The barracks of the Kidō Corps were wreathed in smoke and fire. The copies created by Inaba had already stormed inside. Fortunately, Hachigen had managed to organize most of the Shinigami into a defensive line, preventing any especially catastrophic casualties.
Even so, the sweat on Hachigen's forehead had not stopped once. Only he himself knew how much pressure he was under right now.
Just outside the defensive barrier jointly constructed by the Kidō Corps, there was even a fake Hachigen attempting to unravel the real Hachigen's Kidō. Had Hachigen not created several new techniques during his time in Soul Society, the Kidō Corps' defenses would probably have been blown wide open by now.
The ones attacking from outside were all captain-class Shinigami. The pressure on Hachigen was growing heavier and heavier. He had already prepared himself to stake everything on this battle.
Even now, more than half of the Kidō Corps had already been wounded or killed. It would be difficult for the Seireitei to support a complete, full-scale barrier again. If those copies were allowed to keep slaughtering them, Soul Society might truly face a disaster.
Just as Hachigen was preparing to use all of his Reiatsu to create an improved version of Shijū Saimon, a new explosion rang out from the outskirts of the Kidō Corps barracks.
Before the person arrived, his voice did. A resounding cry of "Getsuga Tenshō!" echoed across the battlefield as a pale-blue crescent wave tore powerfully into the fray.
Ichigo was the kind of person who could least stand seeing his comrades in danger. The moment he saw the fallen members of the Kidō Corps, he swung his Zanpakutō from afar.
Following behind Ichigo were Tsunayoshi and the others from the World of the Living team. After Ichigo made his move, Uryū and Tsunayoshi attacked as well. The others did not possess any powerful long-range methods.
As usual, Uryū used a rain of light to sweep across the battlefield, forcibly interrupting the captain Reigai as they slaughtered the Kidō Corps.
At Tsunayoshi's fingertips, playing cards of various suits appeared one after another. With a flick of his arm, each card flew precisely toward one of the copies.
Tsunayoshi made no attempt to hide his movements, so the Reigai captains naturally noticed the flying cards. One after another, they gathered their Reiatsu and slashed at the cards. In their understanding, there was nothing a Zanpakutō could not cut.
However, what they did not expect was that, at the same time they swung their swords, the playing cards suddenly expanded in the wind. In an instant, they grew nearly ten meters tall. At the center of each card's suit, a huge black vortex appeared and began devouring them.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late. Aside from Suì-Fēng's Reigai, who reacted quickly enough to dodge the card in front of her, all the other Reigai were absorbed by the playing cards.
And even the fake Suì-Fēng had only dodged the first one. She failed to avoid the second card that had long since been lying in wait behind her, and she too was swallowed by the playing card.
In the blink of an eye, all the Reigai attacking the Kidō Corps had been completely cleared away by Tsunayoshi. The Kidō Corps members, who had been suppressed for so long, looked at one another in disbelief. They were not quite used to it. This sense of safety had come far too easily.
"I've exiled them into an illusion space. Hachigen, quickly organize everyone and begin rescue operations. Orihime, please help them," Tsunayoshi said.
Unfortunately, among everyone present, only Orihime Inoue and Tsunayoshi could be considered healers. And if they wanted to perform large-scale vitality-restoration healing, they would need the power of Bankai.
At present, the Tenth was still wandering around the Seireitei and could not return for the time being. They could only have Hachigen gather the wounded first, while Tsunayoshi slowly dealt with the Shinigami who had suffered fatal injuries.
"Leave it to us, Tsunayoshi."
That gentle, refined voice could only belong to Retsu Unohana. She had arrived just in time. Not only her—behind her, she had brought a group of Squad Four members.
After learning that the Kidō Corps was one of Inaba's primary targets, Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu had led a large group of medical personnel in this direction. They had arrived at exactly the right moment.
Once Squad Four was in position, the other nearby captains also arrived one after another. What puzzled them was that although they had clearly sensed those familiar Reiatsu signatures, they had all vanished in an instant.
"Tsunayoshi, seriously, how are we supposed to fight if you do that?" Ichigo complained. "Hurry up and release them from that space of yours."
"Wouldn't it be better if I sent all of you into the illusion space too? A man-made one-on-one stage, with no need to worry about hurting anyone else."
As soon as Tsunayoshi said this, everyone present had their eyes light up. Compared with a chaotic melee, who would not prefer a one-on-one duel?
But before Tsunayoshi's plan could be put into action, Kisuke Urahara's voice called out through the communicator.
"Everyone, our main objective is to locate Kagerōza Inaba and the fake Head Captain Yamamoto. According to Captain Kuchiki's intelligence, Inaba has obtained a large number of Modified Souls. He may be trying to use them to awaken the power of the fake Head Captain Yamamoto."
"Almost the entire Seireitei is full of our people now. If we still haven't found him, then Shopkeeper, where do you think Inaba is hiding?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"Kagerōza Inaba… Nozomi Kujō… Ōko Yushima! Inaba wants to fuse with Nozomi and become the complete Ōko Yushima. In that case, he should be at the place where the real Ōko Yushima is located!" Urahara said with certainty.
"And where exactly is that Ōko Yushima?"
At this question, even Urahara found himself somewhat troubled. Ōko Yushima's location was not difficult to investigate. As long as they looked through Central 46's past records, they would be able to find it. But what they lacked most right now was time.
"He's in the Nest of Maggots!"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's smug voice suddenly cut in.
"The destination for all the Modified Souls transmitted by Squad 12 is the Nest of Maggots. Inaba can only be there!"
"That's right. The Modified Soul Project was judged by Central 46 to be a potential threat. It makes sense that Ōko Yushima would have been imprisoned in the Nest of Maggots," Kisuke Urahara said. "That also explains why we still haven't found Inaba."
The Nest of Maggots was a prison under the jurisdiction of the Second Division. Under normal circumstances, no one would ever go there. Hiding there perfectly matched the current situation, where the captains had searched the entire Seireitei but still failed to find Inaba.
Hearing Urahara's confirmation, Mayuri Kurotsuchi laughed smugly. Little Kisuke Urahara was still no match for the power of Squad 12 . As for those foolish subordinates, he would let them off without punishment this time.
"Tsunayoshi, Yoruichi has already headed toward the Second Division. Go to the Second Division and rendezvous with her!" Kisuke Urahara said in an extremely serious tone. "If the opponent really is the Head Captain, then only you can suppress him."
"Understood. I'll head over right now."
After saying that, Tsunayoshi instructed everyone present, "I'll release those Reigai in a moment. Everyone, find your own opponents and take them down."
"Don't worry, Tsunayoshi. Our Zanpakutō have all returned!" Kensei said to Tsunayoshi.
While rushing here, they had encountered their materialized Zanpakutō. At such a critical moment, after being talked down by the Tenth, the Zanpakutō did not throw any more tantrums and temporarily returned to their masters' hands.
"Um… can I go with you?" Nozomi suddenly stepped forward and asked.
Her gaze was filled with determination. This matter involved both her and Inaba. She wanted to witness Inaba's destruction with her own eyes.
"It will be very dangerous…"
"Tsunayoshi, don't worry about Tatsuki. We'll just go with you too, right?" Ichigo stepped forward, flexing his muscles as he spoke.
He thought Tsunayoshi was worried that Tatsuki, who was staying beside Nozomi Kujō, would be placed in danger, which was why he did not want Nozomi to go.
Although they had not known each other for long, Ichigo had already come to treat Nozomi as a friend. With his gentle nature, he always wanted to help his friends do what they wanted as much as possible.
"Tsunayoshi, you can all move together. Leave the Shinigami Reigai to us," Retsu Unohana said, stepping forward at the right time.
Originally, resolving the crisis of the Reigai Shinigami in the Seireitei was something the Gotei Thirteen should have handled themselves. Losing the help of Ichigo and the others would merely return the situation to its proper course.
Since Retsu Unohana had spoken, there was no longer any need to worry about the safety of this place. Tsunayoshi agreed to Ichigo's suggestion. Orihime would stay behind to save people, while the others from the World of the Living would follow him to the Nest of Maggots.
Before taking action, Tsunayoshi once again warned his companions from the World of the Living:
"When we reach the Nest of Maggots, as long as you encounter anyone you don't recognize, don't worry about reasons or explanations. You must attack with full force and kill them!"
The killing intent permeating Tsunayoshi's words immediately stunned Ichigo and the others. In Ichigo's mind, he was more inclined to defeat an opponent rather than kill them. Killing someone was still not an easy thing for him.
"Tsunayoshi, isn't that going too far?" Ichigo asked hesitantly.
"If you can't do it, stay here!" Tsunayoshi showed not the slightest trace of mercy. "The Nest of Maggots holds prisoners who have all been deemed potential threats. With Inaba causing this disturbance, the worst-case scenario is that every prisoner in the Nest of Maggots may have been released."
"The situation is urgent. We don't have time to judge which prisoner is good or bad. The only thing we can do is abide by Soul Society's original verdicts. If they were designated criminals, then they are to be executed on the spot!"
"Isn't that too cruel?"
"Kurosaki, should we really cause even greater casualties because of a moment of mercy? Those people are prisoners to begin with. You don't need to place too much psychological burden on yourself." The lenses of Uryū's glasses flashed with a rational light.
"Tsunayoshi's approach is correct. I'll leave the Nest of Maggots to you."
As Retsu Unohana spoke, her voice gradually filled with a seductive quality. She was extremely satisfied with Tsunayoshi, who was radiating killing intent, and had already begun planning the next opportunity to trick him into fighting her.
"I'll listen to Tsunayoshi!"
Tatsuki immediately spoke up, her eyes fixed firmly on Retsu Unohana. Nozomi and Chad had no objections either. The only one left was Ichigo.
Tsunayoshi did not try to persuade him further. Whether to kill or not was Ichigo's own choice, and it was also part of Ichigo's charm. He simply turned around and led the way toward the Second Division.
"Wait, Tsunayoshi! I'm going too!"
Watching his companions move out one by one, Ichigo finally figured things out. He hurriedly used Shunpo and caught up with them.
After Tsunayoshi's group left, a tear suddenly split open in the air. Fine sand poured down from the gap, and a battered sword stirred the opening until it was large enough for a person to pass through.
"Hahaha! This little trick only took two slashes!"
The first to leave the illusion space was Kenpachi Zaraki's Reigai. After removing his eyepatch, his Reiatsu had become extremely powerful. With continuous slashes, he had actually forced his way through the technique before Tsunayoshi could dispel it.
However, before the fake Kenpachi could even feel proud of himself, someone had already charged forward and swung his blade, engaging him in battle.
It was the genuine Kenpachi, who had long since grown impatient from waiting.
At this moment, Tsunayoshi also began dispelling the illusion spaces one by one. Along with streams of falling sand, the Reigai within the illusion spaces appeared, and the legitimate captains each found their respective opponents.
Author's Note
P.S. Katō Juri's desert weapon has been set as playing cards.
Logically speaking, I feel that playing cards are more like D. Spade's equipment. Judging from the way the manga presents them, playing cards better match D's mysterious aura and his role as a behind-the-scenes figure who seems to control everything.
However, after D used both the Vongola Gear and the Simon Ring at the same time, the playing cards were held in D's hand. This indicates that the playing cards should be equipment on the same level as the Vongola Gear and Simon Ring.
Therefore, the final setting is that the desert-attribute equipment is playing cards.
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