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"No one has come?"
Kotetsu Isane looked confusedly at the Squad Member from the Third Division in front of her: "That's impossible. Ishikawa Katori told me he was coming to help at the second line of defense. Think carefully, did you overlook him? Ishikawa Katori is the young man in our Squad wearing black work clothes, black high boots, and with black hair."
"Vice-Captain Kogetsu…"
The Squad Member from the Third Division, questioned repeatedly, swallowed and said nervously: "I've been stationed here the whole time, and no one has come."
"How could that be?"
Kotetsu Isane did not object to the Third Division Squad Member's address. Most ordinary Squad Members outside of a Squad do not add 'Vice' when addressing Vice-Captains of other Squads, as a Vice-Captain is still a Captain… This is also a reflection of social etiquette.
She was unaccustomed to it at first, but after hearing it for a long time, she no longer bothered to fuss over it.
If Ishikawa Katori didn't come here, then where did he go?
A look of worry involuntarily appeared on Kotetsu Isane's face. It was only a hundred meters from the position to here. Even if Ishikawa was a complete novice, there was no way he could get lost in such a short distance, especially since there was a Giant Hollow as a reference point at the time.
Could it be…
He ran to the center of the battlefield to get a closer look at the Hollows?
At this thought, Kotetsu Isane couldn't help but look towards the center of the battlefield where the fighting had just ended. She saw that the Squad Members from the Third Division who had killed the last Giant Hollow on the front line had already retreated with the injured, but Ishikawa Katori was nowhere to be found among them. This made Kotetsu Isane's worry deepen.
She stood up, ready to go forward and ask these people if they had seen Ishikawa Katori.
"Isane."
But before she could step forward, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Captain?"
Kotetsu Isane turned around and realized that Captain Unohana had arrived at some point. She quickly asked: "Captain, have you seen Ishikawa? He just said he was going to support the second…"
"Don't worry."
Retsu Unohana smiled slightly: "Earlier, Vice-Captain Ōmaeda sent me a message via Hell Butterfly. Their operation required the assistance of a Fourth Division Squad Member, so they took that young man, Ishikawa, with them."
"Ah?"
Upon hearing Retsu Unohana's words, the worry on Kotetsu Isane's face not only did not diminish but instead grew even more uneasy.
What is the Onmitsukidō here for?
To execute traitors!!
Among the twelve who defected, there were three Seated Officers. Chasing and killing them was an extremely dangerous operation, many times more dangerous than observing a Giant Hollow up close. A single misstep could result in being killed by the Seated Officer they were supposed to execute.
"How could he take Ishikawa with him? Ishikawa has always been in Rukongai, focusing on studying Kaido. He doesn't know how to fight at all. This is simply too reckless!"
Kotetsu Isane said with a grim expression: "If someone needs to assist, then it would be better for me to go than for Ishikawa to go."
"Focusing on studying Kaido, you say?"
Retsu Unohana showed a faint smile, then shook her head: "Don't worry, that young man, Ishikawa Katori, is not as fragile as you say. And don't forget, that young man's entry permit was issued by the Onmitsukidō. Vice-Captain Ōmaeda knows Ishikawa Katori's background better than you do."
Kotetsu Isane was startled by this, and the unease on her face lessened somewhat. Although she was a bit displeased with Ōmaeda for taking Ishikawa Katori without permission, she trusted Captain Unohana very much. Since Captain Unohana said there was no need to worry, it meant that Captain Unohana must have known something.
"The rescue here is over. Let's return to the Comprehensive Relief Station. There are still many injured people who have only received emergency treatment waiting for us there."
"Yes!"
…
At the same time, Kagamino's western mountains.
"Something's wrong!"
Ōmaeda looked at the tracker, his brow furrowing slightly: "They've split up."
"Split?"
Ishikawa Katori was startled and leaned closer to look at the tablet. He saw that the twelve red dots, which had previously been gathered together, had indeed separated. Nine of the red dots continued towards Kagamino, while the other three red dots headed west of Kagamino.
"To the west…"
Ōmaeda scrolled the screen on the tracker: "Why are they running that way? That area is mostly wilderness and some remote towns. Even the nearest Karakura Town is 22KM from Kagamino, which is not conducive to hiding their tracks. Could someone be meeting them?"
"Karakura Town?"
This familiar place name made a strange glint flash in Ishikawa Katori's eyes.
"Who are the ones going west? Are they the three Seated Officers?" Ishikawa Katori asked.
"Mm."
Ōmaeda stopped in mid-air, and the Onmitsukido behind him also stopped.
"This is good too."
The situation of them scattering and fleeing had been anticipated beforehand, and many trackers had been prepared in advance. So, Ōmaeda was not flustered by the current situation, but rather said in an orderly manner: "You all use the backup trackers and continue towards Kagamino. Ishikawa and I will go after those three Seated Officers."
The three Seated Officers not separating was also a good thing for them. If each of the three Seated Officers had taken a few Squad Members, things would have become very troublesome.
"Yes."
A dozen or so Onmitsukido members immediately affirmed, instantly disappearing from their original positions.
"Shall we depart as well…?"
Ōmaeda looked at Ishikawa Katori beside him, noticing that Ishikawa Katori was staring intently at the tracker in his hand, his face full of contemplation. He couldn't help but ask: "Is something wrong?"
"Something's not right."
"Are you referring to the fact that the three Seated Officers didn't separate?" Ōmaeda smiled indifferently: "I actually think it's quite normal. Three Seated Officers cooperating can unleash strong power, whereas bringing nine ordinary Squad Members is like bringing nine burdens. It's perfectly normal for them to scatter and flee like this."
"It's not because of that, but…"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Ōmaeda directly interrupted: "Whatever it is, we'll talk about it after we catch them. The Reiatsu extracted by the tracker has a time limit. If we dawdle any longer and the Reiatsu sample disappears, it'll be troublesome. If we lose them, I won't give you a single cent of the reward I promised!"
With that, he ignored Ishikawa Katori's reaction and directly activated Shunpo, dashing towards the direction of the three red dots.
"Hey—"
Ishikawa Katori's mouth twitched. After silently repeating 'the customer is always right' a few times, he followed!
No choice…
Who told them to pay so much!
After splitting up, there was no need to wait for the dozen or so Onmitsukido members, and the speed of Ishikawa Katori and Ōmaeda instantly surged.
Despite Ōmaeda's slightly plump figure, his speed was surprisingly fast. Ishikawa, even at full Shunpo in his normal state, could only barely keep up behind him.
This made a glint of surprise flash in Ishikawa Katori's eyes. Although Ōmaeda often joked that his Vice-Captain position was inherited, just with this Shunpo, Ōmaeda was definitely not as useless as he claimed.
Moreover…
If he lacked strength, Soi Fon's serious personality would never have allowed him to become the Vice-Captain of the Second Division.
Dashing at such a speed, the distance between the two of them and the three Seated Officers rapidly closed.
In just three minutes, the distance was already less than a few hundred meters.
"I see them!!"
Ōmaeda's rather excited voice came, making Ishikawa sigh involuntarily.
Sure enough, he got it wrong.
Ishikawa Katori had always been extremely sensitive to the detection of Reiatsu. In fact, even before seeing the three figures, he had already detected their Reiatsu.
These three…
Without exception, their Reiatsu intensity was at the level of ordinary Gotei 13 Squad Members, definitely not the Seated Officers they were supposed to be tracking.
"Hmm?"
Ōmaeda also noticed this, and a look of confusion flashed across his face.
When the distance between them was less than a hundred meters, the three figures in front finally noticed Ishikawa Katori and Ōmaeda. Upon seeing Ōmaeda, their faces all turned pale.
"Damn it, they're after us!!"
"This isn't what we agreed upon. Why is the Vice-Captain chasing us?"
"…"
As they spoke, the three of them couldn't help but accelerate again, hoping to shake off the pursuing Ōmaeda.
However…
The next second, two figures appeared abruptly in front of them.
Buzz—
Reiatsu at the Vice-Captain-level surged forth, and the gravity in the entire area suddenly increased dramatically. The three individuals, caught off guard, were directly smashed from mid-air to the ground.
Bang, bang, bang!
After three consecutive thuds, the three of them created a large crater in the ground. Before they could even get up, a soft shout came from above their heads.
"Bakudo #4: Hainawa."
Ishikawa Katori pointed his hand, and three ropes formed from spiritual power shot through the air, instantly binding the three individuals.
"Who are you people?"
Ōmaeda landed, looking at the three with a grim face, his expression extremely ugly. This was because, unlike the prior investigation, these three were not on the list of the twelve defectors. Yet, the residual Reiatsu of the three Seated Officers on the tracker pointed to these three in front of him.
"Wait, wait— Vice-Captain Ōmaeda." A man with a Scarface on his face shouted anxiously: "Toyokawa Asagi the 4th seat forced us. We've never done anything against the rules."
"Yes… yes, yes, it's not our fault."
"We are innocent!"
Whoosh~
A flash of blade, and the Scarface man who spoke first had a look of confusion in his eyes, only feeling the world in his vision begin to invert.
Thud!
The headless corpse fell to the ground. Ōmaeda, holding his Zanpakuto, said in a cold tone: "I asked ~ who are you people!"
The companion who was alive a second ago became a headless corpse the next, scaring the remaining two into sitting on the ground, trembling all over; but upon seeing the impatience on Ōmaeda's face, one of them quickly knelt down, trembling as he said: "We… we… are Squad Members of the Third Division…"
"Where are Toyokawa Asagi the 4th seat, Yanagikawa-in the 9th Seat, and Fuchimei Yu the 12th Seat?"
"No… no idea…"
"We really don't know. Toyokawa Asagi the 4th seat told us to…"
The other person, with a terrified expression, recounted the entire defection plan from beginning to end.
Although these three were also defectors, their method of defection was extremely secretive. According to the instructions of that 4th seat, the three of them were to act as a vanguard to scout the situation, being the first to encounter four Giant Hollows, and then, with the help of Toyokawa Asagi the 4th seat, they faked their deaths as fallen Squad Members.
"…Afterwards, when the others began to attack their comrades, we three took advantage of the chaos to escape, and together with the remaining nine Squad Members, we set off towards Kagamino. As for the three Seated Officers, they never acted with us from the beginning… As for why we separated from those nine Squad Members, it's because…"
The middle-aged man speaking pointed to the headless corpse next to him: "Yanagikawa the 9th Seat was his older brother. Yanagikawa the 9th Seat told us three that those nine Squad Members were actually decoys set up to cover our departure, instructing us to find a reason to separate from them nine along the way and hide elsewhere."
"We really don't know where those three Seated Officers went…"
Upon hearing this, even if Ōmaeda was an idiot, he understood that he had been tricked.
The three Seated Officers had clearly made ample preparations before defecting. Before the Onmitsukidō arrived, they used some unknown method to change the residual Reiatsu at their wound sites to that of the three individuals present.
It wasn't the nine Squad Members mentioned by the three who were acting as decoys, but them.
The three acted as the most obvious stand-ins for the three Seated Officers, attracting the strongest pursuers, while the three Seated Officers took this opportunity to completely hide themselves.
"Using his own brother as a stand-in?"
Ishikawa Katori's expression was a bit strange. Regardless of the other two, this Yanagikawa the 9th Seat being considered a Supervisor by the Supervisory Team was truly no injustice to him.
Ōmaeda looked at Ishikawa Katori and sighed: "It's over… After this, we two are probably going to be punished."
"What does that have to do with me, a temporary worker?"
Ishikawa Katori said exasperatedly: "Besides, I said something was off earlier, because the twelve of them were running too slowly. We set off so much later, and even if our speed was faster than theirs, we shouldn't have been able to catch up so easily."
"Twelve people gathered together could barely be explained by the three Seated Officers being very loyal and suppressing their speed to take care of the nine Squad Members… But after they split up, the speed of the three on the tracker didn't significantly increase, which is nothing like three Seated Officers."
"Then why didn't you say so earlier!!" Ōmaeda yelled.
"Did you even give me time to explain? You ran so fast, just keeping up with you was hard enough."
"…" Ōmaeda.
Actually, if one were to truly assign responsibility, Ishikawa Katori also bore some.
Because when he was treating the Squad Members of the support unit who were ambushed earlier, he noticed that the residual Reiatsu on them was too obvious. Even if the Onmitsukido was notified immediately after the defection was discovered, it still took nearly ten minutes from gathering the troops to arriving in the Human World.
The residual Reiatsu at the wound site, normally, even if it hadn't dissipated, shouldn't have been so obvious, let alone with twelve defectors, not one less.
For example, the first time Ishikawa Katori went to the Comprehensive Relief Station to treat the Eleventh Division Squad Members, even though those Squad Members were injured by their Captain, and the residual Reiatsu at the wound site continuously corroded the injury, it would still gradually weaken over time, let alone a group of Shinigami whose strongest members were only Seated Officers.
However, Ishikawa Katori didn't think much of it at the time, until the three separated from the nine, and he realized something was wrong.
But Ishikawa Katori would absolutely not mention this. Who knew if Soi Fon found out, she might become displeased with him.
"Those bastards from the Supervisory Team, if they had been more serious, things wouldn't have escalated to this point."
Ōmaeda glanced at Ishikawa Katori, emphasizing again: "The Supervisory Team are a bunch of bastards!"
"…" Ishikawa Katori.
He always felt like this guy was indirectly cursing him.
As if venting his anger, Ōmaeda dealt with the remaining two and then collected the three Asauchi that had lost their owners.
Ishikawa Katori looked at the three Asauchi, and the thought of snatching one immediately flashed through his mind, but Ishikawa Katori quickly extinguished it. He didn't want to be considered an enemy by Seireitei just for an Asauchi.
"Lend me one to look at?"
Although he couldn't keep it for himself, it would be nice to just try out the feel of it.
Upon hearing this, Ōmaeda's face showed vigilance. He hadn't forgotten that Ishikawa Katori had once asked him for an Asauchi.
Moreover…
According to the three's statements, their deaths were already public knowledge, and the three Asauchi were not on the retrieval list. If he didn't report that there were three other defectors, the support unit would only search for the three Asauchi around the battlefield. Finally, if there were no accidents, the Third Division would report them as lost.
In his opinion, Ishikawa Katori was very likely eyeing these three Asauchi.
"Don't even think about it."
However, he was overthinking it. Last time, he hadn't told Ishikawa about the Asauchi that would be reported as lost. Ishikawa was indeed just thinking of playing with them.
"Stingy."
Ishikawa Katori didn't insist and instead asked: "Does the reward you promised me still count?"
"The commission isn't even finished, and you're talking about a reward?" Ōmaeda said exasperatedly.
"…"
Ishikawa Katori's mouth twitched. After a moment of contemplation, he gritted his teeth: "Add another million, and I'll help you find the remaining three."
"Really?"
Ōmaeda's eyes immediately lit up.
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