Justice's Two-on-One (Thanks to Ziye Xue Dao for the tip)

Ryan was now playing a game of urban warfare with Yoruichi. Having lived in the inner city for over a hundred years, he was like a fish in water, reveling in the chaos. Every time he rounded a corner, he would loose a few arrows at Yoruichi, pushing his long-range advantage to the absolute limit.

Yoruichi, however, was beyond annoyed after being blindsided a few times. Turn a corner? I'm not turning anymore! This lady is stubborn as a mule; I'm only walking in a straight line! Once I blow all of this to bits, let's see how you try to run circles around me!

While Yoruichi and Ryan were locked in a heated battle, a man was whistling leisurely in a cavern dozens of meters beneath the ground. His black Shihakusho marked him as a Soul Reaper, and his pale yellow hair was slightly upturned at the ends, as if he had just rolled out of bed. This man was none other than the final member of the trio of best friends—Urahara Kisuke!

After returning from the Royal Palace, Urahara had been appointed as the 3rd Seat of the 12th Division. But being a mere 3rd Seat wasn't enough to get involved in the three most critical operations of the Star-Extermination Siege. Thus, he had joined the Star-Extermination Force to storm the Sternritter Fortress from the front.

But since the Star-Extermination Force had just finished clearing the outer city and was currently sweeping through the middle city, how had Urahara reached the underground of the inner city?

To put it bluntly, he had made a choice between Yoruichi and his squad. The answer was self-evident; as her best friend, he couldn't just leave Yoruichi to fend for herself!

And so, as the 3rd Seat, Urahara Kisuke had slipped away from his unit the moment he stepped into the Sternritter Fortress, heading toward the inner city alone. Along the way, he avoided the Quincy whenever possible, and for those he couldn't avoid, he eliminated them in the shortest time possible.

It wasn't just the Quincy; while passing through the middle city, he had seen an Onmitsukido squad leader trapped and severely wounded. Even though he had the ability to save him, Urahara merely glanced at him and didn't even slow his pace.

Rushing as fast as he could, Urahara finally arrived at the inner city shortly after Hongjiang and Yoruichi had split up. After discovering the battlefield had been divided into two, he first confirmed that Ao, atop the clock tower, was under no pressure, then turned his attention to Yoruichi.

One had to admire Urahara's intellect here; if it were Yoruichi, she would have charged in headfirst, never stopping to observe like this.

The scene of Yoruichi being kited was naturally taken in by Urahara, and he had analyzed Ryan's characteristics with near-perfect accuracy. First, and the only point that needed to be confirmed: if even Yoruichi couldn't land a hit on him, then he wouldn't stand a chance either!

However, that didn't mean he was useless. Urahara understood clearly that Yoruichi just needed an opportunity—a chance to land a solid blow on Ryan—and creating that opportunity wasn't actually difficult for him.

Therefore, Urahara spent his time stealthily digging a tunnel. Once he reached a position in the middle of the inner city, he leaned on his already-released Kurenai and waited quietly for the right moment.

A roar echoed once more through the underground cavern; in truth, the sound had never really stopped. But this time was different. Debris mixed with shifting sand rained down, and the cavern felt as if it were about to collapse.

"Finally here, are we?"

The whistling stopped. Urahara's face held no smile as he looked at the rock ceiling with sharp, piercing eyes. "Sing, Kurenai!"

On the surface, Ryan had just jumped behind another building as one exploded, firing arrows in advance as he retreated. But right then, the ground beneath him began to tremble, and a massive spiritual pressure surged from below!

A pillar of blood-red light erupted from the earth. Had Ryan not stopped his momentum just in time, even if that hit hadn't killed him, it would have left him severely wounded!

Just as Ryan was feeling relieved, a cold voice rang out from behind him. "Play with fire, Kurenai!" The blood-red light appeared once more. Ryan could feel the violent, scorching heat in the air behind him and instinctively leaped into the air.

"Urahara, don't you dare interfere!" Yoruichi knew it was Urahara the moment she saw the pillar of light. The next second, a figure shot diagonally into the sky—who else could it be but the Ryan who made her grit her teeth in rage? She put force into her right foot, cracking the ground beneath her. The fire she had been bottling up was finally ready to be unleashed!

Watching Yoruichi charge straight at him, Ryan's heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly fired an arrow while adjusting his trajectory, hoping to use the resulting blast to escape the danger.

"Haaa!!!"

Yoruichi roared, her long staff dancing in a blur of motion. She blocked and detonated the arrows, then absorbed them with the Vortex Fire Pattern. Hide all you want! This man must die!!

"Bind, Kurenai~" Seeing Yoruichi, the corners of Urahara's eyes curved slightly, and a smile returned to his face. He whispered to himself, "I'm not interfering; I'm just setting up a 'fair' ring for you two~"

In mid-air, Ryan realized that dense red threads had appeared on his body at some point. He was completely immobilized, and he could only watch as a ferocious-looking Yoruichi closed in on him, his eyes filled with despair!

Clack~! The staff collided with Ryan with a crisp sound. Yoruichi didn't hold back; a single strike shattered Ryan's spine. Ryan opened his mouth wide but couldn't make a sound, as his throat was already flooded with blood.

Did that satisfy Yoruichi? Don't be ridiculous! The long staff moved like a snake; the end that struck Ryan acted like a snake's head, circling around to bite its own tail, trapping the dazed Ryan in the center. Ten sword-shaped fire patterns grew brighter and brighter. By the end, from Urahara's vantage point, Ryan looked like nothing more than a crimson humanoid silhouette.

"Flame Heart stirs, Ten Directions Annihilation!" Yoruichi's soft chant was like a finger pulling a trigger. A crimson Flame Tide erupted instantly from the sword-shaped patterns, merging into a single mass that completely engulfed Ryan.

Then, the staff in Yoruichi's hand seemed to take a short breath. As the fire patterns on the stone flickered between dim and bright, the sword-shaped patterns transformed into circular shield-shaped patterns.

The crimson fireball, which had been about to explode outward, seemed to hit an invisible wall and surged back inward.

A setting sun hung in the sky. Though it was small, with a diameter of only three meters or so, it still gave off a sense of warmth. The sound of giant waves crashing against rocks echoed in the air, sounding incredibly soothing.

Yoruichi, standing beside the setting sun, looked like the Statue of Liberty holding a torch—beautiful and elegant. But in the next second, the scene shifted abruptly. Yoruichi parted her hands, and as the snake head and tail separated, she flung that beautiful "little sunset" away like a spinning top.

The sunset rose into the sky, as if breaking through layers of water, leaving behind rings of fire that slowly spread outward in the air before finally exploding completely, turning into a beautiful cloud.

As for what happened to Ryan? His traces were scattered throughout the crimson sky!

"How does it feel!" Urahara cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to Yoruichi, who had just landed beside him. There was no helping it; the sound coming from the sky was like a thunderclap right next to their ears—it was simply too loud!

"How does it feel?" Yoruichi took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, and said with a smile, "Satisfying~!"