CHAPTER 73

Inside the Palace of Confession

Rukia leaned against the window, peering down anxiously, but she couldn't see anything.

Despite the intense battle that had unfolded between Akira and Unohana Retsu, which even shattered the stone bridge of the Shrine Palace, Akira was now somewhere below, hidden beneath the wreckage.

Through the murderous stone of the Confession Palace, Rukia could barely sense the faintest trace of Reiatsu.

"What happened in the end? Did Aki win? Is he okay now?"

She could still feel Akira's Reiatsu, but she had just witnessed Unohana leap into the air and leave the battlefield.

From what she knew of Unohana, she wasn't the type to retreat mid-battle. Something must have happened.

As she worried, she suddenly felt three distinct spiritual pressures approaching. One of them, after carefully sensing it, made her eyes widen in surprise.

"That Reiatsu... could it really be Ichigo? Has he already become this strong?"

Even through the dampening effects of the murderous stone, the sheer force of his Reiatsu was undeniable. Kurosaki Ichigo had clearly reached the level of a Captain.

"So that's what Captain Unohana meant by 'the ryoka'..."

Thinking of this, Rukia recalled the past conflict between Ichigo and Akira in this world.

Or rather, Ichigo had been unilaterally overwhelmed by Akira.

"Knowing Ichigo's personality, he won't let that slide. He's not the type to back down from a fight, no matter how strong the opponent is."

Even if he didn't yet know that Akira had already defeated Ichigo and the others outside the West Gate, Rukia had a sinking feeling—

They were about to fight him again.

"No, Ichigo!"

Even though her voice couldn't possibly reach him, she couldn't help but cry out.

"Even if you've reached the level of a Captain… you still won't stand a chance against Aki!"

From the battle she had just witnessed, Rukia understood one thing—

For most Shinigami, reaching Captain-class power was the pinnacle of strength.

But for Akira, that was merely the baseline required to even challenge him.

Standing before the approaching figures, Akira sighed.

"You really picked a good time to show up."

"I thought so too," Yoruichi Shihouin said with a smirk. "Judging from the battlefield, you just finished a serious fight, right?"

"And even though you don't look injured, you're barely standing. There's no doubt—this is the weakest you've been."

"Eh? Is that so?"

Ichigo blinked, then frowned. "Then why are we fighting him now? I want to beat him at full strength!"

"Idiot."

Yoruichi smacked him on the head, nearly knocking him over.

"Don't be naive. Didn't you feel Akira's Reiatsu before coming here? You can't afford to be reckless against someone at his level!"

Ichigo muttered, "I've been training so hard… isn't it exactly for moments like this?"

His expression hardened. "I'm not just here to save Rukia anymore. Akira—I have to defeat you!"

His voice grew more determined. "Rukia called you a friend, yet you personally arrested her! I can't stand by and let that go!"

"Not to mention, you hurt my friends. That's something I'll never forgive!"

A sharp voice cut through the tension.

"You're too noisy," Akira said flatly.

"If you want to fight, then come at me. You'll soon realize—leaving your other two companions behind was a mistake."

Akira understood why Kurosaki Ichigo and Shihouin Yoruichi didn't bring Sado Yasutora and Inoue Orihime with them. It wasn't just because they were too weak; in a battle at this level, they would have been liabilities rather than assets. Even Uryū Ishida was only allowed to come because he insisted he had enough hidden techniques to deal with a Captain-class Shinigami.

"Hah! I didn't bring them because it wasn't necessary," Ichigo declared, gripping Zangetsu. "And to take you down, the three of us are more than enough!"

He laughed confidently, completely unaware of the icy pressure radiating from Akira.

"Really…?" Akira murmured, his voice distant. "I'm not in my best condition right now. I feel dizzy… like I could just go back to sleep. But even so…" His gaze sharpened, his spiritual pressure spiking. "Against the three of you? I think I'll manage just fine."

"There's a limit to arrogance!" His murderous aura exploded outward.

"Ugh!?"

While Ichigo and Yoruichi held firm, Uryū staggered, his body freezing under the suffocating pressure.

"Damn it… how humiliating!" Uryū clenched his teeth, glancing at Ichigo, who looked eager to engage.

Ichigo raised Zangetsu, his eyes gleaming with determination. "I'm not the same as before! You're about to witness the results of my training!"

"Getsuga… Tenshō!"

A massive crescent-shaped energy wave tore through the ground, surging toward Akira. Its sheer size and power dwarfed the one Ichigo had used at the Seireitei's western gate—proof of the vast gap between his former self and now that he had attained Bankai.

But in front of Akira… it was meaningless.

"The Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon."

With a single punch, Akira's fist erupted in flames, shattering the Getsuga Tenshō in an instant. The crescent wave dissipated into nothingness, the force behind it utterly negated.

"W-What…?"

Ichigo's eyes widened in disbelief. His most powerful attack had been effortlessly crushed. Akira hadn't even drawn his Zanpakutō.

"Let me teach you a lesson."

The air around him distorted from the intense heat, and moisture in the atmosphere boiled away. Overhead, thunder rumbled as a massive dark cloud rolled in, casting an ominous shadow over the battlefield.

"Even if I've been weakened by poison," Akira said coldly, "that doesn't mean you have gotten any stronger."

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