Did He Smile to See His Creation?

Did he smile at his work to see? -- William Blake, Songs of Experience (1794)

In the dense forest outside the Twelfth Division's base, the moonlight was fragmented by the layers of tree canopy, leaving only a few faint silvery-white spots of light falling on the ground covered with decaying leaves.

A group of Inner Court Corps soldiers, dressed in dark red kimono-style tops with black turtlenecks underneath and purple armor on their shoulders, stood back to back in a tight circle.

They were all wounded, blood seeping from the cuts on their foreheads, arms, and ribs, staining their deep red team uniforms.

Their expressions were solemn and hard, they held short knives and were wary of the menacing figures around them. At their feet lay many of their comrades, their fates unknown.

"You guys are really causing me trouble." A golden dot, no bigger than a palm, hovered outside the encirclement, its light flickering like a firefly in the night. "Why don't you just obediently let me control you?"

Upon closer inspection, the point of light turned out to be a tiny girl. She wore clothes with black and yellow patterns, had two long brown braids, and was equipped with a golden finger-shaped blade on her right arm—she was Fon Shaoling Zanpakuto, Suzumebachi.

No one from the Inner Court Corps responded; only heavy breathing echoed through the dense forest.

"I really don't know what you're thinking." Hovering in mid-air, Suzumebachi crossed, her disproportionately large eyes filled with bewilderment and frustration, "Is it worth risking your life just to get a message out?"

The silence remained as solid as a wall, until a tree shadow twisted silently, and a girl dressed in Ninja Outfit emerged from it.

Her body coalesced from the shadows like smoke, kneeling on one knee beside the Suzumebachi.

After seeing this, Suzumebachi asked, "Shadow Crossing, what was the result?"

Shadow Crossing shook his head, his lips pressed tightly together on the lower half of his face visible beneath the hood, clearly unwilling to give up. "One escaped, and now the army of the Soul Reaper is charging towards the Twelfth Division."

As soon as he finished speaking, the members of the Inner Court Corps in the encirclement almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, and a sense of relaxation emanated from their ranks.

Sensing the change in these auras, Suzumebachi's small face revealed undisguised anger. "What are you guys so happy about? Don't forget your lives are still in my hands!"

The squad leader of the Inner Court Corps looked up. His helmet had been broken in the previous battle, and there was a knife wound on his face that ran from his forehead to his jaw, with fresh scabs still visible.

But at this moment, a smile appeared on his lips, making him appear exceptionally composed amidst this desperate situation surrounded by layers of Zanpakuto: "Suzumebachi, as Captain Soi Fon's sword, surely knows this—for our Inner Court Corps, intelligence is everything."

He paused, gripping the short sword in his hand, already chipped in several places. "The Inner Court Corps, known as the fastest regular unit in Soul Society, exists for this very purpose. And now—" He looked around at his fallen comrades, at those still struggling to stay afloat, "Our mission is complete. You've lost!"

The squad leader's smile was like a switch; the other members of the Inner Court Corps suddenly realized something and also smiled.

These smiles, however, ignited a fire within the swarm of Suzumebachi: "What? I lost?! You guys are infuriating! What 'fastest regular force'? You're just a bunch of incompetent fools who can't do anything but run!"

The Suzumebachi raised its right arm, adorned with a golden finger glove, and pointed it towards the center of the circular formation. "Take care of them!"

At her command, the surrounding Zanpakuto rushed forward simultaneously.

Just at this critical moment, a dark figure arrived, and all the Zanpakuto that rushed forward were struck almost simultaneously, flying backward together.

"While the spirit of sacrifice is commendable—" a stern female voice rang out along with the thuds of the Zanpakuto falling, "But don't sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice. You are not disposable messenger tubes."

A white Captain's Haori floated down from above, and a slender hand caught it steadily.

Fon Shaoling landed between the Inner Court Corps and the Zanpakuto, the backless, sleeveless black outfit clinging to her body, her two long ponytails swaying slightly in the night breeze.

A small black cat was perched on her left shoulder, with faint red stripes visible on its belly. Her haori was spread out behind her, and the number "two" on its back was particularly striking in the moonlight.

"Captain Soi Fon!" the squad leader blurted out almost immediately.

"Soi Fon!"

The Suzumebachi gritted its teeth, while Shadow Crossing directly burrowed into the shadows, leaping out from the shadows of Fon Shaoling.

Fon Shaoling's golden eyes merely glanced at her before refocusing her attention on the position of the Suzumebachi.

"Back to the enemy!" Shadow Crossing, wielding two daggers formed from pure shadow, thrust them straight at Fon Shaoling's back. "Foolish!"

However, a figure flashed out swiftly, his short sword precisely blocking Shadow Crossing's twin daggers. "Shadow Crossing, your opponent is me."

Shadow Crossing's pupils contracted slightly. "Sakiro!"

Sakiro stood behind Fon Shaoling: "You can't pull a sneak attack on me."

When the squad leader saw Sakiro appear behind Fon Shaoling, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "The Deputy Commander of the Onmitsukidō... the renowned Sakiro, skilled in all martial arts!"

"The Inner Court Corps, step back." Without turning her head, Fon Shaoling slowly drew her Zanpakuto Suzumebachi her waist. The moonlight shone on the blade as it was drawn, giving it a chilling gleam. "The battle here will be taken over by the Onmitsukidō."

As she finished speaking, outside the encirclement of the Inner Court Corps by the Zanpakuto, dark figures silently emerged from the treetops, bushes, and behind rocks.

The Onmitsukidō, dressed in uniform black outfits with masks covering most of their faces except for their cold, piercing eyes, surrounded the Zanpakuto with ghosts that seemed to have materialized from the night.

Core area of Twelfth Division's base

Shunsui Kyōraku looked up at the Gray Barrier in front of him. The hemispherical barrier, constructed mainly of Sekkiseki, had been tightly closed ever since Muramasa broke into the core area, completely isolating the inside from the outside.

In order to respond to emergencies in a timely manner, Kyōraku set up his front-line command post here.

Jūshirō Ukitake approached from behind, his pale face still bearing the marks of lingering fatigue. "Kyōraku."

"How's the situation?" Kyōraku didn't turn around; his gaze remained fixed on the protective shield.

Ukitake opened his notebook and shared the battle reports collected by his subordinates:

"The various divisions are now in contact with and fighting the Zanpakuto in their assigned areas. The Zanpakuto of the Lieutenant level have also encountered their respective wielders. Matsumoto has successfully subdued Haineko, and although the battle on Abarai's side was extremely dangerous at one point, according to the news just received, they have also successfully subdued it."

He turned to the next page. "Hitsugaya- kun has already clashed with Hyōrinmaru and is currently in battle. The other Lieutenant — Shūhei Hisagi, Hinamori, and Kira —are all engaged in Zanpakuto, and the outcome is yet to be determined."

The ordinary soldiers of each team are also advancing in an orderly manner, gradually collecting the Zanpakuto that have been defeated.

Kyōraku nodded after listening, but his eyes, hidden in the shadow of his straw hat, remained fixed on the protective shield. "Ukitake, what do you think that Kurotsuchi guy is hiding—what could possibly make Muramasa to such lengths to attack the Twelfth Division?"

Ukitake put away his notebook, walked to Kyōraku's side, and looked up at the tightly closed protective barrier. "What do you think is the reason?"

Kyōraku tapped his chin lightly with his fingers. "If what Muramasa said last night was true, then the attack on the Twelfth Division is understandable— Captain Kurotsuchi is known for conducting unethical experiments, which is quite notorious within the Seireitei. His Zanpakuto probably wouldn't have been spared either."

"But..." Kyōraku changed the subject. "Judging from the current intelligence, Muramasa's talk about 'for the Zanpakuto's is mostly a smokescreen."

Why launch a surprise attack on the Twelfth Division? And even go to such lengths to attack the Inner Court Corps and cut off our communications just to succeed?

Ukitake stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You mean, there's something here that Muramasa is determined to get?"

"Not only that," Kyōraku turned around and pulled several sheets of paper covered in dense writing from his sleeve, "He attacked the Twelfth Division without bringing any core combatants, which is quite strange."

"Didn't bring core combat forces?"

"Yes." Kyōraku spread out the record sheet, "Apart from Lieutenant Isane of the Fourth Division who needs to stay here to oversee the medical position, and Vice-Captain Sasakibe of the First Division who is still recuperating, the other Lieutenant have all engaged in Zanpakuto, right?"

I just asked the Twelfth Division soldiers I rescued from the front lines. After Muramasa broke into the Twelfth Division, he gradually dismantled his own team until he finally broke into the core, at which point he didn't even have a single Seated Officer of Zanpakuto rank left.

"What's going on?" Ukitake.

Kyōraku then produced another stack of documents, a summary of the Zanpakuto abilities submitted by each division. "This is the information we collected today on all the Zanpakuto that can Shikai Soul Reaper. Combining this information with the video recordings from the Twelfth Division, most of the Zanpakuto that Muramasa brought into the core area are Zanpakuto with outstanding combat capabilities, but there isn't a single one at the level of a high- Seated Officer."

Ukitake posed a hypothesis. "Does he need a group of helpers who are neither too strong nor too weak?"

"Or perhaps—" Kyōraku also made his conjecture, "They have some ability, but even if they die, I won't feel sorry for them... cannon fodder."

Didn't you notice? The Lieutenant's Zanpakuto were all added to the battlefield later. With the Sekkiseki blocking their communication, they couldn't maintain contact using the Hell Butterfly. Whether these guys followed Muramasa's orders to ambush their wielders or simply acted on instinct, who knows?"

Ukitake gasped. "Kyōraku, you mean—"

Kyōraku raised his head and looked at the Gray Barrier. His usually lazy eyes were now filled with seriousness, and he had a bad feeling.

However, before he could voice this premonition, a chillingly profound Reiatsu exploded from the depths of the protective shield.

It passed through the barrier of the Sekkiseki, through layers of alloy walls, through ruins and dust, sweeping across the entire Twelfth Division's base as if it were empty.

A chill ran through him like an extremely thin ice needle, piercing his spine from Kyōraku's tailbone, making him feel cold all over.

Kyōraku's muscles tensed up instantly, as if an extremely cold hand had gripped his soul. His breath caught in his throat for a moment, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Ukitake's reaction was no better; his usually pale face was now almost deathly white.

"How is this possible!" Ukitake looked up at the protective barrier, his voice filled with disbelief. "This is through the Sekkiseki —how can this Reiatsu still be so terrifying! Who is the owner of this Reiatsu?!"

The moment he finished speaking, a dark blue spherical field lit up from inside the protective shield.

That domain spread outwards silently like mercury, rendering the protective shield made of Sekkiseki useless.

Kyōraku's scalp tingled, and the chill that had been creeping up his tailbone exploded at that moment.

He practically roared the order, his voice laced with Reiatsu: "Everyone, get out of that area!"

His voice, carried by Reiatsu, resounded like thunder throughout the entire area, even reaching Fon Shaoling in the dense forest.

Inside the medical station, Isane Kotetsu was stitching up a wounded soldier when she heard Kyōraku's shout. Almost reflexively, she stood up and directed the members of the Fourth Division to lift the stretcher, help the wounded soldier, and retreat as quickly as possible away from the blue area.

Kyōraku watched as all the figures withdrew from the area of effect of the barrier, his hands gripping the hilts of the two Zanpakuto at his waist, his knuckles white with clenching. "Ukitake, get ready. I have a feeling that what Muramasa is determined to get—is about to emerge."

Ukitake also drew his Zanpakuto, holding the blade horizontally in front of him. The two stood side by side, the Captain's Haori fluttering in the night wind.

Suddenly, countless crisscrossing blue rays of light silently flashed across that spherical area, as if someone had used an invisible knife to carve countless slits into space itself. The edges of the slits glowed with a ghostly blue light, which was particularly dazzling in the night.

The next second, a scene that would be unforgettable for all the Soul Reapers present unfolded.

Countless spatial rifts bloomed simultaneously within that spherical domain. These rifts were densely packed and layered, like a flower of death woven from pure void, silently blooming in the night.

The protective shield formed by the Sekkiseki couldn't even last a second, shattering like glass along with the space itself.

The fragments were propelled outwards by the repulsive force generated by the tearing of space, and the deafening explosion only reached everyone's ears when the fragments hit their faces.

Everything happened while everyone was on guard, but ended when everyone was distracted.

A Zanpakuto flipped down from mid-air, its tip pointing downwards, and landed squarely in the rubble in front of Isane.

Isane's pupils contracted sharply; she recognized the knife. How could she not?

She would never fail to recognize the rope wrapped around the hilt, the shape of the tsuba, and the unique patterns on the blade—it was the Zanpakuto of her most respected captain Retsu Unohana.

But the hand gripping the hilt of the sword was something Isane dared not look at.

Another heavy object landed behind Isane, making an extremely dull thud.

Isane stood frozen in place, her body trembling, her teeth chattering, and every joint making a very faint clattering sound.

She didn't want to turn around, didn't want to see what was behind her.

"Isane..."

The familiar voice made Isane turn around, only to see Retsu Unohana lying in a pool of blood, her white Captain's Haori mostly soaked in blood, her Shihakusho tattered and mangled.

Her forearms—below the elbows—were cleanly severed, as were her lower legs. The cuts were clean, and blood gushed out like a burst dam, forming a growing pool of dark red blood beneath her.

Unohana weakly uttered, "I'm sorry... I lost..."

Isane knelt beside Unohana, tears streaming down her face, dripping onto Unohana's blood-soaked Captain's Haori: "Captain Unohana!!"

That piercing scream, like a sharp blade, shattered the silence of the entire battlefield.

Kyōraku and Ukitake were among the first to rush to Unohana's side. When they saw Unohana's injuries, even the two veteran captains, who had experienced countless battles, were speechless for a moment.

Then Kyōraku practically the Roar at the still-stunned members of the Fourth Division around him, ordering, "Stop standing there! Quickly find Hana's hands and feet!"

The members of the Fourth Division snapped out of their daze and scattered into the ruins.

Isane knelt on the ground, forcing back tears and stopping her trembling hands. She took out hemostatic medicine and suture tools from the first-aid kit. "Captain... please bear with it a little longer." Isane bit her lip and began to treat Unohana's wound.

Beside Unohana, a member of the Fourth Division retrieved Unohana's right hand along with her Zanpakuto and handed it to Isane.

Kyōraku watched as Isane performed emergency surgery on Unohana. It was the first time he had ever seen Retsu Unohana so disheveled. In his haste, he had even called her by Unohana old name from their time at the academy.

However, before he could recover from the shock, Nanao's voice came from behind him.

"The Captain Kyōraku..."

Kyōraku turned around and saw Nanao holding a body in her arms, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling violently, tears dripping from her chin onto the figure in her arms.

That was Nemu.

Nemu's lower body was gone, and the cut was temporarily sealed by Nanao using the Kaidō, but the remaining Reishi circuits were still flashing at the edge of the cut.

Her usually expressionless eyes were now slightly closed, her eyelashes stained with dust and blood, and her chest was only rising and falling slightly. Even so, her arms were still tightly protecting her chest, and she was holding a ball of gelatinous substance that was still wriggling slightly in her arms.

Nanao raised her head, her usually calm face now streaked with tears. Her lips trembled, and her voice was hoarse and broken. "I just... when I came over, I saw Nemu... she was already..." She couldn't finish her sentence, but she hugged Nemu even tighter.

Nemu's eyelids twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her once empty eyes were now filled with exhaustion, yet she still tried to focus on Kyōraku's face. "Captain Kyōraku..."

With an extremely faint Nemu tremblingly handed the gelatinous mass in her arms to Kyōraku: "Lord Nebula... I'm entrusting this to you..."

Kyōraku reached out and took the still slightly wriggling gelatinous substance. He couldn't believe that the gelatinous substance in front of him was Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and even doubted whether Mayuri Kurotsuchi in this state was still alive.

The moment Nemu handed over the gelatinous substance, her head slumped down limply.

The members of the Fourth Division rushed up, took Nemu from Nanao's arms, and began to do their best to save her, taking out hemostatic agents, Reiatsu maintenance devices, and suture tools one by one and using them.

"The other members of the Twelfth Division also had their limbs severed to varying degrees—" Nanao stood before Kyōraku, her voice still trembling slightly, "Yet they are all still alive. The enemy who did this... is as if... toying with them..."

"Toying with someone? That's a very serious accusation."

A voice came from the epicenter of the disaster; the voice was extremely indifferent, and Kyōraku looked over.

In the center of the ruins that once housed the Core Research Institute of the Twelfth Division, stood two slender figures.

One was Muramasa, and the other—that man had a head of white hair sticking up, and wore a Blue Coat with ornate gold embroidery that gleamed faintly in the moonlight.

He held a Zanpakuto with a white hilt and hexagonal tsuba in one hand, his face almost expressionless, his eyes cold as ice.