"The sky's getting late. It's time for me to set out and find my companions. Captain Ukitake, I'll leave Ginjo and Tsukishima in your care."
As Tsuna stepped out the door, he turned back and added,
"Let me repeat—none of us have any hostile intentions. We're not here to invade the Seireitei, so please don't worry."
With that, Tsuna vanished in a flash of Shunpo, moving toward several familiar signatures of Reiatsu.
His first target was Inoue Orihime.
Among their entire group, Orihime had the weakest combat ability, making her the highest priority for protection.
As for why Tsuna wasn't looking for Arisawa Tatsuki first—it was because Tatsuki's combat ability was actually quite strong. In the Seireitei, she was perfectly capable of protecting herself.
Leaving the Squad 13 barracks, Tsuna followed Orihime's Reiatsu through the streets and alleys of the Seireitei.
At this moment, he couldn't help recalling Tsukishima's ability. Tsukishima was really convenient—he could directly control buildings and travel toward his target in a straight line.
Tsuna, however, had to avoid attracting attention. He even gave up using Shunpo to travel across the sky of the Seireitei, instead running along the streets.
Before long, however, he encountered a dazzling bald head.
Even in the darkness of night, it shone brilliantly.
"Looks like our luck's good, Yumichika—we've run into another one."
The one who spoke was the owner of that shining bald head.
After adjusting to the glare, Tsuna realized there were two people blocking his path.
One was a bald man with striking red eyeshadow.
The other had colorful feather-like decorations at the corners of his eyes and carried himself with elegant poise.
With those unmistakable features, Tsuna instantly recognized them.
The bald one was Madarame Ikkaku, and the flamboyant one beside him was his close friend Ayasegawa Yumichika.
Both were members of the combat-focused Squad 11.
After hearing Ikkaku's words, Tsuna noticed a clear wound across his brow and the slightly disheveled Shihakushō he wore—clear signs that Ikkaku had just finished a battle.
"Would you two mind letting me pass?" Tsuna asked with a smile.
"Are you kidding me?!" Ikkaku immediately refused. "This is a lucky encounter!"
He then tiptoed and began performing a strange celebratory dance to commemorate his incredible luck.
Seeing this classic scene, Tsuna watched with interest until the dance finished.
When it ended, Ikkaku pointed his Zanpakutō at Tsuna and declared arrogantly,
"State your name. I don't cut down nameless opponents."
"Before that," Tsuna said calmly, "can you tell me who caused that injury?"
Ikkaku's expression stiffened.
The man in front of him was also a Ryoka—an intruder. They must know each other.
"What's your relationship with that guy named Kurosaki Ichigo?"
Tsuna couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
Ichigo and Ikkaku truly had some strange karmic connection—once again the two of them had run into each other.
However, this time Ichigo's strength had already surpassed his strength in the original story. There was no way Ikkaku could be his opponent.
"What are you laughing at?" Ikkaku snapped.
Tsuna's laughter reminded him of how Ichigo had knocked him down in three quick strikes.
He still couldn't figure out where that Ryoka had come from, but the man's combat ability was terrifying—even a member of the combat squad couldn't defeat him.
Fortunately, Kurosaki Ichigo hadn't intended to kill them. After knocking both Ikkaku and Yumichika down, he simply left.
Yumichika didn't even have external injuries.
But that was exactly what irritated Ikkaku the most.
As a battle maniac, he could accept losing while covered in blood.
But being spared by Ichigo—that was what he couldn't accept.
Now that he had encountered Ichigo's companion, this was the perfect chance to reclaim his pride.
"It's nothing," Tsuna said lightly. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. Madarame Ikkaku—you'd better remember it."
"What?"
Before Ikkaku could react to how Tsuna knew his name, something even more shocking happened.
Suddenly he felt a heavy weight on his shoulder.
Tsuna had appeared at his side in an instant.
With one hand pressing down on Ikkaku's shoulder, Tsuna simply leapt past him.
"Stop!"
Behind Ikkaku, Yumichika reacted far faster.
He stepped back, drew his Zanpakutō, and recited its Shikai release command, blocking Tsuna's path.
"Bloom, Fuji Kujaku."
Yumichika's Zanpakutō transformed into a claw-like weapon composed of four curved blades.
However, he didn't immediately attack Tsuna.
According to their usual practice, whenever Ikkaku wanted to fight, Ikkaku would take the lead. Yumichika rarely interfered in his battles.
So Yumichika merely blocked Tsuna's path.
The surge of Yumichika's Reiatsu also reminded Ikkaku.
Ikkaku connected the hilt and sheath of his sword together.
"Extend, Hōzukimaru!"
With a swift turn, Ikkaku released his Zanpakutō.
It transformed into a wooden spear.
Having already witnessed Tsuna's strength, Ikkaku didn't waste words. He thrust Hōzukimaru straight toward Tsuna's back.
Tsuna tilted his body slightly, easily avoiding the strike.
But immediately afterward, the spear split into three segments.
The spearhead swung around, whipping toward Tsuna's neck.
Clang!
Tsuna drew his Zanpakutō and blocked the attack.
A ferocious grin spread across Ikkaku's face.
"Remember this well—your opponent is Madarame Ikkaku, Third Seat of the Kenpachi Squad(Squad 11)!"
Announcing his name during battle was Ikkaku's habit.
But before he could finish properly, Tsuna had already moved.
"Sorry," Tsuna said. "I don't have much time to waste fighting you."
The moment he finished speaking—
His entire body suddenly glowed white.
With a speed Ikkaku couldn't even react to, Tsuna slashed down and cut Hōzukimaru in half.
Without stopping for even a moment, Tsuna spun and kicked Ikkaku directly in the abdomen, sending him crashing into a wall.
Tsuna followed immediately.
At the exact moment Ikkaku hit the wall, Tsuna's fists and kicks rained down like a storm.
Before long, Ikkaku was beaten into complete helplessness, his eyes nearly rolling back.
After years of training with Yoruichi, Tsuna's Hakuda was far from weak.
Under the white glow, his speed and strength exploded simultaneously. Combined with the sudden destruction of Hōzukimaru, Ikkaku had no chance to react.
The white transformation that made Tsuna resemble a Super Saiyan was the Sun Attribute ability within his Fullbring.
a Sun-attribute Limit Break.
It pushed the body into an ultra-active state for three minutes, dramatically increasing speed and strength.
In truth, Ikkaku wasn't weak at all.
If he had time to recover, his combat strength would easily surpass that of ordinary lieutenants.
Not to mention—he was hiding the power of Bankai.
Only Tsuna's sudden explosive burst allowed him to defeat Ikkaku so quickly.
Seeing Ikkaku defeated, Yumichika could no longer remain idle.
He swung Fuji Kujaku toward Tsuna.
But even Ikkaku—who was stronger in both swordsmanship and Hakuda—had already lost.
How could Yumichika possibly defeat Tsuna in his hyper-active state?
Tsuna easily blocked the claw strike with his Zanpakutō.
After a few quick blows, Yumichika collapsed as well.
Tsuna then released the Limit Break state.
Walking over, he picked up the broken section of Hōzukimaru lying in front of Yumichika.
"Why fight using a method you're not good at?" Tsuna said calmly. "If you used Kidō, you might actually be able to exchange a few moves with me."
"You don't understand…" Yumichika muttered from beside the wall, but the pain prevented him from continuing.
"Power is just power," Tsuna said. "Its external form doesn't really matter."
"Isn't it because you're not strong enough that you can't meet your captain's expectations?"
Yumichika fell silent.
He knew very well what kind of person their captain, Zaraki Kenpachi, was.
The stronger someone was, the happier Kenpachi would be.
Tsuna picked up another broken piece of Hōzukimaru and returned to Ikkaku, placing the fragments together.
The weapon barely resembled a three-section spear now.
Hōzukimaru and Renji's Zabimaru could probably be called the two most fragile Zanpakutō in Soul Society.
Both had the unfortunate habit of breaking whenever things got serious.
However, Zabimaru usually broke along the extended chain segments. Even when damaged, Renji could still manipulate the blade fragments like projectiles.
But Hōzukimaru was much worse.
It simply shattered into useless wooden fragments, providing no additional combat ability.
Later in the story, Ikkaku even abandoned his Zanpakutō entirely and fought using pure Hakuda.
From Tsuna's perspective, a Zanpakutō shouldn't be something so fragile.
He even felt that if Ikkaku insisted on abandoning sword techniques, he would be better off not releasing his Zanpakutō at all and fighting with the Asauchi form of Hōzukimaru.
Looking at other Shinigami's Shikai, how many of them broke this easily?
Tsuna's only conclusion was that something was wrong with Ikkaku's Zanpakutō.
If Zabimaru breaking was part of its nature, then Hōzukimaru breaking was extremely abnormal.
Tsuna even suspected that Ikkaku—just like Yumichika—might actually be using an incorrect Shikai.
No wonder they were such good friends.
Twisting open the tail end of Hōzukimaru, Tsuna found a small hidden compartment.
Inside was hemostatic medicine.
The name Hōzukimaru itself was related to medicinal herbs.
It was even possible that Ikkaku's Zanpakutō was originally related to healing abilities like Kaidō.
But in order to follow Zaraki Kenpachi's path, Ikkaku had forcibly turned it into a purely physical combat weapon.
That would explain why his Shikai was so underwhelming.
Not only did it lack additional abilities—it broke easily as well.
In fact, Hōzukimaru seemed even more temperamental than Yumichika's Fuji Kujaku.
At least Fuji Kujaku had never snapped.
Tsuna tossed the medicine toward Ikkaku and placed the broken spear beside him.
As for Ikkaku's muscle-brained personality, Tsuna had little to say.
Unlike Yumichika, he wasn't someone who could be persuaded with a few words.
Tsuna turned to leave.
But Ikkaku suddenly spoke.
"Wait… how did you… know… about the medicine…?"
Ikkaku felt as if Tsuna had seen through all his secrets.
How could Sawada Tsunayoshi know there was medicine hidden inside Hōzukimaru?
Did this guy also know about the other power he was hiding?
Tsuna crouched beside him.
"Strictly speaking, you're actually a genius," Tsuna said.
"With only part of your Zanpakutō's power, you've already reached Bankai."
"I can't even imagine how strong you would be if you truly mastered all of Hōzukimaru's power."
Ikkaku's eyes widened.
So this man really knew—he knew about the Bankai he had been hiding.
But what did he mean by Hōzukimaru's true power?
"What… do you mean…?"
"A Zanpakutō only shows a portion of its power," Tsuna said calmly.
"Have you ever wondered why your Zanpakutō carries medicine?"
"Do you truly understand your own Zanpakutō?"
Having said enough, Tsuna didn't wait for Ikkaku's response.
He had somewhere else to be.
Because he had just sensed Inoue Orihime's Reiatsu beginning to fluctuate.
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