East Rukongai, District 14.
The whole street was in chaos, full of noise and people shouting. A riot had broken out, with angry crowds wielding all sorts of weapons, clashing with Soul Reapers in their uniforms. Screams rang through the air again and again.
From the looks of the battle, the Soul Reapers were clearly on the losing side.
No surprise there.
Under pressure from the noble clans, Central 46 had ordered the main forces of the Soul Reapers to pull back. Only Squad Two, led by Soi Fon, was left to keep looking for the escaped criminals from the underground prison.
In the end, they did find them—but only because the criminals showed themselves.
The four prison escapees had apparently gotten word that the Soul Reaper forces had pulled out. They secretly joined forces and launched a sneak attack on the ones who had stayed behind.
Soi Fon didn't see it coming. By the time she realized what was happening, things had already spiraled out of control.
"Heh, even someone like you can be a captain?"
"Don't let your guard down, idiot. Captain-level Soul Reapers aren't easy to deal with."
"But there's four of us and only one of her. There's no way we can lose."
Standing in front of Soi Fon now were the ringleaders of the riot—four very different-looking criminals from the underground prison.
Kengo Kuraki, with his bulky frame; Yusuke Kawasumi, tall and lean; Osamu Kamakura, who had a clear scar on his jaw; and Ichiro Narita, completely wrapped in a cloak.
All of them had committed horrible crimes in Soul Society and had been locked away in the underground prison for over 5,000 years each. They had escaped for various reasons and hidden themselves here.
In fact, these four all had shady dealings with certain noble families.
Because the Head Captain kept a close eye on everything, the nobles used these criminals to manage their shady businesses outside the Seireitei. That's why the nobles didn't want them wiped out.
"Enough talking. Let's get this over with!"
Ichiro Narita stared at Soi Fon, speaking coldly: "She already sent out a distress signal. If we wait too long, backup from Seireitei will show up, and that'll be a huge problem." He pulled a long blade from under his cloak and charged straight at her.
So fast!
Soi Fon's eyes narrowed. She turned her body sideways to dodge the blade, then lifted her right leg and swept it across. With a loud "thud," her kick landed hard on his side.
Narita grunted, blood spraying from his mouth. But at the same time, he reached out and grabbed onto Soi Fon's leg. "Nice kick, but you're finished!"
What?
Soi Fon froze for a moment. Then she sensed something and quickly turned her gaze to the right—only to see a giant hammer flying straight toward her. Her pupils shrank as she quickly reached for her sword.
Bang.
A dull thud.
Sui-Feng felt like all her organs had been knocked out of place as her body flew sideways through the air. She hit the ground hard with a smack, rolled a few times, and barely came to a stop.
"Damn it!" she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand. If she hadn't drawn her blade to block some of the impact just now, she might've ended up as a bloody mess.
Even so, several of her ribs were broken. She was in no shape to keep fighting.
No wonder—these people were all criminals once locked up in Muken. Even on their own, each of them was likely just as strong as she was. And now, there were four of them working together.
This is bad.
She should've used Bankai earlier. It was probably too late now.
"Oh? Still alive?" Kuraiki Kengo, carrying a massive hammer, grinned as he walked toward her step by step. "In that case, let me just smash your head in." He raised the hammer high and brought it down toward her small head.
Clang.
A loud ring echoed as the hammer clashed with a thin, long blade.
Sui-Feng's eyes went wide. She stared blankly at the long-haired boy who suddenly appeared in front of her.
There had been no sign of movement at all—she hadn't caught a single trace of how he got there.
It was like he had just stepped out of thin air.
"Who the hell are you?" Kuraiki Kengo frowned and asked in a deep voice.
"3rd seat of Squad Four, Uchiha Madara." The boy's scarlet eyes locked onto him coldly. "So you're the small fry we're up against?"
"Third seat?" Kengo was stunned for a second, then burst out laughing. "A low-rank seat like that dares to—ugh." He didn't finish his sentence. His eyes suddenly flew open.
Uchiha Madara, who had just been standing in front of him, was suddenly at his side, his long blade sweeping lightly through the air.
Slice.
A spray of blood shot from Kengo's waist as his body was cut clean in half.
Thud. With his lower half gone, he collapsed to the ground. The giant hammer fell beside him with a heavy crash.
Everyone froze.
The criminals from Muken, and even Sui-Feng, were all stunned.
Kuraiki Kengo, whose power was said to rival a captain's, was just killed like that?
And the one who killed him… was only a third seat?
"Retreat! Fall back now!" Narita Ichiro snapped out of it and shouted without hesitation.
He turned and ran instantly.
The other two paused for just a moment before quickly following him.
They weren't idiots—escaping from Muken took brains, too.
If someone could kill Kengo in one move, they knew there was no way they could win.
Sticking around would only mean certain death.
But even as they ran, they stirred up the rioting crowd and drove them toward the front lines.
It was obvious—they were using them as cannon fodder to distract Uchiha Madara.
"Hey, woman." Madara turned to look at Sui-Feng and asked calmly, "Can you get your squad off the front lines within ten seconds?"
Sui-Feng blinked, a little confused. "I can, but why?"
"To clean up this trash, of course."
A wicked smile spread across Madara's face.
Blue energy began to swirl around him, and a giant warrior holding a glowing blade took shape, standing tall on the battlefield.