"Moshi moshi~, is that Ichigo Kurosaki- san?"
"Uh, hello~, is this the Undead Tokyo General Office?" Ichigo asked, suddenly no longer nervous after the call connected. "How did you know it was me?"
"Hi~, Ichigo Kurosaki- san, we have your special attention here. How can we help you? Don't hesitate to ask, your needs are our top priority."
"Oh~!" Ichigo realized he seemed pretty awesome, and although Jun's attitude towards him was so-so, the treatment he received was really good, much better than in Soul Society. "Ahem, um, I wanted to ask, why is the Office and Research Institute in Karakura Town empty?"
"This is because our lord believes that Aizen will definitely descend upon Karakura Town within the next few months. Karakura Town in Tokyo is the best and largest Spiritually Dense Area in all of Japan, making it Aizen's best choice. Therefore, it will inevitably receive significant attention from the Soul Society in the near future."
"Our relationship with Soul Society already strained, and they harbor immense hatred towards us Undead. So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, we've decided to retreat."
"Uh, I see~, uh, I have some questions about my power right now, I..."
"This kind of thing? Hmmm, we can only report it. If someone can help you, they will contact you again. But to more accurately determine the type of help you need, could you please explain your question?"
"Uh, okay, I feel like the Hollow power within me is currently fighting with myself for control of this body."
"I see, we've noted it down. We'll contact you as soon as we have any relevant information."
"Thank you," Ichigo, having finished asking his question. Suddenly, he remembered something he'd vaguely overheard earlier. "Wait! You... you just said Aizen will descend upon Karakura Town in the next few months!?"
"Hey~! Actually Ichigo Kurosaki, you've noticed too, haven't you? The number of Hollows in Karakura Town has skyrocketed lately."
"Yes! What do you know!?"
"Hey! These Hollows all World of the Living from Hueco Mundo through the Garganta, but we didn't do that, so they must be lowly troops sent by Aizen's side."
"Okay, so you call them cannon fodder, cannon fodder troops? Then what about the regular army?" Ichigo now finds dealing with these Hollow minions very easy; their sheer numbers are meaningless, so he acknowledges them as cannon fodder.
"Those must be Arrancar. Aizen possesses the Hōgyoku and can easily create Arrancar. A large number of Arrancar will inevitably enter Karakura Town. Ichigo Kurosaki- san, please prepare in advance, and please ask your friends to be careful as well."
Thank you for letting me know.
"But there's no need to worry too much, because our forces have already brought the highly talented Vasto Lordes under our command long ago. The quality of the Arrancars that Aizen's side can obtain will certainly not be too high. Among them, there are basically no Original Arrancars. At most, there will be a few Vasto Lordes- class Arrancars and many Adjuchas- class Arrancars."
Ichigo's teeth ached from listening. "Wait Ichigo minute, let me catch my breath. What's this 'Original Arrancar'? I do know about Vasto Lorde- class and Adjuchas- class."
"Ichigo Kurosaki, didn't you see the Original Arrancar in Soul Society? The one who rescued our master at Sōkyoku Hill was Original Arrancar, a re-evolved form of Vasto Lorde. The Hōgyoku itself has the ability to transform Hollows into Arrancars, so it doesn't need to evolve from Vasto Lorde to become Arrancar."
"So Aizen's side doesn't have any original ones, right?"
"Regarding this, Ichigo Kurosaki, you need to be careful. Our faction has always had a lot of freedom in managing the Arrancar. Over the past few hundred years, we've lost seven Catalyst-level Original Arrancars, and some of them might very well be recruited by Aizen. So..."
"Okay, I got it. Thanks!"
"You're welcome, Ichigo Kurosaki- san. If you ever have any questions, feel free to call us anytime. Goodbye."
After Ichigo hung up the phone, he felt his face was a little uncontrollable. What the hell was going on? He hadn't even had a few days of rest, and he was being told he was going to fight again soon? And face Aizen directly! To be honest, Ichigo was a little... very nervous.
But if he doesn't get any feedback from here, Ichigo is starting to panic. Aizen is a problem for the future; he and White are the immediate issues. He should go find Urahara.
Ichigo didn't want to go to Urahara unless absolutely necessary, because compared to Aijima Ooal Gown, Urahara had a lot more to deal with, and his attitude wasn't great either. Besides, the Soul Society always acted like helping you would make you owe them a favor.
While asking for help does leave me indebted, the problem is, I'm supposed to be some kind of Child of Destiny... wait, what exactly does Child of Destiny mean?
So Ichigo made another phone call on his way to Urahara Shop.
Sorry to trouble you again.
"No problem," the same person answered the phone. "What's the problem?"
"What exactly does 'the Child of Destiny' mean?"
"This is because of your parents' unique abilities, which caused the uniqueness of you, your two sisters, and your brother. To put it simply, all four of you children simultaneously possess the potential of Soul Reaper, a Hollow, Quincy. This is a situation that has never occurred before in history."
Ichigo scratched his head. "What does that prove?"
"Doesn't that prove anything? Think about it, how long have you had this power since then?"
"Uh, less than three months? What happened?"
"You have defeated Byakuya Kuchiki of Soul Society, and you defeated him head-on. You gained three months' worth of power. Byakuya Kuchiki has lived for 326 years. None of the other Soul Society captains at his level are younger than Byakuya Kuchiki."
"This means that you can catch up with more than three hundred years of time in Soul Society in three months, and that's against a particularly powerful Byakuya Kuchiki. If it were a slightly weaker being, you could even close the gap of five or six hundred years."
Ichigo swallowed hard. "What about Aizen?"
"Aizen's level is above Byakuya Kuchiki's, his ability is above his, and his age is above his—conservatively estimated at around a thousand years. If you continue catching up at your current rate, you could rival Aizen after only one year of possessing his power."
Just as Ichigo's eyes lit up, a voice said, "Just kidding," Ichigo's face immediately darkened.
"According to our lord's conjecture about you, you were born with immense Spiritual Power, and this Spiritual Power has increased year by year over the past fifteen years. The fact that you have reached this point in just three months is because your inherent Spiritual Power, or talent, has reached a threshold. However, whether you can advance further after reaching this threshold remains to be seen."
Ichigo had arrived at Urahara Shop. Urahara and Yoruichi were both there. The Shopkeeper didn't say anything, but took out his phone, lit up the screen, and put it on speakerphone. Ichigo did the same, so the Shopkeeper and Yoruichi heard the conversation. They both nodded in agreement.
"So where is my Limit Threshold?"
"Our lord's opinion is that Gin Ichimaru..."
"Ha?"
"These are all answers our lord left us in response to your questions, so if you ask me what level Gin Ichimaru is, I don't know."
Ichigo looked completely bewildered. "You mean these answers were all prepared in advance by that Jun Shimizu?"
"Yes"
"Why didn't he prepare an answer about me having health problems?!"
"Actually, there is. Go talk to Shopkeeper Urahara; he'll help you."
"Uh, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Since you need our help, I've already submitted the report. Do you want it withdrawn?"
"No need, sorry, thank you," Ichigo felt utterly exhausted. "Thank you all, those were my questions."
"You're welcome. Please feel free to call again. Goodbye."
The Shopkeeper was delighted to hear this. "Why did you hang up?"
Ichigo handed him the phone, "If you like it, you can call back."
"Then I'll hit him, I'll hit him."
"What are you talking about! Use your own phone to make the call!" Ichigo snatched his phone back.
"Haha, I even prepared my voice changer, oh well~ what a pity."
Wow! What are you getting a voice changer for!?
"Of course it's for your phone. You know, you're a very high priority there."
Ichigo, his mind filled with questions, clutched his phone tightly. "What does this mean? How tall?"
"Probably second only to Jun Shimizu. It just goes to show that person really thinks highly of you. What did you come to ask me?"
Ichigo scratched his head in frustration. "You know, that Hollowfication Mask ability of mine, I'm getting so annoyed by that guy, and when I use that power, I can never win against him."
"Oh~?" The Shopkeeper circled Ichigo three times to the left and three times to the right. "Didn't you already have perfect control for five minutes?"
He said it was because he let me win, otherwise I wouldn't have done it for even a second.
"So you're saying your victory over Byakuya Kuchiki was entirely thanks to him?"
"How is that possible!" Ichigo shouted angrily, "I defeated Byakuya with my own strength!"
"Tsk~ Your own power? Isn't it your power?"
"Ugh~", Ichigo was even more annoyed, "How can this be considered my own power? That Jun Shimizu told me it's my power, but where is this power that's fighting me for control of my body!?"
"Oh, I see. Then I'll take you to meet a few people; they might be able to help you."
However, just as the Shopkeeper finished speaking, another voice suddenly appeared, "No need to look anymore, I came myself. You're Ichigo Kurosaki, right?"
Ichigo turned his head and saw a blond-haired man with an extremely shabby appearance, clothes, and attitude walking towards him. Ichigo looked at the blond-haired man, then went to the Shopkeeper and whispered in his ear, "Is this the kind of person you wanted to find for me?"
"Hey! Hey! You're really being rude, kid! What do you mean by 'this kind of person'?! What kind of person am I?"
"Men like you, with your fake smile and frivolous behavior, are just like that Jun Shimizu."
Shinji Hirako laughed loudly upon hearing this, "Hahaha, are you praising me? I'm very grateful for comparing me to that Jun Shimizu, but unfortunately, I'm not quite as good as her."
However, before Ichigo could speak, Hirako, who had been covering his mouth, threw a Mod Soul into his mouth. Then, a spirit's hand suddenly pulled at his face, and Hollowfication Mask appeared.
"Kid, you already have this thing, right? You want to control it? Is that it?"
"You!" Ichigo was so surprised he couldn't speak.
Hirako's spirit instantly returned to his body. He spat out the Mod Soul, wiped it off, and put it away. "Enough talk, just follow me."