The Early Collision

The Zanpakuto Manifestation Device, Tsuna had used it before. It was a tool invented by Urahara Kisuke to forcibly learn Bankai. Ichigo being able to cut the Zanpakuto Manifestation Device proved that Ichigo had already learned Bankai.

Tsuna, without a word, widened the distance between himself and Isshin. He pointed at Isshin and said, "Take your complaints to my parents. Ichigo and I aren't that close."

"You damn brat, trying to distance yourself now?" Isshin cursed at Tsuna.

"Please, don't argue. Ichigo has already started his move," Urahara Kisuke said.

Ichigo unleashed another Getsuga Tensho, scattering the Senbonzakura petals attacking him. He immediately Flash Stepped to an open area, raising Zangetsu high. With his other hand, he pressed down on the arm holding Zangetsu. The white ribbon at Zangetsu's hilt began to wrap around his hand, and Ichigo's spiritual pressure started to fluctuate violently.

Byakuya immediately sensed something was wrong with Ichigo. His extensive combat experience prompted him to use Hadō #4: Lightning. A white bolt of lightning shot from Byakuya's fingertips. No matter what Ichigo intended to do, the priority was to interfere with him.

Byakuya was ultimately a step too late. Just as he fired the lightning, Ichigo had already completed his spiritual pressure preparation. A powerful thrust was bellowed from his mouth.

"Bankai!"

A pillar of light, formed by immense spiritual pressure, enveloped Ichigo. After a long while, the spiritual pressure dissipated, revealing Kurosaki Ichigo, clad in a Shinigami uniform with a black outer robe and red inner lining, standing before everyone. His massive Zanpakuto had transformed into a slender, all-black katana with a swastika-shaped handguard, and a short chain extended from the end of the hilt.

"Tensa Zangetsu!" Ichigo's indifferent voice, coupled with his robe billowing from the spiritual pressure, was incredibly cool.

"You call this insignificant thing a Bankai?"

Byakuya said dismissively. But before his words could even fall, he felt a chill at his neck. In a flash, Kurosaki Ichigo had appeared right in front of Byakuya, the tip of Tensa Zangetsu pressed against his neck.

"Whoa, a classic scene," Tsuna exclaimed excitedly. He hadn't expected Ichigo to pull off this iconic moment even before entering the Soul Society.

"I have no intention of fighting you. Let me escort Rukia to the Soul Society. I'll testify for her," Ichigo said calmly. Ichigo had never intended to fight Byakuya or Renji to the death. Renji's injuries were purely accidental.

Byakuya, however, did not think the same way. The injury to his subordinate was a concrete fact. With a flick of his finger hidden in his sleeve, Senbonzakura surged skyward, engulfing both him and Ichigo.

The petals of Senbonzakura were, in essence, sharp blades. Byakuya himself could potentially be harmed by Senbonzakura if he mishandled it. Yet, at this moment, Byakuya disregarded the danger and used Senbonzakura to cleanse himself, all to escape the predicament of being held hostage by Ichigo.

Just as Byakuya had planned, Ichigo had already flashed away before the Senbonzakura appeared. Byakuya regained his freedom, though his clothes were tattered and he bore numerous fine scars after the sakura rain.

"That temper hasn't changed one bit," Yoruichi remarked. She unilaterally considered her relationship with Byakuya to be very good, mainly because she used to bully him when he was younger. Thus, she understood his personality intimately: stubborn, ruthless to enemies, and even more so to himself.

Senbonzakura reformed into a blade in Byakuya's hand. Byakuya casually released his Zanpakuto upside down. The Zanpakuto fell freely, creating ripples at Byakuya's feet.

"Bankai."

As Byakuya's solemn voice rang out, thousands of massive blades appeared on his left and right, guarding him like sentinels. Then, all the blades shattered into waves of sakura petals for Byakuya to command.

"Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Simply put, Byakuya's Bankai was an amplified version of his Shikai. The number of Senbonzakura he could control was greatly increased, granting Byakuya a wider array of combat techniques.

Kuchiki Byakuya directly manipulated Senbonzakura with his hands. The speed of Senbonzakura increased again, its agility far surpassing Renji's Zabimaru. It sealed off all possible escape routes for Ichigo, from all directions.

With a claw-like gesture from Byakuya, Senbonzakura completely surrounded Ichigo, trapping him within a sphere of sakura petals. Ichigo would be subjected to a full-frontal, no-blind-spot assault from Senbonzakura.

This was, Kōkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

The moment the sakura sphere closed, Byakuya's clawed hand was forcibly released. Immediately, Byakuya saw the sakura sphere he had created explode. Flashing amidst the sakura were streaks of black sword shadows.

For the first time, a look of surprise appeared on Byakuya's face. Kōkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi had been broken, and the way it was broken was so simple and unadorned – pure, rapid slashes, so fast that even Senbonzakura couldn't keep up, shattering the entire sakura sphere in an instant.

A hint of determination appeared on Ichigo's face. He realized Byakuya was fighting seriously. If his own strength was slightly lacking, he would have been instantly annihilated by Kōkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. In that case, he too had to exert some power.

The tip of Tensa Zangetsu flashed with a black sword aura. Even a sliver of aura exuded terrifying spiritual pressure. A black crescent moon was drawn by the slender Zanpakuto, charging towards Byakuya.

Getsuga Tensho!

It was still Getsuga Tensho. After Bankai, the spiritual pressure Ichigo unleashed was black. The power of this black crescent moon was incomparable to the blue crescent of his Shikai. Byakuya felt a sense of danger from the black spiritual pressure.

Byakuya rapidly summoned Senbonzakura, stacking layer upon layer of defense before him. Even so, he underestimated the attack power of Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho after Bankai. A trace of blackness broke through the countless sakura petals and appeared before him.

Byakuya dodged his head to the side. The black light grazed his cheek, shearing off a few strands of his hair. Fortunately, the Getsuga Tensho that broke through Senbonzakura was only this trace of spiritual pressure. If Ichigo had unleashed the crescent moon at its initial size, Byakuya would have been severely injured by now.

Byakuya lightly wiped the bloodstain on his face. As his spiritual pressure circulated, his technique changed again. All the sakura petals returned to Byakuya's side like a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. Then, hundreds of petals condensed into a pink katana. Billions of petals repeated the same action, and instantly, countless pink katanas spread out from Byakuya's side.

Thousands of pink katanas formed a cage, enveloping both Byakuya and Ichigo. This was a move where Byakuya sacrificed defense. Every sakura petal transformed into a sharp katana. Byakuya intended to defeat Ichigo head-on with his swordsmanship. Senkei: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi.

A Senbonzakura katana landed before Byakuya. Byakuya grabbed the hilt, about to launch an attack on Ichigo. At this moment, a girl in casual clothes blocked his path. It was Rukia Kuchiki.

"Stop, Brother. Don't fight anymore. I'll go back with you." With that, Rukia immediately turned to Ichigo. "Ichigo, Brother is going to get serious. This is not something you can handle. Don't worry, I'll regain my freedom soon after serving a few years in prison."

To lessen Ichigo's psychological burden, Rukia deliberately downplayed the punishment from the Soul Society, aiming to stabilize Ichigo and prevent him from causing further trouble.

To Rukia's surprise, Ichigo's reaction was very calm. She had expected Ichigo to still be arguing and disagreeing with her words. She hadn't realized that after spending time with Ichigo, she still didn't understand him well enough.

"I understand, Rukia. Be careful on your journey."

This was Ichigo's reply. Furthermore, Tensa Zangetsu had already drooped towards the ground. In Rukia's eyes, Ichigo had lost the will to fight.

Receiving his reply, Rukia slightly concealed the disappointment on her face and turned to Byakuya. "Let's go back, Brother. Renji needs treatment."

The veins on Byakuya's forehead twitched involuntarily. He was about to regain his footing, only to be stopped by his sister. Were the women in his family this assertive?

With Rukia's persuasion and Renji's immediate need for treatment, Byakuya reluctantly retracted Senbonzakura. However, he deeply remembered Ichigo's face. The next time they met, he would definitely let that arrogant fellow witness the glory of the Kuchiki family.

"Let's go."

Byakuya opened the Senkaimon. Rukia had already shouldered the heavily injured Renji. Before stepping into the Senkaimon, she took one last deep look at the World of the Living. She didn't know when she would next visit the World of the Living.

The Senkaimon slowly closed, and the night sky of Karakura Town returned to its calm. In an unnoticed open space, Ichigo forcefully broke free from Isshin and Tsuna's restraint.

"Damn old man! Damn Tsuna! What are you doing? Didn't you see how reluctant Rukia looked? She's definitely lying to me! If she goes back to the Soul Society, it'll be over for real!" Ichigo yelled at Isshin and Tsuna without a word.

The Ichigo who had just bid farewell to Rukia slowly dissolved into mist and disappeared.

As Byakuya released his Senkei, not only did Rukia take action, but Tsuna's illusions also enveloped the battlefield. They had bound the real Ichigo; the one who said goodbye to Rukia was merely an illusion.

"Don't rush, Ichigo. Look at that," Tsuna pointed to an inconspicuous corner where several insects were disappearing. "Let me introduce you to that thing, it's called a Surveillance Spirit Bug."

"Surveillance? You mean Rukia was set up?" Ichigo quickly calmed down. When he chose to use his brain, Ichigo's brain was quite effective. "Is there a mastermind behind this?"

"That's right. If we let you continue fighting Byakuya, and this mastermind can't resist and personally comes to the World of the Living, Karakura Town will be in big trouble," Tsuna said.

"Is that guy strong?"

"Very strong. I'm not sure I can win against him," Tsuna replied. "So, the battlefield for saving Rukia cannot be in Karakura Town, understand?"

"I understand." Looking at the star-dusted city below, this was also a city Ichigo loved. "The battlefield can only be in Soul Society. When do we leave? How much time do I have?"

Tsuna looked at Urahara. Urahara did a quick calculation and replied, "Soul Society's efficiency isn't high. There's still a long time before Rukia truly receives her punishment. We'll depart in ten days. I'll prepare the Senkaimon."

"I got it, Old Man. Please take my body back and tell Mom and Orihime I'll be home late for a while." After speaking, Ichigo Flash Stepped rapidly in one direction. To save Rukia, he had to confront his inner fear.