readytorunbook Chapter 668 Late-Night Guidance
Chapter 668 Late-Night Guidance
Yoruichi didn't find anything wrong with Yuuko's words. Based on her understanding of Unohana Retsu, that perverted woman, she was definitely not the type to value the rules of Seireitei above all else.
Yoruichi finally made the decision: "Okay, it's settled then."
Ishida Uryu adjusted his glasses: "When do we leave?"
Yoruichi turned to look outside. "It'll probably be dawn in about two hours. There's no time to prepare now. Let's wait until tonight to take action."
Yu Zi nodded silently: "A dark and windy night is a good time to commit murder. It's easier to get things done under the cover of darkness."
Orihime blinked: "So neat."
"...That's all for today. Everyone can take a short rest and recharge for tonight's operation."
Chad asked, "When we invaded during the day, we caused a commotion. Won't the Grim Reapers take any action?"
Yu Zi smiled and said, "Look at how relaxed we are right now, do we look like we have something on our minds?"
"The Gotei 13, to put it simply, are the nobles who protect the Seireitei," Yoruichi continued. "Although some Shinigami patrol the Rukongai regularly, they mainly deal with Hollow intrusions."
"Essentially, we are still worried about the riots that these void entities will cause after consuming too many souls."
"As far as they are concerned, we have not yet shown any aggressive attitude, so there is no need to pay attention to us."
"That's it..."
The group exchanged glances, unsure whether to feel relieved or not.
Ikuko clapped her hands and said, "The meeting is over."
After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed to make final preparations for the evening's operation.
It was wonderful to run into acquaintances upon entering Soul Society. Shibata and Horiuchi prepared simple food and a room for them to rest. Although it was a bit shabby, at least they could take a break.
The night was as dark as ink, shrouding the barren Rukongai in silence.
Perhaps feeling a bit heavy about the upcoming operation, Ichigo Kurosaki tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, his mind constantly replaying the overwhelming image of Byakuya Kuchiki.
Am I a match for that guy now?
If every captain were as powerful as Auntie, could he really fight those monsters just by mastering Shikai?
The restlessness made it difficult for him to fall asleep. Unable to lie still, he quietly got up without waking Ishida and Chado, who were fast asleep beside him, and pushed open the door, wanting to go outside for some fresh air.
The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the dilapidated courtyard.
The houses in Rukongai are very dilapidated, and the weeds in the courtyards are rarely maintained, making them look very messy.
In the middle of the courtyard, Ichigo Kurosaki saw a figure with long white hair.
Yuko stood alone in the middle of the courtyard, quietly gazing up at the cold, bright moon in the night sky. Her long white hair cascaded down to her waist, and the thin moonlight poured over it, making it look like silver sand shimmering with a faint light. Her whole person seemed to be shrouded in a hazy and distant halo, appearing exceptionally transparent, as if she would disappear at any moment.
Hearing footsteps, Yuko turned her head slightly, her golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
The other pupil of the eye is missing?
This scene caused Ichigo Kurosaki to freeze in place, his mind momentarily blank.
She asked casually, "Can't sleep?"
"Ah... um." Ichigo scratched his head a little awkwardly and walked towards Yuuko. "Auntie, can't you sleep either?"
"No, I just suddenly became a little curious."
"curious?"
"Why do you think we can see the sun and moon even in Soul Society?"
"Is it that the sun and moon are not in the universe, or that the Soul Society we live in is not actually on Earth?"
"..."
He couldn't understand such a profound question. But for some reason, I felt that Aunt Yuko's aloofness had been pulled back.
The atmosphere was silent for a moment before Ichigo brought up the topic again.
Why did Auntie leave Soul Society?
"Because I don't have a cell phone, I can only lie at home bored every day."
"..." Kurosaki Ichigo's vision went black, and he couldn't reply at all.
Seeing Ichigo's constipated expression, Yuko chuckled and said, "Because Yoruichi broke the law, I had no choice but to go on the run with her."
"Mr. Yoruichi?"
Ichigo twitched the corner of his mouth. "Isn't that ridiculous? What crime could a cat possibly commit?"
Did they steal some dried fish or something?
Yuko suddenly changed the subject, turning her head with a smile: "Speaking of which, since you reawakened your Zanpakuto's abilities, I haven't yet tested your skills. Would you like to give it a try?"
"How far am I from being the captain?"
Kurosaki Ichigo was initially taken aback by her sudden change of topic, but his expression quickly turned serious, and he took a deep breath.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Auntie."
Yu Zi reached out with her right hand into the void and pulled out a pure white blade.
Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned for a moment. "Is this a Zanpakuto too?"
It doesn't seem to be a purple Zanpakuto like the one Auntie had.
Instead of answering his question, Yuko asked, "Do you know what's most important in the battle against death?"
"What's the most important thing?" Kurosaki Ichigo paused briefly, recalling Renji Abarai's strange, stretchable Zanpakuto, and Aunt Ikuko's Zanpakuto's peculiar ability, and subconsciously replied.
"Huh? The power of a Zanpakuto?"
Yu Zi said calmly, "Ability is indeed one of the important criteria for evaluating strength, but it is not an absolute condition."
"The conditions that can truly be used to assess the strength of Shinigami, Quincy, and even Hollows."
"It's spiritual pressure."
"Spiritual pressure can be roughly divided into twenty levels, with level one being the strongest and level twentieth being the weakest."
"The strength of one's spiritual pressure is basically a measure of their power."
Ichigo couldn't help but ask, "So what level is my spiritual pressure now? And what about Auntie's spiritual pressure?"
Yuko replied, "You were born with powerful spiritual energy because you could see spirits since you were a child. After a series of training and regaining your power, your spiritual pressure has now reached around level four, which is the spiritual pressure of a vice-captain."
"As for Captain-level Shinigami... Third-class spiritual pressure is the standard for Captain-level Shinigami, and Byakuya Kuchiki is at this level."
Ichigo's face lit up with joy: "So that means I'm almost catching up to that guy?"
Yuko blinked: "You can't say that. After all, there's a big difference between having and not having Bankai."
"The requirement to become a captain is not third-class spiritual pressure, but mastery of Bankai."
"In other words, a third-class spiritual pressure does not necessarily make one a captain, but a captain must possess a third-class spiritual pressure."
"Bankai, as a Shinigami's ultimate technique, can increase spiritual pressure by about five to ten times."
"Moreover, the higher the spiritual pressure level, the greater the gap between them."
"Take Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, the captain of the First Division who is known as the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years and is currently the captain-commander of the Gotei 13, as an example."
"His spiritual pressure level is first-class, and it's at the limit of first-class."
"His spiritual pressure is strong enough to stun a Shinigami of the vice-captain level by releasing his aura."
"The destructive power of its Shikai alone is comparable to that of other Captain-level Shinigami's Bankai."
"Hiss~" Ichigo Kurosaki gasped. "Wouldn't that be terrible?"
"Well, that's why we have to be careful and try to avoid direct confrontation with the Grim Reapers."
Yuko slowly drew the Shura sword; the snow-white blade gleamed brightly in the moonlight.
Upon seeing this, Ichigo Kurosaki quickly removed his Zanpakuto from his back.
Yuko commented, "Your Zanpakuto is a direct attack type without any special abilities. While your fighting style suits you well, you might be at a disadvantage when facing Zanpakuto with unique abilities due to a lack of information."
"Therefore, mastering the control of spiritual power and becoming familiar with the Grim Reaper's fighting style is your most important task right now."
"You can release your spiritual power with peace of mind. I have already used my ability to set up a barrier in the courtyard, which is enough to eliminate the spiritual pressure burst of a vice-captain level."
"Huh? When?" Ichigo looked around in shock, unable to see anything strange at all.
"Just now."
Yuko casually twirled her sword, her eyes sharpening: "Then, Ichigo, I'm going."
Kurosaki Ichigo gripped his sword with both hands, took a deep breath, lowered his center of gravity, and focused his attention.
"I see."
"very good……"
As soon as Yuko finished speaking the first word, the sound of the second word rang out right next to Ichigo's ears.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he quickly turned around to defend himself.
However, he was still more than a step too slow. Just as his arm reached his chest, the outline of a scabbard suddenly loomed large in front of him.
boom! !
The scabbard was flung at Ichigo's face, sending him flying.
Just as he was about to crash through the courtyard wall and rush out, an invisible wall stopped him and slammed him to the ground.
"What kind of speed is this...?"
Ichigo gritted his teeth as he got up, a burning pain shooting through his cheek.
"This is Shunpo, a movement technique used by Shinigami (Death Gods)," Yuko explained. "By the way, I'm using Shunpo at the vice-captain level, so you should be able to see it clearly."
A bead of sweat rolled down Ichigo's forehead: "I can't see anything at all!"
"I've already said it, it's because you're not proficient enough with your spiritual power; you just have a lot of strength but nothing else."
“Your previous battles were all about brute force. When you encounter an enemy who can match your strength, you can’t win.”
"By the way, back in the human world, you once had the upper hand in your battle with that red-haired vice-captain. The reason was that when a captain-level Shinigami is on a mission in the human world, their spiritual pressure is suppressed to about one-fifth."
"If you were to encounter him now, given your current level of control over spiritual power, you might not be able to defeat him."
Kurosaki Ichigo's pupils contracted slightly. No wonder he felt that the guy's power didn't match what Aunt Yuko had said.
Is that so?
"You need to learn to calm your mind to sense spiritual energy, and then control and use it."
"Mastery of spiritual power?"
Kurosaki Ichigo muttered to himself, indeed, Ishida, Rukia, and Urahara had all said similar things to him.
After all, he was a self-taught student, and without a teacher to guide him, it was not easy for him to notice this on his own.
"The use of Shunpo involves gathering the user's spiritual power at the soles of their feet, creating a booster-like effect to accelerate the speed of death."
"The battles between Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollows are essentially battles of mastery over spiritual power, or spiritual pressure."
"Whoever has stronger spiritual pressure and better control over it is more likely to win."
Ichigo Kurosaki is talented, not only in terms of his innate strong spiritual pressure, but also in his combat talent, which surpasses that of most Shinigami in Soul Society.
Ichigo, calmly sensing his own spiritual power, almost immediately entered the trial phase.
He didn't understand anything about Flash Step, but driven by his fighting instincts, he unconsciously used this power.
The next moment, the enormous Zan Yue approached Yuko with a whooshing sound.
"It's starting to look good." Yu Zi's lips curled up slightly, but her body didn't move an inch. She simply held Shura in front of her and easily blocked the much larger Zan Yue.
Ichigo clicked his tongue: "Tch, the difference in spiritual pressure, huh?"
Yuko said calmly, "No, I've been using spiritual pressure of the same quality as yours since just now."
"It's just because I have more precise control over spiritual power, which allows me to concentrate spiritual pressure in my arm and strengthen its resilience."
"But to be able to do this immediately just by listening to my story is already quite impressive for someone who has only been the Grim Reaper for a few months."
"Is that a compliment?"
“Of course.” Yu Zi didn’t hold back her praise. “Imagine compressing a bowl of water into the size of a single drop; the application of spiritual energy is similar.”
"The so-called spiritual pressure level is, to some extent, the difference in spiritual pressure concentration."
“A high concentration of spiritual pressure is naturally stronger than a sparse one.”
"I understand." Kurosaki Ichigo readjusted his stance, feeling the spiritual pressure within his body.
Over the next few hours, Ichigo's clothes were soaked with sweat, and his stamina was rapidly depleting, but he was gradually able to make out Ikuko's figure, and he became more and more adept at both counterattacks and attacks.
Ichigo Kurosaki clearly sensed that he was growing rapidly.
"That's it."
As dawn broke, after another intense sword fight, Yuko was the first to sheathe her sword and retreat, ending this special training session.
Kurosaki Ichigo gripped Zangetsu with both hands, panting heavily. His whole body ached, but he was unusually excited.
Yuko casually tossed away the Shura, and the blade gradually disappeared as it fell.
Ichigo slung his Zanpakuto back over his shoulder and remarked, "What a convenient ability."
"I think so."
Yu Zi nodded straightforwardly.
"What a beautiful battle."
"Yoruichi-san?!" Yoruichi's calm voice came from the side. It was only then that Kurosaki Ichigo noticed its presence, and he didn't know how long he had been watching it.
"Even last-minute preparations can be effective." Yu Zi's expression was calm, and there wasn't a single bead of sweat on his cheeks, showing no signs of having just gone through two hours of intense fighting. "At least it will make him die a little slower when he encounters the captain."
Ichigo couldn't help but complain, "We still can't beat them!"