Rukia Kuchiki was not surprised by Ryūjin's words. It was exactly the response she had expected.
She simply nodded in resignation. "I'm truly ashamed to have worried everyone in the Seireitei. Captain Ryūjin, I will return with you."
"In that case..." Ryūjin nodded and was about to take Rukia Kuchiki away when his movements suddenly froze.
He had sensed a spiritual pressure.
Whoosh!
At the same moment, a pale blue arrow of light shot straight toward him.
Ryūjin did not bother dodging. With a mere thought, Chakra surged from within his body.
The blue arrow collided with the stream of Chakra swirling around him and instantly dissipated.
"Is this Captain Uchiha Ryūjin? What terrifying spiritual pressure!"
Rukia Kuchiki's pupils contracted slightly as shock flashed across her face.
Not long after Uchiha Ryūjin became the captain of the Eleventh Division, Rukia had left Soul Society, so she knew very little about him.
She had only heard rumors that Ryūjin possessed extraordinary spiritual pressure and exceptional Hakuda skills.
But hearing about it and witnessing it firsthand were two completely different things.
Calling it incredible was an understatement. His spiritual pressure was downright monstrous.
"N-Nani!?"
Not far away, on the side of the street, a refined young man with long hair and glasses stood frozen in horror.
He had clearly been stunned by what he had just witnessed.
"How is this possible? My Spirit Particle Arrow was blocked by the fluctuations of his spiritual pressure alone. This spiritual pressure is far too terrifying!"
The young man muttered in disbelief.
"Ishida-kun, w-why are you here?" Rukia Kuchiki asked, her voice filled with surprise and concern.
The young man was none other than the Quincy, Uryū Ishida.
"Why am I here? That's a strange question."
Uryū Ishida concealed his shock and looked toward Rukia.
"I was originally planning to make an excuse and say I was just passing by, but looking at the situation now, I doubt you'd believe that."
"That's right. The reason I came here is because I sensed the presence of a Shinigami!"
As he spoke, Uryū Ishida tossed aside the plastic bag of vegetables he had been carrying as a disguise.
Then he slowly raised the bow in his hand and pointed it at Ryūjin.
"My name is Uryū Ishida. Pleased to meet you, Shinigami."
"Ishida-kun, stop right now! You'll die!" Rukia Kuchiki shouted anxiously.
Unfortunately, Uryū Ishida paid no attention to her warning.
"It's fine, Rukia-san. After everything that happened yesterday, my strength has improved considerably."
With those words, he drew his bow to its limit.
The reishi in the air gathered frantically at his fingertips, condensing into a Spirit Particle Arrow.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot forward like a streak of light.
Compared to the first attack, this one was significantly stronger.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
As it approached Ryūjin, the Spirit Particle Arrow suddenly split into six separate arrows, surrounding him from all directions.
"Like an ant trying to shake a tree."
Ryūjin shook his head and casually flicked his sleeve.
Boom!
A burst of spiritual pressure erupted.
All six Spirit Particle Arrows exploded instantly, turning into countless particles of reishi that scattered into the air.
"What!? He destroyed them with a flick of his sleeve..."
Uryū Ishida's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Before he could recover from his shock, he suddenly realized that the Shinigami standing beside Rukia Kuchiki had vanished.
He had not sensed the slightest trace of movement.
The opponent's Shunpo had reached an absurd level.
"Not good!"
A powerful sense of danger exploded in Uryū Ishida's heart.
Sure enough, an overwhelming spiritual pressure descended upon him.
Hiss!
Uryū Ishida involuntarily sucked in a breath.
It felt as though he had been thrown into the deepest part of the ocean. Every bone and every inch of flesh in his body was being crushed beneath an irresistible force.
His body felt as though it would collapse at any moment.
Poof!
Unable to endure it any longer, Uryū Ishida spat out a mouthful of blood and fell heavily to the ground.
Cold sweat drenched his body.
He trembled uncontrollably.
His face was filled with terror and disbelief.
Uryū Ishida was genuinely terrified.
His entire worldview had been shattered.
How could a Shinigami this powerful even exist?
Without lifting a finger, relying solely on spiritual pressure, Ryūjin had nearly crushed him to death.
Could a Shinigami truly be this strong?
"Ding! Host has defeated the Quincy Uryū Ishida. Reward obtained: Spirit Bow Kojaku!"
The system notification sounded immediately after his victory.
Unfortunately, the reward was rather disappointing.
The Spirit Bow Kojaku was merely the spirit bow Uryū Ishida used in the early stages of the story.
To Ryūjin, it was practically worthless.
"Well, Uryū Ishida is still far too weak. It makes sense that defeating him wouldn't yield anything particularly valuable."
Ryūjin shrugged inwardly.
"Kid, stop attacking people at random. One day it'll get you killed."
Grinning, Ryūjin casually kicked Uryū Ishida away.
Bang!
After rolling across the ground several times, Uryū Ishida came to a stop.
He had already lost consciousness.
With Ryūjin's current strength, the only reason Uryū Ishida survived was because he had shown restraint.
After dealing with Uryū Ishida, Ryūjin felt something was off.
According to the original plot, Ichigo Kurosaki should have appeared shortly afterward.
Yet Uryū Ishida was already unconscious, and Ichigo Kurosaki was nowhere to be seen.
Since arriving in this world, Ryūjin had not interfered with Karakura Town beyond controlling Kisuke Urahara at the beginning and using him to disguise himself as a Shinigami.
Logically, Ichigo should still have appeared.
Could it be...
A thought suddenly crossed Ryūjin's mind.
He remembered the two people who had arrived in Karakura Town alongside him for this mission.
Kuchiki Byakuya and Renji Abarai.
Could it be them?
Hmm?
Just then, Ryūjin sensed another familiar spiritual pressure rapidly approaching.
It belonged to Renji Abarai.
Swish!
A dark figure burst from the nearby woods and landed directly in front of Ryūjin.
However, his appearance was miserable.
His Shihakushō was badly torn.
Blood covered his body.
It was obvious he had just gone through a fierce battle.
"Renji!? Why are you here too? And what happened to you?"
Rukia Kuchiki stared at him in disbelief.
Her mind was in complete chaos.
This was the World of the Living, not Soul Society.
Who could have injured Renji so severely?
What exactly had happened?
Not only Rukia, but even Ryūjin was surprised.
He also wanted to know who had reduced Renji Abarai to such a state.
More importantly, why was Renji here alone?
Where was Kuchiki Byakuya?
Had the two separated during their mission?
And why was Renji glaring at him like that?
His eyes were bloodshot, like those of a ferocious beast.
"Uchiha Ryūjin, I'll kill you!"
Renji Abarai seemed completely insane.
Ignoring Rukia entirely, he roared and charged straight at Ryūjin.
"Howl, Zabimaru!"
Without hesitation, Renji released his Shikai and swung his Zanpakutō.
Segment after segment connected together, forming a long blade chain that sliced through the air toward Ryūjin.
Clang!
With a casual flick of the asauchi in his hand, Ryūjin easily blocked Zabimaru.
"Lieutenant Renji, what exactly are you doing? Is there some misunderstanding between us?"
While effortlessly parrying the attack, Ryūjin questioned him.
By this point, Ryūjin had already realized that Aizen was behind this.
Something had clearly happened, and Aizen had manipulated Renji into believing it.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Why had Aizen sent Kuchiki Byakuya on a mission at the same time he had dispatched Ryūjin to capture Rukia?
The real target had never been Rukia.
It had been Ryūjin all along.
Although Ryūjin did not yet know the details, it was obvious that Aizen had orchestrated a massive misunderstanding.
"Shut up! I admired you before, but you're actually this kind of person! I'll kill you!"
Renji's emotions had completely overtaken his reason.
He ignored Ryūjin's words and attacked again.
The blade chain whipped through the air once more.
After blocking several attacks, Ryūjin began losing patience.
"Lieutenant Renji, if you keep this up, don't blame me for being rude."
But Renji ignored him entirely and continued his reckless assault.
Swish!
With no other option, Ryūjin used the Body Flicker Technique.
He appeared beside Renji like a ghost and drove a kick into him.
Bang!
Renji crashed to the ground, temporarily losing the ability to fight.
"Just kill me!"
Panting heavily, Renji glared at Ryūjin as though looking at his greatest enemy.
"You already killed Captain Kuchiki anyway!"
Boom!
Rukia Kuchiki felt as though her mind had exploded.
"Renji, what are you talking about? My brother... what happened to him?"
Her voice trembled with disbelief.
"Rukia, get away from here! Stay away from this monster! Captain Kuchiki has already been killed by him!"
Renji spoke through gritted teeth.
Ryūjin's brows knitted together deeply.
"Captain Kuchiki is dead? I never did such a thing."
"I saw it with my own eyes! How could I be mistaken!?"
Renji roared furiously.
Ryūjin did not know what else to say.
He was almost certain that Aizen had used Kyōka Suigetsu to show Renji a false scene of him killing Kuchiki Byakuya.
No matter what he said, Renji would never believe him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several waves of spiritual pressure rapidly approached.
Before anyone could react, three figures appeared.
Kyōraku Shunsui.
Soi Fon.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
Seeing the three captains together, Ryūjin immediately felt a headache coming on.
The Seireitei had dispatched three captains at once.
The reason was obvious.
If that was the case...
Had Kuchiki Byakuya really died?
"Captain Ryūjin, why did you kill Captain Kuchiki?"
The usually carefree Kyōraku Shunsui wore an unusually serious expression as he stared directly at Ryūjin.
"Did all of you personally witness me killing Captain Kuchiki?"
Ryūjin responded calmly.
In truth, he held little hope.
This entire situation was clearly part of Aizen's plan.
With Kyōka Suigetsu, creating false evidence was effortless.
If Aizen wanted everyone to believe Ryūjin was guilty, he only needed them to see what he wanted them to see.
"You still refuse to admit it?" Soi Fon said coldly.
"Although we did not personally witness the attack, Captain Kuchiki told us himself before his death that you were the one who assaulted him. How could that be false?"
"Then why were all of you in the World of the Living, and why were you beside Captain Kuchiki before he died?" Ryūjin asked.
"Captain Ryūjin, do you dare act but refuse to take responsibility?"
Kyōraku's expression darkened.
"We received a message from Lieutenant Renji stating that you were attempting to assassinate Captain Kuchiki. We immediately came through the Senkaimon to rescue him."
"Unfortunately, we arrived too late."
"The three of us saw the aftermath with our own eyes. Are we all mistaken?"
Tōshirō Hitsugaya snorted coldly.
Ryūjin fell silent.
As expected, Aizen's scheme was flawless.
One lieutenant and three captains serving as witnesses.
How could he possibly clear his name?
No matter what he said, nobody would believe him.
This was exactly what Aizen wanted.
As long as Ryūjin remained in the Seireitei, he represented an uncontrollable threat.
So Aizen had chosen the simplest solution.
Eliminate the threat directly.
Once Ryūjin was imprisoned by Central 46, how could he possibly interfere with Aizen's plans?
===
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