Chapter 38: Dawn and Flower
Bang, bang, bang…
Large trees shattered as a pale blue sphere crashed into the forest at the edge of the Soul Society.
Boom!
Dirt flew everywhere as the pale blue sphere slammed into the ground, eventually breaking apart, leaving behind a crater five meters in diameter.
Su Xiao stood up from the crater, lit a cigarette, and looked toward the towering pillar of light in the distance. That signified the Spirit Particle Pulse Array had been destroyed.
Inside the Seireitei.
Dense spirit particles drifted through the air. Not all buildings had been leveled; those on the periphery of the pulse had merely collapsed, not turned into spirit particles.
With a crackling sound, a large pile of building debris shifted, and a man with full blonde hair stood up from within. His gaze swept the surroundings, and what met his eyes were ruins and broken walls. Lying on the shattered street were several Shinigami wailing loudly.
The man’s name was Izuru Kira, Vice-Captain of the Third Division. The scene around him left him frozen in place. He couldn’t believe this was the Third Division barracks.
“Vice-Captain, save me.”
A female Shinigami, most of her body torn apart by the Spirit Particle Pulse, raised her arm. Izuru Kira quickly stepped forward, but there was nothing he could do except comfort her by holding her hand.
“What the hell is going on!”
Kira’s body trembled slightly. At the moment the Spirit Particle Pulse struck, he even felt as if the Soul Society itself was about to be destroyed.
“Quickly, gather the wounded for unified treatment.”
A loud shout came from the distance as a large group of Shinigami rushed in from the outer edge of the pulse. These were all members of the Fourth Division.
“Vice-Captain Kira, leave her to us.”
A boy who looked very timid stood behind Kira. Kira recognized him. In his impression, this boy was a coward, timid and afraid of trouble. But at this moment, he felt that this Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division was very reliable.
“She…”
“Don’t worry, Vice-Captain Kira. It’s fine. She’s not in life-threatening danger.”
After Hanataro Yamada made a preliminary check on the female Shinigami’s injuries, he decided to prioritize her treatment. This scene wasn’t unique here; the same was happening at the First Division and Fifth Division barracks.
At the center of the pulse, Byakuya Kuchiki, covered in blood, was inspecting the area nearby. He needed to ensure those twisted lines on the ground wouldn’t be reactivated.
“Momo…”
Toshiro stood behind Byakuya, his eyes wide, staring blankly at the corpse not far away.
With a thud, Toshiro collapsed unconscious. His right arm was missing, and his Shihakusho was riddled with holes.
If viewed from above, one would see that the entire First Division barracks had been leveled. The buildings here had completely vanished, leaving a neat, flat ground. Someone might even believe this was an airport under construction.
Footsteps came from behind Byakuya. He didn’t turn around; he knew who it was.
Retsu Unohana arrived at the center of the Spirit Particle Pulse and pressed one hand to the ground.
“We were wrong. We shouldn’t have dealt with him this way.”
Byakuya spoke, blood dripping from the tips of his hair.
“Although we didn’t kill him, many things have been explained. The only thing I can’t figure out is that corpse.”
Retsu smiled gently, her tone completely different from when she had spoken with Su Xiao earlier. Back then, Sister Hua had been testing her acting skills, and the result…
“…”
Byakuya was stunned for a moment. Though he knew some things about Retsu Unohana, he hadn’t expected the Fourth Division Captain to be so ruthless.
“The internal issues are the key. The damage to the buildings can be repaired, and the loss of personnel can be made up over time. This kind of spirit particle weapon couldn’t have been prepared in just a day or two. So, as long as we can kill him, everything we’ve done is worth it, Captain Kuchiki. Don’t feel guilty. Unfortunately…”
Though Retsu was smiling, she seemed troubled as well.
…
Inside a forest at the edge of the Rukongai.
Su Xiao sat cross-legged inside a tree hollow. This was originally a hiding spot for Kage. Ten minutes had passed since he arrived in this forest. Yamamoto Genryusai hadn’t pursued him. Under the influence of that Spirit Particle Pulse, chasing Su Xiao was practically impossible for the old man.
Su Xiao was closely monitoring the situation in the team storage space. Inside the team storage space, a number of treasure chests had appeared, all obtained by Bubu Wang.
Not only Bubu Wang, but Beini had also joined the treasure chest collection. During this harvest time, of course, this financial cat wouldn’t be absent.
Amu was guarding below the tree. He had entered the Soul Society earlier and had been on standby in this forest.
This forest was very large, and now, this area had become Su Xiao’s second stronghold.
Su Xiao hadn’t been discovered by Yamamoto Genryusai’s perception. The reason was simple: among the many Captains, only one person had noticed him and had informed the other Captains. That person was Aizen.
This ambush was very sudden, clearly lacking time for careful preparation. That was precisely why Retsu Unohana had succeeded by two-fifths, at least managing to lure Su Xiao over.
Only two people knew about this ambush: Retsu Unohana and Byakuya Kuchiki. When the ambush was about to begin, Toshiro only fully understood the matter then.
Retsu had done this intentionally. Otherwise, Momo Hinamori wouldn’t have used her life as bait. In other words, aside from Momo Hinamori, a remnant of Aizen’s faction, no one could lure Su Xiao over. That was why Retsu had hidden some key details from Toshiro.
Unfortunately, Momo Hinamori hadn’t been obedient. Retsu had hinted many times for her to stay away from Su Xiao before he entered the tavern.
Retsu knew she couldn’t out-act Su Xiao, so she simply didn’t bother planning. She dealt with Su Xiao in the most straightforward and brutal way. The price was that the First Division barracks were leveled, and the Third and Fifth Division barracks were also affected.
In truth, Sister Hua was a hero of the Seireitei. If not for her, three days later, Su Xiao could have sent a third of the Seireitei into the sky. Then it wouldn’t have been a Spirit Particle Pulse, but a Spirit Particle Explosion.
Inside the tree hollow, Su Xiao checked the notifications from the Reincarnation Paradise. After scrolling for a long time, he simply gave up. There were too many. He checked his current gains.
[Blue Treasure Chest x36.]
[Purple Treasure Chest x16.]
[Dark Purple Treasure Chest x8.]
[Light Gold Treasure Chest x5.]
[Gold Treasure Chest x3.]
[World Source obtained so far: 86.5%.]
[Seireitei Reputation: 275,800 points (Blood Feud).]
…
Just as Su Xiao finished checking the rewards, another notification from the Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Notification: The Hunter has reached a mortal enemy relationship with the Seireitei faction and is now wanted by the Seireitei.]
[Due to the Hunter’s low Seireitei reputation (275,800 points), you will become a mission target for other Contractors.]
[Hunter’s basic authority has been activated.]
[The reputation penalty has been waived for the Hunter. The Hunter will not become a target for other Contractors. The Hunter may continue to execute the hunting mission.]
[Warning: The Hunter must complete the hunting mission as soon as possible. The Violator, Death Omen, is extremely dangerous and possesses instability, which is highly likely to cause an interruption in this derivative world.]
[The Violator, Death Omen, has already caused seven derivative worlds to be interrupted and has damaged two low-level derivative worlds. The Hunter must complete the hunting mission as soon as possible to prevent the Violator from affecting Contractors executing missions.]