Chapter 275

"Haruto! I'm so glad to see you again!"

Itegumo's entire face was almost pressed against Dankū.

If it weren't for the surging waves being completely covered by the white kimono, Haruto would definitely be reminded of certain bathroom scenes. avi.

Her previously icy expression, like that of a snow woman, was now flushed with a blush... making her resemble a lovesick woman in a way.

Not only that.

Haruto also keenly noticed that Suzumebachi, who was Tōzanshō, gave a perfectly standard tsundere hum when she saw Haruto.

The kind where you turn your head away blushing.

Volume 1: 164, This is our exhilarating combo attack!

Five minutes later.

Suzumebachi and Itegumo transformed into Zanpakuto and hung them back on Soi Fon and Isane's waists. They did not engage in any further battles after Haruto appeared.

Only...

Their expressions weren't exactly presentable— Haruto certainly wouldn't say anything like, "How did your Zanpakuto become like this?" After all, it had been so long, and the fact that they still hadn't calmed down was quite telling.

At this moment.

"Elder sister!"

Kiyone followed Kiyōnosuke Yamada upstairs.

"Kiyone!"

The arrival of her younger sister finally brought Isane back to normal, and Soi Fon quickly calmed down upon seeing outsiders.

Are you alright?

"Fine!"

With Haruto here, Isane's safety is no longer a concern. The main Kiyone's condition: her sword is at her waist, and she has no wounds, indicating that the battle just now didn't have much of an impact on her—many of the Fourth Division's Zanpakuto aren't combat-oriented, so it's perfectly normal for Kiyone to be able to break through.

In a sense, Kiyone's existence played a crucial role; otherwise, the number of Zanpakuto that "survived" would have been reduced by at least half.

"Your knife..."

"I won."

"Ah?"

Isane initially thought it was Lieutenant Yamada who helped, but unexpectedly, Kiyone resolved the trouble herself.

"The Tiger Cannon has turned into such a huge tiger."

Kiyone gestured with her palm to represent the image of a cute tiger in her hand.

"I know his abilities perfectly well, so naturally I subdued the tiger quickly!"

"..."

Kiyone explained it very simply.

However, within the entire Seireitei, even among the captains, there are very few who are confident in unleashing their Zanpakuto and winning the battle.

Some did it to minimize the damage their Zanpakuto would cause to the Seireitei, while others genuinely lacked confidence in dealing with their own Zanpakuto.

"Kiyone."

Haruto interrupted halfway through.

"I don't think I asked you what your Zanpakuto's ability is."

"The greater the difference between the target's size and my Tiger Cannon's, the stronger the Tiger Cannon's destructive power... With further training, I can control the size of the Tiger Cannon more flexibly, and its maximum power increase should be about 64 times."

Kiyone explained.

"... I see."

This was the first time Haruto had learned about Tiger Cannon's abilities. He had initially thought it was an offensive Zanpakuto, but it turned out to be somewhat related to the rules.

"Lieutenant Shihoin."

At this time.

Kiyōnosuke Yamada was waiting behind, finally had a chance to interject.

You can still call me Haruto, just like before.

"Then you can call me Yama... no, just call me Kiyonosuke."

Because his younger brother was also in the Fourth Division, it was somewhat inappropriate to address him by his surname, so Kiyōnosuke Yamada midway.

"Haruto."

Kiyōnosuke Yamada.

"I heard you went to the Kuchiki Clan last night?"

"Um..."

Haruto instantly understood what Kiyōnosuke Yamada; he was clearly aware of Kōga's Zanpakuto Muramasa's abilities.

However, Haruto doesn't want to make any definitive statements; he'll leave things a little ambiguous.

"Muramasa in trouble."

"I see..."

Kiyōnosuke Yamada clearly understood Haruto's implied meaning; as a long-established nobleman, he was extremely knowledgeable in this regard.

"Did the Kuchiki Clan ask you to solve this problem?"

"And Byakuya Kuchiki."

"Then I'll have to trouble you to hurry. The Fourth Division is in such a state... I'm afraid they won't be able to perform their duties properly for a long time."

Kiyōnosuke Yamada completely ignored Byakuya's presence.

It's not that I'm being disrespectful to the nobles, but even the Soul Reaper at Byakuya's age have their limits.

--Especially in terms of spirit and will.

There's really no need to worry too much.

Haruto chimed in with words of comfort.

"Um?"

Kiyōnosuke Yamada looked puzzled.

"Because it's just Soul Reaper with 'only' minor injuries..."

Haruto shrugged helplessly.

"I haven't seen many of these things on my way here."

Seventh Division.

Haruto mentioned "also" Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Clang!!"

The massive hammer used brute force to send Byakuya flying a great distance.

"Captain Aikawa!"

As soon as Byakuya landed, he shouted at Love Aikawa, the Captain of the Seventh Division, in the distance.

"Explain!!"

Love Aikawa's voice was also incredibly loud, and the distance did not affect their communication at all.

What is the power of your Zanpakuto!?

Because of their duties, the Seventh Division is located very close to the Sixth Division. Byakuya, who decided to follow Haruto's advice, rushed to the Seventh Division barracks, which was on fire everywhere, and then accepted Love Aikawa's plea for help. "Help me Zanpakuto for a while."

"Breath of fire!"

The collapsed buildings could not silence Love Aikawa's voice.

"Fire type?"

The situation of the Seventh Division is terrible.

If what Love Aikawa said is true, then probably half of them were destroyed by the Tengumaru in front of them.

"No, he can absorb the flames to enhance his power!"

"Fire immunity?"

"Almost!"

"Understood!"

Byakuya hadn't shouted that loudly in a long time.

Love Aikawa is busy rescuing people and "incidentally" dealing with the materialized Zanpakuto that is running around everywhere; the reason he did not confront his Zanpakuto is because of Tengumaru's ability: to absorb flames to enhance its power.

In order to complement his Zanpakuto.

Love Aikawa's specialty in Kidō is basically only fire-based, and after his Zanpakuto rebelled, he was almost completely unable to fight back.

If Byakuya had arrived a few minutes later...

The Seventh Division is probably going to be wiped out by now.

By the way...

Love Aikawa's Hakuda skills are not weak, but his Tengumaru, even without the enhancement of fire, is a rare type of powerful attack; absolutely no one would want to try how painful it would be to be hit head-on by that giant cactus-shaped spiked club.

Fortunately...

The sheer weight of Tengumaru inherently limits its speed.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

Byakuya decided to use speed to wage a war of attrition.

His Senbonzakura is a flying-type Zanpakuto, which is not good at direct attacks; since his opponent is so clumsy, he will use a thousand cuts to make him bleed to death!

"Whoosh!"

Fifth Division.

"Are you an idiot?"

Shinji Hirako's feet, Sakanade had already transformed back into the shape of Zanpakuto.

"Now that we know your abilities, we should definitely put on a mask beforehand."

Hirako flicked his foot, retrieving the Zanpakuto from his grasp... and casually removed the mask...

A clown mask.

This was just a cheap item bought at a festival, but after Miss Kirio modified it, it became a "gas mask" that can effectively block odors.

Actually.

Shinji Hirako kept this not to prevent Muramasa's abilities, but to prevent himself from inhaling the fragrance when training his Shikai —his Zanpakuto, Sakanade, was quite complex to control and belonged to the type that was very difficult to operate.

So.

It wasn't that Shinji Hirako didn't try hard; it's just that his sword was genuinely difficult to wield... a "poor student."

This is the kind of problem that comes with wielding a sword; being able to achieve Bankai is already done at the cost of becoming "bald."

Just then...

"Captain Hirako!"

Kaien Shiba suddenly appeared from the main entrance of the Fifth Division.

"Lieutenant Kaien?"