News of Kenpachi Zaraki's defeat quickly spread throughout Soul Society, a truly astonishing result. However, after learning that Kenpachi Zaraki had failed because he was Sealed Blade, he couldn't use his release technique, which calmed everyone down somewhat.
But it was still incredibly shocking, after all, it was Kenpachi Zaraki. Even without a solution, what exactly is Kenpachi Zaraki's solution?
In reality, most people don't know what Captain-level solution is unless they've encountered a Captain who has used their solution. That's why everyone knows the Kuchiki Clan's solutions, but nobody knows the Zaraki family's, and even many Captains don't know Soi Fon's solution.
After Kenpachi Zaraki was sent to the Fourth Division, the obvious effect of his Kaido was clear to anyone. A group of Punishment Force found Jun and questioned him about why he had Kaido.
"Why would I know how to Kaido?" Chun had a terrible impression of the Punishment Force, after all, they were a bunch of useless people who only knew how to cause trouble and target their own people. "I'm the leader of the Expedition team, and I didn't know how to use the Dao originally. But about two hundred years ago, during a mission, my team was almost wiped out, and the girl in the Fourth Division was seriously injured. When everyone was waiting to die, the girl in the Fourth Division decided to teach me how to use the Kaido, and that's how I learned it."
"Is that so?" The Punishment Force were speechless. Only then did they remember Chun's identity and the fact that the Expedition force of over seven hundred people was on a completely different level from the Soul Reapers they usually faced. So the group of Punishment Force immediately cowered, thanked him, and left.
Not long after, Soi Fon brought news of Yoruichi's invasion, revealing that she had been defeated and let Yoruichi escape. This outcome was entirely unsurprising; no one was surprised by the result of the battle between Soi Fon and Yoruichi. Those who understood the power of the Four Great Noble Clans knew it all too well; those who didn't were simply at a disadvantage.
For example, in the original work, Kenpachi Zaraki was always stirring up trouble, but he rarely provoked Byakuya, knowing he was no match for him. Later, in Hueco Mundo, he teamed up with Byakuya to defeat the useless Yammy Espada, Zaraki came to respect Byakuya greatly.
The reason is simple: this is an evenly matched opponent, plus there's some elemental advantage/disadvantage, making it the kind of opponent you can't beat.
The Punishment Force resumed their investigation into Ichigo Kurosaki's whereabouts, quickly leading them to Gin Ichimaru. Gin Ichimaru revealed that the Shopkeeper had suddenly appeared and rescued Ichigo, thus informing Soul Society that Kisuke Urahara had also returned.
But it's pointless. The Shihoin Family's secret training base is located inside the mountain below Sōkyoku Hill, above the Shin'ō Academy. It's been there for countless years, yet no one has discovered it, so it remains undiscovered to this day.
The original work says that this training base was built by Kisuke Urahara. I can only say, where's his brain? They even showed a scene of the Shopkeeper, Childhood Friends's childhood Yoruichi, training there together. There's only one question about that.
Did Kisuke Urahara learn Sōdō at a very, very young age? Was he born with Sōdō?!
Even if building this Training Ground doesn't require Sōdō, does that mean the Shopkeeper has been chiseling mountains every day since he was a baby, just to create this Training Ground for him and Yoruichi to train together?
So how could this Training Ground possibly have been built by Kisuke Urahara!? This is the secret training base passed down through the Shihoin Family, known only to the Shihoin Family.
Now that the Shopkeeper has taken Ichigo away, Ichigo's safety is no longer a concern. Jun, with numerous spies throughout Soul Society, hasn't found Sado. Meanwhile Uryū and Orihime are teetering on the edge of death.
Chun placed one of the beads from the bracelet to his lips, activating his Spiritual Power, and said, "Aozumi ~ There are two little guys who have wandered over near your house. You and Kōga should go and take care of them."
"Hi, Master, Ah, this Reiatsu..."
"You're right, Byakuya found it before you. Go quickly!"
Hi hi~
With Uryū and Orihime's safety no longer a major concern, Sado, on the other hand, is truly interesting. It's no wonder he comes from the powerful Shihoin Family; the secrets of such a super-family, passed down for thousands of years, are certainly not something a nobody like Chad, who has only lived in Soul Society for a few hundred years, could possibly uncover.
There's no way of knowing Sado's current location. Jun thinks it's most likely in the Abandoned District area, because the Soul Reapers don't go there very often, and Jun has very few informants there.
Jun was almost back at the team when he saw Kaien, his face ashen, parading the bound and Ganju through the alley. Kaien had already brought his younger brother from the Seventh Division and was heading to the Thirteenth Division's cell.
"Hey~ what's going on with you two?"
Jun went up to greet them. When Ganju saw Jun, his eyes lit up, and before Kaien could speak, he cried out, "Uncle Shimizu, save me! It hurts so much!"
He'd barely finished speaking when Kaien punched him so hard he was knocked to the ground. "You bastard, you still have the nerve to ask for help?!"
"Haha, what's wrong?"
Chun pretended to be completely unaware, which finally gave Kaien an outlet for his frustration. He dragged the Ganju from the ground to Chun and complained.
"Uncle Shimizu ~, you have no idea! That brat actually dared to get involved with the Ryoka and even helped them cross the Seireitei!"
"Oh~, so it's your family's technology. I knew it wasn't so easy to get into the Seireitei. Haha, in that case, Kūkaku can't escape either."
Upon hearing this, Kaien's face darkened, her whole body trembled, and she gritted her teeth, "Kūkaku! I'll go back and have everyone give her a good talking to!"
"Haha," Jun laughed heartily, "This is your family matter, but I don't think Kūkaku will listen to you. Protect your younger brother; things have been a bit off lately."
Kaien frowned upon hearing this. "Uncle Shimizu, what do you mean by this?"
Chun looked up at the sky and said, "The atmosphere was pretty much the same five hundred years ago. You can go ask your captain."
After saying this, Jun left, leaving Kaien deep in thought. Even when Ganju lay on the ground, no one was willing to interrupt Kaien's contemplation. At that moment, Kaien dragged Ganju to the Thirteenth Division. Kaien's treatment of his younger brother showed his true integrity; Ganju had genuinely angered him.
Rewinding to about ten minutes earlier, in the northern wing of the Seireitei's grand noble residences, there were two large mansions: the Kuchiki Clan and the Tachikawa Family. The Kuchiki Clan's Shihoin were so enormous that Shiba Miyako, who later joined the family, became Kuchiki neighbors.
After Uryū and Orihime fell to this level, they immediately knew that these houses belonged to high-ranking nobles. Having come from the Shihoin Family themselves, they were well aware of the status of these houses. So, after exchanging a glance, they understood each other perfectly and knew without a word to run.
When high-ranking nobles encounter such situations, it's very similar to what happened five hundred years ago, as Chun mentioned; in fact, it's always been this way. Unless it's a situation like Thousand-Year War, high-ranking nobles don't get involved; this is called self-preservation.
Therefore, Uryū and Orihime were not in much danger. After landing from the Tachikawa Family's side, they saw the alley between the Tachikawa family's residence and the Kuchiki Clan, and immediately ran into it.
"Uryū ~ Let me help you treat your wound," Orihime said as she ran, noticing that Uryū was bleeding profusely. He was injured in the ribs, and half of his body was covered in blood.
Uryū was a man of his word when it came to men. He gritted his teeth and tugged at the bandage, wincing in pain, but looking a little better. "Keep running, a little while longer won't make a difference."
"Okay!" Orihime didn't object, and the two quickly retreated.
However, as they ran, Orihime noticed that Uryū was slowing down. Turning around, she saw that Uryū's expression was off.
"Uryū! What's wrong with you!?"
"I," Uryū tried to be defiant, but he couldn't muster the courage now. He opened his mouth, only to be met with a sudden wave of dizziness, and his legs went weak.
Fortunately, Orihime rushed over, and Uryū collapsed into Orihime arms. At that moment Orihime noticed that Uryū's face wasn't a sickly pale white, but a far more Kongbu silvery-white. Even a fool could see that something serious was wrong.
"Uryū, what's wrong with you!?" Orihime wasn't going to just ask; she immediately created the Sōten Kisshun. Since things were already like this, she might as well use this world to heal Uryū.
Uryū felt better the moment he was enveloped by the Sōten Kisshun. He thought it was just his imagination because he knew he loved Orihime, and after Orihime did what she did for him, Uryū felt a surge of energy.
But that's not actually the case; the Sōten Kisshun is indeed healing him, regardless of that for now.
Uryū used the strength he could muster to push Orihime, "Run! It's dangerous here!"
"I refuse!" Orihime said firmly. "Of the two of us, Uryū, you're the combatant. My fighting ability is limited, so if I don't heal you, there's no point in me leaving alone."
Upon hearing this, Uryū's gaze dimmed slightly. "I'm sorry, I've become a burden to you."
Orihime shook her head. "If anyone's a burden, it's me. If my combat strength weren't so low, Uryū, you might not have gotten hurt just now."
"Haha," Uryū forced a laugh, "If we keep talking like this, it'll never end."
"Hehe, yeah, that's why we're comrades. Neither of us is a burden to the other. Uryū, you're not allowed to say that again, okay?"
Just then, a third voice suddenly appeared, clear and detached, "Are these your last words?"
The two turned their heads gratefully and saw a man dressed in all white standing not far from them, his bright captain's cloak and the Kenseikan on his head. Uryū blurted out...
Byakuya Kuchiki
Byakuya frowned. "You actually knew about me? Hmph! So there really is a traitor in Soul Society?"
"Oh, yes, the mole is Yoruichi Shihōin," Uryū said breathlessly.
Upon hearing this, Byakuya frowned even more deeply, but said nothing. Byakuya already knew about the Ryoka a few days ago when the four Ryoka left the Shihoin Family, so there was nothing more to say. He could only conclude that Uryū was very intelligent and hadn't fallen for their trap easily.
Then these two were useless to Byakuya, and he slowly drew his Zanpakuto.
Byakuya in this timeline is very different from the one in the original work. He has only inherited the family and the squad for a little over ten years, his parents are still alive and well, and he has a lot of unpleasantness with his father because of his wife.
Therefore, Byakuya in this timeline carries a heavy burden; he desperately wants to achieve great things, so killing the Ryoka is clearly a good thing. Thus, Byakuya is truly determined to kill him at this moment.
But just as Byakuya was about to fully draw his sword, a hand suddenly appeared and pressed the sword back down. Aozumi's face turned ashen, and he cursed...
"You Byakuya Kuchiki! What else do you want?! You abandoned your family, you Rukia, and now you want to kill Rukia's friends?! Well, I'm telling you I'm going to save Rukia, you might as well kill me too!!"
"Little Aunt"
Byakuya was incredibly conflicted, but Aozumi gave him no chance, helping the two up and saying with a grin, "You two are Rukia's friends, right? Our Rukia is truly blessed to have friends like you who would risk their lives for her. On behalf of the Kuchiki Clan, I'm very grateful to you. It's dangerous here, come in with me. No one in the Kuchiki Clan dares to investigate, as long as that certain traitor doesn't speak up."
Byakuya was glared at fiercely Kōga Aozumi. Xianghe finally arrived late, and seeing the situation, helped her carry the Uryū inside, patted Byakuya's shoulder, and said nothing.
In the end, only a bewildered Byakuya was left, staring at the sky and questioning the meaning of life.
Am I really so heartless?