Only these thousand-year-old captains could vaguely realize how hidden and unfathomable Shiroha was.
The strength that Shiroha had displayed, which surpassed that of the captains, was actually just the tip of the iceberg of his powerful strength.
His power had even exceeded the limit that ordinary captains could imagine.
Therefore, ordinary Shinigamis could not clearly recognize how terrifying Shiroha's true strength was.
Although it sounded incredible, this was the fact.
How could a man like this be bound by the order of the mere Central 46?
After sensing the sudden spiritual pressure, all the captains raised their heads and squinted at the orange-haired boy who fell from the sky.
The captain-level spiritual pressure was still very unfamiliar.
They instantly guessed the identity of the person who had arrived.
He was so powerful at such a young age, and his talent was truly impressive.
It was a pity that this reckless intruder had chosen the wrong opponents. He dared to be so domineering in front of the captains and the Sōkyoku.
He was looking for death!
At this time, Ichigo was full of vigor as he swung Zangetsu to block the attack of the Sōkyoku.
Seeing this, several veteran captains were shocked.
Although they did not take the Sōkyoku seriously, they knew that ordinary captains could not accomplish this feat.
This orange-haired boy was really something.
Suì-Fēng even exclaimed, "He actually blocked the Sōkyoku with his Zanpakutō! This is impossible! The power of the Sōkyoku is equivalent to the power of a million Zanpakutō combined."
After her voice fell, the Sōkyoku retreated a few steps and reorganized its offensive.
This time, the flames on its body were more terrifying, and the seal on its body was partially lifted again.
Seeing this scene, Rukia hurriedly urged Ichigo not to die in vain and to leave quickly.
Facing the returning Sōkyoku, Ichigo was not afraid at all. He rushed forward with Zangetsu in both hands.
He wanted to compete with this flaming monster bird.
At this moment, Jūshirō Ukitake and Kiyone Kotetsu appeared in front of everyone with a set of strange equipment.
The moment they landed, two chains extended from the equipment in their hands and directly locked the flying Sōkyoku's spear.
The two chains looked ordinary, but they seemed to naturally restrain the Sōkyoku.
The originally arrogant and powerful flaming phoenix suddenly stopped in mid-air, unable to move at all.
Ichigo on the execution stand was startled and turned to look at Ukitake, whom he had met once before.
While helping to secure the chains, Shunsui Kyōraku complained happily, "Why are you here so late? I've been waiting for so long!"
If Ukitake hadn't come, he would have had to fight.
He had been sweating just moments ago.
"Sorry, it took a little time to remove the seal," Ukitake replied while not daring to distract himself.
The released Sōkyoku and Captain Yamamoto put too much pressure on him.
Seeing the released Sōkyoku locked in place, Captain Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto turned to look at his two disciples with a shocked expression.
His tightly closed eyes opened, as if flames were gushing out.
However, his body was like the Sōkyoku in the sky—motionless.
Byakuya and Unohana also seemed rooted to the spot, and they did not move at all. Suì-Fēng, who had previously claimed that she would carry out orders to the end and kill whoever she saw, ordered Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda in a classic way:
"That is the sacred weapon of the Shihōin family. They want to destroy the Sōkyoku. Go and stop them!"
Her voice was so loud that her feet seemed welded to the ground.
A typical case of "all thunder, no rain."
"You want me to stop Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake?" Ōmaeda pointed at his nose, looking confused.
His expression at this moment was very similar to a terrified underling who had been ordered to accomplish an impossible task.
He didn't want to get involved in this matter in the first place, let alone deal with two veteran captains at the same time.
This was no longer a question of effort.
Even if he tried his best, he couldn't stop them.
Captain Suì-Fēng thought too highly of him—she was going to get him killed!
Just because of this delay, the huge flaming phoenix in the sky had been broken into pieces by the artifact of the Shihōin family.
Flames fell like meteors.
Faced with the high-temperature flames, the captains did not move, while several lieutenants and ordinary Shinigamis panicked and quickly dodged. On the extremely tall execution stand, Ichigo, who witnessed this scene, thought to himself: "Perfect opportunity!"
He directly activated the "Spinning Sword Ichigo" mode, twirling the Shikai Zangetsu to accumulate strength and spiritual pressure.
After the Zangetsu blade condensed a huge spiritual pressure, he plunged the tip of the blade into the Sōkyoku execution stand: "Getsuga Tenshō!" The highly condensed spiritual pressure exploded instantly, forming a highly destructive shock wave that tore the huge execution stand apart.
And Rukia, who had been tied to the execution stand and had been yelling for Ichigo to escape, finally regained her freedom.
After doing all this, Ichigo stretched out his hand confidently, trying to catch the falling Rukia.
However, a white shadow flashed, and he touched nothing.
Ichigo was stunned. "What's going on? How can there be someone intercepting? This is not according to the script!"
When all the captains present saw the true face of the white shadow, their expressions changed.
The Captain-Commander and Unohana paused, and their pupils shrank slightly.
Kyōraku and Ukitake were surprised. Suì-Fēng and Byakuya looked solemn, thinking to themselves: "Here comes the troublesome person!"
Several captains knew that Shiroha might take action, but they didn't know when he would act, nor did they know how to respond.
At this time, Shiroha, who had appeared halfway through, hugged Rukia and gave Ichigo a thumbs up. "You did a great job. I'll take Rukia! I'll leave these captains to you! Come on, young man, I'm optimistic about you!"
"Commander Uehara, is that you!?" Seeing that familiar face, Ichigo almost had a PTSD attack.
Looking at Rukia, who was staring at Shiroha, he felt like an outsider.
Although he was very happy that Rukia was safe, he always felt that something was wrong.
After working so hard, all his work look like take by the other.
Fortunately, the outcome was good.
But soon, Ichigo noticed that several captains around him seemed to have unfriendly eyes.
Thinking of Shiroha's formidable strength, he hurriedly asked for help: "There are so many captains, I can't handle it alone."
"It's okay, just because of your handsome face, these captains won't kill you." As soon as the voice fell, Shiroha disappeared with Rukia.
"Handsome face?" Ichigo looked puzzled and thought to himself, "I won't be killed just because I'm handsome. Are these captains you're talking about serious?"
Next to him, Kyōraku exclaimed, "Ah? Brother Shiroha actually left, how could this happen? I don't want to face the wrath of old man Yama alone!"
Ukitake smiled bitterly. "It seems that the teacher is really angry!"
After Rukia was rescued, the faces of several captains who were originally calm and motionless changed and became serious.
The atmosphere shifted!
The momentum of Yamamoto also changed.
Under the strong spiritual pressure, the air around was trembling.
He looked at his two disobedient students with a stern expression. "I never thought you would do such a thing. You can't teach someone a lesson with words if they make such a mistake. Are you ready?"
"If that's the case, then there's nothing we can do." Kyōraku flashed away without a second thought. "Ukitake, stop looking, run away!"
"I'm sorry, teacher!" Ukitake smiled helplessly and disappeared.
"Traitors..." The figure of Yamamoto vanished from the spot and chased after the two.
On Sōkyoku Hill, Suì-Fēng wanted to take down Ichigo, but was taken away from the battlefield by her "old mentor" Yoruichi Shihōin who suddenly appeared.
In the dense forest, two entangled figures started a "clothes-tearing" battle.
Ichigo also contributed a famous scene. He knocked down three Vice Captains—Kiyone Kotetsu, Marechiyo Ōmaeda, and Chōjirō Sasakibe—with just three punches and two kicks.
He didn't even use his Zanpakutō, while the three Vice Captains had released their Shikai.
The difference in strength was astounding.
Who would have thought that the old vice-captain who would later backstab Yhwach would be so ineffective now.
But in fact, Sasakibe was not very motivated to fight, and it was almost an act.
Shiroha had said before that Ichigo could "show his face" in the Soul Society, which seemed outrageous at the time.
Meanwhile, Unohana also began to "slow down," and with her Shikai Zanpakutō released, she took the three Vice Captains to the Fourth Division for treatment.
When she saw Shiroha appear, she figured it out.
This was a conspiracy from beginning to end, and someone was secretly plotting against the Gotei 13.
In this case, Aizen, who seemed to have faked his death, was very suspicious.
At this time, only Ichigo and the expressionless Byakuya remained on Sōkyoku Hill.
The two began their fateful duel.
...
"Teacher, I didn't expect you to really come to save me!" At this moment, Rukia felt extremely relieved.
Her confusion and anxiety disappeared when she saw Shiroha.
Because she trusted her teacher's judgment more than her own.
Since the teacher rescued her, it proved that she was still worth saving and was not hopeless.
"What are you thinking about!" Shiroha slapped Rukia and said unhappily, "You are all my capable disciples. How could I not save you? The reason I came here just now is to let you know how ridiculous your fantasies are."
Although what he said was an important reason, it was mainly because he was busy watching dramas and enjoying life.
These days, he had enjoyed the joy of binge-watching again.
Although it was a little late, you couldn't say he hadn't come at all, right?
"Teacher, you..." Rukia covered her cheek, her face flushed.
Now she was reborn and began to walk out of the shadow of the past.
Along the way, she had experienced many losses.
She was afraid that the people around her would leave her, just like her childhood friends and Kaien Shiba.
But her teacher was different—he would never leave her.
At this time, Shiroha sensed the situation in the distance, frowned slightly, and said to Rukia, "You stay here and don't move. No matter who tells you, don't leave this barrier! I'll be back soon!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and released his spiritual pressure: "Five Elements Barrier!"
A majestic, heavy, and terrifying aura enveloped the world.
Although this Five Elements Barrier was not perfect, it still had strong protective capabilities.
With Aizen's caution, he would definitely not step into the barrier, but would only try to remove it from the outside.
In this way, the difficulty of breaking it was greatly reduced.
But even so, Aizen couldn't break this barrier easily.
Because of the fusion of Hado and the power of Unlimited Blade Works, Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu would not work against it.
This arrangement wasn't foolproof, but it was enough to give Aizen a hard time.
After setting up the barrier, Shiroha used Flash Step and rushed away.
"Hey!?" Rukia was confused.
After that, she stayed where she was, not moving.
Her spiritual power had not fully recovered, and even if she stepped out of the barrier, she would only become a burden.
Therefore, Rukia made up her mind not to leave the barrier no matter what.
...
"Brother Shiroha, I knew you wouldn't be so ruthless!" Kyōraku looked at Shiroha who was rushing towards him, his face lighting up.
He and Ukitake were fleeing in panic.
They had to run!
Anyone being chased by a "volcano" that was about to erupt would try their best to escape.
Shiroha shrugged his shoulders and did not explain why he came here, because the three of them were being used by Aizen.
The three Millennium Captains did not realize that they were affected by Kyōka Suigetsu.
So the three of them were heading straight in the direction of Rukia.
Even if Shiroha had not come, old man Yama would find him.
Using old man Yama to contain him and at the same time test his trump card—this was Aizen's conspiracy.
The poor strongest Shinigami had become someone else's chess piece without knowing it.
Originally, Shiroha wanted to fight with old man Yama.
Since Aizen wanted to test his strength, he might as well reveal it.
At this moment, a wave of scorching air broke through the atmosphere. The incomparably hot spiritual pressure pressed down like a mountain.
A white shadow flashed, and Captain-Commander Yamamoto wearing a white haori appeared before the three people.
His tall body was like an insurmountable mountain, standing with amazing momentum, and he seemed to be getting stronger with age!
Seeing this scene, Ukitake smiled bitterly, "Commander Uehara, you shouldn't have come. Kyōraku and I will hold the teacher back, you go first!"
He didn't doubt Shiroha's strength—he was worried about Rukia.
Although Ukitake didn't know what conspiracy the unknown enemy hiding in the dark had planned.
But Rukia was undoubtedly the key, so she couldn't be left alone.
"It's useless for anyone to come! I'll deal with you first, and it won't be too late to execute Rukia later."
The aura of Yamamoto became more and more terrifying, and the space around him became distorted.
Ukitake instantly felt something was wrong.
Where was Kyōraku?
Where had such a large man gone?
It turned out that Kyōraku had taken a step back some time ago, "protecting" himself and Shiroha.
Noticing Ukitake's condemning and disappointed look, Kyōraku smiled sheepishly, coughed lightly and explained, "I did this to avoid making the situation worse! Besides, it is really difficult for us to attack the old man. We can just help Brother Shiroha to outwit him."
At this point, Kyōraku put his hands to his mouth in a trumpet shape. "Come on, Brother Shiroha! He's old and can't do it anymore! I'm counting on you!"
He really thought highly of Shiroha.
Because he knew that this brother's strength and talent were extremely powerful, like a demon.
Besides, Shiroha never fought a battle without confidence.
Since he had asked for a fight, at least he wouldn't lose too badly.
Neither Ukitake nor Kyōraku thought that Shiroha could win.
Because they knew how strong their teacher was, and how terrifying the flame of Ryūjin Jakka could be.
Seeing that the teacher's face was getting darker and darker, Ukitake was also a little nervous.
He hesitated for a moment, and also took a step back, leaving the battlefield to the two of them.
"Captain, let's do it!" Facing the terrifying spiritual pressure of his opponent, Shiroha remained calm.
His and Yamamoto's Zanpakutō both had large-scale area-of-effect abilities that could affect both enemies and friends.
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