Furuta and Rize deeply remembered the last words that their "Big Brother Byakuya" had given them.
Following his instructions, they ran toward the 6th Ward.
The reason why Byakuya had specifically told them to go there was because the leader of the 6th Ward was Matasaka Kamishiro.
In a way, Matasaka was actually a very responsible father.
Knowing his personality, Byakuya was certain that he would help Furuta and Rize.
Meanwhile, the V operatives who had been secretly tailing them finally lost their patience. Instead of staying in the shadows, they went all out, trying to catch up with Furuta and Rize.
However, Byakuya stood in their way, holding a platinum-colored briefcase.
The agents in front of him were all dressed in the same signature V attire — black coats, black hats — and each wielded a Quinque as their weapon.
"Byakuya, do you even realize what you're doing?"
"Hand those two brats over, and we might be able to plead for leniency on your behalf. Otherwise, your death will be far more painful."
"You'd better think this through—going against the Washuu Clan has consequences."
They tried to intimidate Byakuya, but they didn't act recklessly.
They were fully aware of Byakuya's strength and knew that even if they all attacked together, there was no guarantee of victory.
Besides, their so-called "pleading for leniency" was nothing but a lie.
The moment Furuta and Rize stepped out of the 1st Ward, the entire Washuu Clan had already been alerted.
From that moment on, Byakuya had officially been labeled a traitor who needed to be eliminated.
As a pure-blooded womb, Rize held immense value to the clan — though that didn't necessarily mean she had high status.
Right now, the V operatives were merely stalling for reinforcements. Their ideal outcome? Taking down Byakuya in one go.
"Of course, I know exactly what I'm doing."
Byakuya responded indifferently, not wasting any more words.
He preferred quick and decisive battles, so he immediately summoned Owl.
Although Owl consumed massive stamina compared to other quinques, he was up against multiple Special-Class level enemies.
Using a quinque like STK or Nitta would only drag out the fight, leading to even greater exhaustion.
After all, his opponents weren't pushovers—they all wielded at least S rated quinques and wouldn't go down easily.
Without hesitation, Byakuya made the first move.
Summoning one of his Owl quinques, he stored the briefcase inside his Kamui Dimension, keeping the second "Owl" hidden for now.
The moment his mangekyō sharingan appeared, the V operatives froze for a second.
Their first reaction was disbelief — how could a half-human like Byakuya possibly have kagugan?!
Seizing the opportunity, Byakuya went straight for the kill, slicing the throat of the closest enemy.
The man clutched his neck in agony, but blood gushed out like a fountain, impossible to stop.
Unlike ghouls, half-humans didn't possess insane regenerative abilities. Physically, they were just as fragile as regular humans.
[Ding! Host has defeated a "Special-Class Half-Human." Reward: +50 Attribute Points!]
"Damn it! Don't underestimate him — this guy has been hiding a lot of tricks!"
The remaining V operatives started to panic — especially after witnessing his kagugan.
Byakuya, on the other hand, no longer cared about keeping his mangekyō sharingan a secret.
Previously, he had concealed his bloodline ability to avoid attracting the Washuu Clan's attention.
But now that they had already turned against each other, what was the point of hiding anymore?
The V operatives swarmed him all at once, cutting off all possible escape routes.
Or so they thought.
The problem was that "almost" all escape routes were blocked.
With the sharingan, Byakuya could read all their movements in advance.
Predicting their attack patterns in an instant, he found a tiny but perfect opening.
With a swift strike of Owl, he severed one operative's wrist, snatching their koukaku quinque in the same motion.
Using their shield-like quinque, he immediately blocked another incoming attack.
From there, he continued his hit-and-run strategy, systematically breaking them down.
Unless they could achieve perfect teamwork — without a single flaw — Byakuya would pick them apart, one by one.
But achieving flawless coordination was nearly impossible.
And these guys? They weren't anywhere close to that level.
Before long, they were all drenched in sweat, realizing something terrifying—none of their attacks were landing.
As elite operatives above Special-Class, they had never felt so helpless before.
"This is insane! Switch to defense — stall him as long as possible!"
Abandoning their offensive strategy, the operatives shifted to full defense, trying to buy time for reinforcements.
Of course, Byakuya saw right through them.
But he wasn't in a hurry.
If he really wanted to end this quickly, he could just crush them all using dual Kamui.
For now, he was saving his stamina, chakra, and RC cells for the bigger fight ahead — the Washuu Clan itself.
Besides, every second he held them here gave Furuta and Rize more time to escape.
If he wasn't stalling them, the V operatives — each at least Special-Class level —would easily catch up to them.
As long as he stayed, the Washuu's forces would remain focused on him.
And when the time was right, he could simply leave whenever he wanted.
One by one, the V operatives fell.
Before long, only one of them was still standing.
But then—reinforcements arrived.
At least twenty more black-clad figures emerged from the shadows.
The V had mobilized in full force.
Among them stood a high-ranking leader — Kaiko.
"Hahaha! You're finished!"
The last surviving operative burst into laughter.
"You should be saying that to yourself."
Without even glancing at him, Byakuya silenced him with a single slash.
The laughter abruptly ceased.
[Ding! Host has defeated a "Special-Class Half-Human" Reward: +50 Attribute Points!]
Kaiko let out a sigh.
"Byakuya, you've truly disappointed us. Of all people, why did you have to follow in the footsteps of Kuzen?"
He had once placed high hopes in Byakuya.
But now, his betrayal had left Kaiko deeply disappointed.
Then again, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
Byakuya had personal reasons — a deep-seated blood feud.
Still, to challenge the entire Washuu Clan alone?
To Kaiko, that was nothing but suicidal foolishness.
Byakuya, however, wasn't interested in a conversation.
Raising his quinque, he aimed it directly at Kaiko's forehead.