XX-level Hokage

"The Ryuka kidnapped the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division as hostage, but has now escaped from the Fourth Division's General Aid Center."

The whereabouts and safety of the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division are currently unknown. Unohana of the Fourth Division requests that the other division members pay attention to the situation of the Seventh Seat. "The Fourth Division Lieutenant, Kotetsu, is missing and his whereabouts are currently unknown."

"The Silent Spirit Wall is currently in good condition, with no enemy records found and no combat records."

"There are no signs of intruders or backup from the outside. Rukia Kuchiki has not been found."

Large numbers of Hell Butterflies fluttered around the First Division's barracks, taking off and landing repeatedly. It wasn't just Hell Butterflies; the members of the Inner Garden Division were also frequently venturing out.

Even the communication methods unique to the 12th Division were utilized. Information about the situation throughout the entire Seireitei was continuously gathered at the 1st Division's barracks. After overall analysis and interpretation, and further instructions, it was relayed to the members of each division operating in different areas.

That being said, this is the first time in history that such a central information exchange and command system has been put into use.

If Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryu Shigekuni weren't currently absent, no one would dare to create such a large-scale operation within the First Division, but it just so happens.

Although the intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities achieved so far are the strongest in history, the simultaneous use of three different information exchange systems—Hell Butterfly, the Inner Garden Team, and the Twelfth Division's communication methods—inevitably leads to overlapping, delayed, and other problems in information transmission.

If this system is to be used in the future, it must be thoroughly analyzed and reassembled from all three components. Only in this way can it be fully utilized.

Give full play to each other's strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

That's what they say, but considering their authority and intelligence coverage, the 12th Division secretly collects and analyzes various information, integrating big data.

It's hard to say whether the Image Hall, the uncrowned master of intelligence within the Seireitei, will raise any objections. All that can be said for now is that it has played a positive role to some extent.

Whether the First Division has ever been this lively... no, more like noisy, in the past hundred years is still a question. Besides the ordinary soldiers coming and going, many captains are also waiting here, ready to strike at any moment.

Because it wasn't a mandatory order, captains from divisions such as the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, and 12th were able to go on missions alone.

Most of the team leaders waiting here were quite composed. Besides their own thoughts and purposes, and the possibility of taking a chance, they felt that staying in this place, where information exchange was most frequent and comprehensive, and grasping first-hand information was the only way to accurately hit the nail on the head.

However, it is precisely for this reason.

Some people are also frustrated by this situation.

Many chairs were moved into the corridor outside the team leader's meeting room, but only a few were used. A white chair that hadn't appeared for a long time also suddenly appeared.

Kotetsu Isane, the vice-captain of the Fourth Division, is quite popular among the female members of the squad because she is larger than the average woman, with a slender and well-proportioned figure and an elegant, masculine appearance.

Because he was already so tall, he hoped he wouldn't grow any taller after reaching 170cm, so he started eating porridge, which wasn't very nutritious, as his main food. Unexpectedly, this backfired, and he eventually reached a height of 187cm, which is quite astonishing for a man.

Compared to a certain captain who has been struggling to grow any taller for decades, Kotetsu Isane is incredibly fortunate. However, in stark contrast to her appearance, although she looks very boyish and speaks in a boyish tone, her personality is...

Timid, introverted, and indecisive, he even dreams of sleeping in his younger sister Kotetsu Kiyone's room, which is very typical of the Fourth Division.

They work very hard even in battle, which makes them seem exceptionally positive.

But if someone seizes the initiative, and their Zanpakuto is taken away, they won't be able to use their preferred Kido techniques effectively. It's quite normal for their true nature to be fully revealed, right?

"So, it really was a traveler's misfortune?" Kotetsu Isane asked Ishida Uryu, who was deep in thought.

"…Asking this now seems a bit slow, doesn't it?" Interrupted by Kotetsu Isane's words, Ishida Uryu said somewhat helplessly, "…Actually, I've been thinking this from the beginning, but I only dared to ask now, hehe." Kotetsu Isane showed a hint of embarrassment and fear.

smile.

Although I was initially terrified when I was taken hostage by Ishida Uryu, I had thought of bravely resisting in order to avoid suffering any humiliation.

However, Kotetsu Isane quickly realized that Ishida Uryu was not the heinous and wicked traveling villain she had imagined.

Despite his young age, Ishida Uryu was quite gentlemanly in his words and actions, giving one the impression that he wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on a lady unless forced by circumstances.

"Speaking of which, I was summoned back to the Fourth Division because I heard there was a problem at the general ambulance station. It seems to be a friend who was with you?" "They are teammates."

Shi Youyu corrected Kotetsu Isane's wording.

Chad is Ichigo's friend, but not his friend. They act together only because they share the same goal. So they are just teammates.

We split up and went our separate ways.

While not explaining things explicitly, it covered most of the points.

This can be considered a response to Kotetsu Isane's sudden revelation of the information.

To some extent, this can be considered a tacit understanding that Ishida Uryu and Kotetsu Isane developed in this tug-of-war.

In any case, strictly speaking, whether it was the incident involving the Fourth Division or Shiba Ganju and Namikaze Orihime going to rescue Chad, it was all already happened and was in the past.

By revealing information that is no longer important, we can bring back some information when Kotetsu Isane returns, so that she won't be implicated because of Ishida Uryu's arbitrary actions.

Chapter 99: Kotetsu Isane

Although Shi Youyulong hated Qingyan the God of Death, he was not a killer.

They didn't get their target wrong; their goal was to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, not to slaughter Shinigami. Therefore, any avoidable sacrifices should be avoided at all costs.

It's quite amazing that these two people, from different camps and with different identities, and who are even meeting for the first time, can form such a tacit understanding.

"Anyway, thank you for answering my question. As agreed, I should let you go now." Upon hearing Ishida Uryu say this, Kotetsu Isane actually showed a somewhat surprised expression.

Could it be that, in her view, this pre-arranged agreement was less of an agreement and more of a pie in the sky, a pre-deceptive pie in the sky used for negotiation and deception?

In other words, in her view, while Ishida Uryu was calm and decisive in combat and fighting ability, he was less skilled in combat than those who...

She needs to be stronger, but in terms of her ideological awareness, she's still a bit too naive and immature.

Ultimately, if her Zanpakuto hadn't been stolen, even if she were to perform the Destruction Incantation and activate the Kido, it would still take a short time. That short time would have been enough for Ishida Uryu to fire a burst of light arrows, and Kotetsu Isane wouldn't have been so obedient and cooperative before being tied up in such a strange way with the red rope.

As for giving her a free ride... she really can't do that!

"But before that, I need to take some precautions. Sorry."

Before Kotetsu Isane, Ishida Uryu picked up her Zanpakuto. He then summoned a spirit bow and nocked her Zanpakuto onto it. "???"

Because of the Zanpakuto's curved shape, all the pale blue spiritual particles were attached to it, like amber encasing the Zanpakuto within a somewhat enormous spiritual particle arrow.

"?! Wait, wait a minute! There's no need to do this. But it's too late!"

The sword of light was launched from Ishida Uryu's hand with a whoosh.

Under Kotetsu Isane's watchful gaze, it traced a graceful arc in the air and landed behind countless walls.

Hopefully, no unlucky soul will get caught in the crossfire at its destination. "Alright, you can go now."

Ishida Uryu sheathed his spirit bow, looking refreshed. Only Kotetsu Isane remained, staring at him with a complicated expression.

Under Kotetsu Isane's gaze, Ishida Uryu tilted his head slightly, a puzzled expression on his face, as if to say, "What? Is there some other problem?"

"Is that right?" Kotetsu Isane hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself, thinking and thinking, unsure of what to say.

In the end, all he could do was sigh. Without leaving a single word, he rose and headed straight for the spot where his Zanpakuto had landed.

Although she had considered the implications of exposing her back to the enemy along the way, and was wary of Ishida Uryu's sneak attacks, he ultimately did not do so.

This made Kotetsu Isane start to ponder the accuracy of the information she had obtained from Ishigami Yuuryu during their conversation. Ultimately, information is interactive; once information is exchanged, it becomes part of the communication.

The difference lies only in whether one can recognize that this is an information exchange, and how much information can be extracted from it.

When Yuryu Ishida asked Isane Kotetsu for the information he wanted to know, Isane Kotetsu was also trying to deduce the situation that Yuryu Ishida had grasped by comparing the discrepancy between what Yuryu Ishida knew and what she knew.

Perhaps this is how they developed their tacit understanding of information exchange.

Kotetsu Isane may be a cute and gentle girl, but no one would say she's stupid. That's how smart people talk.

Kotetsu Isane did not immediately assign anyone or specifically notify someone to go back and surround Ishigami Yuryu because only the idiot was still standing there.

What she was thinking about was returning to the Fourth Division immediately after retrieving the Zanpakuto to inform Retsu Unohana. Tell her…

It appears that two groups of roving monsters exist simultaneously within the current Seireitei, rather than just one.

Ishida Uryu watched Kotetsu Isane depart into the distance.

Kotetsu Isane did nothing strange or inappropriate. Therefore, the pale blue spiritual energy surrounding the wrist pendant dissipated.

After glancing back at Kotetsu Isane's location one last time, Ishida Uryu used his Flying Leap to leave his spot and move towards several places he had previously observed being used for hiding.

After all, it's nature's own domain; it's not really suitable for it to be swaying and wandering around aimlessly.

Moreover, Uryu Ishida is a Quincy and doesn't even have a Zanpakuto (a type of ancient Chinese sword). If he were to encounter a enemy, his identity would be instantly exposed. Therefore, he should try to avoid fighting and showing himself.

After moving to a previously scouted hiding place nearby, Ishida Uryu once again appeared thoughtful, continuing his contemplation that had been interrupted by Kotetsu Isane.

We didn't actually get any particularly valuable intelligence from Kotetsu Isane, at least not from the Shinigami side. Leaving aside whether Kotetsu Isane, as a vice-captain of a healing squad, had the authority to know such important information.

If Ishida Uryu had truly used torture to extract information, then Kotetsu Isane and he wouldn't have parted ways amicably. What Ishida Uryu obtained was merely ordinary, even commonplace, information that was of little consequence to Kotetsu Isane.

His true purpose, which he was pondering at this moment, was neither the situation of the Grim Reaper nor the mysterious third party that had remained unseen until now.

It was actually

Regarding his own situation, he suspected the one who had exerted tremendous effort and played a crucial role on several occasions.

From the very beginning, Ishida Uryu felt something was amiss, a sense of being led astray. Now, he finally confirmed that his feeling wasn't just a figment of his imagination, but a real phenomenon. Simply put, everyone, including Ishida Uryu, had been trapped in an information cocoon.

Before the Soul Society, including seeking help from the Shiba family, and even before Rukia Kuchiki disappeared, the focus shifted to "finding Rukia Kuchiki and taking her back."

Their thoughts, or rather their ideas, were surprisingly consistent: the Soul Society would be detrimental to Rukia Kuchiki, and only they could save her.

This concept was taught to them by Kisuke Urahara, the unscrupulous merchant who sells wooden clogs and hats. It was repeatedly emphasized by Yoruichi the Black Cat in her actions and words, and thoroughly implanted into their hearts, turning it into an unquestionable code of conduct like common sense.

But what is the truth?

The truth is that Rukia Kuchiki's condition was far from that serious.

Rather than saying that someone had to come to her rescue, it would be more accurate to say that Rukia Kuchiki was not a vulnerable person in the Soul Society; a whole host of important figures were trying to get her out of trouble.

Their involvement at this time would only cause trouble and create chaos.

Why is it that no one tells them such a self-evident truth?

There are many answers, but the most important one is probably that it was unnecessary. By doing this, their identity as "travelers" was sealed.

There's no need to communicate too much with the Ryuka. The Shinigami are the ones in power. This is the Shinigami's stronghold. Let's take down the Ryuka first. We can discuss any ulterior motives after we've taken them down.

Of course, this situation only applies to a small number of Grim Reapers who know their identities and reasons for taking action. For the majority of Grim Reapers who haven't guessed their identities, the reasons for their actions are much simpler.

They are simply enemies.

Chapter 100: Speculation

Why didn't Ishida Uryu and the others discover this beforehand? Why did Ishida Uryu have to take such a risky action to obtain this information?

This information was far too commonplace for the Shinigami; it was information that everyone knew, and it was the basis for all information regarding Rukia Kuchiki.

It would be strange if something so basic was deliberately mentioned.

Both sides are trapped in different information cocoons. Even if there is contact or brief overlap, it is all in vain if they do not consciously break through in this direction.

From this perspective, the so-called mysterious third-party forces are not so scary. What is truly terrifying is always someone within the organization with ulterior motives or even malicious intent.