"I'm coming!"
Ichigo called out, activated Shunpo, appeared before Tatsuma, and swung his sword down.
"Idiot!" Tatsuma frowned and kicked out.
The next instant, a roar sounded.
Ichigo turned into an afterimage and flew backward, smashing through several small mountains before crashing onto the ground, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
"You're so stupid it surprises me."
Tatsuma lowered his right leg, his voice traveling thousands of meters to Ichigo's ears.
"Knowing full well that my strength is above yours, you still dared to rashly launch an attack."
"Who gave you the courage? Was it your Bankai that you were planning to hide until you died?"
"..."
Ichigo fell silent.
Although being cursed at felt bad, everything Tatsuma said was the truth. Because of underestimating the enemy and carelessness, he got beaten back the moment the fight began.
But...
"I won't be careless from now on!"
Getting up from the ground, Ichigo raised Zangetsu and pointed it forward, his Reiatsu turning into a pillar of light soaring into the sky.
"Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!"
Zangetsu, which was originally like a large cleaver, transformed into a thin sword appearing in his hand. Massive Reiatsu continuously gathered, forming a layer of black and red Shinigami robes on his body, fluttering in the wind.
After that, Ichigo raised his hand to his face and pulled down. A bull-head mask appeared on his face, and his aura was further enhanced.
"Tatsuma! Watch this!"
"This is my full strength!"
Gripping Tensa Zangetsu with both hands, Ichigo gathered his Reiatsu onto the sword's edge.
"Getsuga..."
"In a real battle, the enemy won't give you a chance to charge up."
Just as Ichigo was about to swing his sword, Tatsuma's voice sounded in his ears.
Time energy descended, affecting Ichigo's sword swing, pausing it in mid-air. At the same time, Tatsuma appeared in front of Ichigo, his palm pressing against his abdomen.
Boom!
Like a replica of the scene from a few seconds ago, Ichigo was sent flying backward again, creating a crater.
As the time stop ended, Ichigo regained consciousness, and intense pain came from all over his body.
After subconsciously letting out a scream, he gritted his teeth and rolled to the side. A crimson slash brushed past him, cutting the ground in two.
"Your performance this time wasn't bad."
Tatsuma walked through accelerated time, appearing next to Ichigo the next second.
"However, it's still too far off."
Boom!
The third roar sounded, and a colossal force capable landed on Ichigo.
This time, he didn't even have a chance to scream, his head tilted as he instantly fell into a coma.
[Congratulations on successfully defeating Ichigo Kurosaki, you have obtained the gold trait: King's Soul.]
[King's Soul (Gold): Total Reiatsu greatly increases, soul strength bottleneck removed allowing infinite enhancement, training effect +3000%.]
Golden trait +1.
Glancing at King's Soul's attributes, Tatsuma nodded in satisfaction and restrained his aura.
Myriad Phenomenon Rejection activated, golden light enveloped Ichigo.
Denying the fact of being injured, Ichigo's injuries rapidly faded at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few seconds, the severely injured and near-death Ichigo was completely healed and revived.
Suddenly opening his eyes, Ichigo clutched his chest and took two large gasps of air.
"I'm not dead?!"
"With me here, of course you won't die." Tatsuma's voice sounded.
Ichigo turned his head to look to the side, belatedly realizing the truth.
"You saved me, Tatsuma."
"Of course, after all, it was just a spar, I wouldn't go as far as to kill you."
"That level was just a spar?"
Although he knew Tatsuma's strength was great, Ichigo didn't expect the difference to be so vast.
Recalling the fleeting battle just now, Ichigo felt somewhat struck.
"Your growth has been too smooth, it seems sometimes being too stable isn't a good thing." Tatsuma pointed out Ichigo's problem.
Just looking at the stats, the Bankai + Masked Ichigo far surpassed his original counterpart at the same period, terrifyingly strong.
But correspondingly, his battle awareness and battle experience were also astonishingly low.
"You still have a lot of potential within you. If fully excavated, you can take a step further and become stronger in the future."
"But to become a true powerhouse, you must establish the correct mindset."
"I recommend that you temporarily stop training and take on more Akatsuki missions to increase your battle experience."
"On this point, Tatsuma and I share the same view."
Just then, Kisuke's voice came from not far away.
"Ichigo, it's time to stop training and sharpen your edges."
"I understand." Ichigo nodded in agreement.
He wasn't the type of person who wouldn't listen to advice. On the contrary, he had self-awareness regarding his own situation.
Since Tatsuma and Kisuke both said so, it meant that his problem was indeed very significant. To become stronger and save Rukia, it was time to go out and experience things.
"Tatsuma, what kind of Akatsuki missions are suitable for me to improve my battle experience?"
"Capturing wanted criminals and the like."
Wanted criminals are mostly cunning villains.
To improve battle experience, to turn from a naive person into a true warrior, catching more wanted criminals is the fastest shortcut.
"You're in luck, Akatsuki has a large-scale encirclement and suppression action this afternoon."
"Since you want to increase your battle experience, the Hero Faction's Seventh Branch will be handed over to you to lead the encirclement and suppression."
"Me leading?"
Ichigo was startled and shook his head repeatedly. "I can't do it, let someone else do it."
"Stop talking nonsense, if I tell you to lead, you lead."
Tatsuma ignored Ichigo's refusal and directly decided the matter.
According to the intelligence provided by Yahweh, there are a total of thirteen branches of the Hero Faction.
To ensure maximum benefit and avoid alerting the enemy allowing them to escape, Tatsuma prepared to launch attacks on all thirteen branches of the Hero Faction simultaneously. For this, there must be enough high-end combat power to hold the fort.
Although Ichigo was reckless and lacked sufficient battle experience, his strength was genuine. With Ichigo leading the team, there's no need to worry about being pushed back by the enemy.
"Oh right, I don't have enough manpower here, you guys come and help me too."
Tatsuma turned his head to look at Kisuke and Yoruichi standing not far away.
"Huh? Is there something for me?" Kisuke was startled and raised his hand to point at himself.
Tatsuma nodded. "Is there a problem?"
Kisuke showed a wry smile. "Actually, my friend's wife is about to give birth, so I don't have much time this afternoon."
Tatsuma flexed his wrist and asked, "Then how about you have a fight with me? I'm a bit curious about your strength."
Kisuke: "?"
Wait, this response isn't right, is it?
According to the process, shouldn't Tatsuma be offering a certain reward to recruit him at this time, and then he would haggle back and forth a bit to maximize his profit? Why did the topic suddenly shift to fighting?
A thought of doubt arose in his mind, but just as Kisuke was about to say something else, a massive Time energy surged from Tatsuma.
"Uh... Tatsuma?"
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Kisuke's forehead.
"Excuse me, what are you planning to do?"
"Test your strength."
Tatsuma snapped his fingers, and hundreds of magic circles formed in the sky, descending endless lightning.
At the same time, the accumulated Time energy surged out, enveloping Kisuke.
Affected by the Time energy, Kisuke entered a brief time stop, his thoughts frozen. When he came back to his senses again, the crimson lightning falling from the sky was already close at hand.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
[Congratulations on successfully defeating Kisuke Urahara, you have obtained the red trait: Inventor.]
[Inventor (Red): Research talent +500%, efficiency when conducting research work +1000%.]
Two consecutive prompts sounded, and the lightning dissipated.
Kisuke appeared before everyone, his body scorched black and his aura weak.
"Urahara! Are you alright?"
Ichigo quickly ran over to check his condition.
"Cough! I'm fine, still alive."
Kisuke coughed and looked towards Tatsuma.
"Um... could you help heal my injuries?"
Tatsuma showed a slight smile. "The price for treating you is one Akatsuki mission. Can you accept that?"
Kisuke sighed, "If I don't accept, you won't add insult to injury, right?"
Tatsuma shrugged, "How could that be? After all, I'm not a devil."
Kisuke: "..."
One shouldn't be too much like Tatsuma.
Realizing that he couldn't escape no matter what, Kisuke sighed again and agreed, "I can lead a team to help you stop a Hero Faction branch, but I can't personally take action."
"After all, in terms of identity, I am currently a wanted criminal in Soul Society and need to keep a low profile."
"That's enough."
Tatsuma activated Myriad Phenomenon Rejection.
A golden radiance enveloped Kisuke, and the injuries on his body quickly receded. His aura returned to normal, and Kisuke stood up from the ground, raising his arm to look at his intact sleeve cuff.
"Even my clothes were repaired along with me. It doesn't seem like just a simple healing ability."
Tatsuma raised an eyebrow. "Want to know the principle behind the ability?"
Kisuke nodded. "I didn't sense the aura of Time energy. It doesn't look like time reversal, but rather a completely different kind of ability."
Tatsuma said, "Good eye, but if you want to understand my ability, you'll need to pay an information fee."
"Uh... in that case, let's forget it."
Kisuke waved his hand, stopping his analysis.
Tatsuma's asking price wasn't cheap. If he couldn't afford it, he might inexplicably get beaten up again.