Bleach: Soul Society Domination Through Check-ins

"What... what is that?!"

"Is that... Suigawa's spiritual pressure?"

"How is this even possible..."

Suì Fēng froze mid-step, completely stunned.

Just moments ago, she had been worried about Shigure being surrounded by the swarm of Hollows, fearing that he might be at a disadvantage.

Thus, she had rushed toward the source of the spiritual pressure explosion.

But before she could get far, she suddenly realized that all the Hollow spiritual pressures had vanished in an instant!

In their place, a far more terrifying spiritual pressure emerged!

It was still the spiritual pressure of a Soul Reaper. However, its intensity was so overwhelming that even at a considerable distance, Suì Fēng felt as though she were suffocating.

After a brief moment of shock, she detected a faint sense of familiarity within it.

This was none other than Shigure Suigawa's spiritual pressure!

She had once observed a similar burst of spiritual pressure from a distance during the incident in North Rukongai.

At the time, she had only thought it to be strong—nothing more.

The distance had made it impossible to discern the exact gap in power.

But now, she could feel it clearly.

There was no sign of a Zanpakutō release. This was... pure, unadulterated spiritual pressure!

Even after taking a long time to calm herself, Suì Fēng remained utterly shaken.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kenpachi Zaraki's unit continued advancing into the Land of Dead Mist, yet they hadn't encountered a single Hollow.

This only reinforced their belief that the Hollows had gathered together for some reason.

For Kenpachi Zaraki, this was the best possible news.

After all, what he desired most was a bloody, exhilarating battle—a fight to the death!

However, some of the squad members trembled as they marched.

The closer they got, the more oppressive the spiritual pressure from the Hollow swarm became.

But then, Kenpachi Zaraki suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening.

Immediately, everyone else halted as well, their expressions filled with confusion.

The terrifying spiritual pressure from the Hollow swarm... had vanished in an instant!

"What... just happened?"

"The Hollow swarm's spiritual pressure... why can't we sense it anymore?"

"It disappeared all at once... this is beyond strange. What on earth happened?"

The squad members murmured in bewilderment.

Even Ikkaku Madarame's usually composed expression showed a hint of surprise. He muttered to himself, "What happened... did the Hollow swarm scatter?"

The moment he said this, Kenpachi Zaraki turned his head sharply, his gaze icy.

"Hey, hey... are you kidding me, Ikkaku? Didn't you notice that spiritual pressure?"

Ikkaku blinked in confusion. "Captain, are you talking about the Hollow swarm's spiritual pressure?"

Kenpachi Zaraki's pupils contracted sharply. "Are you playing dumb? I'm talking about that Soul Reaper's spiritual pressure!"

"?!?!"

Hearing Kenpachi Zaraki's words, Ikkaku's heart skipped a beat.

The rest of the squad was even more dumbfounded.

They had only noticed the disappearance of the Hollow swarm's spiritual pressure. What Soul Reaper spiritual pressure was he talking about?

At that moment, Yachiru Kusajishi suddenly chimed in cheerfully, "Hehehe, I know, Kenny! That's Shigure's spiritual pressure, right?"

Shigure?

"The Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division? His spiritual pressure?!"

Ikkaku's expression changed dramatically as he processed her words.

Kenpachi Zaraki turned his gaze forward, his eyes narrowing.

"That guy... just what the hell did he do..."

He had come here expecting to slaughter the Hollow swarm.

But now, there wasn't even the faintest trace of Hollow presence, as if the swarm's spiritual pressure had never existed.

On top of that, he was certain that Shigure Suigawa's spiritual pressure had completely overshadowed the Hollows'.

A suspicion crept into his mind... Shigure had annihilated the entire swarm!

"Damn it... does this mean I came here for nothing?!"

Kenpachi Zaraki's eyes flashed, and without hesitation, he charged toward the source of the spiritual pressure.

The squad members hurriedly followed, still utterly confused.

They couldn't make sense of the exchange between Kenpachi Zaraki and Ikkaku.

Why had Shigure Suigawa's name suddenly come up? They were completely in the dark.

Only Ikkaku wore a grim expression.

As they delved deeper into the Land of Dead Mist, the visibility in the thick fog dropped dramatically.

By now, they could only see about two meters ahead. If they weren't moving closely together, they might have gotten lost in the mist.

But then, Kenpachi Zaraki, leading the way, abruptly stopped.

The rest of the squad also came to a halt.

Those at the back had no idea what was happening and began moving forward to investigate.

However, after just a few steps, they noticed the visibility in the fog improving rapidly.

What unfolded before them was a barren wasteland completely devoid of mist!

What shocked them even more was the ground ahead—it had collapsed into a massive crater nearly ten meters deep!

"What the hell... this can't be real..."

"The spiritual particle mist is gone... and the ground is completely destroyed..."

"This is insane... was this caused by the Hollow swarm?"

The squad members whispered among themselves.

But Kenpachi Zaraki's gaze remained fixed on the ground, his pupils narrowing.

This wasn't the work of the Hollow swarm... The collapsed ground still bore traces of highly compressed Soul Reaper spiritual pressure!

It was Shigure Suigawa's spiritual pressure!

Ikkaku Madarame crouched down, staring at the crater for a long time, his expression growing darker.

He, too, realized that this wasn't caused by the Hollows.

There wasn't a single trace of Hollow spiritual pressure in the area.

In other words, the one who had caused this destruction...

Was most likely the very person Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi had just mentioned—Shigure Suigawa!

"Could it be... the gap has grown this wide..."

"Right now, I can't even sense his presence, let alone comprehend his power!"

Ikkaku bit his lip lightly.

From the moment he chose to follow Madarame Ikkaku into the Eleventh Division, he had known.

The Eleventh Division was the strongest among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads in terms of overall combat strength.

Because the Third Seat position was occupied by Ikkaku, he had to settle for Fifth Seat. And because he disliked the sound of "Four," he had willingly taken the lower rank.

But he had never believed that the Vice-Captains of other divisions possessed power surpassing his own.

Yet today, he realized...

The Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division, Shigure Suigawa, had long since left him in the dust.

The gap between them was so vast that it was immeasurable.

Because Shigure had undoubtedly... reached the same level as Kenpachi Zaraki himself.

"Hey, hey, Kenny, you look really happy, huh?"

Amid the heavy silence, Yachiru Kusajishi suddenly made a playful comment.

Everyone turned to look at Kenpachi Zaraki.

His gaze was fixed ahead, his eyes brimming with excitement and battle lust.

He grinned widely.

"Hehehe... As I thought... I really want to fight that guy... just once!"

[Author's Note: Correction—In Chapter 73, I mistakenly referred to Ikkaku as the Fourth Seat of the Eleventh Division. He is actually the Fifth Seat. Apologies for the oversight!]

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