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Stopping the Execution
🕑 Added 2023-02-19 15:59:33 +0000 UTCJust like that, more time passed, resulting in Renji leaving to do his own thing just a few hours after arriving. Quickly followed by Ichigo leaning his Bankai as well, resulting in everyone mobilizing for the last stretch to Rukia's rescue. (Won't be writing the Byakuya vs Renji fight as everything is like in canon between these two.)
However, as Hinata, Yoruichi, Naruto, and Ichigo were moving through Seireitei, they heard surprising news: Apparently, the Central 46 had ordered to speed up Rukia's execution to this very day, causing Ichigo's eyes to widen in surprise.
Obviously, Tatsuki and Ishida wanted to come as well, but after a lengthy explanation and Tatsuki yelling at Naruto a lot, the duo was convinced that barging into a Captain-level battlefield was not a great idea, so the stayed hidden away.
As the group of four came closer and closer to the execution stand, they noticed slowly being pulled upwards by seemingly nothing, prompting Ichigo to speed up some more.
Moments later, a massive burning phoenix appeared in front of Rukia, which is the Zanpakuto Spirit of the execution blade, the Sokyoku, and is said to hold the power of 1000 Zanpakuto.
Seeing the massive creature in front of her, Rukia accepted her fate and closed her eyes. Moments later, the phoenix moved and shot toward Rukia, intending to pierce through her. However, just when its beak was about to reach her, a single man blocked the bird with the flat side of his sword. Naturally, that person was Ichigo, who made it just in time to block the attack.
"Hey. It's been a while."
At first, Rukia was dazed hearing Ichigo's voice, but moments later, she snapped at him.
"You idiot! Didn't I tell you to stay away!?"
"Haa!?"
"Isn't this obvious!? You can't beat my brother! This time he will kill you for sure! Just leave! I have made peace with my death, and I don't want your help!"
Meanwhile, below the scaffold, the attending Captains and Lieutenants were dumbfounded due to what they were seeing.
"Impossible! How can he stop the power of a thousand blades with a single one!? Who is he!?"
Those words were spoken by Soifon, who couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger due to someone butting in.
Naturally, Byakuya was present as well, and even he wore a surprised expression. Naturally, he recognized the person who had just stopped the phoenix, and he couldn't help but wonder how Ichigo managed to amass this much power in such a short time.
"He is one of the intruders."
Hearing Byakuya's words, everyone nodded their head in agreement, and moments later, the phoenix backed up a little, clearly intending to go for another blow.
However, just before that could happen, Captain Ukitake, a man with long white hair, appeared and smashed something that looked like a shield on the ground while his two Lieutenants did the same with two poles. Frankly, he wanted to do this with Captain Kyoraku so his two Lieutenants wouldn't catch too much blame, but for some reason, he couldn't find Captain Kyoraku anywhere.
Moments later, two wires shot out of the two poles and wrapped themselves around the phoenix's neck.
Seeing what was happening, Soi Fon was initially confused, but after her bewilderment dwindled and she saw the symbol engraved on the wooden shield, she opened her eyes wide and immediately started speaking.
"That's the symbol of the Shiba family. Quickly, someone stop them!"
However, it was already too late, due to Captain Ukitake slicing his blades through the shield vertically, and before anyone else could react, the phoenix detonated, pretty much stopping the execution.
A tick mark appeared on the Captain-Commander's forehead, as Ukitake had just destroyed one of Seireitei's most ancient artifacts, but before he could say anything, powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted out of Ichigo, drawing everyone's attention to him.
Currently, he was holding up his sword, with its tip pointed downwards, while his eyes glowed blue due to the powerful Spiritual Power coursing through his body. Before anyone could react, he stapped the tip of his blade into the scaffold, resulting in a blinding light.
As soon as the light cleared, Ichigo was revealed, holding Rukia under his arm like a potato sack.
"I will rescue you, Rukia."
"You are a fool, Ichigo. Don't expect me to thank you."
Although Rukia's words seemed ungrateful, they were spoken with deep emotions as tears slowly started gathering in Rukia's eyes. Even if she didn't admit it, she was grateful for Ichigo coming after her like this.
Moments later, another commotion happened yet again, drawing everyone's attention. This time, it was Renji's turn to but in, as he had just barged onto the execution ground after knocking out a few guards.
During his initial try to save Rukia, he was defeated by Byakuya and imprisoned. However, he managed to break out and give it another try, just reaching the place of the execution.
Seeing Renji approaching, Ichigo had a surprisingly Yuna-like idea and raised up Rukia.
"H-Hey, Ichigo! W-What do you think you are doing?"
Although he heard Rukia's question and noticed her struggling, he ignored all of that as he looked toward Renji.
"HEY RENJI!!! CATCH!!!"
"W-W-WAIT A MOME... KYHAAA!!!"
Before Rukia could do any more protesting, Ichigo had already thrown her at Renji. Naturally, Renji's eyes bulged when he saw the Rukia-shaped projectile flying at him. Luckily, Rukia was rather small, so Renji managed to catch her safely.
"YOU IMBECILE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?"
"THAT'S RIGHT!!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"
Although Rukia and Renji were both yelling at him, Ichigo ignored all of it and started speaking.
"Get out of here, Renji. Protect Rukia with your life."
The moment Renji heard Ichigo's words, he instantly turned around and started running.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? ALL LIEUTENANTS AFTER THEM!!!"
Currently, only three Lieutenants were present, and after hearing Soi Fon's angered yell, all of them started moving. They were the Captain-Commander Lieutenants: Chojiro Sasakibe, The Fourth Division's Lieutenant, who had been praying for Retsu's safety every day: Isane Kotetsu, and finally: Marechiyo Omaeda.
All three went after Renji, but before they could reach him, another person with long spiky blonde hair appeared between the trio and Renji. Obviously, that person was Naruto, who currently wore a leisurely smile.
"Sorry, but I'll have to stop you here."
Seeing an unknown person blocking their path, all three took action and resealed their swords.
"[Run Itegumo]"
"[Bite Gonryomaru]"
"[Crush Gegetsuburi]"
Unfortunately, the moment all three weapons had transformed, Naruto appeared in front of Omaeda, punched through his weapon, shattering it, and knocked him out with a punch to the stomach.
Then, before the other two could react, he appeared in front of Chojiro and knocked him out with an uppercut, followed by Naruto appearing behind Insane, knocking her out with a chop to the back of her neck.
Suddenly, he felt someone appearing behind him, but he didn't act, as he could already feel Ichigo approaching as well.
*Clang*
The sound of two swords colliding echoed over the execution ground as Ichigo appeared behind Naruto, blocking the approaching blade.
"It's been a while, Byakuya."
Hearing how cocky Ichigo was sounding, Byakuya couldn't help but frown as he pressed his blade against Ichigo's.
"It was. This time I'll make sure that you are dead."
"Oh well, since you two seem to know each other, I guess I'll let you deal with your lover's quarrel by yourself~"
Hearing Naruto's frivolous words, Ichigo glared at him in anger, while Byakuya's eyebrow twitched in irritation, but neither of them said anything else, as they would rather concentrate on fighting.
Meanwhile, at another spot in Seireitei, a man wearing sunglasses, a man wearing a helmet, and a man wearing an eyepatch were standing in front of each other with a hostile feeling in the air.
"I knew you were an untameable beast, Kenpachi, and today is the day I will slay you!"
As these words left the mouth of the man wearing sunglasses, Tosen drew his blade and pointed it at the man wearing an eyepatch, Kenpachi.
Seeing that, Kenpachi shook his head as his hand moved toward one of the armbands he was wearing.
Kenpachi had thought about what side he should take in this conflict for a while now. Obviously, he wanted to fight Yuna again and fight even more strong opponents. Since Yuna was on the side of the invaders, fighting with Seireitei was a good option, but in the end, he decided against it. Instead of fighting for Seireitei, he decided he would help Yuna out since his instincts were telling them that that would result in a more fun fight with her in the aftermath. Kenpachi was a man that always trusted his instincts.
"Well, since you are a Captain, I guess one armband is appropriate."
Moments later, Kenpachi removed one of his armbands, causing his Spiritual Pressure to grow significantly, resulting in Tosen frowning deeply.
'As expected, he is a monster. This won't be easy, but I should be able to handle him with my Bankai.
"Tosen, let me help you. Zaraki Kenpachi is not a man that is easy to handle."
Those words were spoken by the man wearing a helmet, Sajin Komamura, Captain of the 7th Division, who considered Tosen to be his friend.
"No, that is not honorable. I will deal with him alone. [Bankai]"
Yet again, Tosen used his Bankai, engulfing his opponent in darkness. However, feeling his senses vanishing, Kenpachi frowned deeply.
'What kind of shit is this? That's not fun at all. How am I supposed to enjoy the fight when I can't see anything?'
As he was deep in thought, a blade approached his chest, aiming for his heart. The moment the tip of the blade touched Kenpachi's skin, he could feel the blade. Initially, he wanted to dodge away and evade the blade, which he assumed would only result in a small gash, but in the end, he only stood still, unmoving.
*Clang*
The sound of metal colling with something hard was heard as Kenpachi looked at the blade that pierced his body by around half a centimeter with disinterest.
Now that he was in contact with the blade, his vision returned, allowing him to see the face of the utterly dumbfounded Tosen, causing him to sigh deeply while he flexed his muscled to stop Tosen from removing his blade.
"That's it? I should have kept on that armband."
Before Tosen could react, Kenpachi moved his sword and slashed it across Tosen's chest, leaving a deep wound, resulting in his Bankai stopping.
Seeing Tosen's Bankai pop like a balloon, Kenpachi could only shake his head in dismay at how boring a fight he had just experienced, while Captain Komamura could only look at what had just happened, utterly dumbfounded.
'He defeated Tosen instantly!? How can that be!? Just how strong is Zakari Kenpachi!?'
The reason why Tosen lost so devastatingly was that his Bankai had one massive weakness: It didn't increase the user's power and only handicapped his enemy. In most cases, that didn't matter because an opponent that could neither feel nor see you no matter what they did was easy prey. However, Tosen, unfortunately, didn't have enough Spiritual Power in his blad to seriously wound the current Kenpachi. In fact, only the oldest generation of Captains and Aizen would be able to seriously wound the current Kenpachi with a Shikai.
Anyway, while Tosen was retreating away from Kenpachi, shock and bewilderment still clearly visible on his face, Komamura stepped forward despite his bewilderment. He was not someone who backed down from a powerful foe, no matter how strong they were.
"It seems like we underestimated you, Zaraki Kenpachi. I will be your opponent, and I'm not as kind as Tosen! [Bankai]!"
Suddenly, a colossal armored figure appeared behind Komamura. It was fully clothed in armor, held a massive sword, and wore a demon-like mask.
"[Kokujo Tengen Myo'o]"
Seeing the massive figure behind Komamura, Kenpachi couldn't help but smile widely.
'Ohh~ This one might actually be a little fun~'
Meanwhile, back at the execution platform, only a few people remained. While Ichigo was fighting Byakuya, Naruto directed his gaze at the remaining people.
While he wasn't paying attention, Yoruichi had snagged away Soi Fon, so the only people remaining were Hinata, who was still lurking in the shadows, Ukitake, who was sweating a little due to being glared at by Yamamoto, and Naruto himself.
'Oh well, seems like things are drawing to an end. I wonder what nee-san is currently doing. I would claim that there is no way she forgot about Rukia, but then I would be lying to myself.'
[That degenerate is probably somewhere in Seireitei, harassing some woman.]
'Probably, but refrain from calling her a degenerate. That's not very nice.'
[But... it's the truth...]
'That is not what I was complaining about.'
[So you agree, huh?]
'I mean... obviously.'
While Naruto was talking with Kurama, Ukitake continued sweating due to Yamamoto's glare, making him feel a little guilty.
'Uwah~ I'm in trouble~ However, there clearly is something fishy about this whole thing, so I had no choice but to do what I did.'
"Seems like I'm in trouble; I guess I will be going somewhere else."
As soon as Ukitake finished speaking, he used [Flash Step] and vanished from his position. Yamamoto briefly glanced at Naruto and the fighting Ichigo before he made a decision and followed after Ukitake, vanishing as well.
"Well, since Ichigo seems to be doing well, I guess I'll be leaving him alone. No need to spoil is end boss battle."
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, he vanished as well, following behind Ukitake and Yamamoto.
A few seconds later, Ukitake appeared at a desolate location that would allow him and Yamamoto to fight without causing any damage to the city. Frankly, he didn't want to fight Yamamoto at all, as he knew he probably couldn't win, but considering how things had developed, he concluded that he had no other choice.
"That was a good [Flash Step]. Just a single step took you this far away."
Although Yamamoto's words sounded like praise, Ukitake could only smile wryly de to Yamamoto arriving here before him and already leisurely sitting on a nearby rock.
"Anyway, come, you rascal. This time, it won't end with a simple beating."
However, before either of them could start fighting, another voice interrupted the conversation.
"Mah, I don't really know why you did what you did, but since you helped Rukia, you are probably our ally, right?"
As soon as the voice stopped talking, Naruto appeared next to Ukitake, surprising him greatly.
'What an exemplary [Flash Step]! This young man is surprisingly skilled, even compared to other Captains. How is that possible?'
Despite his surprise, Ukitake quickly regained his bearing and started talking to Naruto.
"Although I appreciate the help, I don't think this is something you should meddle in. This is not a fight you can contribute to."
As soon as he finished speaking, a smirk appeared on Naruto's face as he gazed at Yamamoto.
"Hehe, I'll be the one to judge whether I can participate in this or not."
Hearing Naruto's words. Yamamoto couldn't help but frown. After all, from his perspective, Naruto was just a little boy. Obviously, someone like that could probably not even breathe in his presence. So, without further ado, he unleashed his Spiritual Pressure, crushing it into Naruto and Ukitake.
"Bold words, boy. But are you sure this is the right place for you?"
Feeling the pressure radiating out of Yamamoto, Naruto couldn't help but smile as he felt the temperature around him rising due to Yamamoto's Spiritual Pressure.
"Don't look down on me, old man!"
Naruto unleashed his own Spiritual Pressure without faltering in the slightest, causing the wind to stir around him as the steady rise in temperature was stopped due to the air dispersing. Although Yamamoto's Pressure was still far above what Naruto could output, holding his ground was no problem, surprising the old Captain-Commander.
"Impressive. Holding this much power at such a young age is truly inconceivable. I apologize for calling you a boy. State your name."
Hearing Yamamoto acknowledge him, a smile appeared on Naruto's face as he drew his blade, instantly releasing it and turning it into a pair of gauntlets.
"Naruto Uzumaki, I'm going to be the Ho... *Cough* Forget that second part."
Hearing Naruto's introduction, Yamamoto drew his blade as well, instantly causing everything around them to be doused in flames.
"Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13."
"Since we are at it, I might as well chime in, too. Ushiro Ukitake, Captain of the 13th Division."
Now that everyone had stated their name, the battle could start, but there was still something else to do as a smirk appeared on Naruto's face.
"Well, won't you introduce yourself as well, Hinata?"
Suddenly, a serene voice echoed over the battlefield that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"Hinata Uzumaki."
Two words were suddenly spoken seemingly out of nowhere, and moments later, Yamamoto's instincts flared, causing him to sidestep while slashing down his sword toward his previous position, resulting in the sound of two blades clashing, ringing over the battlefield.
"As expected of the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. You are capable of blocking my blade. You are probably the only one within Seireitei~"
Yamamoto couldn't help but feel a chill creep down his spine. Obviously, this wasn't the first time someone tried to assassinate him, but this was the first time that he genuinely felt his life to be on the line.
Moments later, another figure appeared next to Naruto with a small smile on her face that made not only Ukitake wary, but even Yamamoto himself felt some pressure.
'This young woman is no joke either. Why are there so many powerful beings being born in the human world? Is some kind of calamity coming?'
Despite his rather turbulent thoughts, Yamamoto steadied his mind as he got ready for battle.
'For now, I'll defeat those before me and ask questions later. I might have become old, but I won't allow a bunch of youngsters to defeat me.'
