"Seriously..."
"I still want to see him return his sword to its sheath..."
"But judging by that dumb expression, I guess he hasn't done it yet..."
Qianye stood inside Susanoo, holding a massive sword, and looked down at the body of the Arrancar Gillian with clear disdain.
He's huge—almost 200 meters tall—but he couldn't even handle a single swing from Susanoo. What a joke.
To Qianye, the Arrancar was laughably weak. But outside, the nearby Shinigami were completely stunned.
"No way... he got taken out with one slash!?"
Near the crumbling warehouse, Hiyori Sarugaki stared at the massive dark crack in the air, unable to believe what she saw. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be seeing things.
"How is that possible? That Gillian had spiritual pressure at the captain level... it should've been as strong as ours..."
Thanks to mastering Hollow powers, the Visored had grown much stronger. And with Shinigami abilities added in, that Gillian had become huge, overflowing with spiritual energy, and surrounded by a terrifying aura.
But even so, it was sliced in two by that red warrior god like it was nothing.
The Gillian didn't even get the chance to fire a single Cero.
Everyone stood frozen in shock. But the black crack in the sky didn't wait for them to process what happened. It was slowly closing.
Rukia Kuchiki finally snapped out of it. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted toward the closing rift:
"Qianye! Hurry and come out! That's a Garganta—it leads to Hueco Mundo. Don't go in!"
"I know!" Qianye responded calmly, guiding Susanoo to step out of the dark space.
A moment later, the rift completely vanished. The sky turned blue again, as if nothing had ever happened.
But the broken ground and scattered debris told the real story—an intense battle had just ended here.
"It's finally over..."
Urahara Kisuke let out a long sigh.
They had only released a few decoys to lure out Hollows, and it had already caused this much chaos.
Even he was feeling the pressure now.
But then he looked at Qianye again, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Still... his power is incredible..."
Besides his earlier abilities, Qianye could now summon a god of war, on par with the likes of the King of Heavenly Punishment.
Even among the many powerful Shinigami in Soul Society, Qianye's strength now stood on par with the lower-tier Captains.
"Urahara-san, I'll leave the rest to you. Sorry, it got a little loud." Qianye smirked slightly as he glanced at Urahara.
Urahara blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Qianye simply pointed toward the distant streets, where panicked humans had gathered, their faces filled with fear and confusion.
"What was that giant warrior just now? Was it some kind of god!?"
"And did you guys see that? The sky was covered in black flames!"
"Yeah! It was terrifying. Even now, the flames that hit the ground aren't going out!"
"Was it an alien!?"
"No, maybe it was a demon. I need to tell my friends and get them over here—this could be history in the making!"
"..."
The noise and chatter from the crowd only grew louder.
Urahara stood frozen for a few seconds, then felt a wave of frustration crash over him—like a hundred thousand horses were trampling through his chest.
He had completely forgotten.
He seriously forgot.
Qianye's power was visible to ordinary people.
Everything—the black flames, the sudden appearance of the red warrior god—was seen by every human nearby.
And when he looked around...
Black flames still burned quietly in several places. They hadn't spread, but they weren't going out either.
The road in front of him was a disaster. Huge footprints from Susanoo stamped across the asphalt, leaving destruction behind.
"I..." Urahara clenched his teeth. How long would it take to wipe the memories of this many people?
He glanced around in desperation—at Tessai, Yoruichi, Rukia...
But they were already gone. The moment they realized the mess, they had quietly slipped away.
"...Urahara Kisuke."
"..."
"I'm so screwed."
In the First Division of the Seireitei...
All the Shinigami Captains were staring silently at the monitor in front of them.
Just moments ago, the screen had been lit up with spiritual signatures—many small ones, and even a red one indicating a Captain-level presence.
Now, there was nothing.
Not a single dot remained.
"Wait... That was an Adjuchas-level Menos Grande. And it was taken down just like that!?"
Many of the Shinigami captains looked around at each other, clearly shocked.
An Adjuchas-class Menos Grande is usually on the same level as a captain. But its spiritual pressure vanished almost instantly.
"Was it Urahara Kisuke and the others?" Jūshirō Ukitake asked, unable to hide his surprise.
From his perspective, only someone like Urahara Kisuke or Hirako Shinji could have dealt with something that powerful in the human world.
"No, that's not it." Kurotsuchi Mayuri shook his head, staring at the monitor with an unsettling gleam in his eyes. "The spiritual pressure from that person wasn't recorded at all, which means it came from one of those two unknown sources."
The strange and unfamiliar spiritual pressure made Mayuri's scientific curiosity burn even hotter.
"This could be very valuable for research."
"Even if the Hollow threat has been dealt with, we can't ignore these mysterious spiritual forces," said Tōsen Kaname firmly.
The other captains nodded in agreement.
The human world is fragile. It can't handle battles at such a large scale. They had to find out who—or what—these new powers were.
Even Head Captain Yamamoto silently agreed.
He glanced around the room at the other captains, thinking carefully about who to send.
Sui-Feng of Squad 2: not suited for this.
Ichimaru Gin of Squad 3: too unpredictable.
Unohana Retsu of Squad 4: too gentle.
Aizen Sosuke of Squad 5: too soft-spoken.
Byakuya Kuchiki of Squad 6... possibly.
Sajin Komamura of Squad 7: has a strong sense of justice.
Shunsui Kyōraku of Squad 8: close friends with Hirako Shinji.
Tōsen Kaname of Squad 9: also driven by justice.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya of Squad 10: still too inexperienced.
Zaraki Kenpachi of Squad 11: definitely not the right choice.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi of Squad 12: might end up fighting Urahara instead of helping.
Jūshirō Ukitake of Squad 13: too ill.
After considering each of them, Yamamoto finally turned to Byakuya Kuchiki. He tapped his cane against the ground and spoke firmly:
"Captain Kuchiki, you will go."
That decision sparked quiet grumbling among some of the other captains—especially Sui-Feng and Zaraki Kenpachi.
But Byakuya didn't even look their way. He gave a calm nod and said simply:
"Understood."
Without waiting for anyone's reaction, he turned and walked away, his face cold and composed as usual.
A short time later, outside the First Division...
"Byakuya Kuchiki, stop right there!"
Sui-Feng stepped in front of him, her expression stern. "I know you're close with Shihouin Yoruichi, but don't forget—she betrayed Soul Society. If you're going to Karakura Town, bring her back to face justice."
Byakuya turned his head slightly, his voice flat but sharp:
"Captain of the Second Division, you have no authority to order me."
Everyone in the Seireitei knew about the complicated history between Yoruichi and Sui-Feng, even if the two of them hadn't openly admitted it.
As a result, Byakuya had no intention of getting involved in their personal conflict.
Sui-Feng clenched her jaw in frustration.
If she wasn't allowed to go to Karakura Town herself, asking Byakuya to capture Yoruichi was her only chance.
"Hmph. As expected... the noble clans always protect their own."
With a cold snort, she vanished from the street, her figure disappearing in a blur of speed.
"Yoruichi... I won't let you go this time..."
Just as Byakuya was about to continue walking, he suddenly stopped and said coolly:
"Captain Zaraki... Captains are forbidden from fighting each other. Are you planning to break Seireitei law?"
From the shadows of a nearby alley, Zaraki Kenpachi stepped out, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He pointed his blade directly at Byakuya.
"Come on. Give me a good reason to go to the real world. I want to fight whoever defeated that Adjuchas-level Menos."
On his shoulder, the cheerful, pink-haired Yachiru Kusajishi waved her tiny fist in the air:
"Yeah! Let's go, Xiaobai! Yachiru wants to play too!"
Byakuya Kuchiki: "..."
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