The So-Called Filler, Which Is Just Getting Stuck and Wanting to Pad the Word Count

!

Whoosh—

At the edge of the massive crater, Yachiru Kusajishi appeared out of thin air, her eyes filled with shock and worry as she looked down into the pit. However, following a loud boom, that worry shifted into joy, and she lunged directly toward the person standing amidst the ruins at the bottom of the crater.

"Ken-chan!"

Kenpachi Zaraki, who had just managed to stand, let out a "wah" as a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. Only when she reached his side did Yachiru notice a gruesome wound along the right side of his abdomen.

Blood flowed from the wound like a stream, gathering into a pool at his feet in the blink of an eye!

"Ken-chan, are you okay?" Yachiru arrived at his side, her small face filled with concern as she stared at the injury.

Kenpachi shook his head without answering, instead taking two steps to the side. He then reached into the soil and pulled a blood-soaked man out of the ruins.

Seeing this, Yachiru stepped forward and poked Wu Biao's face with her finger, asking, "Is he... dead?"

"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."

A deafening snore echoed out.

"..."

Yachiru's mouth twitched slightly, then she looked at Kenpachi and smiled: "Ken-chan, you won again. As expected, you really are the most..."

"I lost!"

Kenpachi spoke these two words in a flat tone. A flash of bitterness crossed his eyes as he looked at the Wu Biao in his hands: "That last punch, he intentionally aimed off-center. But even just grazing past me was enough to leave me severely wounded. If I had taken that hit head-on... I probably would have died!"

Yachiru froze upon hearing this, staring blankly at Kenpachi. She didn't know what to say now... comfort was something Ken-chan would absolutely never need!

"I really do hate idiots who refuse to go for the kill at the critical moment!"

"Should we kill him then?"

Kenpachi shook his head: "Send him to the 4th Division..."

Thud—

Before he could finish his sentence, Kenpachi's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into unconsciousness!

The next day, southern Seireitei.

Boom—

With an explosive sound, a squad of patrolling Shinigami was blown away by a cerulean shockwave. Sado walked forward with his tall frame, his gaze fixed on the Senzaikyu in the distance.

According to the information he had squeezed out of the defeated Shinigami, Rukia was being held there. This meant that as long as he headed toward that target, he would definitely be able to rendezvous with Ichigo and the others.

"Yo, not bad!"

Just then, a voice interrupted Sado's thoughts. He looked toward the source of the sound and saw a middle-aged man in a pink haori sitting cross-legged on the ground, a bottle of sake placed before him, as if he had been waiting there all along to welcome his arrival.

Seeing Sado look his way, the man smiled gently: "Nice to meet you, I am the captain of the 8th Division, Shunsui Kyoraku."

In the western part of Seireitei, within the underground sewers, Kurosaki Ichigo, Shiba Ganju, and Yamada Hanataro were fully prepared to depart.

The battle against Renji Abarai yesterday had left Kurosaki Ichigo severely wounded and unconscious.

Fortunately, with Hanataro here, using the damage-absorption ability of his healing-type Zanpakuto, Hisagomaru, Ichigo's injuries had mostly healed after just one night.

However, just as they stepped out of the sewers, they encountered an acquaintance at the very spot where the battle with Renji had taken place—or, strictly speaking, an acquaintance cat.

"Yoruichi-san, why are you here?" Ichigo and Ganju both looked surprised, as Yoruichi was the first ally they had encountered besides Wu Biao!

Yoruichi glared at Ichigo irritably: "I really don't know what to say to you. Didn't I tell you that if you run into a captain-class opponent, don't hesitate, just turn around and run? You actually fought a captain, and it's only your good luck that you aren't dead."

"Huh?"

Hearing Yoruichi's words, Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't help but freeze, subconsciously scratching his head: "I only had a fight with Renji, who is a lieutenant. I didn't fight any captain... wait, hold on..."

As he said this, Kurosaki Ichigo's expression changed. He suddenly recalled what Wu Biao had said before leaving yesterday when he encountered Renji. Could it be...

"Wasn't it you who fought Kenpachi?" Yoruichi frowned slightly. Yesterday, while in the northern part of Seireitei, she had felt Kenpachi Zaraki's spiritual pressure soaring into the sky and felt that something was wrong.

She had rushed here at full speed, assuming that it was Ichigo who had fought Kenpachi Zaraki. But looking at Ichigo's reaction, it was clear he knew nothing about it!

And... if she thought back carefully, there was indeed no residual spiritual pressure from Ichigo on that battlefield; there was only the spiritual pressure of Kenpachi.

No residual spiritual pressure.

Yet he was able to fight Kenpachi. Could it be...

"It's Brother Biao!" Ichigo blurted out the name he suspected: "Yesterday, when I was fighting that guy named Renji Abarai, Brother Biao seemed to sense something. He said, 'the scent of a fellow,' and ran off. He still hasn't come back!"

The scent of a fellow...

Yoruichi's mouth twitched. What kind of "scent of a fellow" was that? Was that idiot a beast? But... if it was Kenpachi, the description was actually quite fitting. They were both battle maniacs.

However, he hadn't returned?

Yoruichi's expression turned solemn. Although that brat was also strong, his opponent was Kenpachi Zaraki!

Ichigo looked at Yoruichi's heavy expression, and his heart sank: "Is that... Kenpachi guy really that strong?"

"Kenpachi Zaraki. He is the captain of the 11th Division, and the 11th Division is the combat division of the Gotei 13. Kenpachi Zaraki is a guy who views battle as his life; to him, fighting is a pleasure, and all his battles are for the sake of enjoying that pleasure better. Come to think of it, he's very similar to your Brother Biao!"

A captain, huh?

Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't help but recall Byakuya Kuchiki, whom he had encountered in the Human World. Just thinking that Brother Biao's opponent was a captain of the same level as Byakuya Kuchiki filled his heart with worry!

"What about Brother Biao, Yoruichi-san? Have you seen Brother Biao?"

Yoruichi shook her head: "I don't know. Although I followed the fluctuations of the spiritual pressure and found that battlefield... I didn't find anything." Speaking of this, a look of shock couldn't help but appear on Yoruichi's cat face. Even she, having seen the area after the battle, couldn't help but marvel at what kind of fight could leave behind such a tragic scene.

"Zaraki is a terrifying person. He is the only one in the Gotei 13 who became a captain without a Bankai. His power seems to have no end; the stronger the enemy, the stronger he becomes in order to better enjoy the pleasure of battle. You could say he is a man born for battle."

Hearing Yoruichi's solemn account, Kurosaki Ichigo's worry deepened, and a look of struggle appeared on his face. If Brother Biao...

No, that's absolutely impossible!

"Yoruichi-san, can you take me to that battlefield to take a look? Maybe I can find out where Brother Biao went!" Kurosaki Ichigo's expression darkened, and he cast an apologetic glance toward the distant Senzaikyu, his tone extremely firm.

Yoruichi, however, shook her head: "There is no more time. Now, all of you follow me to a place. The next stage of training that Urahara has prepared for you can begin!"

"But Brother Biao..."

"That kid isn't so easy to kill. I searched around that area and didn't find his corpse."

Yoruichi looked up at the darkening twilight and continued: "Either he went to find a place to recover after his battle with Zaraki, or he was captured. If he was captured, then his life should not be in danger."

Hearing this, Ichigo's face was still full of struggle, but that struggle dissipated with Yoruichi's next words.

"You are still too weak right now. If you cannot master Bankai, you have no qualifications to confront a captain-level Shinigami, let alone save that kid and Rukia!"

In a quiet prison cell.

Several cots were lined up in a corner of the cell. A bald man lay on one of the beds with his eyes closed, snoring as loudly as dry thunder; it was truly deafening.

As for how loud the snoring was, one could tell just by looking at Sado on the adjacent bed, who had dark circles under his eyes and was on the verge of tears.

Sado swore that if it weren't for the fact that this guy looked as weak as if he were dead when he was brought in, he would have long since walked over and slapped that shiny bald head...

"Hmph, hmph, hmph... Ignite the Cosmo!"

The snoring stopped abruptly. Wu Biao's palms clenched tightly, and in the next second, he bounced off the bed, looking around with a fierce expression: "Evildoers, accept the judgment of justice!"

Silence, absolute silence...

After about two seconds, Wu Biao looked around in confusion, then looked at the handcuffs on his wrists, his face full of bewilderment: "Where the hell is this?"

"It's a prison," a faint voice echoed in the cell.

"Holy crap, what the hell? What kind of monster are you? If you've got the guts, come out and fight me!"

"..." Sado, standing behind Wu Biao, twitched his mouth and patted Wu Biao on the shoulder.

Wu Biao spun around in a flash, and only when he saw Sado behind him did he let out a long sigh of relief: "Oh, it's you. You scared the hell out of me; I thought it was haunted... Wait, that's not right..."

Brother Biao looked thoughtful, rubbed his chin, and then clapped his hands: "That's not right. This place seems to be full of nothing but ghosts, hahahahaha! I'm just too smart. There is only one truth: you big black guy, you're a human!"

"..." Sado.

Gurgle—

"Hey, big black guy, do you have anything to eat?"

"No!"

"How can that be..." Wu Biao slumped down, looking completely weak and exhausted: "By the way, why are you here, big black guy? What is this place, and what are these handcuffs?"

Does this guy even listen to me?

Sado, with a dark face, repeated himself: "This is a prison. These handcuffs seem to be able to suppress spiritual pressure. I've tried many times, and it's just..."

Click—

Wu Biao directly tore off the handcuffs from his wrists, then tilted his head and looked at Sado: "What's wrong with these handcuffs?"

Sado was silent for two seconds, then simply shook his head: "Nothing..."

I can't say it. No matter what, I can't say that I spent several hours testing them just to try and get them off...

On the other side, Wu Biao walked directly to the bars and gave them a light tug, and the entire barred door was pulled right off.

Sado blinked. He no longer knew what expression to use to face this scene. It turned out that breaking out of prison was such an easy thing.

Even the Shinigami of the Seireitei would probably have the same reaction as Sado if they saw this.

Actually, you couldn't blame them. After all, no one here knew that Wu Biao was the Ryoka who had defeated thousands of Shinigami. When Yachiru sent him over, she only said that he was a Ryoka and asked them to treat him!

The 4th Division members, seeing Yachiru's indifferent attitude, simply treated Wu Biao as an insignificant Ryoka. They gave him a hasty treatment, put on the spiritual pressure-suppressing handcuffs, and had someone send him to the Seireitei prison...