"Lord Kariya! Someone is approaching the estate."
After Yoshino Sōma was taken away by Ichinose Maki and placed under guard, Sawatari — whose spatial abilities also gave him exceptional awareness of his surroundings — was the first to notice Ichigo's group closing in.
"Hmph! Someone actually has the nerve to come all the way here?"
Kariya was already seething after his argument with Yoshino, and the news only made his expression more vicious.
"Sawatari, can you tell who they are?"
"Yes, Lord Kariya."
Sawatari closed his eyes and focused on the faint traces of spiritual pressure steadily drawing closer.
After a moment, he opened them again.
"The one in front is Kurosaki Ichigo. There are five others accompanying him, most likely his companions. I can also distinguish two Shinigami spiritual signatures among them."
Being able to determine their identities and numbers from nothing more than the faint reiatsu leaking from a distance spoke volumes about the strength of Sawatari's perception.
"Hahahahaha!"
The moment Kariya heard that Ichigo had actually come to them, he paused in surprise before throwing his head back and laughing.
"I haven't even gone looking for those bastards yet, and they've delivered themselves right to my doorstep!"
Killing intent rolled off him.
"Excellent! Then none of them will leave this place alive today. I'll slaughter every last one of them and finally vent some of this anger!"
In his mind, he could already picture Ichigo and his companions becoming food for the Bounts.
...
"Kurosaki, this is the place."
Uryū stared seriously at the detector in his hand.
The point of light on its screen was flashing rapidly now.
Yoshino Sōma was somewhere inside the estate standing directly in front of them.
Kurōdo, however, suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable.
His brows drew together, and fine beads of sweat appeared across his forehead as he cautiously approached the property.
The closer he came, the more oppressive the atmosphere became, as though countless unseen eyes were watching them from inside.
"Ichigo…"
Kurōdo's voice trembled slightly.
"I think we came to the wrong place."
He'd already sensed the enormous danger hidden within the estate.
Several powerful Bount spiritual signatures were gathered inside.
"Huh?!"
Ichigo looked from Kurōdo to Uryū, completely baffled.
"Which one of you am I supposed to believe? One of you says this is definitely the place, and the other says we screwed up. Did we get bad information or what?"
"Ichigo, Ishida is right."
Ririn stepped forward before he could become any more confused. Her face looked grim.
"Kurōdo only said that because he got scared after sensing how many powerful Bounts are inside."
She swallowed.
"There's a very good chance this is their headquarters."
"What?!"
Orihime cried out in alarm.
They'd only intended to hunt down one or two isolated Bounts.
Somehow, they'd walked straight up to the enemy's front door.
What were they supposed to do now?
"So what if it's their headquarters?"
Ichigo reached back and pulled out Zangetsu.
"We'll figure it out after we get inside!"
Before anyone could stop him, he charged toward the closed doors like a runaway horse.
Uryū and the others stared after him in disbelief.
None of them had expected him to be this reckless.
He'd really just charged straight into the enemy stronghold without hesitation.
Was this guy fearless, or was he simply a fucking idiot?
BOOM!
Zangetsu crashed into the heavy doors, blowing them apart and sending splinters flying everywhere.
The spacious hall beyond was already packed with Bounts.
Every one of them turned toward the entrance in astonishment as Ichigo burst through like some battle god descending from the heavens.
For a moment, the same thought seemed to cross all their minds.
'Who the hell is this lunatic, and why is he so ridiculously aggressive?'
Ichigo had no interest in their opinions.
He raised Zangetsu without saying another word.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
A brilliant crescent of spiritual energy roared across the room toward the gathered Bounts with terrifying force.
There was, however, one rather obvious problem.
They were indoors.
Was unleashing something like that in a confined room really a good idea?
Sawatari reacted first.
He summoned his Doll, Baura, which appeared directly in front of the incoming attack through an eerie spatial shift.
With a distortion of space, the Getsuga Tenshō vanished.
A moment later—
BOOM!
The attack reappeared in the forest outside the estate, carving through a huge stretch of trees.
No one inside had been seriously injured.
And that was important.
This estate was the Bounts' carefully maintained headquarters.
If they allowed Ichigo to start throwing Getsuga Tenshō around freely, there might not be a headquarters left by the end of the night.
Only after launching the attack did Ichigo finally calm down enough to assess the situation properly.
He began counting the people inside.
One.
Two.
Three…
Eight.
There were eight of them.
Ichigo's brain immediately started calculating the balance of forces.
Their side was stacked too.
There was himself, Uryū, Orihime, Chad, Ganju, Hanatarō, Kurōdo, Noba, Ririn, and Kon.
Ten people altogether.
Eight against ten.
'We've got the advantage!'
Clearly, someone had kicked Ichigo in the head at some point, because there was no other reasonable explanation for how he'd arrived at such a spectacularly stupid conclusion.
A moment later, Uryū and the others rushed through the ruined entrance behind him.
Then they saw the eight Bounts waiting inside.
Everyone froze.
They exchanged uneasy looks, suddenly having no idea what to do.
The stalemate lasted only a few seconds.
Then everyone reacted almost simultaneously.
Each person picked an opponent and rushed forward, and the hall immediately erupted into chaos as a massive melee broke out.
There was, however, one figure who stood out rather badly among all the people charging into battle.
Kon.
He remained exactly where he was, waving his arms wildly while shouting encouragement at everyone else.
"COME ON! GET 'EM! KICK THEIR ASSES!"
With absolutely no combat ability of his own, the poor bastard had somehow become the group's full-time cheerleader.
...
Ichigo gripped Zangetsu and fixed Kariya with a sharp stare.
Elsewhere in the hall, Uryū was locked in a fierce battle with Sawatari, while Chad traded blows with Go Koga and Ganju fought Ryō Utagawa.
Hanatarō stood nearby clutching his sword, his entire body trembling as the chaotic battle unfolded around him.
Orihime, meanwhile, had fully settled into the role of the group's healer, constantly using Sōten Kisshun to treat her companions whenever they were injured.
The entire hall had descended into chaos.
The clash of weapons rang through the building as flashes of spiritual power erupted in every direction.
If the fighting continued at this intensity, there was a very real chance the estate itself would be torn apart.
Unfortunately for Ichigo's side, the situation was rapidly turning against them.
There might have been ten of them altogether, but only seven could actually contribute meaningfully in a fight.
It didn't take long before they found themselves steadily pushed onto the defensive.
"Damn it!"
Ichigo swung Zangetsu with both hands, forcing Kariya back just far enough to give himself a moment to breathe.
Only then did he have a chance to look around.
The situation was even worse than he'd expected.
He was struggling against Kariya, and everyone else was being pressured just as badly.
"RAAAAGH!"
Refusing to accept defeat, Ichigo gathered his reiatsu and tried once more to force out his Bankai.
His spiritual pressure surged around him.
But no matter how hard he pushed—Nothing happened.
Bankai still wouldn't activate.
Just as Ichigo and the others were on the verge of being overwhelmed, two figures suddenly appeared inside the estate.
Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng.
With two captain-class fighters joining the battle, the situation finally began to stabilize.
In truth, the two women had been following Ichigo's group for quite some time.
Moving like shadows, they'd kept enough distance that nobody in the group noticed their presence.
They hadn't done so because they wanted Ichigo to die.
Quite the opposite.
Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng had deliberately held back because they wanted to use the Bounts as opponents to sharpen Ichigo and his friends through real combat.
"Hahahahaha!"
The moment Kariya saw the two women reveal themselves, his eyes lit up with delight.
"I searched all over Karakura Town for you, and now you've come straight to me!"
His killing intent surged.
"Perfect! None of you are leaving alive today!"
In his excitement, he could practically already see them reduced to nourishment for the Bounts.
"Yoruichi-san!"
Ichigo's expression brightened immediately.
"What are you two doing here?"
Relief flooded through him.
Both Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng were captain-class fighters.
With the two of them here, their side's strength had just risen enormously.
"Ichigo, if we'd arrived any later, we might've been collecting your corpses."
Yoruichi gave him an exasperated look.
"You really are unbelievable. You found the Bounts' headquarters and your first thought was to charge straight inside? Do you think you have nine lives?"
She could hardly believe how recklessly he'd thrown himself into danger.
At the same time, however, even Yoruichi had to admit that the boy had guts.
Once she and Suì-Fēng entered the battle properly, the difference in strength became obvious.
The Bounts who'd been aggressively pressing Ichigo's group moments earlier suddenly found themselves forced back.
Against two genuine captain-class fighters, their previous advantage disappeared almost immediately.
Victory seemed to be swinging toward Ichigo's side.
Then something happened that nobody expected.
Ryō Utagawa, who'd been fighting Ganju, suddenly abandoned his opponent and redirected his attack toward—
Kariya.
Utagawa had harbored ambitions of replacing Kariya for a long time.
He wanted the position of leader for himself, and that meant Kariya had to die.
Now, with Kariya occupied by Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Suì-Fēng, Utagawa realized he might never get a better opportunity.
So without hesitation, he betrayed the Bounts and launched a killing blow at his own leader.
"Utagawa?!"
Kariya's eyes widened in disbelief.
Of all the people he'd expected to turn on him at this moment, he'd never imagined that one of his own followers would stab him in the back.
The attack came too suddenly for Kariya to properly defend himself.
Caught between Utagawa's strike and Yoruichi's attack, he chose the only available option—
He took Yoruichi's kick head-on.
Bang!
Kariya was launched several meters across the room like a broken kite.
The moment he hit the floor, he coughed up a large mouthful of blood.
His face went pale, and his entire body trembled from the impact.
Yoruichi's kick had done tremendous damage. His internal organs felt as though they'd been knocked out of place, and every movement sent another wave of pain through him.
"Well, this is interesting."
Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng both stopped attacking.
Neither had expected one of the Bounts to suddenly turn on his own leader in the middle of the fight.
This had just become considerably more entertaining.
"Ichinose!"
Kariya's eyes burned with rage.
"Kill him!"
Utagawa's betrayal had driven him past the point of rational thought.
He no longer cared about the Shinigami.
He no longer cared about Ichigo.
Right now, killing this traitor mattered more than anything else.
Ichinose Maki, who'd been standing to the side watching the battle until now, immediately drew his Zanpakutō when he heard Kariya's command.
He moved straight toward Utagawa.
"A Shinigami?"
Ichigo stared at him in disbelief.
The others were equally stunned.
The hooded man had been standing quietly among the Bounts throughout the entire battle, and none of them had expected him to actually be a Shinigami from Soul Society.
Ichinose slowly raised his head, allowing part of his face to emerge from the shadows beneath his hood.
Then his Zanpakutō flashed from its sheath.
Powerful reiatsu spread through the room.
"Shine brightly, Nijigasumi."
Rainbow-colored light erupted from the blade, filling the surrounding area with dazzling colors.
Then Ichinose vanished.
His disappearance was the result of Nijigasumi's unique ability.
By manipulating the refraction and reflection of light, the Zanpakutō could create numerous false images to confuse an opponent while concealing Ichinose's true location within the shifting light.
Most often, he simply bent the light around his own body, making it impossible for an enemy to accurately determine where he was standing.
Utagawa had barely registered Ichinose's disappearance when he suddenly screamed.
A deep slash had appeared across his chest.
Blood immediately poured from the wound.
He'd been cut before he even realized an attack was coming.
"How is that possible?!"
Panic filled Utagawa's face.
He wildly swung the sword formed from his Doll, Fried, slashing in every direction.
But every strike passed through empty air.
No matter how frantically he attacked, he couldn't touch Ichinose at all.
---------
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