"'The Shinigami's control over the Zanpakutō ends here. From now on, the Zanpakutō will rule the Shinigami.' That's what the man calling himself Muramasa said." Rukia Kuchiki sighed. "After that, the materialized Zanpakutō attacked. Captain Unohana covered me while I escaped through the Senkaimon."
Muten Natsu looked down at the Denreishinki in his hand. Retsu Unohana had just sent him a short message:
[I'm fine. Take good care of Rukia.]
Retsu Unohana clearly knew Muten Natsu would be worried, which was why she had sent the message.
Even so, Muten Natsu couldn't put his mind at ease.
Rukia Kuchiki was equally worried about the situation in Soul Society. "We need to get back as soon as possible."
Thanks to Orihime Inoue's treatment, her injuries were no longer serious, although her Reiatsu had yet to fully recover.
"We definitely need to go soon." Muten Natsu nodded. "But you should rest a little longer. We'll leave once your Reiatsu has recovered enough."
He then looked at Orihime Inoue. "Orihime, I'm going to have to ask you to work a little harder."
Orihime Inoue was clearly surprised. "Huh?"
"There are probably a lot of injured people in Soul Society who urgently need treatment." Muten Natsu explained further, "Captain Unohana needs your help."
"I know what I should do..." Orihime Inoue looked at Muten Natsu seriously. "I just didn't expect you to be the one to suggest I go. I was planning to bring it up myself and was already prepared to talk it over with you."
"Following the usual routine," Rukia Kuchiki said, clearly thinking the same thing as she gave Muten Natsu a helpless look, "Orihime would first suggest going with us, then a certain someone would firmly refuse. After Orihime and I insisted, laid out the facts, and reasoned with him, that certain someone would finally agree, very reluctantly."
"I brought it up myself because I knew that was exactly how it would go." Muten Natsu flicked Rukia Kuchiki lightly on the forehead. "Get some rest. I'll ask Kisuke Urahara if he knows what's going on."
"Unfortunately... I don't." A voice came from beside the window as Kisuke Urahara adjusted his bucket hat. "I received an electronic message from Lady Unohana. It seems something major has happened in Soul Society."
"If you're not coming in, then stop blocking the way!" Ririn irritably shoved Kisuke Urahara aside and hurried over to Rukia Kuchiki. "Rukia, are you all right?"
Rukia Kuchiki managed a somewhat strained smile. "Yeah. Thanks to Orihime's treatment."
"Yoruichi has already gone to Soul Society to investigate," Kisuke Urahara said as he walked inside. "By now, she should already be..."
Yoruichi Shihōin's voice sounded from nearby. "Back."
"Yoruichi-san!" The moment Rukia Kuchiki saw Yoruichi Shihōin, she hurriedly asked, "How is Soul Society?"
"Not good, but it hasn't reached the point where we need to despair." Yoruichi Shihōin gave a concise answer. "The materialized Zanpakutō caused havoc throughout Seireitei, then withdrew. Suì-Fēng is tracking them with the Onmitsukidō, and Hirako, Rose, and Kensei went with her. Captain Unohana is treating the wounded. Komamura is seriously injured. Shunsui is looking through records. Tōshirō is handling patrols. Mayuri Kurotsuchi is researching a solution. Ukitake was already unwell, so he's currently in the 4th Division. That leaves Byakuya, Kenpachi, and the Captain-Commander missing."
Ririn spoke without hesitation. "Isn't that really bad?"
"No, no, no." Kisuke Urahara shook his folding fan. "The enemy retreated, and we have no confirmed deaths on our side. Considering the circumstances, that's already a very good outcome."
"Kenpachi going missing is understandable..." Muten Natsu knew full well that Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi were notoriously terrible with directions. "But even the Captain-Commander and Byakuya are missing?"
"Byakuya disappeared after being attacked by Senbonzakura. As for the Captain-Commander..." Yoruichi Shihōin frowned slightly. "He hasn't appeared at all."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto going missing was already an enormous problem by itself. Combined with the Zanpakutō going out of control, Muten Natsu had already made a decision for Retsu Unohana's safety.
"I'd advise you not to act rashly." Kisuke Urahara had already seen through Muten Natsu's intentions. "We still don't know how the enemy is making the Zanpakutō lose control. If you rush in without understanding that... you could make things even worse."
"The materialized Zanpakutō may have withdrawn, but after making such a huge move, there's no way the enemy will simply stop here." Muten Natsu shook his head. "Soul Society is weakened right now. They could launch another attack at any time. If that happens... we may not be as lucky the second time."
"But..." Kisuke Urahara pointed out the most important issue. "What will you do if your Zanpakutō go out of control?"
Those were powers strong enough to stop Sōsuke Aizen.
"Both Bokukō and Myōki need the Hell Flames to bring out their full power." Muten Natsu had already considered this possibility. "Bokukō's power takes time to accumulate, and the Bankai it releases would only become nourishment for me. Myōki's Bankai has very strict activation conditions, so as long as it's handled properly, it won't be too dangerous. More importantly... Myōki constantly monitors my condition. The moment the enemy tries anything, I'll know. Even if I can't stop it, I'll still be able to gather useful information."
"Well, if you've already thought it through that far..." Kisuke Urahara spread his hands. "Then I'll just wait for good news."
Yoruichi Shihōin left ahead of them to gather more information in Soul Society.
Once Rukia Kuchiki's Reiatsu had mostly recovered, she entered the Senkaimon together with Muten Natsu, Orihime Inoue, and Ririn, heading for Soul Society.
As soon as they stepped out of the 4th Division's Senkaimon, Muten Natsu spotted Shinji Hirako waiting for them.
"Yoruichi-san told me you were coming, so I've been waiting here for quite a while." Shinji Hirako raised a hand in greeting. "Long time no see~"
That same strange way of speaking as always.
Muten Natsu looked at him curiously. "Weren't you supposed to be tracking the materialized Zanpakutō?"
"That's no way to hold a conversation." Shinji Hirako rolled his eyes. "I'm standing right here. Do I really need to explain how the tracking went?"
He pointed in one direction. "Captain Unohana is treating the wounded over there. Kuchiki-san, could I trouble you to escort Inoue-san to her? There are some things I can only discuss with Muten here."
Rukia Kuchiki looked at Muten Natsu. After he nodded, she prepared to take Orihime Inoue over.
"Wait!" Orihime Inoue naturally wrapped her arms around Muten Natsu, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the lips. "Rukia, you forgot this!"
"..." Rukia Kuchiki glared at Muten Natsu, then rose onto her tiptoes and gave him a light kiss on the lips.