Never heard of that name.
If those words had come from the mouths of Ōetsu and the other three, it would not have been much of a problem. But coming from Ichibē, they were terrifying.
Ōetsu and the other three all looked toward Ichibē at once. When they realized there was nothing joking about his expression, their hearts sank.
Ichibē was serious.
That made this a serious matter.
After all, Ichibē controlled the power of names. There should not be a single name under heaven that he did not know. If Ichibē said he did not know it, then that was frightening.
Tsunayoshi Sawada…
Had he popped out of a stone?
Tsunayoshi also thought of this issue. He had not expected the system that brought him here to solve his talent problem but fail to solve his identity problem.
Still, it was not entirely bad that Ichibē's attention had shifted from Ichigo to him. At the very least, Tsunayoshi was stronger than Ichigo.
"My lord, we've never met before, so of course you wouldn't know my name," Tsunayoshi said as though it were perfectly natural.
"You may call me Ichibē. I am the one who names all people and things in this world. I have never given the name Tsunayoshi Sawada."
Ichibē glared at Tsunayoshi, once again pressuring him with his presence.
"Tsunayoshi Sawada, you are not of this world. Who exactly are you?"
Ichibē's aura might have been enough to frighten others, but Tsunayoshi was not afraid of him. He deliberately answered in a roundabout way.
"Of course I'm not from Soul Society. I'm from the World of the Living. I'm human."
"Still trying to dodge the question?"
A ring of golden light appeared around Ichibē.
"Hyapporankan!"
One golden rod of light after another shot toward Tsunayoshi.
Tsunayoshi did not even move.
The greatsword, fists, and kicks beside him struck down every single rod.
Ichigo and Tatsuki half-stepped in front of Tsunayoshi. Helping and supporting one another was the secret behind how their group of friends had grown this far together.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo shouted, pointing Zangetsu at Ichibē. "You've been saying things no one can understand from the start! Me, Tsunayoshi—we're not prey for you to do whatever you want with!"
Tsunayoshi looked at Ichigo in surprise. Ichigo's tone actually suited the situation rather well. It expressed his anger perfectly. But his words also made Tsunayoshi unable to stop thinking of a certain legendary Schrift "D."
"You do not understand? Then this old man will explain once more."
Ichibē, by contrast, seemed very patient.
"Ichigo Kurosaki, you are the key to maintaining the stability of the Three Worlds. Therefore, you must come with this old man to the Soul King Palace."
"As for Tsunayoshi Sawada, this person should never have existed in the world to begin with. His parents should have remained childless their entire lives. This old man searched, and everything changed sixteen years ago."
Ichibē raised his hand.
A book formed from spiritual power appeared in his palm.
"This old man has searched through this Register of All Names, yet your name cannot be found. I do not know what method you used to come to this world, but it is clear that you do not truly exist in this world."
"You succeeded in appearing here, but you overlooked the most fundamental thing of all: a name."
The pages of Ichibē's book turned without wind. Everyone present seemed able to see their own names written within it.
"Everything in this world gains meaning only once it has a name."
"A name is the anchor that fastens all things to this world. What this old man controls is the power to name all things."
Ichibē closed the book, pointed at Tsunayoshi, and shouted, "Therefore, Tsunayoshi Sawada, even if you wear some false name from who knows where, this old man can tell at a glance that you are not human!"
Tsunayoshi was left speechless.
How was he supposed to know that Ichibē had something like a Register of All Names? As for his system, it had thrown him a beginner's gift pack and then vanished. Forget after-sales service; it had not even left a manual.
"Tsunayoshi…"
Tatsuki looked at Tsunayoshi with worry on her face. She was unwilling to believe Ichibē's nonsense, but she had indeed seen her own name in that register.
At this point, Tsunayoshi could only become that person of the legendary Schrift "D" himself.
"Ichibē, was it? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"What names? What anchors? It's all a mess."
Tsunayoshi slapped his own chest and declared loudly, "I don't care what your ability is. All I know is that my parents gave me my name. My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada!"
"Stubborn fool. There is no need for further words."
Ichibē's tone carried a hint of disappointment.
"All members of Squad Zero, heed my order. First seize Tsunayoshi Sawada, then capture Ichigo Kurosaki!"
At this tense moment, the Gotei Thirteen could not simply stand by and watch.
"Please wait. I think there may be some misunderstanding here."
Kyōraku once again stepped forward as the mediator.
"Tsunayoshi Sawada has saved Soul Society from danger many times. Taking him down simply because of a problem with his name will likely fail to convince anyone."
The captains nodded one after another.
They had all seen what Tsunayoshi had done for Soul Society. A young man had spent his days in Soul Society solely to prevent the Quincy from bringing catastrophe upon the world. He had been working for the greater good of the world itself.
"Is the Seireitei planning to defy an order from the Soul King Palace?"
Ichibē no longer bothered to hide his intentions. He directly attached the authority of the Soul King Palace to his words.
"No. In order for the Gotei Thirteen to live up to its name, we naturally want a more reasonable explanation."
This was exactly the sort of thing that required an old fox like Kyōraku. His approach was to avoid giving offense as much as possible.
"Having no anchor means he is incompatible with this world. The longer he exists, the greater the harm he poses to it."
Ichibē pointed his brush at Tsunayoshi.
"This old man suspects that Aizen's ability to invade the Soul King Palace is inseparably connected to this Tsunayoshi Sawada!"
Suspects.
Tsunayoshi was somewhat speechless.
For Ichibē to stumble onto the truth by accident was not something he had expected. His earlier judgment of Senna had now come back at him like a boomerang.
Ichibē was clearly determined to get rid of him.
Tsunayoshi felt that this so-called "lack of an anchor" was simply because his name was not in that register. Ichibē had no hold over him, which was why he was rushing to have him eliminated.
Although he really did not want to go against Squad Zero, things had already developed to this point. Tsunayoshi had nothing left to fear.
From the day he copied Ichigo's talent, Tsunayoshi had already regarded Ichibē as his hypothetical enemy. Not a single day had passed where he allowed himself to slack off. He had done all of it so he would not be carved into a living lynchpin and placed above the Soul King Palace.
Some might say that, according to the ending of Bleach, Ichigo was never turned into a living lynchpin by Ichibē, so why should Tsunayoshi worry needlessly?
That was only because Ichigo won in the end.
If the ending had been different, if Yhwach had won, the one sealed away would have been Ichigo Kurosaki.
At the same time, there was no guarantee that Ichibē had not been treating the still-active Ichigo as backup stock for the Soul King. Once something went wrong with Yhwach, the one pushed into that position would undoubtedly be Ichigo.
So, no matter how things ended, it was only a matter of time before Tsunayoshi and Ichigo came into conflict with Ichibē. It had merely arrived a little earlier than Tsunayoshi expected.
"But…" Kyōraku still wanted to say something, but Ichibē forcefully cut him off.
"There are no buts! All members of Squad Zero and the Gotei Thirteen, heed my order. Seize Tsunayoshi Sawada and Ichigo Kurosaki!"
Hearing Ichibē's hardline command, Tsunayoshi knew that there was no way today's matter would be resolved easily.
Just as he reached toward the Zanpakutō at his lower back, an aged yet powerful voice rang out, accompanied by an overwhelming Reiatsu that directly suppressed the restless members of Squad Zero.
"Stop! This old man does not agree to your arrest of Tsunayoshi Sawada and Ichigo Kurosaki!"
Yamamoto's presence erupted fully. The cane in his hand had already transformed into the shape of an Asauchi. Ryūjin Jakka could be unleashed at any moment.
Yamamoto's opposition was beyond Ichibē's expectations.
He narrowed his eyes at Yamamoto and said, word by word, "Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, you are no longer the Captain-Commander of the Gotei Thirteen. You have no right to speak here."
"This old man is merely telling you his decision as an ordinary Shinigami. You may attack as you please."
Ōetsu felt his face darken at Yamamoto's words.
What an "ordinary Shinigami."
Back then, suppressing Yamamoto, this so-called ordinary Shinigami, had taken no small amount of effort from them. In the end, Yamamoto had only backed down because he was concerned about the Seireitei and the Gotei Thirteen.
Now it was even worse.
Yamamoto had stepped down. The burden of the Gotei Thirteen no longer rested on his shoulders. No one dared imagine what kind of power an old man with nothing but strength and no more worries could unleash.
Ichibē's fist clenched slightly.
He had not expected this old man Yamamoto's schemes to come one after another. Originally, he thought stripping Yamamoto of authority would make him behave more cautiously. Instead, Yamamoto had become even more unrestrained.
The atmosphere gradually stiffened.
As Yamamoto's prized disciple, Kyōraku did not even need to look at Yamamoto to understand his meaning.
At this moment, the Gotei Thirteen could not openly choose a side. It was enough for Yamamoto alone to stand with Tsunayoshi.
"All captains of the Gotei Thirteen, heed my order. Return to your respective squads and restrain your seated officers and members. No matter what happens today, no one is to leave their barracks!"
Withdrawal.
From the moment Yamamoto spoke, this was the signal Kyōraku had received.
"What?!"
Kyōraku's order undoubtedly dissatisfied most of those present.
Not only Squad Zero, but even the Gotei Thirteen's own captains refused to accept Kyōraku's command. The loudest protest actually came from the captain of the Onmitsukidō.
That "what" had come from Suì-Fēng's mouth.
She should have been the calmest of them all, yet she voiced the most ill-timed objection. She was the calmest, but also the most emotional. She had long since become close friends with Tatsuki. From the very beginning, she had been prepared to stand on Tsunayoshi's side.
Suì-Fēng's reaction immediately stirred the other captains as well. One after another, they began speaking evasively, unwilling to obey Kyōraku's order.
"Oh my, Captain-Commander Kyōraku, if not for Tsunayoshi, we'd still be living like rats in some warehouse in the World of the Living. I'm afraid I can't obey that order."
Shinji's tone was full of sarcasm. Kensei and Rose stood directly behind him, expressing the same position.
"Byakuya Kuchiki supports Tsunayoshi Sawada."
Aside from their usual training, Tsunayoshi had been the absolute key in the matter of Hisana. Byakuya would definitely stand with Tsunayoshi. However, he deliberately omitted the Kuchiki Clan and expressed his stance only as an individual.
"I don't want my eldest nephew taken away either," Tōshirō said.
Isshin was his former superior, so he simply leaned into that connection and directly referred to Ichigo as his eldest nephew.
"What's with all this talking? Hey, just come over here and fight already!"
Kenpachi Zaraki impatiently pointed his blade toward Squad Zero.
"It is rare for us to be in such agreement, Captain Zaraki."
Retsu Unohana stood beside Kenpachi Zaraki. The killing intent from the two of them was like the sharpest blade, stabbing painfully against everyone's skin.
Although the remaining captains did not directly state their positions, the fact that none of them moved made it clear that they all stood opposite Squad Zero.
"Very well."
Ichibē sighed.
"Captain-Commander Kyōraku, I will remember you. You have only just taken office, yet you are already leading the Gotei Thirteen in rebellion against the Soul King Palace."
Faced with Ichibē's mockery, Kyōraku could only cover his forehead and smile bitterly.
Even so, his feet still moved until he stood at the very front of the captains.
There was no helping it.
He was the Captain-Commander of the Gotei Thirteen.
Even if every member of the Gotei Thirteen rebelled against the Soul King Palace, he, Shunsui Kyōraku, would still have to stand at the very front!
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