Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began When I Became Yoriichi's Sister

Chapter 756 seems to be a bit dead.

Yoruichi squinted and retorted, "You really never miss an opportunity to humiliate someone."

Yu Zi chuckled: "I was just telling the truth."

The two said: "Your honesty has hurt quite a few people."

Yoruichi and Kurosaki Isshin dared not utter another sound, fearing that she would belittle them as well.

Kurosaki Isshin chuckled and scratched his head: "I knew all along that you knew what Ikuko was thinking!"

Yu Zi gave him a strange look: "So, you came all this way so early this morning, did you want to catch up with your vice-captain?"

Kurosaki Isshin: This guy really doesn't give people any way out.

Yoruichi said in a deep voice, "The Hollow inside Kurosaki Ichigo does require Ikuko's attention. It's not easy to completely control a monster of that level."

This is not simply a matter of strength.

After his self-destruction, Xu Bai's strength was no longer relevant.

However, the virtualization experiment is not such a rudimentary phenomenon.

Hollows are a form of existence for souls. The so-called Hollowfication experiment is actually the process of injecting the soul of a Hollow into the body of a Shinigami, that is, into a soul.

Both death gods and Hollows are forms of existence of souls, but they are completely opposite.

When two completely opposite forces clash, there is a chance to break through the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows.

However, when two souls merge, they often fail to achieve the desired result.

This is also why Aizen and Kisuke Urahara have been researching the Hogyoku for so many years.

Hollow White, who was killed by Masaki, entered Masaki's body through self-destruction and was then transferred to Ichigo's body.

The strength of a void is not the main factor affecting the fusion of souls, but it is true that the stronger the void, the more difficult it is to suppress.

Whether it was the Hollow invasion that Hirako and the others encountered back then, or the Hollow souls that entered Yuko's body by deliberately letting them infect her, they were nothing more than small fry.

The void that had entered Yu Zi's body had long been squeezed into a corner of her soul. If she hadn't been worried that she might need it later, she would have eliminated it long ago.

After all, she wasn't like Hirako and his gang of trash; the boost that Hollowfication gave her was quite limited.

Of course, you could also say that the enemy was too weak.

To gain a certain level of power amplification, one would need at least the Hollow White within Ichigo's body; that level of power is required.

Unfortunately, Hollows of that caliber probably only exist within Hueco Mundo.

It's not that it's hard to find, it's just that I'm not interested.

“Ichigo’s strength has also increased significantly. I reckon he’s almost there, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to fight Aizen with his current strength.” Yuko nodded slightly. “Just like the protagonist in a shonen manga always has to go through a leveling-up process before fighting the villain.”

"It's clear that we've reached a critical juncture for the upgrade."

"In this battle against Bavent, relying solely on the power of Bankai should be enough to make him struggle."

"..."

What do you take Ichigo for? The protagonist of a shonen manga?

And... why isn't the Bankai power enough? Isn't this all your fault?!

Yoruichi thought to himself, "This is a bad feeling."

Kurosaki Isshin didn't quite understand the Bount situation, but...

He gave Yuko a thumbs up, revealing a set of white teeth: "Anyway, Ichigo is in your care now, Auntie. I trust you completely."

"...Auntie? You old fool, do you want to die?"

"...I, I was just kidding." Kurosaki Isshin trembled.

It was just a single wrong sentence, why make such a fuss?

Yoruichi ignored their antics and said calmly, "Now that you no longer need to suppress the Hollow within Ichigo, can you regain control of the Shinigami's power?"

Kurosaki Isshin paused for a moment: "Actually, whether or not I can regain the power of the Shinigami is no longer important to me."

“Indeed, I have a beautiful wife, a daughter, and a son who was a free gift with a phone top-up in the real world.” Yuko nodded matter-of-factly. “If it were me, I probably wouldn’t want to go back to Soul Society either.”

"It's nothing more than getting a few compliments from others about the captain, and a bunch of other troubles waiting for him."

Kurosaki Isshin's lips twitched violently: "What you said makes a lot of sense."

Yoruichi couldn't help but complain, "Aren't you going to argue that your son was a free gift with a phone plan?"

Kurosaki Isshin's eyes widened: "Eh?! So Ichigo is my biological son?!"

"...No wonder they're such a compatible bunch of idiots."

Yoruichi covered her face.

Yuko shifted to a more comfortable position and said calmly, "Actually, you can't say that. Anyway, you're no longer a known person in Soul Society, and your 10th Division has been taken over by a talented brat. I think that brat is pretty good."

Kurosaki Isshin broke out in a cold sweat: "Indeed, with Rangiku's help, managing the squads would be possible..."

"Rangiku is so lazy that she probably dumps a lot of things on her captain."

"As the saying goes, like captain, like vice-captain." Yuko rolled her eyes. "You can imagine who Rangiku learned that from."

Kurosaki Isshin's face flushed red, and he stammered, "How could you slander someone's innocence like this!"

Yoruichi squinted and said, "If I remember correctly, the reason you came to the human world in the first place was because you had nothing to do, right?"

"The problems of the present world are not under the jurisdiction of your squad."

"I guess he dumped his work on Ms. Matsumoto and ran off to have some fun in the real world."

Kurosaki Isshin's face turned even redder, and he was completely unable to refute her.

Yuko added insult to injury: "That brat has already mastered Bankai at such a young age. I don't think you, a useless person, will have any status when you go back. It might be better if you don't go back."

Kurosaki Isshin opened his mouth, trying to protest: "I used to be..."

"What do you mean by 'the past'? The past is the past, the present is the present." Yu Zi glanced at him coldly. "I could crush a hundred of you right now with a flick of my wrist."

Finally, Yu Zi added, "Of course, you and I used to be able to crush a hundred of them with ease."

Kurosaki Isshin's eye twitched. You really didn't need to add that last sentence; I was going to be crushed by you anyway. Besides, why did I become a unit of measurement for "only" before?! Isn't that even worse?!

After joking, Yuko said seriously, "Isshin, I suggest you regain your power."

"Aizen's escape, the Bount, and those unknown dangers—without power, you can't even protect your family."

Kurosaki Isshin paused for a moment, then nodded silently: "You're right."

“Even without me saying it, you would understand on your own.” Yuko patted Yoruichi’s ear. “Ichigo no longer needs that artificial body to suppress the Hollow’s power. You can have Urahara make you a regular artificial body and start rehabilitation training.”

Kurosaki Isshin's lips twitched: "Rehabilitation training... your description is quite accurate."

Yoruichi let Ikuko play with his ears and said calmly, "Then when I get back, I'll have Urahara make you a Gikai that can conceal your spiritual pressure."

"Then please."

Kurosaki Isshin looked serious. When he's serious, he's a model man and captain.

"Ok?"

Yuko suddenly paused, turned her head to look towards the balcony, as if gazing into the distance.

Kurosaki Isshin noticed her unusual behavior and instinctively asked, "What's wrong?"

Yuko yawned: "It's nothing, I just sensed that Ichigo seems a bit dead."

"I see, I thought it was something big... What do you mean Ichigo is almost dead?!"

Kurosaki Isshin nodded to himself, then suddenly jumped up from the sofa.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes: "I really thought that guy was a free gift with a phone top-up."

That reaction... a captain? More like an extra.

"Isn't it just the literal meaning?" Yuko looked up in surprise. "It means he's almost dead."

Seeing that Yuko didn't react, Kurosaki Isshin knew she was teasing him and clutched his heart: "Please, don't scare an old person."

"Old man, you'd better go back quickly. I'll keep an eye on Ichigo."

A vein bulged on Kurosaki Isshin's face: "...Then I'll have to trouble you."

That guy! Once he gets his power back, I'll make him pay!

Yuko narrowed her eyes slightly: "Wait, your expression just now, you weren't thinking something like, 'Once I get my powers back, I'll teach you a lesson,' were you?"

Kurosaki Isshin was getting a little frustrated: "You can read minds?!"

He was just making a casual comment, but what he didn't expect was...

Yu Zi nodded calmly: "Yes, you're right."

Kurosaki Isshin's expression froze: "...Really?"

Is this guy playing a trick on him again?

Yuko said something terrifying without any expression: "No, as long as they have taken my... no, I should say, as long as my blood has touched their bodies, if I want, I can not only hear their thoughts, but I can also crush them with my bare hands."

Kurosaki Isshin broke out in a cold sweat: "Don't lie to me, how could something like that be possible..."

"I'm not lying to you. Of course, if you're strong enough, it's still difficult to crush you with a flick of your wrist. My blood can resist that."

Having spiritual power makes it far more complex than Muzan Kibutsuji's control over his subordinates.

If it were old man Yamamoto, even if some blood remained in his body, that small amount of blood, even if it was used, would probably be immediately detected by him, and he would suppress it directly with his spiritual power.

Unless it's like in Bavent's body, where she drastically compressed her spiritual power into her blood.

Just like a firecracker can't kill a whale from inside its body, but a ton of bombs can.

Kurosaki Isshin breathed a sigh of relief: "Then eavesdropping on thoughts..."

"I'm not kidding you, it's really good."

"Alas!"

Kurosaki Isshin let out a scream, which startled Yoruichi so much that her hair stood on end.

"Hey! Are you serious?"

She had thought Yuuko was teasing Kurosaki Isshin, so she didn't react, but... this guy doesn't seem to be lying.

"of course it's true."

"Ah~" Kurosaki Isshin screamed and ran out the door, tumbling and crawling all the way home.

Yoruichi stared at the open front door in the entryway: "What a disgrace."

Yuko nodded and closed the door remotely: "Indeed, he has never consumed my blood. If you're talking about hearing something, it's Masaki's inner thoughts. I don't understand why he's so agitated."

"...Are you a demon?" Yoruichi retorted first, then realized what she meant, jumped out of Yuuko's arms, landed on the coffee table, her fur standing on end, and looked at her nervously. "Doesn't that mean you can hear my thoughts perfectly clearly?"

"...Yes~ But Yoruichi, you seem to care more about me hearing your thoughts than about me crushing you?" Yuuko narrowed her eyes. "Is there something important hidden in your heart?"

Upon hearing Yuko's words, Yoruichi immediately calmed down, her face darkening: "You, are you playing a trick on me again?"

Because this is how this guy acts when he's playing pranks on people!

Yu Zi clicked her tongue. "That's true, but I'm not lying. I just don't want to hear it, not that I can't hear it."

Yoruichi breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, this guy wasn't that bad.

"But Yoruichi, your nervousness right now makes me want to break my vow..."

Yoru's eyes narrowed, and he lunged at Yuuko: "Die!"

Yuko's lips curled up slightly. She reached out and grabbed Yoruichi by the back of her head, leaving Yoruichi struggling in mid-air without being able to touch her.

Yu Zi tilted her head: "Are you here to act cute?"

Yoruichi looked at Ikuko with narrowed eyes, feeling helpless: "If I, Admiral Urahara Soi Fon, weren't absent, and if either of them were here, would I be afraid of you?"

……

While things were raging here, inside the Western-style mansion on the outskirts of the city, the battle was gradually reaching its climax.

After being strengthened, the Bounts were suddenly at a disadvantage compared to the others, except for Ayasegawa Yumichika, whose situation was slightly better.

Especially on Ichigo's side, just as Yuuko said, one of them died.

The air in the underground cave was filled with a damp and decaying smell, accompanied by constantly collapsing rock fragments.

"boom!!"

Ichigo Kurosaki was sent flying again, this time his body embedding itself heavily into the several-meter-thick rock wall. Dust billowed up, and the black blade of Tensa Zangetsu, embedded in the rubble, emitted a faint tremor.

Inoue, standing to the side, cried out, his face pale, "Kurosaki-kun!"

"Cough...cough cough..." Ichigo struggled to push away the boulder pressing down on him, blood slowly trickling down his forehead, his vision already blurring.

It's too fast, and it's too heavy.

The Kariya God before me was completely different from the one I saw the night before last.

Previously, he could keep up with his opponent's speed, but now, he can't even touch him.

"Is that all? Kurosaki Ichigo." Kariya stood not far away, his trench coat not even slightly damaged, showing how easy the difficulty was.

Even Kariya was somewhat surprised and looked down at his hands.

"This power is truly astonishing." Kariya closed his eyes slightly, sensing the immense strength within his body. "Right now, even..."

"Stop getting cocky!" Ichigo suddenly drew his Zanpakuto and used Shunpo again.

His speed was already considered good among captains, but in Kariya's eyes now, it was as slow as a tortoise.

"It's so slow."

Kariya simply turned slightly to the side, narrowly dodging Ichigo's attack.