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On the battlefield, the squad members were cleaning up.
Above in the sky, the captains of each division wore relaxed expressions, chatting and laughing.
Between heaven and earth, only two dying Adjuchas remained.
There was nothing more to worry about.
The battle was over.
The two Adjuchas knelt mid-air, trembling in terror.
Their fear bored Zaraki Kenpachi, who hadn't gotten his fill of battle.
He spat in disdain, slung his Zanpakutō over his shoulder, and walked away—completely uninterested in finishing off the last two.
There was no thrill left.
With Kenpachi's departure, Yachiru and the rest of the Eleventh Division followed suit.
Then Ichimaru Gin left with the Third Division.
Despite the long battle, he remained untouched, without a single injury.
No one could tell if it was because the enemy held back, or he was simply too strong—or something else entirely.
Next, Byakuya Kuchiki led the Sixth Division away.
Tetsuzaemon Iba followed with the Seventh.
Tousen Kaname, Ukitake Jūshirō, and Komamura Sajin were carried off due to severe injuries.
The Ninth and Thirteenth Divisions soon retreated as well.
Before Rukia Kuchiki and Abarai Renji left, they turned toward the Second Division.
Still no trace of Su Li.
They exchanged confused glances, unable to make sense of it.
Why was the rising star who'd made such a name for himself utterly silent during this battle?
No one had the answer.
With heavy thoughts, they followed their squads.
Soon after, the battlefield was confirmed clear of wounded and casualties, and the Fourth Division returned to the medical barracks under Unohana Retsu's lead.
Before she left, Aizen Sōsuke glanced once at the Second Division's position, then vanished with his squad.
At the scene, only the Second Division and Kyoraku Shunsui's Eighth remained.
Sui-Feng hadn't withdrawn because she was waiting for someone—to give her a reason.
A reason for someone to avoid war.
So, even when medical staff came with a stretcher—even when Omaeda tried to persuade her—she refused to go.
She just sat quietly on the grass, wordless.
The medics had already bandaged her wounds.
Aside from her pale face and a few more layers of bandages, she didn't seem too serious.
As for Shunsui, he stayed because the final task hadn't been completed.
"Yeah, well... some people don't even bother to clean up after themselves," Shunsui muttered, exasperated.
He raised his Zanpakutō and swung down.
But the tip of his blade halted in the air.
Something felt off.
Normally, those on the verge of death show courage or plead for mercy.
But the two Adjuchas just trembled.
Though their faces were etched with fear, their eyes were strange.
Not desperate.
Not resolved.
Just... unnervingly odd.
A mix of terror and fanaticism.
Shunsui couldn't read them.
He looked up at the sky's rift.
It had already closed.
So he doubted anything would come from it.
Still, he didn't hesitate—he swung.
Just then, one of the Adjuchas shouted desperately:
"My lord!! Please reveal the gift of the gods—"
His voice was severed with the slash.
The two Adjuchas were wiped out instantly.
Shunsui tilted his head and glanced around.
Still.
Silent.
Nothing.
He sighed, shaking his head.
So paranoid lately... Just a dying enemy's words, and now he was overthinking it.
He turned to leave.
And bumped into someone.
"Oh? Nanao-chan? I'm sorry, I didn't see you—"
But then he paused.
The one he bumped into was tall. Broad. Hard as stone.
No way that was Nanao.
He looked up slowly.
Then his pupils shrank.
He finally saw what he'd collided with.
It wasn't human.
Curved, razor horns.
Black scales.
A glowing, gaping hole through its chest filled with something unknown.
A Hollow.
A kind of Hollow Shunsui had never seen before.
The creature stared silently.
The air felt heavy and wrong.
Shunsui had no idea when it appeared, or how it got here.
Had it emerged from the closed rift?
What species was it?
He didn't know anything.
For the first time, the captain of the Eighth Division—the Gotei's intelligence commander—was at a complete loss.
Maybe Su Li could've told him, if he were here.
Shunsui stared blankly, mind empty.
The creature stared back.
Then, it tilted its head.
The man before it wasn't the mission target.
But it was annoyed.
It had searched so long for that boy, but he was gone.
It wanted to fight him—kill him.
But the boy vanished.
And now, it was furious.
Dangerously furious.
Pfft.
A black arm punched through Kyoraku Shunsui's chest.
The speed was unreal.
He didn't even react before the hole was already there.
The creature slowly pulled its arm free, expressionless.
Shunsui fell from the sky.
His blood bloomed in the air like scattered sakura.
He never even understood what happened before he lost consciousness.
"Captain!!"
Ise Nanao's scream finally drew everyone's attention.
All eyes turned.
They saw the bull-horned Hollow in the sky.
Shocked.
Confused.
Speechless.
"A fish that slipped through...?" Sui-Feng muttered in disbelief.
She gritted her teeth, forcing herself upright, and reached for Suzumebachi.
"Bankai!!"
Suzumebachi transformed again.
Jakuhō Raikōben.
Omaeda and the rest of the Second Division all turned pale.
Everyone knew how draining the weapon was.
It could only be used once every three days.
And now Sui-Feng was going to fire it again—on the same day?
Impossible.
She could pass out, or worse—suffer lasting damage.
Omaeda's face nearly crumpled.
He wanted to stop her.
But before he could move, she had already pulled the trigger.
"Jakuhō Raikōben!!"
Boom!
A missile burst forth at blinding speed, locked on the bull-horned Hollow in midair.
Sui-Feng's face turned ghost-white.
Her spiritual energy nearly collapsed.
But she refused to fall—not yet.
She had to see it die.
Boom!!
A violent explosion tore through the air.
No cheers.
No shouts.
Even Omaeda was silent.
Because before the missile hit, the target had already vanished.
The creature was no longer in the sky.
It was now in front of Sui-Feng.
Its mask loomed inches from her face.
She smiled bitterly.
And collapsed.
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