"Brother Biao, what did you do? Why are there so many Shinigami?"
The three of them sprinted down a main road in Seireitei, with a huge crowd of Shinigami chasing after them, Zanpakuto in hand. At the head of the pack, Madarame Ikkaku's veins were bulging on his forehead. The chase had pushed his anger almost to the breaking point!
"I didn't do anything. I just took down every Shinigami I saw last night, then plowed straight through to here!" Wu Biao casually pulled another ball of spiritual power out of thin air and tossed it behind him.
"Scatter!"
Kannonji-dan incoming! The Shinigami at the front scattered at once, all squeezing back toward those behind them. Only Madarame Ikkaku, already in Shikai, let out a cold snort and swung Hozukimaru like a baseball bat, sending the hastily formed Kannonji-dan flying.
Although the Kannonji-dan traveled extremely fast, Wu Biao had only grabbed it together carelessly, without compressing much Reishi. It wasn't enough to cause much trouble for a Shinigami of Ikkaku's level.
But Wu Biao kept tossing them as he ran, causing the pursuing Shinigami no small amount of trouble. They didn't dare get too close, so several hundred of them could only trail behind Wu Biao and the others at a distance.
"Plowed straight through?" Ganju stared at Wu Biao in shock. He'd already heard Ichigo and the others mention a man who had entered Seireitei through the White Road Gate ahead of them, but he'd never imagined that man would be this strong.
How could anyone plow straight through from the White Road Gate to here?
Ichigo nodded knowingly. He was a little shocked, but not surprised. He supposed... this was just Brother Biao's nature!
Just then, a Shinigami-looking man appeared around the corner ahead, holding a broom and walking with his head down, as if lost in thought. He hadn't noticed what was happening at all.
"Damn, there's another one in the way?" Ichigo snapped, raising Zangetsu to take out the Shinigami blocking the road. But Ganju stopped him.
"Wait, Ichigo. I've thought of a way to make the pursuers back off without a fight!"
Ichigo paused, then a sinister smile curled across his lips. "You have? So do I!"
"What? You two had better explain!" Wu Biao looked completely lost.
The two ignored him and rushed forward. Before the Shinigami with the broom could react, Ichigo and Ganju had seized him from either side.
Ichigo even pressed his Zanpakuto against the man's neck, like a kidnapper threatening to kill his hostage if he didn't get paid...
"You bastards, get out of our way!"
"If you want your comrade to stay alive, you'd better back off!"
Clap—
Wu Biao slapped his hands together, then gave the two of them a thumbs-up. "Brilliant! How did I not think of that? I just realized your intelligence is only a little below mine, the Sherlock Holmes-level Zhuge Liang!"
"..."
What kind of comparison was that...
Ichigo and Ganju decisively ignored Wu Biao, who was showing off his rock-bottom intelligence, and grinned viciously at the Shinigami staring at them in shock.
"Aah! Don't..." The Shinigami they'd taken hostage had only just realized what was happening. He cried out in terror.
He was Yamada Hanataro, the 7th Seat of the 4th Division. He'd just been turned away when he tried to visit Rukia in the fourth underground prison of Penitence Tower, and was on his way back, disappointed.
"..." The pursuing Shinigami blinked in unison, all looking at the trio like they were idiots!
A member of the 4th Division?
You've got to be kidding. The Ryoka had taken a 4th Division member hostage to threaten them.
The 4th Division was part of the Gotei 13, but since it specialized in healing, the other divisions considered it little more than a hospital in the Human World. No one said so openly, but behind the scenes, nobody cared about it.
Some even thought the division's existence was completely unnecessary. The 11th Division in particular despised the cowardly 4th Division.
And the man leading this group was Madarame Ikkaku of the 11th Division. A great many of the others were members of the 11th Division, too.
Ganju leaned close to Ichigo and whispered, "Hey, isn't the mood a little off?"
"No idea!"
"Maybe they didn't hear us!" Wu Biao scratched his bald head, then strode out with confidence. "Leave it to me. I'm good at this!"
Ichigo and Ganju's mouths twitched. You're good at this? Weren't you just calling yourself a hero?
Wu Biao stepped forward and took a deep breath, his face full of grievance:
"Your underling's in my hands. If you don't want him hurt, then don't... beat us up! Please leave our turf. I'm begging you. It's not easy for us thugs, you know. You keep finding excuses to beat us up every few days... The protection money we collect each month isn't even enough to cover everyone's medical bills. I'm telling you, if you don't leave, we'll die right in front of you!"
"..." Ganju.
"Brother Biao, where did you hear that?"
Ichigo's mouth twitched. He finally understood why Brother Biao had said he was good at this.
And... Brother Biao... let's leave those little thugs alone. I suddenly feel kind of sorry for them...
The Shinigami across from them were dumbfounded, too. They exchanged glances, each seeing confusion in the other's eyes. Clearly, nobody understood who Brother Biao had been talking to!
"Actually, that didn't sound quite right," Wu Biao muttered, rubbing his chin.
"You were completely off track!" Ichigo and Ganju said in unison.
The Shinigami all blinked. Then...
"Chop them to pieces!"
"Kill them! Kill the one from the 4th Division, too!"
"Kill!"
"..."
Ichigo's mouth twitched. "What's going on?"
"How would I know? Shinigami really are a bunch of heartless bastards!" Ganju roared, then turned and ran. He didn't forget to grab Hanataro as he fled!
"You're all a bunch of villains! You don't even look after your own underlings!"
"Yachiru, I'm never trusting your sense of direction again!" Kenpachi looked at the building in front of him and yelled in exasperation.
Yachiru's pink-haired head poked out from behind him. She glanced at the sign beside the door, which had the number '4' carved on it, and broke into a delighted smile. "I wonder if the chairwoman is home!"
"What chairwoman?" Kenpachi asked.
"The chairwoman of the Women's Shinigami Association! And, Little Kenpachi, I'm the president of the Women's Shinigami Association!"
"..." Kenpachi's mouth twitched. What was the point of an utterly useless association like that?
Kenpachi didn't know that the Women's Shinigami Association was actually quite powerful in certain respects. It had been founded to improve the status of female Shinigami, and was an official association recognized by both the Captain-Commander and Central 46.
The association focused on protecting the rights of female Shinigami, and its resolutions carried more weight than those of Central 46. It was an organization with godlike power...
The other organizations in Seireitei, like the Men's Shinigami Association, the Tea Ceremony Association, and the Calligraphy Association led by Byakuya, were strictly private associations and weren't officially recognized.
You could say that Byakuya Kuchiki, head of the Kuchiki Clan—one of the Four Great Noble Clans—had less power in this area than Yachiru. In the end, the basement of the grand Kuchiki estate had become the Women's Shinigami Association's headquarters...
Back to the story: Kenpachi figured that since they were already there, they might as well check on the injured members of his division. Maybe they'd also happen to learn where the Ryoka were. So he entered the 4th Division, but as soon as he stepped inside,
he and Yachiru ran into Kotetsu Isane.
I got back tonight and a friend dragged me off to help with a move. I barely managed to finish a chapter. I'll try to post more tomorrow.
Before you continue