The early summer sunlight filtered through layers of overlapping leaves, spilling over the Fifth Division's iconic lake and courtyard. The water shimmered, the scenery pleasant and peaceful.
Yet today, that usual calm had been completely torn apart by a chilling, murderous atmosphere.
A Kido barrier formed from four interwoven colors hung overhead like a giant multicolored steamer, sealing the entire Fifth Division territory airtight beneath it.
The air seemed frozen. Even the koi in the lake had stopped swimming and sunk to the bottom.
Inside the barracks, under the lead of Lieutenant Hinamori Momo, the members of the Fifth Division were carrying out an unprecedented carpet-style internal search.
"Squad One, check the document archives! Squad Two, the training grounds! Squad Three, the dormitories! Squad Four, with me to the supply warehouse!"
Momo's voice carried a faint tremor, her tone extremely urgent.
She firmly believed her captain was innocent, but this involved the serious crime of harboring a fugitive. On top of that, the invisible pressure brought by the four captains outside forced her to stay fully alert.
However, the Fifth Division's barracks were simply too vast.
As the division responsible for support and rescue, its buildings were complex and tangled. Warehouses, hidden rooms, underground passages were everywhere.
To thoroughly check every corner, even with everyone mobilized, there was no way results could come so quickly.
What was more, when Kurosaki Masaki had hidden the person here, she had chosen a particularly good spot.
The location was extremely tricky and well concealed, inside an abandoned partition deep within the Fifth Division.
Under normal circumstances, no one would ever go there.
Precisely because it was hidden so well, the Shinigami who patrolled day and night had never discovered that there was actually a living human inside their own territory.
Otherwise, this morning's big show would never have even started. Orihime Inoue would have been caught on the spot by a patrol long ago. There would have been no need for four captains to block the gate.
———
Outside the barracks gate—
Time ticked by, second after second. The sun climbed higher toward the center of the sky.
Though the four captains each stood on different sides politically, standing here with Aizen, they maintained a strange kind of balance.
However, before the final result of the internal search came out, a playful and lazy greeting broke the heavy silence first.
"Yo! Everyone's gathered here? Quite lively, isn't it~"
The sudden voice was like a pebble tossed into a calm lake, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
They turned toward the sound.
At the far end of the bluestone street not far away, two figures in white captain's haori were walking over unhurriedly.
At the front was the man with short silver hair and perpetually narrowed foxlike eyes.
Ichimaru Gin had his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, that same teasing smile on his face that made people uncomfortable just looking at him.
Walking beside him was a man in a pink floral haori, wearing his trademark straw hat, Kyoraku Shunsui.
'These two came together?'
To the other captains, this pairing was both unexpected and thought-provoking.
"Captain Ichimaru…"
Tosen Kaname's unseen eyes seemed to turn toward them, his tone calm yet faintly questioning.
"If I remember correctly, the Tenteikura that Lieutenant Kira activated just now stated that you were pursuing the two serious criminals who trespassed into the noble district, Kurosaki Ichigo and Shihoin Yoruichi, correct?"
That question voiced the doubt in the hearts of the other captains as well.
They had all received the communication that covered the entire Seireitei.
But since their own target at the time was the Fifth Division, and they sensed several powerful spiritual pressures already heading toward Ichimaru Gin's direction, they had not intervened in the pursuit.
Yet now, Gin had appeared here so quickly and so leisurely, without any sign of Ichigo or Yoruichi beside him. Nor had they sensed any battle-level spiritual pressure earlier.
What did that mean?
Most likely, those two had already escaped.
"Hey now, don't talk in such a scary tone, Captain Tosen."
Gin waved his hand with a smile, looking so innocent it was infuriating.
"That monster could punch through the West Gate, you know. When he goes crazy, he's practically like a Vasto Lorde. With this little body of mine, how could I possibly have the strength or confidence to forcibly stop them?"
As he spoke, his slit-like eyes opened just a crack. He cast a meaningful glance at Kyoraku Shunsui beside him and casually tossed a massive black pot his way.
"But our Captain Kyoraku here, if he had shown a bit more of his strength, maybe he could've kept them pinned under the Seireitei walls. What a pity."
"Oh?"
At those words, Hitsugaya Toshiro's brows rose sharply, instantly catching the mocking tone in Gin's voice.
As someone personally trained by Rosse, Hitsugaya had long disliked Kyoraku Shunsui.
Rosse was set up as the counterpart to Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Naturally, Hitsugaya, the genius placed with high hopes by Rosse, saw Yamamoto's favorite disciple, Shunsui, as a rival.
What annoyed him most was that this lazy uncle always treated him like a child, never taking him seriously as a captain.
Since Gin had handed him the blade, he was more than happy to stab with it.
"What exactly happened here? Could it be that with Captain Kyoraku's strength, you still let those two escape?"
"Why's everyone looking at me?"
Feeling several unfriendly gazes, Kyoraku Shunsui sighed helplessly and raised both hands in surrender. His lazy posture looked as if he had suffered a great injustice.
"When I arrived at the scene, Yoruichi and the others were already about to leave the Seireitei. Forcibly stopping them at that point would've expanded the battlefield into Rukongai and caused unnecessary casualties. That's why I advised Captain Ichimaru and the others not to continue a meaningless pursuit."
"After all, you don't chase a cornered enemy."
In truth, Kyoraku Shunsui was cursing inside.
If he did not need to maintain his public persona and avoid arousing suspicion from Aizen and the others, he would not have bothered to explain even a single word.
Look at this group in front of him.
Hitsugaya? Rosse's die-hard fan, a gun that fired wherever Rosse pointed.
Byakuya Kuchiki? Already swept up by the new trend, completely leaning toward Rosse.
Tosen Kaname? Ichimaru Gin? Aizen's loyal hounds.
As for Aizen, the deepest hidden mastermind, he was standing there smiling, watching him perform.
What was the point of explaining?
No matter how beautifully he explained it, probably only Komamura Sajin would believe him.
The others? Who knew how they were mocking him in their hearts.
Not to mention Aizen was right here. Who knew how a single word might be twisted in someone else's ears?
"Don't chase a cornered enemy" might well be heard as "I let them go."
"Indeed."
As expected, Komamura Sajin spoke in a deep voice, the only one willing to say something fair.
"With their strength, once they entered the complex terrain of Rukongai, effective capture would be difficult. Avoiding harm to innocent people was a wise choice."
But clearly, the other captains, due to their positions, had no intention of letting Shunsui off so easily.
"Other than Captain Kyoraku, was no other captain involved in the initial pursuit?"
Byakuya Kuchiki's eyes were cold, his tone calm yet filled with unmistakable questioning.
"There were~"
Ichimaru Gin tucked his hands back into his sleeves and answered cheerfully, like an enthusiastic commentator.
"The situation went like this. After Kira sent the signal, Captain Kyoraku arrived first. Shortly after, Captain Unohana of the Fourth Division also arrived."
"But by the time Captain Unohana got there, the two criminals had already run off. She just briefly checked the scene to confirm there were no injured needing treatment, then returned to the Fourth Division. After all, fighting isn't her job anymore."
"As for when we were heading back, we ran into Captain Kenpachi, looking all fired up. But by then, he'd already gotten so lost he was practically near the Fifth Division. He didn't catch up at all."
Gin spoke in extreme detail, describing the timing of each person's arrival, the sequence, and even the specific coordinates where they met.
It sounded like a work report, but every word was pushing Kyoraku Shunsui deeper into the fire.
"Hmm?"
Hitsugaya's eyes sharpened instantly, as if he had grabbed a critical clue.
"Something doesn't add up, Captain Kyoraku."
He raised a finger and traced a rough map of the Seireitei in the air, his tone pressing.
"If I remember correctly, the incident took place near the former residences of the Shihoin and Tsunayashiro families, both in the eastern noble district of the Seireitei. The closest division there would be Captain Kuchiki's Sixth Division, followed by the Fourth Division's comprehensive medical station."
"As for your Eighth Division…", Hitsugaya sneered, "That's entirely on the western side of the Seireitei, even farther than Captain Zaraki's Eleventh Division. You could say it's the complete opposite direction."
"With that geography, unless you were already near the noble district, how could you possibly arrive before Captain Unohana, who was closer?"
"Isn't that just a bit too coincidental?"
His logic was nearly flawless.
Ichigo and Yoruichi appearing there could be called coincidence. After all, the Shihoin family had just been wiped out. Yoruichi had stayed there overnight and used it as a temporary base. That made sense.
But Kyoraku Shunsui? A man who rarely returned to his own family estate, wandering around the noble district early in the morning instead of drinking or sleeping in his own division?
And that location happened to be near the very Central 46 that had just issued the search warrant?
They had just received orders from Central 46 to search the Fifth Division. Immediately after, Shunsui appeared from that direction and let the criminals escape.
If this had nothing to do with Kyoraku Shunsui, Hitsugaya would eat his own Zanpakuto.
Even if the one framing the Kuchiki family and the Fifth Division was not Shunsui himself, he certainly had not been doing anything clean.
"This…"
Shunsui opened his mouth, his bitter smile deepening.
He was truly wronged.
The only reason he had been at that location at that time was because he had gone to Muken for another exchange with his partner.
After all, given the string of events yesterday, he was curious what exactly had caused it.
Was Rosse the one being deceived, or had he participated willingly?
Just as he was preparing to leave, he received Izuru Kira's Tenteikura. He had not thought much of it at the time. Who would have guessed it could be thrown back at him like this?
So everything was his fault now?
"Those who are clean will remain clean."
Shunsui sighed helplessly, pressing a hand lightly against his straw hat.
"Even if I say I just happened to pass by, I suppose none of you would believe me. But if I had really been up to something shady, why would I rush to the scene first and expose myself to everyone? Wouldn't that be unnecessary?"
"Not necessarily."
Byakuya added coldly, cutting off Shunsui's retreat.
"Captain Kyoraku, Tenteikura is a high-level binding spell. It not only transmits information but also locks onto all spiritual pressures within range. As a captain, you should know that better than anyone."
"If you hadn't appeared immediately, and Lieutenant Kira later realized something was off, realizing you were the closest yet had not moved, wouldn't it have been even harder to explain?"
The implication was obvious.
You call that support? More like realizing you couldn't hide, so you jumped out to clean your name.
"Captains!"
Seeing the tension rising, Izuru Kira, standing behind Ichimaru Gin, was drenched in sweat but knew he had to speak.
Better sooner than later. Say it all now, and as a lieutenant, he would be out of it.
He forced himself forward under the crushing spiritual pressure of the captains, his voice trembling yet clear.
"Regarding what just happened, as the caster, I can provide additional details."
"The moment I activated Tenteikura, the spiritual pressure feedback showed that aside from myself, Captain Ichimaru, and the two fleeing criminals, the closest and strongest spiritual pressure…"
Kira swallowed and pointed at Kyoraku Shunsui.
"…was Captain Kyoraku's."
"And the coordinates where that spiritual pressure appeared…"
He pulled out a map of the Seireitei from his robes and circled a spot.
"Roughly at the midpoint of the line connecting the First Division barracks and the Central Great Prison, that is, near Central 46."
The moment those words fell, it was like a massive stone crashing into deep water.
The First Division was located at the center of the Seireitei, adjacent to the Central Great Prison that held serious criminals. That was the foundation of Captain-Commander Yamamoto's confidence.
Central 46 lay at the edge of the noble district near the central area. On the map, it indeed sat at the junction between the Central Great Prison and the First Division.
The coordinate Kira provided was deadly.
It not only confirmed that Kyoraku Shunsui had been near Central 46 at the time, but judging from the movement path, he looked like someone who had just finished handling something at Central 46 and was preparing to swagger through the First Division area on his way back to the Eighth Division.
Only to run into Tenteikura midway, forcing him to go support, and now everything had come to light.
At this moment, the evidence seemed ironclad.
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