For a time, the sky and earth over several streets of the Seireitei seemed to have been split in two by Crimson Light and the Sea of Blood!
The ruins left behind by the houses destroyed in Araki and Unohana Yachiru's fierce battle had already vanished between the dense Sea of Blood and Crimson Light. Those fragments of buildings seemed to have melted into the Crimson Light and Sea of Blood filling the heavens...
"I can't see! What exactly is happening over there? We can't see anything at all!"
"Is this the Bankai the captains can wield?! Its power is actually this immense! It far exceeds my imagination!"
"So the battle from before was merely a warm-up for Captain Unohana and the others?"
As the endless Crimson Light and Sea of Blood surged toward the feet of the 5th Division members at a visible pace, the members finally understood what their captain, Obana Danjirō, had told them. At this moment, nothing but shock remained in the hearts of these Soul Reaper members!
At last, they had gained a clear understanding of Unohana Yachiru's strength, as well as Araki's strength, which was almost evenly matched with hers. To them, they were existences as impossible to overcome as Mount Everest...
"Alright, now that you've seen the power of those two monsters, get back to your division obediently~"
When the Crimson Light and Sea of Blood were about to spread beneath everyone's feet, Obana Danjirō shielded the 5th Division members behind him. Using the enormous Spiritual Pressure within him, he forcibly formed an invisible wall that stopped the Crimson Light and Sea of Blood before him. Then he turned around, smiled at his subordinates, and spoke calmly.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
After hearing Obana Danjirō's words, the 5th Division members immediately looked at their captain with gratitude. If not for their captain, the instant they witnessed Unohana Yachiru and Araki's Bankai, they likely would have been assimilated into Crimson Light and bloodwater by that power capable of causing healing overload.
"If you understand, then hurry up and leave!"
Obana Danjirō said brightly upon hearing that.
"Yes!"
The members were first startled, then did not dare delay any longer. They turned and swiftly departed. At that moment, Obana Danjirō's charm deeply took root in the hearts of the 5th Division members!
It was precisely because the captains of the First Generation Gotei 13 possessed not only immense strength as bloodthirsty killers, but also boundless personal charisma, that the Soul Reaper members of the Gotei 13 could charge fearlessly into battle against enemies invading Soul Society and the Seireitei, regardless of how powerful those enemies were...
"Sigh..."
"Next, we'll just have to see how badly those two monsters will ravage the Seireitei."
"Ahahahaha, it really does make one look forward to it~"
After his members had left, Obana Danjirō cast a deep glance at Araki and Unohana Yachiru, who were still fighting fiercely in the distance. His eyes seemed to pierce through the Crimson Light and Sea of Blood, seeing Araki and Unohana Yachiru constantly swing their Zanpakuto, with nearly every strike capable of inflicting a fatal wound upon the other.
Even with Obana Danjirō's temperament, he could not help but feel curious. With the emergence of a monster like Araki, whose strength was so immense it was nearly impossible to control, just how great an impact would it have on the vast Seireitei?! Thinking this, Obana Danjirō let out a hearty laugh, turned, and left...
The instant Obana Danjirō departed, the land he had protected beneath his feet was immediately engulfed by the Crimson Light and Sea of Blood!
Meanwhile, as Unohana Yachiru and Araki both released their Bankai...
Aside from the 5th Division, the leaders of every other division followed the orders of Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, and led their respective members back to their divisions...
Some division leaders had even returned to their divisions with their members in that short span of time! After all, even within the Gotei 13, members who held the sentiment of "If I hear the truth in the morning, I can die in the evening" were ultimately few...
At the same time, among this Gotei 13 filled with bloodthirsty killers, captains as cheerful and easygoing toward their members as Obana Danjirō of the 5th Division were ultimately rare. The captains of the other divisions were not nearly so easy to deal with.
Sixth Division barracks.
Bang~
With a light sound, Saito Furofushi kicked open the barracks' gates. Clearly, she was not in a good mood at the moment.
"I'm furious..."
"I'm absolutely furious..."
"That damned Araki actually started fighting that wicked woman Unohana without saying a word!"
"Honestly, if you'd just told me beforehand, I could have made some preparations too..."
"Then the two of us could have joined forces and easily taken down that wicked woman Unohana!"
The moment Saito Furofushi returned to the barracks, she began shouting loudly. Her words were filled with anger and agitation.
"Captain, you're back?!"
"I wonder how Captain Unohana's battle is going?!"
"I also wonder who the person fighting Captain Unohana is. He's actually this powerful!"
"Even here at the barracks, we can feel the powerful Spiritual Pressure scattering from the two of them!"
"And what's with the Crimson Light blooming in the sky? It feels strange no matter where you look!"
The moment Saito Furofushi returned to the barracks, she was surrounded by the Sixth Division members, all of whom curiously questioned her.
Since Saito Furofushi had forbidden her members from going out to investigate, although the Sixth Division members were curious about the battle between Araki and Unohana Yachiru, they had not dared to go over and look...
Thus, they could only take the opportunity of Saito Furofushi's return to ask their Captain Saito about Araki and Unohana Yachiru's battle.
"I don't know! I don't know! I don't know..."
"Stop asking me! I don't know anything! I'm going to rest!"
"If you really want to know what is happening over there, and who that wicked woman Unohana is fighting, then go see for yourselves! That is, if you aren't afraid of dying..."
After hearing her subordinates' words, the agitation in Saito Furofushi's heart rose several degrees higher. She coldly looked at the members surrounding her and shouted.
"Don't bother me!" Without waiting for the members to say more, she walked back to her Captain's Office and slammed its doors shut, producing an ear-splitting sound. "Bang!!"
"Uh..."
The members immediately quieted down. They could sense that their captain's mood did not seem very stable right now.
"Who upset our captain again?!"
The members looked at one another, unable to reach a conclusion.
"How about we sneak over and take a look?"
One of the Sixth Division members suggested.
"Oh, forget it! Didn't you hear what the captain just told us? If you're not afraid of dying, then go take a look! Based on my understanding of our captain, with her personality of saying one thing and meaning another, and being so awkward..."
"That was basically the same as telling us that we'd definitely be in mortal danger if we went to the scene."
Someone quickly rejected the member's proposal.
It had to be said that Saito Furofushi's tsundere nature was well known throughout the Gotei 13, 6th Division. It was simply that the term "tsundere" had not yet become popular in Soul Society, so the members used "awkward" to describe Saito Furofushi's personality.
"That makes sense~"
The members nodded in agreement.
"Pfft..."
"Hahaha..."
Then, no one knew who failed to hold it in and laughed aloud. Immediately afterward, the entire Gotei 13, 6th Division was filled with laughter and cheerful voices.
"I heard that, you bastards!!"
Before the Sixth Division members could finish laughing, the doors to their Captain's Office were forcefully pushed open. Saito Furofushi, who had previously been shouting that she was going to rest, appeared before the Sixth Division members once more. Looking at these little brats in her division, she roared angrily, "Are you little bastards all that free? If you are, go swing your swords ten thousand times! If you don't finish, none of you are resting today!"
"We're done for, we're done for, the captain heard us..."
"No! Swinging our swords ten thousand times would be worse than killing us!"
"There's no choice. We can only go swing our swords..."
"No, don't run! Wait for us!"
Upon seeing Captain Saito push open the doors and roar at them, the Sixth Division members immediately looked panicked. Then they grabbed their wooden practice swords and ran toward the dojo.
Though they continuously complained about Saito Furofushi, not a single one of them dared disobey her orders.
"Phew..."
"What a bunch of troublesome little brats."
Only after the division members had left did Saito Furofushi let out a long sigh. She did not know whether it was merely her imagination, but after thoroughly roaring at her Sixth Division members, the resentment in her heart seemed to have lessened considerably. She now felt incomparably relaxed.
"Sigh..."
Though Saito Furofushi was not clever, she was not a foolish person either. It was merely that compared to the seasoned veterans who were also captains of the Gotei 13, she appeared somewhat naive.
Thus, it was not as though she did not understand her members' good intentions. Those members had likely deliberately said those things outside her Captain's Office, waiting for her to come out and scold them, so that she could vent the stifling emotions in her heart.
"Araki, you super idiot who is 'number one in the Three Worlds'! You have to win!!"
"You can lose to anyone, but you absolutely cannot lose to that wicked woman Unohana!"
Saito Furofushi returned to her Captain's Office, leaned against its doors behind her, and silently thought.
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