Chojiro Sasakibe was surprised, but he was also baffled. The Sōkyoku was merely an execution device, a weapon for putting criminals to death. Even if it could unleash the destructive power of a million Zanpakuto, whoever stole it would not be able to control it. Who would bother stealing it? And why was the Captain-Commander so furious?
Sasakibe had followed the Captain-Commander for countless years. He knew this was fury of the deepest kind, something he had not seen in a very long time. The last time had been when Urahara Kisuke defected.
As the Captain-Commander's anger mounted, the air grew hotter. Flames sprang up in places, and parts of the ground began to melt.
Even more puzzled, Sasakibe looked at him and asked, "Captain-Commander... the Sōkyoku..."
Before he could finish, the Captain-Commander turned, and the cane in his hand shattered.
Boom...
Ryujin Jakka appeared in the Captain-Commander's hand. With a light swing, he sent a pillar of fire soaring into the sky.
The pillar drew the attention of the entire Seireitei. Many Death Gods knew whose flames these were, yet they stared in shock, wondering why the Captain-Commander had unleashed them.
Even after the pillar dispersed, every Death God captain who had seen it rushed toward the Captain-Commander.
Sasakibe stared at him in alarm. The Captain-Commander was truly enraged, and the Sōkyoku was the reason. Sasakibe was certain there was a connection between them.
With the air burning around him, the Captain-Commander stood amid the flames and said coldly, "Damn it... The Sōkyoku was stolen, and worse, destroyed! I... I will kill whoever destroyed it!"
His low growl made the flames surge higher.
Still baffled, Sasakibe asked the man he had followed for so many years, "Captain-Commander... Isn't the Sōkyoku just an execution device? Why does it anger you