One, two, three...
Yoruichi closed her eyes to confirm the Reiatsu signatures that had just flared up. It seemed all five of them had landed safely. Since their Reiatsu vanished in a flash, they probably hadn't been discovered yet.
If she wanted to find them right now, she could easily track down everyone scattered across the Seireitei. However, having everyone split up was her—or rather, Urahara's—plan all along.
To achieve this, right before they hit the Shakonmaku, she had everyone pour in as much Reiryoku as possible. This caused the otherwise stable cannonball to become extremely volatile, creating a temporary Reiryoku vortex. Once the vortex collapsed, she would be free to act on her own.
She just hadn't expected Kōe to suddenly intervene. His actions made Yoruichi lean toward Urahara's theory: Kōe intended to snatch the Hōgyoku right out from under Aizen's nose. Unable to dictate the events at the Sōkyoku or completely hide his tracks, he would only have one chance to strike—suddenly seizing the Hōgyoku and fleeing.
Unfortunately, Rukia being sentenced to the ultimate penalty was highly disadvantageous to him. Waiting for the Sōkyoku to extract the Hōgyoku wouldn't present a good opportunity. Not only would he have to face Aizen, but Aizen could even temporarily ally with the Seireitei to stop Kōe's plan first.
Time was not on his side. Therefore, Urahara deduced that Kōe would definitely use their anxiety over the Hōgyoku to influence the Seireitei, forcing them to delay Rukia's execution—or cancel it entirely—to buy himself precious time to research a method for extracting the Hōgyoku.
Simply put, Kōe wanted to capture anyone connected to them as quickly as possible. If he could directly capture Yoruichi or Urahara, that would be ideal. Then he could smoothly emphasize Rukia's importance, position himself on the Seireitei's side, and initiate a sham investigation into her.
Furthermore, according to Urahara's deduction, if Kōe dared to pull a stunt like this, he must be absolutely confident he could prove there was a foreign object inside Rukia's soul. This would leave the Seireitei's decision-makers with no choice but to let him handle the investigation...
Although Yoruichi didn't want to admit it, Urahara's predictions seemed to be coming true piece by piece. The enemy they faced in the Seireitei wasn't just Aizen, but also the person she trusted the most.
*In that case, let's fight.* Since they understood each other better than anyone else, it would be a contest to see if she could hide better than Kōe could seek.
Yoruichi glanced back toward the Shin'ō Academy. *You want to use your friends to regain trust, Kōe Shihouin, but Urahara also used your desperation against you. Ichigo and the others know absolutely nothing about Rukia's true situation. Targeting them is destined to yield nothing and will only waste your time.*
And that wasted time would be the perfect window for her to execute her own plan. Moreover, Aizen Sōsuke wouldn't just sit idly by. In this complex three-way struggle, who would emerge as the ultimate victor?
Yoruichi was confident, but facing these two men, she wasn't entirely certain of victory. Right now, she could only do her best and take a massive gamble. Until then, she could only pray those brats held on long enough for her to reveal herself and draw the enemy's attention away from them.
At this moment, Ganju had no idea he had been sold out by his big sister—or rather, sold out by both his biological sister and his cousin.
By using the Shiba clan's unique secret art to turn stone into sand, Ganju managed to avoid falling to his death the moment he arrived in the Seireitei. But that was his limit. Looking at the Shinigami surrounding him three layers deep, he was completely out of options.
He had accidentally broken into a military camp while trying to break into a prison. Things couldn't possibly get any worse. But to be fair, the woman standing at the very front was quite pretty!
"Hello there, do you happen to have time to grab lunch with me?" Ganju stroked his chin, striking what he thought was a handsome pose. "I am the man known as the Crimson Bullet of West Rukongai, and the one who has held the title of 'The Man Most Wanted as West Rukongai's Boss' for fourteen consecutive years!"
This Ryoka seemed a bit slow in the head. Matsumoto Rangiku looked down at Ganju in the sandpit and quickly interrupted his series of self-proclaimed titles. "Give up your pointless resistance. What is your purpose in invading the Seireitei?!"
*To think she wasn't won over by my handsomeness.* Ganju scoffed coldly. "Since my strategy to charm you has failed, I won't hold back anymore!"
Before his words even finished echoing, a black pellet flew straight at Matsumoto's face. She instinctively slashed at it with her Zanpakutō. Suddenly, a blinding light erupted from the crack in the pellet.
"Everyone, be careful!"
The surrounding squad members hastily raised their Zanpakutō to block, but aside from the blinding flash of light, the pellet seemed to possess zero destructive power.
*Tricked!* Before the light even faded, Matsumoto heard hurried footsteps echoing to her left. When her vision finally cleared, she saw that a hole had indeed been blown through the left wall. Connecting this to the man's strange ability from earlier, he had definitely opened the wall and run!
"Go after him! The enemy doesn't seem to have any lethal moves, but stay on your guard!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The other squad members were equally furious. They had successfully surrounded the guy, yet still let him slip away. Where would Squad 10's pride be if word of this got out? Thinking of their captain—even if he was a captain, getting chewed out by a kid was still incredibly unpleasant!
But sometimes, just because a path is made doesn't mean someone will walk it. These people never imagined that the vanished Ganju was actually hiding right under their noses.
Kūkaku's special creation: the Bouncing Orb! It perfectly simulated the sound of human footsteps running away. Paired with the Shiba clan's Stone Wave secret technique, Sand Dive, it was absolutely the ultimate method for confusing enemies!
There were still some drawbacks, though. After hearing the footsteps fade far into the distance, Ganju finally couldn't help but poke his head out of the sand, wishing he could suck up all the air in the Seireitei in one massive breath. He couldn't hold it in—he really couldn't.
However, this trick was only good for a time or two; use it too much and it would become useless. His meager bag of tricks might be considered strong in the Rukongai, but facing real Shinigami—and a large group of them at that—it was practically tantamount to surrendering.
He needed to quickly find someone to protect him. Ganju racked his brain, trying to recall the directions everyone had fallen. In his memory, he seemed to be very far from Big Sis Yoruichi. As for the rest... he couldn't quite remember.
*No matter!* Chad, Ishida, or Ichigo—finding any of them would do. Of course, there was an even better option: finding Big Bro Chōzuka.
Ganju knew that after Kōe returned, he had been teaching at the Shin'ō Academy. But where exactly was the Shin'ō Academy? Although he had lived in the Seireitei before, that was when he was just a kid. He had long forgotten the Seireitei's layout, and he couldn't exactly stop someone to ask for directions.
That was one issue. Another point was what Yoruichi had shouted earlier: *"Kōe Shihouin! You bastard!!"*
Could this be a method to activate their special husband-and-wife telepathy? *'Some bastard dared to attack me, Kōe Shihouin, you better do something about it!'*
Ganju felt it must be exactly like that. If this heartfelt message successfully reached Kōe, his big bro would probably take action soon.
He didn't even need to find where the Academy was; he just needed to meet up with his big bro when the time came!
As for now, he'd try his best to find the others, and then follow Big Bro Chōzuka to save Rukia. A perfect plan!
Although that orange dandelion-head was quite annoying, he, Shiba Ganju, was the man who had held the title of "The Man Most Wanted as a Big Bro in the Rukongai" for fourteen consecutive years. As a big bro, how could he despise his underling?
*Feel inferior before my broad, magnanimous chest, you bastards!*