Shin asked, "Are there still no leads on Captain-Commander Yamamoto?"
"No. We are currently expanding the search radius." Jūshirō replied, shaking his head.
Over the past two days, several Zanpakutō had been subdued—such as Ikkaku's Hōzukimaru and Rangiku's Haineko—but there was still no trace of Yamamoto.
Muramasa had also not reappeared.
Just as Shin and Jūshirō were talking, a burst of golden Reiatsu erupted in the distance.
"That Reiatsu... it's Kenpachi."
Boom!
Rows of buildings were destroyed as Zaraki burst out of the rubble, carrying Yachiru.
"Where are the enemies?"
"Captain Zaraki, you're back. Unfortunately, the enemies have all gone into hiding." Shin said, shrugging his hands.
"Ugh! How boring. And here I rushed back in such a hurry." Zaraki said.
"Hi! Shin-chan, we meet again." Yachiru poked her head out from behind Zaraki.
"Yachiru!"
Jūshirō looked at Zaraki. "Zaraki, why are you only just returning now?"
They had sent a message to Zaraki two days ago.
"Let me explain the situation." Yachiru raised her hand.
"Ken-chan and I went to the outskirts of Rukongai to repel Hollows. We rushed back immediately after receiving the Headquarters' contact, but we got lost on the way, which is why it took until now."
"Don't say unnecessary things, Yachiru."
"But I'm telling the truth."
Listening to the two argue, Shin could only express his admiration—two people with no sense of direction had found each other.
—
Night fell.
Shin rested in the barracks of the Fourth Division.
Soul Society was simply too vast. He only remembered that Yamamoto was sealed in a cave. Otherwise, he would have gone looking himself. Just waiting around like this made Shin feel a bit bored.
Suddenly, he sensed a somewhat familiar Reiatsu fluctuation—it was Muramasa, who had disappeared for several days.
Shin immediately got up and flew toward that Reiatsu. Muramasa seemed intent on letting him follow, as he did not use the method of tearing space to escape.
The two arrived one after the other in a forest. Once they reached this spot, Muramasa's Reiatsu suddenly vanished.
Shin felt that Muramasa's deliberate appearance was likely intended to attract attention. Therefore, he began searching the woods.
Before long, he found a cave, and there were signs of entry and exit at the entrance.
'Intentionally exposing your whereabouts? Perfect, I was just worried about not being able to find you.'
...
The next day.
Most of the Captains were still gathered at the Fourth Division barracks.
"Last night, I discovered traces of Muramasa. I followed him all the way and found a cave in a patch of woods that is likely their main base."
Shin revealed what he had found the previous night.
Zaraki couldn't wait. "What are we waiting for? Let's just go straight there."
"Zaraki, wait."
Seeing that Shin seemed to have more to say, Jushiro quickly stopped Zaraki.
"However, this might be a trap. I have a feeling Muramasa deliberately led me there." Shin's gaze was solemn.
After a moment, Shunsui said, "Whether it's a trap or not, we still have to go investigate."
"That is true."
Thus, Shin and several Captains arrived at the cave entrance.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto must be inside. I can sense a power similar to a barrier."
"As expected, even Muramasa can't control Ryūjin Jakka. Did he have to seal old man Yama using a barrier?"
"It's a great relief that Ryūjin Jakka hasn't been turned against us."
Shin thought to himself, 'Not yet but that might change soon.'
Zaraki interrupted their analysis. "Anyway, the old man is in this cave, right?"
"Yes."
"Then why are we dragging our feet? We should just charge straight in."
Zaraki, along with Yachiru, was the first to enter the cave.
Shunsui sighed helplessly, "Honestly, with him around, we don't need to bother thinking up any action plans."
"We don't have time to deliberate now, let's go in too." Jūshirō followed them inside.
However, because the cave system was complex and winding, the group soon had to split up shortly after entering.
Shin walked down a path alone when suddenly, a wall of ice appeared before him.
"Human, halt!"
He looked up and saw that it was Sode no Shirayuki.
She was clad in a white furisode kimono, with ice-blue eyes and pale purple long hair, and a mist of ice permeated her surroundings.
Shin couldn't help but praise, "Truly worthy of being called the most beautiful Zanpakutō in Soul Society."
Sode no Shirayuki ignored him.
"Some no Mai, Tsukishiro!"
A freezing domain formed beneath Shin's feet, and all matter within it was instantly frozen into ice pillars.
Crack!
The ice pillars shattered.
Shin was enveloped in raging flames and remained completely unharmed.
"However, since you are an enemy, I'll have to ask you to return to your Zanpakutō form."
Having said this, the fierce flames condensed into a fireball and flew toward Sode no Shirayuki.
"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!"
A torrent of cold air, like an avalanche, was released from the tip of Sode no Shirayuki's blade, but it could not stop the fireball in the slightest. The body of Sode no Shirayuki shattered like ice, and the true Sode no Shirayuki appeared before Shin.
She spat out a massive amount of ice mist, but it was blocked by a barrier of flame. A hand reached out from the flames and grabbed her, followed by a sharp, intense pain in her abdomen.
Looking at the long sword embedded in her abdomen, the cool, detached expression on Sode no Shirayuki's face finally showed a flicker of emotion.
Snap!
Sode no Shirayuki reverted to her Zanpakutō form and immediately snapped in half.
Shin picked up Sode no Shirayuki and placed her inside his Yogasa.
He continued forward and soon encountered Shunsui and Jūshirō.
Jūshirō was chasing two children, who were his Zanpakutō, Sōgyo no Kotowari. It looked like a father playing with his sons.
Meanwhile, Shunsui was fighting a short-haired girl, while a purple-haired mature woman wearing an eye patch watched the battle nearby.
As expected of Shunsui, even his Zanpakutō are so unique.
"Captain Kyōraku, Captain Ukitake, I'll be going ahead."
After speaking, Shin proceeded toward the depths of the cave. Before long, he saw Yamamoto sealed within a barrier.
"Human, I'm impressed you managed to find this place." Muramasa reappeared.
Shin knew Muramasa's objective and had no intention of wasting words on him.
"You're in the way."
Shin condensed a giant hand of flame and collapsed the cave with a single punch, separating himself from Muramasa.
Great Blade of Crimson!
The flaming sword sliced into the barrier. The massive impact shook the entire cave system and everyone felt the shockwave.
Crash!
The barrier shattered.
Muramasa had already opened a passage, wearing a triumphant smile.
The others arrived shortly after.
"It seems you've fallen into his trap." Yamamoto slowly opened his eyes. "His goal is to read my spiritual world."
Jūshirō realized the nature of the "trap." He looked at Muramasa. "This entire scenario was a script you orchestrated just to make us break Captain-Commander's barrier."
"Correct. My purpose was to read the memories Yamamoto had buried deep within him, but the moment I appeared, he erected a barrier, sacrificing his self-awareness to prevent me from entering his inner world."
"I originally intended to use the Zanpakutō rebellion to stall you all, creating the illusion that I had imprisoned him, and then lure you into rescuing him. However, the appearance of this human disrupted my plan." Muramasa looked at Shin.
"Your strength is considerable, so I adjusted my plan, deliberately luring you here because I wanted you to destroy the barrier."
Muramasa proudly revealed his entire scheme.
Shin sneered internally, 'I predicted your prediction, fool.'