In Soul Society, within Seireitei, inside the Tsunayashiro clan's main audience hall.
"Still no way to get in touch with Higashino Shuuichi?"
Tsunayashiro Kamihara looked down at the Shinigami below with an ugly expression, voice cold.
"Yes, Kamihara-dono. We've tried many methods, but we still haven't been able to make contact with the Great Blade-Hunter Chief…"
The Shinigami under Tsunayashiro Kamihara's questioning was sweating like rain.
No one understood why the Great Blade-Hunter Chief, Higashino Shuuichi—who was usually reachable at any time—had suddenly become uncontactable on such a critical day.
"He'd better not be…"
Tsunayashiro Kamihara slammed his fist heavily into the table beside him, speaking with clear unease.
He had just received word that the Shiba clan's future head, Shiba Kaien, was likely facing grave danger in the Human World. No one yet knew what kind of danger exactly, but the fact that Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had deemed Ukitake Jūshirō alone insufficient and, in the middle of the night, added four more captains on top of him was enough to show how serious things were.
At a time like this, for him—and for the Great Blade-Hunter Chief Higashino Shuuichi, who could practically be called the Tsunayashiro clan's private army—the best choice was to sit tight and do nothing.
Otherwise, this heaven-sent "good opportunity" might end with someone slapping the blame squarely onto their heads—and that would be very, very bad.
Meanwhile, the very Great Blade-Hunter Chief Higashino Shuuichi on Tsunayashiro Kamihara's mind was indeed not in the Human World. He had just finished recruiting Tier and was preparing to head for Las Noches to properly give Baraggan some trouble.
Still unaware of how serious the situation had become, Higashino Shuuichi thought this was just one of Aizen's little games—and that he himself was simply going to "get his face back."
Yet when he finally arrived at Las Noches, what greeted him was a massive Garganta (Black Cavity) yawning open above the fortress.
This was no ordinary Garganta. Just looking at that bone-chilling scene of more than a dozen Arrancar flying into it—among them Baraggan himself, laughing uproariously—Higashino Shuuichi finally realized something was very wrong.
What exactly was Aizen trying to do?
He was practically emptying out his entire Hueco Mundo home base in one go.
The last time Higashino Shuuichi had seen Aizen move with such a lineup had been during that noble hunting incident decades ago…
"You better not be stirring up something really big this time…"
At that point, Higashino Shuuichi truly couldn't spare the mood to bother Baraggan anymore.
After giving Tier a few quick instructions, he used the special contact method Kurotsuchi Mayuri had left him to get in touch, had Kurotsuchi open a Senkaimon (World-Piercing Gate), and returned to Soul Society.
What he saw upon his return was a Seireitei as tragic and devastated as on the night of the Kasumiooji clan's rebellion.
Only, unlike that night when the Kasumiooji uprising had engulfed nearly half of Seireitei, this time Baraggan's Arrancar had restricted their destruction to just a small portion of noble territories plus several Division barracks adjoining those noble lands.
And if Higashino Shuuichi remembered correctly, that area was…
Time rolled back a few hours.
Ukitake Jūshirō had arrived in the Human World and laid eyes on the trapped Shiba Kaien.
Kaien's injuries were terrible; he could no longer even maintain his Zanpakutō's released state, but it was obvious he still had one last breath left.
Had he just happened to arrive at the perfect time?
Ukitake Jūshirō gave a faint, self-mocking smile.
Impossible.
Just look at all the Arrancar standing around him, completely surrounding him, clearly having waited here for quite some time.
Shiba Kaien was nothing but bait.
Their true targets were undoubtedly the Shinigami coming as reinforcements.
"Encircling one point to annihilate the relief… I didn't expect you Hollows to use tactics like that as well."
Facing the encirclement, Ukitake Jūshirō remained unhurried as he spoke.
Right now, he did feel one regret: why hadn't he thought to divine for himself before coming?
But whether he divined or not, the result would hardly have changed. No matter what the signs said, Ukitake Jūshirō would still have come to the Human World.
He couldn't abandon Shiba Kaien.
That had nothing to do with Kaien's noble birth and everything to do with his duty as a captain toward his lieutenant.
"Only one captain… that is a little few."
As Espada No.1 and the undisputed leader of this Arrancar group, Starrk replied with a calm face.
"That might not be so certain. I don't know why so many Arrancar suddenly popped up at once, but how do you know I'm not the one thinking your numbers are a bit on the low side?"
In the weakest voice he'd used yet, Ukitake Jūshirō said the most arrogant words.
"Is that so?"
Starrk thought about the mission Aizen-sama had given him this time: stall the Shinigami reinforcements from Soul Society as much as possible—but don't go overboard. If lives could be spared, then spare them.
Aizen did not want to end up with a Soul Society that was completely shattered.
In his plan, the overwhelming majority of these current captains were meant to become the very cornerstones of his future world, intact.
Even the hopeless hardliners who couldn't be persuaded should be consumed as top-class experimental material, not lost to meaningless battles like this.
That was why Starrk hadn't killed Shiba Kaien and why he didn't intend to have the Arrancar swarm Ukitake Jūshirō either.
Instead, he generously revealed a "weak point" to Ukitake.
"Gantenbainne Mosqueda, I'll leave this Shinigami captain to you."
"Gantenbainne, understood!"
From among the many Arrancar encircling Ukitake Jūshirō, one leapt out: he had an orange afro, a visor-like Hollow mask with a star-shaped design on his forehead, a beard on his chin, a powerful build, and a No.7 tattooed on his right thigh—Espada No.7, Gantenbainne Mosqueda.
"A one-on-one… huh?"
Ukitake Jūshirō noticed that only this Arrancar called Gantenbainne had moved, while the others actually stepped back a good distance, as if deliberately clearing a space for the two of them to fight.
Though he found it strange, he knew very well that, under the current circumstances, this was the most advantageous situation for him.
If he had to take on that many Arrancar at once, he wasn't sure his body could withstand it.
As for what would happen after he defeated this Arrancar—Ukitake quickly lifted his gaze to the murky sky above.
All he could do was hope Soul Society's response was fast enough…
"Thou who art the ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, flapping wings, crowned with the name of man!
The wall of blue flame etches twin lotuses—
From the distant heavens, plunge into the great sea of fire!
Hadō no 73: Sōren Sōkatsui (Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down)!"
He opened with a fully chanted high-level Hadō; streams of blue flame soared through the air like azure hawks.
"Mere flames cannot harm one blessed by the Lord! Ryūhaken (Dragon Break Fist)!"
Like most Arrancar, Gantenbainne had absolute confidence in his own strength.
Facing this probing attack from Ukitake Jūshirō, he didn't even think of dodging. Raising his fists, he unleashed a rapid volley of punches straight into the oncoming flames.
Amid the roar of a dragon, the Hadō Ukitake had released—Sōren Sōkatsui—was smashed to pieces.
But at that very moment, Ukitake Jūshirō, who had advanced along with the blue flames, arrived not far in front of Gantenbainne.
Nadegiri (Shearing Slash).
As one of Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's most prized former disciples, Ukitake Jūshirō naturally knew this signature technique of his.
He had never fully mastered the essence of it, limited by his body's condition—but if it was only for testing his opponent, its power was just right.
As Ukitake had expected, this unfamiliar Arrancar once again chose to meet the attack directly with his fists.
"Ryūhōken (Dragon Collapse Fist)!"
Gantenbainne brought both fists together and struck downward with the weight of a falling mountain, smashing into Ukitake Jūshirō's Zanpakutō.
"Iron walls of sand, tower of monks, glowing embers of searing iron—
By resolve made absolute, in silence you descend.
Bakudō no 75: Gochūtekkan (Five-Pillar Iron Binding)!"
Just then, Ukitake, who had long been prepared, finished his Bakudō chant with lightning speed.
Five pitch-black pillars of spiritual power manifested in the sky and came crashing down toward Gantenbainne.
"So you underestimated me, Shinigami! The Lord's faithful will not be harmed by such petty tricks!
Oh Lord, I beg you, forgive us!
Ryūshōken (Dragon Roar Fist)!"
Gantenbainne pressed his palms together, fingers interlocked, and thrust both hands upward.
A giant column of golden spiritual pressure surged out, melting away the five iron pillars of Bakudō in an instant.
"So these are the only offensive methods you have?
I think I've roughly figured it out."
After three exchanges, a look of realization appeared on Ukitake Jūshirō's face.
A pair of fin-shaped Zanpakutō appeared, one in each of his hands, linked in the middle by a length of chain from which hung five rectangular tags.
"Flow, all currents—become my shield.
Shine, all lightning—become my blade.
Sōgyo no Kotowari (Twin Fish of Truth)!"
"So you finally released your Zanpakutō. The Lord says this is where the fun begins!"
Gantenbainne vanished from his spot with Sonído (Sound Step), reappearing right in front of Ukitake the next instant.
"Ryūhaken (Dragon Break Fist)!"
A barrage of punches hammered toward Ukitake Jūshirō.
But each blow was cleanly parried by the Zanpakutō in Ukitake's left hand.
"On the surface you're attacking with your fists, but unlike our pure Shinigami swordsmanship, your punches only function by relying on the spiritual pressure wrapped around your fists.
That's why, fighting me, you have no chance of victory."
As Ukitake explained, he thrust forward with the Zanpakutō in his right hand.
The spiritual pressure he had just absorbed from Gantenbainne's blows with his left-hand blade was instantly released through the right-hand blade. Channeled through the five tags between the twin swords—each representing a different property—Ukitake crafted an almost theatrical counterattack: a true dragon-shaped torrent of spiritual energy that lunged in and bit into Gantenbainne's waist.
"No! The Lord said you couldn't possibly be my match!"
Even now, Gantenbainne still hadn't grasped the true nature of Ukitake's Zanpakutō ability. He merely thought this was the result of his own carelessness.
So he grabbed the dragon-shaped spiritual construct with both hands, poured his spiritual pressure into it, shattered it with a Cero (Hollow Flash), then once again joined his hands together.
"Oh Lord, I beg you, forgive us!
Ryūshōken (Dragon Roar Fist)!"
The giant golden column of spiritual pressure roared forth once more, this time carrying all of its master's fury as it rushed to swallow the enemy ahead.
And then—nothing.
Gantenbainne watched, dumbfounded, as the beam he had unleashed with all his strength vanished into thin air with just the lightest tap of Ukitake Jūshirō's left-hand blade, as if it had never existed in this world at all.
"My Lord… can you tell me what just happened?"
He truly could not understand. His brain simply failed to process what he was seeing.
But the counterattack from Ukitake Jūshirō left him no time to figure it out.
As the very same Ryūshōken (Dragon Roar Fist)—now reflected back—crashed over him, Gantenbainne Mosqueda knew that when he met his Lord later, at least he'd have something to say.
"My Lord… I know now how it feels to be forgiven by you…
It hurts… a little."
Even as Gantenbainne was completely defeated, Starrk hovered in midair in the distance, utterly unmoved.
At no point did he feel even a flicker of sorrow for his "comrade's" death.
Or rather, in Starrk's eyes, these Arrancar—created from the imperfect Hōgyoku fragments Aizen had obtained—weren't qualified to be called his comrades at all.
He fully agreed with Aizen's description of them: a bunch of somewhat useful expendables, nothing more.
Just as Starrk was about to have a new Arrancar step up so he could further test this Shinigami captain's strength, the dawn sky split open.
A Senkaimon unfurled, and four Shinigami wearing captain's haori emerged.
"Oh~ yeah, this does look a bit rough, huh? But there are way too many Hollows in the Human World right now, don't you think?
You lot didn't… move here from Hueco Mundo, did you?"
With just one glance, Eighth Division captain Kyōraku Shunsui, straw hat on his head, started teasing in that lazy, frivolous tone of his.
But that was only his voice.
Ukitake Jūshirō, who knew Kyōraku well, could clearly see the faint anger burning in his friend's eyes.
Starrk tilted his body slightly to one side, slipping past the Kido (Demon Art)-formed blade Kyōraku Shunsui had swung without the slightest warning, and looked up without a trace of fear.
"Is this the welcome gift you Shinigami captains give?"
He didn't know how this captain had so quickly and accurately identified him as the leader of the Arrancar group—but Starrk had never feared Shinigami captains.
"So you're the one who attacked our Shinigami? State your name, Arrancar!"
Seventh Division captain Komamura Sajin fixed his gaze on Starrk, drawing his Zanpakutō as his spiritual pressure flared with the limiter released. His overflowing fighting spirit locked onto Starrk like a drawn blade.
Meanwhile, Second Division captain Soi Fon was the first to notice Shiba Kaien—temporarily abandoned to the side and left unguarded by Hollows thanks to Ukitake's arrival.
With a few swift Shunpo (Flash Step), she appeared at his side.
As for the last captain—the one who was the most out of sync with everyone else—Eleventh Division captain Zaraki Kenpachi dropped straight down from the Senkaimon in the sky, sword slung over his shoulder, and charged headlong into the group of Arrancar surrounding Ukitake Jūshirō without a word.
"Hahahahaha! Welcome gifts, whatever you wanna call it—this time, I'm hoping you guys can keep me entertained!"
"Looks like I'll have to play with you all properly."
Seeing the stances of the Shinigami captains, Starrk knew that a full-scale battle was now unavoidable.
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