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"They're here?"
Ishikawa stood by the window, gazing at the sun-like sphere floating above Seireitei.
That Ganju guy actually dared to follow him again.
Feeling the familiar aura from the sphere, Ishikawa couldn't help but shake his head.
Unlike last time, this was his second unauthorized entry into Seireitei. If not for the special circumstances, the Gotei 13 would surely settle accounts with him after the incident.
However, his presence this time was likely at Kukaku's instruction. Since she allowed him to come, Kukaku must be confident she could protect Ganju's life.
Still, to avoid any mishaps, it would be better to keep a close eye on him.
Buzz—
The space vibrated, and the spherical super-hard Reishi barrier in the sky gradually dissolved, forming a vortex-like Reishi storm.
Then…
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Four meteors shot out from the spherical super-hard Reishi barrier, streaking across the sky above Seireitei and heading towards various areas.
…
Boom—!
A tremendous explosion ripped through the air, sending endless dust soaring into the sky.
"Cough, cough, cough— I didn't expect your strange technique… cough…"
Ichigo coughed a few times, spitting out sand from his mouth, and said with surprise, "It actually came in handy. Otherwise, falling from that high, we would have been dead."
"Cough, cough, cough—"
Ganju coughed forcefully a few times, catching his breath, and said, "What do you mean, strange technique? This is my ultimate move. The last time I used it was when I fought alongside Ishikawa in Rukongai. If it weren't for this move of mine, your Mr. Ishikawa might have died in Rukongai back then."
"Heh heh—"
A slightly mocking laugh came, but it wasn't from Ichigo.
Upon realizing this, both Ichigo and Shiba Ganju's expressions changed, and they looked towards the source of the laughter.
Almost as they looked, two figures leaped down from a building.
"I don't know whether to say our luck is bad or good."
One of them, a young man with a shiny bald head carrying a Zanpakuto, grinned, "I didn't want to run around with Zaraki, so I found a place to slack off, but I didn't expect prey to fall from the sky."
"Hiss—"
Upon seeing the two, Ganju's face instantly changed, "How can we be so unlucky? We just got here and already ran into them."
"Hmm? You know them?"
Ganju's words startled Ichigo.
"Now's not the time to explain. These two guys are not someone we can deal with. Run!!"
"Run? Are you kidding me?"
"Are you an idiot? Even if you don't know them, you should be able to feel that their Reishi isn't that of an ordinary Shinigami, right?" Ganju said, then glanced at the two, noticing that neither of them was looking at him, but rather at Ichigo beside him.
"Aren't you going to come out yet?"
Ikkaku Madarame looked at Ichigo in the sand pit and said impatiently, "I'm not interested in bullying someone who stays in a sand pit."
"I told you, these two are very strong. Why don't you believe me?"
Listening to Ganju's increasingly loud voice, a vein throbbed in Ikkaku Madarame's temple.
"It's not that I'm afraid of them. It's mainly that both of them are Ishikawa's friends, and Ishikawa is my number one subordinate. If I accidentally hit them too hard and broke them, I wouldn't be able to explain it to Ishikawa."
At these words, even Ayasegawa Yumichika's feathered eye ornament on his right eye twitched slightly.
Patience!
"If you want to run, you run!"
Ichigo jumped out of the sand pit, standing on the ground with a serious expression, "Before I rescue Rukia, I will absolutely not run away."
"I really don't know how beautiful that Rukia is to make you risk your life like this."
Ganju said, then got up and jumped out of the sand pit, but he didn't jump towards Ikkaku Madarame and Kiyone. Instead, he jumped out from the other side of the sand pit, and then…
He took off running!
"I'm out of here. You fight him yourself."
As his words faded into the distance, Ganju turned a corner and disappeared from their sight.
However, Ikkaku Madarame and Ayasegawa Yumichika, standing in place, seemed not to have seen him, merely observing Ichigo with interest.
"You're not chasing him?"
Ichigo looked at the two with some confusion. He had originally thought one of them would go after Ganju, but both of them seemed to pretend Ganju didn't exist, their gazes fixed solely on him from beginning to end.
"The Ryoka is right in front of me. Where else should we chase?"
Ikkaku Madarame didn't reply. Ayasegawa Yumichika brushed his hair aside, "When we arrived here, we only saw one Ryoka—you. We didn't see any idiot who only plays with sand and fireworks and still dares to invade Seireitei."
Didn't see Ganju??
Ichigo was startled, then suddenly remembered what Ganju had just said.
Both of them are Ishikawa's friends.
Thinking of this, Ichigo didn't continue to ask, but slowly drew the Zanpakuto from his back, "So, are you both coming at once, or one by one?"
"Don't look at me."
Ayasegawa Yumichika pouted, "I won't interfere with Ikkaku's battl…"
Whoosh—!
A whooshing sound interrupted Ayasegawa Yumichika's words. He instinctively tilted his head, and a large rock flew directly past his head.
"Hey, you ugly guy with the bob cut and two bird feathers on your face."
Ayasegawa Yumichika turned his head and saw that Ganju, who had fled earlier, had somehow run back, and the words from his mouth made Kiyone's face instantly darken.
"What are you looking at? I'm talking about you. You call yourself a combat Squad? What kind of combat Squad is two-on-one?"
Ganju watched Ayasegawa Yumichika's face grow darker and couldn't help but swallow. Having spent so much time at the tavern, he naturally knew the strength of Ayasegawa Yumichika and Ikkaku Madarame.
But, knowing was one thing; leaving his companions behind and fleeing alone was absolutely impossible for him.
"Damn it, I don't want to bother with you, and you're still not done?"
Under Ganju's constant provocation, Ayasegawa Yumichika's patience finally reached its limit. He cursed, "I really don't understand what you're thinking about all day. I'm giving you a chance, so hurry up and run! If you get caught again this time, even Ishikawa won't be able to save you."
"Do you really think Seireitei is Rukongai? You can just wander around as you please?"
Ayasegawa Yumichika truly didn't understand why these Ryoka had already caused such a huge commotion, yet Ganju still had to get involved.
He and Ikkaku Madarame had spent so many years at the Wan Shi Wu Tavern that it would be absolutely false to say they had no friendship with Ganju. After all, even a dog would develop some affection after spending over a decade together.
So, he and Ikkaku had initially planned to ignore this scoundrel. As long as his involvement with the Ryoka's invasion of Seireitei wasn't exposed, then with Ishikawa's current standing in Seireitei, secretly sending him out of Seireitei afterward wouldn't be difficult.
They could fight him later if they wanted; he wasn't going anywhere anyway.
However…
What they didn't expect was that this scoundrel, who had clearly escaped, actually ran back again.
"Just kidding. Whether it's Rukongai or Seireitei—"
Ganju rummaged through his satchel, pulled out a firework, and said, "There's no place I, the great master, dare not go."
With that, he directly lit the firework in his hand and threw it towards Ayasegawa Yumichika.
Ayasegawa Yumichika didn't care. He swung his Zanpakuto, and before the firework reached him, it was sliced in half.
However…
The firework, split in two, didn't reveal gunpowder inside, but rather… muddy water!
As the outer shell shattered, the muddy water, somehow filling the 'firework,' erupted as if under pressure… spraying out towards Ayasegawa Yumichika.
…
With a splash, the entire area fell silent.
Sometimes…
The person who can instantly infuriate you the most is often the friend who understands you best!
And now, Ayasegawa Yumichika, drenched in muddy water, was like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Making Ikkaku Madarame and Ichigo involuntarily shift to the side.
The next second, Ayasegawa Yumichika directly disappeared from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Shiba Ganju, his Zanpakuto slashing down.
The sudden attack startled Ganju, who instinctively dodged it by shifting his body.
Boom!!
The Zanpakuto plunged into the ground, a terrifying Reishi erupted, and a straight sword mark stretched for over ten meters.
This scene sent chills down Ganju's spine.
"Holy crap, you're serious!?"
"Heh heh heh… heh heh… heh…"
"Hey, hey, hey, Kiyone, handsome, wait… I was just joking with you."
"Shut up! Today, no matter what, I'm going to kill you, you Ryoka who invaded Seireitei!"
…
Amidst a flurry of arguments, the two gradually moved away.
Ichigo withdrew his gaze, not paying too much attention, because even he could tell that the guy named Kiyone had no killing intent; otherwise, that single slash earlier could have finished off Ganju.
"The annoying guy is gone. Shouldn't we start too?"
Ikkaku Madarame slowly drew his Zanpakuto, holding the blade in one hand and the sheath in the other, his surrounding Reishi surging wildly at that moment.
"Before we start, can I ask a question?" Ichigo suddenly asked.
"Hmm?"
"Is the Ishikawa you mentioned currently in Seireitei?"
"Yes."
Ikkaku Madarame didn't hide it. As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped his foot on the ground, and his entire body instantly vanished from its spot.
Clang—!
The sound of metal clashing rang out as two Zanpakuto collided.
"But you probably won't get a chance to see him!"
…
At the same time, Squad Nine.
"Captain Ishikawa."
"Good morning, Captain Ishikawa."
…
Walking through the Squad Nine barracks, the Squad Members he encountered greeted Ishikawa, and Ishikawa responded to each of them.
However, while responding, he had activated his detection circuit to its maximum, constantly locking onto Ganju, to prevent any unexpected changes from happening to him.
If he encountered an insurmountable enemy, even if it meant disobeying Commander Yamamoto's orders, Ishikawa would leave the Squad Nine jurisdiction and go to provide support.
Suddenly, Ishikawa's steps halted, and he gazed into the distance.
Why did he still end up fighting Kiyone?
Ishikawa wasn't surprised that Ichigo and Ganju would encounter Ikkaku Madarame and others, because the Eleventh Division had been searching within Seireitei since yesterday; and for Ikkaku Madarame and Kiyone… it was a common occurrence for them to hide and slack off while others worked.
The Eleventh Division's jurisdiction actually included Rukongai, and these two would always take patrol missions to Rukongai, then run to Ishikawa's tavern to drink and fight…
Ishikawa had originally thought that even if they met, Ganju and Ikkaku wouldn't actually fight.
"Forget it."
Ishikawa shook his head, not paying it any mind. Anyway, Kiyone couldn't possibly kill Ganju, and letting him suffer a bit was a good thing, so he wouldn't always cause trouble everywhere.
"Captain Ishikawa."
Just then, Hisagi Shuuhei quickly walked over from the barracks. As soon as he reached Ishikawa, he said with a grave tone, "The Shinigami Research and Development Institute has issued an alarm. The Ryoka have somehow broken through the Soul-Concealing Membrane and have now invaded Seireitei. Should we also make some preparations?"
"Hmm."
Ishikawa nodded, "Have the Squad Members patrol within the jurisdiction, but if they discover invaders, do not rashly attack; there are people among the Ryoka who survived after encountering Captain Ichimaru Gin, so rashly attacking could very likely result in heavy casualties for our Squad Members."
"So, once invaders are discovered, request for support first, and I will rush to the scene immediately."
"Yes!"
Hisagi Shuuhei replied, then hesitated, "Judging from the direction the Ryoka fell, we can roughly pinpoint their landing area, and there's one spot very close to our jurisdiction. Should we send Squad Members to check it out?"
"Don't bother. If you send people now, you won't find anyone."
Ishikawa shook his head. What Hisagi Shuuhei could discover, he naturally had already noticed.
The reason he said sending people wouldn't find anyone was entirely because…
That aura had disappeared from its original spot the moment it landed, and had escaped Ishikawa's tracking.
No matter how Ishikawa searched, he couldn't find where she had gone.
And among the invading Ryoka, the person capable of doing this was not difficult to guess.
—Yoruichi!
When Ishikawa first discovered her landing outside the Squad Nine jurisdiction, he had considered whether to go and see her, and perhaps catch up or make friends… although there was no 'past' to speak of between him and Yoruichi.
But before he could even act, Yoruichi had already vanished.
"Can't find anyone?"
Hisagi Shuuhei was slightly stunned.
"Commander Yamamoto's order is for each Squad to guard their respective jurisdictions. Until we figure out the Ryoka's objective, we are to temporarily refrain from rash actions, to avoid having our forces dispersed by the enemy."
Ishikawa said, then walked straight towards the office building.
Squad Nine could be said to be the final line of defense before the Repentance Palace. Unless Ichigo and others dug a tunnel underground, they would inevitably pass through Squad Nine.
Although…
In Ishikawa's memory, Ichigo and Ganju did indeed dig a tunnel underground.
But this point, if he didn't say it, who would have thought of it?
Anyway, as long as they didn't appear before him, he could completely pretend not to know. His received commission was merely to guard the Squad Nine jurisdiction, and he was explicitly forbidden from leaving it.
It would be best if no one came; that would save him trouble.
Creak—
Pushing open the Captain's Office door, Ishikawa's steps suddenly halted. Seeing the dark shadow standing on the desk, he froze in place.
"Yo—"
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