novelnext Chapter 298 Undercurrents
Chapter 298 Undercurrents
Chapter 298 Undercurrents
"This afternoon, the Grim Reaper stationed in Fuyuki City sent an urgent report: a black hole has appeared in the sky above Fuyuki City."
"Black Hole? There's a Great Void Crossing?" Kyoraku was somewhat surprised.
Fuyuki City experienced a spiritual disaster just eighteen years ago, so why is it happening again...?
"No, no Hollow appeared. That's what's strange about this report."
Ukitake's voice was somewhat ethereal as he pulled a crumpled piece of spirit wave recording paper from his pocket and handed it to Kyoraku.
Kyoraku Shunsui took the record sheet, glanced at it, and his expression changed instantly.
"This is..." His hand trembled, and the wine in the glass spilled out.
"You recognized me too, didn't you?"
The spiritual pressure waveform recorded there was faint, but that frequency... that unique, surging frequency like ocean waves...
Ukitake closed his eyes, his eyes slightly moist: "Kaien... it's Shiba Kaien's spiritual pressure."
"Although it only lasted for a brief moment and then quickly disappeared, Fuyuki City had set up more detection equipment due to the spiritual disaster, and was still able to detect the appearance of this spiritual pressure."
"I will never admit my mistake."
Kyoraku Shunsui looked at the record sheet and muttered to himself, "Fuyuki City... that's where Kaien disappeared back then."
If it were just ordinary spiritual pressure residue, it would be impossible for such a strong fluctuation to suddenly appear after eighteen years.
unless...
Is he still alive?
This is big news.
Although the Shiba clan is currently facing severe suppression due to the disappearance of two consecutive captains...
But they were, after all, one of the original five noble families.
If he returns and, as the head of the Shiba family, investigates this matter thoroughly, it will likely cause turmoil for the entire Seireitei.
And it's at this critical juncture...
"I'm not sure." Ukitake shook his head, his eyes hardening. "That's why I have to go to the real world and find out."
"After my confirmation, along with that spiritual pressure, there was another very strange power..."
"Like death, or something more ancient."
Kyoraku Shunsui poured himself another glass of sake, but this time he didn't drink it; instead, he spilled it on the ground.
"Now... things are getting more complicated."
"Shishiro, who else knows about this?"
"Only me." Ukitake shook his head: "I blocked the news and suppressed that report."
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"Well done." Kyoraku nodded in agreement: "The current situation is too chaotic, and it's hard to tell friend from foe... If news of Kaien's survival gets out, it will probably cause unnecessary trouble."
"Especially now... with the problems at Room 46."
"You also think there's something fishy about Room 46?" Ukitake asked in a low voice.
"...This is too deliberate." Kyoraku narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping the table. "It was already strange to deal with Rukia with the Double Strike, and now they're bringing the execution forward..."
"It's like they're deliberately drawing all our attention to this."
"If Haiyan really returns... perhaps he can give us some different clues..."
'
Kyoraku stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the pitch-black night outside:
"...Come with me to check on Room 46 tomorrow morning, Ukitake."
He crumpled the record in his palm, and it dissipated into spiritual particles.
At the same time, in the dense forest outside the Fifth Division's base.
boom-!
With a final, deafening crash, the rickety little wooden house finally collapsed completely into a pile of ruins.
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Ōmaeda, panting heavily, leaned on his massive meteor hammer, his face covered in blood.
He stepped on the corpse, wiped the blood from his face, and roared excitedly, "I won! This bastard is completely defeated by me!"
However, what answered him was a series of synchronized footsteps, and...
The scraping sound of a Zanpakuto being drawn from its sheath.
"Oh dear, this is truly tragic."
Ōmaeda turned around abruptly, his smile vanishing.
Death had somehow surrounded the ruins.
They wore black shihachi uniforms with the marigolds of the Third Division embroidered on their collars.
Standing at the very front was none other than Gin Ichimaru, the captain of the Third Division, who smiled like a fox.
Beside him, his captain, Soi Fon, was coldly staring at Ōmaeda.
"Captain Soi Fon... and Captain Ichimaru too?"
Ōmaeda froze, then waved his arms wildly with joy: "You've come at the perfect time! I've done a great job!"
"Look! I took down an assassin who tried to kill Captain Aizen! Captain Aizen was just here, and now he doesn't know..."
'
"Omaeda."
Soi Fon interrupted him: "Shut up!"
"?" Ōmaeda was taken aback.
Gin Ichimaru walked forward with a grin, gently nudging Omaeda's foot away, revealing the corpse that had been trampled under his feet.
That wasn't some mysterious assassin in a cloak.
Instead, it was a Grim Reaper dressed in a white haori and wearing a mask—the very same Guardian Team responsible for watching over the Shinigami's underground prison...
His chest was dented from the impact, and his limbs were twisted; he was clearly dead.
"This...this is..."
Ōmaeda's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He stared incredulously at the corpse at his feet, his mind blank: "Impossible... It was clearly a guy in a cloak just now! How could he have become a member of the 'Criminal Investigation Team'?"
Gin Ichimaru shrugged, his tone nonchalant: "We'd like to know too, Vice-Captain Ōmaeda..."
"Why did you run off to the back mountain of the Fifth Division when you should have been on a mission in Runlin'an District? And why did you cruelly murder a colleague who was in charge of guarding the prison?"
"I heard that the entire guard team responsible for the Infernal Affairs Bureau has been murdered. Could you have been among them...?"
'
"No! It wasn't me! I was trying to save Captain Aizen!" Ōmaeda cried out frantically, looking around frantically. "Where's Captain Aizen? He was just here! He can vouch for me!"
"Captain Aizen has been directing support work in the Fifth Division barracks the whole time, and has never left its side." Kira Izuru, the vice-captain of the Third Division, said with a frown.
"I... that's not it, that's not it..." Ōmaeda was speechless with inability to defend himself.
Looking at the wary eyes around him, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Soi Fon turned around, refusing to look at Ōmaeda again, and coldly gave the order: "Take him down."
"Wait! Captain! I'm innocent! I'm really innocent!!!"
Amid Ōmaeda's pleas for mercy, several members of the Onmitsukido rushed forward, pinned the wealthy vice-captain to the ground, and bound him with restraint ropes to limit his spiritual pressure.
"Take him away." Soi Fon waved impatiently.
Gin Ichimaru watched as Ōmaeda was dragged away, then turned to Soi Fon and whispered, "It seems there are some serious problems with the internal management of the Second Division, Captain Soi Fon."
"Even the most loyal lieutenant of the Covert Forces has betrayed us... Captain Soi Fon, are you planning to handle the case yourself?" Gin Ichimaru tilted his head. "This is a serious crime of murdering a colleague, and it also involves the Infiltrating Agency, the 46th Chamber, and the Supreme Division..."
"I will report to the Captain-Commander personally." Soi Fon ignored his provocation and turned to disappear into the dense forest.
Although she often emphasized to Ōmaeda that "there is no right or wrong, no justice or injustice in the Covert Forces, only following orders," she would also beat and scold Ōmaeda on a daily basis.
But she knew better than anyone else.
This fat man, although sometimes he is indeed as timid as a mouse, and sometimes he is even a bit repulsive.
But he could never have killed his fellow member of the Second Division.
...There's something fishy going on here.
Soi Fon glanced back at the direction of the ruins, her inner confusion lingering.
This matter cannot be left to someone else to investigate; she must personally verify Ōmaeda's issues.
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