ushernet Chapter 237 – The Attack
Chapter 237 – The Attack
chapter 237 – the attack
soi fon and ailin exchanged a glance, their expressions hardening. after kyōraku gave his subordinates a few instructions, the three captains sped off towards west rukongai's 13th district.
...
boom! boom! boom! boom!
crimson fireballs rained down from the sky, engulfing the shiba clan’s estate in a fiery inferno. kaien shiba, clutching his wife, miyako, emerged from the burning wreckage, his voice filled with panic.
"kukaku! ganju! rukia!"
he had never imagined that a simple visit home, during a rare break with his wife and colleagues, would turn into a nightmare. the intensity of the attack, the sheer ferocity of the assault, left no doubt in his mind: their enemies intended to annihilate the entire shiba family.
“kaien, i’m alright!"
rukia kuchiki’s voice called out from the guest quarters. moments later, she burst through the roof, leaping into the air and using shunpo to land beside kaien.
"kaien, what's happening?"
"i don’t know. we’re under attack.”
kaien glanced at his wife, her eyes vacant, her expression haunted. his heart ached.
seeing no sign of his younger siblings, kukaku and ganju, he hardened his resolve, handing miyako to rukia.
"rukia, take care of miyako. i need to get kukaku and ganju out of there."
“kaien?!”
rukia, holding miyako in her arms, tried to speak, but kaien was already rushing back into the burning building.
“roar, nejibana!”
as he chanted the command, his zanpakutō transformed into a three-pronged spear.
boom!
kaien’s spiritual pressure swirled around him as he spun the spear, summoning a torrent of water that cascaded over the burning house, extinguishing the flames.
“kukaku! ganju!”
he didn’t release his shikai. instead, clutching nejibana tightly, he charged into his siblings' bedroom.
“third seat, are you alright?”
rukia, watching kaien disappear into the wreckage, turned to miyako, her voice laced with concern. miyako was a mess, her face streaked with tears.
"i'm sorry, kaien. i'm so sorry..."
“third seat, what are you talking about? what happened?”
“sob... sob...”
miyako, consumed by guilt, simply wept, offering no explanation.
swoosh! swoosh! swoosh!
as rukia tried to comfort miyako, shadowy figures materialized around them, their palms glowing with crimson energy.
...
“such chaotic spiritual pressure... there’s a battle up ahead!”
“and... rukia’s reiatsu?!”
ailin, soi fon, and kyōraku, rushing towards the 13th district, noticed a pillar of fire rising from the distance, accompanied by a surge of tangled spiritual pressure. it was a battleground.
to ailin's surprise, he sensed rukia's reiatsu within the chaotic mix.
"that’s strange. isn't rukia stationed at the 13th division? when did she come to rukongai?”
despite his curiosity, ailin was more concerned about rukia’s safety. the spiritual pressures clashing up ahead were all at the level of seated officers and above. he turned to soi fon and kyōraku.
“soi fon, kyōraku, i’ve sensed rukia’s reiatsu in that battle. i’m going to head there first.”
"hold on, captain ailin! are you looking down on us?” soi fon frowned, taking offense at ailin’s words. “while i may not be your match in terms of strength, i’m confident that my speed is second only to lady yoruichi!”
“indeed, captain soi fon is right,” kyōraku added, adjusting his straw hat, his expression turning serious. “when it comes to shunpo, the 2nd division reigns supreme. captain ailin, don't hold back. show us what you’ve got. i may not be as fast as captain soi fon, but i can keep up.”
ailin blushed, realizing his words had been insensitive. he had unintentionally implied that he was far faster than them, that their presence would only hinder his progress.
“my apologies. let’s head there together.”
“hmph!”
soi fon glared at ailin, a grunt escaping her lips. then...
boom!
her spiritual pressure erupted, forming two bolts of lightning that crackled behind her.
“shunkō!”
with a flicker of light, soi fon vanished, leaving only a trail of afterimages.
“it seems captain soi fon is taking this seriously. if i fall behind, those youngsters will never let me live it down,” kyōraku chuckled, unleashing his reiatsu. it formed a white streak that shot towards the battlefield.
ailin sighed, watching them disappear. he had indeed spoken carelessly. to prove that they wouldn’t be a burden, soi fon had activated her shunkō, and kyōraku had unleashed his reiatsu, pushing their speeds to the limit.
“well, it’s not a bad thing. the sooner they recognize the gap, the harder they’ll train. “perhaps this way, during the thousand-year blood war, the seireitei won’t be pushed to the brink of collapse...”
with that, ailin vanished, leaving only a faint ripple in the air.
swoosh!
for the first time, he was using his full speed. in a few blinks, he overtook kyōraku, then soi fon. they could barely register his passing, catching only a glimpse of his form before even their spiritual senses lost track of him.
“this...”
soi fon and kyōraku exchanged a startled glance, their expressions filled with awe.
“his speed... it’s beyond the range of my perception. just how strong is captain ailin?”
kyōraku was less surprised. he had already placed ailin on par with head-captain yamamoto. while this was the first time he had witnessed ailin’s full speed, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
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