"Pfft!"
Blood burst from Ichimaru Gin's mouth as Ryūjin's strike heavily wounded him.
"Kidō, White Crawl!"
Lying on the ground, Ichimaru Gin struggled to raise a finger toward Ryūjin.
A blinding white light instantly erupted and swallowed Ryūjin completely.
White Crawl was a combination of Hadō and Bakudō. It could momentarily cloud an opponent's consciousness while temporarily suppressing their Spiritual Pressure.
Whoosh!
Using the cover of White Crawl, Ichimaru Gin immediately activated Shunpo and dashed to the side.
But before he could gain distance...
Bang!
A foot shot out from the side and slammed directly into him.
Ichimaru Gin's body trembled violently as he was kicked away and smashed into the ground.
Shock appeared on his face once again.
White Crawl had been completely useless against Uchiha Ryūjin.
Just how monstrous was this guy's Spiritual Pressure?
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Rapid footsteps approached as members of the Third Division rushed over after sensing the disturbance.
The moment they saw the scene before them, every one of them froze in shock.
"Captain..."
"All of you, get out!" Ichimaru Gin barked coldly as he pushed himself back to his feet.
"But Captain..."
"I said get out!"
Ichimaru Gin's voice became even harsher.
The Third Division members were confused, but none of them dared disobey their captain. They reluctantly retreated outside, though nobody strayed far in case something happened.
At that moment, Ichimaru Gin picked up his zanpakutō once more.
Without another word, he activated Bankai.
"Kamishini no Yari!"
Ssh! Ssh! Ssh! Ssh!
The zanpakutō in Ichimaru Gin's hand seemingly vanished, replaced by countless sharp piercing sounds.
In reality, the blade had not disappeared at all. Its extension and retraction speed had simply reached an absurd limit, so fast that the naked eye could no longer follow it.
This was Ichimaru Gin's strongest technique.
Kamishini no Yari.
Its speed far surpassed Shikai, reaching dozens of times greater velocity.
More importantly, once the blade pierced an opponent, it left behind a deadly poison capable of decomposing the target from within.
"Now that's more like it."
Ryūjin finally showed a hint of interest.
Without hesitation, he swung the asauchi in his hand straight toward the blurred empty space before him.
Clang!
The sound of metal colliding echoed sharply through the room.
In the next instant, Ichimaru Gin's body shook violently as his zanpakutō was blown away by a single strike from Ryūjin.
Kamishini no Yari, his ultimate attack, had been destroyed instantly.
It was overwhelmingly domineering.
"So this is your real strength..." Ichimaru Gin stared at Ryūjin in horror. "You were actually hiding this much power?"
Even if Ryūjin had defeated Kenpachi Zaraki without his eyepatch, this level of strength still felt completely absurd.
Ssh!
Ryūjin ignored him entirely and slashed downward again.
A severed arm flew into the air.
"Ah!"
Ichimaru Gin clutched the bloody stump of his shoulder and leaned heavily against the wall, his expression twisted in pain.
"You should be grateful that this was the arm you used against me back then."
After leaving behind those cold words, Ryūjin turned and walked away without even glancing back.
As the captain of the Eleventh Division, he could not kill Ichimaru Gin without concrete evidence.
Besides, trying to pry information out of Gin was pointless. Someone like Ichimaru Gin would never reveal anything important.
So the best way to handle the situation, the method most fitting for Ryūjin's personality, was simple.
Cripple him hard enough that he never forgot the warning.
"Captain! Your arm!"
"Uchiha Ryūjin went too far!"
"How could he do something like this?!"
The members of the Third Division were furious and immediately wanted to chase after Ryūjin for an explanation.
Even for a spar, severing an arm was excessive.
And this clearly had not looked like a normal sparring session.
"Everyone stop. I know what I'm doing."
"This matter ends here. No one is allowed to pursue it."
Ichimaru Gin forcefully stopped them all.
The news that Ichimaru Gin had lost an arm spread throughout the Thirteen Court Guard Squads almost immediately, shocking countless people.
After all, the Third Division had not even been carrying out missions recently.
Everyone wanted to know who had managed to sever Ichimaru Gin's arm.
But Ichimaru Gin remained as secretive and sinister as always.
He refused to speak about the incident.
Speculation spread everywhere, yet nobody knew the truth.
Except for two people.
Aizen and Tōsen Kaname.
Ichimaru Gin personally informed them about everything that happened during the battle.
"He caught your zanpakutō with his bare hands?"
"He destroyed Kamishini no Yari in a single strike?"
Even Aizen could not hide his shock.
Breaking Kamishini no Yari so casually was terrifying.
At this point, the vast majority of captains in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were likely no match for Uchiha Ryūjin anymore.
Only Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni could confidently claim superiority.
Even Unohana Retsu might not necessarily defeat him.
"Aizen, Uchiha Ryūjin's strength is far beyond expectations. Defeating Kenpachi Zaraki without his eyepatch definitely was not his limit."
"You're right," Ichimaru Gin said deeply. "There's an enormous power hidden inside him."
Aizen fell silent for a moment before asking another question.
"After severing your arm, he simply left?"
Ichimaru Gin nodded.
"He understands the rules very well. He never bothered asking why I attacked him, and honestly, he didn't even seem interested in the reason."
"He was more focused on fighting itself."
"He has the same insane thirst for battle as Kenpachi Zaraki, but unlike Zaraki, he's rational and calculating."
"If he becomes an enemy, he'll be an extremely troublesome one."
That evaluation was already incredibly high coming from Ichimaru Gin.
Aizen merely nodded without saying another word.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
After severing Ichimaru Gin's arm, Ryūjin's life returned to normal once again.
Every day consisted of finding places to sign in for rewards and handling ordinary Eleventh Division missions.
None of it was remotely difficult for him.
Then, ten days later, the peace was suddenly shattered.
"All captains, report immediately to the First Division Barracks!"
The voice belonged to First Division Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe.
"Using Tenken Kūra to summon all the captains? Something serious must've happened."
Ryūjin immediately understood.
Without wasting time, he headed straight toward the First Division.
By the time Ryūjin arrived, several captains were already present.
Following the arrangement of the captains, he walked directly to the position belonging to the Eleventh Division.
"It really feels strange seeing someone other than Captain Kenpachi standing there."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri's hoarse voice sounded beside him.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, you're overthinking it," Ryūjin replied indifferently.
Mayuri was basically the Soul Society's version of Orochimaru, a complete lunatic.
Ryūjin had zero interest in dealing with him more than necessary.
"Captain Ryūjin, do you know why the Captain Commander summoned everyone so urgently?" Tōshirō Hitsugaya asked with a serious expression.
"I came over the moment I heard Sasakibe's Tenken Kūra. Haven't heard anything yet," Ryūjin replied. "You know something?"
Hitsugaya shook his head.
The other captains whispered among themselves, but nobody understood the situation either.
Only after every captain had arrived did Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni slowly open his eyes.
The room immediately fell silent.
Thump!
The Captain Commander lightly struck the floor with his cane.
The meeting officially began.
"Captains, I have summoned you here because a Hollow incident of unknown scale has erupted within The Void Land at the edge of Northern Rukongai."
The expressions of every captain changed slightly.
Any Hollow incident was serious.
One occurring in The Void Land was even worse.
"Is that place really worth making such a fuss over?" Kurotsuchi Mayuri asked casually.
The Void Land was the true boundary of the Soul Society.
It was chaotic, primitive, and overflowing with unstable Spiritual Pressure.
The entire area was incredibly dangerous. Even captains rarely entered it recklessly.
Rumor had it that only Captain Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni had ever truly ventured deep inside.
Because of the endless turbulence of Spiritual Pressure, space within The Void Land had become unstable, occasionally producing dimensional cracks.
That was precisely why Arrancar frequently appeared there.
Normally, however, those Arrancar were handled by the Border Defense Special Forces before they could enter the Soul Society itself.
"This situation is different," Yamamoto said heavily.
"According to intelligence received from the Special Forces half an hour ago, more than thirty Arrancar have appeared this time."
"The Special Forces suffered heavy casualties and could not provide complete information."
"Among those Arrancar are at least two Adjuchas-class Arrancar. We cannot confirm whether additional Adjuchas-class or even higher-level Arrancar are present."
"Nor do we know if more Arrancar remain inside The Void Land."
"The only certainty is that the Special Forces can no longer handle the situation alone."
"Therefore, I intend to dispatch three captains to investigate and eliminate this Hollow threat."
"For the stability of the Soul Society, those Arrancar must not be allowed to break through The Void Land and invade the Soul Society."
The atmosphere instantly became serious.
Adjuchas-class Arrancar were terrifying opponents that generally required captain-level combatants to handle.
Although some lieutenants could fight them, such Arrancar were still among the strongest Hollows in existence.
And now there were at least two.
Combined with thirty additional Arrancar and an unknown number of possible reinforcements, the danger level was obvious.
"Then tell me, which three captains are willing to head to The Void Land and suppress this Hollow incident?" Yamamoto asked gravely.
"Since this concerns Arrancar, the Thirteenth Division naturally cannot stand aside... cough, cough..."
Ukitake Jūshirō stood up immediately despite coughing heavily.
The Thirteenth Division specialized in purification duties, making them the most experienced division when it came to handling Hollows and Arrancar.
"Captain Ukitake, is your health alright?" Unohana Retsu asked with concern.
Ukitake's condition had always been poor, and he had spent long periods bedridden in the past.
On top of that, Kaien Shiba and Miyako Shiba had already died, while Rukia Kuchiki was currently in the human world.
The Thirteenth Division's situation was far from ideal.
"Captain Ukitake, we understand your sense of duty, but please don't overexert yourself," Hitsugaya said firmly as he stepped forward.
"Captain Commander, count me in."
"Captain Ryūjin," Ichimaru Gin suddenly said with his usual sinister smile, "with strength like yours, aren't you planning to contribute to the Soul Society?"
"This is also a good opportunity to prove yourself after becoming the captain of the Eleventh Division."