Chapter 3: Three Idiots

A rain of arrows falls from the sky, and from the ground, Getsugatensho are fired to intercept the downpour.

‘Master!

Getsugatensho is not a special move!

Getsugatensho is a basic attack!’

As if proving the meme true, White fired Getsugatensho after Getsugatensho, cutting down the rain of arrows.

I, too, was not to be outdone and joined the fray.

Among the people here, there are some differences, but there is almost no hierarchy.

Because White, Ichigo’s Shinigami and Hollow power, is suppressed by the fake Zangetsu, it may seem that the fake is stronger.

But ultimately, as White eventually pushes out the fake Zangetsu and reclaims his original place, everyone here is essentially equal.

As a part of Ichigo’s power, I am no different.

But in other words, because our powers are similar, it means that a conclusion cannot be easily reached.

“Dieeeeee!!!”

“You dieeeeee!!!”

White blocked my falling slash from the sky with an upward strike of Zangetsu.

I was pushed back from the clash of strength, and I gritted my teeth and immediately turned my gaze in that direction.

Or rather, I tried to.

If I hadn’t been startled by a strange presence from the direction I was pushed, I would have.

“Wh-What is this?!”

“Huh..?”

“And what are you guys doing?!”

When I turned my head towards the sound, a familiar figure greeted me.

A delinquent with orange hair, it was Ichigo, the master of this inner world.

He had been struggling to regain his Shinigami powers, and upon reaching the final stage of regaining those powers, he had entered his inner world.

And we were fighting amongst ourselves, not even realizing that Ichigo had arrived, creating chaos.

At Ichigo’s appearance, the three of us – me, the fake Zangetsu, and White – stopped as if we had a prior agreement, as if our earlier battle was a lie.

The fake Zangetsu sheathed his bow and cleared his throat, White hid the Zangetsu he was holding behind his back, and I looked around, not expecting this situation.

“Time out!”

“Huh, uh?

Alright, got it.”

Even in this situation, the fact that he agreed to my words made me think that Ichigo is truly a remarkable guy.

We made a temporary truce and the three of us crouched down together.

We began to insult each other with just our eyes.

“You f*ckers didn’t even notice Ichigo came and were making all that ruckus?”

“Reflected.”

“You don’t get to say that.”

“Wanna have another round, b*tch?”

I wanted to start the second round right away, but with Ichigo here, that was impossible.

It wasn’t just me, the other two seemed to have the same thought, and although their mouths were harsh, they didn’t seem to want to fight anymore.

“So, what now?”

“I object.”

The fake Zangetsu shook his head.

This fake old man was truly consistent.

From beginning to end, he wished for Ichigo to live as an ordinary high school student, and to eliminate the possibility of him prematurely gaining Shinigami powers and dying by meeting his main body, himself.

Honestly, considering Yhwach’s power, he’s right.

Yhwach is decked out with those childishly overpowered abilities.

Frankly, even if Ichigo awakened all his potential and fought, I can’t guarantee he would win.

But that’s only knowing one side of the coin.

“Hey, old man.

Is just being alive enough?

His family is dead, his friends are dead, the world is destroyed, and you think Ichigo will live well in that situation?”

Clearly, being alive is important.

But just being alive has no meaning.

The most fitting example is the Soul King, isn’t it?

A king whose limbs are severed, whose parts are constantly being cut off, just existing in that place.

Can that truly be called being alive?

There are still mysteries surrounding the Soul King that even I don’t know about, but at least from a general perspective, the Soul King’s state is hard to define as being alive.

You could never say he is happy.

“Life is precious.

But living is just as important.”

At my persuasion, the fake Zangetsu said nothing.

He’s not stupid, so he understands what I mean.

No, he knows Ichigo’s personality well, so he knows better than anyone that Ichigo can’t live happily in such a world.

But because the best-case scenario is unrealistic, he was just trying to choose the next best option, which is to save Ichigo’s life.

Ultimately, as someone who belongs here, I understand the fake Zangetsu’s feelings.

Seemingly frustrated by our appearance, White stepped forward.

“You don’t know how strong your main body is, but if we just cut off his head, it’s all good, right?

What’s the problem then?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Are you saying we should just back down like scared dogs without even fighting?

I can’t accept that.”

The bellicose White adds weight to my words.

Honestly, that’s the best way.

Ultimately, Ichigo just needs to take Yhwach’s head.

If that happens, everything will be fine, and that’s how it actually happened in the original work.

‘Well, it’s not going to be that simple.’

Regardless of how strong Yhwach is, I trust the knowledge I have, but I don’t blindly believe in it.

Considering my existence, I think it’s too convenient to assume that we can follow the same path as the original work.

What if Ichigo dies in Soul Society?

What if Aizen doesn’t cooperate during the Thousand-Year Blood War?

What if Yhwach quickly kills Ichigo with The Almighty?

Just a few simple ifs open up a world of worst-case scenarios.

“If we’re going by majority rule, it’s already 2 to 1, fake old man.”

“…..”

“By the time Ichigo decided to invade Soul Society to save Rukia, the normal life you knew was already gone.

And if we don’t lend him our power, he’ll be killed by the Shinigami, not your main body.

Your plan has already failed.”

The fake Zangetsu closed his eyes tightly.

“There’s no other choice.”

And then he opened his eyes and said.

“I will teach him Quincy techniques.”

“LIKE HELL YOU WILL!!!”

My and White’s roars echoed around us.