If she had been wearing her Soul Reaper uniform, these violent souls would have scattered like flies, not dared to speak so brazenly. Suì-Fēng wasted no more words on the man with the topknot.
"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!"
The topknot-haired man looked confused. He watched as Suì-Fēng drew her Zanpakutō, shouted the release command, and the blade transformed into a golden stinger worn on her hand. In that instant, his bravado vanished. He dropped his sword and ran.
Suì-Fēng used Shunpo to close the distance instantly, silently activating her newly acquired skill, Bee Poison. She felt the void spiritual pressure within her body flow into her Zanpakutō, converging on the tip of Suzumebachi's stinger.
Pfft—
The stinger pierced the man in the center of his back. After landing the blow, Suì-Fēng immediately flashed away to a safe distance, observing carefully.
"Boom!"
The man's chest exploded from the inside out, leaving a gaping, bowl-sized hole. His eyes bulged in terror. He tried to scream, but instead, a bone-white substance bubbled up from his throat.
"Ugh—Ahhhh—"
He clutched at his neck, trying to stop the flow, but the corrosive white liquid began to overflow from the hole in his chest as well. In just over ten seconds, his spiritual body could no longer maintain its structure. It collapsed and disintegrated, neutralized by the liquid and reduced to raw spirit particles. The process only stopped when nothing but a discarded samurai uniform remained on the ground.
'Hmm… this is basically identical to the "Soul Disappearance" incidents Aizen caused in the original story,' Suì-Fēng realized with a chill. At this point in the timeline, Aizen had already completed his Hollowfication experiments and wouldn't be openly causing such incidents. If another case of a soul vanishing and leaving only their clothes behind were to occur, it would not only trigger an investigation from the Seireitei but would also attract Aizen's unwanted attention. Suì-Fēng wanted nothing to do with that monster.
She quickly returned to the soul who had been cut in half, raised her hand, and released a stream of healing Kidō. Before long, the severed parts of his body reconnected.
'Alright, the healing is complete,' she thought, a little surprised. 'The spiritual pressure consumption was much less than I imagined.'
Her Kidō skills were only at an introductory level. Even so, it had only taken her a few minutes to make the soul whole again. It gave her a much clearer understanding of the vast difference in spiritual power between a Soul Reaper and an ordinary soul. The fully recovered man no longer felt any pain. He sat up from the ground in confusion, a hint of awareness returning to his eyes.
Suì-Fēng tossed the dead samurai's clothes to him and oppressed him with a sliver of her Reiatsu. "Put them on!"
Terrified, the soul scrambled to put on the uniform. Suì-Fēng then threw him the katana and shooed him away. After clearing all traces of the fight, she opened her status panel.
[Suì-Fēng: Void Poison 22.9%]
"Only 0.1% at a time?" she muttered. "If I can use it three times a day, that's only 0.3%."
After a quick calculation, she understood the grim reality. Although Bee Poison could help her release the uncontrollable void spiritual pressure, the limits on its use meant it would only delay her reaching the critical 25% threshold by a single day.
'Forget it, it's better than nothing,' she sighed. 'I was supposed to hit the 25% outbreak threshold the day after tomorrow. Now it's delayed by a day. That's a good thing.' One more day of survival was still a victory.
She also considered that even if she used all three charges for the next two days, her void poison level would still inevitably surpass 25%. With that in mind, she decided to practice using Bee Poison with her normal Shinigami spiritual pressure later. Using one or two fewer void releases would barely change the numbers. Mastering the skill for combat, however, would significantly enhance her current fighting ability.
Seeing no one else around, Suì-Fēng headed deeper into the Rukongai.
Seireitei, First Division Barracks, Main Conference Room.
Seven figures stood in the imposing chamber. Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood at the head of the room, his loyal Vice-Captain, Chōjirō Sasakibe, by his side. Arranged in two rows before him were the remaining Captains of the Gotei 13.
Eighth Division Captain, Kyōraku Shunsui. Fourth Division Captain, Retsu Unohana. Thirteenth Division Captain, Jūshirō Ukitake. Sixth Division Captain, Kuchiki Ginrei. Eleventh Division Captain, Kenpachi Kurayashiki.
"Gentlemen, now that everyone is here, let us begin the meeting," Captain-Commander Yamamoto's voice broke the silence. "As you all know, with the 'Soul Disappearance' and 'Captain Hollowfication' incidents occurring one after another, the Seireitei has fallen into a state of emergency not seen in a hundred years. The most urgent issue we must resolve is the leadership of the Gotei 13."
"The Second, Third, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Twelfth Divisions currently have no Captains. The squad members are in disarray. Add to that the Tenth Division, which has been vacant since the death of the previous Captain." Yamamoto's narrowed eyes snapped open, his voice turning stern and powerful. "A full seven squads are without Captains!"
He reined in his powerful aura, closing his eyes once more. "Kyōraku Shunsui, report on the situation of each squad."
"Yes~" Kyōraku adjusted his straw hat and stepped forward. "Currently, the Second, Third, Fifth, and Seventh Divisions are being temporarily managed by Vice-Captains with sufficient qualifications or outstanding abilities."
He listed them one by one. "Second Division Vice-Captain, Ōmaeda Marechiyo. Third Division Vice-Captain, Shachiku Chitetsu. Fifth Division Vice-Captain, Sōsuke Aizen. Seventh Division Vice-Captain, Ren'emon Tsubaki. These squads can maintain their basic functions for the time being and do not require immediate intervention."
After a slight pause, Kyōraku's tone grew more serious. "The Ninth and Twelfth Divisions are in worse shape. In the Ninth Division, both the Captain and Vice-Captain were Hollowfied and fled Soul Society with the former Captain of the Twelfth, Kisuke Urahara. Furthermore, the Ninth Division's elite officer unit suffered heavy casualties while investigating the 'Soul Disappearance' incident. Only Kaname Tōsen remains among the high-ranking seated officers in the entire division."
"As for the Twelfth Division, the situation is similar," Kyōraku continued, glancing at Yamamoto. "Not only did Kisuke Urahara defect, but his Vice-Captain was also Hollowfied and fled. The situation with their seated officers is… special. Since Urahara established the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the high-ranking officers of the Twelfth have all held positions there. And they all came from the Maggot's Nest."
The other Captains understood the implication.
"As you know, these officers were bailed out by Urahara in his capacity as a Gotei 13 Captain. After he was judged a criminal by Central 46, that bail became invalid. Currently, with the exception of the Third Seat and SRDI Vice-Director Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the rest of the Twelfth Division's high-ranking officers and technical staff have all been sent back to the Maggot's Nest. Mayuri was granted a temporary reprieve through Jūshirō's intervention and Ōmaeda's coordination, as he is needed to maintain the daily operation of the SRDI's monitoring equipment."
Kyōraku held up three fingers. "The Tenth Division remains under the temporary management of Captain Kuchiki. Per Old Man Yama's instructions, I will temporarily manage the Ninth Division, and Captain Ukitake will manage the Twelfth. These three squads will be managed this way until new Captains are appointed. That is all."
Kyōraku finished his report and stepped back into line. The room fell silent. Though they all knew the situation was bad, hearing the specifics about the Ninth and Twelfth Divisions cast a grim shadow over the meeting.
"Clang—"
Captain-Commander Yamamoto struck the floor with his cane, the sharp sound echoing in the chamber. "Captain Kuchiki, you will report next."
"Yes, sir." The white-haired Kuchiki Ginrei adjusted his scarf and stepped forward. "The day before yesterday, the Vice-Captain of the Second Division submitted a Captain assessment application for his Third Seat, Suì-Fēng. After evaluation by the First Division, an order was issued yesterday for myself, Captain Unohana, and Captain Kyōraku to go to the Second Division this morning."