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Only Gin Ichimaru and Byakuya Kuchiki remained in the courtyard.

Gin Ichimaru glanced sideways at Byakuya Kuchiki; "It seems you have something to say to me. A nobleman like you couldn't possibly have come here specifically to mediate between commoners or to find a lame excuse to just pass by, could you?"

"No, you misunderstand. I came to the Third Division to visit Chairman Tengetsu, but I didn't expect him to have already left."

"In that case, I've disturbed you. Farewell."

Gin Ichimaru, puzzled, squinted and stared at Byakuya Kuchiki's back for a long time.

He pressed his head and tilted it in thought.

Did Tianyue Quezhai previously instruct him on how to treat the four noble families? It seems he's forgotten about that.

Dealing with the team leaders is such a hassle!

~~

The First Division barracks, the Sword Tower team office.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's beard flew wildly as he repeatedly tapped his dragon-headed cane.

"A bunch of bastards!"

Kenpachi Zaraki, Gin Ichimaru, and Byakuya Kuchiki, who were innocently caught in the crossfire, stood there like obedient children, completely stunned, and were held captive by Yamamoto for an hour.

After he had finished cursing, Yamamoto turned around and sat down.

"You two leave, Gin Ichimaru stays."

......

Chapter 295 Examination

"Follow me! Captain of the Third Division!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni shook his cane heavily, leaving a small dent in the wooden board. He glanced at the nonchalant Ichimaru Gin, clearly displeased with his lazy and indifferent attitude even after joining the First Division.

Ichimaru Gin pretended not to see Yamamoto's murderous glare and, with his head resting on his pillow, frantically applied eye drops to Sasakibe Chojiro.

Chojiro Sasaki dared not speak carelessly in front of Yamamoto, so he simply ignored Gin Ichimaru and pretended not to see anything.

"What a boring situation." Having failed to outwit the sparrow, Gin Ichimaru still wanted to make a few more sarcastic remarks.

Then he saw Yamamoto turn around and leave the conference room. Judging from his posture, if he didn't follow, he would probably be in big trouble.

The three of them passed through the First Division Captain's Meeting Room, crossed the long courtyard in the middle, and arrived at the White Bone Sword Tower behind the team's barracks.

The White Bone Sword Tower has several levels, with the top being Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's office, from which one can have a clear bird's-eye view of the entire Seireitei.

The middle floors are used as offices for the members of the First Division to facilitate the processing of information reported by various divisions, the Covert Force, and Room 46. After screening, the information is handed over to the vice-captain of the Sparrow Division for processing. If the Sparrow Division cannot handle it, it is then handed over to Yamamoto for review.

The lower level is a very spacious training room, which is mostly unused. The members of the First Division are all civilian employees, lacking both the talent and time for combat training.

Even if they do train, they will only practice on the first team's training ground.

The members of the First Division all shared a consensus about this space: never let Yamamoto call them in alone, because once they entered the training room, nothing good would come of it.

Don't you see Kenpachi Zaraki having to obediently take a knock on the head from old man Yamamoto here?

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni paused slowly in the center of the lower level, then with a flick of his wrists, he took off the captain's haori. The ever-observant Sasakibe no Bujiro immediately stepped forward to catch it, then knelt on one knee and presented Yamamoto with a training wooden sword.

Gin Ichimaru tilted his head; his naturally cold intuition immediately sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat ominous. Then, Rei Yamamoto made his move, picking up a wooden sword and unleashing a burst of sword energy. The sword then flew from his hand and hurtled towards Gin Ichimaru.

"Oh dear, Captain-Commander Yamamoto is about to get angry! Please spare me!" Despite saying this, Gin Ichimaru took off running, completely disregarding his image as captain, let alone trying to meet Yamamoto's brunt.

"Gin Ichimaru, don't run away! I won't show mercy just because you're young. Come on, let me test your mettle."

"I knew it wouldn't be anything good."

Locked onto by Yamamoto's killing intent, Gin Ichimaru felt a stinging pain all over his body. There was no point in dodging any longer, so he simply unleashed his spiritual pressure in an instant, dispersing the sword's aura. He took three steps in one, and while doing a forward roll in the air, he caught the wooden sword.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni pulled a wooden sword from a wooden frame and held it at an angle, slightly opening his eyes; "Ichimaru Gin, you are not allowed to use spiritual pressure, and you are not allowed to use your Zanpakuto."

Before Ichimaru Gin could express his dissatisfaction, Yamamoto quickly stepped forward and delivered a single, sweeping blow to Ichimaru Gin's head.

Yamamoto, like Yamamoto, did not use spiritual power or his Zanpakuto; he wielded the wooden sword purely through swordsmanship and spiritual power. Even with just this tip of the iceberg of power, Gin Ichimaru felt immense pressure.

Is Captain-Commander Yamamoto really going to do this? He wants to fight me to the death!

Gin Ichimaru is not the kind of person who indulges in fantasies. After assessing the current situation, he does not assume that Yamamoto will show mercy just because he is a member of the Gotei 14.

He steadily parried Yamamoto's incoming wooden sword with a backhand motion, his body involuntarily sliding backward. The unstoppable force poured down the wooden sword onto his hand, and a trickle of blood dripped down his chin.

Yamamoto's physical strength is too great; we can't withstand it head-on!

Gin Ichimaru had no choice but to immediately tense his body and transfer his power to his feet.

Boom!

Gin Ichimaru's feet sank deep into the floor, and half of his body was submerged in the ground.

Chojiro Sasaki was somewhat puzzled. After all, Gin Ichimaru wasn't a beast like Kenpachi Zaraki. Wasn't it a bit too much to think that his strength was comparable to the power he used to test Kenpachi's attack? So he quickly tried to comfort Yamamoto: "Lord Genryusai, what are you going to do?"

"Chojiro, don't worry. Don't be fooled by the frail appearance of the Third Division Captain in front of you. He's been given special attention by that kid, Tenzuki Sussai. In terms of spiritual pressure and strength alone, he's already surpassed most of the Gotei 1 captains."

"Whether this power is used for the right purpose of protecting the Seireitei requires training and testing. Gin Ichimaru, what do you think?"

Yamamoto's subtle probing strike did not cause any damage or burden to Ichimaru Gin; he only looked somewhat disheveled.

Gin Ichimaru flicked Yamamoto's wooden sword away, then jumped out of the pit, carrying the sword, and said, "It's only natural that getting involved with Captain Amatsuki will bring all sorts of trouble, especially facing the Captain-Commander. I was already prepared. After all, I heard Captain Amatsuki say that Captain-Commander Yamamoto loves to test his juniors. If that's all, I won't care."

"However, I'm still a little curious about how Captain Amatsuki persuaded Captain-Commander Yamamoto not to attack Captain Aizen, since Captain Aizen almost killed your beloved student."

"Hmph! You sharp-tongued brat, stop your nonsense and take this!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni pressed forward again, unleashing a barrage of treacherous slashes—including the Tang Bamboo Slash and the Kesa Slash—aiming at Ichimaru Gin's vital points.

Gin Ichimaru's spiritual pressure is indeed powerful, but his spiritual strength is no match for an old monster like Yamamoto, and he has always been in a defensive state of being suppressed.

However, after surviving Yamamoto's initial onslaught, Gin Ichimaru gradually adapted thanks to his exceptional battle instincts. Aside from his captain's haori and shihaka uniform being ripped to shreds by the sword energy, he was only slightly out of breath.

The two exchanged blows for several dozen rounds before Gin Ichimaru jumped back and widened the distance between them.

Seeing that swordsmanship alone could not quickly defeat Gin Ichimaru, Yamamoto responded;

"Tianyue Quezhai even told you this? It seems you are indeed someone who needs to be treated specially."

"You've passed the initial test of your magnanimity, but don't think you can rest easy now. I'll be keeping a close eye on you, Gin Ichimaru."

Discussing such a somewhat taboo topic, Chojiro Sugimoto consciously withdrew from the training room.

[Is it related to Captain Aizen? They're saying Captain Aizen almost killed the Captain-Commander's beloved student. Could that person be Kyoraku?]

Chojiro was very excited about this, especially regarding any clues about finding Kyoraku, which he would not let go of.

Given their centuries-long relationship, it would be difficult for Suzakube not to care about matters related to Kyoraku Shunsui.

According to Captain Ichimaru, it seems that Kyoraku is still alive, and that's enough.

However, if the captain himself had reviewed the matter, he could only keep it to himself.

All that Suzabu knew was that Captain Ichimaru and Genryusai had a secret talk all day after the battle. When Ichimaru left, Suzabu wanted to go up and ask him, but his good professional ethics made him suppress his impulse.

Yamamoto was not an unapproachable person, especially since Kyoraku Shunsui was one of his most proud disciples whom he had personally trained.

However, if you let Sasakibe get involved with Aizen, it will only push Sasakibe into the abyss.

Most of the people in Seireitei have already fallen victim to Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu.

If it were Yamamoto himself from a thousand years ago, at a moment when Aizen had to personally intervene, he would disregard the casualties that would befall the rest of the Seireitei and instantly kill Aizen with his Bankai.

But Yamamoto is no longer the Yamamoto of a thousand years ago. His transgression of rules and willful actions, and his execution of Aizen beyond the bounds of procedural justice, are also crimes.

This sin of breaking the rules surpasses the evil of slaughtering lives, something even the sword demon Yamamoto would never do.

"Very well, Tianyue Quezhai, let's look forward to the future you spoke of."

.......

Chapter 296 The Kuchiki Family: All Men

"Hope you are well, Captain Kuchiki!"

"..."

The air in the Sixth Division's barracks seemed to freeze, as all the Sixth Division members stood silently on both sides of the courtyard, watching Captain Kuchiki's departing figure.

The silvery-white floral gauze fluttered in the air, and the star-binding sash nearly fell off.

This man, who usually had aristocratic etiquette ingrained in his soul, had completely lost his composure at this moment.

Everyone was aware of the situation and no one dared to provoke the captain at a time like this.

What exactly happened?

Using Shunpo to pierce through the sky, Byakuya Kuchiki swiftly traversed the eaves and corridors of Seireitei, leaving the surrounding scenery as blurry streaks of light behind him.

It is the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, with millions of pink and white petals swirling and dancing in the breeze.

The air was filled with a sweet fragrance, and sunlight filtered through the layers of flowers, casting dappled shadows on the moss-covered stone path—it was all like a beautiful dream.

Passersby were captivated by the scene, pausing frequently to admire its unique beauty.

However, at this moment, Byakuya Kuchiki's eyes lost all color, and the closer he got to the Kuchiki family, the more he resembled a walking corpse.

Before Byakuya's figure had fully come to a stop, two figures rushed out from inside the door to greet him.

Kayoko Kuchiki, dressed in a plain-colored kimono, still retained a graceful aristocratic air despite her age. Following her was the unrestrained and free-spirited Hibiki Kuchiki.

"Byakuya!" Kuchiki Kyoga and his wife were somewhat worried.

Kuchiki Kyoga stepped forward and supported Byakuya, who was slightly unsteady on his feet: "Did you see Chairman Tengetsu? What did he say?"

He raised his head but did not answer. His lips trembled a few times, and finally, only endless silence remained.

"hateful!"

Kayoko Kuchiki instantly understood the outcome, and an uncontrollable rage surged within her. She clenched her fists; "Did Chairman Tengetsu really refuse to help someone in distress?!"

Kuchiki Byakuya suddenly looked up and scolded, "Aunt, you are not allowed to be rude to the Chairman! That's the rule!"

"I'm the one asking someone for help, don't get me wrong."

Even in such a heart-wrenching moment, he still subconsciously upheld the rules.