Renji once again collided with Ichigo, but this time, their mindsets were completely different.
Renji had come to wash away the humiliation of his previous defeat, while Ichigo's mindset was much simpler: as long as he did not lose, that was good enough.
It was not that Ichigo lacked the will to win.
Rather, Kisuke had already told him that when lieutenant-level and captain-level figures went to the World of the Living, their reiatsu was restricted.
The last time he had beaten Renji, it had been pure luck.
So this time, facing Renji, Ichigo had no confidence at all.
However, even if he knew he might not win, he absolutely could not lose in terms of momentum.
Ichigo immediately began mocking him.
"Renji, you already lost to me once, and you still dare come here to stop me? Do you want another taste of getting cut down?"
Hearing this, Renji did not get angry. Instead, he smiled.
"Well, that's rare. Ichigo, you actually remembered my name. Should I say I'm honored?"
With both sides carrying their own little schemes, the two began their first round of probing attacks.
'Tch. This kid got stronger again.'
After only a few exchanges, Renji, who had thought he would win easily, discovered that he was not gaining much advantage against Ichigo at all.
One had to remember that his reiatsu had been limited in the World of the Living, but here in Soul Society, he could fight at one hundred percent of his strength.
Ichigo also discovered that Renji was not as powerful as he had imagined.
'Looks like the lieutenants of the Gotei 13 aren't that amazing either. Was Hat-and-Clogs just trying to scare me before?'
"Roar, Zabimaru."
In order to gain the upper hand, Renji released his Zanpakutō.
'I knew it. There's no way this kid's strength could have improved that quickly.'
After releasing his blade, Renji began pressing Ichigo hard.
Within only a few moves, Ichigo was cut twice by Renji and looked extremely battered.
"Hah… hah… hah…"
Ichigo kept calming himself down mentally.
'Calm down. Hat-and-Clogs said every attack has an interval. As long as I can figure out Renji's attack rhythm, beating him won't be a problem.'
'Once!'
'Twice!'
'Three times!'
'Now!'
Ichigo felt that he had already seen through Renji's technique, so he accelerated and rushed forward, preparing to slash at him.
However, when he was only one step away from Renji, he suddenly saw a strange smile appear on Renji's face.
That smile startled Ichigo, and he realized something might be wrong.
But by then, it was too late to pull back his blade.
At that moment, Zabimaru twisted like a venomous snake, changing direction with terrifying flexibility and slashing toward Ichigo's shoulder from an extremely tricky angle.
Unlike the previous attacks, this blow carried tremendous force.
It cut deeply into Ichigo's shoulder muscles, and blood immediately sprayed out like a fountain.
A wave of intense pain surged through Ichigo, and his body involuntarily pitched forward before he collapsed to the ground.
That slash temporarily took away Ichigo's ability to fight. He could only struggle to support himself with one hand, trying to stand again.
Renji looked down at him proudly, enjoying this moment of victory.
"Ichigo, you really are naive. Did you actually think that would be enough to defeat me? Let me tell you, I was trained through countless real battles. My combat skill and battle sense are not things a rookie like you can compare to!"
Renji sneered, his eyes full of mockery.
He knew that this slash had not only seriously wounded Ichigo, but more importantly, had also destroyed his confidence.
Now, Ichigo had fallen into a desperate situation, and Renji would finally have the chance to completely defeat the opponent who had once humiliated him.
But while Renji was still mocking him, Ichigo crawled back up like an unkillable cockroach.
"What's going on? Why do I feel that same feeling from before again?"
Renji frowned and muttered to himself.
This familiar scene made him uneasy.
Last time had been like this too.
Just when he thought he had already cut Ichigo down, Ichigo suddenly got back up and counterattacked, landing several slashes on him.
However, this time, things did not develop the way Renji expected.
Ichigo simply stood quietly in place and did not suddenly explode like before.
Renji secretly sighed in relief, but at the same time, he became more cautious of Ichigo.
Then, a powerful wave of reiatsu suddenly erupted from Ichigo's body.
The reiatsu made Renji freeze.
He had never seen Ichigo release such powerful spiritual pressure before.
A thought flashed through Renji's mind.
'Has this guy been hiding his strength all along?'
Before Renji could think any further, Ichigo swung the Zanpakutō in his hand and charged straight at him.
Ichigo's speed was extremely fast.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Renji and swung down with a fierce slash.
Renji wanted to block, but it was already too late. He could only watch helplessly as Ichigo's Zanpakutō came down toward him.
The force of the blow was tremendous, directly sending Renji flying before he crashed heavily to the ground.
Renji felt unbearable pain all over his body. His vision blurred, and his consciousness gradually began to fade.
Renji knew he had lost, and he had lost badly.
His body was already exhausted, and every wound burned with severe pain, but he still refused to accept defeat like this.
He clenched his teeth tightly and used every last bit of strength to struggle back to his feet, trying to launch another counterattack.
However, Ichigo moved faster than him.
Ichigo swiftly raised Zangetsu, his eyes filled with coldness. Without hesitation, he slashed down at Renji with all his strength, moving as fast as lightning.
Renji's eyes widened, full of despair.
He clearly realized that against Ichigo's terrifyingly sharp slash, he had no way to dodge or block.
He knew that if this strike landed, he would die.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Countless thoughts flashed through Renji's mind.
He remembered his friendship with Rukia. He remembered everything he had gone through to reach this day.
He unwillingly wanted to say something, but his throat felt blocked, and no sound came out.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Perhaps because the battle just now had drained too much of Ichigo's stamina, this slash did not actually fall.
Just as the blade was only a few centimeters away from Renji, Ichigo suddenly staggered.
His body lost balance and collapsed, while Zangetsu slipped from his hand and fell away.
Renji stared blankly at everything that had just happened, a complicated emotion rising in his heart.
For the first time, he felt death so close to him. That heart-stopping sensation made his heartbeat race wildly.
As the tension eased, Renji let out a long breath, and his taut nerves finally relaxed.
The excessive fatigue and his injuries left him unable to hold on any longer, and in the end, he fainted.
People always said reinforcements only arrived after the battle was over, and that saying was absolutely true.
Just as Ganju was about to finish Renji off with another strike, Hanatarō suddenly shouted, "Hurry up and leave! I can already sense several powerful reiatsu signatures approaching quickly. They're probably reinforcements from other divisions!"
Hearing this, Ganju looked helplessly at Renji lying on the ground.
In the end, he still decided to listen to Hanatarō's suggestion. He picked up the unconscious Ichigo and quickly fled the scene.
Hanatarō carefully picked up Ichigo's Zanpakutō as well. Ganju was focused only on carrying Ichigo away and did not notice the blade at all. Since he did not have a Zanpakutō himself, he had completely forgotten about it.
Only a few seconds later, Izuru Kira arrived with a team.
However, all he found was Renji lying unconscious on the ground.
Ichigo and the others had already disappeared without a trace.
...
Inside the Captain-Commander's tea room in the First Division, the Captain-Commander, Kazuma, and Yoruichi were constantly gathering and organizing real-time information coming from across the Seireitei.
After Yoruichi learned that Ichigo had cut down Renji, she finally began to understand why Kazuma had called him a walking cheat.
"That kid isn't bad. After only a few days of training, he actually grew to the point where he could defeat someone at lieutenant level."
Kazuma scoffed at this and said disdainfully, "Isn't that obvious? Ichigo is Isshin's son, his mother used to be a pure-blood Quincy, and there's also Hollow power mixed into his body. With that bloodline and foundation, it'd be an insult to his background if he weren't abnormal."
On the other side, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's expression was dark.
He knew very well that this generation of Shinigami truly was weaker than those of the past, but he had never imagined that they would be this vulnerable.
Although what Kazuma said was reasonable, one had to remember that from the time Ichigo obtained Shinigami powers until now, it had only been barely a month.
Yet this unreliable-looking, half-baked brat had actually defeated a Shinigami who had received a proper education at Shin'ō Academy and gone through many battles.
And his opponent was a lieutenant!
This was a fact Yamamoto found difficult to accept.
A lieutenant was not some random nobody.
A lieutenant was a strong fighter who had survived countless life-and-death battles.
Kazuma looked at the Captain-Commander's tightly clenched fists and the veins throbbing on his forehead, and immediately sensed that things were bad.
He hurriedly pushed the teacup in front of him toward the Captain-Commander.
"Captain-Commander, please don't get angry yet! It's bad for your health! Wasn't this part of our plan from the beginning? Although Renji got beaten badly this time, after this battle, his strength will definitely improve."
It would have been better if Kazuma had said nothing.
His words had the opposite effect.
Bang!
The furious Captain-Commander slammed his fist down onto the low table.
The wooden surface could not withstand the blow at all and instantly split apart, sending splinters flying everywhere.
Chōjirō, who had been waiting outside the door the entire time, heard the loud noise and thought something had happened. In his urgency, he slid open the tea room door.
"C-Captain Kazuma!"
Chōjirō looked at the situation inside in horror and suddenly regretted his action.
Why had his hand been so restless that he had opened that door?
The Captain-Commander had clearly warned him not to enter and disturb their conversation!
Kazuma, however, greeted him warmly.
"Yo, Chōjirō! Long time no see!"
It was as if he had not noticed the tense atmosphere at all.
Since things had already reached this point, Chōjirō no longer tried to hide anything.
"As expected, the rumors that you betrayed Soul Society and were killed by Aizen were part of a plan between you and the Captain-Commander, weren't they?"
Before Kazuma could answer, Chōjirō continued speaking to himself.
"Right. With your monstrous strength, it would be strange if Aizen could kill you. Even Yhwach failed to kill you back then. If you had really died, that would be what felt abnormal."
"Hahaha, as expected, Chōjirō understands me the best!"
Kazuma laughed loudly and patted Chōjirō on the shoulder.
The Captain-Commander's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's as he stared fixedly at Kazuma.
His expression was extremely serious, even carrying a hint of anger.
He growled in a low voice, "Kazuma, stop laughing around here! This operation is extremely important. It must succeed, and failure is not allowed. If Aizen notices even the slightest movement, all our previous efforts will be wasted!"
Feeling the Captain-Commander's anger and tension, Kazuma quickly put away his smile and became serious.
He solemnly said to the Captain-Commander, "Captain-Commander, please trust me. Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner according to our plan. I have already made full preparations. Once the time comes, I will act without hesitation and completely deal with Aizen."
Hearing this, Chōjirō, who stood nearby, could not help feeling confused.
He first looked at Kazuma, then turned to the Captain-Commander, his eyes full of puzzlement.
'Deal with Aizen? What exactly is going on? Is there another secret I don't know about? What is all this?'
Kazuma took a deep breath, then told Chōjirō the whole truth all at once.
"Chōjirō, since you already know I'm not dead, there's no harm in telling you the details now. Everything that has happened in Soul Society over these years is closely connected to Aizen.
He is the true traitor of Soul Society.
Shinji Hirako, Kisuke Urahara, Isshin Shiba, and the others were all forced to flee Soul Society because Aizen framed them. As for the Captain-Commander and me, the reason we created this whole arrangement was to train those useless Shinigami."
However, the shock Kazuma expected did not appear.
Perhaps Chōjirō's mental fortitude was simply strong, or perhaps he had already grown used to accepting all sorts of unexpected truths.
In any case, Kazuma's words did not cause much emotional fluctuation in him.
After all, this was the sneaky bastard who had once hidden among piles of corpses and ambushed Yhwach.
It was understandable that his emotions were stable.
"So what do you need me to do now?"
Chōjirō felt somewhat uneasy.
He understood Kazuma far too well.
As long as this man opened his mouth, Chōjirō knew he would not be getting anything good out of it.
"As expected of you!"
Kazuma smiled and patted Chōjirō's shoulder.
"Right now, there really is something I need you to do. And you're the only one who can do it."
Chōjirō pointed at himself in confusion.
"Me? What can I do?"
"Relax. It's nothing difficult. I just want you to turn up the pressure on Ichigo a little. You've seen it too. This kid has enormous potential! Even if he's cut half to death, he can recover quickly. So I want to apply a bit more pressure and make him grow faster."
"You mean… you want me to fight Kurosaki Ichigo?"
Chōjirō's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Exactly! That's what I mean!"
Kazuma revealed a sinister smile.
"Go and slash him up properly. Let's see whether he can endure it. Of course, you need to control yourself and not actually beat him to death. Otherwise, Isshin will come after me with his life on the line."
Hearing this, the corners of Chōjirō's mouth could not help twitching a few times.
"Aren't you making me play the villain? If Ichigo learns the truth later, won't he hate me to death?"
"Hahahaha! What's there to be afraid of? It's not like you're afraid of him hating you!"
Kazuma laughed loudly.
"Besides, once he grows stronger, he'll naturally understand our painstaking efforts. When the time comes, he'll be too busy thanking you!"
Chōjirō sighed helplessly.
'There's really nothing I can do with you.'
"All right. Since you've already said that, I'll give it a try. I hope Ichigo Kurosaki really can grow quickly like you said."
After saying that, Chōjirō turned and left, preparing to find a proper reason to make his move.
After all, he was the lieutenant of the First Division.
Logically speaking, a minor matter like Ryoka breaking in should not be enough for him to personally take action.