Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

They thought they would return empty-handed and get a scolding from the captain, but things took an unexpected turn. The arrogant woman's brother actually knew the whereabouts of the prisoner, and to make matters worse, he let it slip, which was overheard by his subordinate.

Although I didn't hear everything, as long as we pinpoint the general area, with their stealthy and mobile capabilities, how could we not find them?

"Hahaha! Rich people are indeed lucky, otherwise how could they be rich!"

"Once I've apprehended the criminal and brought him before you, let's see if you can still be so arrogant!"

Ōmaeda was rubbing his hands together, extremely excited.

Immediately gather all subordinates and head towards the destination indicated by the clues.

Rather than being afraid of letting the prisoner escape, it was more that they couldn't wait to see Shiba Kukaku's sour face.

He set off, and the Four Palaces Lords and others followed closely behind.

"They run really fast! If we didn't know their exact location, we might have lost them."

Ichigo clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Footwork is the key to stealth and mobility, so it's normal to have this level of skill. It would be strange if you could keep up with it."

Shiba Kukaku was somewhat surprised by the four members of the Shinomiya-no-Mikoto's skillful Shunpo. Not to mention students in the Spirit Arts Academy, even most of the registered members of the Gotei 13 couldn't match this level.

"Judging from this trend, you can graduate early. Have you thought about which squad you want to join?"

88yuan: "I haven't considered it yet~"

Luntang: [Anything is fine].

"I'll go to the Fifth Division."

The four palaces were indifferent.

Is this the right time to talk about this kind of topic?

Ichigo retorted.

"Death is no easy job. Dealing with death never ends well. If you don't find some fun for yourself, life would be too dark."

Shiba Kukaku's casual remark changed the atmosphere in the group.

The omnipresent darkness seemed to weigh more heavily on us, and the hazy moonlight in the night sky was squeezed by the shadows, almost hiding behind the clouds.

The moment the atmosphere shifted, it seemed as if there was no place for life to exist in the outskirts of Runlin'an.

"--Is that so? If this is the current state of the Grim Reapers, then there is no doubt that I should do something when I become the captain."

Similarly, it was just one sentence.

This will change the atmosphere again.

Apart from the Four Palace Master, everyone subconsciously looked at Ichigo.

Behind the arrogant remarks, there is not an arrogant face.

Instead, it's about knowing what difficulties you're facing, yet still being able to smile... a truly manly expression.

The darkness made the orange hair appear dull and lifeless, so much so that Shiba Kukaku, who had originally intended to mock his overestimation of his abilities, was slightly dazed, as if he saw a familiar figure overlapping with it.

"???"

Ichigo could accept being scolded and mocked, but he couldn't stand Kukaku Shiba's eerie gaze, as if he saw a female ghost crawling behind him.

It made his scalp tingle, so he quickly struck up a conversation with his friend to change the subject.

"Shinomiya, you've always had a unique mind, you must have some strange ideas to share."

"I don't have any ideas, but I know that with you around, there will definitely be a lot of fun."

The four palaces responded lightly.

He never turned his head and kept walking forward.

It seems that this one thing alone has taken up all my attention.

It was as if she was fully aware of Ichigo's reaction, and therefore didn't care much.

"Hey, are you mocking me?"

"You're being too noisy. This isn't the time to talk about this."

Ichigo was speechless after being shut down by his own lines.

The Four Palaces Lord didn't give him a chance to think of a solution and directly halted the team.

"what happened?"

Kukaku Shiba expressed his doubts on behalf of everyone.

"Omaeda and his men have slowed down, which means they are very close and preparing to launch an encirclement. It seems pointless for us to just follow them and appear in front of them."

The Four Palaces Venerable pondered for a moment.

"What do you want to say?"

Shiba Kukaku collected his distracting thoughts and calmly asked the question.

"What I mean is, since we've already used Ōmaeda as a stepping stone, why not make the most of him and use him as bait again?"

When the Four Palaces Lord uttered these words, everyone was speechless, but at the same time, they vaguely understood the implied meaning behind them.

"I see……"

Shiba Kukaku stroked his chin, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“If Ōmaeda can’t beat the enemy, he’ll run away immediately, given his personality. We just need to ambush him along his escape route and catch the enemy off guard when they catch up.”

"But what if the enemy doesn't pursue?"

Ba Ba Yuan blinked curiously.

"Omaeda will be chased by the enemy."

The answer from the Four Palaces Master was full of profound meaning.

……

The cave had no name and nothing special about it. There were countless places like that in Rukongai. If it weren't for the fact that the criminal was inside, Ōmaeda would never have held his nose and stepped into the dark depths of the cave, his feet covered in mud.

"You despicable criminal! You made Lord Ōmaeda go to so much trouble. Just wait until you're in jail, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

Despite his thoughts, Ōmaeda maintained his stealthy and mobile style, carefully leading his subordinates to explore the area with a highly professional attitude.

This also earned him high praise from the "prisoner" upon seeing him.

"I thought it was a wild beast, but it turned out to be Death. It found me so quickly; it's not to be underestimated. Truly worthy of its reputation..."

By the end, his voice was barely audible.

But Ōmaeda didn't bother to find out what the other person had said.

His face looked extremely pale at that moment.

Because what appeared before them was an "alien".

Standing three meters tall, nearly humanoid, it has three heads resembling dogs with sharp bull horns, its face terrifying, as if wearing a skull mask.

Perhaps feeling there was no longer any need to conceal it, the faint and indifferent aura around him gradually changed, becoming cold and intense, as if it had turned from air into mercury, gushing out wildly from within him like a floodgate being opened.

The atmosphere inside the cave, and indeed the entire space, was vibrating, roaring, and echoing.

Under such intense pressure, it wouldn't be surprising if it shattered like a mirror at any moment.

Omaeda and his subordinates were sweating profusely and trembling slightly.

The reason they didn't kneel down was not only because their strength wasn't that bad, but also because the spiritual pressure released by their captain when he was cold-faced and angry was almost the same as theirs, so they had some tolerance.

Having said that…

The one standing here now is not their captain.

Instead, it's a Hollow with captain-level spiritual pressure!

"There's no mistake, it's a Hollow! And a mid-level Hollow Adjuchas!"

Ōmaeda's face twitched as he roared inwardly.

What the hell is the Technology Development Bureau doing?!

An Adjuchas invaded right outside the Seireitei gates without anyone noticing.

Of course, he also knew that this was inseparable from the fact that the other party seemed to have the means to hide their spiritual pressure and eliminate their traces.

But this reason only made him feel more indignant and aggrieved.

After all, such a rare event has occurred.

I used to think I was lucky, but now look what happened, I've been transported here and I'm barely clinging to life.

"Hey, Xu, state your name!"

"My name is……"

"Smash him! Five-faced head!"

Before the other party could finish speaking arrogantly, Ōmaeda suddenly released his Zanpakuto, wielding a spiked iron ball like a chain hammer to smash through the ceiling, causing the cave to collapse. He then released "Binding Spell No. 21: Crimson Smoke Release" in conjunction with falling rocks and dust to obstruct the view.

After doing all this, he turned around and ran away without hesitation, a series of actions that were as smooth as flowing water.

"Quickly! Everyone, run!"

He didn't need to yell or shout; his subordinates clearly realized that this was not an enemy they could handle.

However, just as they ran out of the cave, a scarlet beam of light attacked from the depths.

If Ōmaeda and his group hadn't reacted quickly enough to lie down, someone would have surely perished in the Cero.

boom!

The missed phantom flash landed some distance away, causing a violent explosion.

The light first dyed the earth red, then washed away the darkness and turned it white.

The faces of Ōmaeda and the others were even paler than that.

"Agile and highly vigilant... It seems you are not unknown figures in the Grim Reaper community. I am truly delighted to encounter such an opponent."

Da Xu flew out of the cave, stood in mid-air, and looked at his prey with satisfaction.

Ōmaeda vaguely sensed something strange in his gaze, but couldn't quite figure out what was wrong. He only knew that if he didn't do something soon, his dozen or so men would surely perish here.

Chapter Fifteen: The Fear of the Hunting Blade

"Split up and break out to contact rescue!"

"Yes!"

Without much time to consider countermeasures, Ōmaeda gave an order and everyone scattered, rushing off in different directions.

Ōmaeda deliberately chose a route completely opposite to that of Seireitei.

During his escape, he glanced back briefly and, sure enough, the Hollow's white body was flying through the night, relentlessly pursuing him like a bat.

This also means that his strategy was correct.

The Grim Reaper, with his higher status, is more tempting as prey.

So they simply used this to draw fire, allowing their men to escape.

His subordinates, who had miraculously survived, would certainly not let his "sacrifice" go to waste and would immediately request reinforcements from Seireitei through the Divine Messenger.

Runlin An is so close to Seongjeongteilung.

With his superb Instant Step ability, he can outmaneuver the enemy and likely hold out until reinforcements arrive.

However, while running in the opposite direction might initially allow the enemy to pursue with peace of mind, it would prevent them from meeting up with reinforcements arriving from behind, so they had to change their route.

Just as Ōmaeda turned the corner, Hollow suddenly unleashed a Cero.

The purpose was not to kill, but to block the road.

The sudden explosion and shockwave severely hampered Ōmaeda's Shunpo.

The Great Void seized the opportunity and quickly closed in.

"Five-Character Head!"

Ōmaeda hurled the giant iron ball, but while this move might work against ordinary people, this Hollow was clearly no ordinary enemy.