Masaki Kurosaki Appears

Liu Ziyun carried the uninvited guest and quickly found another secluded spot, where he also used the White Hiding technique to conceal his Reiatsu. Only after doing all this did he breathe a sigh of relief, but then he froze again.

[Wait... did I knock out the wrong two people earlier?]

He recalled the appearances of the two Tenth Division soldiers, then looked at the Thirteenth Division soldier in front of him, and was speechless.

[Damn! So it wasn't those two who were supposed to die, it was this guy! I wasted my time... Oh well, I'll ask Kisuke Urahara for help later, and make those three forget about tonight.]

Just as he finished dealing with this unexpected incident, a terrifying Reiatsu suddenly erupted from the sky.

Liu Ziyun turned around abruptly and saw that White was opening his mouth, and a scarlet light was gathering in his mouth—it was Cero!

"Boom--!"

The Cero, like a beam of destructive light, shot towards Isshin Shiba. Isshin Shiba barely dodged it, but the aftershocks of the explosion still sent him flying.

Watching this scene, Liu Ziyun sighed inwardly: [Sigh... Oh well, you won't die from this. Just consider it taking the hit for that kid.]

Before the aftershocks of the Cero had even subsided, White charged at Isshin Shiba once more. Its attacks were even more frenzied and brutal, giving its opponent no chance to catch its breath.

Isshin Shiba was becoming increasingly passive in the battle. While parrying White's attacks, he pondered various doubts in his mind.

[Cero... this is the fighting style of Menos Grande.] He stared at the strange Hollow before him. [But the Soul Society couldn't possibly have missed such a monster appearing in the World of the Living. It seems someone is hiding its information... is someone protecting it? Who is manipulating it?]

He looked at the expressionless mask of the White, then at its silent attack, and made a judgment: [Yes... how could a monster like you possibly speak? In that case, I'll just kill you!]

Isshin Shiba, leaped backward to create distance, gripped his Zanpakuto with both hands, and prepared to unleash it: "Burn—"

At this critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind him.

A flash of light appeared.

"Ah--!"

Isshin Shiba let out a scream as a deep wound was slashed across his back. He staggered forward, barely managing to regain his balance, and looked back—

There was no one behind him.

But the feeling of that strike was incredibly real; it was definitely damage inflicted by the Zanpakuto.

Liu Ziyun's pupils constricted in the distance. In his spiritual sense, three figures were hovering in the sky, looking down at the battle. The one in the lead was Sōsuke Aizen, whose ever-gentle face now wore a faint smile.

[Aizen... Kaname Tōsen... Gin Ichimaru...] Liu Ziyun a deep breath. [Luckily, I got some new equipment from Kisuke Urahara, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to find the three of them. If we were exposed, things would be really serious!]

Isshin Shiba, focused on the wound on his back, warily scanned his surroundings. In the rainy night, he could see nothing, sense nothing, but the blow had undeniably pierced him. "Who's there!" he roared, "Who's hiding there!"

No one responded.

Only White continued to charge at him, his blade arm slashing down once more.

Isshin Shiba barely managed to hold on, his doubts growing ever stronger: [That last strike... it was definitely Zanpakuto! It seems there really is a traitor in Soul Society... I can't sense any Reiatsu either, who is this person? But, this person must be the one controlling this Hollow!]

The attack from the White gave him no time to think. Blades rained down, forcing Isshin Shiba to retreat step by step. His Reiatsu began to waver, and his movements became sluggish.

Watching this scene from afar, Liu Ziyun was extremely anxious: [Masaki Kurosaki, when are you coming? If you don't come soon, I'll have to take action myself! Isshin Shiba can't Bankai right now, he might get killed!]

Just as he was about to take the risk and make a move, an unfamiliar Reiatsu suddenly entered his perception range.

The Reiatsu was pure and powerful, carrying the unique fluctuations of Quincy.

Liu Ziyun was overjoyed: [She's here! The mother of the Cheat B is here! Hmm, now everything should be fine!]

On the battlefield, Isshin Shiba was cornered by White. He was sent flying into the air, tumbling, but the fighting spirit in his eyes remained undiminished. "You—don't underestimate me!"

He reached behind him and wiped away a handful of blood, licked it with his lips, and then spat it violently into his Zanpakuto. The blood sprayed onto the blade and instantly burst into flames, transforming into a massive flaming blade of light that slashed towards White.

Immediately afterwards, he charged forward and collided head-on with White.

"Boom--!"

A violent explosion erupted in the rainy night, the shockwave ripping off the surrounding rooftops.

From the smoke and dust of the explosion, a small, knife-like arm flew out, tumbling through the air before finally landing on the edge of a rooftop.

Liu Ziyun looked in the direction the bladed arm had flown out and saw a blonde girl standing on the rooftop. She was wearing Quincy combat gear, holding a Reishi Longbow, and her face showed shock and wariness.

The severed arm of the White lay at her feet.

At the same time, a loud crash came from another rooftop. It was Isshin Shiba had been knocked away by White, crashing through the roof and getting stuck in the rubble.

"Cough cough..." Isshin Shiba coughed, but still managed to boast, "You're still so energetic even with one arm torn off... that's really impressive..."

Before he could finish speaking, White charged at him again. His only remaining sword arm was raised high, ready to deliver a fatal blow.

Isshin Shiba sat on the ground, barely managing to raise his sword to defend himself. The sword arm clashed with the Zanpakuto, producing a piercing metallic scraping sound. His strength was clearly failing him; the blade was being pressed down inch by inch, and he was about to be struck.

Just then--

Countless Reishi arrows pierced the rain curtain, shooting towards White like a torrential downpour.

The White body trembled, forced to abandon its attack and quickly dodge. The arrows were accurate and dense, forcing it to retreat repeatedly, unable to get any closer to Isshin Shiba.

Isshin Shiba was stunned. He turned his head and saw the blonde girl standing on the roof, her longbow continuously firing Reishi arrows, each one aimed directly at White's vital points.

Quincy?

Countless questions welled up in his mind, but this was not the time to think about them.

Liu Ziyun from a distance, focused all his attention on the three figures in the sky. He could sense that Kaname Tōsen's body twitched slightly, as if he wanted to make a move.

But Aizen gently raised his hand, stopping him.

Liu Ziyun a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

[Phew... it's finally stable.]

He turned his attention back to the battlefield.

The White was forced to retreat step by step by Masaki Kurosaki's arrows, but it quickly changed direction, ignoring Isshin Shiba and rushing directly towards the Quincy girl.

Masaki Kurosaki's expression changed, but she did not back down. She gripped her longbow tightly, preparing to face this terrifying opponent.

Seeing this scene, Liu Ziyun finally managed a smile.

[Now, things are finally stable. It seems that as long as I don't interfere with certain things, everything will proceed normally, based on the storylines I've seen in anime and manga before.]

He leaned back, hiding himself even deeper into the darkness.

[That's great... I can now safely play it safe.]