Chapter 193: Could It Be a Fight With My Master?
Most of Seireitei had fallen into silence.
All Shinigami looked in astonishment toward the Second Division's direction.
There, Captain-Commander Yamamoto's Reiatsu surged forth like mountainous waves and roaring tides, continuously sweeping through.
That powerful, scorching Reiatsu assaulted everyone's senses.
And within this tidal wave of Reiatsu, there was another presence impossible to ignore.
Third Seat of the Second Division, Satoru!
Like Yamamoto, Satoru's Reiatsu also emanated from the Second Division's area.
Wave after wave, though not as powerful as Yamamoto's, its intensity was in no way inferior.
That sharp, overwhelming Reiatsu aura made it difficult for weaker squad members to even breathe.
Even from over ten kilometers away, Captain-Commander Yamamoto's undisguised killing intent could be felt.
This was definitely not sparring or training.
This was genuine life-or-death combat.
So the question arose.
Apart from these two, and the occasional appearance of Captain Kyōraku's Reiatsu, there were no other Reiatsu presences at the scene.
Where was the enemy?
Such boiling killing intent, such unreserved combat - who were they fighting?
Eliminating all impossibilities, the only remaining answer was probably one.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto... was engaged in mortal combat with Satoru!
The battle between them had reached such intensity that others couldn't intervene.
Even Captain Kyōraku could only maneuver at the periphery.
What exactly had happened? Why had the Captain-Commander and his disciple reached this point?
For a moment, various speculations emerged in people's minds.
Shinigami who revered strength and believed in survival of the fittest thought this was a scheming genius disciple who, after learning all his master's skills, had turned against him, preparing to betray his teacher and overthrow his legacy.
Conspiracy theorists and keyboard warriors believed this was Satoru joining forces with the Shihōin Clan, preparing to overthrow Yamamoto and completely take control of the Gotei 13.
Sixth Division barracks.
Sōjun quickly ran to the captain's office door—
"Captain! What exactly is happening?"
"Though Satoru has his share of minor flaws, he would never do anything to betray the Captain-Commander... There must be some misunderstanding here!"
"Please step in and stop the Captain-Commander!"
"If you truly cannot stop him, then at least save Satoru! With your status as head of the Kuchiki Clan, you can certainly protect him!"
Ginrei: "..."
Looking at his son standing anxiously at the door, he felt his blood pressure rising.
Without even knowing the full story, his own son was already taking sides so blatantly.
He couldn't help but suspect that even if Satoru had truly betrayed them, this foolish son would still speak in his defense.
"Father!"
Seeing that addressing him as Captain wasn't working, Sōjun switched to playing the family card.
Ginrei stood up.
"I'll go assess the situation. You wait here and don't move."
As Sōjun nodded obediently, Ginrei vanished with a Flash Step.
At the Fourth Division, Seinosuke arrived at the captain's office door to see his captain.
He then made a similar request.
Retsu Unohana sat quietly in the room, gently shaking her head.
"There's no need to worry."
Hearing this, Seinosuke's eyes lit up.
Did the captain know some inside information?
Under his expectant gaze, Retsu softly said:
"If those two truly come to blows, even if I rush over now, I wouldn't be able to save Satoru-kun."
Seinosuke: "..."
Damn, that's so reasonable he couldn't even refute it.
...
...
Ginrei arrived at the Second Division using Flash Step.
The closer he got, the more alarmed he became.
Yamamoto's Reiatsu, filled with overwhelming fury, felt as if he had encountered an irreconcilable enemy.
Having worked with Yamamoto for so many years, he had never seen him this enraged.
Even during the previous rebel uproar, Yamamoto had remained calm.
What on earth had happened?
Could it really be a fight with Satoru?
No way…
With doubts in his heart, he landed beside Jūshirō.
"Captain Kuchiki."
Jūshirō had already noticed Ginrei's arrival and nodded to him.
Ginrei lowered his voice and voiced the doubts he had on the way.
Hearing this, Jūshirō gave a bitter smile.
In truth, he was just as curious.
He shook his head gently. "I'm not too sure about the situation inside… I think there must be an enemy in there. Why would Captain Yamamoto fight with Satoru?"
"Perhaps the enemy has some special ability that prevents their Reiatsu from leaking during battle, so we can only sense Captain Yamamoto and Satoru's Reiatsu."
"I believe that once they come out, they'll send people in to clean up the bodies."
Ukitake didn't mention capturing prisoners.
If Captain Yamamoto was this furious, how could there be any prisoners…
Suddenly, Kirio spoke up:
"They're coming out!"
Jūshirō and Ginrei quickly turned to look.
Yoruichi and Suì-Fēng also stepped forward with the Punishment Force.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the first to emerge was Yamamoto Shigekuni.
The old man's face was dark, exuding an aura that warned others to stay away.
His upper body was bare, revealing well-defined muscles.
His clothes were charred, with tattered fabric fluttering at his sides.
Yamamoto carried his sword as he walked out step by step.
Everyone instinctively looked behind him.
They saw Satoru following him out.
Unlike the completely unscathed Yamamoto, Satoru had numerous burst wounds on his arms, staining both limbs crimson with blood.
The clothes on his upper body were shattered, leaving even less fabric than Yamamoto's, and revealing a dust-covered, well-built physique.
Lastly came Shunsui.
Like Satoru, he was covered in dust, and his pink floral haori was burned in several places, but otherwise, he seemed fine.
No one else came out after them.
Jūshirō hurried over.
"Captain Yamamoto! Satoru! Kyōraku, are you all alright?"
Shunsui waved his hand with a bitter smile, indicating he was fine.
Both Satoru and Yamamoto wore thoughtful expressions and didn't respond.
Seeing this, Jūshirō was somewhat confused.
He couldn't help but ask, "Captain, should we go in and collect the enemy's bodies?"
Hearing this, Yamamoto looked at him.
The old man opened his mouth, about to say something.
But then, as if suddenly remembering something, he paused in thought.
Then he shook his head. "There is no enemy. Dismiss everyone."
Kirio was taken aback. "No enemy? Then the Reiatsu explosion earlier… was it a fight with my master?"
Yamamoto: "?"
It took him a second to realize Kirio was referring to Satoru.
What kind of messy titles were these!
Under everyone's gaze, Yamamoto stroked his beard and suddenly had an inspiration.
He nodded. "Yes, I fought with this kid."
Kirio: "?"
Jūshirō: "?"
Satoru: "?"
"I'm tired, going back to rest. I'll leave this place to Satoru."
"Boy, handle this properly."
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes, giving Satoru a warning look.
Then he picked up his sword and strode away.
Leaving behind a group of Shinigami staring wide-eyed at Satoru with incredulous gazes.