(T/N: Hello Everyone!! This is the first Chapter! Hope you Enjoy!)
Shihōin Yoruichi jumped in through the window. Once she confirmed that the Reishi Shell student was unconscious, she said to a subordinate:
"Keep an eye on the target."
The caravan leader and the Reishi Shell student were high-priority targets, so someone had to stay behind and guard them.
Yoruichi quickly reloaded her crossbow. The tranquilizers provided by Squad 12 worked well, but the crossbow could only fire one bolt at a time.
Once reloaded, the three of them continued onward, passing through the room where the Reishi Shell student lay and heading deeper into the house.
As they reached the inner hallway, there was a servant outside. But just like the Reishi Shell student, he didn't even have time to react before he was struck by an arrow.
The servant's face froze in shock before he collapsed to the ground.
Around the corner, another servant was sweeping the corridor.
Yoruichi pressed herself against the corner, planning to knock the servant out the moment he passed by.
However, just as she took down the second servant, shouting erupted from the other side of the house.
Moments later, someone cried out, "We're under attack!"
"Idiots!" Yoruichi's expression darkened. She turned to her subordinates and ordered, "Forget the others. Take down the blond caravan leader first!"
She had memorized the man's Reiatsu, and immediately dashed toward where he was located.
Bang— Yoruichi kicked open the door with one strong strike, only to find the room empty.
She had already guessed as much. "He escaped through the window. After him!"
Without hesitation, she crashed through the glass and gave chase.
Outside, she spotted the caravan leader already locked in combat with members of the Onmitsukidō stationed there.
The man slashed down the tranquilizer arrows fired at him by the Onmitsukidō.
"Shikai?" Yoruichi narrowed her eyes as she saw him wielding a Zanpakutō—and it was already released.
"So you're not a Reishi Shell after all!"
A torrent of Reiatsu surged from behind her as she used Shunpo to flash behind the caravan leader and drove a powerful kick straight into his kidney.
He was still focused on the Onmitsukidō's attack and didn't even register her approach.
Pain exploded in his side, his face turning from purple to red in an instant.
Clenching his teeth, the caravan leader swung his Zanpakutō, sending a wave of invisible sound straight toward Yoruichi.
Her ears rang violently, nearly throwing off her balance.
Thankfully, his Reiatsu was far weaker than hers. Though the sonic attack disrupted her hearing, it wasn't enough to cause internal damage.
Yoruichi shook it off and flashed forward again, spinning and driving her long leg squarely into his chin.
Crack—
His jaw made a sickening crunch.
He was launched backward by the sheer force, slammed into the rooftop, punched a hole through it, and crashed back down into the house.
Yoruichi and the Onmitsukidō immediately followed him in.
When they reached him, he was already unconscious.
Yoruichi let out a breath. "Inject him with a tranquilizer, now!"
He didn't appear to be a Reishi Shell, and she wasn't sure if he had any self-destruct mechanisms embedded in him. Just to be safe, she decided to keep him knocked out for a while longer.
She noticed that Ōmaeda Kishinosuke was still in the middle of a fight nearby. Leaving two subordinates to guard the caravan leader, she decided to check on Ōmaeda's situation herself.
Ōmaeda was fighting alongside three Onmitsukidō operatives against several Shinigami wielding Zanpakutō.
Boom— Ōmaeda swung his spiked club-like Zanpakutō, smashing an entire wall and collapsing one corner of the building.
"Why all the noise?" Yoruichi frowned.
"Vice-Captain..." Ōmaeda scratched his head in embarrassment. "I don't think they're Reishi Shells. They're pretty skilled!"
"It doesn't matter who they are—take them down first, ask questions later!" Yoruichi ordered.
She was about to join the fight when the opposing Shinigami suddenly stopped.
"You're Lady Shihōin!"
"There might've been a misunderstanding…"
"What's going on here?" Yoruichi paused. "You're Shinigami, right? Why are you here?"
"We were escorting cargo for the Suzuki Merchant Guild. Just trying to earn some drinking money…" one of them explained quickly. "These guys didn't announce themselves and attacked us without warning..."
The Suzuki Guild often sent goods through dangerous districts, and these Shinigami were temporary hires acting as guards.
They had been resting when Ōmaeda and his team attacked them.
"What squad are you with?"
"We're from Squad 11."
"That explains the skill level..." Ōmaeda muttered, realizing the earlier stalemate made more sense now.
"Squad 11?" Yoruichi's expression shifted slightly. "Who's your Seventh Seat?"
"Seventh Seat? That'd be Kobane Jin'emon."
"The Suzuki Guild is involved in something serious." Yoruichi nodded. "I need you to return with us to the Seireitei for verification. And you're not to withhold anything you know about the guild."
"No problem! But once we're back, let us contact our captain or vice-captain." The Shinigami nodded eagerly.
They weren't sure what crime the Suzuki Guild had committed, and they didn't want to be locked away with no way to contact the outside world.
"Fine." Yoruichi didn't trust them completely, so she signaled her team to stay alert and keep watch over the group.
Yoruichi and the Onmitsukidō took the Suzuki Guild members and the Squad 11 Shinigami back to the Seireitei.
Seeing the scale of the operation, the Squad 11 members realized the Suzuki Guild was in serious trouble and didn't try to resist.
With the follow-up now someone else's responsibility, Yoruichi figured she might as well pass the intelligence to her teacher.
She activated her Denreishinki and contacted Katori Nanatsuki.
"Sensei, are you still at the Spiritual Arts Academy? I've found something important!"
A calm voice came through the device. "I've uncovered something myself. But I'm also dealing with a minor problem over here."
Yoruichi immediately asked, "What kind of problem?"
"I cut someone from the Mizutani family."
On the other end, Katori Nanatsuki stood in a pool of blood, looking at the guards still blocking his way.
"I cut a Reishi Shell, but the guards here in the noble district don't know about that. They've got the wrong idea and now they won't let me leave."
"Mizutani family?" Yoruichi was startled that her teacher had gotten into a fight in the noble district.
"Sensei, try not to escalate things any further. That'll just make it worse. I'm on my way!"