Closing the panel, Tatsuma used Senjutsu to heal Orihime's injuries and commented, "Your initial dodge, and the subsequent deployment of the barrier for defense, were well done. But after blocking the attack, your attention was briefly distracted."
"This is a very serious problem. Any slight mistake in combat could lead to your death. You must correct this flaw."
"Ugh... so I'm not qualified after all." Orihime lowered her head, feeling a bit disappointed.
"No, you are qualified."
Just then, Tatsuma's voice sounded again.
"Being able to reach this level after a month of training is very good from all aspects."
"Later I'll arrange a bodyguard for you, participating in this operation is more than enough."
"That's great!" Orihime's eyes lit up, and she let out a cheer.
Because she was attacked by a Hollow a month ago, Orihime cared very much about getting stronger.
Being able to gain Tatsuma's approval was the biggest reward for her month of hard training.
"Tatsuma, when are we setting off?"
Tatsuma replied, "No rush, Akatsuki is still gathering people. Before everyone arrives, I still have some other places to go."
"Where are you going?"
"Urahara Shop."
"Urahara Shop... Tatsuma, are you going to see Urahara-san and Kurosaki-kun?"
"Yeah."
It had been a month since he last saw Ichigo.
Now that the cooldown was over, Tatsuma naturally wouldn't let Ichigo go. He was a major source of high-level traits, and it would be too wasteful not to farm him repeatedly.
However, just as Tatsuma was about to set off, a growling sound echoed.
Tatsuma stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Orihime, who was clutching her stomach.
"This... that..."
A blush appeared on Orihime's face, her expression a little awkward.
"Tatsuma, I'm a little hungry."
"I can tell."
Tatsuma shrugged and turned to walk into the kitchen.
Time energy surged, and steps like washing rice, steaming rice, washing vegetables, and cutting vegetables were completed in a few seconds.
By the time Orihime reacted a beat later, Tatsuma had already walked out of the kitchen with three plates of egg-fried rice.
"Eat if you're hungry, we'll leave after you finish eating."
"Waaah! Tatsuma, how did you do that!"
Orihime's eyes lit up, and she stared at Tatsuma like a curious baby, examining him closely.
"Just accelerated time by a tiny bit." Tatsuma replied concisely, then placed all the egg-fried rice on the table.
"That is a convenient ability." Even Grayfia exclaimed this time.
Smelling the aroma wafting to her nose, she hesitated for two seconds before sitting down with Orihime.
"I'm going to eat!"
Orihime took a bite with her spoon, and then the corners of her lips visibly lifted.
"Delicious! Tatsuma, you actually have such cooking skills. It's a hundred times better than Jeanne's cooking."
"Jeanne might cry if she heard that." Tatsuma let out a light chuckle.
Because Cao Cao and the others voluntarily evacuated Vermilion, Jeanne, who was captured as a prisoner, lost her retreat path.
After negotiations, Jeanne joined Akatsuki and became the chef at Tatsuma's house, responsible for three meals a day.
As the former star chef of the Hero Faction, Jeanne's cooking skills were even better than Akeno and the others. As soon as she took office, she received widespread praise and was once praised by Orihime as the God of Cooking.
But now, it seems the God of Cooking has fallen.
Shifting his gaze away from Orihime and Grayfia, Tatsuma lowered his head to enjoy the long-awaited breakfast.
After a hearty meal, Orihime clutched her stomach and asked, "Tatsuma, can I have two more plates?"
"No."
"Ugh... but I didn't eat enough."
"Playing pitiful won't work."
Tatsuma stood up without changing his expression and walked towards the door not far away.
Orihime sighed and had no choice but to suppress the thought in her heart, planning to make arrangements later.
"Let's go."
Grayfia, who was beside her, also seemed a little reluctant.
After subconsciously licking her lips, she and Orihime left the residence together and caught up with Tatsuma ahead.
Walking straight down the street, Tatsuma and the others spent half an hour leisurely walking into an alley.
Arriving at the end of the alley, a sign [Urahara Shop] came into view.
"We're here."
Tatsuma pushed open the door and led the way in.
"Oh my. Isn't this Tatsuma?"
As if he had sensed someone approaching early, Kisuke, who was sitting at the front desk, raised his hand and waved.
"Welcome, please come in."
"Jinta, Ururu, bring out my prized tea to entertain our distinguished guests."
"No need for all that trouble."
Tatsuma waved his hand, getting straight to the point.
"I'm here to see Ichigo today."
"Ichigo? No problem."
Kisuke was not surprised by this and led the way towards the room in the back.
"He is currently training in the underground space."
"Everyone, please follow me."
Following Kisuke all the way forward, everyone arrived at the underground training space.
In the open area not far away, Ichigo and Yoruichi were sparring.
Intense collision sounds kept coming, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of sounds echoed in the air.
"Ichigo! Yoruichi! You two take a break for now, we have guests!"
Kisuke cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone and called out to the two people not far away.
Hearing his voice, Ichigo and Yoruichi stopped sparring and appeared not far away.
"You are... Tatsuma? Why is Inoue here too?" Seeing the figures behind Kisuke, Ichigo showed a look of confusion.
"We came to see you." Tatsuma walked up to him, looking him over.
"Starting training so early in the morning, you are more diligent than I imagined."
Ichigo's expression was serious. "If I could, I would of course want to rest, but there isn't that much time now."
Ichigo took a deep breath and asked, "Tatsuma, have you heard about Rukia?"
Tatsuma thought for a moment and asked, "Are you referring to her being arrested after returning to Soul Society and massacring Central 46?"
Ichigo nodded seriously. "Tatsuma, you should know what kind of person Rukia is, she was definitely framed."
Ichigo had learned about Rukia's plight ten days ago.
The person who told him about it was Kisuke. According to Kisuke, Rukia's incident was very complicated.
Aside from internal Shinigami issues, there were also unknown enemies acting in the shadows. To ensure Rukia's safety in this chaotic situation, strength was indispensable.
"I have successfully acquired Bankai, and I've been fighting with Urahara and the others these past few days. According to Urahara, I now possess Captain-level strength."
"As long as you help, we can definitely rescue Rukia by working together."
"Pfft... Hahaha!"
Yoruichi, who was nearby, suddenly covered her stomach and burst out laughing.
"Yoruichi, what are you laughing at?" Ichigo looked over, somewhat confused.
Yoruichi waved her hand. "Nothing, I just thought of something funny."
Kisuke pulled down his hat and said, "Ichigo, your growth rate is indeed very fast, but compared to Tatsuma, it's still too far off."
Kisuke reminded him, "What you just said, in my opinion, is like saying 'My assets combined with the world's richest person rank first in the world', it sounds very ignorant."
Ichigo was stunned. "You mean that as long as Tatsuma makes a move, it doesn't matter if I'm there or not?"
Kisuke glanced to the side and said, "Although it's astonishing, from the current situation, that seems to be the case."
Having learned from Aizen's lesson, Kisuke was very attentive to collecting information. After confirming that Tatsuma could become an ally, he had been collecting information about Tatsuma.
And then... the more he collected, the more astonishing it was.
Not only was his growth rate extremely abnormal, but the abilities he displayed in actual combat were also very abnormal.
According to current information, Tatsuma, besides the Boosted Gear, also possessed Incinerate Anthem and Unknown Dictator, two other Longinus of the same level.
He was able to claim the Longinus he stole as his own and activate them simultaneously with the Boosted Gear. He even developed the newly acquired sacred gears to their fullest, using a Trinity Balance Breaker in battle.
Achieving this in such a short period of time, no matter how slow Kisuke was, he realized one thing.
Tatsuma was a special existence even more abnormal than Ichigo, and couldn't be judged by common sense.
"I didn't expect the gap to be this big. Tatsuma, just how strong are you?"
Ichigo took a deep breath, his gaze towards Tatsuma filled with curiosity.
"Want to give it a try?"
A wisp of Time energy appeared on Tatsuma's fingertip.
"I can give you a chance to fight me. But if you lose, you'll need to join Akatsuki and work for me."
"Akatsuki? No problem." Ichigo readily agreed.
He had some understanding of Akatsuki. On one hand, Kisuke had mentioned it, and on the other hand, it was from Orihime's introduction.
According to both of them, it was an organization specifically for combating Hollows, evil spirits, and terrorists.
Ichigo didn't mind joining Akatsuki to help.
***
[New Book]
JJK: Favorability System
Transmigrating to the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, Yahiko awakened the Favorability System.
By interacting with female characters in the story and increasing their Favorability level, he can obtain rewards.
On top of that, the system also issues missions every now and then through which he can acquire rewards.
Killing cursed spirits? That's just a side job.
Dating is the real business.
[Ding! Successfully captured Zenin Maki, Reward: Heavenly Restriction!]