At this moment, on Sōkyoku Hill.
Turbulent spiritual pressure collisions swept through every area. Causing nearly all the giant rocks to collapse with thunderous crashes.
The Gotei captains and lieutenants each faced off against a Zanpakutō opponent. Locked in fierce combat.
But before long, they could clearly sense it—
This couldn't drag on.
Soul Reapers who'd lost their Zanpakutō were undoubtedly at a disadvantage fighting these enemies who possessed complete Zanpakutō abilities.
If they continued these one-on-one battles, it wouldn't be long before they fell into an even greater disadvantage.
Realizing this, Jūshirō Ukitake quickly used flash step to appear behind Shunsui Kyōraku. Speaking in a low voice:
"Shunsui, we can't keep fighting like this!"
"We should retreat with Captain Komamura and Lieutenant Sasakibe first. Then regroup and plan our strategy!"
He looked at Shunsui with a grave expression.
Though he already had a very accurate grasp of the entire situation, when facing major decisions like this, he still tried to respect Shunsui's opinion as always.
Just then, Nanao Ise also descended from the air. Landing behind Shunsui.
Her expression extremely grave, she lowered her voice:
"Captain, just now I followed your instructions and used Kidō to search."
"I couldn't find the Captain-Commander's location."
"Moreover, I also didn't detect Captain Shigure's presence in the direction of the Shihōin estate."
She spoke in a low voice. Brow furrowed. Clearly very worried.
Hearing this, Ukitake froze. "Shunsui, when did you give that order?"
Since arriving at Sōkyoku Hill, he'd basically stayed near Shunsui the whole time. Yet hadn't realized he'd already taken covert action.
Hearing this, Shunsui smiled lightly as he looked over:
"Ah, sorry sorry. I didn't discuss it with you beforehand, Ukitake."
"Actually, right after Captain Kuchiki finished his speculation, I immediately transmitted to little Nanao."
"Of course, I asked her to try and see if she could locate Old Man Yama or Shigure to come here."
"After all, a battle of this scale... without their participation, it does make one uneasy."
Saying this, he lowered his head slightly and pressed down his hat. The smile disappeared from his face as he spoke flatly:
"Now it seems the situation might be even worse."
"Perhaps we really do need to temporarily retreat as you said."
As he spoke, he raised his head slightly. Looking up toward Muramasa above.
At the same time, Ukitake immediately understood and quickly used spiritual pressure to transmit to all the captains and lieutenants present.
Hearing the transmission, everyone gathered near the three without any hesitation.
The Zanpakutō, meanwhile, gathered together and floated in the air.
In this situation, naturally no one acted rashly.
Shunsui didn't look at them. But continued watching above. Suddenly speaking softly:
"Mr. Muramasa, sorry, but there's something I'd like to ask."
"I wonder if your plans include anything regarding 5th Division Captain Shigure?"
"If you chose to use our Zanpakutō to target Old Man Yama, surely you've also considered targeting him, who's equally powerful?"
The instant Shunsui's words fell, all the Soul Reapers' eyes moved.
Undoubtedly, at this moment they also hoped to learn about Shigure's situation.
After all, he was a combat force no weaker than the Captain-Commander. Once he joined the battle, it would directly reverse the Soul Reapers' current disadvantage.
Hearing this, Muramasa's eyes moved slightly.
Shigure...
Segawa Shigure?
The Soul Reaper that Candle Dragon was waiting for?
Come to think of it, from the beginning until now, that guy really hasn't appeared.
Though his continued absence was a potential problem.
Muramasa was also clear that after losing the power of his Zanpakutō 'Candle Dragon,' his strength would be greatly reduced.
Perhaps he was no longer worth too much concern.
Muramasa's mind raced. But his expression had long since returned to calm indifference.
After a moment, he finally opened his mouth. Speaking flatly:
"You can barely preserve your own lives, yet you're still worrying about insignificant others?"
The instant those words fell, the Soul Reapers below all looked strange.
And Shunsui directly showed a half-smiling expression. His eyes flickering:
"Now that's an interesting statement. You actually said 'insignificant'?"
"Honestly, since meeting Shigure, this is the first time I've heard someone actually use that word to describe him."
Saying this, Shunsui's face actually showed an increasingly thick smile:
"It seems, Mr. Muramasa..."
"Not only have you failed to target him, but you also don't seem to know just how strong he is."
The instant those words fell, many people nearby—including Rukia, Nanao Ise, Rangiku Matsumoto, and others—all breathed sighs of relief. Even showing faint smiles.
Because they knew Shunsui was absolutely right.
This enemy called Muramasa had been extremely arrogant and dismissive since appearing.
So even when mentioning Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, he'd shown almost no emotional fluctuation.
But just now, when Shunsui asked about Segawa Shigure, his expression had clearly changed for an instant.
Plus, his answer deliberately deflected the topic.
All of this together was enough to show he apparently hadn't dealt with Shigure yet.
In other words, Shigure was fine—he just hadn't arrived yet.
This way, hope was abundant.
And above, Muramasa, after hearing those words, narrowed his eyes slightly. Speaking coldly:
"Tch. Just because one person escaped, you show such relieved expressions?"
"It seems you still haven't realized the severity of the situation."
The instant those words fell, everyone suddenly felt the space above their heads inexplicably darken.
Then an ethereal yet enormous baby's cry suddenly rang out from above!
And at the same time, behind them, a violent torrent of cherry blossoms and a chaotic dance of ice crystals appeared simultaneously!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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