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An Espada civil war?
On the outskirts of the battlefield, Harribel's gaze was somewhat peculiar.
Although the person they were fighting was a Shinigami, this battle gave her the feeling of an Espada civil war.
Hierro, Cero, and even Sonido… now, that Shinigami had even used Sonido.
"Are we just going to stand here and watch?"
Tier Harribel asked Harribel beside her. If possible, she hoped to participate more closely, so that if anything unexpected happened, she could help Ishikawa escape immediately.
"Do not approach Baraggan."
Harribel shook her head: "Baraggan's power of decay is extremely terrifying; even he cannot freely control its effects. If we rashly approach, we will only be dragged into it." After speaking, she glanced at Grimmjow beside her:
"So, you should also give up on interfering."
"Tch~!"
Grimmjow snorted, then seemed to think of something, a wild smile appearing on his face: "But is this really okay? If you don't stop Baraggan, that Shinigami will die soon. Won't you feel unwilling if you can't complete your Lord Aizen's mission?"
Harribel glanced at him, not replying, but instead turned her gaze beyond the basin.
There…
Around Szayelaporro, many strange instruments had appeared at some point. These were all artificial Arrancar subordinates of Szayelaporro, sent to him by some unknown method.
Harribel's brows furrowed tighter and tighter; she couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.
What she originally thought would be a simple mission, turned out to be…
Among the Espada who came here, besides herself and Tier Harribel beside her, and the deceased Zommari, the others basically had their own agendas, with no cooperation between them whatsoever, even hindering each other.
She truly couldn't understand why Lord Aizen, who understood the Espada's personalities so well, would send such a team to the Soul Society.
If Starrk or Ulquiorra had come, this operation would probably have ended long ago.
Even…
Even if only she had come alone, the situation might be better than it was now.
Zommari, who, like her, wanted to complete Lord Aizen's mission, was dead.
Nnoitra and the Shinigami who came later, had gone off to who knows where.
As for Szayelaporro… Harribel highly suspected that if they fought for another ten minutes, he might move his entire laboratory here.
Grimmjow was single-mindedly focused on fighting the opponent under equal conditions.
Although Tier Harribel beside her constantly remembered the purpose of their visit, her several attacks not only failed to cause trouble for the opponent but also caused her to miss opportunities to critically injure Ishikawa several times due to being too reckless.
Finally, Baraggan was single-mindedly determined to kill the opponent, completely disregarding Lord Aizen's mission; he even used his Release Form, isolating them outside, preventing them from approaching that Shinigami.
Ultimately.
The biggest mistake was still her own.
Regret appeared in Harribel's eyes. With so many Espada present, she had never considered the possibility of 'mission failure'.
If she hadn't underestimated the opponent from the start, and had used her Release Form as soon as they engaged, the situation wouldn't have escalated to this point.
… …
Reinforcements!
Ishikawa had been in the Soul Society for so many years, and this was the first time he regretted opening the Everything Store so far from the Seireitei.
Originally, he thought that by staying in District 38, even if some people hidden in the shadows of the Seireitei acted prematurely, it wouldn't affect him.
But the result was…
If something happened to him, it also wouldn't affect the Seireitei.
Five and a half minutes.
Five and a half minutes had passed since the enemy arrived in the Soul Society.
Yet there was no sign of reinforcements arriving.
As for the villains of the Everything Store…
They weren't absent; it was just that the initial group who arrived disappeared before Ishikawa even noticed.
Because when they rushed over, it was precisely when Baraggan was using his Release Form. Ishikawa's sensory nerves detected their arrival, and then… detected their disappearance… well, their disappearance in a biological sense.
From beginning to end, Ishikawa didn't even see their shadows.
It was as if rainwater had fallen into the ocean waves, dying silently, without a ripple…
Dragging Ishida Soken, the black flames behind him pressed closer and closer. No matter how Ishikawa tried, he couldn't create distance from the flames; instead, they were approaching him at an extremely fast pace.
If reinforcements didn't arrive soon, then he and Ishida Soken might run fast enough to catch up with that first batch of villains.
Hmm?
Just then, Ishikawa's eyes suddenly lit up, and he abruptly looked up ahead.
He saw a slightly plump figure rushing towards him at a speed completely inconsistent with his physique.
Buzz—
The figure passed through the suburban path, carrying a meteor hammer, and upon seeing Ishikawa, shouted boisterously:
"Ishikawa, your big brother is here to support you!"
Ōmaeda's words almost made Ishikawa cry, but then…
Ishikawa felt that something was wrong.
Because…
Only Ōmaeda??
Were the other captains hidden?
But why was his sensory nerve completely unresponsive?
On the other side, Ōmaeda finally saw the situation in the field, as well as the black flames like a surging wave chasing behind Ishikawa. His steps towards Ishikawa suddenly paused, and he instead shouted: "Hold on, before I came, I already had the Patrol Corps send out the message. The other captains should arrive very soon."
After he finished speaking, Ōmaeda's body honestly took a few steps back.
"…" Ishikawa.
"…" Ishida Soken.
You dead pig!!
Ishikawa's face instantly darkened. The next second, he directly charged towards Ōmaeda.
"Hey hey— Don't come over here!"
Ōmaeda's face instantly turned pale at the sight, because as Ishikawa turned, the sweeping black flames also turned, smashing towards his direction.
Although he didn't know exactly what those black flames were, something that could chase Ishikawa, making him scurry around with a pale face, was definitely not something he could withstand.
Ōmaeda instinctively wanted to turn and leave, but just then, Ishikawa, while running, suddenly stomped on the ground and let out a soft cry.
"Earth Wall!"
Boom—
A crashing sound came from behind Ōmaeda. He instinctively turned his head, and the scene that met his eyes made his face change drastically.
Because behind him, a small wisp of black flames had actually crashed into a suddenly rising earthen wall.
And that nearly one-meter-thick earthen wall was instantly corroded away in front of the black flames.
Before Ōmaeda could figure out what had happened, he felt his body lighten, and he was suddenly lifted up.
"Ishi… Ishi-nii…"
"Shut up!!"
Ishikawa, holding Ishida Soken with one hand and carrying Ōmaeda with the other, pushed both Shunpo and Sonido to their limits at this moment.
But the black flames had formed a sea of fire within these short ten-odd seconds. The flickering flames surged like waves, completely surrounding all exits around the three of them, and were gradually shrinking!
"Earth Wall…"
Ishikawa's feet repeatedly tapped the ground, and dozens of ten-meter-high earthen walls emerged, forming a continuous barrier to hinder the shrinking sea of fire.
"You pig? Can't you tell what's going on? Where are the reinforcements?"
Ishikawa seized the opportunity to scold Ōmaeda on his shoulder with a dark face.
"How would I know?!"
Ōmaeda's face was pale, and he said urgently: "When I was patrolling the East Gate, I happened to run into your Ganju asking for help. Then I asked him what enemy you encountered, and he only told me you were in danger, saying that Arrancar were attacking the Everything Store… So after I had the Patrol Corps members go for reinforcements, I immediately rushed over… thinking I could help you with something…"
By the end, Ōmaeda's voice gradually faded.
Ishikawa's mouth twitched slightly. When he told Ganju to go for reinforcements, he only said that Arrancar had attacked. Ganju had no idea how many Arrancar there were…
However…
Your immediate support truly moved me.
But coming alone, aren't you just causing me trouble!?
"Where's Captain Soi Fon?"
"She… she went to the Shiba…"
"…" Ishikawa.
That pervert!!
If the situation wasn't so critical, Ishikawa would have wanted to stomp his feet and curse.
The surrounding earthen walls were collapsing layer by layer, and Ishikawa was constantly replenishing them.
In the blink of an eye, the area where the three of them could move was less than five meters.
Gritting his teeth slightly, Ishikawa glanced upwards, then leaped, using the surrounding earthen walls as footholds, jumping upwards, hoping to break out from above.
But…
Upon reaching the top, the scene that met his eyes made Ishikawa's face turn incredibly grim.
Looking out, he saw that the area around the earthen walls was completely covered in a sea of fire.
Baraggan stood not far away, his skeletal face revealing a sense of pleasure, as if he were a cat toying with a mouse, gradually cornering the mouse and feeling excited by the despair on its face.
He enjoyed watching his opponents despair bit by bit.
His long life had given Baraggan great patience; tormenting his opponents like this, little by little, always brought relief to his numb spirit!
"Watch your head."
Baraggan spoke, warning him.
Ishikawa looked up, only to see black flames swirling down like mist from above.
Seeing this, Ishikawa stomped on the earthen wall and dropped back down.
As he fell, he slapped the earthen wall, and the surrounding walls instantly collapsed, sealing off the top.
Current EXP: 12050
Desperation.
Even though Ishikawa hadn't stopped releasing Kido, he already knew in his heart that he had nowhere left to run.
Even if he used Sonido to leave, he would only plunge headfirst into the sea of fire outside.
Ishikawa had tried to use the Black Portal to open a Black Portal after Baraggan used his Release Form, he had already tried.
But…
Sealed!
When Urahara Kisuke arrived in the Soul Society and then returned to the Human World, the space in this area was already sealed.
Ishikawa didn't know who did it specifically.
Perhaps it was Szayelaporro's doing, or perhaps Aizen sealed the space to prevent Urahara Kisuke from returning to the Human World… Besides that, there was actually another possibility, which was that the Shinigami Research and Development Institute performed the sealing.
Among these three possibilities, the last one was the most likely.
It wasn't directed at Ishikawa, after all, no one in the Soul Society knew that Ishikawa could tear space like a Hollow.
It wasn't uncommon for the Shinigami Research and Development Institute to seal the space of a certain area.
When Shinigami fought Hollow, to prevent the scope of impact from expanding and the Hollow from escaping, the Shinigami involved would submit an application, and then the space of the entire area would be sealed.
The reason Urahara Kisuke was so slow to arrive should also be due to the space being sealed.
If it was indeed done by the Seireitei, then their purpose should have been to prevent these Espada from escaping back to Hueco Mundo.
Although…
Unintentionally, it caused Ishikawa to lose his last chance to escape.
Ishikawa looked at Ishida Soken, then at the pale-faced Ōmaeda.
Why did he have to die with an old man and a fat pig!?
"Ah!"
Ōmaeda's scream came. Ishikawa followed his gaze and saw a wisp of black flame had already penetrated the earthen wall.
As soon as this wisp of flame appeared, it rapidly expanded like a prairie fire.
And just at this critical moment, Ishikawa suddenly felt the soil beneath his feet loosen, and then his eyes lit up.
"Shiba Style Stone Wave Technique: Ultimate Cascading Stone Wave Fan!"
A fierce shout came. The ground beneath the three of them suddenly turned into a sea of sand, flowing downwards, and the three of them on top of the sand sea also fell down!
As Ishikawa fell, he reacted immediately, his hands blurring into afterimages, constantly slapping the walls around the passage.
Boom boom boom…
Layer after layer of earthen walls appeared above his head, sealing off the hole they had fallen through.
The three of them fell nearly ten meters before their feet touched solid ground. The scene that met their eyes made all three, including Ishikawa, involuntarily freeze.
Looking forward from their landing spot, what met their eyes was an incredibly wide underground tunnel.
Villains were rapidly running through the tunnel, relaying each other, transporting the sand-transformed soil from Ganju outwards.
And in front of Ishikawa, Ganju sat on the ground, his face pale, constantly gasping for breath.
"Ganju!"
Ishikawa's cry of "Ganju" was truly heartfelt.
Ganju grinned, opened his mouth, but didn't even have the strength to speak.
"Everyone, leave here!"
Without further ado, Ishikawa directly shouted to everyone in the tunnel.
The villains, hearing this, also didn't waste words and turned to run outside.
When they were previously blocked outside by the black flames, they had already witnessed the terror of those black flames. Seeing the three of them fall down, they all ran towards the outside of the tunnel.
Ishikawa put down Ishida Soken and Ōmaeda, then picked up the limply collapsed Ganju on his back, and ran all the way to the end of the tunnel!
Boom—
Just then, a loud explosion suddenly came from above, obviously indicating that their survival had been discovered.
Ishikawa looked at the dense crowd of villains in the passage, and disregarding their feelings, he drew a circle in the air in front of him while running, and chanted rapidly:
"Bakudo #39: Enkosen!"
A golden-yellow circular shield instantly filled the tunnel. Ishikawa pressed one hand against the back of the circular shield, then stomped his foot hard on the ground.
Boom—
"What the heck?!"
"Boss~ wait… don't…"
"…"
Ignoring the wails of the villains, Ishikawa, like a subway train, quickly caught up with each villain, squeezing them into a mass, and pushing them straight towards the end of the passage.
They could still wail now, but if they continued to delay, they wouldn't even be able to wail.
Almost at the same time Ishikawa pushed the villains and sped out.
Rumble…
A loud noise came from behind Ishikawa, and the passage behind him rapidly collapsed.
Ishikawa gritted his teeth, lightning surged around him, and his speed increased sharply again!
Finally…
Boom!
Accompanied by countless wails, dense crowds of villains shot up into the sky, allowing Ishikawa and the others to see sunlight again.
Without time to think, Ishikawa directly took Ganju and rushed out of the hole.
This is…
The backyard!
Rushing out of the tunnel, what met Ishikawa's eyes was indeed the backyard of his Everything Store.
Without looking at the villains falling from the sky like dumplings, Ishikawa turned his head to look behind him, only to see several figures rapidly approaching this area.
Seeing this, Ishikawa instinctively wanted to continue fleeing.
But…
Buzz buzz buzz!
Just then, the transfer stakes in the courtyard suddenly lit up, and figures appeared within the transfer stakes.
This made Ishikawa pause his steps, and he instead looked directly at the approaching figures.
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