Chapter 322
2-in-1 chapter:
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Amid the dim sky stood a strikingly beautiful woman in a black Shihakushō and white haori. A single thick braid hung over her shoulder, and she wore round spectacles, smiling softly at Soifon.
Though stunning, the mont Soifon saw that smile, every cell in her body tensed. A terrifying aura like nothing she’d felt clamped tight around her nerves.
Kaelith moved fully in front of Soifon, blocking her from this newcor. Studying the woman’s face, he spoke in a tone that was more amused than wary:
“Such a lovely lady: short in stature but…(ahem)… refined and graceful, wild yet still elegant, sharp like a blade, but beguiling as a blossom.
“If I’d t you before, I’d never have forgotten. Suppose we introduce ourselves? I’m Kyōraku Shunsui, Captain of Squad Eight. And you, my lady?”
The woman flushed at his words.
“Such glib talk – you’re lying, obviously.”
After inhaling deeply, she said resolutely, “My na is Katori Batsu’unsai. I once served as Captain of the Tenth Division. And you are Kaelith Yurei, not Kyōraku Shunsui.”
Kaelith raised his brow. “Ah, I see how it is.”
“A fighter of this level who I’ve never seen, who has so knowledge of the Seireitei but not much. Let guess: you’re a fugitive from Muken?”
Batsu’unsai shook her head. “I’m afraid you guessed wrong.”
She regarded Kaelith with turbulent emotions swirling in her eyes.
Then she spoke:
“I heard you supposedly invented a device to purify ‘heavy reishi’ so a deceased Captain’s soul needn’t be cast into Hell. Did you truly manage it?”
“…Hmm.”
Kaelith’s eyes narrowed. As far as he knew, only Aizen, Urahara, and the elder Kuchiki Ginrei were aware of that research. Not even Mayuri, due to scheduling, was in the loop.
So how did this woman know?
Could sothing have happened to Ginrei?
His hand drifted toward his Zanpakutō’s hilt. Behind him, Soifon was frowning. Katori Batsu’unsai…why does that na ring a bell? She was certain she’d heard it, yet couldn’t place it.
Seeing Kaelith’s caution, the round-spectacled woman inhaled, agitation creeping into her voice.
“You truly succeeded? How…? If soone’s already consigned to Hell—could they–? Ugh–!”
Suddenly, she clutched her head, grimacing in pain, sinking to a crouch.
Sensing it wasn’t a trick, Kaelith started to step forward to help – but froze half a step later, so intuition flaring in his mind.
Just as he halted, the woman rasped, “S-stay back! I… I can’t control…”
Her words ended in a strangled gasp, and black chains erupted around her body, binding her arms and torso. Because of the tight restraints, certain prominent features were emphasized even more. Kaelith found his gaze stuck there – only to check for hidden traps, of course…
Batsu’unsai lifted her head.
Her once-gray eyes now glowed golden. Half a skull-like mask appeared on her face, reminiscent of a Hollow’s, but it gave off no typical Hollowfication vibe. Instead, the aura was savage, twisted, brimming with carnage yet sohow orderly.
She drew the Zanpakutō at her hip, and with a single step, lunged at Kaelith.
Boom!
Kaelith managed to half-draw his own sword and blocked. In a flash, he realized he was already in midair – her blow had launched him thousands of ters up, piercing through rainclouds. Glancing down, he saw the gap he’d torn in those dark clouds and glimpsed the Eleventh Division far below.
His arm tingled with numbness.
“Damn… She’s pretty strong,” Kaelith murmured.
Holding Rixiang Jimie, he grinned. Interesting. He didn’t know who this Batsu’unsai was, but she was definitely the real deal, possibly on par with his “dear Senior Brother.” Maybe even stronger. She had to be a Muken escapee. Where else could such a powerhouse lurk?
Blue spiritual flas flickered, and Rixiang Jimie split into twin blades. Kaelith extended his arms wide to hold them.
“What’s a sneaky Intel Division Captain doing causing trouble in the Eleventh?”
“Today, I’ll slay you, then kill that worthless Senior Brother too!”
With that, he hurtled downward from the sky, twin swords held high like he intended to cleave the entire ground in two.
Batsu’unsai wasted no ti, vaulting upward in a matching strike. Her sword glowed, transforming into a naginata as it slashed for Kaelith.
BOOOM!!
In midair, a great ring of white shockwaves exploded. Roiling spiritual pressure scattered the dark stormclouds, letting sunlight pour down. Kaelith with twin swords, sporting a feral grin, locked blades with the cold-eyed Batsu’unsai. Sparks exploded between them. The fierce collision of Reiatsu rocked the entire Seireitei.
“What’s going on?!”
“An attack! An attack!!”
“Captain Kaelith’s fighting a strange Shinigami!”
“No one below Third Seat level approach! Their Reiatsu is massive!”
“Aaarrgh!!”
Swish, swish…
Captains closest to the Eleventh sprang into Shunpo. Taking in the sight of the two figures overhead and the colossal pressure in the air, they wore startled looks.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Her spiritual power…It’s insane!”
Above, Kaelith and the unknown woman clashed again and again, each collision a monstrous Reiatsu quake. Even a relatively weaker captain like Kensei felt suppressed.
“Kyōraku, let’s go help Kaelith!” Ukitake Jūshirō urged, anxious.
But Kyōraku Shunsui didn’t answer. He grasped his hat’s brim, frowning, staring at the female figure in the sky. She seed oddly familiar, stirring a powerful sense of déjà vu.
Monts later, realization struck him:
“No way?!”
“What?!” Ukitake demanded, grabbing Shunsui’s sleeve.
Shunsui looked dazed. “That’s… Katori Batsu’unsai!”
“?!” Ukitake’s hand froze, eyes brimming with disbelief.
High above, Kaelith felt his excitent rising. Power coursed through his Reiatsu. His upper Shihakushō and haori ripped to shreds. Casually discarding his Zanpakutō, he swung a bare fist at Batsu’unsai.
She braced her naginata across her chest to block. Trying to counter, she paused suddenly, glancing afar. Feeling a wave of powerful spiritual pressure approach, Kaelith also halted in surprise.
The old man’s coming so soon?
Batsu’unsai, recognizing that Reiatsu, quickly retreated. Behind her, a rift in space tore open, from which a dozen black chains shot out, binding her limbs and yanking her inward. At the brink of being dragged into the rift, her eyes cleared slightly. She turned toward Kaelith:
“Kaelith… Watch out, Hell…is—”
Before she could finish, the void snapped shut.
Seconds later, Yamamoto appeared via Shunpo, scanning the area with stunned disbelief. Finally, he glared at Kaelith:
“Where is she?!”
“She ran off. Guess you frightened her.”
“…” Yamamoto was silent a mont, then, as though nothing bizarre had happened, asked gravely:
“Kid, was that woman you fought truly Katori Batsu’unsai?”
“That’s the na she gave,” Kaelith confird. “Said she was Captain of the Tenth Division.”
At that, Yamamoto’s face grew steeled.
“Captain of Ten… Indeed, she was. But that’s not the whole of it. Katori Batsu’unsai was personally invited by , along with myself and eleven others, to found the Gotei Thirteen. The original Tenth Division Captain.”
Kaelith’s eyes widened.
He recalled how Yamamoto occasionally ntioned that the modern Gotei was starved for top-level talent, whereas the earliest generation of captains were unbelievably strong. But with ti, they all died or vanished, leaving only Yamamoto and Unohana.
He’d never expected to encounter one in the flesh.
Curious, he asked, “So she’s been locked in Muken all this while?”
Yamamoto’s eyes beca half-lidded with a complex look.
“No,” he said heavily. “She died. I personally perford her Konso Rei-sai. I sent her soul to Hell.”
Kaelith froze.
He recalled the words Batsu’unsai had attempted to speak: ‘Watch out, Hell is—’
That explained how she’d slipped into the Eleventh so stealthily, why her Reiatsu signature was wholly unfamiliar, and why she cared about “heavy reishi purification.”
She was from Hell.
…...........
..
.
At the First Division’s assembly hall, Yamamoto sat at the head, the other captains in two rows. Kaelith stood in the middle, recounting the entire incident. Hearing it, every captain stared bug-eyed, as if their worldview had been shattered.
“Captains’ souls can’t return to the cycle because their reishi is too dense?”
“That funeral rite called the ‘Konso Rei-sai’ wasn’t just a tradition, but to send the captain’s remains to Hell?”
The shocking truth was hard for most to swallow. They all stared at Yamamoto.
He was quiet for a few seconds, then turned to the disciple who consistently surprised him:
“Kaelith. You’re certain you found a way to purge heavy reishi so any Shinigami above Third-Class Authority can rejoin the normal cycle after death?”
Kaelith let out a proud huff.
“That’s right – tested and verified, no problem. After all, I—Kaelith poured out almost all my world-shaking wisdom to succeed!”
He stopped just short of ntioning other’s involvent, rembering Batsu’unsai’s warning.
Looking smug, Kaelith’s words made Yamamoto’s temple vein twitch in mild exasperation—but at once, a hint of a smile crossed his face.
*His rascal of a disciple had cracked a fundantal problem plaguing the Soul Society since ti immorial. From now on, no more condemnation of comrade’s souls to Hell.* Each ti Yamamoto had perford a Captain’s funeral rite, it felt like his own spirit was being torn. But for the world’s balance, he repeated that cruelty again and again.
Now that burden might finally be lifted.
Seeing the pair’s brief exchange, every captain realized Kaelith’s claim was true. The reality of their original fate left them chilled, but a wave of relief followed:
They wouldn’t be condemned to Hell after all. They were lucky beyond asure.
They all turned toward the man who delivered that luck. Even Shinji Hirako, once suspicious, couldn’t deny that Kaelith had perford a miracle.
Yamamoto’s expression returned to one of being grave.
“The most pressing task is to figure out how Katori Batsu’unsai managed to leave Hell and arrive in the Soul Society,” he said.
“If sothing truly went wrong in Hell, letting the sinners inside escape at will, then it would be a catastrophe not just for the Soul Society but for all three realms.”
This was a heavy statent, yet it was not an overreaction. There was no stronger force in existence than Hell. Over the span of a million years, the majority of Shinigami at or above Captain level had been sent there. According to legend, beings in Hell were immortal—no matter how many tis they died within Hell, they would resurrect there again. If that were true, just imagining how many Captain-level individuals must be gathered in Hell was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.
Kaelith folded his arms, reflecting on every mont from Katori Batsu’unsai's appearance to his departure. There was sothing strange about the whole sequence. Rather than fleeing for her life, Katori Batsu’unsai seed more like she was being manipulated by so unknown force.
Besides, Kaelith recalled he had once ford a contract with the Sarunomiya family, becoming one of those who guard the Gates of Hell. If soone actually escaped through those gates, logically he should have sensed it happening.
Why hadn’t he noticed a single thing?
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a Shinigami rushed in.
“Reporting! Captain-Commander, the Sarunomiya family has sent soone. They say there’s an urgent matter to discuss!”
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