"Seppa!"
Suddenly under attack, Ganju Shiba disregarded the vast difference in strength between himself and Byakuya Kuchiki.
White light appeared in his palm. However, this time, the white light didn't spread outwards. Instead, Ganju condensed it into a white energy wave and launched it towards Byakuya.
Whoosh!
Byakuya's figure vanished before Ganju's eyes.
The white energy wave swept past the spot where Byakuya had been standing moments before, striking the distant wall of the Palace of Penitence.
Boom!
Silently, a circular hole, over a meter wide, appeared where the wave struck. The Sekkiseki within the hole transformed into yellow sand and crumbled to the ground.
"Where?"
Byakuya's movement speed had clearly exceeded the limits of Ganju's vision. Ganju's hands glowed with white light, the Seppa technique ready to be unleashed.
However, his reaction speed was far too slow compared to Byakuya's. Even if his Reikaku sensed Byakuya's presence, by the time he turned his head, Byakuya had already moved.
"He's strong!"
Beams of white light shot from Ganju's hands, creating circular holes within the Palace of Penitence. Yellow sand cascaded down the walls.
However, those attacks couldn't even touch the corner of Byakuya's haori.
"Is this the only trick you've got?"
Byakuya had wanted to see what tricks these Ryoka, who dared to invade the Seireitei, had up their sleeves. He hadn't expected the girl to simply erect a defensive barrier and the chubby young man to only have one technique—transforming matter into sand.
This disappointed him.
It seemed defeating Ikkaku Madarame, the Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division, and fighting Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the captain of the Twelfth Division, to a standstill had raised his expectations of these Ryoka.
But judging by the current situation, the strongest among them were probably those two.
Unfortunately, the two Ryoka he had encountered at the Palace of Penitence were rather weak.
"Heh heh, this is more than enough to deal with you!"
Despite the sweat beading on his brow, Ganju refused to concede defeat.
"How boring."
Hearing Ganju's words, Byakuya confirmed that these two Ryoka truly were this weak. He instantly appeared before Ganju.
"Seppa!"
Ganju wouldn't miss such an opportunity. He launched two white energy waves towards Byakuya.
"Bakudō #8: Seki!"
An invisible barrier appeared before Byakuya, blocking Ganju's energy waves. They transformed into yellow sand and scattered to the ground.
"Your technique is impressive. It can decompose the reishi within matter, returning it to its original state. However, it has a glaring weakness. It can only decompose the first thing it touches. Once someone understands this, it poses no threat."
"Damn it!"
Ganju gritted his teeth.
Seppa was a secret technique passed down through generations of the Shiba Clan. It was their core inheritance, just like the Fireworks Cannon.
However, Ganju had never realized his family's secret technique had such a limitation.
Of course, it was also possible that he was simply too weak. Perhaps with further training, he could overcome this weakness.
"Don't get cocky!"
Ganju roared, and white light appeared on his palm again.
However, this time, he didn't launch both energy waves at once. He sent them one after the other, creating a delay between them.
This way, even if Byakuya's Kidō blocked the first wave, the second wave would still strike him.
However, Byakuya suddenly appeared behind Ganju. He gently released his grip on his Zanpakutō and walked towards Orihime.
Shhh!
Two sprays of blood erupted from Ganju's chest and abdomen.
Shihōin Secret Step, Number One: Senka!
Ganju swayed unsteadily, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Ganju…"
Orihime watched in horror. She called out to Ganju, then was terrified by Byakuya's approach.
"Don't… Don't come any closer!"
Closing her eyes, she raised her hands towards Byakuya and chanted the incantation for her only offensive technique.
"Koten Zanshun, I Reject!"
Whoosh!
A black light flashed from her hairpin. Tsubaki, the thumb-sized ninja, flew into her hand and transformed into a crescent moon, over twenty centimeters long, then shot towards Byakuya.
Slap!
Sadly, such an attack wasn't even worthy of making Byakuya draw his Zanpakutō.
He casually swatted Tsubaki's crescent moon away as if he were swatting a fly. It crashed into the wall of the Palace of Penitence.
Thud…
"Damn it!"
Tsubaki spat out a mouthful of blood.
As the "heart's desire" of Orihime Inoue's Fullbring, Shun Shun Rikka existed to protect her. As the only one among the six Shun Shun Rikka with offensive capabilities, Tsubaki's duty differed from the others.
He existed to eliminate anything that threatened Orihime's safety.
However, both Santen Kesshun and Soten Kisshun had successfully fulfilled their purpose, protecting Orihime and her friends.
Only he had failed.
The gap in strength was simply too vast.
Even though he wanted to attack again, his injuries prevented him from transforming into a blade. He could only return to Orihime's hairpin as a beam of light.
Crack…
When he returned to Orihime's hairpin, the point of the hairpin that represented him had several cracks.
Hearing Byakuya's footsteps, Orihime opened her eyes. She had her hands clenched tightly before her chest.
Was this the end?
It was a shame that she hadn't been able to help Ichigo rescue Shino.
"Wait, Captain Kuchiki."
Just as Byakuya was about to attack Orihime, a voice rang out from behind him. Byakuya turned around and saw Jūshirō Ukitake, also wearing a captain's haori.
"Captain Ukitake, what brings you here?"
"Captain Kuchiki, please show mercy."
Shino Madarame was a Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division. Jūshirō Ukitake felt partially responsible for her actions.
However, he couldn't completely erase her crime. Therefore, he had been dealing with the consequences of her actions, hoping to lessen her punishment.
However, something unexpected had happened.
The Central 46 seemed to have gone mad.
Initially, they had indeed issued a punishment for Shino Madarame, and it was within everyone's expectations.
But then, strange things started to happen. They repeatedly altered Shino's punishment, each time making it harsher than the last.
Just today, Ukitake had received more accurate information.
The Central 46 would execute Shino Madarame in three days!
Ukitake couldn't accept this.
Coincidentally, Shunsui Kyōraku had informed him of the true purpose of the Ryoka invasion.
This gave Ukitake an idea.
"Captain Kuchiki, I'm curious about these Ryoka. I'd like to take them back for questioning. Would you mind?"
Ganju and Orihime were currently Byakuya Kuchiki's prisoners. If Ukitake took them without Byakuya's permission, he would undoubtedly be attacked. It would be a direct challenge to Byakuya's authority.
"Is that so?"
Byakuya didn't refuse. He nodded and left the Palace of Penitence.
He had only come because Shino Madarame was his prisoner. If she were to be rescued before her punishment was carried out, it would damage the reputation of the Kuchiki Clan and the Sixth Division.
Seeing Byakuya leave, Ukitake breathed a sigh of relief.
A peaceful resolution was always the best outcome.
Ukitake approached Ganju, picked him up, and spoke to Orihime, who was still in a daze.
"Young lady, your companion is seriously injured. I need to take him to the Fourth Division for treatment. Could you wait for me here for a few minutes?"
With Ukitake's strength, carrying both Ganju and Orihime to the Fourth Division wouldn't be a problem.
However, Ukitake was a gentleman.
Ganju was a man. It didn't matter how he carried him.
But Orihime was a young lady. How could he possibly carry her?
Should he hold her in his arms?
That would be improper.
Sadly, he couldn't bring his subordinates. He didn't want them to be implicated if things went wrong.
"Oh, right! Ganju is injured! He needs treatment!"
Snapped out of her daze by Ukitake's words, Orihime finally realized she was safe.
"Um, Captain… I also have some healing abilities. I can treat Ganju."
"Ganju?"
Ukitake was stunned. He looked at the young man in his arms, who appeared older than Kaien.
In the Soul Society, there was only one Shiba Clan.
If he remembered correctly, Kaien had a younger brother and sister.
Could this young man be Kaien Shiba's younger brother?
This thought gave Ukitake a headache. He had seen Ganju's injuries at a glance.
He only had two wounds.
They weren't fatal.
However, for most Shinigami, they would rather die than suffer such injuries.
Because those two wounds were on the two most crucial points for a Shinigami: the Saketsu and the Hakusui.
Once a Shinigami's Saketsu and Hakusui were damaged, they would lose their power. While Ganju Shiba wasn't a Shinigami, anyone who used "reishi" as their power source would become an ordinary human if their Saketsu and Hakusui were destroyed.
If Kaien found out his younger brother had lost his power, he would probably attack the Kuchiki Clan with his Zanpakutō!
"Captain?"
Seeing Ukitake's silence, Orihime called out hesitantly.
"Captain, if Ganju doesn't receive treatment soon, he'll suffer."
"Alright. I'll leave it to you, young lady."
Ukitake sighed and laid the unconscious Ganju on the ground. For now, saving the boy's life was his priority.
Orihime approached Ganju and extended her hands.
"Soten Kisshun, I Reject!"
A pale yellow barrier, shaped like an elliptical eggshell, enveloped Ganju. Within the barrier, his wounds healed at a visible speed.
"Huh?"
Ukitake's eyes widened in surprise. If he wasn't mistaken, Ganju Shiba's Saketsu and Hakusui were being healed along with his physical injuries?
Was this girl's ability that strong?
Even Captain Unohana couldn't heal such injuries!
Seeing this, a relieved smile spread across Ukitake's face.
With Ganju's injuries healed, Kaien wouldn't go looking for trouble with Byakuya Kuchiki.
In Ukitake's view, while Kaien had mastered Bankai, his strength was still far inferior to Byakuya's.
If he wasn't mistaken, Byakuya had already surpassed the limits of a captain, reaching the realm of a "century captain."
Even he wouldn't find it easy to defeat Byakuya.
Orihime Inoue's abilities were truly extraordinary.
While her spiritual pressure wasn't strong, injuries that even Retsu Unohana could only stabilize were completely healed within three minutes!
"Orihime? Are we dead?"
After Orihime dispelled Soten Kisshun, Ganju sat up, looking at her with confusion.
"Since you're healed, let's leave this place."
Before Orihime could answer, Ukitake spoke.