Sweet Potatoes Roasting on the Sogyoku

As bursts of spiritual pressure erupted from the Sōkyoku, and Kaname Tōsen's Bankai appeared, which was held horizontally in the air, the battles of everyone except Unohana Retsu and Tatsuki gradually intensified.

"Chad, shall we go and bring Rukia over?"

Below the Sōkyoku Cliff, Orihime was using the Three-Day Shield to shield herself and Chad, who were hiding on the cliff to spy on them. The two of them did not make a move. Apart from not being strong enough to face the captain, they were hiding here as Rukia's escape route. After rescuing Rukia, Ichigo would definitely be tied down. As long as Rukia ran towards them, they would be able to take her away.

"Inoue, don't worry, can't you see Rukia can't get here right now?"

Yoruichi was hanging upside down on the cliff Inoue and the others, not appearing. She was the real fighting force protecting the two of them. If Gin Ichimaru and the others really attacked, Yoruichi would take action.

"Inoue, let's wait and see. This is a battle we can't get involved in."

Chad's fists were clenched when he said this. He had clearly decided to fight alongside Ichigo and protect Ichigo, but facing those captains, he could do nothing but watch. His strength was still not enough...

If Tsuna knew what Chad was thinking, he'd probably yell at him. How could someone with a mere mortal body possess the strength of Vice-Captain in such a short time? Chad isn't Ichigo; how could someone who's trained for a hundred years defeat a captain in such a short time? What about Ichigo's reputation?

Beside Rukia, Sasakibe and Soi Fon were engaged in a speed battle.

Sasakibe kept lunging at Rukia, prepared to accept the punishment of being executed without her consent. But every time his Zanpakuto was about to pierce Rukia, a golden finger spike would shift the position of Genryūmaru. Soi Fon only stopped him, without intending to harm him.

This forced the Sasakibe to focus their efforts on Rukia. The two of them constantly used Flash Step around Rukia, Sasakibe message being that while they couldn't Rukia, Rukia shouldn't expect to escape Sōkyoku easily either.

Soi Fon had no objection to the Sasakibe's actions; she figured it was just a training exercise in Flash Step, which was routine for Stealth Force.

When assigning tasks, Soi Fon had considered using Flash Cry to subdue the incompetent Vice-Captain, but Tsuna sternly refused.

If Soi Fon uses Flash Cry, she might force Sasakibe to use his Bankai. With the help of the powerful Ōetsu Nimaiya spiritual pressure, Sasakibe's thrust will be as fast as lightning. Tsuna is afraid that if Soi Sasakibe Soi Fon, Sasakibe will immediately kill Rukia.

Soi Fon initially doubted that Sasakibe's speed could surpass hers, but after hearing Tsuna say that one of the scars on Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's head was done by Sasakibe, she immediately had no objections.

In any case, Soi Fon is not making any outrageous attacks right now, focusing on defense to avoid provoking Sasakibe. The two of them are practicing Flash Step on the Sōkyoku, looking like they're doing well together.

"I don't understand what you're saying, Captain Hitsugaya," Gin Ichimaru said with a grin. "If you don't want to carry out the Captain-Commander's orders, you can make way for me."

"I have no interest in playing games with you, so just stand there quietly." Toshiro always spoke in a mature tone.

"That really... won't do!"

A sharp glint suddenly flashed, and Gin Ichimaru's expression remained that of a smiling man, but his blade was already aimed at Toshiro's shoulder.

According to Gin Ichimaru's usual style, this strike should have been aimed directly at the opponent's head, but that wouldn't do. If he killed Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku would be heartbroken, so the strike naturally went towards Toshiro's shoulder.

In Gin Ichimaru's eyes, nothing in this world is as important as Rangiku. Power, Aizen's pursuit of supreme omnipotence—these are all fleeting illusions. Only Rangiku's smile is the eternal beauty in his heart, even though he knows that everything he is doing now will not make Rangiku smile...

Gin Ichimaru cares, yet he doesn't. Before he can make Rangiku truly happy, he wants to reclaim everything Rangiku has lost—the part of her soul that Aizen took away.

Gin Ichimaru witnessed Aizen taking a portion of Rangiku's soul. Later, after following Aizen, he learned that the portion of her soul was used to experiment with creating the Hogyoku, a divine object that could grant one's inner desires and break all boundaries. It was also the root of Aizen's various schemes.

Gin Ichimaru wasn't interested in the Hogyoku; all he cared about was Rangiku's soul, which was used for Hogyoku experiments.

Aizen's Hogyoku was incomplete, so he set his sights on the Hogyoku made by Urahara Kisuke. If he could obtain two Hogyoku, he might be able to complete the true Hogyoku.

Gin Ichimaru knew that Aizen knew he had never truly followed Aizen. Although Aizen never said it outright, Rangiku's soul was Gin Ichimaru's reward for doing things for him. When the Hogyoku was complete, it was not impossible for the Hogyoku to fulfill Gin Ichimaru's wish and release Rangiku's soul.

This is why Gin Ichimaru was in such a hurry to act; he was even more concerned than Kaname Tōsen about whether he could seize Urahara Kisuke Hogyoku, as it concerned Rangiku's soul.

With a clang, Toshiro easily deflected Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto. He wasn't surprised at all by Gin Ichimaru's sudden attack; he had long been wary of this guy who always liked to squint.

"Shoot him, Shinsō!"

The moment the two swords clashed, Gin Ichimaru's Zanpakuto suddenly extended, its blade curving in a subtle arc, piercing through Toshiro's shoulder.

This happened too fast. The Shinsō was fast, and Toshiro and Gin Ichimaru were close together. Toshiro had no time to react before being hit by Gin Ichimaru's blade.

The Shinsō quickly retracted, Gin Ichimaru flipped the blade to strike down at Toshiro again. The Shinsō's blade was very short, and normally this strike wouldn't have hit Toshiro, but it was Shinsō.

The Shinsō extended again, and a long sword tens of meters long slashed towards Toshiro's right shoulder. If Toshiro's shoulders were severely injured, he would basically lose his fighting ability, and Gin Ichimaru Toshiro be able to carry out subsequent actions.

Things didn't unfold as Gin Ichimaru had planned. Just as the Shinsō was about to strike Toshiro, a claw-shaped block of ice blocked Shinsō path—or rather, the shoulder armor of an ice Dragon Claws.

"Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru."

A wave of icy energy erupted from Toshiro's body, and he now possessed many characteristics of an ice dragon. With a flap of his wings, frost and cold energy shattered the Shinsō, Toshiro immediately drew his sword at Gin Ichimaru.

In an instant, a large amount of ice covered the ground, and there was no trace of Gin Ichimaru in front of Toshiro. As he sheathed his Shinsō, Gin Ichimaru had already Flash Step into the air.

Fortunately, Gin Ichimaru reacted quickly. If he had taken Toshiro's attack, once his feet were frozen, he would likely have been met with Toshiro's deadly strike.

Toshiro immediately flapped his wings and gave chase. Facing a Zanpakuto like Shinsō paired with a genius like Gin Ichimaru, it was difficult to fight him in either close or long range. However, compared to being constantly pressured by Shinsō in long-range combat, Toshiro preferred to use the Daiguren Hyōrinmaru to enhance his body's ice armor and engage Gin Ichimaru in close combat.

Toshiro showed no embarrassment at being forced to use his Bankai by Gin Ichimaru swords; in his view, grasping his own advantages was the most important thing.

To fight a close-quarters battle against Gin Ichimaru can extend Zanpakuto at will, one must deal with his unpredictable attack rhythm. Toshiro knew he couldn't adapt to Gin Ichimaru's strange Zanjutsu in a short time, so he could only use his Bankai's solid ice to deal with it.

Even a genius like Gin Ichimaru understood Toshiro's plan the moment he withdrew, so at the instant Toshiro prepared to give chase, Shinsō once again bared its fangs.

A flash of white light appeared, Toshiro's figure suddenly swayed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that one of his wings had been pierced by the Shinsō. It would take a little time for the wing to recover, and Gin Ichimaru obviously wouldn't give him that time.

Another shot was fired, Toshiro's other wing was also torn apart. This is the advantage of Gin Ichimaru in ranged combat. Even if Toshiro sensed that Gin Ichimaru was about to attack, it would be difficult for him to defend against it. Moreover, that old Gin Ichimaru had hidden his Shinsō behind his sleeve, making it impossible for anyone to predict the direction of his attack.

Daiguren Hyōrinmaru Toshiro's speed. Only with the wings' support can Toshiro unleash the super-fast Ryūsō no Kogetsu. Gin Ichimaru's move directly shattered Toshiro's idea of using the Ryūsō no Kogetsu to close the distance.

Toshiro was somewhat helpless. He hadn't expected that even after activating Bankai, he would still have to use Flash Step to travel. Since the speed advantage was gone, he couldn't let Gin Ichimaru escape.

With his Zanpakuto pointing skyward, massive ice pillars surrounded Gin Ichimaru. With the Sennen Hyōrō now in place, Toshiro had time to Flash Step to approach Gin Ichimaru.

Although Gin Ichimaru was still able to attack Toshiro through the gaps in the Sennen Hyōrō, the pillars of the ice prison blocked most of Gin Ichimaru's attack direction, allowing Toshiro to parry the incoming Shinsō.

Thus, the Sennen Hyōrō and the Enma Kōrogi each occupied the sky on either side of the Sōkyoku, delaying the progress of Aizen's two capable assistants.

On the other side, Uryū was running away with Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his Sōkyoku, a tactic that Tsuna called the "dog-walking tactic."

Uryū knew that after the last battle, Kurotsuchi Mayuri must have brought a lot of things to deal with him, but it didn't matter. Ranged attacks were Quincy's comfort zone. Uryū wasn't going to Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He could avoid most of Kurotsuchi Mayuri tricks by harassing him while running away and shooting arrows.

Ichigo had already activated Tensa Zangetsu and was exchanging blows with Kenpachi Zaraki. To Ichigo's surprise, his opponent's strength had increased so much simply by removing his eyepatch. No matter how much Ichigo increased his spiritual pressure, Kenpachi Zaraki seemed to be able to withstand it.

Ichigo felt that Kenpachi Zaraki's strength was as deep as the sea. No matter how much he improved his strength, he could not fathom Kenpachi Zaraki's limits. If he were not afraid of disrupting everyone's plans, Ichigo would have already put on his Visored and fought Kenpachi Zaraki.

Kenpachi Zaraki didn't think as much as Ichigo did. He just laughed and fought, finding it much more enjoyable to fight Ichigo. Fighting that guy named Sawada Tsunayoshi, he didn't even know how he lost.

Under Tsuna's scheme, Sōkyoku was divided into small, chaotic battlefields. Amidst this chaos, the smell of roasted sweet potatoes quietly spread.

The two lone wolves on Sogyoku Hill, Unohana Retsu and Tatsuki, immediately noticed the guy squatting next to the fire wall. Tatsuki, in particular, was completely exasperated. If he hadn't been pretending to be drinking with Unohana Retsu, Tatsuki would have definitely dragged this embarrassing guy away.

As the one who was embarrassed, Tsuna didn't feel embarrassed at all. He was squatting next to the wall of fire created by Tsuna Jakka Ryūjin Jakka earnestly roasting sweet potatoes.

In his past Tsuna had occasionally stumbled upon a story about Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, who loved to use the Ryūjin Jakka generate flames to roast sweet potatoes. He didn't know if it was a real setting or just fan fiction.

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Tsuna brought two sweet potatoes today to try and see if they would be even sweeter Ryūjin Jakka.