The sounds of explosions rang out continuously, dust clouds billowing through the air.
Countless "Blanks" floated up from the ground, surging into the box behind the green-armored Shinigami, continuing to provide him with "ammunition."
However, once the dust cleared, all that could be seen was the green-armored Shinigami lying on the ground with a large sword in hand.
A swarm of butterfly-blade formations formed a tight defense in front of Hirako Shinji and Kuchiki Sōjun.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Hirako Shinji's voice rang out from behind the butterfly formation. The blades cooperatively opened a gap, allowing a bolt of lightning to shoot through and strike toward the green-armored Shinigami.
The green-armored Shinigami was forced to stop firing his "ammunition" and dodge the incoming Byakurai.
But just as he repositioned and was about to resume launching his "ammunition," he felt a surge of Reiatsu from behind him.
"Crap!"
"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!" Kuchiki Sōjun was already behind him, the blue glow on his raised hand bursting forth.
Splat—blood trickled from the green-armored Shinigami's lips. He slowly lowered his head to find a large hole blasted through his chest.
"How… from behind…?"
He collapsed.
"You couldn't see me because your vision was blocked by the Chiecho swarm. Naturally, you didn't realize I had already moved," Kuchiki Sōjun said calmly, lifting his chin slightly.
"You idiot, Kuchiki! Move!" Hirako Shinji's voice came from behind.
Kuchiki Sōjun quickly retreated as an arrow narrowly whizzed past.
Boom! The arrow exploded, blasting Sōjun backward.
Hirako Shinji appeared behind him, grabbing the back of his collar and used Shunpo to get away.
Whoosh—another arrow flew in, landing exactly where Sōjun had just been standing.
Boom—
"We haven't even dealt with the enemy yet—what are you showing off for?" Hirako Shinji rolled his eyes.
"Sorry…" Sōjun rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "There's one enemy left. Let's take him down together."
"He ran. He didn't look my way, so he wasn't affected by Sakanade," Hirako Shinji replied, helplessly.
The last green-armored Shinigami, sensing things were going south, fired two arrows before fleeing outright.
"We'd better chase him down. If he links up with other enemies, they'll become more cautious," Hirako said.
Kuchiki Sōjun nodded, and together they gave chase.
Their Shunpo was faster than the green-armored Shinigami's escape, and soon they caught up.
"You're not getting away!" Hirako Shinji grinned and raised his left hand. "Hadō—"
Just then, a white-haired man appeared beside the green-armored Shinigami.
At the same time, white-robed spirit beings emerged from beneath Hirako and Sōjun's feet.
'What the hell are these?' Hirako thought.
The white-haired man raised his hand, and the white-robed spirits closed in.
"Not good!"
Suddenly, the spirit beings surrounding them exploded like Reiatsu bombs.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
As Hirako Shinji drifted into unconsciousness, he vaguely heard voices from outside.
"These Shinigami must've been swept in by a Reiatsu disturbance. That means their disappearance likely won't alert Seireitei."
"Perfect materials. Lord Ganryū can use them to test whether the Shinenjū can fuse with Shinigami and better harness the power of the Blanks."
"Two of them aren't official Shinigami."
"Probably Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy students. Surprising that they managed to defeat Ichirō and Yukinoki."
"They can use Shikai. As long as we take away their Zanpakutō, they're no threat."
Creak—a sharp sound of the door closing fully snapped Hirako Shinji awake.
He found himself locked in a stone chamber, tied to a stone pillar.
Kuchiki Sōjun was there too, bound to another pillar, still unconscious.
"Was I knocked out by the explosion?" Hirako quickly recalled the situation.
His body ached all over. Fortunately, he'd used Reiatsu to protect his vital areas, so he wasn't seriously injured.
But… his Zanpakutō was gone, and that made things a lot worse.
'I need to find a way to get it back…'
He was bound with white ropes. When he tested them, he couldn't break free.
Worse, the ropes suppressed his Reiatsu. He couldn't even cast Kidō.
However, it didn't stop him from using a Reiatsu Blade—just a small amount of Reiatsu was enough to sharpen his fingertips.
A sharp Reiatsu Blade extended from his fingertip, slicing through the white ropes binding him.
Once freed, Hirako Shinji moved to release Kuchiki Sōjun.
"Oi, Kuchiki idiot, wake up!" he whispered by his ear. When that didn't work, he slapped him—twice.
"Ugh…" Kuchiki groaned, rubbing his face and looking around. "We've been locked up?"
Like Shinji, he had used Reiatsu to guard his vitals and was only knocked out—no serious injuries.
"Yeah. Our Zanpakutō were taken too. We need to retrieve them first." Hirako approached the rusted iron door and peeked outside through the bars.
After a moment, he whispered, "There's a long passage outside. It's dimly lit—we're probably underground."
"There's a guard outside. We need to take him out before he notices us."
"Get ready. Once I open the door, sneak up quietly."
Hirako moved forward, slicing through the lock with a Reiatsu Blade and pushing the door open.
Creak—an awful screech echoed through the stone chamber, making both of them tense up.
"What was that sound? How did you get out!?"
The green-armored Shinigami outside spotted them.
"Well, so much for your plan…" Kuchiki Sōjun rolled his eyes. "Didn't even get through the door."
"Guess we're doing this the hard way!" Hirako Shinji awkwardly retracted his hand.
The green-armored Shinigami charged.
Kuchiki Sōjun raised his right hand. "Hadō #32: Ōkasen!"
A wave of high-speed fire launched toward the enemy.
At the same time, Hirako Shinji jabbed forward with two fingers, launching a Reiatsu Blade.
Katori-ryu: Finger Sword!
The Reiatsu Blade was hidden inside the flames, hard to detect.
The green-armored Shinigami swung his long weapon to block the fire, but the Reiatsu Blade burst out from the flames and pierced through his head.
Shock froze on his face—he hadn't expected two students from the Spiritual Arts Academy to fight so effectively even without their Zanpakutō.
With the enemy down, Hirako stepped out first. "Let's go. Looks like no one else is out here."