'It looks like someone has been here?' Yamada Hanatarō wondered, but with Ganju constantly urging him from below, he decided to check the situation outside first.
The area around the Senzaikyū rarely saw visitors, so who knew he would stumble upon someone this time. Seeing a Shinigami moving at a snail's pace in the distance, Hanatarō instinctively wanted to retreat.
However, the person's hair color... Orange hair was incredibly rare within the Gotei 13. Otherwise, the alias "orange-haired Shinigami" wouldn't have been used when passing along intel.
The only one he knew of was Squad 10's Lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, but Lieutenant Matsumoto was far too easy to distinguish. The person ahead was clearly not her.
"How is it?"
"Mr. Ganju, is there an orange-haired Shinigami among your companions? I think he's right over there."
Ganju hurriedly scrambled up as well. The previously spacious area suddenly squeezed in two heads, making it feel a bit crowded.
"It really is that annoying guy."
With just one glance, Ganju confirmed it was Ichigo, but his condition seemed a bit off. "Let's go take a look."
Before they even got close, a thick stench of blood washed over them. The source wasn't just Ichigo alone; a few steps away, another person was lying on the ground, though Ganju had no mind to care about who it was right now.
"How did he end up like this?!"
Ichigo's eyes were clearly open, but he seemed completely unable to see Ganju beside him. He continued to shuffle his feet, muttering brokenly about going to help Ishida or something similar.
"He's lost too much blood, he needs immediate treatment!" After Hanatarō said this, he also noticed the person lying on the ground. It was someone he had never expected—Abarai Renji.
The Lieutenant of Squad 6! This guy actually defeated a lieutenant and was still able to stand! Just who was he...
Being able to defeat a lieutenant would greatly increase the probability of rescuing Rukia. Although there were still thirteen captains, it was unlikely those captains would constantly stand guard in front of the Senzaikyū.
"Ishida is nearby too? Where is he?"
Ganju's booming voice instantly snapped Hanatarō back to reality. He didn't know who Ishida was, but the absolute top priority right now was to take this person back for treatment.
"Mr. Ganju, let's take him back to the underground waterways first."
"But this guy says Ishida is nearby."
"His consciousness is already in a blurred state; he can't answer your questions at all. I haven't felt any Reiatsu fluctuations nearby either, so Mr. Ishida might have already escaped successfully," Hanatarō said, trying hard to organize his thoughts. "Besides, given the scale of this battle, the other lieutenants are definitely on their way."
Lieutenants? That sounded incredibly formidable. Ganju feigned deep thought, but in reality, it took him less than a second to make a decision. Retreat! We have a wounded man who needs treatment!
Poor Ishida was abandoned just like that. However, Hanatarō couldn't be blamed. Every word he said was the truth; this place wasn't far from the Gotei 13's offices, and the other lieutenants would definitely rush over.
As for not feeling any Reiatsu, that was also the truth...
Of course it was the truth. Ishida had just stood up when he immediately took a punch to the face. The opponent didn't even need to cause any Reiatsu fluctuations to leave him without a single chance to fight back.
It was pure torture. All he could do was stand up and fall down, repeating the cycle endlessly like a machine. It had already been going on for an unknown amount of time.
"Answer my question, kid."
"I will fulfill my guarantee!"
"I'm not very satisfied. Again!"
Falling down once more, Ishida felt he could still stand up many times, but he truly didn't want to answer Kōe's question anymore.
'Can I really guarantee it? Or rather, what exactly can my pride guarantee?! Furthermore, are Quincy really this fragile in front of a Shinigami?'
His self-esteem wasn't completely shattered, but it was certainly riddled with wounds.
At first, he still thought about how to resist, how to defeat the enemy before him. But now? Without realizing it, he had already adapted to the rules forced upon him by his opponent.
"Want to rest for a bit?"
"We've barely even started, heh."
Unexpectedly, Kōe didn't make a move this time. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and smiled. "Bugs may be weak, but their adaptability is terrifyingly high. Does this count as a kind of compromise?"
"You're tired after just two hits. Looks like you're nothing special either."
"So getting beaten can actually build confidence." Kōe spread his hands and said disdainfully, "If this is how you guarantee things, let's change the game."
Ishida didn't speak, but he instinctively felt a bad premonition.
Kōe didn't keep him in suspense and immediately revealed the rules of this new game. "I'll go bring your companion here right now. Of course, it might just be a corpse, but that doesn't matter."
Kōe wagged a finger. "We also caught another one of your companions, named Inoue Orihime. A very cute girl with long orange hair."
Ishida seemed to guess what the other man was going to say next, and a look of horror unknowingly spread across his face.
"I'll bring them in front of you and tell them that if they say 'we give up on Rukia,' I'll let you go. Or, you can stand by and watch, and only if you answer my previous question properly will I let them go. What do you think?" Kōe paused, resting his chin in his hand, and continued, "But looking at your expression, you must really like this method."
"Ha, haha, are you backing down?!"
Ishida's feigned cheerful mockery didn't change Kōe's mind. Muttering, "If Abarai happens to lose, I'll bring him over to be punished together," Kōe walked toward the direction of the White Tower.
"Your enemy is me, you bastard!"
Ishida shot an arrow at Kōe, but the latter didn't even turn his head. The arrow shattered on its own the moment it touched his body, as if proving to Ishida that he was just an arrogant ant, and his so-called pride and guarantees were nothing but a joke.
"If you follow me on your own initiative, it would save me a lot of time. Of course, taking this chance to run away is the best choice. I'd be satisfied with that result, and I'm sure your companions would be very... happy to hear it?"
'When I was very young, I could see Hollows, and I could see Hollows attacking people. In order to protect them, I became my grandfather's apprentice, became a Quincy, and took pride in it.'
'Sooner or later, you will understand too. You will know exactly what it is you want to protect.'
Ishida looked at the glove on his right hand. He still didn't know exactly what he wanted to protect, but he knew that Ichigo, Inoue, Sado, and even Rukia—these people by his side—were the ones he had to protect.
And, his grandfather's and his own pride as a Quincy! It wasn't just talk; once a decision was made, he had to act on it, to give it his all!
Ironically, all of this required him to first relinquish his identity as a Quincy, and only as a human could he achieve it!