A crimson streak of light crossed Seireitei's outer wall and landed directly on a ruined street.
Yoriichi stopped using Nisshun, and the burning trail of Reiatsu beneath his feet quickly died out.
The sounds of fighting he had expected never came.
All of Seireitei was unusually quiet.
The unfamiliar Reiatsu that had suddenly appeared had all vanished, as though it had never existed.
Only the collapsed houses, cracked streets, and lingering Reiatsu in the air proved that an attack had just taken place here.
Several rescue teams moved back and forth through the rubble.
Wounded division members were lifted onto stretchers and taken to the treatment area the Fourth Division had temporarily set up.
Even more lay quietly along both sides of the street, covered in white cloths.
Beneath those white cloths, there was no longer any fluctuation of Reiatsu.
Yoriichi scanned his surroundings.
Eleven bodies.
He had seen two of them at Shin'ō Academy before.
Not long ago, those two young Soul Reapers had been sitting in a classroom, holding bamboo swords as they listened to him explain swordsmanship.
One of them had even caught up with him after a practical lesson specifically to ask about how to hold his sword.
Now, his hand still gripped his Zanpakuto.
But the blade had broken in two.
Yoriichi walked past the bodies in silence.
A First Division member tallying the casualties recognized him and immediately hurried over.
"Captain Yoriichi."
"Where are the enemies?"
"They've already withdrawn."
Dried blood still stained the division member's face.
His left arm was wrapped in a makeshift bandage, and blood was slowly seeping through.
"They appeared without any warning."
"The attack lasted less than an hour. Then they all vanished at the same time."
Yoriichi looked at the surrounding ruins.
"They seemed to want only to