"We're going to crash!"
"That's unavoidable." Yoruichi looked at the rapidly approaching Seireitei and commanded loudly, "Everyone, release all your Reiryoku! Make the cannonball as sturdy as possible!"
Those crashing were tense, and those watching the crash weren't faring much better.
"What is that?"
"Should we... run?"
The Shin'ō Academy had finally settled down after a night of investigations, but the foreign object suddenly plummeting from the western sky made the students anxious once again.
"We're doomed! Why does it feel like it's smashing right toward us!"
"Calm down, you trash!" a seemingly prestigious student in the crowd shouted loudly. "The Seireitei is protected from all sides by the barrier! As long as this thing is made of Reishi, it definitely won't be able to fall through!"
'Looks like there are still students who study their history properly!' Kōe couldn't help but give this unflappable kid a good mental evaluation. Unfortunately, merely studying history wasn't enough in Soul Society. If one understood the ore known as Sekkiseki well enough, they would know that the protective barrier it autonomously emitted had its limits.
Just like this. The sphere of light, which already looked the size of the sun, suddenly paused, suspended in midair. Concentric rings of bright white cracks began to appear around it, resembling dense streaks of lightning that refused to fade.
"Lord Shihouin, what should we do now?!"
"Headmaster?" Kōe glanced at the old man beside him and smiled. "It hit the Shakonmaku but didn't disappear. It's likely a highly dense Reishi construct, so dense that even the Shakonmaku can't obliterate it in an instant."
"That is not what I meant." As the headmaster of the Shin'ō Academy, his strength might not be top-tier, but he could still tell what was happening. "Judging by the trajectory, it's heading straight for the academy. The safety of the students..."
"Leave it to me. Don't worry." Kōe waved his hand dismissively. He raised his right index finger, pointing it directly at the center of the cracks in the sky. A terrifying Reiatsu instantly enveloped the academy. "[Ao's Hadō・Line of Gunfire]!"
"Why is this happening? It feels like we've already passed through the barrier, so why aren't we falling?"
"Everyone, don't separate! The cannonball just dissolved, and we're only temporarily entangled in a Reiryoku vortex. The vortex will burst and disappear very soon..."
Before Yoruichi could finish her sentence, she felt a dangerous intent lock onto them. The fur on her back instinctively stood on end. Looking back, a pillar of crimson fire had already reached right in front of them.
"Everyone, watch out!"
Yoruichi's reaction was undeniably fast. She reached out in time, trying to block this sudden attack. Unfortunately, she was currently in her cat form, and her short little paws only barely brushed the shadow left by the pillar of fire.
Ishida only felt a burst of heat at the corner of his eye. He subconsciously adjusted his glasses, only to find the right frame shattering like charred coal. Chad let out a sudden, low grunt; a smooth, circular hole had appeared in his left shoulder. Through that hole, Ishida could clearly see a few strands of orange hair—Orihime's hair.
"Shihouin Kōe! You! Bastard!!"
An astonishing aura suddenly erupted from Yoruichi. Ichigo and the others only felt a massive force shove them from the front. Before they could react, they were all sent flying backward, plummeting toward the ground in different directions.
'It's that guy, Shihouin Kōe, making a move!' Zaraki Kenpachi understood the moment he saw the pillar of fire strike the sphere of light in the sky. 'Sure enough, that guy has belligerent blood flowing in his veins. He really doesn't hold back at all when dealing with Ryoka.'
'He's just a bit too sly. If he accidentally kills a few of them, wouldn't my fun be greatly reduced?'
However, Zaraki rested his right hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. 'A preliminary screening is still necessary. If only the strongest survive, the chances of me being disappointed will be lower.'
Just as he was about to follow up with another strike, the sphere of light in the sky violently burst apart, scattering and plummeting toward various parts of the Seireitei. Unfortunately, it seemed none of them were heading in his direction.
"One, two, three..." There were six parts in total. Zaraki's gaze constantly shifted. 'Which way should I go first? Which one of them is the strongest!'
'If it were Kōe, he'd probably be able to tell right away...'
"Please do not make things difficult for us anymore, Lord Shihouin!"
The Onmitsukidō. The students in the Shin'ō Academy didn't dare to breathe as they stared at the dozen or so masked figures in black who had suddenly appeared. They never expected to see this unit with their own eyes—Squad 2, the most secretive force in the Seireitei.
"Pretty fast reflexes," Kōe teased the leader. He pointed at the uninvited guest in the sky who was clearly plummeting in their direction and continued, "Aren't you going to deal with that guy? The place he lands shouldn't be too far from here."
"Other squads will be responsible for that matter; we do not need to worry about it. Our duty is to ensure that Lord Shihouin does not repeat the actions you just took. Please cooperate with us!"
"You guys are really inflexible. I was clearly trying to protect the Seireitei. So, are you implying that I should be protecting the Ryoka instead?"
"This..."
"Relax, relax! I'm just joking."
Saying the most rebellious things in the most serious tone—who the hell knows if you're joking or not! The leading squad member was going crazy internally. The man before them had always been the Seireitei's number one hidden danger. They had prepared themselves for death just by taking on this surveillance mission. Could he please not make jokes like that!
"Let me give you some more intel. Those Ryoka were temporarily entangled by a Reiryoku vortex just now. I pierced it with a high-speed, highly concentrated Kidō. Aside from killing the enemy, it also dispersed the Reiryoku vortex in an instant. They scattered, but theoretically, they should have only come out through the opening I created."
"Therefore..."
"Therefore?" Kōe rolled his eyes. 'There really are quite a few illiterates in the Gotei 13, huh.' He said helplessly, "I only opened two gaps, one in the front and one in the back. But right now, that's clearly not the case. That means someone inside deliberately scattered the Reiryoku vortex so they could disperse throughout the Seireitei. You guys definitely couldn't pull that off. At least one of the intruders is on par with my strength. Understand?"
Upon hearing this, the leading member subtly shot a glance to the rear. Seeing this, the person at the very back of the squad immediately departed. This kind of intelligence regarding the Ryoka had to be reported to the Head Captain immediately.
Similarly, this intel contained other points worth pondering. Rather than moving safely as a group, the leader of the Ryoka preferred the danger of splitting up. Did this mean that scattering was of the utmost importance to them? Or did the Ryoka have more than one objective to begin with?
'I'll leave that judgment to Old Man Yama,' Kōe thought. 'A chaotic situation is nothing compared to a chaotic mind.'
Kōe looked up at the Shakonmaku, which had restored itself in the sky. As long as Old Man Yama's mind was in chaos, Kōe would be able to let loose a little.