A Battle for Dignity

"Are the new test subjects ready?" A gentle voice rang out, but there was not a trace of warmth in the seemingly gentle tone. Sōsuke Aizen, a gentle yet ruthless person.

"Of course, Captain Aizen, I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs this time," Gin said with a hint of mockery. Who would be the victim of this experiment?

"Well then, let's wait and see..."

Recently, a major event has occurred in the previously peaceful Soul Society: a Hollow has appeared there. Its reason for being there is unknown, but none of the Soul Society who went to confront it survived.

Although the team consisted of ordinary members, their complete annihilation still enraged everyone. It was an insult that a Hollow dared to cause trouble in the Soul Society, in Seireien, and on their own territory.

Therefore, the Yamamoto school entrusted this matter to his disciple Jūshirō Ukitake, who handled it very reliably.

When Ye Yang heard about this, his heart skipped a beat for no reason. To be on the safe side, Ye Yang sent several Xing Jun Punishment Force to track the Thirteenth Division's reconnaissance team. This time, the person in charge of the reconnaissance mission was Kaien's wife Shiba Miyako.

For some reason, Ye Yang felt that this incident was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. This feeling of panic was like that of the live-fire exercise more than ten years ago. He had a feeling that something was going to happen.

"Brother Ye Yang, what's wrong? You seem distracted." Soi Fon asked Ye Yang curiously.

Ye Yang shook his head. "I don't know. I feel like something's about to happen. Haven't those Xing Punishment Force I sent out to track us returned yet? If they're gathering intelligence, it shouldn't take this long."

Just then, someone rushed in. It was one of the men Ye Yang had sent out, and he looked extremely disheveled. He entered with a panicked expression and said, "Captain, Vice-Captain, something terrible has happened! The Thirteenth Division's reconnaissance team has run into that Hollow! They're no match for it, so we went to help, but..."

"But what is it?"

"But we're also a weak opponent for that creature. The rest of the team members are holding it off for now. I'm coming back to report to the captain. Captain, vice-captain, hurry and provide support!"

Ye Yang's face was ashen; something had indeed gone wrong. "Where are they?"

"I'll take the captain and vice-captain with me."

Ye Yang grabbed him directly. His Shunpo was too slow. Ye Yang led him and had him point the way. They quickly arrived at the scene of the incident, but the scene was indeed a mess. There was still blood and torn clothing on the ground, as well as the remaining Zanpakuto.

Soi Fon quickly caught up and asked, "How did it go?"

Ye Yang pointed to the ground. "We're still a step too late." Then Ye Yang turned to the team member who had returned to report the news and asked, "Where's Du? Did you see Shiba Miyako, the Third Seat in charge of the Thirteenth Division?"

"Ah, I remember her. She's amazing. It was she who bought me time by fighting that Hollow, which gave me the chance to go back and report to the captain and vice-captain."

Ye Yang frowned, searching through the scene for something. Soi Fon asked, "Brother Ye Yang, what are you looking for?"

"You recognize her Zanpakuto, her Zanpakuto too. See if you can find it."

However, after searching for a long time, the two still couldn't find them, and it was already dusk. "They shouldn't have been killed yet, so..." Ye Yang suddenly remembered and shouted, "Oh no! Soi Fon, you go back to your squad first, I'll handle this!"

Soi Fon really wanted to ask Ye Yang to join her, but seeing Ye Yang's determined gaze, she said, "Okay, but you have to promise me you won't do anything reckless, and remember to come back."

Ye Yang nodded, then Shunpo towards the Thirteenth Division. "Kaien, you'd better wait for me!"

That night, Kaien stood up as she watched her fallen teammates, her fists clenched tightly. "Captain, she shouldn't be far."

Ukitake advised, "Keep it from Kaien. You don't yet know the enemy's capabilities."

But Kaien's tone was filled with determination. "Even so, I'm going. That guy has tarnished her dignity. Please let me go, Captain!"

After a long silence, Ukitake finally spoke, "I understand. I'll go too, and Kuchiki will come along as well." He then turned to the two Fourth Seat, saying, "This place is yours to guard. Be on high alert!"

"Yes!"

When Kaien arrived, she surprised them greatly. "Ye Yang?" Kaien couldn't help but ask.

Before them lay Ye Yang confronting the phantom, with Ye Yang lying quietly beside him. Kaien rushed over and picked up Du's body, only to find that Du showed no signs of life.

Ye Yang explained, "It's alright. I've only temporarily sealed Du's body, putting her into a state of suspended animation. This will keep her alive, but without finding a suitable method, it will still be useless."

Kaien breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was hope, he wouldn't give up! "Thank you, Ye Yang. Leave the rest to me, Captain. I hope I can handle it alone!"

Ye Yang nodded. "Yeah, be careful, this Void is no simple creature!"

Ukitake thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

Kaien stepped forward to confront the Void. "Shall we start with you, kid?" the Void asked.

"You bastard, how many Death Gods have you eaten so far! Have you ever regretted it?" Kaien said with a heavy expression.

"What a stupid question! I had the same intention as you. How could I possibly have a night where I could eat Death without regret? Even just now! If only I had used that female Death a little more! Damn it! If it weren't for that kid, I would have eaten her long ago! But she can never go back to what she was before! Hahaha..."

Enraged by these words, Kaien drew his Zanpakuto Shunpo, severed both of the Hollow's arms. Kaien appeared above the Hollow, grabbing one of its tentacles with one hand and Zanpakuto to the sky with the other, shouting, "Let the water and sky reverse— Nejibana!"

But something unexpected happened: instead of being released as he expected, Kaien's Zanpakuto into pieces and then vanished into nothingness.

"What!" Kaien exclaimed in surprise, only to hear the ghostly figure say, "You've fallen for my trap! The person who touched my tentacles will lose their Zanpakuto! Prepare to die, brat!"

"Lord Kaien!" Rukia for her sword, but Ukitake stopped her. "If you go to save Kaien now, what will happen to his dignity?"

"But... compared to life, dignity..." Rukia's words were interrupted by Ukitake, "There are two kinds of battles: one is to fight to protect life, and the other is to fight for dignity. Kaien is fighting for dignity right now!"

Kaien roared, fighting the phantom with her bare hands. Ukitake's words were the reason why Ye Yang agreed to let Kaien fight alone, but Ye Yang wasn't so rigid; he would still step in at crucial moments.

Just then, the Void suddenly stopped. In that instant, something emerged from the Void and burrowed into Kaien's body. Ye Yang cried out in alarm, but it was too late; the Void had already entered Kaien's body.

"Lord Haiyan!" Lucia shouted, but she did not get the answer she had received before. At this time, Haiyan had been controlled, and her ferocious face was strange.

He jumped directly in front of Rukia to attack, but Ukitake blocked it. "Run! Kuchiki! Hurry! Do you want to die?"

Rukia was so frightened that she didn't know what to do, so she quickly ran away.

"You're thinking about how to get it out of this guy's body, aren't you? It's useless! I am a spirit, and he is a spirit too. This is a fusion of two spirits, they can never be separated!"

Ukitake's eyes flickered, preparing to make a move, when Ye Yang's voice came. "That's not necessarily true, Bakudō #61 - Rikujōkōrō!" Instantly, six light plates appeared from six directions, binding it.

The phantom kept trying to break free, but Ye Yang added a fully chanted Kidō, completely sealing its movements. This time, it couldn't even speak.

"Captain Ukitake, can you give it to me? I think I still have a way to rescue Kaien," Ye Yang said to Ukitake.

Upon hearing that Ye Yang had a solution, Ukitake had no reason to refuse. "Lieutenant Ye Yang, I'm entrusting Kaien to you."

Ye Yang took it and the sealed creature directly back to the Shihoin Clan, unleashed his Bankai to trap them within the Bankai dimension, and then released its Kidō. "Kid! I admit you're strong, but nobody's going to get me out of this guy's body!"

"Really? Then let's give it a try."

"What are you up to!"

"Spatial Seal! Absolute Stillness!" Ye Yang uttered a few words softly, and immediately became unable to move. His expression remained unchanged on his face, as if time had frozen at that moment, and even the fusion of his spiritual body stopped.

Ye Yang then began to separate Xu's spirit from Kaien's spirit. In fact, the separation was not difficult, because the most violent method was all that was needed. He used a seal to fix the part of Xu's spirit in place, and then slowly separated it from Kaien's spirit.

Fortunately, their fusion was in its early stages; otherwise, no one could have saved him. However, there was a drawback to this: their spirits had already partially merged. Separating this part might have unforeseen consequences for Kaien, so the only option was to preserve it and save his life for now.

The spiritual bodies were quickly separated, and the part of the spirit that belonged to the void was directly killed by Ye Yang. Looking at Kaien and Du, who were sealed, this was all Ye Yang could do.

Both are manageable. Ye Yang rescued her just as Xu was about to devour her; Xu hadn't merged with her, so healing her injuries was all that was needed. Kaien, however, was different; she contained Xu's spirit, meaning he was the only one who could help her...()