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Chapter 317 Shiba's Cousins
Chapter 317 Shiba's Cousins
Just as the two were immersed in the joy and bittersweetness of their reunion.
Meanwhile, a wonderful encounter is also unfolding on the other side.
"Huff... Huff..."
'
Ichigo Kurosaki gasped for breath as he rushed toward the shattered execution platform.
He was in a bad mood.
His Bankai was easily blocked by Aizen, and he was almost crushed by the black coffin, which made him feel his own insignificance once again.
And... he stared at the figure lying in the ruins ahead.
"Rukia...."
'
Is she alright? She looks badly injured...
However, just a few meters away from Rukia, a white figure was a step faster than him, appearing beside Rukia as if by teleportation.
That's Kuchiki Byakuya.
The captain of the Sixth Division had long lost the composure he usually displayed as the head of the Kuchiki noble family.
His breathing was somewhat disordered, and a corner of the Star-Tracing Box on his head had been broken during his battle with Gin Ichimaru.
The white feather robe that symbolized the captain's identity was also covered with many wounds from the divine spear, and was filled with shocking bloodstains.
Byakuya crouched down beside Rukia, looking at his adopted sister who was in a deep coma after the Hogyoku was extracted from her.
His eyes were extremely complex.
There is guilt as an older brother for failing to protect his younger sister, and anger at being manipulated by Aizen Sousuke.
More than anything, it's a sense of bewilderment that comes from the sudden shattering of the shackles called rules that have been suppressed deep in one's heart for a long time.
Her own adherence to noble family traditions... and the laws of the Soul Court... almost led to Rukia's death.
In fact, Rukia, like Renji, comes from the chaotic neighborhood of Inugami, where Asuka once made a living.
She was adopted by the Kuchiki family entirely because of a wish her long-lost older sister, Hisa, made to her husband, Byakuya, before her death.
Please forgive my stubbornness... Please take good care of my younger sister for me, this incompetent older sister, and let her recognize you as her older brother...
Kuchiki Byakuya agreed to his wife's request and adopted the girl who looked exactly like his deceased wife.
Byakuya reached out, seemingly wanting to check Rukia's injuries.
But his hand froze in mid-air, hesitating for a moment.
In the end, he simply pulled Rukia's disheveled white shawl closer to cover the bloody hole in her chest where Aizen had pierced her, and planned to carry her to the Fourth Seat Shinobu Kocho for treatment.
"Hey! Let her go!"
Ichigo panicked when he saw Byakuya's actions, and pointed his sword at Byakuya.
Although he already knew that the Shuangji execution was Aizen's conspiracy.
Although he knew that Byakuya was Rukia's brother, the image of Byakuya mercilessly piercing him in the human world and then personally bringing Rukia back to Soul Society...
It still made him hostile towards this cold-hearted nobleman.
Byakuya gazed quietly at Ichigo with his noble eyes.
He did not appear to be angry at the other party's offense.
"Kurosaki...Ichigo."
He uttered the name, his voice less arrogant than before.
My gaze lingered for a long time on Ichigo's orange hair, his stubborn eyes, and the black Zanpakuto in his hand.
Then, the gaze passed over Ichigo's shoulder and landed in a direction behind him.
Ichigo noticed Byakuya's unusual behavior and instinctively turned around to look in the direction of his gaze.
On the ruins not far from them.
A man dressed in tattered shihachi uniform, with spiky black hair, and bearing a striking resemblance to Ichigo Kurosaki...
He was scratching the back of his head, walking towards us with an embarrassed look on his face.
Shiba Kaien.
Due to the chaos caused by the Spirit Orb Core falling through the air, and the fact that Asuka and Aizen's battle was too dazzling, not many people noticed that Kaien fell down with Asuka.
Only after the battle subsided did Haiyan head towards Rukia to assess the situation.
When she looked up, she was met with Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze, which seemed to look as if he had seen a ghost.
"Uh...that..."
Haiyan smiled awkwardly and raised her hand in greeting: "Yo, Captain Kuchiki, long time no see. You... you've gotten even more handsome."
Eighteen years ago, Kaien became the captain of the 10th Division through the mediation of the Kuchiki and Shihōin families.
Now, times have changed. The captain of the 10th Division has become Toshiro, and the Shiba family has been expelled from the Soul Society.
Therefore, Byakuya had no interest in paying attention to Kaien's teasing at the moment.
He just wanted to ask Haiyan what she considered the responsibilities of the five noble families, that she could disappear for eighteen years.
in addition..
He shifted his gaze back and forth between Shiba Kaien and Kurosaki Ichigo.
It's so similar...too similar.
Suddenly, the image of the black crescent moon that Kurosaki Ichigo had just swung through the air flashed through Byakuya's mind.
Crescent Moon Sky Slash... that's a sword technique from the Shiba family.
Initially, Byakuya simply felt that this human named Kurosaki Ichigo possessed some extraordinary talent, managing to steal Rukia's spiritual power and become a substitute Shinigami...
Now it seems...
He thought of another former captain of the Shiba family, Isshin Shiba, whose whereabouts were still unknown and whose body had never been found.
"Kurosaki..." he repeated the surname again, "Or perhaps... Ichigo Shiba..."
"Hey! Byakuya Kuchiki! What are you spacing out for?!"
Seeing that Byakuya ignored him, Kaien walked up to him somewhat disgruntled. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Rukia lying unconscious.
"Rukia?!"
Haiyan quickly knelt down to examine Rukia's injuries: "What kind of injury is this...? Although it's been pierced through, there's no loss of spiritual energy... but it still needs to be treated as soon as possible!"
"That Aizen guy, he's got a whole bunch of underhanded tricks up his sleeve..."
Without waiting for Byakuya's cold gaze, he forcefully hoisted Rukia onto his back: "Stop dawdling, let's get her treated while the Sixth Seat of the Butterfly Clan is here!"
"...I'm already the fourth seat." Byakuya added calmly.
Ichigo was somewhat confused by their conversation.
Is this icy-faced guy a good person?
Kaien noticed Ichigo's questioning gaze and grinned, "Yo, kid! You must be Kurosaki Ichigo, right?"
He carried Rukia to Ichigo and unceremoniously reached out to ruffle Ichigo's orange hair.
"Not bad! You've mastered Bankai, and you can even fight alongside that... reckless guy." He leaned closer, scrutinizing Ichigo's face, and remarked, "His temperament is exactly like Uncle Isshin's when he was young..."
'
"Ichigo... Uncle?!" Ichigo stared in surprise at the middle-aged man who looked strangely like him. "You know that old geezer of mine?!"
"Hahaha! We're more than just acquaintances!"
Haiyan burst into laughter and patted Ichigo's shoulder hard: "Come to think of it, you should call me cousin!"
"I'll remember that. My name is Shiba Kaien!"
"Cousin...cousin?!"
Ichigo's already not-so-skilled brain completely shut down at this moment.
You mean your quack dad who's always grinning like an idiot and likes to sneak up on you like a madman...?
It's Death itself?!
Is the world crazy, or am I hallucinating?
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