The instant the thunder dragon struck the Negación, all of Soul Society lit up as bright as day.
Everyone instinctively shut their eyes to keep the blinding flash from searing their vision.
The shockwave from the collision battered the barrier, and every Shinigami could only pray it would hold against that world-ending force.
Rumble—!
The deafening roar seemed to go on forever.
The pressure leaking through the barrier grew more terrifying by the second, and with every increase, everyone's nerves tightened further.
They were all afraid the barrier might finally give way and shatter.
"Please hold…"
Sweat gathered in Suì-Fēng's palms, but she kept pouring reiatsu into the barrier without stopping.
At last, after reaching a terrifying peak, the thunderous pressure slowly began to weaken.
The barrier, pushed to the brink of collapse, steadied as well.
"Did we stop it?"
Sensing the pressure fade, Kyōraku Shunsui opened his tightly shut eyes.
"Look!"
Ukitake Jūshirō's voice rang out.
Everyone opened their eyes and looked up, only to see a completely charred figure plummeting from the sky.
Bang!
The figure slammed into the ground.
The captains quickly gathered around the human-shaped lump of charcoal and tried to work out who it was.
"Is this Aizen?"
"Doesn't look like him."
"Then who is it? Wasn't Kazuma fighting Aizen?"
Everyone present had once been caught by Kyōka Suigetsu, so none of them had ever seen Aizen's true face.
"That is Aizen."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto had never fallen under Kyōka Suigetsu.
After looking the charred figure over carefully, he could just barely recognize him.
"Huh? Did he get plastic surgery?"
Suì-Fēng's outrageous comment made the gathered captains stumble, nearly sending several of them to the ground.
What kind of insane conclusion was that? If she didn't know what to say, maybe she should just say nothing!
"You were all under hynopsis of his Zanpakutō," Yamamoto explained patiently, unwilling to let them keep looking like country bumpkins.
"Kyōka Suigetsu's ability is complete hypnosis. None of you have ever seen his true face."
"Huh? Then how did you know, Captain-Commander? And why weren't you caught by Kyōka Suigetsu?"
Suì-Fēng seemed to have an endless supply of questions.
"Hmph! Do i need to explain myself to you?"
Yamamoto slammed his staff against the ground and fixed her with a sharp glare.
"Oh…"
Seeing he had no intention of answering, Suì-Fēng crouched down and started drawing circles on the ground.
"Hoshi no Kago."
Kazuma called on the power of the stars to restore the reiatsu he'd just spent.
Even for him, letting loose such a large-scale destructive technique had taken a fair amount out of him.
A person should always keep themselves in peak condition, after all.
What if some sneaky bastard hiding nearby suddenly jumped out to ambush him?
Before the captains could fully relax, the sky changed once again.
Stars appeared in broad daylight, their light spilling across the entire Seireitei.
"What's happening now?"
Of all the captains present, only Suì-Fēng went on guard at once.
She simply had too little experience.
The others already knew this was Kazuma's way of restoring reiatsu.
The power of the stars seeped into the bodies of every Shinigami. They could all feel the reiatsu they'd spent holding the barrier rapidly coming back.
Before long, strength filled their bodies once again.
Then something even more astonishing happened.
Several powerful figures who'd been badly wounded and unconscious began to stir.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō's tightly shut eyes slowly opened. His face was still a little pale, but the light had returned to his gaze.
Hinamori Momo's small body trembled before she slowly sat up.
Faint spiritual light glowed around her wounds as they visibly healed.
Kuchiki Byakuya's cold expression slowly eased.
The bleeding stopped, and fresh flesh began growing over his injuries.
Matsumoto Rangiku, true to her bold nature, sprang straight to her feet as though her wounds had been nothing.
The miraculous sight left Kotetsu Isane completely dumbfounded.
Still inside Central 46, she had no idea what was happening outside.
First she'd felt a suffocating pressure bear down on her.
Then a warm presence appeared, followed by starlight that somehow passed through the walls of Central 46 and entered everyone's bodies.
After that, critically injured patients like Tōshirō simply recovered.
"At this rate, Captain Unohana might end up unemployed." Kyōraku Shunsui muttered it quietly while enjoying the pleasant warmth of the starlight.
Unfortunately, he'd badly underestimated the hearing of those around him.
His voice hadn't been loud, but everyone present was a powerful captain.
How could they possibly fail to hear him?
In an instant, every gaze turned toward Shunsui, carrying a mix of surprise and amusement.
Fortunately, Unohana wasn't there.
Otherwise, given her temperament, she might genuinely have drawn her Zanpakutō and come after him!
Realizing he'd said something dangerous, Shunsui shuddered and quietly congratulated himself on his narrow escape.
"Captain Kyōraku, I heard every word you just said. I'll be sure to repeat it to Captain Unohana later, without leaving out a single words."
Komamura's sudden remark made Kyōraku Shunsui freeze where he stood.
For all his usual upright, serious appearance, Komamura clearly had plenty of mischief hidden inside him.
This guy is a real dog!
Then again, Komamura Sajin really was a giant dog.
It would be stranger if he weren't at least a little dog-like. He'd simply hidden it too well all these years.
"Captain Komamura, surely you're joking. We're all colleagues here! I was only making a harmless joke, so there's no need to take it seriously."
Shunsui's face went dark.
He'd never expected the seemingly loyal, honest Seventh Division captain to be this kind of person.
"Hahaha! Shunsui, even someone like you have days like this!"
A hearty laugh came from above.
Kazuma slowly descended from the sky. He'd heard Komamura teasing Shunsui from quite a distance away.
"Captain Kazuma! I knew it… I knew…"
Komamura was overcome with emotion.
Tears gathered in his eyes, and he looked seconds away from bursting into sobs.
"Komamura, you're a proper captain now. Why are you still crying like a child? That's embarrassing! Besides, I stopped being a captain a long time ago."
Kazuma looked helplessly at the giant dog, who was nearly crying his eyes out.
Even Kazuma hadn't expected Komamura to miss him this much.
As far as he remembered, he'd never done anything particularly special for him.
"Hmph!"
Kazuma slowly swept his gaze across everyone present. When his eyes finally landed on Suì-Fēng, the proud little girl unexpectedly scoffed at him.
"I can smell Yoruichi on you. Tell me — where is she hiding?"
Suì-Fēng stared at Kazuma with wide eyes and demanded an answer.
Kazuma find the question funny.
"Well, look at you. Are you secretly part dog too? How is your nose that sharp?"
"I asked you a question! Where is Yoruichi?"
Suì-Fēng had apparently gotten all her nerve back.
It was hard to believe this was the same woman who, only moments ago, had been trembling under his reiatsu, barely able to speak.
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