"The entity behind that force? Seriously, making things more complicated!" Rukia was extremely annoyed, and as she took the gloves, she shouted, "Ichigo ~!"
Oh~!
Ichigo shouted, drawing Ginjo's attention while simultaneously unleashing a close-range slash. A massive number of Dead Souls blocked the attack, Rukia to close the distance. However, upon throwing a punch, she discovered that Ginjo was now completely covered in countless Dead Souls.
However, the punch did work, knocking the protective Dead Souls out of Ginjo's body. Seeing this, Rukia struck the Dead Souls on the head with the hilt of her sword, completing the Soul Burial.
"Huh!? One? How long will that take!?" Ichigo was dumbfounded.
"What can I do!? Why don't you do it!" Rukia took off her gloves and handed them to Ichigo.
Ichigo took a deep breath, shouted "Ah~", and slashed at Ginjo again. Just like before, losing one of his Dead Souls Beasts was nothing to Ginjo. But Ichigo's final move was to use his fist. Ichigo ducked and punched Ginjo in the chin.
However, it made no difference. Ichigo's plan was sound, but the spot where Ginjo had been holding Ichigo's weight was precisely where his Dead Souls were most concentrated. Even with Ichigo's immense strength, this punch couldn't break through the Dead Souls circle; it only touched Ginjo's chin slightly, sending four Dead Souls flying.
Rukia a fluid and graceful Soul Burial to send the four Dead Souls to the Soul Society, and then began to chant.
"Ruler! Hollowfication Masks of flesh and blood, myriad forms, wings soaring high, all things bearing the name of humanity! Scorching heat and strife, surging southward across the sea, marching forward!"
"Hadō #31! Sōkatsui!"
Ichigo had been holding off Ginjo during the incantation, and now that he sensed the incantation was probably finished, he immediately dodged. A huge fireball slammed into Ginjo, but it was no different from Ichigo's slash—it had absolutely no effect.
"Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia unleashed her Shikai, then struck four times in front of her, forming a diamond shape. "Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!"
A massive glacier surged from the diamond shape, propelling Ginjo hundreds of meters forward, freezing the entire street. Ginjo was finally brought under control, bound within countless layers of ice.
Ichigo exclaimed in surprise, "Wow! How come your sword has a skill?! Mine doesn't!"
Rukia covered her forehead, utterly exasperated. "You Shikai acquired your Shikai haphazardly, without ever interacting with your sword. How could you possibly learn a skill?"
"Huh? Knife exchange? Isn't a knife just a knife?"
"Idiot! Zanpakuto is formed from the soul of Soul Reaper; that is yourself, your other half! How could it be just a sword!?"
"Then how do you communicate with a knife?"
"Do you want to communicate with the knife now?"
Ichigo, drenched in sweat, pointed at Ginjo, who was about to break free, and exclaimed, "Your sword has no offensive power! If I don't try to learn some skills, we're both going to die here! Those bastards never even considered helping us!"
Rukia saw a group of people on the surrounding rooftops and sighed helplessly, "Listen up!"
Oh~!
"Vibrate your Spiritual Power!"
Ichigo's entire body's Spiritual Power trembled violently.
"No need to be so violent, and not necessarily! Close your eyes now and feel the Spiritual Power fluctuations of your sword, synchronize your own vibrations with the sword!"
Oh~!
Ichigo closed his eyes, feeling his large blade. As he carefully sensed it, he noticed something strange – two streams of energy? Why two? Never mind, Ichigo split his Spiritual Power into two corresponding waves, instantly achieving synchronization.
Without Rukia's prompting, Ichigo amplified his Ichigo his own, wave after wave. Meanwhile Ginjo, Rukia had just arrived beside Ginjo when she drew a circle around him.
"First Dance of the Moon!" A giant ice pillar rose from the circle, completely freezing Ginjo. When Rukia withdrew, she discovered that Ichigo had already entered the Inner World.
"Liar? So fast!?" Rukia felt like her worldview was about to shatter. She had gone through so much trouble to enter the Inner World back then. It's really infuriating how some people can enter it while in battle!
At this moment, Ichigo found himself in a world without up, down, left, or right. He stood on the glass facade of a broken building, surrounded by dilapidated structures, with two people standing in front of him.
"How boring! Idiot! You dare come in just because I told you to? Are you looking for death!? Fool!"
As soon as White finished speaking, he held Zangetsu in his hand. Ichigo, completely bewildered, also found Zangetsu in his grasp. Before Ichigo could even realize what was happening, White's sword was already upon him.
Ichigo rushed forward, only to discover that the opponent's strike was beyond human resistance! Ichigo was slammed to the ground by the blade, Zangetsu's massive Blade Body slicing through Ichigo's shoulder.
"Ah~!" Ichigo shouted, his strength seemingly increasing, managing to lift White's sword a little more.
White grinned, unleashing a tremendous burst of power once more. Ichigo was forced back down, his wound being severed in two, causing Ichigo to grit his teeth in agony.
"Who are you, you bastard?"
"This grandpa? Hehe~, I'm your knife! Happy now~!?"
"Huh!?" Ichigo was too busy being confused to even think about it. "Is my sword still going to kill me?"
"Hehehe~ Hehehe~?" White laughed wildly, "I'll kill you! Then I can replace you! Didn't that little girl tell you? The knife is you, and you are the knife!"
Ichigo now truly realized the gravity of the situation. A surge of anxiety mixed with a fierce sense of defiance welled up within him. "I am who I am! A sword is a sword! You think you can take my place?! Are you kidding me?!"
Ichigo shouted as he struggled to his feet, blood gushing from his shoulder wound. White laughed again, but at that moment, another Zangetsu was placed against White's neck from behind.
"What do you mean by that, you old geezer?!"
"Let him go, now is not your time to step in."
"Hehe~ Hehe! Why should I listen to you!?", White's electronic music is always incredibly catchy no matter how many times you listen to it.
"I'm serious!" Uncle Zangetsu's voice was always so calm.
"Hmph~ This useless piece of trash will kill us sooner or later, I might as well replace him, you'll regret it, hehe," White sheathed his sword, and with a series of stomps, disappeared into the building complex.
Ichigo had a chance to notice Uncle Zangetsu. "You're one of my swords too? I have two swords?"
"No, to be precise, I am your true blade, while he is something else entirely, but also belongs to your consciousness, perhaps even closer to you than I am."
"What's the meaning!?"
"If you don't understand, then don't understand," Uncle Zangetsu his sword and beckoning to Ichigo. "Come on, you've come to ask me for help to learn your skills, haven't you? So, fight me, and if you gain my approval, I'll teach you the skills."
"Really!?" Ichigo was seething with anger, and had nowhere to vent it.
Uncle Zangetsu gave a mocking smile, "Exactly."
"Ooh~!" Ichigo roared and charged forward, only to be met with a brutal beating. Unlike Uncle Zangetsu White, Zangetsu was a master of technique.
In the World of the Living, Rukia was already panting heavily. Even with her best efforts, she still couldn't break through Ginjo 'Rukia defenses. She had also killed many Dead Souls that could have been saved. Each death brought her immense pain.
However, her energy expenditure was far greater than Ginjo's. Ginjo felt invincible at the moment; he had no stamina left, so there was no question of energy consumption. As for Spiritual Power, so many Dead Souls were providing Spiritual Power to him.
"Huff... huff... what to do? Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!" Rukia racked her brains, but could only maintain the status quo. She truly had no other choice. White Ripple had trapped Ginjo again, Rukia seized the opportunity to attack Ginjo repeatedly with her gloves, unleashing some Dead Souls for Soul Burial.
On the other side, Mingmo and the Shopkeeper stood together on the rooftop. The Shopkeeper asked with some surprise, "Has Ginjo killed many people?"
"No, we only knew of three people, so we warned him, and then he didn't kill anyone else."
"Could the Dead Souls within him be...?"
"Yes, that's the only theory. He absorbed all the power of the Hollows. Those Dead Souls were originally Hollows, after all, he opened the Garganta several times, summoning many Hollows to devour them."
The Shopkeeper looked curious. "Oh my, I really want to take a closer look."
"That's what Sister Aijima said too. It's a pity, this guy would have been a really good research subject."
"Should we contact your master and request an extension?"
"Hmmmm, it probably won't be very useful for us."
"Well~", the Shopkeeper thought that Hueco Mundo's influence was quite strong, so there was indeed no need to worry too much about it. He could only shrug. And to be honest, using Kūgo Ginjō in his current state for experiments was really inhumane, although most scientists weren't exactly humane to begin with.
"If Rukia really can't hold on, Ichigo doesn't show up either..."
"Of course I'll help, but I'll try to be more discreet."
"You two are really Isshin to training these two kids."
"Of course! This is the Lord's command."
The Shopkeeper fell into deep thought, beginning to focus on Ichigo was currently in the Inner World. Meanwhile, Rukia unleashed several more Dead Souls Soul Burials, and just as she landed, a beam of black light struck her, slamming her directly into a nearby building.
The power of this attack was no joke. Ginjo spoke again afterward, but this time he also coughed up blood. The Hollowfication Mask, despite the decreasing number of Dead Souls, had actually increased in size, and it was about to cover his entire face.
Ginjo roared something no one could understand as he walked towards Rukia. Rukia felt a sense of despair; she tried desperately to see Ichigo's location, but the wall blocked her view.
"Idiot! How much longer are you going to make me wait? I can't hold out any longer!" Rukia felt incredibly wronged. She'd been trained for no reason, dragged into this mess for no reason, and now she was being watched in this battle for no reason. What, Child of Destiny? What about her? Wouldn't they care about her? Was this the end for her?
"Hey~ Are you crying?"
Rukia suddenly heard that familiar voice, Ichigo was standing in front of her, grinning foolishly. Rukia looked at Ginjo behind Ichigo, her face filled with terror.
"Hello!!"
Ichigo turned and blocked Ginjo with a single strike, his Reiatsu Explosion and blasting Ginjo away. Roar Open then Zangetsu.
"What are you yelling about? Don't worry, I've already learned the ultimate move! I'll show you!"
"Crescent Moon! Sky Slash!!"
A massive amount of Spiritual Power was condensed into a glowing spiritual blade, which shot out from the tip of the giant blade. With each strike, it formed a huge crescent moon, and the violent power completely obliterated Kūgo Ginjō, as if he had never existed.
"How about that!? I'm strong, right!?" Ichigo with an arrogant smile.
Rukia helplessly, "Ah~ you're strong, you're amazing."