Part 23

________________________________________________________________

'Sup everyone? I'm back ... somewhat.

I got some criticism and thought about them hard. I agree with some things and with others, I don't.

So there are going to be some changes to the plot I had planned.

Keep the hate to a minimum, please. But you are entitled to your opinion of course.

_________________________________________________________________

"I am the Monk who calls the real name, Ichibe Hyosube!"

The entire plane shook. The name of Ichibe carried immeasurable power.

The Phoenix Force understood what this meant. It was not old for nothing. Its knowledge was very big, to say the least.

True names, that was an unbelievable power.

"Where did something of your calibre come from?"

"Hehe, who knows?

Now I believe young Jean has a decision to make. And I would like it to be an unbiased opinion. You shall not interfere or influence her!"

"Will I be able to come back? To my friends?"

It was the Phoenix Force that answered.

"There is nothing that speaks against that. In theory when you have mastered everything and understand all the duties it brings."

"Ok. Then I'll stay your host. I believe it is my duty and I shall not cower away from it."

Jean looked at Ichibe. He could see the determination in her eyes. It seems she found her path. That was good.

"Very well then. Let's go out and you shall tell the others about your choice.

And I shall remove these restraints fully."

.

Ichibe exited Jean's mind and both of them were back in the real world.

All the others were on their toes to find out what happened. Jean looked around and calmed them down.

"Relax guys, everything is fine. I will have to tell you what happened and also about my decision.

Ich … I mean the monk told me about my choices and I have decided."

This was Ichibe's cue to leave now. He had done what he wanted from the beginning. It only took much longer than he had anticipated.

He was now happy to be done with this and get to do other things now. He would have to show Raven how the Gotei 13 worked and what they strived for.

Should she agree to join the Gotei 13, he was going to think about giving her a Zanpakuto of her own.

"I'll take my leave then. It was nice meeting all of you, but now I must leave.

Raven, I'll come to pick you up for the tour in a few days' time. You also have a decision to make.

I bid you farewell."

"Wait a moment!", someone called.

He turned around and looked at the person who called him. It was Ororo Munroe, the young princess.

"Yes?"

"When are you coming back? We still don't know anything about you. We could use someone with your strength to help us against those that enslave and experiment on mutants."

"Oh? Well, you see, I have many things to do and going after every evil person on the planet is not on that list.

There is however a possibility that I can see for you Mutants…"

This got the attention of the rest. If a man of his power could help them, then there must be hope.

"And what might that be?", Magneto asked him. He and other Mutants were 'save' on Genosha. But the Government knew where they were and as it was painfully obvious once again, they could just come and go whenever they wished.

"Well, why should I tell you, when you can just ask Raven after we are done?

You'll just have to wait until I have shown her everything. So, until then toodles."

Ichibe used Shunpo to get out of there.

He was thinking about creating a Zanpakuto for himself. He had the powers of Oetsu Nimaiya, so he wanted to create Sayafushi for himself.

But here lay the oddity that he had noticed. He knew how to forge an Asauchi way too easily and with so little preparation.

That was also why he said that he had his powers. But it was weird, when he arrived here, he knew his name immediately. His name is Ichibe Hyosube.

So, it really means that he has Oetsu Nimaiya's power on top of Ichibe's. He had to admit, he really liked the clothing style of Oetsu.

Then there was only one question left to ask. Did he have more powers from the Royal Guard?

Well, it didn't matter really. He was going to create a similar outfit to Oetsu Nimaiya. The sleeveless Shihakushō was a good idea. And a shortened hakama was as well.

But he would keep his Haori. He liked that.

And to top it off, he was going to create some sunglasses for himself.

Ok, so that was his plan now. Creating his Shihakushō and glasses, as well as creating Sayafushi for himself.

Having a sword was something useful and he knew how to use Zanjutsu.

"Portal", Ichibe said and entered his room in Kamar-Taj that way.

.

The Ancient One was happy that she met Ichibe. Over the last few days, she had kept track of the situation of the Phoenix Force and the Mutants involved.

She had seen them attack and mistrust Ichibe over and over again. And yet he had never gotten angry or frustrated. He always understood them and tried to solve the situation by talking.

It was a fabulous display of strength. Not physical or anything like that. But of the strength of will and principles. He could have used his powers anytime and simply resolved the issue that way, but he chose not to.

It affirmed her belief that she truly could trust him. A man that was that powerful and didn't need to show it was two things.

One he was very dangerous because he had his power under control and two because he had his emotions under control.

There was no greater foe than the one that had his emotion under control. He would never make a hasty decision or lose focus because of grief, sadness, hatred or even love.

That was the closest thing to a functioning robot that was possible. And Ichibe was smart on top of that.

He thought about all things before he acted. And he had a very fast thought process.

His speed was not just physical but mental as well. Otherwise, he would never be able to keep up with his body.

She was not able to keep up with him if he would go all out. Not that she ever was, but now even with just his physical strength, he could pose a real threat to her.

And yet he chooses to stay in the shadows and is not interested in merit or thanks.

He will be a good pillar for Strange in the future.