The Birds Have Returned to Their Nest, and I Must Seek My Own

The birds are silent in their nest, /And I must seek for mine.--William Blake, "Songs of Innocence" (1789)

After the meeting, Marechiyo Ōmaeda immediately deployed all available personnel from the Patrol Corps.

He stood on a nearby high platform, holding the descriptive document that Sylvan had given him.

"A gigantic Golem?" He glanced down at the few lines of text on the paper. "Rook, roughly three to five meters tall, resembling a Golem?... How am I supposed to find this with such a vague description? What is a Golem? How are we supposed to understand such a Western Branch Bureau term?"

He folded the paper, stuffed it into his pocket, and rubbed his temples.

"If it were something that big and strangely shaped, how could we not have noticed it if it had swaggered into Seireitei?" he muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers searching the area below. "We haven't found it yet. Either it fell somewhere outside the Seireitei, or... that guy's information was wrong."

But there was no other way. Fon Shaoling had taken on the task in front of all the team captains, so they had to dig the target out, even if it meant digging three feet into the ground.

"Lieutenant!" A Patrol Corps Shunpo from afar, landing beside him and saluting. "The third search of the compound is complete. We've searched every unit's quarters, storerooms, underground facilities, training grounds, even the noble's villa... everywhere we could think of, but we haven't found the target matching the description."

Marechiyo Ōmaeda nodded, his expression not good. "I understand. Have the brothers come back and rest. Prepare for one last search. If there's nothing there, let's call it a day."

He turned to leave, then suddenly stopped. "Oh, right, organize a special task force to patrol outside the palace and see if anything strange has happened in the Rukongai."

"Yes!"

At this moment, in a secluded corridor of the Fourth Division, Sylvan was leaning against the railing, gazing at the lingering sunset on the distant horizon.

Oren lay on the railing beside him, his tail swishing leisurely, his silver cat eyes half-open and half-closed.

"Sylvan, how do you know what Rook looks like?" Oren's voice came through the Soul Link. "When we were separated, our physical forms hadn't even taken shape yet. You're not just spouting nonsense to that fat guy, are you?"

Sylvan picked up his water glass, took a sip, and instead of answering, asked, "Oren, do you feel like we've met before?"

Oren raised his tail, turned around, and looked Sylvan, Rain, and himself up and down before tilting his head.

Rain perched on Sylvan's shoulder, preening the feathers at the base of his wings with his beak, his beak opening and closing with a hint of helplessness. "Can't you look back at your past life memories?"

Oren rolled over and lay on his back on the railing, revealing the pale red markings around his belly. His tail dangled from the edge of the railing, swaying back and forth. "My memories of my past life are so chaotic, let whoever wants to flip through them do so. I care more about the present."

Seeing Oren's lazy demeanor practically oozing from his pores, Rain clicked his tongue and said, "Our current appearance is too similar to V. By that logic, Rook's form should be closer to Nightmare, if not exactly the same, then pretty close."

Sylvan looked up at the darkening sky, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"Looking at it this way, we really do seem like a bunch of bootlegs."

Before the words were finished, a lazy voice came from above.

"Oh? Whose pirated copy?"

Sylvan jumped in fright. "Who!"

He looked up abruptly and saw a purple ponytail hanging down from the eaves. Then a bronze-skinned face appeared. Yoruichi Shihōin hand supporting herself on the edge of the eaves, smiling and revealing a set of white teeth.

"Oh. You're called Sylvan now, right? I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd drop by." She flipped down and landed lightly on the corridor floor, without making a sound.

"Mr. Yoruichi?" The moment Sylvan saw the purple ponytail, he knew who it was.

"I just heard about your situation from Ukitake and the others. It seems you're recovering quite well." Yoruichi reached out and patted his shoulder.

"Why is Yoruichi- san here?"

"It's nothing serious." Yoruichi scratched the back of her head. "I was planning to check on the Second Division first, then come directly to headquarters to find Kyōraku and the others. But I ran into a little trouble on the way, which delayed me a bit."

Sylvan noticed that Yoruichi's hand was wrapped in a bandage to stop the bleeding, and there were several fine knife wounds on her bare forearm. Judging from the location and angle, they were clearly inflicted by someone at close range with a sharp weapon.

For Yoruichi Shihōin to be forced into this situation in close combat, her opponent must be no ordinary opponent.

But Yoruichi clearly didn't want to talk about this with Sylvan. She just smiled and changed the subject, reaching out to pat Oren's head and then teasing Rain.

Rain turned his bird's head away from her fingers, his silver pupils filled with displeasure.

Yoruichi ignored her and laughed even harder, kneading Oren until he snored.

"Mr. Yoruichi, you specifically struck up a conversation with me, it couldn't really be just a coincidence that you were passing by, could it?" Sylvan asked.

Yoruichi paused in stroking the cat, looked up at Sylvan, and said with a hint of mockery, "What are you saying? Can't I care about you? You were trained by us, after all, you're practically my apprentice. Everyone at Urahara Shop is worried about you."

She paused, her gaze falling on Sylvan's face, her expression becoming slightly more serious. "Originally, I wanted to follow Urahara's wishes and bring you back to Urahara Shop so that Urahara could see if he could help you recover, but it seems you have your own way."

Sylvan nodded, Yoruichi looked at him intently. Yoruichi saw no sign of guilt, which reassured him. "It's good Yoruichi you know what you're doing. If you really have nowhere else to turn, come to Urahara Shop. The adults—that's what they exist for."

Sylvan muttered, "I'm almost thirty, not a child anymore."

Yoruichi grabbed his head and started rubbing it hard. "Thirty is nothing! Compared to us, you're still young!"

Sylvan's hair was ruffled so much that it stood on end, and he finally managed to break free, but Yoruichi had already turned around and was about to leave.

"Mr. Yoruichi, is there something urgent?" Sylvan asked as she walked away.

Yoruichi paused, not turning around, but gently pressing her temple with her finger. "Yeah. There's still some stupid kid trying to show off. I need to investigate what that brat is trying to prove. These young people nowadays, none of them want to consult with adults before making decisions..."

There was a hint of anger in her tone, which Sylvan caught, and he couldn't help but wonder—who was this brat who could make Yoruichi?

Meanwhile, in front of that "brat" who infuriated Yoruichi, another gathering, unknown to outsiders, was unfolding.

Deep inside a cave in Seireitei, the lights were dim.

In the cave's main hall, there was a huge stone platform, around which sat several figures, all of whom were materialized versions of their Zanpakuto. The atmosphere was somewhat somber.

"Hey, isn't this our most successful Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura?"

Kazeshini propped his legs up on the stone platform, the chair creaking as he looked towards the cave entrance, raising an eyebrow and greeting the two who had just entered.

Senbonzakura ignored him. Dressed in his samurai attire and wearing a mask, he calmly walked to an empty seat and sat down.

Byakuya Kuchiki followed behind him, his expression cold and stern, standing silently without uttering a word.

"Tch, still the same old story, always ignoring people." Seeing this, Kazeshini became even more arrogant. "Is making your master submit so great? Which Zanpakuto that's left here didn't defeat its master? What are you so cocky about?"

Senbonzakura remained silent.

Kazeshini's anger flared up. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Where were you last night when everyone was fighting Soul Reaper? You only come back now, putting on this arrogant act, who are you trying to fool!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and he had already stood up.

At this moment, Gonryōmaru, who was sitting on the other side, spoke up, "Alright, alright, Kazeshini, calm down. Senbonzakura, too, you didn't appear in the battle Sequence last night, resulting in heavy losses of Zanpakuto. We need an explanation."

Senbonzakura finally spoke, but her voice was extremely cold. "I don't need to explain anything to the weak."

"Who are you calling the weakling!" Kazeshini grabbed the two large scythes lying beside him.

"Stop, everyone."

The sound came from the passageway on the second floor of the cave.

Everyone looked up and saw Muramasa emerge from the darkness. His excessive fighting and exertion last night had made it difficult for him to suppress the primal energy within him, and he was finally able to move around now.

"Muramasa!" Tobiume immediately ran over, wanting to help him up.

"I'm fine, Tobiume, I just used up a lot of energy yesterday." Muramasa didn't accept her help and just waved her off.

He walked to the main seat on the stone platform, his gaze slowly sweeping over the remaining Zanpakuto. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Everyone, Senbonzakura was not on the battlefield yesterday because I entrusted her with an important mission. If anyone has a grudge, blame me."

Kazeshini gritted his teeth, and seeing Muramasa personally defending Senbonzakura, he could only snort coldly, put away his scythe, and turn his face away.

Muramasa looked at the Zanpakuto of the Zanpakuto before him and slowly said, "Last night we suffered heavy losses, losing many comrades, but we did not leave empty-handed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air above the center of the stone platform suddenly vibrated violently.

A blade tip suddenly shot out from nowhere, then the blade slashed downwards, tearing open space like a curtain. From the crack, a deep blue Reiatsu poured out like a tsunami, causing every Zanpakuto present to shiver involuntarily.

A white-haired man stepped out of the crevice. He wore a Blue Coat with gold embroidery that shimmered faintly in the dim light. It was Jiku'a.

Muramasa's voice rang out at the opportune moment. "Let me introduce you all, this is our powerful ally— Jiku'a."

Tobiume strongly disliked this Reiatsu Reiatsu. The cold will within it filled her with fear and disgust. Her small face tightened. "You! Don't use the Reiatsu Muramasa gave you for such meaningless things! Give me a taste of my power later, when you can truly be self-sufficient!"

Jiku'a glanced at her, then his Reiatsu suddenly surged, pressing directly down on Tobiume.

Tobiume didn't even have time to react before she was pressed to the ground, her Spirit Body squeezing and creaking.

"You seem to have misunderstood something." Jiku'a slowly walked up to her, looking down at her, his tone indifferent. "I'm different from you parasites who depend on Muramasa. I don't need him to maintain my existence."

"Stop, Jiku'a." Muramasa forward, blocking Tobiume's path, his tone calm. "That's enough about establishing our authority. I guarantee my comrades won't deliberately oppose you again."

Jiku'a stared at Muramasa for a few seconds before withdrawing his Reiatsu.

As the terrifying pressure dissipated, the air in the cave relaxed. Tobiume lay on the ground, her breathing still trembling slightly. It took her a long time to stand up with Gonryōmaru's help.

Jiku'a walked to a spot a little distance from the stone platform, crossed his arms, and sat down, making it clear that he would not participate in the Zanpakuto meeting.

Muramasa then sat back down in the main seat and spoke again, "After Yoruichi, the number of comrades has been reduced to just a handful, which pains me greatly."

Last night also exposed our shortcomings— the Soul Reaper have the Fourth Division, and they can quickly return to the battlefield after being injured. It was my oversight not to destroy the Fourth Division immediately."

He surveyed the crowd, his tone unhurried. "Therefore, the next phase of the battle will involve gradually destroying their medical facilities. We'll start with those targets that are currently undefended but have long-term strategic value."

Muramasa's gaze fell on Gonryōmaru: "Gonryōmaru, you and Tenken go to the Fourth Division's Peony Mountain. That's the main source of raw materials for the Soul Reaper's hemostatic medicine. With the Seireitei in such turmoil right now, the defenses outside the palace must be weak."

"Peony Mountain, huh?" Gonryōmaru nodded.

"We've launched night raids one after another these past few days, so the Soul Reapers will surely increase their nighttime guards. Starting tonight, we'll switch to a strategy of attrition."

The remaining comrades went out in batches, taking turns to harass and exhaust the Soul Reapers, while covering the two as they escaped Seireitei amidst the chaos and headed to Peony Mountain.

"Understood," Gonryōmaru voice.

On the other side

Outside the Fourth Division's Herb Storage

Hanatarō was staring blankly at an open inventory book, frowning.

"As expected... at this rate, the hemostatic medicine will soon be insufficient." He sighed softly, closed the booklet, and gazed at the night outside the window. "I didn't expect the Fourth Division to be in such a predicament. Oh well, I'll have to make a trip to Peony Mountain tomorrow."

Night fell.

Marechiyo Ōmaeda stood in Hakutōmon, holding the report that had just been delivered, his expression somewhat complicated.

"As expected, they couldn't find it inside the palace..." He folded the report, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and then looked towards the Hakutōmon. "The special operations team outside the palace should be back by now. I wonder if they've made any gains."

Just then, the special operations team appeared in Hakutōmon.

"You're back? How did it go?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda asked directly.

"Lieutenant, although we haven't directly found any trace of such a target, there seem to be some strange rumors circulating around Peony Mountain in the Fourth Division's territory."

"Oh? What rumor?" Marechiyo Ōmaeda raised his eyes.

"Some herb gatherers say that a meteorite fell into the mountain a month ago. Although they followed the smoke to investigate, they didn't find the actual object. Since then, the soil on Peony Mountain has gradually turned darker, and the yield of medicinal herbs in the mountain has increased significantly."

"Peony Mountain..." Marechiyo Ōmaeda stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Only..."

"Just what?"

"However, some people who gather herbs at night say they often feel like they're being watched by something over the past month. Lieutenant, do you think we should send someone up the mountain to investigate again?"

"No need," Marechiyo Ōmaeda waved his hand. "I'll go myself tomorrow."

He turned and waved into the shadows behind him. "Go tell that Sylvan to wait for me at the Hakutōmon tomorrow morning. I'll take him to Peony Mountain. We can't just be the ones searching without him doing anything."

The soldiers responded and left.

The night wind swept through the Hakutōmon, making a mournful sound, swirling up a few dry leaves from the ground and sending them rolling into the distance.