Luring the Snake from Its Hole

Late at night, the Kido Corps' headquarters was utterly silent.

Inside Liu Chuan's room, only a Spirit Particle lamp cast a soft, steady white glow over a workbench piled high with books.

He hadn't gone to rest. Instead, he sat at the desk, organizing some research notes he had brought back from the Soul King Palace.

At the same time, he acclimated to the natural circulation of the power within him after breaking past his limits in Seireitei's relatively "thin" environment.

Suddenly, the hand holding his pen paused slightly.

He caught an extremely faint Spiritual Pressure fluctuation from the shadows of the courtyard outside the window, one that carried an obvious sense of "watching" and "temptation."

That fluctuation vanished in an instant. Like a startled rat, it quickly fled toward the outskirts of the headquarters, in the more remote reaches of Seireitei.

Its speed was controlled perfectly—not so fast that Liu Chuan would lose it, yet panicked and "stealthy" enough to seem convincing.

"Oh?" Liu Chuan set down his pen, amusement flickering in his eyes.

He had only just returned to Seireitei, and someone was already unable to hold back from coming to "bring him a gift"?

And such a clumsy, nearly explicit "invitation" at that... Did they think that, because he was young and hot-blooded, he would definitely follow out of curiosity? Or did they think that, having just returned, he lacked vigilance?

"Interesting," Liu Chuan murmured, a cold curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

He had never been one to fear trouble, and he especially despised this sort of furtive, midnight spying.

Since they had extended such a "warm invitation," he would see just what sort of monsters lurked beneath Seireitei's night.

He made no special preparations. His figure flickered, and he followed the trace of that fleeing Spiritual Pressure at an unhurried pace.

The "bait" ahead was clearly extremely familiar with Seireitei's secluded paths, deliberately weaving through areas rarely visited by anyone.

Liu Chuan followed from afar. Not only could he keep the person ahead locked onto, but he could also sense several even more concealed presences in the darkness around him, nearly merged with the shadows themselves.

Like spiders weaving a web, they moved silently behind him and along his flanks, cutting off possible routes of retreat.

Rear guard, encirclement... a standard ambush formation. Liu Chuan sneered inwardly, yet maintained the appearance of being completely unaware, allowing himself to be led deeper and deeper into a desolate area.

Eventually, they reached the western edge of Seireitei, an abandoned place where nothing remained but broken walls and ruins.

The light here was especially dim, while the air was filled with the scent of damp earth and stale decay.

The "bait" ahead stopped before a half-collapsed building, then turned to face Liu Chuan.

A strange smile of triumph seemed to linger on his face.

Almost at the same moment, several faint landing sounds came from behind Liu Chuan. Figures dressed in black skintight clothing, their auras cold and lifeless, appeared there.

Like ghosts, they emerged behind Liu Chuan and sealed off the path he had taken.

Then, from the densest shadows ahead, two figures slowly stepped out.

The man on the left wore the lavish robes of a Sage of the Central 46 Chambers. His face was slightly twisted by excitement and resentment. It was Tsukihito Tsunayashiro.

His face bore the savage delight of one certain of victory, of vengeance soon to be exacted. His gaze locked onto Liu Chuan like a venomous snake.

The man on the right was Scarface, the executioner.

He had changed into a set of old but cleaner clothes. In his hand was a vicious-looking Zanpakuto, its edge lined with serrated teeth.

His scar-crossed face appeared even more ferocious in the dim light, and his eyes gleamed with madness, bloodlust, and an almost obsessive longing for "freedom."

He stared at Liu Chuan as though an starving wolf eyeing its prey.

"Heh. Young people really are young people."

Tsukihito Tsunayashiro spoke first. His voice was especially grating amid the silent ruins, filled with smugness and mockery.

"Your experience is simply too shallow. You stepped so easily into the burial ground I carefully prepared for you... Liu Chuan, the genius of Zero Division? Nothing special!"

Liu Chuan stood where he was, calmly sweeping his gaze across Tsukihito Tsunayashiro before looking at the vicious Scarface.

Then he looked at the silent death warriors around them, standing as still as statues. A trace of "confusion" and "wariness" appeared on his face at the proper moment.

"You are...?" Liu Chuan frowned slightly, as though trying to remember.

"What? Have the important people forgotten? You don't remember me?"

Seeing that Liu Chuan apparently failed to recognize him, Tsukihito Tsunayashiro grew even angrier and shrieked.

"I am Tsukihito Tsunayashiro! A Sage of the Central 46 Chambers! That day, relying on your status as a member of Zero Division, you assaulted me in the Central 46 Hall and forced us to change our decision, utterly disgracing us! I remember that humiliation day and night!"

Only then did Liu Chuan nod as if he had suddenly remembered. "Oh, it's you. What, was the lesson last time not enough? You brought help this time because you want to save face?"

"You!" Tsukihito Tsunayashiro's sore spot had been struck, and his face instantly flushed red. But he forcefully suppressed his rage and revealed an even more venomous smile.

"Sharp-tongued! But you can only enjoy your verbal bravado for now. Boy, do you feel that the Spiritual Power inside your body... isn't circulating very smoothly?"

Liu Chuan cooperatively "changed expression slightly" and secretly tried to mobilize his Spiritual Pressure. Sure enough, he felt an extremely faint sluggishness in the flow of his Spiritual Power.

It was as if some invisible, viscous "impurity" filled the air, obstructing the circulation of Spiritual Power. That was the effect of Binding Spirit Dust.

But for someone like him, who had already broken the Soul Reaper Limit, its effect was nowhere near that great.

"You feel it now, don't you?" Seeing Liu Chuan's expression, Tsukihito Tsunayashiro's smugness deepened.

"This is the specially made 'Binding Spirit Dust' of my Tsunayashiro Clan. Colorless and odorless, it can greatly disrupt the flow of Spirit Particles.

"Even a captain, after unexpectedly inhaling so much of it, would feel their body growing heavy, unable to raise their Spiritual Pressure, wouldn't they? And you can't use Kido either, can you? Hahahahaha!"

It was as if he had already seen Liu Chuan unable to resist, left to be slaughtered by others. His laughter echoed through the ruins, full of crazed triumph.

Liu Chuan "appropriately" revealed a look of "shock," rage, and helplessness. Even his body swayed slightly, as though he had truly been greatly affected.

At that moment, Scarface, the executioner beside him, impatiently licked his chapped lips. His crimson eyes fixed on Liu Chuan as he rasped, "What are you rambling on for? As long as I kill this Soul Reaper, I'll be free, right?"

"That's right!" Tsukihito Tsunayashiro stopped laughing, his gaze turning resentful and cold once more. Looking at Liu Chuan, he spoke as though reading out a sentence.

"Boy, listen to the 'script' I prepared for you—Liu Chuan, a member of Zero Division, encountered Scarface, a major criminal who had escaped from prison, and pursued him alone, engaging him in fierce battle.

"However, the criminal was powerful and battle-hardened. Though Liu Chuan fought valiantly, he was ultimately no match for him and unfortunately... died in the attack!"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, as if he could already see the benefits this "perfect" outcome would bring—removing a grave threat, washing away his humiliation, and avoiding excessive suspicion or investigation from the Soul King Palace.

"If you must blame someone, blame yourself for being too flamboyant, for not knowing how to restrain yourself. You blocked my path and brought me such unbearable humiliation! In your next life, remember to be smarter!"

Having said that, he stopped wasting words and abruptly waved his hand. "Move! Kill him!"

At his command, Scarface, the executioner who had long been poised to strike, was the first to unleash a wild roar.

Like a savage beast released from its cage, he swung his vicious Zanpakuto and lunged fiercely at Liu Chuan, who appeared to have sluggish Spiritual Power and an unsteady body, carrying violent Spiritual Pressure and a bloody killing intent!

At the same time, the several death warriors of the Tsunayashiro Clan around them darted out like phantoms from every treacherous angle.

The poisoned daggers and exotic weapons in their hands gleamed with cold light, sealing off every possible path Liu Chuan could take to evade them. Together with Scarface's frontal assault, they formed a certain-kill trap!

Tsukihito Tsunayashiro stood where he was, a savage smile of fulfilled vengeance and smug satisfaction already spreading across his face, as though he could see Liu Chuan being hacked to pieces by countless blades.

However, just as Scarface's blade was about to touch the corner of Liu Chuan's robe, and the death warriors' attacks were within arm's reach—