On the rooftop of the 8th Division barracks, Kyōraku Shunsui lay on his side, leisurely sipping sake.
"What a fine day. A day like this is meant for rest," he said, turning his head toward the bespectacled woman who had appeared without warning. "Miss Takagi, care for a drink?"
She rolled her eyes. The captain had thrown all the work onto the vice-captains and seated officers—how could he be this carefree?
"Captain Kyōraku, the information unit from the Dangai has an emergency report!" she said, handing over the Hell Butterfly communicator.
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"Tch... No sense of romance. Always work, even at a time like this," Kyōraku sighed, taking the communicator and speaking slowly. "Hello, hello—this is Kyōraku Shunsui."
"Captain Kyōraku!" a panicked voice replied.
"What's the matter?"
"There's an abnormal Reiatsu reading in the Dangai... According to the Reiatsu wave record... the source appears to be from former Captain Katori Batsu'unsai!"
"What?!"
Kyōraku sat upright, stunned. Why would Katori Batsu'unsai go to the Dangai?
That place was anything but safe. In her current state, if she ran into a Kōtotsu, she might not make it out alive.
Feeling uneasy, Kyōraku quickly donned his straw hat and entered the Dangai through the Senkaimon.
As he moved, he contacted the surveillance team via communicator. "Have you located Captain Katori?"
"No, her speed is incredible! We only detected a spike in Reiatsu and are heading that way now!"
The intelligence unit, part of the 8th Division, had once been led by Katori Batsu'unsai—so naturally, they were deeply concerned.
"Keep pursuing. I'll be there right away!" Kyōraku ordered.
A moment later, the communicator crackled again with a new message: "We've encountered Captain Katori. By the Soul King! Is she really injured?"
Kyōraku quickly asked, "What happened? What's going on over there?"
Trying to suppress their panic, the agent replied, "This is Team Three. We're responsible for monitoring the exiles of the Kasumioji family!"
"We tried to stop Captain Katori, but she was too fast to catch!"
Kyōraku's heart sank. "What is she doing right now?"
"...She's… slaughtering the exiles!"
Kyōraku's face darkened. 'I knew it would be something like this.'
'That woman has a death wish!'
He pushed his speed to the limit, rushing toward the scene.
When he arrived beside the intelligence squad, he clapped one member on the shoulder. "Why are you shaking?"
The man jolted like a startled cat, visibly trembling.
Seeing that it was only Captain Kyōraku, he let out a breath of relief. "She... she's terrifying!"
"What?"
"I mean… Captain Katori's presence… it's overwhelming!"
The younger Shinigami, who had only joined the 8th Division in the past decade, had never witnessed Katori in combat before. Just recalling her aura made him shiver like he had Parkinson's.
He pointed ahead. "She's just up there!"
Kyōraku raised a hand in acknowledgment. As if he couldn't sense such a monstrous Reiatsu?
Still, something puzzled him. He had asked Unohana Retsu about Katori's condition—not long ago, she shouldn't have been able to fight at this level. So how could she be exerting such terrifying spiritual pressure?
Kyōraku stepped forward and soon saw several corpses in the corridor of the Dangai.
Each had been killed in a single blow.
Kyōraku instantly recognized the cause of death.
Then he saw her—Katori Batsu'unsai, standing before a group of a dozen surviving exiles.
"What a terrifying presence..." Kyōraku murmured.
That overwhelming killing intent and crushing Reiatsu had fused into an oppressive aura that made the air itself freeze.
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a distant rumble echoed from the darkness within the Dangai.
"Not good!" Kyōraku's eyes widened.
The Kōtotsu was coming!
"Not slacking off today, Shunsui? You got here pretty fast," Katori turned, surprised.
"Captain Katori, we need to leave now!" Kyōraku shouted. "The Kōtotsu is almost here!"
"No need to trouble yourself," Katori smiled softly.
She raised her Zanpakutō, pressing the blade between her bent index and middle fingers.
Two desperate exiles, seeing her back turned, made their move to ambush her.
Katori released her grip on the blade.
In a flash, the Zanpakutō swung.
A stream of Flowlight shot down the Dangai and disappeared into the darkness.
The two exiles froze in place.
BOOM—an earthshaking crash came from the distance.
Moments later, the sound of the Kōtotsu receded.
The two exiles collapsed—each cleanly severed in two.
"A terrifying woman…" Kyōraku adjusted his hat to hide the astonishment in his eyes.
That woman had just batted away the onrushing Kōtotsu with a single strike!
And from the look of her Zanpakutō, she hadn't even released her Shikai.
A captain of the First Generation—truly terrifying.
"Captain Katori, what are you doing here?" Kyōraku asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" she replied casually.
"You do realize these Kasumioji were sentenced to exile by Central 46, don't you? If you act on your own, you'll be summoned for questioning," Kyōraku said, exasperated.
The exiling of the Kasumioji clan had been a Central 46 ruling. Until they entered the Jōkoku zone, the intelligence team was responsible for guarding them—so Kyōraku had no choice but to intervene.
"Leave the roots, and weeds will grow again with the spring wind. Some of these Kasumioji exiles snuck back into the Soul Society and attacked Nanatsuki in the back mountain."
Katori waved dismissively. "Let it go. Pretend you didn't see. I'm a dying woman—what could Central 46 do to me?"
Then she abruptly changed her mind. "Actually, now that you're here, I can't let you pretend you saw nothing."
She raised her Zanpakutō.
"Right now, it's as if you tried to stop me, but failed."
"Release: Shichō Nenbutsu."
Katori's Zanpakutō vanished from view.
A moment later, the sound of wooden fish echoed through the air.
Donk… donk… donk… donk…
Then came the layered hum of Buddhist chanting.
The exiles were struck by an invisible force the moment they heard the sound.
SPLURT—a dozen heads flew into the air at once, blood splashing across the Dangai's black walls in thick crimson arcs.
"If you hear the chanting, you must bear the strike. Even sealing your ears with Reiatsu won't help. I really couldn't stop you, huh…" Kyōraku lowered his hat again to block the sight.
"See? That's exactly what you can tell Central 46." Katori summoned her Zanpakutō again—still spotless, not a single drop of blood on the blade.
"Time's short. Step aside. I still need to fight Nanatsuki."
She sheathed her sword and gently pushed past Kyōraku.
"He's grown so much… I haven't had the chance to truly savor it yet."