"Our main objective now is to acquire Kuchiki Kōga's Zanpakutō."
"As for the man himself, capture him alive if we can. If not... then forget it."
Kenma used Shunpo, stepping onto the buildings of the Seireitei, moving in a straight line toward the Seijōtōkyorin.
Shisui and Toji followed closely behind him.
Glancing back slightly at Toji following behind, Kenma tossed the cloth bag to him.
"Toji, catch. When we see him, wait for an opportunity to strike."
Catching the bag, a slightly ferocious grin appeared on Toji's face. "Understood."
He hadn't expected to have a big job to do so soon after arriving in the world of the dead. Fine by him. He would use this opportunity to measure just how strong the powerhouses of this world truly were.
Beside them, Shisui looked at Toji, a trace of surprise on his face. "It's astonishing. You have no spiritual pressure at all, yet you can keep up with my and the master's Shunpo using only your physical abilities."
"My body is special, after all," Toji said with emotion, his gaze falling on Kenma's broad back up ahead. "Perhaps because my body was brought over as well, the Heavenly Pact I was born with still exists. My body has been converted into spirit particles now, but I still don't have any spiritual pressure. My physical strength is the same as before, so keeping up with your speed is no problem at all."
Kenma, at the front, couldn't help but nod slightly upon hearing this. With Toji's formidable physique and rich combat experience, entrusting this to him shouldn't be a problem.
Seeing Kenma being so cautious, Shisui was full of doubt. "Master, what ability does this Kuchiki Kōga have that makes you act so seriously? To the point where you have to forsake your Zanpakutō just to fight him."
A trace of apprehension appeared in Kenma's eyes. He said, "Kuchiki Kōga's Zanpakutō, Muramasa, arguably has the most threatening ability against a Shinigami."
"When the blade is released, Muramasa can brainwash the Zanpakutō in a Shinigami's hands, causing the Zanpakutō to break free from the Shinigami's control and attack its own master."
"It can even separate the Zanpakutō from the Shinigami's soul, allowing it to materialize in the real world, thereby stripping the Shinigami of their Zanpakutō's power."
Toji had only just arrived in Soul Society and didn't have a clear understanding of this situation, so his reaction wasn't strong.
But Shisui, after hearing about Kuchiki Kōga's Zanpakutō ability, felt a chill run down his spine.
A Shinigami's primary method of attack is their Zanpakutō. If the Zanpakutō rebelled, being suddenly betrayed by one's own weapon in the middle of a battle would be an absolute disaster.
No wonder the master was so apprehensive. For a moment, Shisui even felt that such an ability shouldn't exist in the world.
"With an ability like that, isn't he invincible?"
Hearing the astonishment in Shisui's voice, Kenma reassured him, "It's far from invincible. In the Seireitei, there are at least a few people who can deal with him."
"Besides that, as long as one seals their heart, they can block the influence of Muramasa's ability."
"But, Master..." Shisui's expression immediately tensed. "I don't know the secret art of sealing one's heart."
"It's fine, neither do I."
"Huh?" Shisui thought he must have misheard. He looked at Kenma ahead of him, his expression full of confusion.
"Master, you mean..."
"Don't worry, you can't even hear the voice of your Zanpakutō, so you won't be affected by his ability," Kenma said. "When we encounter him, just attack. Don't worry about anything else. I'm very confident."
Seeing Kenma so assured, Shisui couldn't help but relax. "I understand, Master."
As the three moved at high speed, they crossed one building after another, and their target building in the distance faintly came into view.
Just then, Toji suddenly spoke up: "Wait, I smell blood."
The three immediately stopped and dropped to the ground.
Sensing a familiar spiritual pressure from ahead, Kenma looked at Toji. Receiving the signal, Toji's figure flashed and disappeared from the spot.
Shisui had clearly sensed this spiritual pressure as well, and his heart stirred. "Master, is that Kuchiki Kōga?"
Kenma nodded slightly and led Shisui forward.
As they drew closer, the spiritual pressure became clearer in their perception.
Just at a corner, Kenma suddenly stopped.
A clear male voice came from ahead. "I didn't expect the next person I'd run into would be you, kid!"
The sound of footsteps echoed as a man's figure emerged from around the corner.
He wore a Shihakushō, a red fūkasu draped over his shoulder, and a kenseikan in his hair. His jade-green eyes reflected the figures of Kenma and Shisui.
A Zanpakutō was gripped in his hand, blood dripping from the blade onto the white stone ground.
Shisui quickly moved in front of Kenma, pulling out a kunai. His gaze was fixed tightly on the man who had suddenly appeared, and on the sword in the man's hand.
Kenma's brow furrowed, his expression extremely solemn. "What a coincidence, Senior Kōga. I didn't expect we'd meet here."
This man was none other than Kenma's target for this trip, Kuchiki Kōga.
Kuchiki Kōga sneered, "Heh, what coincidence? Finding this place so quickly only proves you've been watching me all along. Why say such things now? When did you become so boring?"
His gaze swept over Kenma and Shisui. Seeing that neither of them was carrying a Zanpakutō, he understood.
"From the looks of it, you're here to stop me? Know your place, Kenma. You are no match for me."
Kuchiki Kōga's voice was filled with contempt.
"Whether we stop you or not depends on your intentions, senior," Kenma asked. "May I ask what exactly you were doing earlier?"
"Just slaughtering some of the Seireitei's trash. Like those wastes in the Central 46, and those idiots from the Ise family."
Perhaps because he had just vented, Kuchiki Kōga was in a rather pleasant mood. His words betrayed an irrepressible excitement.
He looked at Kenma, only to see that Kenma's expression was unchanged; he showed none of the shock Kōga had expected.
"Kid, it seems you're not surprised by my actions?"
"You are who you are, senior. I anticipated this."
"Haha, not bad. It seems I underestimated you."
Kuchiki Kōga extended his hand, holding it open toward Kenma. "Kenma. Kenma of the Shihoin family. For the sake of you being my dear junior, I'll give you a chance."
"Come to my side, and I will show you a different Seireitei. A new world, full of peace, free of all that filth."
The expression of a man committed to a great cause is different from that of a man lost in confusion.
And the Kuchiki Kōga standing before Kenma was like someone who had experienced a profound enlightenment, his expression holding a faint, stubborn conviction.
But this rhetoric... "A new world? I must ask, senior, what kind of goal do you have in mind to make such a bold claim?"
"Don't tell me you also wish to stand atop the heavens?"
Kuchiki Kōga couldn't immediately discern the meaning behind Kenma's words, or what kind of emotion they held.
His eyelids lowered, then rose again, his gaze shining with the firm light of a gemstone.
"My goal has never changed: to achieve true peace."
"My power, my talent... they exist for this purpose."
"I may have strayed from the path before, bound by trivial things like nobility and family ties. But after slaughtering those corrupt members of the Central 46, I have awakened."
"The world was never meant to be so cruel, nor so filthy."
"This order that Yamamoto Shigokuni and my father uphold is nothing but a tool for those at the top to wantonly plunder and trample those below! It is historical dross that should have been swept into the trash heap long ago!"
"Although this is the world I have always lived in, it is not a world worthy of my heartfelt support."
"And now, I will bring true happiness to this world."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]