Chapter 43 Summer Adventure 7

"Utaki..." Ichigo Kurosaki looked at his twin sister, his pupils trembling violently.

The Shinigami outfit she wore and the Zanpakutō she held in her hand showed everything; she was indeed a Shinigami like him.

His guess was correct. She was indeed familiar with Urahara Kisuke, knew the situation on his side, and had been hiding her strength.

And now, it seemed she was finally going to show it all to him.

On the other side, Kurosaki Utsuki secretly bit her lip.

Conveying ideas through a knife... can it really be done smoothly?

"Before you ask, fight me first." She stepped forward, a hint of crimson light emanating from the blade. "Then perhaps you'll understand the answer you seek."

...In short, just fight first and talk later.

After the fight, maybe she would be able to muster up the courage to tell all the facts that she had hidden until now.

It was a few seconds before she heard the boy's answer.

"--I see."

·

The metallic sound of blades colliding constantly irritated the eardrums.

It's in combat.

Kurosaki Utsuki felt like crying.

Although her eyes burned and her nose ached, she still managed to knock her opponent away with one blow. Then, she coldly questioned, "Is this the extent of your strength?"

It was clearly she who took the initiative to ask Urahara Kisuke to train her brother on his behalf while he was preparing to open the world gate, but this first fight almost brought her to an emotional breakdown.

"When a Shinigami above the rank of vice-captain arrives in the human world, 80% of their spiritual pressure is sealed. You only defeated one-fifth of the vice-captains before."

Why would her most important brother, only three months after gaining his power, have to face such a powerful enemy?

"If you're only at this level, if you encounter a captain-level enemy, you'll be killed instantly like last time."

Kurosaki Utsuki raised the knife again.

She was clearly using the power that belonged to him, yet she easily suppressed him completely - he could obviously be stronger. If he had become the God of Death earlier, he would definitely be stronger than she is now.

But there are no ifs. Six years ago, she was the one who became the god of death, and now she is also the one who has the absolute advantage.

"Give it your all! You can't even reach the edge of my clothes right now!"

The young man opposite barely blocked her swing of the knife.

"Zangetsu", held in her brother's hand is a Zanpakutō that can be released at any time. When he obtained this Zanpakutō and called out the name of the sword, it was already in the state of Shikai.

She knew the peculiarities of the sword spirit of the vibrating sword, as she had fought against it many times before.

Unlike her Rengetsu, the essence of Zangetsu was the power of a Hollow—but judging from the spiritual pressure she felt now, it seemed that the dominant force was no longer the Hollow, but the Quincy with sunglasses, a figure she had only met twice and whose name she did not know.

She didn't know what it meant, but it wasn't the truth she should tell. Her brother had to discover it himself, to understand what made up his soul.

"If you are weaker than me, how can you protect me?"

She also didn't know if the feelings she wanted to convey were truly conveyed to the person on the other side through these hurtful words and the collision with the blade, but she did receive feedback from the blade.

He is getting stronger.

She could clearly feel that every time the blade and spiritual pressure collided, the boy opposite would absorb a little combat experience, and the degree of compatibility between his spirit body and Zanpakuto would become higher.

Her brother is growing up by leaps and bounds.

This really made her...

The boy opposite suddenly stopped and put away his knife.

Kurosaki Utsuki took a step back, then stopped and looked up at the boy standing so close. Her vision was blurry, and she wiped her cheek with her hand, leaving it wet.

——She couldn't help crying with joy.

"It's okay," Kurosaki Ichigo said. He looked seriously into the eyes of the girl opposite him, and his slightly fierce face seemed much gentler because of his lowered brows. "Don't worry so much. If it's something Utsuki doesn't want me to know, then it doesn't matter if I never know it."

"So, don't cry."

A gentle hand rested on the top of her hair.

"I'm Utsuki's eldest brother. It's unbecoming of me to make my most important sister cry."

...Woo!

"elder brother……"

"It's not that I don't want my brother to know, I just don't know how to say it..."

Screw his arrogance! Screw his inability to speak!

"I became a Death God six years ago. Perhaps it was something my mother did before she died that allowed me to share my brother's power. All the power I possess was actually lent to me by my brother without his knowledge. Therefore, my current strength is the level that my brother can easily reach in the future."

"so……"

"Brother, you must become stronger, defeat Byakuya Kuchiki, rescue Rukia, and then we will all come back here together."

She really still likes her brother the most.

Saturday, August 8th

Just after midnight, Kurosaki Utsuki left Ishida's house on time and headed for Urahara Store.

Before leaving, Ishida Ryugen gave her some props that might be useful in Soul Society, and said, "I'll leave that guy to you."

She had originally planned to visit the Ishida residence specifically to say hello to Ryugen Ishida and to inform him that his only son would be joining them on their adventures in Soul Society. As they walked, she couldn't help but think that her master must have a certain tsundere streak, calling his son "that guy" despite caring so deeply for him.

Halfway through her walk, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't asked for leave from her "colleagues." Even though she'd been at the Karakurahara Shoten the entire time and hadn't been working at Beihua, asking for leave for a temporary matter and asking for leave to completely lose contact were different, so she called Geto Suguru.

The person on the other end picked up the phone quickly, probably knowing the purpose of her call: "Are you leaving now?"

"Meet at one o'clock. I'm still on the way."

The Death God stationed on the opposite side sighed: "Kill them by surprise in the middle of the night?"

"It's not that easy, is it?" Kurosaki Utsuki curled her lips. "The landing point on the other side of the gate is Rukongai. If we want to enter Seireitei, we'll probably have to find another way."

"Yes, after all, Seireitei is surrounded by murderous stones that block spiritual energy, and the four gates to the east, south, west, and north are also guarded." Suguru Geto said, "If you want to be inconspicuous, it's best to go through the formal procedures and be let in by the guards."

"Don't tell me, do you have any solution?"

The Shinigami boy across from me responded with a murmur of approval, "That noble friend who informed me of all the news earlier, although I haven't been able to contact him during this time, once you reach Soul Society, you can go directly to him and ask for a pass to Seireitei."

Kurosaki Utsuki was stunned: "Since he is a noble, doesn't he usually live in Seireitei? How can I find him?"

"He doesn't usually live in Seireitei, but in a villa in Kita-Ryukon Street. If you go there, just ask anyone nearby where the 'Gojo Villa' is."

"Gojo?"

"Yes, his name is Gojo Satoru. Although he gives the impression of a mischievous and bad student, he is actually a teacher at the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy. He teaches students things like the 'Code of Conduct for Shinigami' and occasionally supervises internships."

…No, she couldn't imagine that description.

but……

"Thank you, Geto." Kurosaki Utahi expressed his gratitude sincerely from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you for your care all the time."

"Why are you being polite at this time?" Xia Yujie chuckled. "Come back as soon as you can after rescuing the people. Beihua City can't do without you."

"Damn it, don't even mention work at a time like this!"

But... she was happy.

·

Kurosaki Utsuki had a cup of tea in the shop when it was almost time to gather. She walked ahead of Urahara Kisuke to the open space outside the shop, feeling the four spiritual pressures gradually approaching, and for a moment she felt a sense of emotion.

There was naturally no need to mention her brother, and she also remembered Ishida Uryu's spiritual pressure, but the other two... unexpectedly, they were also people she remembered.

She'd heard Yoruichi mention that he'd been helping out with special training for his brother's classmates, but she hadn't expected them to be Inoue Orihime and Chatari Yasutora. The former had come to their family clinic for help in junior high, but sadly, her brother had died from injuries sustained in a car accident. The latter was a close friend of his, with whom he'd often fought.

Although she couldn't say they were familiar, she knew both of them. From her memory, their spiritual power levels weren't anything extraordinary. But now, it felt like their spiritual pressure was strong enough to fight a Hollow... just like Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei beside her.

Was she affected by her brother's spiritual pressure? Or was there some other special reason?

By the way, she mailed amulets to Hagiwara and Matsuda yesterday. They were special anti-Hollow smoke bombs made by Urahara Shoten. She didn't know if they arrived, and she hoped they would never have to use them.

"Utahiki, you're here." Kurosaki Ichigo was the first to appear in front of her. "I met my dad when I was leaving the house. He told me to take good care of you."

"We don't know who will take care of whom yet." Kurosaki Utsuki snorted and turned her head to the side.

Soon, the other three arrived at the store entrance. Kurosaki Ichigo's surprised reaction made Kurosaki Utsuki raise an eyebrow. She didn't expect that even her brother didn't know that the other two were going with him.

She still didn't know the reason why those two had chosen to embark on this highly unlikely adventure, but she wasn't about to ask. Right now, she was more concerned with the props Ishida Uryu had prepared for this adventure.

"Spirit-dispersing gloves?"

It was a tool she had seen in her mother's memories. For Quincy, it had the negative effect of "scattering Reishi around."

However, if he could diligently condense the scattered spirit particles into a bow for seven days after wearing it, his strength would leap forward. Since he came wearing this glove, it must mean that he had succeeded.

At the same time, this glove also has a power similar to self-destruction. When taking it off, the Quincy will gain power beyond the limit for a short period of time - and then lose all spiritual power.

“You really are…”

Unyielding? Perseverant?

Kurosaki Utsuki thought for a while, but couldn't think of the right words. In the end, she just pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Long Xian knows how to restore strength. If things really get to that point, go find him."

The white-clothed, bespectacled young man's breath hitched. "How do you know? How much do you know about Quincies?"

"A little more than you."

She only said this, then waved her hand, facing the boy's suspicious gaze, and walked towards Urahara Kisuke. Before leaving, she had something else she needed to know.

"At this point, Mr. Urahara should at least tell me a name."

She stood in front of the blond man, her voice deliberately lowered. After refusing to tell Ishida Uryu her secret, she turned to him and demanded the answer she wanted.

"I didn't rush up to him to question his intentions," Kurosaki Utsuki said, without a trace of a smile on his face, "but if he took the initiative to appear in front of me, I hope I can immediately realize that he is an enemy."

The person on the other side seemed to be thinking and did not answer immediately.

She continued, "After all, he was a powerful figure who could have harmed my father and Mr. Urahara to such an extent. He was top-notch in both intelligence and combat power. I have some self-awareness."

After the words fell, Urahara Kisuke smiled bitterly: "Don't say that, Miss Utah."

Kurosaki Utsuki shrugged: "I'm telling the truth."

There was another brief silence.

Suddenly, she heard Ichigo Kurosaki's scream from behind. She smiled in an instant and looked back. The black cat with golden eyes jumped nimbly onto her shoulder and greeted her in a low voice. She also responded happily by stroking the cat's head.

"—Brother, I just heard a cat talking, you shouldn't react so strongly, right?" She raised her eyebrows playfully, "Indeed, there's only one cat as cute as Yoruichi in the world."

While her brother behind her was still immersed in the huge shock of "the cat can actually talk", Kurosaki Utsuki had already quickly turned around and restrained her smile again.

"Mr. Urahara."

Urahara Kisuke could easily guess that everything she wanted to know was not just for precautionary measures, but in the end, he still gave her the answer she wanted.

"Captain of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth Divisions, Miss Utah, please do not delve into this matter. Please do not forget your sole purpose: to rescue Rukia Kuchiki."

The orange-haired girl nodded.

"I know, but it's more than that." She smiled, "I also want to bring everyone back alive."

She seemed to be recalling, or swearing—

"I will definitely come back alive."

"Because... I have an appointment with an important friend."