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Inside the Dangai.
Three men, one woman, and a black cat—five figures were speeding through the Dangai.
Behind them, the Dangai passage was filled with a current that was between liquid and gas, like a landslide, burying everything in its path where the four people and one cat had passed.
Kōtotsu!
This was a current that filled the Dangai to prevent the invasion of Hollows and other external enemies. It had the ability to prevent souls from moving, and once entangled by it, it was very difficult to leave the Dangai.
A young man dressed in a pure white Quincy uniform looked back and anxiously shouted:
"Hey, hey, hey, that thing is catching up to us."
"All the places we ran through are buried."
"Instead of looking behind you, run faster."
The black cat at the very front said solemnly, "Once the Kōtotsu catches you, it's over!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a startled cry came from behind.
Turning to look, the scene that met their eyes made everyone's face change dramatically. The Quincy boy who was running last had his cloak firmly stuck to the Kōtotsu, which was pulling him into it like quicksand.
"Ishida!"
Ichigo instinctively gripped the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
But before he could rush forward, the black cat beside him sharply shouted:
"Don't use your Zanpakuto!"
"The Kōtotsu will entangle spiritual bodies. If you use your Zanpakuto, you'll be swallowed by it too."
"Then..."
Ichigo heard this and instinctively started to ask, but before he could finish, the dark-skinned 'middle-aged' strong man running at the back had already reached the boy named 'Ishida'; he grabbed the cloak with one hand and his shoulder with the other, then… he ripped downwards fiercely.
Tear—
With the sound of tearing cloth, the cloak ripped, and Ishida was tucked under the strong man's armpit, quickly catching up to the others in front.
"Uh... thanks..."
Ishida Uryū looked at the strong man carrying him and running wildly: "Chad, put me down, I can walk myself..."
The strong man called Chad ignored him and continued to run forward on his own.
The orange-haired girl beside them sighed with relief and said with some lingering fear, "This passage is really dangerous."
"Be content, this is only Kōtotsu. If we encounter the Kogotu, which only appears once every seven days, then we'd really be in danger!"
After saying that, the black cat didn't explain what Kogotu was, but looked at the glimmer of light at the end of the passage and said in a deep voice, "Get ready, we're almost at the exit."
As the passage gradually brightened, the four people and one cat finally reached the exit.
…
At the same time, West 1st District, Junrinan.
"What is that?"
Pedestrians on both sides of the street, accompanied by a startled cry, looked up into the sky.
What met their eyes was a dark crack, with a visible current faintly gushing out from within. This scene made everyone look puzzled.
"Everyone, take cover in the nearest building!"
Just then, a slightly aged voice came, and everyone looked to see that the speaker was none other than the Elder of West 1st District.
Although they didn't understand what was happening, since the Elder said so, no one questioned it further, and they all rushed into the nearest shops or residences.
In an instant, the bustling street that had been full of people was now empty.
"What's wrong now?"
"Who knows, but I really miss Ishikawa-sama now. If he were here, it would be great."
"Ishikawa-sama…"
Hearing someone mention Ishikawa, everyone's faces showed more or less concern.
As residents living close to Seireitei, they had also learned some things about Ishikawa from the Shinigami.
"Ishikawa-sama, he's just too foolish. How could he become an enemy of those Shinigami?"
"What do you mean foolish? Ishikawa-sama is so kind, he barely ever gets into conflicts with people. If he attacked… that Central 46, it must be because they did something bad!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
"Yes, Ishikawa-sama must have his reasons for doing this."
"I wonder how he's doing now."
"Don't worry, Ishikawa will definitely be safe and sound."
"…"
Boom—!
A huge roar interrupted their conversation. Following the sound, they saw smoke and dust filling the street.
"Cough, cough, cough—"
A choking cough came from within.
The people hiding in the buildings looked towards it in unison, and when they saw the attire of the few people, they couldn't help but hold their breath.
The other three were fine; although they wore Human World clothes different from those in Rukongai, West 1st District had no shortage of residents who had died in recent years, and clothing stores also sold Human World clothing, though few people bought them… not because they weren't good-looking, but because…
Walking in Rukongai wearing Human World clothes always felt like standing out from the crowd.
After all, not everyone was like Ishikawa, who simply didn't care about other people's gazes. However, with the same style of clothes worn all year round, Rukongai residents had grown accustomed to Ishikawa's black work uniform, and even clothes imitating Ishikawa's black work uniform style were very popular in clothing stores.
"Wow, look, the one with orange hair!"
"So big~"
"You pervert."
"…"
Most of the male residents in the buildings on both sides of the street focused their attention on the only girl among the four people and one cat.
"Mr. Yoruichi, is this the Soul Society?"
Ichigo looked around. There were no people around, and the streets were filled with old, low-rise houses. The houses closer to the tall city wall in the distance were mostly shops.
"This is Rukongai, located outside the Seireitei where the Shinigami reside. It is the poorest, freest, and most populated area for souls in the Soul Society."
Yoruichi said, then looked in the direction of Byakudo Gate. When she saw the Seirei Gate, she frowned: "Why is the Seirei Gate down?"
"What is Seirei Gate?"
"The Seirei Gate is built from 'Sekkiseki', which can block spiritual power. It releases a wave that decomposes spiritual power, forming a spherical protective shield that protects the Seireitei from above ground to underground, thereby intercepting intruders outside the Seireitei."
A strange look flashed in Yoruichi's eyes; she was unaware of what had recently happened in Seireitei.
Because these days, she had been training Orihime and Chad outside. After the training, she immediately set off for the Soul Society.
But now it seems…
Kisuke was probably so eager for them to come to the Soul Society because something had happened in Seireitei.
"So, if we go through that gate, we can see Rukia?"
Ichigo's eyes lit up when he heard this. He completely misunderstood what Yoruichi said and rushed directly towards Byakudo Gate.
"Idiot, don't go there!!"
Yoruichi saw this and shouted anxiously, but before her words fell, a giant axe descended from the sky, directly striking Ichigo.
Boom—
With a huge explosion, the ground shook violently, and endless smoke and dust rose into the sky.
Then, with a 'whoosh', a black shadow rushed out from the smoke and dust, and in a few leaps, stood outside the smoke, none other than Ichigo.
At this moment, he was unharmed, but his gaze was surprised as he looked at the nearly ten-meter-tall giant in the distance!
"Oh my?"
Jidanbō looked at the orange-haired boy who had dodged his attack with some surprise: "No wonder you dared to trespass the Seirei Gate without a Spirit Entry Permit. It seems you can give me a good workout."
…
West 38th District.
With a mysterious ripple, a figure slowly emerged in the backyard of the tavern.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the empty backyard of the tavern, Ishikawa frowned slightly, but when he looked through the back window and saw the situation inside the tavern, his furrowed brows relaxed.
Looking around, many villains were gathered in the tavern. Uzuki, Unagiya Oshiki, and Ishida Soken were all sitting at the bar. Seeing them safe and sound, Ishikawa couldn't help but feel relieved.
Ishikawa hadn't paid attention to the movements in Seireitei. After sensing the aura in the Dangai, he immediately gave up returning to the Everything Store via Byakudo Gate and instead directly teleported back from the nearest East 1st District Everything Store branch.
The South and North Everything Store branches, managed by Jinkaku and Ginkaku, were both located in District 38 of Rukongai, neither too far nor too close to the main store.
Only the Eastern branch, which was the last to be brought under Ishikawa's command, was opened near the Kiyoryu Gate in the East, to ensure that he could return to the Everything Store as quickly as possible in case of an attack, allowing him to return to the Everything Store in the shortest possible time.
Pushing open the back door, a cacophony of noise assailed him.
He saw the villains in the tavern gathered in a circle, and Shiba Ganju was standing in the middle of them, holding a crooked, hand-drawn map, saying: "This is a map I drew myself. Ishikawa is reportedly now in the Fourth Division… hmm… roughly this area."
"If we can break into Seireitei, we'll immediately head in this direction and rescue Ishikawa."
"If we can't get in, I have other methods."
"I've already sent Nishijin Ori, Himura, and Oyama to gather people in the East, South, and North respectively. When the operation begins, I will shoot an incredibly huge firework into the sky to notify everyone."
"At that time, we will attack simultaneously from four directions, surrounding the entire Seireitei and forcing those bastard Shinigami to release Ishikawa!"
"Surround Seireitei! Rescue Ishikawa-sama!!"
A deafening chorus of shouts echoed in the tavern.
"…" Ishikawa.
He suddenly felt a little fortunate that he was able to return so quickly, otherwise, who knows how much trouble these bastards would have caused him.
Although before he left Seireitei, Ōmaeda had told him…
There was intelligence that there seemed to be a major movement in the higher-numbered districts of Rukongai, so to prevent a crisis, the Seirei Gate had been lowered in advance.
But Ishikawa really didn't expect these bastards to cause such a big commotion.
"The operation time is tomorrow morning. It just so happens that I have something to do tonight at the Elder of West 1st District's place. At that time, I'll ask him to provide us with buildings for concealment. Before surrounding Seireitei, we must act as secretly as possible!"
Moreover…
Ishikawa looked at the excited and expectant faces, his mouth twitching slightly.
He knew these bastards too well!
While some truly wanted to save him, the vast majority were only participating because the act itself made them feel excited.
As for his life or death…
If they cared that much, they wouldn't deserve to be called villains!
In the eyes of the villains in the higher-numbered districts, anyone who could be their boss was an absolutely invincible existence, and only such a person was worth following.
If it weren't for Nishijin Ori and Himura keeping them in check, upon hearing that he was captured, these people wouldn't have even thought about saving him; they would have already been fighting to the death for the title of 'Great Villain'.
Although…
Ishikawa had never admitted it; they had just forced the title upon him.
"Cough, cough—"
Ishikawa coughed, to get their attention.
However…
It didn't attract any attention.
Seeing this, Ishikawa shook his head and walked directly past Ganju, sitting on a high stool at the bar.
And behind the bar, Uzuki and the other two, who were watching the show, were stunned.
"…"
The villains who had surrounded Ganju, their excited and expectant expressions froze, their gazes blankly fixed on Ishikawa's back at the bar.
And Ganju continued his speech:
"Ishikawa is your boss, and I am Ishikawa's boss. If Ishikawa isn't here, then I am your… grand-boss!"
Ganju paused, shook his head: "No, it should be that whether he's here or not, I am your grand-boss. If I tell you to go east, you can't go west; if I tell you to hit Ishikawa, you can't hit anyone else, do you all understand?"
"Once the operation begins, anyone who doesn't listen to my command will be dealt with by me."
"Don't even talk about you guys, even if Ishikawa were here, he'd have to listen to what I say, otherwise, I'll take him down too."
The more Ganju spoke, the more excited he became, completely failing to notice that the villains' gazes, which had originally been full of murderous intent, had now turned into… pity for an idiot.
Uzuki patted Unagiya Oshiki, stopping him from reminding Ganju.
Ishida Soken, standing nearby, wore a benevolent expression, but his smile was full of mockery.
Taking the water Uzuki handed him, Ishikawa took a sip, leaned back against the bar, and listened intently to Boss Ganju's speech in front of him.
"Are you all mute? Where's the response?"
Ishikawa shook his head. Thankfully, he had never relied on these people to save him, otherwise, the grass on his grave would probably be several meters high by now.
Clap, clap, clap—
"Well said!"
Seeing that the villains didn't respond, Ishikawa, as a subordinate, very tactfully applauded and cheered to save his boss's face. Then he looked at the villains and said coldly, "Are you all deaf? Didn't you hear Ganju's words?"
The next second, thunderous applause erupted in the tavern.
"That's right… huh?"
Ganju first nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly froze. After a long moment, he turned around, and when he saw Ishikawa smiling at the bar, the entire tavern fell silent.
"You all go to the other areas and tell Nishijin Ori, Himura, and Oyama to stop making a fuss."
Ishikawa ignored him and spoke to the villains.
Hearing this, the villains in the tavern scattered as if granted a great pardon, all agreeing… Some ran outside, others ran to the backyard.
In the blink of an eye, the tavern, which had been packed with villains, was now empty.
"Oh, Ishikawa, you're back?"
Ganju also recovered at this point and said with an embarrassed smile, "I was just about to go rescue you."
"As a subordinate, how can I trouble my boss to rescue me?"
Ishikawa chuckled, then pointed to the side: "Come sit down, I'm not blaming you for anything… Oh, by the way, is Kukaku okay? When you go back tonight, help me tell her I'm safe. I'll probably be very busy these days; I'll explain to Kukaku-nee after I'm done."
Although he was a bit speechless, he wasn't angry at all.
After all, Ganju genuinely wanted to rescue him by surrounding Seireitei, although from Ishikawa's perspective, with the Central 46 intact, if he had really done that, it would have caused the Central 46 to choose to imprison him permanently or execute him directly.
"Hehe~"
Seeing that Ishikawa wasn't angry, Ganju didn't continue to stand foolishly. He plopped down next to Ishikawa and asked, "What exactly happened to you? I heard from Big Bro that you forced your way into the Central 46. Have you been released now? Or did you escape? Do you want me to gather people to protect you? And…"
"One question at a time."
Ishikawa smiled and didn't hide anything, directly recounting the events in Seireitei that had already been made public, from beginning to end.
Indeed…
Home made him feel more comfortable!
Although most of the people around him were cold-blooded bastards.
But seeing these bastards…
It made Ishikawa feel like he was home, incredibly at ease and incredibly comfortable!
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr