"The execution begins!"
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni slowly raised his head, looking directly at Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru, who were imprisoned in prison uniforms and still showing Hollow traits. The ancient, unshakable eyes of the old man wavered slightly—but immediately returned to clarity.
The Soul Society, which he had built with his own hands, had responsibilities that must be upheld by his own hand.
There is no right or wrong.
There is only justice—and accountability—above all else.
Even if the condemned are Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru, both second only to him in seniority.
Boom!
As if responding to Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's words—
After the full release of Sōkyoku, the giant flame phoenix it transformed into—called the The Firebird King—flapped its wings violently, stirring up a surge of hot air that swept thousands of meters across the vast execution grounds.
Immediately after—
It leaned forward and charged, dragging behind it the power said to equal a million Zanpakutō. With a flaming body that devoured all in its path, it dove straight toward the two bound figures—Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru—who had no means to move or defend themselves.
This scene—
Caused the hearts of Muguruma Kensei, Love Aikawa, and the others below to lurch up into their throats.
Tsk.
A graveyard.
At that moment, all movement, all breath—even the flow of the wind—seemed to freeze.
Even time itself slowed, from normal to sluggish, and continued decelerating.
Affected by time, The Firebird King had already arrived before Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru. Just as it was about to drown them in a sea of flame—
It began to slow down.
Until it completely stopped.
"Time Suspension!"
"Even the fully released The Firebird King can be halted like this."
"In all of Seireitei, the only one capable of doing such a thing..."
Trapped in frozen time, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's eyes still moved.
It seemed that even time could not fully bind his thoughts and perception.
"A high-level Kidō... it's been a long time."
"Hold, Tomioka."
Reiatsu consciousness spread out.
His gaze locked onto a figure standing at the entrance to the execution grounds.
"Even with Time Suspension, you still can't completely imprison him?"
"As expected of the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years..."
"Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni."
Feeling that Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's gaze had landed on him, Tsukabishi Tomioka felt as though his heart was gripped by an invisible hand, then thrown onto open flames to burn without end.
The strongest Shinigami in a thousand years.
His name and legacy—something he had heard since birth.
But just how powerful was he?
Only now did he truly feel it—just from a single glance.
"Luckily... Aiyan was drawn away."
"Otherwise, if he were here... I can't even be sure whether this time-freezing Kidō would have worked!"
Thinking this, Tsukabishi Tomioka couldn't help but rejoice silently.
From what Yadōmaru Lisa had told him, high-load and high-profile Kidō techniques like Space Dislocation and Time Suspension would, under normal circumstances, shake the heavens.
But for Aiyan, it was as easy as drinking water.
Others thought he was casting some special forbidden Kidō.
In reality, it was just as casual as using Sentan Hakuja.
"Help!"
"Whether it's the Captain or the The Firebird King—I can't hold either for long!"
"Move, now!"
Tsukabishi Tomioka took several deep breaths, as if that were the only way to suppress the fear in his heart toward Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. Then, he shouted.
Swish—
Below the execution platform, the captains who had been guarding it moved aside using Shunpo. One after another, they drew their Zanpakutō and thrust them into the platform.
Three Gotei captains and lieutenants gathered their strength into a massive Reiatsu slash, slicing apart the execution platform.
Kuna Mashiro and Sarugaki Hiyori immediately stepped forward, reaching out to catch Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru.
But because they couldn't suppress Hollowification, they didn't attempt to destroy the prison restraints on them.
Otherwise, the two top-tier captains would go berserk—and things would not end well.
"Hiyori, Mashiro."
"What you need to do next is hold onto Captain Kirio and Lieutenant Senjumaru—don't let go, even if you die. Then run!"
"Don't stop for even a second!"
After rescuing them, Muguruma Kensei only had time to bark out a few quick orders to Hiyori and Mashiro before his gaze locked on the Gotei captains in front of him.
"Go!"
Upon hearing this, Sarugaki Hiyori and Kuna Mashiro exchanged glances, and without hesitation, each grabbed a person and vanished with Shunpo.
"What do you think Soul Society's responsibility means?"
Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze turned ice-cold.
Having escaped the time-stop zone, he was the first to draw his Zanpakutō.
Since the deaths of Kuchiki Ginrei and Kuchiki Sōjun, he had practically engraved the word "responsibility" into his bones.
To him, if someone like Hibiki hadn't acted lawlessly and defied protocol, the Kuchiki clan wouldn't have suffered disaster.
Exactly so.
After becoming captain of the Sixth Division, he had practically become Yamamoto Genryūsai's second—not in strength, but in upholding Soul Society's rules.
To Byakuya Kuchiki, Muguruma Kensei and the others, who had just destroyed the execution platform and openly interfered with an official execution, were already dead men.
"Yes, we violated Soul Society's laws. But tell me—was Central 46 ever right to begin with?"
"Byakuya Kuchiki."
"Don't forget—if not for those so-called sages and judges of Central 46, your Kuchiki clan wouldn't be where it is now."
"You didn't just lose your status as head of the noble houses—you were erased from the Four Great Clans altogether."
Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō was the first to step forward.
Before deciding to interfere with the execution, he had thoroughly investigated every captain of the Gotei.
Byakuya Kuchiki was no exception.
He didn't believe that Byakuya could be so indifferent when faced with the same Central 46 that had dismantled his clan.
"Tell me—was Captain Kirio ever truly at fault?"
"They went to track down the one behind the Hollowfication crisis."
"Only after that were Urahara Kisuke and Hibiki charged with crimes."
"In the end, weren't they doing it for justice—for your Kuchiki clan?"
Yadōmaru Lisa joined in, supporting Rōjūrō with her Kidō-enhanced voice.
Upon hearing this, Byakuya's eyes dimmed slightly.
His originally sharp and clean sword draw became noticeably sluggish.
He despised those who defied Soul Society's law—
But he despised even more those in Central 46, who held the law and did nothing with it.
It was true.
Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru had risked everything to seek justice—for the Kuchiki family.
…
"Scatter, Senbonzakura."
That was the thought.
Byakuya Kuchiki's movements were no longer decisive.
His killing intent was no longer pure.
Though he still released his Zanpakutō—
The Bankai that had been on the tip of his tongue, he swallowed back down.
Clearly.
He had chosen to go easy.
Not for anything else—
But to repay the debt owed to Hikifune Kirio and Shutara Senjumaru.
And out of sheer resentment for Central 46.
"Whew..."
Watching the countless cherry blossom blades rush forth, Muguruma Kensei and the others secretly let out a sigh of relief.
If it wasn't Bankai, then it wasn't fatal.
Especially for someone like Byakuya Kuchiki—a Gotei captain who took upholding Soul Society's law as his own duty.
"Crush Down — Tengumaru!"
Facing the incoming tide of sharp petals, Love Aikawa also released his Zanpakutō.
He brandished a massive spiked mace like a giant cactus, wrapped it in fierce Reiatsu, and smashed all the beautiful blades of Senbonzakura out of the air.
...
"One, two, three captains."
"Hahahaha, let's fight!"
"Don't hold back with me—come at me all at once if you want!"
...
If you enjoyed this book, don't forget to vote with a Power Stone and take a few seconds to leave a review
Join my P@treon for advance chapters and special content!
[email protected]/Ren_Saga