'What the hell is happening?'
'Someone actually dared to invade the Seireitei…?'
Kyoya frowned.
This wasn't something he remembered happening in the original plot.
'Is this the butterfly effect?'
'As far as I recall, before Aizen used Hirako Shinji and the others for his Hollowfication experiments, the Seireitei was supposed to be peaceful, without any major disturbances.'
Kyoya stroked his chin thoughtfully.
'According to the timeline I know, the first major incident within the next hundred years should be Aizen's Hollowfication experiments, followed by Urahara and Yoruichi's defection, then Kuchiki Koga's rebellion, and finally Shiba Isshin being lured to the human world by White, where he meets Masaki?'
'At this point in time, is there really anyone in Soul Society strong enough to break through the White Road Gate?'
The guardian of the White Road Gate was Jidanbo.
Don't underestimate Jidanbo just because he lost to Ichigo.
To become a gatekeeper of the Seireitei, one needed at least high-seated officer-level strength.
Just look at the opponents Ichigo faced after breaking into the Seireitei-
Madarame Ikkaku, the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division. Though nominally a 3rd Seat, he had mastered Bankai and reached Captain-level strength.
Abarai Renji, the Lieutenant of the 6th Division. At that time, Renji was just one step away from mastering Bankai, making him the strongest Lieutenants.
Well, except for Sasakibe, the First Division's Lieutenant.
Later, Ichigo even went head-to-head with Zaraki and defeated him.
And after that, he fought Byakuya, the Captain of the 6th Division.
Every single one of these opponents was among the elite forces of the Seireitei.
Compared to them, Jidanbo's loss against Ichigo wasn't shameful at all.
In fact, he could even call it an honor.
If someone could defeat Jidanbo, that meant this Ryoka had at least Lieutenant-level strength.
"Emergency alert, emergency alert-"
"Lieutenant Kotsubaki Jinemon of the 7th Division has been defeated by the Ryoka. By order of the Captain-Commander, the restriction on Zanpakuto's release within the Seireitei is temporarily lifted-"
"What?!"
Within mere minutes, another emergency alert sent the Seireitei into chaos.
Even among the Lieutenants, Jinemon's strength is not weak.
And yet, in such a short time-
Even if the Ryoka had encountered him immediately upon entering, defeating a Lieutenant in under three minutes meant this enemy had Captain-level strength, at the very least.
In fact, to be bolder, the 7th Division isn't particularly close to the White Road Gate.
A Ryoka who breaks into the Seireitei wouldn't immediately encounter Jinemon right after entering.
Based on Kyoya's speculation, it's far more likely that the two crossed paths abruptly, and Jinemon was instantly defeated.
The difficulty between defeating a Lieutenant in three minutes and instantly defeating a Lieutenant isn't on the same level.
Especially someone like Jinemon, who is a seasoned Lieutenant.
Kyoya couldn't help but feel a bit curious about this sudden Ryoka who had barged into the Seireitei.
However, up to this point, Kyoya's idea of merging 'light perception' with Observation Haki hadn't been realized yet.
With the current range of his Observation Haki, Kyoya couldn't sense the commotion near the White Road Gate from the 11th Division's location. His Reikaku, on the other hand, had a much wider range.
But its precision was nowhere near that of Observation Haki.
Of course, through rigorous training, Shinigami could refine their Reikaku to a level comparable to basic Observation Haki.
In battles involving Lieutenant and above, relying solely on the naked eye made it extremely difficult to track an enemy's movements.
Only by supplementing it with Reikaku could one sense an opponent's actions and react accordingly.
At the Captain-level and beyond, barring a few exceptional freaks of nature, most fighters' Reikaku was almost on par with Observation Haki. That said, in terms of upper limits, Observation Haki still held the advantage.
Because Observation Haki could achieve feats like mind-reading, memory browsing, personality alteration, hearing the Voice of All Things, and even foreseeing the future, whereas spiritual perception was limited to mere 'sensing'.
'Such a violent Reiatsu…'
Through his Reikaku, Kyoya sensed Zaraki's wild and unrestrained Reiatsu.
However, since Kyoya had never actually met Zaraki before, he had no idea that the owner of this Reiatsu was Zaraki.
Additionally, Kyoya's Reikaku only allowed him to roughly sense the Reiatsu Zaraki was outwardly releasing. The deeper layers of Reiatsu suppressed subconsciously by Zaraki remained beyond Kyoya's detection.
"Right now, the one fighting is the Captain of the 7th Division, Aikawa Love."
Kyoya stroked his chin and muttered, "I should probably prepare."
Kyoya didn't know much about Aikawa.
He only knew that in the future, Aikawa would become a member of the Visored, and then, after trapping Aizen in Muken, he would return to the Seireitei and resume his position as Captain of the 7th Division.
Since Kyoya wasn't aware of Aikawa's Bankai's abilities, he could only gauge his strength based on his Shikai and Reiatsu. But from what Kyoya could sense, Aikawa's Reiatsu was noticeably weaker than the Ryoka's.
'If Aikawa's Bankai wasn't particularly strong, he might just end up as cannon fodder.'
"Third seat Ichinose, stay here and monitor the Seireitei's orders. Be ready to move at any time."
"Gin, you're coming with me."
"Hahahaha-"
Amidst maniacal laughter, Zaraki swung his Zanpakuto, forcing Aikawa into a desperate retreat.
The 7th Division was the Internal Security Force.
As the name suggested, it was the division responsible for protecting the nobles within the inner district of the Seireitei.
After defeating Jidanbo and breaking into the Seireitei, thanks to Yachiru's directions, though meandering, Zaraki had been swiftly making his way toward the inner district.
Because of this, Aikawa assumed Zaraki might be targeting a noble in the inner district for revenge.
To prevent a repeat of the attack on the Kasumioji Clan over a decade ago, Aikawa immediately led his division's Shinigami to the entrance of the inner district, intending to capture the violent Ryoka as soon as possible.
However, the Ryoka's strength far exceeded Aikawa's expectations.
His Lieutenant, Jinemon, had been critically wounded in a single exchange.
Even the members of the 7th Division accompanying him had all been taken down by the Ryoka's tiny-looking companion.
As for Aikawa himself, he was being overwhelmed by the Ryoka's seemingly childlike attacks.
"Incredible strength… and speed!"
Though the Ryoka's attacks lacked any formal structure, each strike carried far more power and speed than Aikawa could muster.
Beads of cold sweat rolled down Aikawa's forehead. The relentless barrage of attacks left him no opening to release his Zanpakuto.
In fact, if he let his guard down even slightly, he might be cut down on the spot.
If things continued like this, there was a real chance he'd be pummeled to death without ever getting a chance to fight back.
Right now, Aikawa could only hope that Kyoya of the 11th Division or Otoribashi of the 3rd Division wouldn't be too overconfident in his abilities and would come to his aid as per their division's duties.
At the very least, Shinji of the 5th Division could come!
The 11th Division was the combat division, so whenever there was a battle, the 11th Division would inevitably be involved.
The 3rd Division was the assist division, capable of responding to emergencies within the Seireitei.
The 5th Division was also a support division. While most situations required the intelligence division to provide specific rescue locations and forces before deployment, in emergencies, intelligence might not keep up.
Thus, in certain cases, the 5th Division had the authority to act at their discretion.
However, no matter which division's Captain it was, it would still take time for them to arrive.
But Aikawa wasn't very confident in his ability to hold out until reinforcements arrived.