Thank you to Mattock123 and Aroneden for the proofread, sorry it took so long to get out, I will explain myself at the end of the chapter.

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Ichigo closed with his enemy, their blades locking together in a flurry of blows "I seem to be out of practice," the Vasto Lorde observed as Ichigo's blade bit deep into his shoulder. He could feel his friends fighting, feel the power of the creatures they faced, and could do nothing to help them, this thing matched him in brute strength, it was only slightly slower, and could heal much faster. The bone-white blade itself emitted an odd sound, like a faint scream on the wind. The sound tugged at the former shinigami's soul, but its call was easy to resist. Not so for the many small hollows around them, Mori and Rukia were fighting side by side and none of the little hollows seemed much of a threat.

However, some of them shriveled up and faded even though they had not been touched, each time that happened the white blade hummed a little louder. Through all this Ichigo kept his breath, his Qi, each breath steady and controlled, absolutely different from the mere week ago when it had been hard to hold simply sparing with his sister.

His opponent seemed to be enjoying this fight, though you could only guess at their state of mind through the eyes, the posture, the voice, It was clear he did not seem to think he was in any real danger, after all, there were only a few strong people he could sense. Ichigo could only sense Nel because she was his familiar, sensing the fluctuations in her soul and trying to extrapolate what was happening. Close by he could sense Rias and Sona, with all his friends facing down monsters just the one he fought. Issei was just leaving his extreme range of senses with Chad following as best he could.

"I wonder how Soul Society has changed, looking at you, trying to figure out what you are, it must be unrecognizable."

"You can say that again" Ichigo muttered as both blurred, flash step versus the hollow equivalent, there clashes hard enough to send shockwaves. Below him, in the fog he could sense the people of his city, the fog was helping to mitigate the powerful spiritual pressures being unleashed, but it was not perfect, he could feel people dying. And yet Serafall, Gabriel, Beli, and others were working their asses off. Yoruichi was everywhere, and while he could not sense Hat and clogs, people were being funneled to the hospital which was currently reflecting spiritual pressure. That had to be his handiwork, his people were working, the two kids he had taken in, the former lieutenant wielding his kido to do what he could.

People were doing the good fight below him, so he had to keep this fight away "Your soul is going to make me very powerful. It's going to make this waste of life worth it."

"Try and take it," he growled back "Better than you have tried."

"Somehow, I doubt that I doubt you have faced anything like me, boy." The hollow let out a long sigh and his spiritual pressure redoubled then redoubled again. The color was odd, a decaying white like volcanic ash, gently raining down from the sky. Ichigo merely glowed with golden light, keeping his power restrained as best he could, the amulet around his neck pulsing in time with his power. However, the fact that he was not beaten down by the sudden force probably told the Vasto Lorde he was hiding a lot.

The creature nodded at him and then his blade began to scream, it was loud and awful. Ichigo almost without thinking called on his devil power to lay a spell over his ears, filtering the sound to something manageable. When the Vasto Lorde moved it seemed like a white ink followed his blade, and in that ink, you could make out the screaming faces of hollows and souls alike.

Ichigo lit Zangetsu in golden energy, channeling the power of Getsuga Tenshou into the dark metal. The blades did not clash, at least the metal of his blade did not touch the bone of the Hollows sword. The two colliding energies made their blades halt about an inch from each other. The air crackled with gold and white lighting which lashed out and struck at each other, the sounds of screaming drowned out by explosions. It seemed space itself cobwebbed out cracks starting to form in between this world and the void between. Ichigo let out a roar and forced his blade forward, making the Vasto Lorde give way. Turning an upward slash into a long thrust, which the Creature batted aside and lashed out with his clawed hand. An attack Ichigo met with his own pale clawed hand, there was a crack as they collided and Ichigo managed to get a decent Judo grip on the thing's wrist and hauled back trying to drag the man forward.

The arm came off at the elbow instead as the Hollow tore backward, not making one sound of pain as a white substance spewed out of the stump. Ichigo did not wait for the arm to heal, taking the few seconds of advantage to rush the hollow, their blades clashed and he snarled "Getsuga Tenshou" The Vasto Lorde was blasted skyward by a crescent-shaped blast of energy, some of which engulfed his body even as his blade held back most of it.

Ichigo tilted his head, charging a Cero and sending a pillar of crimson energy in the same direction. The Vasto Lorde let out a howl as he shoved the Getsuga Tenshou aside and sent a powerful white Cero to clash almost point-blank with Ichigo's crimson cero.

Taking a moment to reassess Ichigo shifted Zangetsu into its twin-blade form, both of them glowing with the power of Getsuga Tenshou. The blast cleared and the Vasto Lorde did not look much worse for wear. The damage he had taken already healed, its glowing eyes were locked on him. It seemed Ichigo had just convinced the man to take him more seriously as he took a grip on his screaming blade with both hands, ghostly wisps seemed to emanate from the blade, lashing out all around him like snakes, extending hundreds of feet to bite into the lesser hollows still milling about.

The hollows bitten seemed to shrivel up like used husks, their spiritual power drained away and channeled into the Vasto Lorde. Topping him off on power, Ichigo made a note, not to let him do that again. Both exploded into motion there clash taking them higher above Karakura there blows making both fighters rock back with the force, the blade kept screaming louder and the Ichigo had to use his limited devil power to ignore it. That seemed to trip up the Vasto Lorde a bit, as Ichigo was willing to bet the sound was supposed to throw off his balance and other nasty things like that.

As their swords clashed he started to notice something, he had fought so many shinigami, and while most had differing styles, the ones with swords all seemed to have the same foundation, the same stance, the same moves. They could be more advanced, or lesser in skill but that foundation was the same. He was seeing that in this opponent, seeing the same moves, the same slashes, sure there was some difference but at a core level, it was the same.

He caught a slash with the black blade of Zangetsu and flicked a quick strike at the hollow with his second blade, the Vasto Lorde drew back just enough so that the blow was only surface deep and healing almost before the blade had left. Vital areas, the mask, the innards, those were what he had to aim for, those were what he had to damage.

Ichigo shifted into a full assault, using the speed of his Bankai to strike the hollow from behind and when he blocked that, moved and struck him from behind again. Even that the Vasto Lorde managed to block, but the next thrust that came from the side almost reached the lungs before he pulled away. They both blurred, his speed versus the hollows Sonido and it rapidly became clear he was the faster.

In fact, despite this one seeming to be the leader, his power seemed less than the others, not as deep or vast.

Snakes formed of blue spiritual power exploded from the hollows sword, giving Ichigo a new thing to worry about as he pushed his advantage to all it was worth. The snakes did not bite him, rather they wove themselves together into a defense, which if he passed though seemed to give the Vasto Lorde enough time to defend.

Pushing his speed to the limit he made three attacks from three separate angles, each blow powerful enough to break a building and each blow blocked in turn. Before that could even really resolve itself he moved almost twenty feet away from the hollow and intoned "Getsuga!"

From the white blade, a thin, curved blast of energy flashed out like a bullet. The Vasto Lorde was in mid-turn when the blow struck him in the side, driving him up and back "Juujishou" He brought his black blade down, and the air above Karakua exploded in gold light as a cross-shaped blast of power burned the cloud far above..

Ichigo was about to attack again when a beam of red power shot out and given that Karakura was below him, he could not dodge, holding up a hand he manifested his shield, a wide circular construct with his symbol in the middle, the Quincy cross merged with the sigils of Sitri and Gremory. Gold angelic runes formed three more circles, and in the space where they overlapped his symbols glowed bright gold.

His world became an explosion which his shield blunted, it took a few seconds for the light to fade and he saw the Vasto Lorde over a hundred feet away. He had his blade pointed at his own belly "You are dangerous" he said "It seems I-"

Both froze as they felt it, they both felt a Vasto Lorde die, the one that had been fighting Nel simply vanishing. "One down," Nel's voice said in his head "I got him, Master"

Ichigo smirked, "Well done, I owe you so much Nel."

"That..." the Vasto Lorde said, "Was unexpected, out of all of us, Drogon was the hardest to kill." The creature glanced in the directions where his comrades fought the peerages of Gremory and Sitri and the forces of Karakura. "It seems you people are true threats after all." With that, he thrust the sword into his chest and Ichigo got an intense feeling of Deja Vu as blue light exploded outward "Evolución absoluta"

Ichigo did not know what he expected but, rather than torrents of power, or pillars of energy, the blue light simply faded and a man stood in the place of the Vasto Lorde. A man dressed in the simple robes of a Shinigami, a Captain's Haori tied at his waist, there was no number one, only the Kanji for Division. Belted to his side was what looked to be a Zanpakuto, the man's body was Leith and lean. On the skin that showed were countless scars from a lifetime of combat, but what struck Ichigo the most was the head. There was no mask, and the face that looked back at him could have been him with another fifteen or so years of human aging. The spiky unkempt blond hair was almost a perfect match in shape to his as well and blue eyes stared at him as if realizing the same thing.

Ichigo merged his blades back into a single one, setting himself staring at the man, who seemed to have lost even the trace amounts of hollow power. "Huh, I wonder?" He drew forth what looked to be a Zanpakuto "Are you related to the Shiba Clan by any chance."

It took him a moment to realize what that question meant and what he was staring at, Ichigo Kurosaki was looking at one of his ancestors. "Ah, that expression says enough." he gave a slight bow. "If I had a heart it would be full of pride to see a descendant of mine having achieved such power."

"You're weaker," Ichigo said "Where are you hiding your power?"

"I'm not, it takes everything I have to attain this state, to regress just enough to retrieve what I had lost."

"Seems like a bad trade."

He smiled "You would think that, but" he moved his Zanpakuto back and forth "Sometimes you are born lucky." his power flared with a quiet strength "Let us understand (Souruchēnsēji: Soul Chain Sage):"

Ichigo felt it when the Shikai affected him, it was instant, no time to dodge, no ability to dodge, it was as if reality had simply shifted. He looked down to see his chain of fate, it was solid gold now and stretching out exactly fifteen feet in front of him. It connected in the middle with a solid black soul chain which went back fifteen feet to the chest of his opponent."

"To save you some time, and give you a fair shot I will inform you that this chain is unbreakable, we are bound by it to stay within the allotted space until one of us is dead. Neither of us can use any spiritual power at all."

"Is that why we are falling?" Ichigo asked

"Yes"

It only took a few seconds before both hit the ground, their powerful bodies absorbing the impact of the fall, the shockwave of force blasting back the fog to reveal the middle of an empty intersection. There were a few abandoned cars, softly glowing street lights, and no living thing in sight.

Ichigo attempted to summon forth his spiritual power but it refused to answer his call, it reminded within his body, even his natural spiritual emissions had vanished. He looked to the Vasto Lorde who was staring calmly back at him "My name was once Soren Shiba, may I have yours?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki"

Both moved at the same time, their legs moving with power and strength far behind that of humanity, even hobbled they were fast. The first clash of blades sent sparks flying, both moving through a series of rapid slashes filling the air with the sound of metal on metal. Both broke away, Soren with a cut on his neck, Ichigo with one near his eye. It seemed the chain did not count regeneration as an external manifestation, as white liquid bubbled out of their wounds and sealed them.

That itself seemed to be a signal as they clashed again, each blow driving back the fog a little at a time, their blood began to splash freely around them, the Vasto Lorde causing the concrete to bubble and hiss, Ichigo's own blood just glowed with its own light. Each cut, each slash, they were all minor blows. Both regenerated in moments, but Ichigo felt he was starting to get a read on the man. The hollow was incredibly skilled and only seemed to get better with each moment as if he was rusty in facing a simple swordsman. Ichigo was getting more minor cuts, Soren was going for killing blows, several of which had come close to landing.

The soul chain between them did not seem to have any weight, and Ichigo could not touch it, his hand only falling through. But it would not let them move away from each other, he had tried once and it had felt like his chest had gotten pulled out.

Their blades passed through it like it was not there, the gold and black spinning and twisting like dueling serpents. Ichigo did not know what it started when his breathing became easier when it stopped feeling like a strain. He was locked in a life or death moment, held with a swordsman almost a millennia his senior….how did he know that?

"There you are," Soren said "By the soul king, you're only sixteen?"

Ichigo swayed for a moment and Soren almost gutted him "What the?" he snarled, forcing his mind to focus. "Our soul chains are connected, as far as this world is concerned we are one person, your memories are mine and mine are yours." he grinned "I've just had more practice" it was an odd sensation like a hand gently drifting across the inside of your skull. "So powerful for one so young." the Hollow shivered "So many foes, such impossible odds."

"Then you know how this ends," Ichigo replied splitting Zangetsu into its two short blades."

"That is the thing, boy" Soren purred "The stronger you are, the stronger I am. How do you think I defeated an Ashura '' there was the sensation of a distant pain, a desperate struggle.

Ichigo took in a breath, and when he exhaled, golden light flowed from his mouth like streamers of fire. They both moved at the same time, shattering the remnants of the intersection they stood in, Ichigo blocked a powerful slash and whirled to bring the other blade around at the exposed neck. Soren twisted his blade to an odd angle to block and was not prepared for Ichigo's sudden surge of strength which sent him flying and pulling the soul chain taunt. Unfairly it seemed to catch him rather than try to yank his chest out and the Vasto Lorde seemed rather unfazed by the attack. He moved forward which was when Ichigo felt a familiar tug on the soul chain between him, it reminded him of something. Something he was doing all the time now, Ichigo opened his mind and knew what was coming next.

He caught the blow with Zangetsu White and moved to slash where he knew the kick was coming. But Soren read that and pulled the attack, what followed seemed rather aqwared, as they stared at one another, each putting together a plan of attack, reading it in the other and countering it. What it amounted to was them staring at each other while they thought about violence but doing nothing really. "Adaptable" Soren sighed " That is annoying"

It was also something Ichigo was sure he would have been able to do without his bonds, without the White God. He had gotten used to reading them, Soren was different but not much so.

"Oy" Ichigo said aloud "Renter, could I borrow you for a second?"

Soren tilted his head "What?"

The White God understood, there was no need to tell him the plan, nor was there a need for him to spend any of his carefully growing sparks of divine power. The future stretched out before Ichigo Kurosaki, every path he could do could have taken, would have taken. A million options all called to mind at once. Soren froze, what else could he have done, it was mental overload he had never experienced. Ichigo himself only functioned because the literal Almighty was sharing his power.

Ichigo brought his blades forward in a brutal X-shaped slash, and Soren's head flew off of his body...and the damn thing counterattacked, opening a huge gash across his chest. Soren's head faded into black energy a white substance bubbled up from his neck and reformed in his face. "Not the right sport, my mask is not there anymore."

Ichigo smiled as the wound across his chest closed "True but you're running out of power much faster than me."

"True" Soren agreed "But that is not the end, you see" they both froze as it began to rain crimson darkness, the patter of liquid hissed as it impacted Soren, while for Ichigo it merely burned off any imperfections, dirt, blood and the like. Both of them risked a moment to sense what was happening across the battlefield.

"Seems like your comrades are struggling," Ichigo said

Soren laughed "Not quite, I have full faith in their powers."

"As do I," Ichigo replied.

"Still I would rather not risk them…" Soren replied conversationally "And what follows next is going to take some time." in the most simple bland voice he said "Bankai"

There was no big flare of power, the soul chain simply changed, the whole thing turning black before what looked like molten scars. Ichigo almost went to his knees as a huge chunk of his power flowed out of him through the chain and to Soren "Balance of the Immortal Sage" the hollow said as his power rose...rose to match Ichigo's exactly,

"This is how you defeated a god," Ichigo said

"Demi-god" Soren corrected "And yes, that is my Bankai, it makes everything fair and balanced, our power will never be uneven until one of us draws our last breath." Soren whipped his blade around and it seemed smoother than before as if every second he spent fighting reminded him of what it was like for a simple one-on-one.

Ichigo remerged Zangetsu holding the black blade with two hands in a high guard, every breath leaking gold light. Then he was somewhere else, he was a man in a battle, one of mythical proportions he was fighting with friends, loved ones, in a desperate war of annihilation. Demons with more than one head charged and" Ichigo fought his way out of that in time to block an attack that was attempting to return the favor of decapitation.

He was holding a lover dead by the end of a hammer forged from the heart of a star, Ichigo hissed as their weapons clashed in a flurry of blows "Don't worry King, I got this" his hollow said with more than a small amount of glee as a flood of memories smashed into Ichigo's mind and he lost hold of who he was.

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Sorry this one is so late and not that long, I caught the Covid and though I am better now, things slowed down a bit. I have the next chapter almost finished so it will be out by Next week and have the comments of the week/omakes that people feel like making. Sorry about the delay and I hope you all enjoyed.