Tenteikūra was an advanced Bakudō that used Reiatsu to locate multiple people, lock onto them, and transmit messages.
Anyone whose Reiatsu it failed to lock onto could not hear the message.
Everyone connected to Tenteikūra would notice it, as though a thread had descended from the sky to the back of their neck.
Makizō Aramaki looked up instinctively. A deep voice, full of mature masculine presence, rang in his ears. "Captain of the Second Division, Captain of the 11th Division, and all squad members in West District Ten."
Smack.
Something happened beside him.
Makizō Aramaki wiped away the liquid that had suddenly splashed onto his face and looked down. His left palm was covered in scarlet.
"?" He quickly looked to his left. A headless corpse fell. Judging by the ragged wound on its neck, its head seemed to have been smashed apart by some blunt object.
"Ugh." A cry of sheer terror escaped his throat. He tried to turn and call to his companion for help, only to find that the companion on his right was dead too, his severed head rolling to a stop at his feet.
"Ah."
Makizō Aramaki cried out and collapsed to the ground in fright. With no mind to listen to what Tenteikūra was saying, he hurriedly looked back.
One heart had been pierced through; another body had been cut diagonally in half.
At some point, the three companions behind him had also set out for the underworld. Like the two on either side of him, they had all been killed in a single blow.
The wind of death brushed past him.
His mouth hung open as he hurriedly felt his head and body with both hands, terrified that he had suffered a wound without realizing it. He showed none of the 11th Division's martial spirit of fearing no death.
Makizō Aramaki merely liked to fight. He was nowhere near fanatical enough to regard battle as his life.
Joining the 11th Division had been the greatest mistake and misconception of his life. He had mistakenly believed he was obsessed with fighting and wanted to make his mark in a combat division.
The people of the 11th Division, however, had taught him a harsh lesson.
Leaving aside Captain Zaraki, who regarded fighting as natural as breathing, none of the others were easy to deal with either. They were like beasts that devoured raw flesh and drank blood.
His own ruthlessness among the 11th Division was like a little white rabbit entering a pack of wolves.
Makizō Aramaki thought about transferring every day, but he also knew it was impossible.
After joining the Gotei 13, anyone who wanted to transfer had to catch another captain's eye and be reassigned as a lieutenant.
The other option was for their captain to recommend them to another division.
He could meet neither condition.
"Phew, I-I'm okay." Makizō Aramaki felt himself all over and confirmed there were no holes in him. His racing heart slowed a little, no longer feeling as though it would leap out of his chest.
"...Gather at Rice Village."
Tenteikūra disappeared.
Makizō Aramaki had not heard a word of what came before, but the order to gather at Rice Village was exactly what he wanted to hear.
The last thing he wanted now was to keep wandering around outside alone. He hurriedly pushed himself up and ran two steps forward, only for his legs to give way and send him sprawling. Looking at his companion's head, its eyes still open in death, he cried, "Ah!"
He screamed, scrambled up on all fours, and ran away crying with an extremely flamboyant gait.
He ran all the way to Rice Village, where the wind brushed through tall white poplars, and the sunlight was broken into scattered fragments.
Makizō Aramaki saw a large group of Shinigami gathered there and finally felt relieved. He ran toward his own division.
His disheveled, bloodstained appearance drew quite a few squad members' attention.
"Aramaki, what happened to you?"
In the 11th Division, it was usually the Fifth Seat, Yumichika Ayasegawa, who oversaw all the division's affairs, big and small.
The Seated Officers above him had no interest whatsoever in such matters.
"I don't understand it either." The moment Makizō Aramaki saw him, he poured out his troubles. "When I heard the message from Tenteikūra, Aryū and the others were suddenly killed, all in one blow. I couldn't even see who did it."
Yumichika Ayasegawa knew who it was. "You're one lucky bastard," he remarked. "You ran into Shiraishi and survived. You should know, in just a short while, over a hundred of our squad members have died at his hands."
"O-over a hundred?!" Makizō Aramaki stared at him in shock.
Ikkaku Madarame cut in. "What are you so surprised about? The enemy beat the captain of the Twelfth Division. Of course he'd be that strong."
You're all crazy. Makizō Aramaki looked at the two men, then at his companions around him, and once again understood the gulf between them. "Where's Captain Zaraki?"
"Inside, discussing a plan with Captain Kyōraku and Captain Soi Fon."
Yumichika Ayasegawa pointed to a house at the edge of the village. From the outside, it looked much like the other houses, with a thatched roof.
The house was small inside, but it had more than enough room for three people.
Shunsui Kyōraku had chosen a temporary meeting place because he did not want the squad members outside to notice the tension between the captains.
"The 11th Division's discipline needs a thorough overhaul. Lax management like yours leads to situations like this."
Soi Fon folded her arms, her petite frame carrying an air of superiority.
Kenpachi Zaraki lowered his eyes and said impatiently, "Can discipline make you win? Boring. I'm not wasting my time discussing this with you."
"Now, now, both of you, stop arguing."
Shunsui Kyōraku raised a hand to play peacemaker, a helpless smile on his face. "We've suffered heavy losses this time. The 11th Division has lost a hundred and three squad members. It clearly isn't wise to keep spreading out."
Soi Fon gave him a sidelong look. "What do you intend to do?"
"Wait for him to come to us. Rice Village seems to be on good terms with Shiraishi. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been angered by the 11th Division's actions."
Shunsui Kyōraku voiced his idea. It was not particularly clever, but it was the most suitable strategy for the moment.
When he had sent the message with Tenteikūra, he had kept releasing his Reiatsu. Ordinary squad members could not detect it, but anyone at Captain level would have been unable to ignore it.
It had been a test, and the result was that no more squad members had died.
That showed his opponent was smart, understood his meaning, and stopped killing in time.
"He won't come." Soi Fon shook her head. She knew Shiraishi's character quite well. "If we kill the people of Rice Village, we'll only invite his retaliation. Next time, the dead won't just be members of the 11th Division."
"We have to try." Shunsui Kyōraku pulled down his straw hat. He knew it was unlikely, but he had suggested it anyway. What he wanted was a ceasefire.
There was nothing else to be done. Shiraishi was too good at concealing his Reiatsu, making him too troublesome to deal with.
The only chance they had had to catch him had been wasted by Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
If he had called them to act with him instead of going alone two days ago, things would not have come to this.
Kenpachi Zaraki said impatiently, "All of you withdraw and leave me here alone. That guy will show himself soon enough."
"No."
Soi Fon rejected his proposal outright. "There's no telling what kind of trouble you'd cause if we left you here."
"You-" Kenpachi Zaraki had barely said a word when a report from outside interrupted him.
"Captain Kyōraku, Akon, the Third Seat of the Twelfth Division, has found an underground passage. The criminal is very likely hiding there."