Chapter 357 - 357 The 3rd Seat of The 10th Division Appears!
Late night.
A group of men in black masks gathered outside the 10th Division. The leader was none other than the head of the Kasumioji Clan's assassination squad, Nukui Hanza.
"Listen up. Our main task is to find Kasumioji Rurichiyo and bring her back to the Kasumioji Residence. This is not a battle with the 10th Division. So be extremely careful not to be discovered by them."
Nukui commanded his subordinates.
"Yes, Chief!" The group responded quietly.
Nukui suddenly spoke again: "If, by any chance, you are discovered by the 10th Division and cannot bring Kasumioji Rurichiyo back..."
"Then kill her!"
"Yes!"
Without any hesitation, all the masked men nodded in agreement.
They were death warriors, the Kasumioji Clan's death warriors. But now, ordered to kill the princess of the Kasumioji Clan, they showed no opposition.
Although, strictly speaking, the Kasumioji Clan's death warriors should be loyal to Rurichiyo, the legitimate heir, they had long ago been won over by Kumoi.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
All the masked men vaulted over the 10th Division's wall in an instant, infiltrating the division. They then dispersed to search for Rurichiyo's location.
Unfortunately, the 10th Division was heavily guarded. They didn't have an item like Rurichiyo's that could suppress Reiatsu. Moreover, after Rurichiyo and her group arrived, Toshiro had specifically strengthened the defenses.
So, shortly after Nukui and his men infiltrated, they were discovered by the 10th Division.
"Stop, there's a situation!" A clean-cut Shinigami suddenly said.
"3rd Seat Sojiro, what's wrong?" A 10th Division's Shinigami looked at Kusaka Sojiro, who had suddenly stopped.
That's right, it was Kusaka Sojiro. Ever since graduating from the Shin'o Academy and joining the 10th Division, he had been serving under Toshiro.
Now, decades later, Sojiro had long achieved Bankai and become a Captain-level expert, holding the position of 3rd Seat alongside Ashido, whom Toshiro had brought back from Hueco Mundo.
Initially, when Sojiro joined the 10th Division, Toshiro's feelings towards his existence were very complex.
After all, in the Bleach Movie, Sojiro was a character who had a 'love-hate relationship' with 'himself'.
But naturally, such a thing wouldn't happen in this world. Furthermore, Sojiro had always been loyal to Toshiro, even willing to give up the chance to become a Captain rather than leave his service. Therefore, Toshiro trusted him deeply and regarded him as a confidant.
Their relationship was like that of Yamamoto and Sasakibe Chojiro.
After Rurichiyo came to the 10th Division this time, although Toshiro didn't think Kumoi would dare to cause trouble, to be on the safe side, he had Sojiro and Ashido each lead teams responsible for the division's defense every day.
With Captain-level experts personally in charge of defense, infiltrating the 10th Division undetected would undoubtedly be very difficult.
Today, it happened to be Sojiro's turn to be responsible for the 10th Division's defense. He was originally patrolling with his team when Nukui and his men infiltrated, and he immediately sensed them.
"Everyone, attention! Someone has broken into our 10th Division!" Sojiro shouted loudly.
"What?!"
"Who would dare to break into our 10th Division?"
Everyone discussed animatedly.
"Calm down! Whoever it is, since they dared to break into our 10th Division, we'll make sure they regret it!"
"Okazaki, go notify everyone. The rest of you, follow me to capture the intruders!"
Sojiro sent one member to alert the rest of the 10th Division, then led the remaining men towards Nukui's location.
"This way?"
Nukui carefully sensed Rurichiyo's Reiatsu and immediately headed quickly in one direction.
Although Rurichiyo wore a bamboo hat that suppressed her Reiatsu, she couldn't possibly wear it while sleeping at night. So Nukui immediately detected her Reiatsu's location.
…
Outside a guest room in the 10th Division.
"These two again." Nukui, hidden in the shadows, looked coldly at Kenryu and Enryu guarding outside Rurichiyo's door.
'What to do? If those two are standing guard, quietly taking Kasumioji Rurichiyo away... might be troublesome.'
Nukui was momentarily troubled. Although defeating Kenryu and Enryu wasn't difficult for him, if he caused a commotion and alerted the 10th Division's Shinigami, it would be troublesome.
However, just then, the sounds of shouting and fighting erupted in the distance.
'What?! Are we already exposed?!' Nukui's expression changed.
Nukui Hanza could hear the commotion from afar, and so naturally could Kenryu and Enryu guarding Rurichiyo's door.
"Hmm? What's going on?" Kenryu exclaimed in alarm.
"Enryu, be careful. It seems something's happening in the 10th Division." Kenryu warned Enryu.
'At this point, I have no choice but to forcibly enter that girl's room and take her away.'
With that, Nukui Hanza drew a strangely shaped sword from his back.
The hilt had a mirror embedded in it, looking very bizarre. This was Nukui's Bakkoto.
Then Nukui's Bakkoto suddenly came alive. The hilt writhed, growing flesh-colored tentacles that entwined around his hand.
"Hmph..."
Nukui glanced at his Bakkoto, then suddenly charged out from the shadows.
Slash!
Nukui slashed at Kenryu.
"What?!"
Seeing Nukui suddenly appear and attack him, Kenryu quickly sidestepped while simultaneously gripping the Zanpakuto at his waist, intending to draw and counterattack.
Shhkk!
Although Kenryu dodged at the last moment, he still received a shallow cut from Nukui.
However, Nukui's strength was originally superior to Kenryu's, and with the surprise attack, the fact that Kenryu wasn't severely wounded or killed was thanks to the earlier shouting that had heightened his alertness.
While Nukui was attacking Kenryu, Enryu reacted and immediately drew his sword to strike at Nukui.
Nukui was forced to parry.
Clang!
Despite Enryu attacking, he was pushed back by Nukui.
As soon as Enryu retreated, Kenryu coordinated and attacked again.
"Hmph!"
Nukui suddenly snorted coldly and instantly aimed the mirror on his Bakkoto at Kenryu.
Then, a blindingly intense light suddenly blazed from the Bakkoto's mirror.
Illuminated by the light, Kenryu's consciousness instantly wavered. He stood frozen on the spot.
This was a perfect opportunity for Nukui to kill Kenryu, but he paid him no mind.
Bang!
Nukui kicked the door open, ready to barge in.
Slash!
A Kenatsu suddenly shot at Nukui from behind. Its power was such that if he ignored it, he would surely be killed on the spot.
Sensing the danger, Nukui immediately turned and slashed out a Kenatsu to meet it.
Boom!
The two Kenatsus cancelled each other out.
At that moment, a figure arrived instantly.
"Who goes there?!" Nukui shouted loudly.
"3rd Seat of the 10th Division… Kusaka Sojiro!" The newcomer replied clearly.