5th Division

In the Surveillance Department of the 12th Division, located at the White Road Gate, figures darted back and forth within the building, constantly monitoring for spiritual energy anomalies in the vicinity. Any sign of irregularity would be reported to the 12th Division headquarters and simultaneously broadcast to the Seireitei.

In the very center of the Surveillance Department, there was a massive display screen. It was currently showing the moment Wu Biao lifted the White Road Gate with one hand, a feed captured and transmitted via spiritual energy at that very instant.

Several figures stood before the giant screen, watching the scene.

"This kid doesn't look very old, but he sure has a lot of strength!"

"It's a bit strange, though. According to the scan we just ran, this kid seems to possess a physical body!"

"A physical body?" The leader paused, stunned. "You mean... this kid is a human?"

"I suppose so!" The speaker's tone was full of uncertainty. After all, the sight of Wu Biao lifting the White Road Gate with one hand was right there on the big screen. Not a single person present had ever heard of a human possessing such immense power.

The person in charge shook his head upon hearing this. "Impossible. If there were a human this strong in the Human World... oh no!" Before he could even finish his sentence, his expression shifted. He hurriedly rushed to the computer and began typing frantically!

The rest of the group, seeing this, gathered around in confusion, not understanding what had come over their leader.

The leader ignored them, his eyes wide as he searched through archived data, muttering to himself, "Human World, human... it couldn't be such a coincidence... found it!"

The leader opened the file that had been sent from headquarters not long ago, and an image instantly appeared on the big screen: a scene of a Gillian confronting a human.

The group was confused at first, but as the image was magnified and the human became clear, panic washed over every face.

"It's him!"

"Exactly the same..."

"Is that kid the one who killed the Gillian-class Hollow a while ago?"

"..."

The leader's expression turned grim. He hurriedly turned to the others. "Quick, update the notification! The invading Ryoka is extremely dangerous and possesses the strength to kill a Gillian single-handedly. Order all divisions to be on high alert and send reinforcements to the White Road Gate immediately!"

"Yes!"

Boom—

Just then, the wall embedded with the giant display screen exploded inward. Countless Shinigami who hadn't managed to dodge were buried under the rubble, and in the blink of an eye, the room was filled with cries of agony.

"Hey, sissy, are you in here?"

A man wearing an orange martial arts uniform stained with blood, carrying a backpack twice his height, walked in. It was none other than Wu Biao.

The faces of those in the Surveillance Department who still retained consciousness changed instantly. Even without asking, one look at the blood-soaked uniform on Wu Biao was enough to guess that the Shinigami near the White Road Gate were likely...

Wu Biao stepped over the ruins, taking in everything in the room at a glance. Seeing the rows of computers and the terrified people all wearing white lab coats, he couldn't help but scratch his head.

"Uh... is this an internet cafe?" Brother Biao felt a bit embarrassed. Judging by their spiritual pressure, while they were similar to those other Shinigami, they were ridiculously weak, and they weren't wearing Shihakusho like the ones he had encountered with Ichigo earlier.

It was no wonder Wu Biao would ask such a thing, but he didn't know that the members of the 12th Division were arguably the weakest of the Thirteen Divisions.

As for why?

Did you really expect a bunch of scientists to run out and charge into the front lines? Don't be ridiculous; these people used their brains.

The members of the Surveillance Department, in particular, had spiritual pressure that was pathetically weak. They spent their days holed up in this building, living like shut-ins, having long since returned any knowledge of Kidō or spiritual pressure to the Shino Academy!

To put it another way, if Mayuri Kurotsuchi were here and given two choices—either double his spiritual pressure or research why this human, Wu Biao, was so strong—if he could only pick one, that mad scientist would definitely scoff at the spiritual pressure and choose to dissect Wu Biao for research instead...

Back to the matter at hand, the 12th Division members in the room looked at each other, seeing the same question in each other's eyes. Having never been deployed to the Human World, they couldn't possibly understand the term "internet cafe."

The leader's eyes were filled with terror as he tremblingly shouted at Wu Biao, "Do... do you have any idea what you're doing? Attacking the 12th Division's Surveillance Department is a grave crime!"

"Blah, blah, blah, you're annoying." Wu Biao made a gesture of digging his ear, then turned to leave.

Seeing this, the 12th Division members all breathed a sigh of relief, though they secretly decided that once this bastard left, they would immediately report his movements to the entire Seireitei!

"Hmm, wait, that's not right!" Wu Biao stopped after taking two steps. "I came here to steamroll the Seireitei!"

Steamroll?

The group looked at Wu Biao in confusion, clearly not grasping the meaning behind the man's words.

"To steamroll means I have to knock everyone down!"

Two minutes later, looking at the Shinigami lying unconscious on the floor, Brother Biao nodded with satisfaction. He took off his backpack and sat down to start eating.

"This kind of food doesn't keep you full for long!"

Brother Biao muttered with dissatisfaction as he ate thirty-nine loaves of bread, sixty-four sausages, sixteen apples, and drank twelve bottles of water. He then patted his stomach comfortably. "Half full. Time to keep steamrolling!"

With his backpack now slightly deflated, Wu Biao wandered through the streets of the Seireitei like an elementary school student on his way to class.

The sky had already grown dark. Aside from the patrols responsible for their respective sectors, most had finished their meals and were resting, which made the streets of the Seireitei appear extremely quiet.

Anyone Wu Biao encountered on patrol was promptly shoved into a wall. A few unlucky ones were even planted head-first into the ground, much like the 3rd Seat Togakushi. Of course, not a single person was killed.

As mentioned before, Wu Biao could be ruthless when it came to monsters like Hollows. But having been born in a peaceful era, he still had his own bottom line. He could beat someone until they were injured or crippled, but killing was something Brother Biao just couldn't bring himself to do.

If everyone were like the protagonists in the novels of his world, killing people as if it were a game, the world would have fallen into chaos long ago.

Of course, there was a caveat: if someone were to touch Wu Biao's family, he couldn't guarantee what he might do. If that were to happen... given Wu Biao's destructive power, it probably wouldn't just be one or two people dying!

Back to the matter at hand, while Ichigo and the others were spending the night practicing how to condense their cannonballs, Brother Biao was already starting to wonder where he should catch some shut-eye in the Seireitei tonight.

Stepping out of the Surveillance Department, Wu Biao headed straight toward the center of the Seireitei. Although he still had no idea where the Rukia he was supposed to rescue was being held, nor had he managed to find out where that sissy had run off to.

But in Wu Biao's mind, the central area was bound to be where the most badass people lived, so heading there would definitely be the right move!

However, after walking for less than ten minutes, Wu Biao stopped in front of a massive estate. This compound covered an enormous area, containing all sorts of buildings, and many Shinigami wearing Shihakusho were walking about in small groups, chatting with one another.

And carved onto the main gate was a single, large character: '5'!

Of course, none of these were the reasons Brother Biao stopped here. The only reason he halted was...

"It smells so good!"

That's right, it was the scent of food. Wu Biao rubbed his half-full stomach, glanced at his backpack which was already a little deflated, and resolutely strode into the 5th Division barracks, heading toward the source of the aroma—the cafeteria!

The Shinigami he passed were a bit curious about Wu Biao's Turtle Hermit Gi, but since it was break time, it was perfectly normal for people to take off their Shihakusho, so they just took a glance and ignored him.

They didn't associate Wu Biao with the Ryoka at all; after all, unless someone was a lunatic, what kind of Ryoka would run straight into a place swarming with Shinigami?

Because of this, Wu Biao, the Ryoka, walked into the 5th Division cafeteria as if he were returning to his own home, his face full of anticipation...

(End of chapter)