Upon Toshiro's command, two Onmitsukido's members immediately stepped forward to arrest Kumoi.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just then, several masked men in black suddenly jumped out, blocking Kumoi.
"Perfect timing! Hold them off! Let me go first!"
Kumoi shouted to the masked men.
These sudden masked men were members of the Kasumioji Clan's assassination squad. Hearing Kumoi's order, they suddenly pulled out smoke bombs and threw them on the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The smoke bombs exploded, filling the hall with white smoke and obscuring everyone's vision.
"Aaaah—!!"
Due to the sudden turn of events and the blinding smoke, the wedding guests in the hall fell into chaos.
Toshiro frowned and gently waved his sleeve.
Whoosh—!
His powerful Reiatsu created a violent wind that dispersed the smoke.
However, Kumoi and the members of the assassination squad had already disappeared from the hall.
"Silence!!"
Toshiro suddenly shouted loudly.
Hearing Toshiro's voice, the chaotic hall instantly quieted down.
"Captain Sui-Feng, immediately lead your men to escort the guests out, then seal off the Kasumioji Residence. No one is to enter or leave!"
Toshiro said to Sui-Feng.
"What about Kumoi?"
Sui-Feng asked.
"It's okay. I've already sensed his Reiatsu. He's fleeing towards the inner quarters of the residence. I'll go after him immediately. As long as you seal off the entire residence, he won't be able to escape. Then, deploy more troops and thoroughly search the Kasumioji Residence!"
Toshiro explained.
"Very well."
Sui-Feng nodded and led her people to guide the wedding guests out of the Kasumioji Residence.
"Rurichiyo, you leave with Kenryu and Enryu for now. I'll come back after I've dealt with Kumoi."
Toshiro said to Rurichiyo beside him.
"Mm, Toshiro, I'll wait for you to come back!"
Rurichiyo nodded firmly. She didn't act willfully and insist on staying, knowing that even if she did, she wouldn't be able to help Toshiro and would only cause him trouble.
"Ah, by the way, take this guy with you too."
Toshiro looked at Shu, who had been standing there dumbfounded and at a loss.
"Huh? M-Me?"
Shu asked, looking completely bewildered. He still didn't understand what was happening.
Wasn't he just having a wedding with Ruri-chan? How did it suddenly turn into this? Shu really couldn't comprehend it.
Hearing Toshiro's words, Kenryu directly grabbed Shu and, together with Enryu, escorted Rurichiyo out of the Kasumioji Residence.
"Now then, Kumoi, prepare to die!"
A cold light flashed in Toshiro's eyes as he sped off in the direction Kumoi had fled.
In truth, with Toshiro's strength, Kumoi could not possibly have escaped from right under his nose. Toshiro had deliberately let him go.
After all, Kumoi was a powerful minister of the Kasumioji Clan. Even if Toshiro had caught him on the spot, under the Soul Society's laws, he would have at most received a few thousand years imprisonment.
Remember, in the original work, Aizen was initially sentenced to only 18,800 years, which was only increased to 20,000 years after he mocked the Central 46.
How could a scumbag like Kumoi's crimes compare to Aizen's? So even a few thousand years might be an overestimate.
What Toshiro wanted wasn't just to imprison Kumoi for a few thousand years… he wanted to completely kill him!
In the original anime plot, Kumoi was killed by Shusuke. But Toshiro couldn't simply kill Kumoi like Shusuke did.
Because Toshiro, as Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 and Captain of the 10th Division, had to lead by example and actively uphold the laws and regulations of the Soul Society.
According to those laws, Kumoi would at most get a few thousand years in prison.
So if Toshiro wanted to kill Kumoi, he needed a plausible reason.
Given the situation just now, he couldn't openly kill him in front of everyone when he clearly had the ability to capture him alive.
That's why Toshiro deliberately let Kumoi escape. Once he escaped, facing the Gotei 13's encirclement, he would certainly not sit idly by and wait for death but would organize his men to fight to the death.
This way, Toshiro could use the excuse that 'Kumoi put up a desperate resistance, and I couldn't hold back in the fight, accidentally killing him' as a reason to completely kill Kumoi.
Inside the workshop where the Kasumioji Clan secretly produced Bakkoto.
After escaping from the hall, Kumoi immediately gathered his forces and assembled them here.
"Damn it! It must be Amagai! That bastard must have betrayed me! Otherwise, how could Nukui and the others have been intercepted by the Gotei 13 just in time!!"
"That damn Amagai! This old man kindly sent him Bakkoto to help him better deal with the Gotei 13, and he actually betrays me!"
Kumoi roared in fury.
"Kumoi-sama, what should we do now?"
One of Kumoi's subordinates asked.
"There's no choice. At this point, we have to fight to the death!"
With that, Kumoi walked over to a row of weapon racks. On these racks were densely packed Bakkoto.
Forging Bakkoto was extremely difficult. Earlier, when Shusuke asked for Bakkoto, Kumoi had only agreed to give him a few. But now, these racks were densely packed with several hundred.
However, these Bakkoto had been accumulated by Kumoi bit by bit over many years. Usually, he rarely even let his own subordinates use them. But now, Kumoi couldn't care about that anymore.
"Come, take these Bakkoto and fight to the end against the Gotei 13's Shinigami!"
Kumoi shouted loudly, holding a Bakkoto aloft.
"Yes, Kumoi-sama!!"
Kumoi's subordinates shouted with fanatical expressions.
"Hmm? Kumoi's Reiatsu disappeared?"
Toshiro, who was tracking Kumoi, suddenly stopped.
Then Toshiro jumped onto the roof of a tall building and activated his [True Eye of the Dragon] to observe the entire Kasumioji Residence.
"I see. It's a barrier."
Toshiro glanced towards the direction on his right and sped off.
"A building of this style... is it a workshop? And built in such an out-of-the-way place, specifically isolated with a barrier... Could this be the factory where Bakkoto are forged?"
Toshiro stood in front of a workshop, surveying it.
"Well, never mind. I'll just break the barrier and go in to find out."
Clang!
Toshiro drew his Zanpakuto and released a Kenatsu directly at the transparent barrier.
The barrier shattered with a bang, and Toshiro leisurely walked in.
"Who goes there!"
Kumoi, hearing the barrier break inside the workshop, immediately turned around.
"Yo, Kumoi. Don't you recognize me after just a short while? That's truly sad."
Toshiro pushed the door open and entered.
"Hitsugaya Toshiro!"
Kumoi gritted his teeth.
"Kumoi, are you ready to die?"
Toshiro walked towards Kumoi, his expression cold, sword in hand.
"M-Men! Stop him!"
Kumoi stepped back in panic.
"Die!"
Two subordinates beside Kumoi shouted and charged at Toshiro, swinging their Bakkoto.
"Heh..."
Toshiro chuckled disdainfully, still walking calmly towards Kumoi.
"Arrogant!"
Seeing Toshiro completely disregard them, both of Kumoi's subordinates thought simultaneously.
However, just as they reached Toshiro, they suddenly felt a gentle breeze brush past, then a chill on their necks. They froze in place, unable to move another step, only able to watch helplessly as Toshiro walked past them.
Thud!
The moment Toshiro stepped past them, the two subordinates' heads separated from their bodies and crashed to the ground. The cross-sections of their necks were smooth and clean, without a single drop of blood.
Because the blood hadn't had time to spurt out before it was frozen by Toshiro's ice.
"Hmph, even with Bakkoto, trash is still just trash."
Toshiro lightly flicked his sword, shaking off the non-existent blood.
"So, die, Kumoi!"
Toshiro stood before Kumoi.
Whoosh!
A flash of the sword appeared.
Squelch!
Blood spurted, and a large head flew up.
However, Toshiro frowned at the blood splattered everywhere.
This wasn't because Toshiro had lost control and caused Kumoi's blood to spray everywhere. It was simply not Toshiro who had done the deed.
Clang!
Toshiro sheathed his sword, which he had only swung halfway, and looked at the figure who had suddenly appeared beside him. "You chose to do it yourself after all, Amagai."