This line had a feeling like that of a father watching his daughter get entangled with a blonde-haired punk.
As he spoke, the blades of Senbonzakura completely enveloped Muramasa and the others, disappearing from the sight of Ichigo's group.
"Byakuya!" Ichigo shouted angrily.
But Byakuya was already gone, leaving Ichigo fuming in helpless rage.
With a sigh, Ichigo turned and used Kaidō to heal Rangiku.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Byakuya appeared at a place where Muramasa was recalibrating his newly recovered abilities.
When all the manifested Zanpakutō saw Kuchiki Byakuya, they revealed surprised expressions.
This gathering of Zanpakutō spirits—what did it have to do with a Shinigami like Byakuya?
"Muramasa, what's the meaning of this?" Suzumebachi couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, why did you bring a Shinigami captain into our stronghold? Have you betrayed us?" The hot-headed Gonryōmaru also yelled in anger.
Before Muramasa could explain, Senbonzakura asked first, "Why did you save me? Why would a man like you side with the Shinigami?"
Senbonzakura looked at Kuchiki Byakuya with confusion.
Byakuya answered coldly, "I act in accordance with my own honor."
It was the same answer as always, but the unruly Zanpakutō spirits weren't so easily convinced. Kazeshini immediately stepped forward and said, "That's strange. You must be a spy sent by the Shinigami!"
The atmosphere turned tense.
But Hōzukimaru and Haineko, who had been rescued by Byakuya earlier, spoke up to defend him. "But it was him who saved us back there!"
Hearing this, some of the Zanpakutō spirits started to reconsider, though Senbonzakura remained skeptical.
"Very well, let's test your loyalty," Senbonzakura declared. "Prove it by killing your sister's Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki, right in front of us."
Sode no Shirayuki, who had been watching from the sidelines, was dumbfounded.
What the hell!? Why did she suddenly become the target?
Senbonzakura continued, "According to the Shinigami's intel, if a manifested Zanpakutō is slain by a Shinigami who is not its master, the Zanpakutō will likely cease to exist permanently!"
"If you can kill your own sister's Zanpakutō here and now, that will be enough to prove your loyalty."
This proposal gained the approval of the other Zanpakutō, while Sode no Shirayuki cursed them all in her heart.
"Yeah, if you don't dare to do it, that proves you have something to hide!" they all shouted, raising their weapons. If Byakuya refused, they would gang up on him and tear him to pieces!
But what Byakuya did next shocked all the Zanpakutō.
Without hesitation, he drew his Zanpakutō and instantly flashed toward Sode no Shirayuki.
Sode no Shirayuki froze—this insane suggestion had actually been accepted!?
Did no one care whether she lived or died!?
Sode no Shirayuki quickly parried Byakuya's blade and Shunpo'd up onto a high rock platform, clearly realizing that Byakuya was serious. If she didn't fight back with everything she had, she'd really die here!
"Damn it!" Sode no Shirayuki cursed, cornered, and desperately unleashed an icy storm from her mouth to block Byakuya's next attack.
Byakuya effortlessly dodged with Shunpo, parried her ice blades, and kept pressing in. Sode no Shirayuki seized the moment to Shunpo behind him.
"Second Dance, White Ripple!" she shouted.
A powerful ice pillar shot toward Byakuya, but with a single raised finger, Byakuya countered, "Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
The simple Byakurai easily shattered her attack.
Sode no Shirayuki sensed Byakuya drawing closer and had no choice but to keep using Tsukishiro to force him into a corner of the cave.
When Byakuya had nowhere to retreat, Sode no Shirayuki unleashed Tsukishiro right next to him, freezing everything in the area.
But it only froze Byakuya's scarf—his real body had already Shunpo'd behind her.
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
Six glowing rods slammed into Sode no Shirayuki, binding her tightly.
A single slash—Byakuya cleanly bisected her.
Senbonzakura quickly Shunpo'd over to confirm Sode no Shirayuki's death, but what shocked him was that there was no body left behind. Only a broken, two-piece white Zanpakutō lay atop an ice pillar.
This move convinced ninety-nine percent of the Zanpakutō that Byakuya was telling the truth.
Only Kazeshini still had some doubts, but Muramasa waved his hand and said, "Kazeshini, enough. I believe in Kuchiki's words."
Since even Muramasa had spoken, the others naturally had no objections.
"Since you've decided to join us, Byakuya, I'll assign you a special mission that only you can carry out," Muramasa said.
Byakuya, as always, nodded without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was still racking his brain, unable to understand why Byakuya would betray Soul Society.
So when Hinamori Momo and Matsumoto Rangiku reported the news to the other captains and lieutenants, ninety percent of them thought they were hallucinating.
Even Renji, Byakuya's own lieutenant, couldn't believe it and confronted Ichigo, "How could it be!? Captain would never betray Soul Society! You must be mistaken!"
Kyoraku Shunsui, seeing how agitated Renji was, quickly added, "But Ichigo isn't the only one who saw it. Vice-Captain Hinamori and Vice-Captain Matsumoto were there too. Surely they didn't all conspire to frame Captain Kuchiki, did they?"
Ichigo sat slumped next to Unohana Retsu, knowing how deeply this news would affect Rukia.
Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō, the highest-ranking leaders after the Royal Guard, also fell silent.
With the Zanpakutō rebellion, Soul Society was already in a crisis.
Now, with Yamamoto Genryūsai sealed away, Shunsui Kyōraku and Tōshirō Hitsugaya unconscious, Ukitake gravely ill, Byakuya a traitor, and Zaraki Kenpachi and Yachiru off on a trip, there was no one to stop Unohana Retsu from going on a killing spree.
The balance of power had shifted.
"I'll go tell Rukia," Ukitake Jūshirō finally said.
As Rukia's captain, it was best that he deliver the news.
But Ichigo stopped him. "No, I'll go."
Ukitake looked at Ichigo worriedly. He knew that Ichigo had a close bond with Byakuya after their previous battle, and his relationship with Rukia was even more... unique. It was best for Ichigo to handle this.
Kira Izuru also offered, "Should I go with you?"
Ichigo shook his head. "No. I need to do this alone."
With that, he pushed open the door of the meeting room and walked with heavy steps to Rukia's room.
Creaaak—
The door opened. Rukia, sitting on her hospital bed, looked up in surprise. "Ichigo, you're back?"
Sitting beside her, Isane Kotetsu also asked, "Did you find Captain Byakuya?"
Ichigo hesitated, looking at Rukia. "Isane, could you step out for a bit? I have something to tell Rukia."
Sensing the seriousness, Isane nodded and quietly left, closing the door behind her.
Ichigo sat on the bed, pulling Rukia into his arms.
Rukia blushed, "W-What's going on? What happened? Tell me quickly."
Ichigo held her tightly and whispered the news of Byakuya's betrayal into her ear.
Even though he tried to soften the blow, Rukia's expression twisted in horror, the shock overwhelming her.
Her body went limp in Ichigo's embrace, like all the strength had drained from her.
"No way... Nii-sama would never... He values the honor of the Kuchiki clan more than his own life... How could he possibly betray the Seireitei?" Rukia's voice trembled in disbelief.
"Ichigo... Take me to the Sixth Division headquarters. I don't believe it. I need to see if there's any clue at the squad's barracks!" Rukia's voice was firm, though her body shook.
"Okay. I understand," Ichigo nodded.
He took Rukia, now in her Shihakushō, to Byakuya's captain's office.
As she sat in Byakuya's empty chair, Rukia drifted off to sleep, thinking of her brother.
Ichigo stood nearby, watching her, feeling heartache.
Not long after, a massive spiritual pressure surged!
This pressure... Ichigo and Rukia were all too familiar with it—it was Byakuya's!
Rukia rushed out of the captain's office and saw the Sixth Division squad members all collapsed on the floor, their status unknown.
At the end of the hallway, Rukia saw her brother—Kuchiki Byakuya!
"Nii-sama! What have you done here? Where have you been all this time?" Rukia asked in disbelief.
But Byakuya didn't answer. Instead, he held up a cold, broken blade.
"This... is your answer."
Ichigo and Rukia's pupils contracted in shock. In Senbonzakura's hands was none other than the broken Sode no Shirayuki.
Seeing her Zanpakutō, Rukia dropped to her knees, trying to pick it up. But before she could touch it, she realized—there was no spiritual pressure left in it.
"This Sode no Shirayuki... is dead," Senbonzakura said coldly.
Rukia clutched the broken blade to her chest, her voice trembling. Her own brother had killed her Zanpakutō!
Ichigo held Rukia tightly, glaring at Byakuya. "You bastard! What have you done!?"
But Byakuya ignored Ichigo and coldly stated, "Rukia, stay out of this."
Senbonzakura raised his blade, about to strike at Ichigo and Rukia, but Ichigo's intense glare alone was enough to make him hesitate.
At that moment, Renji Abarai arrived, sensing something wrong.
He saw the devastation and the sight of Byakuya standing side by side with Senbonzakura.
"Captain Kuchiki, I must arrest you as a prime suspect in the Zanpakutō rebellion!"
Renji, who had previously refused to believe, could no longer deny what he was seeing.
He swung his blade at Byakuya, but after using Hihiō Zabimaru in the earlier battle, Renji could no longer use his own Zanpakutō.
Without his Zanpakutō, Renji was no match for Byakuya in Reiatsu, Shunpo, or swordsmanship. In just three exchanges, Renji was forced into a disadvantage.
However, to Byakuya and Senbonzakura's surprise, even though Renji couldn't use his Zanpakutō...
The manifested Hihiō Zabimaru wasn't affected at all!
A massive Hihiō Zabimaru came crashing through the window, striking at Byakuya.
Byakuya quickly Shunpo'd back to Senbonzakura's side.
Senbonzakura looked at Hihiō Zabimaru and said, "Byakuya, go complete your mission. Leave this to me."
Hihiō Zabimaru, glaring at Senbonzakura, was excited. "Good! Senbonzakura, I've long wanted to settle things with you!"
Renji, unable to fight Ichigo, had shifted his focus to defeating Byakuya, and his Zanpakutō shared his determination.
Since they couldn't fight Ichigo, they'd settle it with Senbonzakura!
The two manifested spirits, the serpent and the ape, teamed up against Senbonzakura, their combined assault overwhelming him.
Byakuya ignored the battle, preparing to leave. But Renji stubbornly chased after him, the two of them breaking through the roof as they fought.
"Rukia," Ichigo whispered, holding her tightly. To him, nothing mattered more than protecting her.
Meanwhile, Renji went for a suicide attack!
Grabbing the unstable and uncontrollable Shakkahō, he charged straight at Byakuya!
Surprisingly, this caught Byakuya off guard, forcing him to Shunpo away to avoid Renji's self-destructive Kidō.
But Renji didn't let up, slashing at Byakuya's back with his sword!
(End of Chapter)
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