"..."
The corner of Kyoraku Shunsui's eye twitched hard.
He was not from the Research and Development Bureau, and he had not fully understood Mayuri's long-winded pile of technical jargon, but he understood the core meaning perfectly well.
That bastard Mayuri was saying this: Either you're a useless piece of trash who can't even walk, or your excuse is so rotten that not even a dog would believe it.
"Cough! Cough... maybe... it's possible that woman's arrow really did have something special about it. After all, she's that Quincy whatever, and we know nothing about her abilities."
Kyoraku Shunsui could only steel himself and speak vaguely, trying to dump the blame on insufficient intelligence.
In short, his previous excuse had already been completely torn apart by Mayuri from a scientific standpoint.
If he didn't hurry up and muddle through this, by tomorrow morning the entire Seireitei would probably be full of rumors like "Kyoraku Shunsui really is a mole from the Hollow Royal Palace."
"Oh? Special ability? Still refusing to admit it?"
Seeing this guy stubbornly refuse to budge, and even dare to question his professional judgment as a scientist, Mayuri's patience finally ran out.
"Since Captain Kyoraku says he can't move, then I'll help you test it. If your legs really have no feeling anymore, then keeping them is pointless. Might as well cut them off and let me slice them up for research."
Before his words had even finished, Mayuri moved with extreme speed, drawing his Zanpakuto from his waist without the slightest hesitation. Carrying a bloodthirsty cold gleam, he swung it viciously straight at Kyoraku Shunsui's lower body.
If that slash landed, it would not just be a matter of losing a leg. Kyoraku Shunsui's happiness for the rest of his life would be buried right here, achieving the feat of all three legs being severed at once.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! You're actually serious?"
Seeing the blade whistling toward him, Kyoraku Shunsui's scalp exploded, and he could even feel a chill between his legs.
'This lunatic really dares to cut!'
Even though, with the Twelfth Division's technology, it could be reattached afterward, he did not dare gamble on whether Mayuri might casually give him some weird modified leg instead.
No choice now. He couldn't keep pretending.
BOOM!
Mayuri's full-powered strike smashed heavily into the ground. The earth cracked, rubble flew, and a deep pit instantly appeared where a person had been lying just moments before.
However, the pit was completely empty.
The huge commotion not only caught the attention of the captains who had not yet left, but also the Shinigami who were rushing over as reinforcements.
When everyone turned their heads and saw Kyoraku Shunsui completely unharmed, standing atop the ruins dozens of meters away, every single face showed an expression that could only be described as spectacular.
Just a few seconds ago, Kyoraku Shunsui had been swearing up and down that his Reishi was sealed and that he was completely unable to move.
But now?
The blade had not even reached him, and the man was already gone.
And what was more, every Shinigami present could see it clearly. That was not simple physical dodging at all. That movement trajectory and speed were unmistakably Shunpo.
A deathly silence spread across the scene.
The way everyone looked at Kyoraku Shunsui instantly turned cold, filled with scrutiny.
Not only was his claim of being unable to move a lie, perhaps even that story about Kurosaki Masaki's ability causing Reishi chaos had been fabricated.
Kyoraku Shunsui had never cleared himself of suspicion to begin with, and now the suspicion had grown to a level that could no longer be ignored.
Facing the openly distrustful gazes of the many captains, Kyoraku Shunsui felt utterly unable to defend himself.
His face darkened to the point it seemed ready to drip water. He opened his mouth, but in the end could only close it weakly.
At a time like this, any explanation would only be seen as an even clumsier cover-up.
He knew it. This time, even jumping into the Spirit River wouldn't wash him clean.
Amid this oppressive silence, Tosen Kaname, who had been standing quietly at the edge of the ruins, had the eyes hidden behind his goggles tremble slightly.
He seemed to turn his head casually, extending his perception toward a nearby pile of shattered stones.
There, Aizen Sosuke was sitting somewhat awkwardly on a broken stone pillar, while Rosse stood beside him, his palm glowing with the gentle green light of healing kido as he treated his teammate who had just come through a bitter battle.
Though no words were exchanged, in that brief instant of spiritual pressure contact, the instruction had already been delivered.
Tosen Kaname withdrew his attention. Without the slightest hesitation, his Shunpo activated beneath his feet.
Whoosh!
A black afterimage flashed by, and in the next moment, he was standing directly in front of Kyoraku Shunsui.
Accompanied by a crisp scraping sound, his Zanpakuto Suzumushi slid half an inch from its sheath, cold light glinting.
Tosen Kaname's signature low, heavy voice rang out, carrying an interrogative tone.
"Captain Kyoraku, please stop. As stated before, your actions seriously violate justice. At a moment like this, shouldn't you give everyone a reasonable explanation?"
"Explanation? What am I supposed to explain, Captain Tosen?"
Kyoraku Shunsui lowered the brim of his hat, hiding the irritation and chill that were about to overflow from his eyes.
He did not even look directly at Tosen Kaname blocking his path. He merely snorted coldly and turned to walk toward the Eighth Division barracks.
With things already at this point, although he did have his own problems, most of it was still due to manipulation from the shadows.
Not just Kurosaki Masaki's overt misdirection. There were likely also little moves from Aizen and Tosen Kaname's group.
Their target tonight had never been his lieutenant. It had been to cement his identity as a traitor.
Most crucially, after everything that had happened tonight, he had no way to defend himself at all.
Even if he tried to explain, would his words really be correctly conveyed to others?
In the face of Kyoka Suigetsu, even if the content of his words was not distorted, his expression alone would surely look guilty enough for everyone to see.
Kyoraku Shunsui found himself somewhat able to understand what kind of feeling Urahara Kisuke must have had back then.
"If you really think I'm with the Hollow King's Royal Palace, then bring out real evidence. I don't have the time to play house with baseless slander," Kyoraku Shunsui's voice was low and heavy.
This whole string of disasters today had already touched the bottom line of his patience.
First, his own lieutenant was taken away for no reason. Then the Eighth Division's base was flattened. After that, that madwoman Kurosaki Masaki smeared him in public. And then, because of a moment of carelessness, he was taken out by a single arrow.
Each of these things alone was enough to make someone furious. And now, some mere lackey of Aizen thought he was qualified to point fingers at him?
Everything he had done had been upright and aboveboard. For the peace of Soul Society, his conscience was clear, and he was not afraid of investigation.
Since they wanted to play dirty, no matter how things developed from here on out, he would take it all head-on.
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