Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

"Isn't this... something you once wanted to do but couldn't?"

"..."

Soi Fon slightly opened her mouth, and her body stiffened as if she had been electrocuted.

As the four palace masters spoke, they strolled forward.

“I just said…you seem angry, which seems like a pointless statement, but in my opinion, you shouldn’t be angry.”

"Because you complained that Yoruichi wanted to save people and didn't take you with her, and you resented her for being self-righteous, ignoring your wishes, and not giving you a chance to fight side by side."

"And I understand your pain, I feel the torment in your heart... So when I encountered a similar situation, I made a decision without hesitation, otherwise I would definitely become the person you hate the most, the person you used to be."

“In this situation, you seem to have no reason to be angry; on the contrary, you should be happy for me.”

The Four Palaces' explanation was quite original.

Every word deeply touched Soi Fon's heart.

Every step forward felt like a trampling on her will, making it teeter on the brink of collapse.

"No...no! It shouldn't be like this...I am the captain of the Gotei 13, I have no reason to be happy for a traitor, and I never intended for you to make up for any regrets I might have had!"

Soi Fon bit her lip to force herself to calm down.

"You...you almost fooled me! You're still so eloquent! But trying to gain my forgiveness or even remorse with such words is a bit too naive. I've said it before...no prisoner can lie to me!"

Upon hearing this, the Four Palace Masters stopped in their tracks.

"A lie is something that will never come true."

"Conversely, what has already been realized is called reality."

"Now I stand before you."

"If you think I'm lying, making excuses, or confusing right and wrong, then take action... Use your Bankai to crush the criminals trying to deceive you."

"?!"

"Shigong!"

Yoruichi never expected things to take such a sudden turn for the worse.

Just as he was about to stop it, the Four Palace Master lightly flicked the hilt of his sword, and the ghostly threads he shot out were intercepted.

The ghostly threads on the ground were severed, leaving a very clear mark.

It was as if an invisible barrier had been erected, making it difficult for Yoruichi to advance even an inch.

"The real criminals lie mostly to survive, so they won't be stupid enough to stand here and let you kill them."

"In other words..."

Shinomiya-sama looked at Soi Fon with an extremely serious expression.

"When I stand here at your mercy, it means I have no reason to lie, because it's a futile act that won't save my life."

"So, make your move."

"I will show you... who the real culprit is... who is truly harmful to Soul Society, who is... the truth that has already been realized and will never be destroyed!"

"Shinomiya...! Trying to provoke me won't work!"

Soi Fon clenched her teeth, her trembling pupils revealing her inner turmoil.

"Of course, I know that very well... I realized that you are actually very delicate and sensitive, and you are also prone to extremes, back in that night at the izakaya... So to gain your trust, I need to use even more extreme methods."

The corners of Shinomiya-sama's mouth slowly cracked open, revealing a rather chilling smile. He pointed at Soi Fon and uttered a Word of Power that neither of the two people present had ever heard of.

"Heart-piercing..."

Although I had never heard of it, the surging spiritual pressure and the deadly sense of crisis were real.

Her honed instincts, sharpened to an unparalleled degree, now went against Soi Fon's original intentions.

The body moved naturally, accompanied by acrid smoke.

A golden missile shot out with a roar.

“It’s over…!”

For a moment, Soi Fon's mind went blank.

It wasn't until Yoruichi screamed that they realized what was happening.

"Get out of the way!"

"Shinomiya?!"

The speed of a missile is not considered fast for someone with superb teleportation skills.

However, Yoruichi and Soi Fon did not see Shinomiya make any dodging movements.

Half of the power of words that had been spoken was swallowed back down.

In the very end, only the slightest movement of the lips could be seen.

It seems like they recited something.

But they could neither discern nor hear clearly.

There was only a huge roar.

A dazzling, blinding light burst forth.

Endless bursts of flame and shockwaves descended like a natural disaster, instantly filling the streets and alleys of the city.

The buildings within a radius of several kilometers were enveloped in pure high temperature and heat, and one can easily imagine the tragic scene of everything inside being completely destroyed.

Chapter 74 No Light, No Savior, But We Are

The uproar was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, even more so than the liberation of the bipolar system.

Unfortunately, the Palace of Repentance is located right next to the Hill of Twin Poles.

In other words, it was like dropping a nuclear bomb right in the center of Seireitei.

Although there was no mushroom cloud, the city was almost completely razed to the ground.

Yoruichi and Soi Fon suddenly appeared in the vast plaza of Ichiban Ward.

The two legion commanders were covered in dust and dirt, with traces of the previous battle and dust and debris from escaping the blast radius. The large area of ​​skin exposed by the "Instant Bombardment" had some burns.

"Let go!"

As soon as she landed, Soi Fon frantically shook off Yoruichi's hand and rushed towards the explosion site, but after only two steps, she stumbled and fell to the ground.

Yoruichi was, after all, her former superior and a renowned and powerful fighter. Even without her Zanpakuto, she was comparable to a captain-level expert, so cornering her was no easy task.

Moreover, he also used Bankai.

That's a special move that can only be used once every three days.

It's perfectly normal to be physically exhausted.

"Calm down, Soi Fon, this isn't your fault."

Yoruichi, with a serious expression, stepped forward, knelt down, and gently patted her shoulder.

"Of course this isn't my fault! It's your and Urahara's fault!"

Soi Fon, who had fallen to the ground, resented her own powerlessness and vented her anger on Yoruichi.

But this is not a venting without reason.

"If Urahara hadn't created the 'Hōgyoku,' if you hadn't saved Urahara a hundred years ago... things wouldn't be like this now!"

"That's fine, with your Shunpo you should have been able to catch up! But you chose to save me... save an enemy who almost killed you, instead of a comrade on the same side... Yoruichi, do you really enjoy abandoning your supporters?"

This bloody accusation left Yoruichi with extremely complicated feelings.

“I can’t argue with that… This is probably just the way the Shihouin family is. When it comes to their companions, no matter what decisions they make, they mostly choose to support them… That’s how I am, and that’s how the previous head of the Shihouin family was too. That’s why I never really got along with the good kids and always seemed like an oddball to outsiders.”

"I have no interest in hearing about your family's quirks right now... Get out of here, before I regain my strength and kill you! This time, don't expect anyone to come to your rescue!"

Soi Fon glared at Yoruichi with icy eyes filled with hatred.

The latter sighed and stood up.

"Soi Fon, I'm not saying this to ask for your forgiveness, but rather to help you understand something."

"What's the point?"

"People who can get along with mavericks are generally very resilient; otherwise, they would have been ostracized and suppressed by those around them long ago."

"?"

Soi Fon suddenly turned her head to look ahead, her face filled with disbelief.

It wasn't because they understood the implied meaning, but because they sensed a familiar spiritual pressure.

Above the ruins of the city, which had been razed to the ground, flames spread and rose, and thick smoke billowed everywhere. Logically speaking, there was no space for living things to survive, but there was a spiritual pressure in the crimson flames that was even hotter than the flames themselves, as vibrant as the midday sun.

boom!

The sea of ​​fire was forcibly separated.

A figure dressed in silver and black stepped out of this land of natural disaster with firm and powerful strides.

My feet were treading on broken stones and scorched ground.

In contrast, the figure itself seemed so out of place.

The jet-black cloak fluttered like a materialized version of the night.

The light, thin, bright silver armor evenly covers the hands, feet, and torso, without appearing heavy or cumbersome at all; instead, it exudes a sharp, razor-like feel.

They were more like fighters than knights.

Rather than fighters, they are the embodiment of struggle.

pat.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky at some unknown time.

A light drizzle began to fall.

If this is the world stepping in to extinguish a fire that should never have occurred on the city walls...

The appearance of the Fourth Prince extinguished Soi Fon's anger towards reality.

Even though her hair was wet, she couldn't tell if the water was rain or something else that was welling up in her eyes.

Soi Fon still refused to blink, even staring intently at the strange figure approaching from the opposite direction.

"Shinomiya...?"

"Ah, it's me..."

A calm, metallic voice rang out from inside the armor, not from the head.

It gives the impression that he is one with this armor.

Rather than simply wearing it.

"Captain Soi Fon, do you remember the question that once troubled me?"

"..."

Soi Fon was incredibly shocked, but this was actually the clearest moment of her mind, as she needed to determine whether she was hallucinating.

The words stirred up memories that weren't so long ago.

"Question? The thing you feared most so far? You say you've solved it? So this pose is your... Bankai?"

"Although we agreed to talk about it again next time we drink, the current situation isn't bad either..."

The Four Palaces Lord stretched out his right hand to catch the rainwater while looking up at the blazing sun that was temporarily obscured by dark clouds.

“When I was five years old, someone told me that there was no light in the world.”

"Back then, I didn't understand anything and was just a little disappointed. But when I grew up and faced reality, I realized how terrible it really was."

"So if you were to ask me what I fear most so far... it would undoubtedly be... the fact that there is no light in this world, and no savior to protect everything!"

boom!

He clenched his fist tightly.