"So, Zangetsu… do you still refuse to acknowledge Ichigo as a King?" Ren smiled as he stared at Zangetsu, who was an exact replica of Ichigo. "Knowing that he tried to devour me, I am a being who stands at the top of the world, while he is merely a fetus."

"Heh…" Zangetsu let out a derisive snort and smiled smugly. "Look at how a Hollow speaks like a human. What? Have you started feeling emotions toward humans and seeing them as your family after living with them for just a decade or two?"

Ren smiled quietly… that faint smile, devoid of mockery or anger, but heavy… older than a Hollow born in a lab, and deeper than a Quincy or Shinigami.

"Emotions?"

He raised his brow lazily, as if hearing the word for the first time.

"Don't confuse attachment with belonging, Zangetsu."

His eyes paused on Zangetsu, then on Ichigo, before returning to the arrogant Zangetsu standing beside him.

"You are nothing but the truncated reflection of half a truth… something wounded, hollowed out, and filled with 'obedience' under the guise of wisdom."

Zangetsu's face froze for a moment—the brief silence before a hidden card is revealed.

"Do you think I stayed by Masaki's side out of weakness?"

His voice lowered, yet grew heavier:

"I was on the brink of existential collapse… yet she was the one who tore my hands from her throat, not the other way around."

Zangetsu—though paralyzed—widened his eyes slightly.

"You speak as if humanity is a disgrace."

Ren tilted his head slightly:

"Whereas the truth… it was the first time I wasn't a 'test,' a 'weapon,' or a 'source of power'… but a being seen as a 'person' by a woman."

Zangetsu narrowed his eyes but didn't interrupt.

"So no, you false King."

Ren took a step closer; his words sharpened, though his voice didn't rise:

"What gave humans their worth wasn't their weakness… but their will. And what makes Ichigo stand today isn't because you guide him… but because he resisted everyone who tried to make him merely a 'tool.'"

A short silence.

"You're saying I've started to have emotions?"

A faint smile appeared on his lips:

"If having identity… humanity… and belonging… is called 'emotions'—"

He lowered his eyes for a moment, as if seeing Masaki's specter before him—

"—then yes."

He lifted his gaze again to Zangetsu:

"And that is something you will never understand… because you were born to serve a 'King'…"

"Ren, I've finished dealing with Yhwach," a rich, deep voice rang out as Mikazuki appeared beside Ren out of nowhere.

As she spoke, she raised her hand toward Ren and tapped the tip of her delicate finger on his head, a faint light glimmering at the tip before vanishing into Ren's mind.

"…" Ren gently closed his crystalline eyes, absorbing the information Mikazuki had given him, and his body trembled for a moment before returning to its calm.

"Very well, we shall leave now. My work here is done," Ren said suddenly, a subtle disturbance flickering in his eyes, which lasted only a moment before his usual calm returned. "What remains depends on the two of you, as in the end, you are one."

With those words, Ren and Mikazuki disappeared from Ichigo's Inner World.

"What's happening now?" Hiyori asked irritably, staring at Ren and Ichigo, who had remained frozen without movement for some time.

Ichigo had returned to his normal form, and his monstrous Hollow appearance had completely vanished.

"As expected, the real world is entirely different from what the anime shows…" Ren muttered softly, like a whisper, as he opened his eyes, freeing Ichigo from the Bakudō spell that had bound him, supporting him with one hand and carrying him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"It seems it's truly over," Yoruichi said in her sharp, masculine voice, her narrow golden eyes glaring at Ren. "It looks like something serious happened…"

Although only half a year had passed since she met the two, Yoruichi felt as if she had known Ren for a long time, having been responsible for monitoring him since childhood to ensure he wasn't dangerous. She understood him with a single glance.

She could see his neutral expression and the hidden glimmer of overwhelming anger in his eyes—something rarely visible in the usually indifferent Ren.

"Thank you for helping my older brother," Ren said formally to the Visoreds. "But we must leave now, and I will return later to properly thank you for this."

"Let's go." Without waiting for the Visoreds' reply, he glanced at Tatsuki and disappeared from the underground area without hesitation.

"Thank you for your help," Tatsuki bowed toward the Visoreds before disappearing as well to follow him.

As for Yoruichi, she had already vanished and reappeared on Ren's other shoulder.

"What just happened?" Shinji scratched his head in confusion upon seeing the four leave so decisively.

Several light flashes of Shunpo occurred, and Ren had already moved away from the old industrial area, carrying the still-unconscious Ichigo on one shoulder, while Yoruichi, in her cat form, leaned nonchalantly on his other shoulder.

"You're angry, aren't you?" Yoruichi finally said in a low tone, without her usual playful voice.

Ren didn't respond immediately.

His steps were steady, calm… yet that calmness was tainted by an unfamiliar weight.

"You'll find out soon," he said in a low voice, devoid of his usual tone—dark, grim, filled with anger and a cold intent to kill.

Yoruichi's tail twitched slightly—a small movement, but a clear sign she sensed the weight behind his voice…

The anger was more than an emotion.

It was like a judgment already passed.

Suddenly, Ren stopped and glanced back where Tatsuki struggled to catch up.

"Sorry, but can you take Ichigo home to rest?" Ren forced a faint apologetic smile at Tatsuki. "I have something important to do."

Tatsuki was momentarily startled by the sudden change in his tone—not the usual calm, neutral Ren who balanced his words with a half-smile. There was something else… something heavy and dark behind his gaze.

"Uh—yes… of course," Tatsuki said quickly, carefully taking Ichigo from his shoulder. "But… what—"

Ren extended his hand and placed it lightly on her shoulder for just a moment.

The touch was light… yet enough for her to feel a coldness unrelated to the weather.

"Don't worry," he said quietly, emotionless. "This… is not something you should be part of."

Then he looked at Yoruichi, a brief glance enough for her to understand.

He had made his decision.

"I'll leave this fool in your hands," Ren said, placing Ichigo into Tatsuki's arms, then without hesitation drew his Zanpakuto and stabbed the air, turning the sword like a key.

Buzz!

The space warped slightly, and a traditional Japanese door appeared from nothing, opening elegantly to reveal several similar doors stretching into the distance.

"Shiba Clan's Senkaimon…" Yoruichi murmured in astonishment, as she had not expected Ren to have access to the Shiba Clan's Senkaimon—currently, only Kūkaku could access it.

"Nee-san, I will go to the Soul Society for a while, as I have an urgent report to deliver to the Captain-Commander."

With these words, Ren entered the Senkaimon, which closed behind him, disappearing from the Human World and heading toward the Seireitei.

...

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