Arata ignored her provocation and turned to Yakumo Kadori beside him.
The girl with glasses was pale, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. It was obvious that the sudden movement just now had completely exhausted her.
"Lady Yakumo, please retreat and rest," Arata said quietly. "Leave this to me."
"But…" Yakumo Kadori bit her lip, her eyes behind the lenses full of worry, "the opponent is Sternritter elite, and you're alone…"
"Don't worry." Arata smiled gently, a spark of confidence flashing in his eyes. "They're just insignificant small fry. There's no need for Lady Yakumo to trouble herself personally."
As soon as he said that, his figure vanished from the spot.
Celia's pupils suddenly shrank, and she instinctively tried to dodge, but she was still a moment too late.
"Too slow." Arata's voice sounded at her ear, and Meigetsu's blade powerfully slashed across her back.
Shhh——!
A large amount of blood instantly dyed the white Sternritter cloak red!
"Ugh…" Celia groaned softly, her body falling forward uncontrollably.
But, befitting an elite of the Sternritter, just as she was about to hit the ground, she twisted her waist sharply, her spiritual steps exploding beneath her, and her whole body shot away like a launched projectile.
"Stardust Snap: Flock of Birds!"
Dozens of afterimages of spiritual particles exploded around Arata, each carrying a deadly arrow.
However, Arata only smirked mockingly, swung Meigetsu's blade, and the purple-black spiritual pressure swept around him like a wave.
"This level of attack doesn't even tickle me."
"Destroy everything, Meigetsu."
"Moon Feast!"
Arata activated his long-unused Shikai, and Moon Feast also split into dozens of figures in the air. Countless purple-black slashes intertwined into a massive net of death and rushed at the enemy.
Boom!
The impact of the spiritual pressure and arrows created a shockwave that sent Celia flying dozens of meters back. She rolled on the ground in a panic several times before barely managing to stop.
Her white uniform was already torn, revealing wounded skin underneath. Blue vein-like lines slowly spread across the surface of her body, but several places already showed signs of cracking.
"Damn it! My Heilig Kleid is actually…" Celia hissed through clenched teeth, glaring furiously at Arata. The red ribbon on her head had long vanished, and her short hair stuck to her sweaty face in clumps.
Arata walked toward her slowly, and each of his steps carried a pressure that made it hard to breathe.
"With such pathetic abilities, you dare call yourself a Sternritter? Looks like your Lichtreich isn't much after all."
A flash of panic appeared in Celia's eyes, but it was quickly replaced with stubbornness. "Don't underestimate me!" she bit her finger hard, drawing a pentagram on her palm with blood.
"Heilige Vernichtungspfeil: Das Ende—"
"Celia! Stop!" Erich's roar came from afar.
The Prison of Thorns, which he had originally intended to trap Saito Fuma in, had already been slashed to pieces, and his silver-gray ponytail whipped in the wind.
"This guy is no ordinary Shinigami! We're retreating immediately!"
"But…" Celia bit her lip reluctantly, and the pentagram circle on her palm had already begun to glow.
Erich appeared beside her in a flash and grabbed her collar with his strong hand. "That's an order! Do you want to die here?"
Arata narrowed his eyes, the purple-black spiritual pressure on Meigetsu's blade growing denser.
"You want to run? Did you ask my sword for permission?"
He was just about to pursue them when a furious scream from Saito Fuma erupted from behind him.
"Hey! That big guy is my prey! Who told you to interfere?!"
The twin-tailed, purple-haired loli ran up angrily, pointing her Zanpakutō directly at Erich. "Stop! I wasn't even done having fun!"
Without turning around, Erich threw a handful of black thorns to slow down several people as much as possible, then crushed a badge shaped like a star and cross in his hand.
"Shadow Realm!"
A powerful black light surged, and Erich and Celia retreated into the shadows beneath their feet, disappearing without a trace along with those shadows.
"Tsk, those guys are fast." Saito Fuma kicked a pebble in frustration, then turned and glared at Arata. "It's all your fault for meddling where you don't belong! I was just about to use Shikai!"
Arata helplessly spread his hands. "Apologies, I assessed that Lady Yakumo was in bad condition, so I…"
"Ha? Yakumo?" Saito Fuma looked suspiciously at the pale girl with glasses in the distance. "What could be wrong with her? She's the captain of the 8th Division!"
"I thought… khm, khm!" Yakumo Kadori forced a smile, but then suddenly began to cough violently, and a thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Hey! Yakumo!" Fuma's expression suddenly changed, and she appeared beside her in an instant, supporting her. "Are you hurt? When did that happen?"
"Last week… an old injury from a fight with the enemy." Yakumo Kadori leaned weakly on the purple twin-tailed loli's shoulder. "Sorry… for hiding it from you."
Arata quickly approached, his palm glowing with green light. "If possible, please allow me to take a look."
"You…" Saito Fuma shot him a suspicious glance, but seeing Yakumo's expression worsen rapidly, she reluctantly moved aside.
Arata's Kaidō skill was surprisingly advanced, and within minutes he managed to stabilize Yakumo's breathing.
"You…" Yakumo Kadori looked up at Arata, her eyes behind the lenses full of surprise and hard-to-read complexity. "Your knowledge of Kaidō is actually that advanced?"
Arata simply smiled softly, offering no explanation. He couldn't exactly say he learned it all from Unohana Retsu a thousand years in the future.
"Hmph, so you're at least useful for something." Saito Fuma turned her head, her purple twin-tails swaying. "But don't think that settles everything! Who the hell are you—"
Yakumo Kadori gently pressed her hand on her shoulder and softly but firmly interrupted. "Fuma-chan, don't be so harsh toward my savior."
"This Shinigami gentleman just saved my life. We at least owe him a chance to explain himself."
Saito Fuma pouted in protest, her purple twin-tail bangs trembling as she looked away. "Hmph, who knows if he's just acting to get on our good side!"
Arata gave a wry smile, sheathed Meigetsu, and spread his hands to show he meant no harm.
"Honorable captains, I truly have no ill intentions. What I did just now was purely instinctive."
Yakumo Kadori nodded gently, a faint smile appearing on her pale face. "I believe you. Still, could you tell us your name?"
"After all, the sudden appearance of a powerful Shinigami on the battlefield must be reported to Lord Genryūsai."
Arata hesitated for a moment and decided to hide his surname for now. "My name is Arata. I'm a wandering Shinigami who lives in seclusion in the deep mountains and forests. Recently, due to an accident, I became separated from my companions, so I came out to look for them."
If we ignore time and space, he really had been "separated" from his companions – only now they were separated by an entire temporal gap.
"I see. Then I'll report it that way to the First Division." Yakumo Kadori smiled, and as color returned to her face, she looked even kinder.
Arata was just about to thank her when a system tone suddenly rang in his head.
[Ding! Detected that the host's actions have had a significant impact on important story characters!]
[Fate thread of Yakumo Kadori has been significantly altered, 1251 destiny points acquired!]
[Fate thread of Saito Fuma has been moderately altered, 766 destiny points acquired!]
[Host's destiny value: 3741/18537]
The sudden system notification greatly shocked Arata.
He hadn't expected to receive such a rich reward just for helping out once. His destiny value, which had dropped to rock bottom after purchasing the Soul King's heart, had now climbed back to a rather pleasant number.
Looks like the fates of these two first-generation captains in the original history probably didn't turn out so well…