Rukia looked at Uryū Ishida lying on the ground with a complicated expression, unable to stop a trace of disappointment from rising in her heart.
She had originally thought Uryū might have some special ability, but she had not expected him to go down so easily. He could not even withstand a single slash from Renji.
Renji kicked Uryū lightly with his foot, both to confirm whether he had truly lost consciousness and to prevent him from pretending to be unconscious so he could launch a sneak attack.
"So he was just an ignorant hothead who liked showing off," Renji mocked. "Acting like he was something impressive, too. What a waste of time."
At that moment, Rukia realized the situation had become bad.
She knew she could no longer keep hiding, so she decisively stepped out of her gigai, quickly drew her Zanpakutō, and took a defensive stance.
"Roar, Zabimaru."
Seeing this, Renji released his own Zanpakutō without hesitation.
He knew Rukia's strength could not be underestimated, especially her strange swordsmanship, which had once made him suffer quite a bit.
Now, Rukia's reiatsu had even reached the threshold of lieutenant level.
Meanwhile, he and Byakuya Kuchiki had come to the World of the Living under a reiatsu limiter. If he did not take this seriously, he might not be able to capture Rukia.
The battle was about to erupt.
Rukia took a deep breath and braced herself for Renji's attack.
The night wind brushed gently past, lifting her short black hair and making it flutter slightly. Moonlight fell over her, outlining her small yet nimble figure.
She gripped the hilt of her blade tightly, her gaze fixed firmly on the enemy before her.
Suddenly, Renji attacked like lightning.
Zabimaru cut through the night sky, carrying fierce momentum as it lashed toward Rukia. She sidestepped the strike and immediately countered with her own blade.
Whoosh!
Clang!
The blades collided, producing a crisp metallic ring.
The two exchanged blows without either side giving ground, and their fierce battle continued.
Every clash was filled with both strength and technique, moving so quickly that it was difficult to follow.
Before long, Rukia gradually adapted to Renji's rhythm and began searching for a chance to counterattack.
She moved nimbly between Zabimaru's segmented strikes, cleverly avoiding his blade while looking for gaps in his offense.
Soon, Rukia found an excellent opening.
She swung from a tricky angle, slashing toward Renji.
Renji hurriedly dodged, but Rukia's blade still cut into his arm, blood flowing down from the wound.
"Not bad, Rukia! After all these years, you've still improved."
Renji pursed his lips and revealed a faint smile.
He did not retreat because of the injury.
Instead, he grew even more excited and continued attacking Rukia.
Seeing that Renji still had not subdued Rukia after fighting for so long, Byakuya raised his finger.
He did not want to waste any more time.
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō."
As his low, dignified voice rang out, six golden beams shot from his fingertip. Six slabs of light flashed forward and bound Rukia in place, restraining her completely.
Rukia, who had still been swinging her blade, was suddenly immobilized by the Bakudō.
She tried to struggle with all her strength, but she could not break free from that powerful restraint.
"Brother-in-law…"
Rukia called weakly, her eyes filled with despair and helplessness.
She knew that against a Bakudō cast by Byakuya Kuchiki, she had almost no chance of escaping.
Even so, she was unwilling to give up and still tried to break free from the binding spell cast by a captain-class Shinigami.
"Rukia, I do not wish to hurt you. Stop this pointless struggle. Take us to the boy who received your Shinigami powers, then kill him... Once that is done, this matter will be over."
Byakuya looked expressionlessly at Rukia trapped within Rikujōkōrō and spoke in a cold tone.
He knew that if he did not do this, the situation would only become more complicated.
The stronger Rukia resisted, the harder it would be to handle.
Because of that, he had to act decisively, even if it meant attacking Rukia.
"What are you two doing to Rukia? Let her go!"
With an angry shout, a figure appeared in their line of sight, holding a massive cleaver-like blade.
It was none other than Kurosaki Ichigo.
Ichigo first looked at Uryū Ishida lying on the ground, then turned his gaze toward Byakuya and Renji.
"Aren't you all Shinigami? Why are you attacking one of your own?"
Byakuya looked at Ichigo, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face.
"I see. This boy looks very much like Shiba Kaien. Is that why you gave him your Shinigami powers, Rukia? But that no longer matters. One who illegally obtains Shinigami powers must be executed."
Hearing Byakuya's words, Ichigo's heart jolted.
He already knew that Shiba Kaien was his cousin.
Rukia had told him that long ago. Why did everyone who came here keep bringing that up?
However, he had no time to think about it, because Renji had already launched an attack.
Renji swung Zabimaru, pouncing toward Ichigo like a vicious serpent.
Ichigo did not dare be careless and quickly raised the cleaver in his hand to block.
But he soon discovered that Renji's strength far exceeded his imagination.
Renji's attacks were sharp and vicious, every strike carrying a deadly threat. Ichigo used all his strength to defend, but Renji still forced him back step by step.
After only a few exchanges, Ichigo was already panting heavily, with several wounds added to his body.
Finally, Renji found an opening and slashed Ichigo hard across the chest.
Ichigo let out a muffled groan and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Tch. Another piece of trash." Renji spoke disdainfully, his face full of contempt.
He had originally thought the boy who received Rukia's Shinigami powers might be somewhat impressive.
He had not expected him to be this weak!
Ichigo twitched painfully on the ground a few times.
Then he suddenly opened his eyes and flipped back to his feet.
At the same time, a powerful burst of reiatsu erupted from his body, as if it were about to tear the surrounding air apart.
The strongest pinch-hitter, White Ichigo, had logged in!
At this moment, Ichigo's expression became cocky and arrogant, completely different from before.
The moment he rose, Ichigo wasted no words and charged straight at Renji.
His speed was terrifyingly fast, and he arrived in front of Renji almost like a bolt of lightning.
Renji's heart jolted.
He hurriedly swung Zabimaru to meet the attack.
However, to his shock, Ichigo's reiatsu and speed had increased several times over. He could no longer match him at all.
The cleaver in Ichigo's hand fell like a downpour, every slash carrying tremendous force.
Renji could only take the beating passively, retreating again and again.
In just a few short minutes, Renji was struck twice, and blood stained his clothes red.
Worse still, the headband on his forehead had been cut apart, leaving him in an utterly miserable state.
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
Renji let out a furious roar.
His heart was filled with anger and unwillingness.
He could not accept that he was actually losing to some nameless brat who had only recently obtained Shinigami powers.
As the lieutenant of the Sixth Division, this was an enormous humiliation.
However, Renji's roar changed nothing.
Instead, it only made him look even more wretched.
At that moment, Ichigo grew increasingly excited, mad light flickering in his eyes as if he wanted to cut down every enemy before him.
Just then, Byakuya Kuchiki finally made his move.
While Ichigo was still immersed in the joy of victory, he suddenly discovered that the massive blade in his hand had somehow been broken in two.
He looked around in shock, only to see Byakuya standing quietly nearby, holding the severed portion of the blade in his hand.
"When? When did he move?"
Ichigo's face filled with horror, cold sweat sliding down his forehead.
His eyes widened as he stared at Byakuya in disbelief, completely unable to understand how the man had done it.
In that instant just now, he had not even noticed Byakuya's movement.
The gap in strength filled him with fear.
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