Looking at the crystal snowflakes fluttering in the sky, the first-generation captains fell silent, a look of unconcealable shock flashing in their eyes.
What kind of power is this?!
To completely obliterate a Soul Reaper captain of decent strength with just a single punch?
Moreover, the style of that punch seemed familiar; even from a great distance, they could still feel the scorching heat contained within it.
It was like an active volcano on the verge of erupting.
It made one's heart palpitate.
In their original expectations, as the first-generation captains of the Gotei 13, the moment they returned from Hell, they would reap a massive wave of fear.
The junior Soul Reapers would look at them with terror mixed with a trace of reverence.
And they would silently enjoy the glory brought by the past.
But things rarely go as planned.
Naraku Sora, one of their targets this time, forcefully shattered their illusions with a single punch, forging a path they had never envisioned.
It seemed a bit too unexpected.
A mission they originally thought was a sure thing now seemed not so certain after all.
Kumoi Entetsu took a deep breath. His neat golden teeth looked somewhat similar to Kurotsuchi Mayuri's, but his Reiatsu was vastly superior.
"Get ready to attack together."
Heavy Reiatsu permeated the area, making the air increasingly viscous. Just as he was about to launch an attack on Naraku Sora, a hurricane suddenly swept up from the ground below.
A pale blue, materialized pillar of Reiatsu shot straight into the sky. The frantic hurricane seemed to contain countless wind blades, sharply slicing through the surging Reiatsu.
"Sorry, Senior Kumoi, this path is closed."
A resolute, silver-haired man with a muscular and burly physique, wearing a sleeveless captain's haori, appeared on the battlefield. He looked seriously at the crowd ahead.
"I am the Captain of Squad Nine, Muguruma Kensei."
"Letting Prison Warden Naraku face the enemy alone isn't my style. Therefore, your opponent is me."
Kumoi Entetsu paused for a moment. The pressure Naraku Sora had just exerted on him was so intense that he had momentarily forgotten there were other captains present.
Looking at it this way, teaming up against that guy didn't seem like it would be an easy task either.
"Squad Nine?"
"It seems you're the one who inherited my position. That's fine too. Let me see if you're qualified to hold the title of captain."
Muguruma Kensei's expression was serious.
"Don't worry, I won't waste too much of your time."
Kumoi Entetsu bared his golden teeth in a cruel smile. Drawing his Zanpakutō, he charged straight ahead, trailing a heavy wake of Reiatsu.
Both were physical combatants, so their initial clash was incredibly fierce.
The combat knife and the heavy mace slammed together viciously, sparking countless brilliant flashes. The hurricane swirled around them, kicking up visible shockwaves.
"Hmm?"
Kumoi Entetsu frowned, feeling that the power transmitted through the Zanpakutō wasn't as strong as he had anticipated.
'Or rather, it's a bit weak?'
'Is it my imagination?'
Kumoi Entetsu subconsciously increased his power output.
Opposite the heavy mace, the veins on Muguruma Kensei's arms instantly bulged. He let out an excited, low roar, as if squeezing out every ounce of his body's potential.
But as the impact continuously poured in, he could no longer withstand it. He was instantly sent flying backward, crashing through a building below and kicking up an astonishing wave of dust.
Kumoi Entetsu was left speechless. "..."
'Say, could we have that Naraku Sora be the captain of Squad Nine instead?'
'This guy named Muguruma Kensei seems a bit too weak.'
Amidst the ruins, the fierce wind flared up once more.
A pillar of Reiatsu scattered the dust wave, and streaks of pale blue wind swirled and erupted.
Muguruma Kensei's voice echoed across the battlefield, drawing countless excited gazes.
It was the anticipation of the Soul Reaper squad members for their captain.
"Bankai!"
"Tekken Tachikaze!"
Seeing that terrifying momentum, a smile returned to Kumoi Entetsu's face.
'Now that's more like it.'
'Although I don't know what his specific ability is, at least it's not too embarrassing.'
After completing his Bankai, Muguruma Kensei looked back into the distance, where that massive bald head was extremely eye-catching.
The will to fight seemed to burn in his eyes.
'This time, I will definitely wash away the humiliation from the previous mission!'
On another side, two figures with somewhat similar appearances stood confronting each other on a stone pillar.
Their relatively peaceful demeanor formed a stark contrast with the other battlefields.
"Truly unexpected."
Shihōin Chika scratched his head, saying in surprise, "To think that the captain of Squad Two would be you, little Yoruichi."
"Could it be that the Shihōin clan has fallen so far that a junior has to bear the responsibility?"
Yoruichi grinned.
"Uncle, you're underestimating me a bit too much."
"Couldn't it be that I'm exceptionally gifted, naturally inherited the position of clan head, and conveniently took Squad Two under my wing?"
Hearing this, Shihōin Chika paused, saying in astonishment, "..."
"That's right!"
Yoruichi straightened her back, looking like a child showing off her grades to a parent, and laughed heartily.
"Standing before you is the twenty-second head of the Shihōin clan!"
"Captain of Squad Two and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, as well as the Corps Commander of the First Division, the Executive Militia!"
Shihōin Chika scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Even if your talent is great and you've achieved captain-level strength at a young age, the internal struggles of our clan are incredibly complex. You couldn't outplay those old geezers."
As a former head of the Shihōin clan, no one understood the internal situation of the family better than he did.
Despite being one of the Five Noble Families of the Soul Society, with massive influence and overwhelming power...
...in reality, there were different factions within. The elders constantly fought among themselves and refused to submit to one another. It was simply impossible for them to choose Yoruichi as the head.
"True."
Yoruichi nodded in deep agreement.
Back when she was dealing with those old geezers, she was mentally and physically exhausted, leaving her with no spare energy to handle the squad duties of Squad Two.
Fortunately, she met a guy with unparalleled audacity.
With swift and decisive action, he nipped all the troubles in the bud.
Moreover, that guy didn't mind the trouble of practicing Hakuda techniques with her time and time again, even optimizing her incomplete Shunkō technique.
Thinking of this, a happy smile appeared on Yoruichi's face.
'Having that guy by my side is truly a joyful thing.'
Seeing the smile on his niece's face, Shihōin Chika's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
As someone who had been there before, he knew exactly what that smile meant.
'Damn it, some scoundrel with ulterior motives must have deceived our little Yoruichi!'
"Uncle, you might not believe it, but that's the truth."
Yoruichi didn't hide anything and simply recounted what Naraku Sora had done.
"It's precisely because of Sora's help that I was able to take control of the Shihōin clan so quickly and officially become the head."
"The reason I'm saying all this is because I want the approval of my elder."
"Although you are controlled by the Will of Hell, as long as Sora is here, he can definitely help you break free from this confinement..."
Shihōin Chika's gaze was heavy, wearing an expression as if the Head Captain had just died.
He hadn't expected that he had only been dead for a few hundred years, yet his only junior had already found someone worthy of entrusting her life to.
'Has my precious little flower just bloomed, only to be plucked by some swine?'
'I absolutely cannot accept this!'
"No way, I'm going to test what that kid is made of."
Unable to suppress his agitated emotions, Shihōin Chika prepared to forcefully disengage from the current battle and join the other battlefield.
However, just as he took a step, Yoruichi, who was originally behind him, suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes.
"Sorry about this, Uncle."
"I can't let you go and disturb Sora. What he's doing right now is very important."
Shihōin Chika blinked in confusion. "What?"
Looking at Yoruichi, who was siding with an outsider, he became thoroughly enraged.
A berserk Kidō Reiatsu poured out, wrapping around his limbs. The moment his right foot stepped forward, his left leg instantly erupted with terrifying power.
The stone pillar cracked and groaned.
A man with a gray ponytail, freckles on his face, and a dejected expression walked among the ruins, searching for a suitable opponent.
He was the first-generation captain of Squad Four, Shijima Chigiri.
As one of the earliest first-generation captains to enter Hell, he learned from latecomers that Squad Four had been reformed into a medical squad.
Solely responsible for logistics.
He was extremely dissatisfied with this.
'I was clearly the most valiant person on the battlefield, so why was Squad Four changed into a medical squad?'
'Why didn't that old geezer Yamamoto turn Squad Eleven into logistics instead?'
'This is clearly him taking advantage of my early death to ruthlessly bully my subordinates.'
'Those kids were all top-notch fighters. Every time a war broke out, they were the first to charge in.'
'But now they've actually been assigned to logistics.'
'This is a blatant insult!'
The more Shijima Chigiri thought about it, the angrier he got, wishing he could go find Yamamoto right then and there to demand justice.
Unfortunately, he lacked the confidence to do so.
Even though he had been empowered by Hell and was several times stronger than when he was alive...
...facing that monster-level superior, he still had absolutely no chance of winning.
Surviving three sword strikes without dying would be considered an extraordinary performance on his part.
However, even if he couldn't beat Yamamoto, he could still teach the current captain of Squad Four a lesson.
If they were truly too weak and disgraced the name of Squad Four, he would simply kill them and drag them back to Hell.
And make Yamamoto go find a new captain.
Having made up his mind, Shijima Chigiri quickly arrived at the Squad Four barracks.
Because they were a medical squad, none of the Squad Four members participated in the battle. Instead, they stayed at the Coordinated Relief Station, responsible for treating any potential casualties.
The opponents in this war were not just the first-generation captains.
There were also the wicked sinners who had fallen into Hell due to their grave sins.
They didn't possess captain-level strength, but they could still pose a significant threat to ordinary squad members and seated officers.
Following the Reiatsu, Shijima Chigiri finally spotted the Squad Four captain who was directing the squad members.
At that exact moment, the person also sensed something and looked over with a gentle gaze.
"So it's Shijima. Long time no see."
Looking at that familiar smile, Shijima Chigiri felt his blood run cold, his expression twisting in horror.
'Can someone tell me why the captain of the medical squad is HER?!'
Unohana Yachiru!