Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 427 Xia Zuo: I Don't Like Tosen Kaname

The loss of a captain in Seireitei is not a big deal.

In the last hundred years alone, the Gotei 13 has lost more than five captains for various reasons.

But this is the first time a captain has been assassinated within his own squad in the Soul Society.

If even the squad leader cannot guarantee his safety within his squad, how can the other Shinigami, especially the nobles, feel safe?

As a result, Captain-Commander Yamamoto received a severe interrogation from the Central 46, which not only sent a written inquiry but also changed the execution time of Rukia Kuchiki to three days later.

The meaning of the 46th Chamber is very clear: within three days, all the Ryokan members must be apprehended, the issue of Captain Aizen's murder must be resolved, and then all the criminals must be executed!

The old man, feeling deeply humiliated, flew into a rage, his hair standing on end.

He no longer had the face to personally go to the Central Forty-Six Chambers to report the results of the invading travelers' activities to the nobles, especially since two of the travelers had not yet been captured.

So he convened an expanded meeting of team leaders, bringing together all the team leaders and deputy team leaders. He repeatedly emphasized the time and tasks, and all the team leaders and deputy team leaders were silenced by his reprimand.

They all looked obedient, heads bowed, listening to the captain's reprimand, but in reality, they were all distracted.

Including Captain-Commander Yamamoto giving a speech!

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni: Hehe, the Central 46th Chamber is a bit out of line. I am a pillar of the Soul Court, how dare you good-for-nothings lecture me?

If this warning isn't heeded, then Room 46 will need a complete overhaul.

Soi Fon, captain of the second division: Yoruichi-san is back! Where is she? Where is she?!

Captain of the Third Division, Gin Ichimaru: Hmm, the plan seems to be going smoothly?

Retsu Unohana, captain of the 4th Division: Aizen is quite interesting. I hope he gets even more interesting from here on out.

On the surface, Aizen Sousuke, the captain of the Fifth Division, is dead.

Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of the 6th Division: Hmph, everyone in the Central 46 is an idiot! And poor Rukia Kuchiki, should I save you or not?

Captain Komamura Sajin of the 7th Division: For the safety of the Captain-Commander, we'll fight to the death!

Captain of the 8th Division, Shunsui Kyoraku: Hmm, I'm injured today. If I drink again, will Nanao still scold me?

Captain Tosen Kaname of the Ninth Division: Aizen-san, Soul Society is indeed corrupt. Let's work together to restore the three worlds!

Captain of the 10th Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya: My seniors are all so serious. I'm still too young! I need to learn from them seriously and not act recklessly on my own!

The captain of the 11th Division is recovering from serious injuries.

Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division: Expand the collected data into a power series... Hmm, what's the formula again? Oh, I remember now, it's: ( ) = ∑n=0∞nlf（n）（a）（—a）n——

Ugh! I can't figure it out! I need paper and pen, and it would be even better if I could go back and use a calculator!

Captain Jushiro Ukitake of the 13th Division: Don't cough, don't cough, hold it in—

Once the chief captain had finished his tirade, the meeting ended, and all the captains dispersed in a row.

As expected, only the 7th Division sent people to search, while the other divisions remained silent, including even the 1st Division led by the Captain-Commander himself.

Only the captain of the 7th Division, Komamura Sajin, and the vice-captain, Iba Tetsuzaemon, truly grasped the leadership's spirit and were determined to do everything in their power to capture the missing Ryoka.

Of course, the Seventh Division's duty is to protect the inner palace, a duty they cannot shirk.

Three days passed quickly, and even the Seventh Division lost their spirits, because today was the day Rukia Kuchiki was to be executed.

The atmosphere inside the Seireitei became exceptionally oppressive, and the Shinigami of the Fourth Division, being more sensitive, were even more depressed.

With her friendly demeanor, Orihime Inoue easily found out information about Rukia, which terrified Rukia, who quickly informed her companions.

Upon hearing the shocking news that Rukia was to be executed at noon, the four of them were all restless, but soon realized that there was nothing they could do and were immediately plunged into confusion and helplessness.

They were wearing handcuffs that sealed their spiritual pressure; if they could get out, they would have done so long ago.

Ganju Shiba asked, "What do we do? Are we just supposed to wait for Ichigo to come and save us?"

Ishida Uryu shook his head and said, "Ichigo has been missing for three days now, we can't count on him."

"We now know that the Soul Society has 13, no, 12 captain-level fighters. Ichigo Kurosaki alone cannot rescue Rukia. We must find a way to escape ourselves in order to help him."

Chad said simply, "Let's get out of here first."

Chad, Ishida, and Shiba discussed the matter and finally decided to trick the guard into coming and steal the key.

Then they suffered a humiliating defeat.

Following the plot of "The Shawshank Redemption," the escape team of four then used the keys that had not been taken to dig a hole in the wall.

Just as they were working hard, Kenpachi Zaraki, still wrapped in bandages, suddenly burst in, carrying a guard from the Fourth Division who was guarding the prison.

Without a word, Kenpachi drew his long sword from his waist and cleaved the cell bars in one stroke. He then strode into the cell and walked straight up to Ishida.

With a ferocious expression, he looked down at the four of them and asked, "You're Ichigo Kurosaki's friends, right?"

The four people, including Ishida Ryuu, nodded rapidly, like chickens pecking at rice.

Kenpachi Zaraki laughed, his expression becoming even more ferocious. He pressed, "Can you find him?"

All four shook their heads in unison: "After we were captured, we lost contact with him."

Orihime Inoue added, "But I have a feeling he must still be alive."

Kenpachi Zaraki grinned maliciously, "Little girl, your intuition is very accurate. I have a similar feeling."

"I can sense that Ichigo Kurosaki is not only alive, but he's also gotten stronger!"

"It feels great. The stronger Ichigo is, the more I should kill him."

Kenpachi grinned bloodthirstily, swinging his sword with all his might, tearing a hole in the wall: "I have a strong intuition that as long as I'm with you guys, I'll soon meet Kurosaki Ichigo!"

The four were struggling to figure out how to escape from prison, and now that a powerful Death Captain was leading them, they couldn't have been happier.

Without a doubt, he immediately followed Kenpachi Zaraki out of the prison and joined Yachiru, who was guarding outside.

Then, the four of them didn't know where to go, and the captain and vice-captain of the 11th Division didn't know which direction their destination was. They started a long-distance running race in the Seireitei.

As they ran, two more people joined the group: the bald Madarame Ikkaku and the sweet cross-dresser Ayakawa Yumichika.

Because this long-distance running team got lost all the way from the Fourth Division prison to the Eleventh Division, then got lost again to the deserted Fifth Division, followed by the Sixth Division, the Noble Garden, the Shinigami Academy, and so on...

Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika were filled with regret. Every time they realized they had gone the wrong way, their attempts to warn them would inevitably result in them getting lost again a second later.

If the stubborn Ikkaku Madarame were to offer to lead the way, he would inevitably face strong suppression from the vice-captain, Yachiru.

The pink-haired girl shouted, "Little Steel Egg, you're so brave!" while hitting Ikkaku hard on the head with the scabbard, quickly making Ikkaku furious.

The bald man flew into a rage and immediately launched into a debate: "Vice-Captain, why did you hit me on the head?"

Yachiru drew her sword again: "Because not only did you dare to talk back, but you also dared to question my talent for leading the way, and most importantly, you're ugly, little steel egg!"

Madarame Ikkaku instantly exploded: "Damn it, don't stop me, I'm going to kill her!"

Kenpachi Zaraki laughed heartily; this was the atmosphere he was familiar with and liked.

After laughing for a while, he realized that one of his capable subordinates was missing, so he asked, "Where's Xia Zuo? Where's my fourth seat?"

Ayasegawa Yumichika hugged the frenzied Madarame Ikkaku, and calmly replied, "Natsusa left the barracks before you came back, Captain."

Kenpachi Zaraki asked curiously, "I remember Natsuo rarely leaves the barracks. Do you know what he does there?"

Once Yumichika confirmed that Madarame Ikkaku had no intention of fighting seriously, he let him joke around with the vice-captain, while he himself seriously recalled, "Xiazo said he was going to see a very beautiful woman."

"Oh? A stunningly beautiful woman? Who is she?"

"Yeah, Yumichika, why didn't you tell me? Otherwise, I would definitely be keeping an eye on that kid Natsuzo."

When there was something to talk about, Yachiru and Madarame Ikkaku forgot about their playful antics. The two of them put their heads together and started analyzing who the beautiful woman Xia Zuo was talking about was.

Ikkaku Madarame guessed, "Captain Soi Fon of the Second Division?"

Yachiru scoffed, "Impossible. Natsume likes big-breasted beauties, and Soi Fon isn't even as big as me!"

Madarame Ikkaku's eyes lit up: "That's fierce! It must be Matsumoto Rangiku, the vice-captain of the 10th Division!"

Yumichika shook his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Natsume still has integrity. He wouldn't lay a hand on the girlfriend of the Third Division Captain, Gin Ichimaru."

Madarame Ikkaku was shocked: "(o) Huh? Matsumoto Rangiku and that fox-faced Ichimaru Gin are a couple?"

Yumichika nodded: "Don't you know? They're childhood sweethearts, and all the female Shinigami know that."

Yachiru stared in disbelief: "—I, I don't know—"

Kenpachi Zaraki crossed his arms, his face tense, as if he were deep in thought, but in reality he was listening intently.

Even the four members of the traveling horde were listening very attentively; their resentment at being led astray had long since vanished.

The Eight Trigrams truly are the primary need of all wisdom.

Xia Zuo was naturally with Unohana Retsu, discussing Aizen's matter.

Xia Zuo said disappointedly, "Sigh, we really didn't find it."

Retsu Unohana smiled and said, "I already thought of that from the beginning, so there's no need to be too disappointed."

"After all, it's the strongest illusion-type Zanpakuto. If he's determined to evade it, he'll never find it."

Xia Zuo said helplessly, "The key is that we can't search openly, otherwise it will be too easy for him to find out and then retaliate against us."

"Forget it, let's wait for him to come out on his own."

Captain Unohana looked at Natsume gently: "According to your memory, after Aizen obtained the Hogyoku, he didn't engage us at all, but escaped to Hueco Mundo using the 'Anti-Membrane'."

"But you're still so confident. Is there a way to break the protective barrier?"

Xia Zuo grinned wryly: "Sister Hua, your intuition is too sharp."

"The concept of 'anti-membrane' sounds mysterious, but it all boils down to spatial matters. I believe I have some understanding of space and am fairly confident in breaking through it."

"But let me make it clear first, I haven't tried it myself, so I can't be sure yet."

Retsu Unohana smiled with satisfaction: "It's good that you have a way, at least it's much better than me having no way at all."

"I'll try to kill Aizen directly first. If that doesn't work, you can kill him in the anti-membrane."

Xia Zuo nodded: "Okay, if that doesn't work, then kill Dongxian Yao first."

Unohana Retsu was quite surprised: "Huh? He provoked you—oh, I see, he did something bad in the future?"

Xia Zuo shook his head and said, "No, I just find this person disgusting. A body driven by hatred dares to claim to be righteous."

"The Soul Society is not perfect, no, it's disgusting. The Five Great Nobles, the Derivative Nobles, the Central Forty-Six Chambers..."

Rukongai—it's full of disgusting things.

"However, the Soul Society has order. Even the worst order is a million times better than no order at all."

"There's nothing wrong with hating Soul Society and vowing to overthrow the Spirit Court because your beloved was brutally murdered by nobles."

"But to claim to be righteous is going too far."

"Anyone who tries to destroy the current order before replacing it with a new and better one is nothing but a destroyer. All he can bring is death and slaughter, and he has no sense of justice whatsoever."

This is like someone confirming a lesion in a patient's abdomen based on their symptoms, but then neither using X-rays, ultrasounds, or MRIs for detailed examination, designing a specific surgical plan, nor making a postoperative rehabilitation plan.

Instead, he picked up a scalpel, cut open the patient's abdomen, and that was the end of it.

Is this killing someone or saving someone?

Xia Zuo hates these kinds of idiots who are clearly harming others but firmly believe they are doing the right thing, and even feel self-satisfied.

"I see. He really is an annoying guy." Unohana Retsu's smile vanished. "I'll keep an eye on him. I'll kill Tosen Kaname when I get the chance."

As the original Kenpachi, she was not exactly known for her good temper.

She is one of the creators of the current order of the Soul Court, and she certainly wouldn't sit idly by if the order she personally built turned out to be utterly corrupt.

Retsu Unohana will definitely stand up, shatter this world with her own hands, and then reshape a new order.

As they spoke, the two arrived at their destination.

The Hill of Twin Killings!

This is a small hill, and the Twin Spears stand tall on it.

It is said that this tuning fork-like thing, once unleashed, can unleash the destructive power of a million Zanpakuto, making it the most powerful spiritual weapon in the Soul Society.

Because its effects are so severe, the Central 46 Chambers only activates it to execute those who have committed heinous crimes.