Simultaneous Transmigration: From Japanese Anime to American Comics

Chapter 77: The Ordinary High School Student

Ever since discovering that the world he lived in was Bleach, Chu Yang always felt that there was something inexplicable around him, hovering between reality and illusion.

However, this sensation had nothing to do with his perception.

The reason Chu Yang could now see things he couldn't before was because, after sharing abilities with his other selves, his soul had also undergone some changes.

The good news was that he could now see them.

The bad news was that he couldn't quite distinguish whether what he was seeing were people or ghosts.

Had he not shared the memories of his other "selves," Chu Yang would likely have already suffered a mental breakdown by now.

It takes time to become familiar with distinguishing souls, and Chu Yang had made quite a few blunders during this period. To many of his classmates, Chu Yang had already earned the label of "weirdo."

Ichigo Kurosaki had also noticed some of Chu Yang's odd behaviors, which gave him a sense of déjà vu, reminding him of his own early days when he first saw souls.

A week after school started, Chu Yang gradually got used to the strange occurrences and was no longer startled by the sudden appearance of souls.

So far, most of the souls he had encountered were friendly. They quietly stayed in certain areas, silently lingering in the human world.

Each soul had its own reason for clinging to this world, but they all inevitably moved toward the same irreversible fate.

As time went on, these once-friendly souls would gradually become irritable, and some would even begin to harm passersby.

As usual, Chu Yang was walking along the street towards his apartment. At a corner, he saw the soul of a construction worker, still wearing a safety helmet, rushing at a moving car, seemingly intending to attack the driver.

Chu Yang quietly appeared behind him, and with a hand wrapped in Haki, easily caught the worker's soul, lifting him like a little chick.

To Chu Yang's surprise, Haki still worked in this world. Thinking it over, it seemed that Haki didn't just affect the elemental bodies of Logia fruit users, but the very rules imposed by Devil Fruits.

Powerful Conqueror's Haki could even negate some of the special effects of Devil Fruits.

From that perspective, it wasn't surprising that Haki could touch souls.

Even in Chu Yang's grasp, the construction worker still wouldn't calm down, showing a strong desire to attack.

This was the side effect of lingering in the human world for too long. He had gradually lost his emotions and rationality.

However, Chu Yang quickly helped him regain his senses.

Using his large fan-like hand, Chu Yang slapped him hard several times, swelling the worker's face.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

"Stop hitting me! Please stop! If you keep hitting me, I might actually ascend to heaven!"

The man grabbed Chu Yang's arm, begging in desperation.

"Oh, you're awake," Chu Yang said, looking slightly disappointed. Then he asked, "So why haven't you reincarnated yet, old man? Staying here isn't doing you any good. You almost attacked a passerby just now."

The man seemed like an honest person, even after death, repeatedly apologizing. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely sorry or just afraid of getting slapped again.

Chu Yang patted him on the shoulder and said, "Look, old man, I don't know what regrets you have, but staying like this won't solve anything, will it?"

The man opened his mouth, speechless, deflating like a balloon as he stood there weakly, his eyes empty.

Chu Yang hated seeing this expression. If the man had snarled at him, he would've beaten him senseless. But this guy just looked like a decent person who had died an untimely death, making it hard not to feel pity.

Sighing, Chu Yang said, "Alright, tell me, what do you need help with? If I can do it, I'll help you."

The man's eyes lit up.

His name was Honkawa Yosuke, a worker at a company called Higashizawa Construction, where he'd worked for nearly fifteen years. The road they were standing on was part of a project his company had undertaken six months ago for maintenance.

At the time, the boss, eager to shorten the project timeline, forced the workers to work through the night. To save costs, they didn't put up warning signs or lighting on the construction site.

Honkawa Yosuke was hit by a speeding car that night and died instantly.

By law, the company owed his family compensation, but even six months after his death, no payment had been made.

Yosuke had been the sole breadwinner for his family. After his death, his wife and children were left without any financial support and had been living in hardship ever since.

Thinking about what his family had been through in the past six months, Honkawa Yosuke nearly lost control again.

Chu Yang reminded him, "You should've just strangled your boss."

"I thought about it," Yosuke said dejectedly, "but if I kill him, my family will never get the compensation they desperately need."

Chu Yang clapped his hands. "Alright then, I'll go get that money for you."

"Thank you, young man." Having tasted Chu Yang's fists, Honkawa Yosuke had full faith in his abilities.

Moments later, Chu Yang arrived at Higashizawa Construction. He politely asked the receptionist, only to learn that the boss, Mr. Higashizawa, wasn't in.

It was around 8 p.m.—prime time for clubbing. Inside a nightclub, people were swaying in the dance floor, radiating hormones.

Mr. Higashizawa was in a private room, closing a business deal while indulging himself with clients.

Chu Yang's entry into the nightclub wasn't smooth. His youthful face screamed "underage," and the bouncers stopped him at the door.

With no other choice, he calmly took the door off its hinges and set it aside.

The bouncers stayed silent.

After all, was it worth risking their lives for a job that paid only a few hundred thousand yen a month?

Using Observation Haki, Chu Yang quickly located Higashizawa. The man had just closed a big deal and was about to reward himself by playing a little "knight and princess" game with the hostess in the room.

Just as the game got underway, Chu Yang suddenly appeared behind him and jabbed him hard in the lower back.

Higashizawa's eyes rolled back, and he passed out in pain.

He might never ride again in his life.

When Higashizawa woke up, he found himself hanging over the center of a lake in a park, his body wrapped in tree branches and vines, swaying precariously.

"Help! Someone help me!"

Naked and exposed, he screamed desperately for help as the branches holding him started to loosen. It wouldn't be long before he plunged into the lake.

Unfortunately, he couldn't swim.

If no one came, he'd be a bloated corpse on tomorrow's front page.

In his panic, Higashizawa spotted a student standing calmly on the shore, watching him. Thinking he'd found his savior, he screamed, "Young man, help me!"

The student remained silent, his expression cold. "Honkawa Yosuke. Do you remember him?"

Hearing the familiar name, Higashizawa's face changed, and he stammered, "H-Honkawa... Yosuke? Never heard of him. Let's not talk about that now—please, get me down, and I'll reward you handsomely."

Chu Yang sneered. "Have you gone dumb from drinking? There are only two of us here. Who do you think tied you up?"

"You?" Higashizawa glared at him, bursting into a string of curses. Piecing things together from Chu Yang's earlier words, he realized, "You're that bastard Honkawa's family, aren't you? I'm warning you—get me down now, or I'll call the police!"

Chu Yang lightly tapped his foot, and the branches loosened even more, leaving only his legs bound.

With the restraints gone, Higashizawa fell headfirst into the water, splashing down and flailing violently.

Seeing his portly figure, Chu Yang figured his lung capacity wasn't great. So, after about thirty seconds, he pulled Higashizawa back up.

Shivering from the cold water, the naked Higashizawa could barely string a sentence together.

"The compensation for Honkawa Yosuke's family—when do you plan on paying it?"

"Compensation? That guy died in an accident. Compensation should come from the insurance company. Why's that my problem?"

Chu Yang clicked his tongue in amazement. "You're really putting money above your life, huh?"

With that, Chu Yang dunked him again, pulling him up and dunking him repeatedly, like dipping ingredients in hotpot.

By the time he was done, Higashizawa was truly terrified. He could tell that this boy was fully capable of killing him, and if he kept being stubborn, he might really die here tonight.

"Please! I'll pay! I'll pay the compensation right away!" Higashizawa pleaded, his sincerity evident.

Satisfied, Chu Yang smiled, but instead of letting him go immediately, he dunked him a few more times for good measure. After Higashizawa was on the verge of collapse, Chu Yang finally set him down on solid ground, transferring a bit of life energy to him.

Higashizawa gasped for air, his pale face slowly regaining color.

After repeatedly brushing past death's door, Higashizawa was filled with nothing but fear towards Chu Yang.

This guy is a lunatic, a pervert, a murderer!

Before letting Higashizawa go, Chu Yang warned him with a kind smile, "You can call the police, but let me remind you, I'm an orphan. I have no family, no attachments."

Having endured such torment, how could Higashizawa dare call the police now? All he wanted was to quickly rid himself of this walking plague.

"No, of course not! I'll immediately bring the money to Honkawa's family," Higashizawa said, and with that, he bolted, stark naked, shivering in the cold night breeze, yet running at full speed.

There weren't many people in the park late at night, especially near the coldest area by the lake, but after leaving the park, Higashizawa instantly felt countless eyes fixed on him.

"There's a pervert here! Run, everybody!"

"Ah! My eyes! Quick, close your eyes!"

"Oh God, give me a new pair of eyes! Mine have been tainted!"

"Society is truly degenerating!"

Amidst the curses, some seasoned bystanders calmly took out their phones and started recording.

By morning, someone was surely going to make the headlines.

Sensing the situation, Higashizawa covered his face and ran desperately under the flashing lights, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes.

"Damn it!!!"

Meanwhile, Chu Yang was about to leave the park when an unexpected figure blocked his way.

"Are you here to help that old man collect compensation?" Ichigo Kurosaki stood on the steps at the park entrance, looking down at Chu Yang.

"You saw everything?" Chu Yang asked in surprise. Living in a modern society, he didn't keep his Observation Haki activated all the time, so he hadn't noticed Ichigo nearby.

"I only saw that old guy running out of here naked. What did you do to him?" Ichigo scratched his head.

"Don't look at me like that. I just dunked him in the lake." Chu Yang waved dismissively, signaling Ichigo to move aside.

Ichigo stepped aside, giving Chu Yang a path, and as Chu Yang walked up the steps, Ichigo couldn't help but follow.

The area where Honkawa Yosuke's soul roamed wasn't far from the school. It made sense that Ichigo would have seen him before. He likely learned from Honkawa that Chu Yang was here to help demand compensation, which explained why Ichigo was lingering nearby.

After all, Chu Yang seemed like an ordinary high school student. How could someone like that collect compensation from a construction company boss? In Ichigo's eyes, Chu Yang was probably going to get beaten up, so he came to see if he could help.