intended to share a portion of her power.
But the instant the blade pierced Ichigo’s chest, all of her Shinigami power was drained from her.
“I only meant to give you a fraction of my spiritual power, and you took it all!” Ichigo turned his head, his brows furrowed.
“We’ll talk about that later.” “Let’s deal with the immediate problem first!” Rukia was speechless for a moment.
Knowing nothing, yet daring to charge forward with his Zanpakutō—what was going on in this guy’s head?
However, the Reiatsu emanating from Ichigo was indeed ridiculously strong.
That spiritual pressure continued to spread outward, even interfering with her senses.
Even more astonishingly, the size of that Zanpakutō far exceeded that of an ordinary Shinigami’s weapon.
No human had ever achieved this level of power upon first acquiring Shinigami abilities.
The Hollow lowered its head, its white mask aimed at Ichigo.
It could sense that the human before it had changed.
The desire to devour souls overwhelmed its instinctive unease, and it opened its mouth, letting out a piercing roar.
A gigantic hand slammed down.
“Ichigo, watch out!” Rukia couldn’t help but shout.
Ichigo didn’t back down.
He gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and swung it upwards to meet the descending hand.
Bang!
The Hollow’s arm was severed in one strike, and what gushed from the cut wasn’t blood, but rapidly dissipating black Reishi.
The Hollow let out a scream.
Ichigo landed beside the broken wall, the massive Zanpakutō slung over his shoulder, his face grim as he stared at the monster.
The sight of Yuzu and Karin lying on the ground ignited his fury.
“How dare you lay a hand on my family…” The Hollow opened its mouth, attempting to swallow him whole.
Ichigo pushed off with his feet, leaping into the air.
His movements lacked skill, and even his grip on the sword was subpar, but his immense Reiatsu compensated for these shortcomings.
The giant blade cleaved down from above.
“Repent properly, you fish-faced freak!” The blade pierced through the white mask, then sliced cleanly through the Hollow’s body.
The Fishbone Hollow froze in place.
The next moment, its massive body split in two, transforming into countless glowing white Reishi that rapidly dissipated into the night sky, purified and sent to the Soul Society.
Ichigo landed back in his room, his Zanpakutō slamming onto the floor with a dull thud.
He caught his breath and immediately ran towards his family.
“Yuzu, Karin!” “Don’t touch them.” Rukia, leaning against the wall, stood up weakly.
“They were just knocked unconscious by the Reiatsu.” Ichigo stopped moving.
“Really?” “I have no reason to lie to you.” Hearing this, Ichigo visibly relaxed.
Rukia, however, did not relax.
She turned to look beyond the broken wall, her gaze settling on the shadows across the street.
For a fleeting moment, she had felt an intensely hot Reiatsu.
Unfortunately, she was too weak now; Ichigo had absorbed all her spiritual power, and she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.
Ichigo followed her gaze, but saw only an empty street.
In the shadows, Yoriichi Tsugikuni released his grip on his sword hilt.
The radiance transformed into crimson Reishi, re-merging into his soul.
Now that Ichigo had dealt with the Fishbone Hollow, there was no need for him to remain visible.
Regarding his Zanpakutō and the suddenly awakened memories in his mind, he needed time to sort them out.
More importantly, he now knew that his peaceful daily life was about to end.
Yoriichi took one last look at the Kurosaki Clinic, then turned and walked into the night.
“Looks like I don’t need to intervene.”