"Very surprised?"
Kukaku looked at Kaien blocking Ukitake's front, her brows slightly furrowed.
After all, to save her sister-in-law, Kyoya had communicated with Yamamoto in advance to obtain this opportunity for a 'simulated war'.
And her big brother?
While she was striving to save their sister-in-law, her big brother was still staying in the 13th Division.
"Kukaku, what are you doing coming to the Seireitei?"
"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious?"
Kukaku snorted coldly, "Where is sister-in-law?"
"Are you going to tell me directly, or do I have to fight my way to the Central 46 and ask them where they're holding sister-in-law?"
"Kukaku, calm down."
Kaien's heart jumped.
Ultimately, in Kaien's heart, the weight of having the Shiba Clan return to the Seireitei was greater.
Even though his wife, Miyako, had violated the Seireitei's ban, and the Central 46's judgments were getting heavier each time, Kaien had never considered violating the Seireitei's ban to rescue his wife from prison.
What he wanted to do was resign from his position as Lieutenant of the 13th Division, enter the Repentance Cell, and face all punishment together with Miyako.
It could be said that Kaien's actions were the only 'passively accepting' choice for people under the 'nobility system'.
Because they lacked the power to resist.
Of course, in Kukaku's view, Kaien had already had his mind corroded by life in the Seireitei.
The current Kaien was no longer the head of the Shiba Clan who led the family through hardships, but rather the Lieutenant of the Seireitei's Gotei 13.
Seeing the flicker of disappointment in his sister's eyes, Kaien instinctively avoided her gaze, not daring to look at Kukaku.
"You must be Shiba-san, right?"
At this moment, Ukitake stepped out from behind Kaien and smiled at Kukaku, "Years ago, I already heard from Kaien that he had a sister whose strength surpassed his."
"Captain Ukitake, my good-for-nothing brother has troubled you greatly."
Kukaku gave a slight bow to Ukitake, showing respect.
She knew her own family's affairs.
Kaien was enthusiastic and always thought everyone in this world was good.
But he didn't know that in the Rukongai, great strength could make people around you smile and welcome you.
However, the Seireitei and the Rukongai were two completely different places.
In the Rukongai, the Shiba Clan had a complete heritage, and anyone with Reiatsu could train.
It could be said that even though the Shiba Clan had declined, in the Rukongai, they were still a unique behemoth.
Just the gatekeepers, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko, possessed at least seated officer-level strength.
Whereas in the Seireitei, even the Captains of the Gotei 13 had to act within the Seireitei's rules.
Because this was not only the will of the nobles but also Yamamoto's will.
After Isshin disappeared, if Ukitake hadn't protected Kaien for so many years, those nobles would probably have already figured out the Shiba Clan's true situation through Kaien.
Therefore, Kukaku still felt gratitude towards Ukitake in her heart.
If not for Ukitake, she might not have had the time to join the Revolutionary Army and grow stronger.
Yeah, that's right.
Although over twenty years ago, Kukaku's strength had already touched the threshold of Captain-level, for Kukaku, it was only after joining the Revolutionary Army that she truly began to grow.
Just look at how, after only a few years of training in the Revolutionary Army, Kaien had already been left far behind by her.
"Not at all, Kaien has helped me more."
Ukitake shook his head.
"Shiba-san, from what I know, Miyako-san is currently imprisoned on the top floor of the Repentance Cell."
"If you plan to act, it's best to do so quickly."
"Because something seems to have happened again with the Central 46."
"Is that so?"
Kukaku nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Captain Ukitake."
"By the way, this young girl will be temporarily entrusted to your care."
After thanking Ukitake, Kukaku pushed the Orihime she was holding forward.
Among the four humans brought by Yoruichi, apart from Ichigo, who could be considered her cousin, and the other two humans were also decent-
This young girl beside her was relatively lacking in both mentality and strength.
Therefore, after the Reishi Sphere exploded, Kukaku directly kept her by her side to prevent anything from happening to her in the Seireitei.
Without a doubt, leaving Orihime in the 13th Division was definitely the safest.
Although Ukitake appeared sickly and would pant after walking a few steps-
In a real fight, Ukitake's strength could rank in the top three among the Gotei 13's Captains.
Of course, this was what Kukaku heard from Kyoya.
She wasn't clear about Ukitake's specific strength.
But as for the top three strongest among the Gotei 13 Captains, Kukaku still knew how far she was from that level.
Kyoya had once divided Captain-level figures into four tiers.
At the apex were undoubtedly Yamamoto, who could briefly exceed limits, and Zaraki, with his Reiatsu fully unsealed.
Next were Unohana, Kyoraku, and Ukitake.
The third tier included Gin, Aizen, and Byakuya, who could barely reach this tier.
The last tier naturally included Komamura Sajin, Tosen, Sui-Feng, Rangiku, and Mayuri.
According to Kyoya, among the seven Army Commanders of the Revolutionary Army, only Hitsugaya currently belonged to the third tier.
The rest, including Shusuke, were classified into the last tier.
There might be significant differences in strength among them, but no matter how hard they fought, they were still quite far from the third tier.
"I'm leaving first!"
Watching his sister's retreating figure, Kaien couldn't help but look at Ukitake.
"Captain Ukitake, since Kukaku appeared in the Seireitei as a Ryoka, why did you still tell her Miyako's location?"
"Didn't you say earlier that we should deal with the Ryoka invasion first?"
"Ah, Kaien, sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier."
Ukitake rubbed the back of his head and smiled at Shiba Kaien, "Earlier, Kyoraku and I already felt that something was off with the Central 46 recently. We were planning to use the chaos caused by the Ryoka invasion to secretly investigate what exactly was wrong with the Central 46."
"And now that the Ryoka are people we know, it's even easier to handle."
Ukitake patted Shiba Kaien's shoulder, "Kaien, in the Seireitei's history, there have indeed been instances where Shinigami transferred Shinigami power to humans, causing significant harm to the Seireitei."
At this point, Ukitake paused, his expression also becoming heavy.
Back then, the Seireitei's intention was to kill the human who obtained Shinigami power.
However, because Ukitake sensed something similar to Mimihagi's aura on that human, he proposed the [Substitute Shinigami] as an external profession, making him the Seireitei's first Substitute Shinigami.
At that time, the first Substitute Shinigami did bring many conveniences to the Gotei 13.
Not only more detailed information about the human world but also genuinely solving many powerful Hollows for the Shinigami stationed in the human world.
However, later, this first Substitute Shinigami experienced some events and discovered the surveillance Kido left by the Seireitei in the Substitute Shinigami Badge, leading to a falling out with the Seireitei.
At that time, the Shinigami stationed in the human world were almost all wiped out.
Those were all members of the 13th Division, Ukitake's beloved subordinates.
"If the Shinigami who received Miyako's Reiatsu this time agrees to become the Seireitei's new Substitute Shinigami, then Miyako wouldn't be considered to have violated the Seireitei's ban."
"Captain Ukitake-"
Hearing this, Kaien excitedly hugged Ukitake and cried loudly.
He never expected that Ukitake would be willing to go this far for him and Miyako.
And this also proved that his loyalty was not misplaced.
…
Aizen, sensing the Reiatsu rapidly approaching him, couldn't help but adjust his glasses.
'Unexpectedly, a Ryoka had come for me this time.'
'Perfect, this would also give me a 'perfect' exit, buying time to seize the Hogyoku.'
Immediately, Aizen pretended not to have noticed the other party and, along with his Lieutenant, gradually moved away from the crowd.
Because Kyoya had formed the Revolutionary Army in the Rukongai over the years, and almost regularly, Aizen could sense the 'clashes' of two Reiatsu outside the Rukongai-
Aizen had directly given up on the Rukongai, focusing his attention entirely on the Seireitei and Hueco Mundo.
There was no other way.
He was very familiar with both of the clashing Reiatsu.
One of them was the former Captain of the 11th Division, whom Aizen considered the bane of his ability.
When the former Captain was still serving as the Captain of the 11th Division in the Gotei 13, Aizen didn't dare reveal any flaws.
There was no other way… the only flaw of his Kyoka Suigetsu's ability was that if the blade was touched, Kyoka Suigetsu's ability would become ineffective.
And the former Captain's Zanpakuto ability allowed him to infiltrate his Reiatsu into all matter to control it-
Including air.
That meant as long as Aizen drew his Zanpakuto, the former Captain would effectively be touching his Zanpakuto at all times, rendering Aizen's ability useless against him.
Although, even without his Zanpakuto's ability, Aizen might not necessarily lose to the former Captain-
Aizen Sosuke's pursuit was different from the former Captain's.
The former Captain wanted to destroy all Hollows in Hueco Mundo, while Aizen wanted to break the Shinigami's limits and become the only [Soul King] in the three worlds!
Or rather, 'God'!
Fortunately, the former Captain only served as the 11th Division's Captain for two years before turning himself in to the Central 46 upon learning the secret of the three worlds' Reiatsu Balance, and was imprisoned in the Muken.
Now, it seemed even the Muken couldn't hold the former Captain.
He hadn't truly abandoned his plan either, only secretly hiding, wanting to transform the residents of the Rukongai into his combat weapons.
And unsurprisingly, the person obstructing the former Captain from modifying the souls of the Rukongai residents was none other than Kyoya, whom Aizen feared.
Judging from the battles between Kyoya and the former Captain, it was clear that Kyoya also had abilities similar to the former Captain's.
Thus, he believed all the things he had done in the Seireitei had probably been seen by Kyoya.
Fortunately for Aizen, Kyoya didn't have much recognition for the rotten Seireitei either.
Even though he knew about Aizen's actions, he didn't take any obstructive measures and ultimately left the Seireitei.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind.
Upon sensing the other party was within a certain distance, Aizen's expression instantly turned serious, and he protected Hinamori Momo behind him.
"Be careful, Hinamori-san."
"A strong enemy is approaching."
"Yes, Captain Aizen!"
Momo, protected by Aizen, didn't sense any danger.
Instead, she felt delighted because she was someone Aizen valued.
However, Momo quickly remembered her duty and immediately drew her Zanpakuto, "Captain Aizen, I should be the one protecting you!"
Whoosh-
"Found you..."
Hitsugaya's figure instantly appeared in front of Aizen and Momo.
With his appearance, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop by over ten degrees instantly.
A faint mist appeared in the air, and the bone-chilling cold made Momo feel as if her Shihakusho was letting in wind everywhere, icy and piercing.
Looking up, the person who suddenly appeared made Momo freeze for a moment.
"You, you're... Toshiro?"
It couldn't be wrong.
Although they hadn't seen each other for a few years, because Hitsugaya himself hadn't changed much, people familiar with him could still recognize him at first glance.
"Oh, so it's you, Bed-wetter Momo..."
Hitsugaya had been focusing all his attention on Aizen and didn't notice Momo protected behind Aizen until she spoke, recognizing his childhood friend.
"You, you you're talking nonsense!"
Momo's face turned red. She never imagined that upon reuniting with Hitsugaya, he would bring up her most embarrassing secret.
More importantly, he said it in front of Aizen.
"When did I ever wet the bed?"
"Hey hey hey, you never wet the bed."
Although Hitsugaya was also happy to see a familiar person-
Clearly, now wasn't the time for catching up.
"I am Hitsugaya Toshiro, Army Commander of the Revolutionary Army's 7th Army."
"You must be Captain Aizen of the 5th Division, I presume?"
"Yes, that's me."
Aizen nodded. "Hitsugaya-dono, is the Revolutionary Army preparing for a full-scale war with the Gotei 13?"