"Squad 11's 3rd Seat Madarame and 5th Seat Ayasegawa encountered two Ryoka. One of them was the orange-haired Shinigami who was previously repelled by Captain Ichimaru Gin. There were no casualties, but they let the targets escape."
"Why?!"
"Because Lord Shihouin's cat is in their hands. I heard the Ryoka were even led away by Sayo..."
"..."
In the various squad offices near the Senzaikyū, over half of the lieutenants were currently listening to the latest intelligence reports.
"Aside from one member of our squad being taken hostage, and ten members of Squad 9 being beaten unconscious by another Ryoka, we haven't suffered any heavy casualties so far." Squad 4's 3rd Seat, Iemura Yasochika, reviewed the contents of his notebook once more. After confirming the details, he continued, "Squad 4 has now fully mobilized and can provide support to all squads in the shortest possible time."
"So that means a total of four Ryoka have appeared?" Matsumoto Rangiku summarized, resting her chin on her hand. Beside her, the sunglasses-wearing Squad 7 Lieutenant, Iba Tetsuzaemon, shook his head to correct her. "It's five. Our squad's 4th Seat just reported that a female Ryoka has already been captured and is currently with Squad 11."
"Squad 11?"
"Because Captain Zaraki and Lord Shihouin suddenly appeared."
So they had been snatched up by the two Kenpachi. The lieutenants present tacitly avoided dwelling on that topic. Squad 3 Lieutenant Kira Izuru took the opportunity to bring up a new point. "Five Ryoka have already shown their faces, which means there's at least one more we have absolutely no news about?"
"It's very likely the one Lord Shihouin mentioned—the Ryoka with Captain-class strength."
Squad 9 Lieutenant Hisagi Shūhei's words immediately made everyone's hearts heavy. With someone like that out there, the number of casualties across the squads could instantly skyrocket to a terrifying figure.
"Everyone, don't worry too much. The captains are currently scattered all over the place. No matter where this person appears, they'll be able to rush over and provide backup as quickly as possible." Hinamori Momo clenched her fists to cheer everyone up, not forgetting to turn around and pull in some support. "You think so too, right, Abarai..."
Unfortunately, the person behind her had vanished at some point. Did he leave because of some urgent matter in his squad?
"The white tower, that must be it." Ishida looked at Sayo in his arms and nodded, then lowered his voice to call out to Ichigo below. "Come on up, we're very close to the White Tower!"
Even though he didn't see a single person around, Ishida continued to observe his surroundings cautiously, ensuring that at the first sign of trouble, they could retreat back underground in time.
*At the top of the tower, is that a person?* Ishida wasn't entirely sure. He squinted, trying to get a clearer look. There seemed to be a black dot, but it didn't look like a person.
*My eyes must be playing tricks on me. Even if someone were standing guard, they wouldn't stand at the very top of the tower.*
"It's really quiet. Does this actually look like a place where they lock people up?"
"What, did you want to break through layers of heavy guards and carry Rukia out like some kind of hero?!"
Ichigo looked helplessly at the roaring Ishida. *There's no one around anyway, is there really a need to whisper like that?*
"I'll be careful. If there are no issues, can we get moving? Honestly, I feel like staying here makes us more likely to run into trouble."
Ichigo pointed at the dusty staircase not far away. Following those steps seemed to lead straight to the central White Tower, which was supposedly where Rukia was imprisoned.
*I almost let this guy drag me off track.* Ishida subconsciously bent his waist and had just turned around, but his feet refused to move. *That's a person standing at the top of the stairs, right?*
"Looks like we've already been spotted, Ishida."
To think he would run into that annoying guy here again. Abarai Renji pulled his goggles up. This feeling was absolutely terrible.
When he heard that Sayo had led an orange-haired Shinigami away, his first thought was that the guy would come to save Rukia. *That kid would definitely do something like that, wouldn't he?*
*Just what kind of feelings did he have coming here? Mockery? Envy?* No, neither. Renji felt it was more of a sense of humiliation.
The Ryoka were supposed to be split up anyway, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to come alone to verify his suspicions. But asking himself honestly, wasn't he also afraid of being compared? Compared to this guy standing before him who knew absolutely nothing, the nearly hundred years he had spent with Rukia felt like a complete joke.
*Don't show up. Please, don't show up.* Yet, even as he thought this, Renji actually felt a sliver of anticipation in his heart—anticipating that those two would appear here.
"Abarai Renji..."
"Who is he?"
"One of the Shinigami who took Rukia away!"
*That look.* Renji could feel the dissatisfaction and fury in Ichigo's eyes, and knowing that this anger was entirely for Rukia's sake made him incredibly irritated!
"You've got a good memory." Renji responded with an equally fierce expression. "I don't know how you managed to get this far, but this is where it ends. This time, unlike in the World of the Living, I won't leave you with a single breath."
Ishida Uryū couldn't help but frown. Now was not a good time to fight. Even if he and Ichigo could take this guy out quickly, they would likely end up surrounded after rescuing Rukia. Besides, looking at Ichigo, it seemed he wanted to fight alone.
His finger was suddenly bitten. Ishida looked down to see Sayo in his arms, using her paws to clutch at her barely visible neck. *I almost forgot we have this ultimate weapon!*
"Don't move! I have..."
"Master Shihouin's cat. But I don't care!" Renji interrupted Ishida, slowly drawing his Zanpakutō. "As long as I'm still standing, there is absolutely no way you're saving Rukia."
*If I fall, then you might be able to take Rukia away. The captains are scattered everywhere, and the other lieutenants are gathered to collect intelligence. I'm the only one here. I could lose.*
*And there's Master Shihouin. He's very likely using Sayo to help the Ryoka. With his help, they can definitely save Rukia. They definitely can, right?*
"That won't do, Abarai."
A hand suddenly landed lightly on his shoulder. Renji's expression changed drastically. He turned his head and saw a familiar, smiling face. "M-Master Shihouin..."
"I believe I taught you the meaning of the element of surprise. Why didn't you just pierce his hand with Byakurai earlier? That way, you wouldn't have had to sacrifice Sayo."
"I..."
Ishida and Ichigo also noticed Renji's abnormal reaction. It was impossible not to notice, considering a person had suddenly appeared right beside him.
*But when did this person show up?* Ishida felt as if the man had been standing there the entire time, and they just hadn't noticed him until now.
Moreover, even though this man had a smile on his face, that guy named Abarai seemed terrified of him. This couldn't help but remind him of a certain someone...
"Are you trying to anger me so that I'll kill you?" Because they were too far away, Ishida couldn't hear what the man was saying. He only saw that with every word the man spoke, Renji's face grew paler.
"That's exactly why I don't like you. You're too quick to make decisions for others when you could clearly just do it yourself."
*No way.* Ishida looked down at Sayo in his arms, only to realize he didn't even need to ask the question. The cat had already curled into a tight ball against his chest, trembling uncontrollably, and he hadn't even felt it.
"Another one showed up." Ichigo also sensed something was wrong. Since Ishida beside him had gone completely silent, he turned and asked, "You look terrible. What's wrong, Ishida?"
"Watch closely." A sharp pain in his shoulder snapped Renji back to reality. "See just how far you could have actually gone."
"..."
"What did you say?!" Ichigo hadn't caught what Ishida had just muttered. The bespectacled man opposite them was approaching step by step. Even though he couldn't sense a single trace of Reiryoku from him, Ichigo instinctively drew his blade, standing at the ready.
"I... I said..."
Ichigo finally recognized that feeling. He had just experienced it a few days ago, when that guy named Urahara Kisuke had drawn his Zanpakutō from his cane with that exact same smile.
No, this man felt even more dangerous than Urahara. Even without a sword in hand, Ichigo genuinely believed this man would kill him. Similarly, if he did draw a sword, Ichigo felt he would still just let him approach step by step.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Shihouin..."
"I said, run!"
"Kōe."