Chapter 18: 10% of the Absolute Realm Power
Protagonists are sometimes completely illogical creatures.
With a surging, exploding, and manic increase in Purity, Ichigo Kurosaki finally used his unreasonable willpower to beat his own frenzied instincts into a state of foaming-at-the-mouth unconsciousness.
The bestial roars that had been ringing in his ears vanished instantly. Ichigo felt as if some heavy shackle had been shattered; his body felt incredibly light. Or more accurately, something that had always existed within him but remained uncontrollable was now, for the first time, under his command. He felt a refreshing sense of "completeness."
Grand Fisher's eyes flashed with a hint of admiration. He smiled and said, "Your Purity finally looks decent. At the very least, you are now qualified to stand before me. Fine, let's skip the nonsense. I want to know where my Uryu Ishida is today. I went to the school gates to wait for him this morning, only to find that he's playing hooky. That is not how a student should behave!"
Ichigo had no idea where Uryu was hiding, and even if he did, he wouldn't tell Fisher. He merely stared at the man and barked:
"Fisher! You're the one who killed my mother, Masaki Kurosaki, aren't you!?"
Hearing this, Fisher's expression didn't change. He maintained his light smile and said, "I killed your mother? It's possible. You know, as a corrupt politician, my hands aren't exactly clean. It's only natural that I'd have a few debts of blood on my tab."
Fisher didn't deny it, but his attitude made Ichigo's rage explode. The boy's keen senses realized that Fisher wasn't so much admitting it as he was simply refusing to spend even a millisecond reflecting on whether a "Masaki Kurosaki" was among his victims. It was a casual, dismissive excuse.
It was a cold indifference and arrogance born from the very marrow of his bones—an evil that was utterly repulsive!
"You bastard... you won't even spare a single thought for her? You really... deserve to die!"
After his instincts were beaten into a coma, that bestiality and wildness hadn't disappeared; they were now fully integrated into the unity of Ichigo's own will. As Ichigo's subjective mind gave rise to killing intent toward Fisher, the power rooted in his instincts responded immediately.
His blood flowed faster, adrenaline surged, and his organs and nerves underwent stress-induced adjustments. Even his brain was undergoing subtle changes.
Normal people rely on emotions like love, justice, anger, or hatred to push their bodies into making reactive changes to derive power; some call this "conviction" or "resolve." But after understanding Purity and subduing his instinct, Ichigo had undergone a cataclysmic transformation.
His subjective will was now supreme. When he wanted to fight and slaughter, the so-called "emotions" and "convictions" would be birthed accordingly!
When Ichigo wanted to kill, the desire and will to kill—the bloodthirsty instinct and bestiality—would grow violently, turning into fangs that allowed him to better tear into his enemy.
He would not waver, nor would he be lost. He needed no reason. As long as he willed it, he could enter a perfect combat state and engage in a life-or-death struggle. This was the Purity of a Martial Artist!
Ichigo took a sudden step forward, his eyes filled with extremely dangerous killing intent. Fisher noticed this, and his smile deepened:
"You want to kill me? Makes sense. If I were you, questioning my mother's killer only to find he couldn't even be bothered to remember her name, wanting to attack would be the only logical reaction. However, have you really thought this through? Right now, you are merely 'qualified' to stand before me. Wouldn't it be better to calm down and prepare for a few more days?"
Ichigo clenched his fists, squeezing every ounce of power from his body. One Quincy Arrow after another was condensed and then forcibly compressed into his fist, brewing the power of his Finisher: Getsuga Tensho.
Ichigo only wanted to use his strongest power to blast Fisher into dust.
Fisher shook his head slightly. He suddenly tossed the bouquet of chrysanthemums and the tub of Vaseline high into the air and said casually:
"Very well. Since you're so impatient, I'll play with you for a bit. Consider it a long-overdue 'condolence payment' from your mother's killer to the victim's son. By the way, the reason I say you're qualified to stand before me is because your Purity has reached the realm of self-mastery. Now, let me demonstrate what the further form of Purity looks like. Remember this... it is the power of the Absolute Realm!"
As the flowers and Vaseline soared like arrows leaving a bow, Fisher stepped forward. He drew back his hands, gathered his strength, and pushed. A person-sized purple-black energy blast roared forth!
Ichigo had seen this move before and knew it wasn't simple. Sure enough, after firing the first blast, Fisher's hands gathered power again and pushed a second time. A second blast overtook the first, stacking with it to massively increase its speed and lethality. Then came a third stack...
Ichigo's pupils shrank. After the third stack, Fisher didn't stop. A fourth, a fifth... until the ninth!
Nine energy blasts stacked together. In the blink of an eye, the incoming projectile expanded until it completely blocked Ichigo's field of vision. Vaguely, the shape of the energy shifted, taking on the form of a bestial skull with its jaws wide open to devour him. Ichigo decisively unleashed his long-brewing Getsuga Tensho punch!
Amidst a deafening roar, Ichigo was sent flying.
"The Nine-Fold Kaiser Emperor Wave, unleashed with 10% of the Absolute Realm power. It's one of my more common finishers lately. I hope it helps you on your path of revenge. After all, if you're killed too easily in a few days, that mother whose name I can't remember would surely be sad! Alright, kid. A corrupt politician has a lot of business to attend to. I have to go find Uryu Ishida now. I won't stay and chat!"
Fisher landed gracefully, reaching out with both hands to catch the falling flowers and Vaseline. He turned to leave, but before he had gone far, a Quincy Arrow grazed his cheek. Fisher paused, turning his head with a half-smile.
The fallen Ichigo had stood back up. His entire aura had become even more dangerous, as if something was about to erupt from within him at any second.
"I must admit, I really was a bit arrogant. Kid, you have a few more days. Go 'gnaw' on some more enemies and push your Purity to its peak. I look forward to the moment I prey upon you. Until then, I'll take some time to recall exactly who your mother was!"
After staring for a moment, a trace of savage hunger surfaced in Fisher's eyes—the scent wafting off Ichigo right now was incredibly rich and fragrant. However, Fisher eventually left. His own Purity was terrifyingly high; simple hunger could no longer dictate his actions.
Ichigo didn't stop him. Although he was standing, he had actually already passed out. His body was simply carrying out his will to fight, maintaining its combat stance.
"Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun!"
Amidst the frantic calling, Ichigo slowly opened his eyes to see the worried face of Orihime Inoue.
Realizing Fisher was gone, Ichigo slumped to the ground and said weakly, "Oh, it's you, Inoue. Sorry you had to see that. I didn't scare you, did I?"
Ichigo knew his classmate well enough to know that even seeing him fight punks usually terrified her. The battle just now was far beyond a street brawl.
As a normal person, seeing supernatural finishers clashing would naturally be terrifying, but Orihime was more worried about Ichigo than her own common sense. She offered a gentle smile and comforted him: "I'm just glad you're okay, Kurosaki-kun."
Ichigo stretched his body and found he was just exhausted, with no major injuries. He had been instinctively using Blut Vene to tank the shockwaves of the finishers. He relaxed and asked why she was with Fisher.
The reason was simple. Fisher had actually shown up as promised with flowers at the school gate to wait for Uryu Ishida.
Naturally, Uryu had long since vanished. Orihime also noticed Ichigo was missing from class and grew worried. Soon, she heard a shocking piece of news from the teacher.
Ichigo, under the pseudonym "The Strongest Creature on Earth," was participating in the 1st Karakura Town No-Rules Street Fighting Tournament, so he wouldn't be in school for a few days. A worried Orihime used the excuse of bringing him class notes to go look for him during lunch break. As luck would have it, she ran into Fisher, who was searching for Uryu. The two hit it off and came looking together.
Hearing this, Ichigo's mouth twitched. "I hope Uryu hides well, or that whole tub of Vaseline is probably going to be used on him."
Anger and killing intent still burned in his heart, but they were no longer shackles interfering with him. They were now fangs to be used when needed. Through that clash of finishers, Ichigo realized the gap between him and Fisher wasn't an impossible distance anymore. That was enough.
In the coming days, his Purity would not stop here; it would only rise further!
"Alright, Inoue. Thanks for coming, but I'm fine. You should get back to school. I'll be back once this tournament is over."
Ichigo tried to reassure her, but Orihime didn't look relieved. She hesitated for a long time before gathering her courage and saying:
"Kurosaki-kun... I know how to bandage wounds. Please let me stay by your side and help you."
Orihime appeared cheerful and even a bit airheaded, but her heart was delicate. When Ichigo looked at her just now, though his words were kind, she noticed his warm eyes had become much colder. It wasn't that he felt negatively toward her; it was just that a beast who has tasted blood can rarely return to a state of innocence. Realizing this, she followed her feelings and made her move.
Ichigo was about to refuse—how could he drag a normal girl like her into his fight? "I'm sorry, I—"
Before he could finish, a gust of wind arrived like an invisible, massive slap. Ichigo, who was sitting on the ground, was smacked so hard he spun in place several times before face-planting into the dirt.
Simultaneously, the holy voice from beyond the heavens echoed:
"You animal! A girl who has crushed on you for years—and your fated future wife—finally summoned the courage to throw a 'straight ball' (direct confession)! You steel-plated dense idiot! Do you even deserve the efforts of that trash-talking mastermind who views you as his son, meticulously arranged a blind date for you, and hoped you'd have a house full of kids? Give her a serious, manly response!"
As the God of the 3D world, Mo Yu didn't care about shipping specific characters, but he also didn't think the "shy crush" plot had any business lasting this long. Just settle it and move on. Was he joking? Bleach is a battle manga. Women only slow down Ichigo's draw speed—er, punch speed.
Ichigo scrambled up from the dirt and roared at the sky, "Observer! What kind of joke is this?! Inoue, she..."
Ichigo glanced at Orihime and saw her face was beet-red, yet she didn't deny it. Even a dense guy like him realized Mo Yu wasn't joking. He froze, silenced. After a moment, he awkwardly changed the subject:
"Anyway! Anyway! Observer! What's the deal with this '1st Karakura Town No-Rules Street Fighting Tournament' thing!?"
Mo Yu didn't mind the awkward pivot. He said calmly, "I did it for you. To film this arc well, we need a few days. Using that title gave you a reason to take a leave of absence from school. Also, it serves as one of your future filming crews. Of course, you should thank Uryu Ishida. If it wasn't for his 'face value,' Fisher wouldn't have been willing to use his political connections to organize and sponsor this tournament..."
Mo Yu wasn't interested in a one-off project. His long-term plan was to turn the Bleach world into a production line for anime. Setting up a Fighting Tournament in Karakura Town would make it much easier to film battle-themed anime later.
Furthermore, Mo Yu had other calculations he didn't tell Ichigo. The power in Fisher called Absolute Realm shouldn't exist in the Bleach world; it was the power from the Hong Kong Manhua version of King of Fighters.
This was a vital experiment by Mo Yu. By bestowing the "Martial Artist" setting, he was evolving a unique power system within the World Bubble. It wasn't perfect yet and was a bit of a "bootleg" version, but it was starting to show its quality.
Of course, there was a price: Fisher, the villain, had become much stronger. But Mo Yu felt that a little thing like "secretly buffing the boss" wasn't something he needed to share with Ichigo.
After some more awkward chat, Ichigo couldn't ignore the blushing Orihime anymore. He sighed and allowed her to stay and help as a medic.
After a short rest, Ichigo decided to continue fighting. He had to use these days to push his Purity to the absolute limit. He was also thinking about that "Absolute Realm" power Fisher displayed.
Perhaps because his own Purity had risen or because he had seen a higher level of power, Ichigo found fighting the regular martial artists much easier. Before the enemy moved, he knew their next strike. Before the fight started, he saw the path to victory. It was like an adult fighting children; everything was under control.
Even the "pure ferocity" of these fighters that had once shocked him now felt like nothing. During combat, Ichigo was far more savage, mad, and violent than any of them.
If these fighters were Asuras, then Ichigo was the Asura Demon King!
The more he fought, the more intense this feeling became. Finally, after slamming a fighter's head into a wall, he looked around at the others and let out a wild roar:
"Keke! Your Purity is too low! Coming at me one by one... you can't even get me excited! No need to hold back! Use your strongest power and blast me all at once, dammit!!!"
The Dragon Slayer becomes the Dragon. Ichigo was personifying that right now, but he didn't care. He only sought higher, stronger, and more violent Purity.
Regular fighters couldn't stimulate him anymore, but the Elite fighters were still valuable. Their combat techniques and use of "Qi" were nourishment for his growth.
And they weren't the only ones helping him grow. After a whole afternoon of fighting, Isshin Kurosaki appeared:
"Stupid son! I'm glad you learned Getsuga Tensho on your own, but I have to tell you... the strongest power passed down through our family for ten thousand years is not meant to be used like that!"
The Shiba Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Families. The move Getsuga Tensho was etched into their bloodline—the strongest power passed down since the era of the Soul King.
In the original anime, Isshin never taught Ichigo how to use this power (except for the Final Getsuga Tensho). But in this World Bubble, Isshin was taking a different approach.
End of Chapter
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