Mirai raised his right palm upward. Presión Espiritual gathered at his fingertips, glowing with a faint icy blue light.
From Mirai's fingertips, several extremely thin threads of ice spirit silk shot out.
They were so thin they were almost invisible. They only reflected a cold light occasionally when the sun hit them.
The moment the spirit silk touched the masked men, it branched out like a tree.
One thread became two, two became four, four became eight.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of masked men were touched by the spirit silk. It left a tiny icy blue mark on each of them.
"What is this?"
"What kind of Kidō is this?"
The few men rushing in front stopped. They looked down to check their bodies.
There were no wounds and no bindings. Except for that glowing mark, there seemed to be nothing there.
They looked at each other and then breathed a sigh of relief together. Mocking expressions appeared on their faces.
"You gave me a scare."
"I thought it was some kind of powerful move."
"A noble young master? He is just a guy who looks good but is useless."
"Hurry up and finish him!"
They charged again. This time, their speed was faster and their sword strikes were more aggressive.
Mirai ignored their mockery. He watched the crowd rushing toward him and slowly clenched his right hand.
"Bakudō No. 4 · Modified · Hundred-Network Rope Lock."
As soon as he spoke, the icy blue marks on all the masked men exploded at the same time.
Cold air burst out and then shrank inward. Each breath of cold air extended into fine ice chains. The chains tangled and connected in the air, stringing all the men together.
Ka, ka-ka.
The sound of ice locks tightening rang out one after another.
The masked men stayed in their charging poses, frozen in place.
Some were holding up swords, some were taking a step, and some had their mouths open to shout. They had all turned into ice sculptures.
The street became quiet instantly.
Kōga Kuchiki stood in place. The hand holding his sword loosened slightly.
He looked at the thirty-six ice sculptures and then looked at Mirai. His eyes showed a complicated feeling.
Mirai scoffed in his heart.
These nobles really did not want to spend much money.
They came to attack Kōga Kuchiki, a man at the level of a future Captain. Yet, the strength of these assassins was not even at the level of a Seated Officer. This was just like delivering a free meal.
Well, he would give Kōga Kuchiki another favor.
He walked around the group of ice sculptures and stood before Kōga Kuchiki. He glanced at the three injured subordinates on the ground.
"I will take these guys back to the 9th Division to lock them up. How about that?"
Kōga Kuchiki was stunned for a moment. He looked down and thought for a while, then he shook his head gently.
"The people behind them are very troublesome. If I give them to you, you will have trouble."
Mirai was a bit surprised. This guy actually thought about other people?
"Then how do you plan to handle it?"
"That is of course..."
Kōga Kuchiki lifted the Zanpakutō in his hand. The blade reflected cold light under the setting sun. His meaning was obvious.
Mirai remained silent for a few seconds. Killing a large number of Shinigami was not a good thing.
In the last two years, enough Shinigami had died because of the noble civil war. However, he did not plan to get deeper into this. This matter did not have much to do with him.
He had fulfilled his responsibility. There was no need to care about anything else.
He nodded slightly. "I will leave them to you."
Kōga Kuchiki pulled out his sword. He walked toward the frozen masked men. The blade flashed, and the ice sculptures shattered.
There were no screams and no struggling. There was only the crisp sound of ice breaking.
Mirai looked away toward the end of the street.
The sun was sinking, dyeing the sky a warm orange.
The outlines of distant buildings became blurry. Seireitei began to be covered by the evening shadows.
Just then, he suddenly looked up.
On the roofs of the surrounding buildings, many people were standing there. He did not know when they had arrived.
They wore uniform black tight clothes and masks that only showed their eyes. There were many of them; a quick look showed at least a hundred.
At the same time, several old men in expensive clothes walked from the entrances at both ends of the street.
They wore the white short-sleeved haori of the Noble Council. Their expressions were serious and their steps were steady.
As soon as these people arrived, they shouted loudly:
"Stop!"
The voice was loud and echoed through the street.
Kōga Kuchiki's sword stopped in mid-air. He turned around to look at the newcomers, and his eyebrows wrinkled.
The leading old man walked closer. His gaze swept over the bodies on the ground and the broken ice sculptures. His face was dark.
"Kōga Kuchiki," he spoke with a cold voice. "These people are not rebels. Why did you kill them?"
Another noble stepped forward and pointed at the people in black:
"These are members of the Monitoring Team directly under the Council. They were ordered to monitor the battle here to prevent anyone from killing innocent people. We saw it with our own eyes... You, Kōga Kuchiki, killed your colleagues for no reason!"
The third noble looked at Mirai with sharp eyes:
"And you, 9th Division 5th Seat Mirai. You assisted in the crime. You used unknown Kidō to bind these people so they could not resist, letting Kōga Kuchiki slaughter them!"
Mirai looked at the nobles who appeared suddenly. He looked at the many black figures on the roofs, and then he looked at the masked men Kōga had just killed.
It was a trap!
Facing this aggressive scene, Mirai's face showed no expression. Although he did not know why these nobles wanted to target him, he could not let them lead him by the nose.
Fighting was definitely not a good idea. He didn't know if he could even win.
Besides, this was Seireitei. There were too many people around. Even if he killed them, he would just become a rebel.
He pointed his hand directly at the sky.
"Hadō · Piercing Cloud Arrow!"
A blue spirit arrow shot straight into the clouds. The tail flame left a trail of sparks.
The Presión Espiritual spread like ink in the sky. It quickly drew a shape.
"9"
The number "9" in the sky was about ten meters wide. Every stroke was made of pale blue flames burning in the deep blue sky.
The flames were not hot. Instead, they released clear waves of Presión Espiritual. It carried a sound like a clear bell ringing. The sound could be heard within five kilometers.
The "9" kept flashing in the sky.
Once, twice, three times.
Then it slowly faded away, turning into tiny spirit light points that fell like snow.
The street was completely quiet.
The nobles looked up at the sky. Their faces turned from dark to very angry.
The black-clothed people on the roofs froze. They did not know whether to keep attacking or retreat.
Kōga Kuchiki also looked up at the falling light points and then at Mirai. His eyes were complicated.
"Alright," Mirai said calmly. "Now we just wait."
Just as he finished speaking, two figures appeared by Mirai's side.
On the left was Kensei Muguruma. He had short silver hair and his arms were crossed. He wore his Captain's haori and had a very serious face.
On the right was the small Mashiro Kuna. She stood on her tiptoes, looking around curiously at the area.
Kensei looked around after landing. His gaze stayed on the faces of the nobles for a moment. He stepped sideways to block the way in front of Mirai. He hit his fists together in front of his chest, making a dull sound.
"You want to take my man?"
"You can try. It won't take much of your time."
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