Shiba Isshin watched, his scalp tingling with shock.
Even though he already knew it was a fake, the opponent's strength was genuinely at the Captain level, and significantly stronger than his own.
Yet, such a powerful enemy had been forcibly chopped into mincemeat by Naraku Sora in just a few strikes.
Beside them, Saitō Furōfushi immediately realized the gravity of the situation and turned to flee without a word.
'First, get away from this dangerous man. I'll figure out the rest later.'
But before she could get very far, a terrifying wave of heat erupted behind her, as if the sun had leapt over the horizon, radiating light and heat without reservation.
The Reiatsu rapidly closed in. Saitō turned her head in terror, only to see a demon-like, ferocious grin right in front of her. The Reiatsu enveloping his body blazed fiercely, making him look like a sun walking upon the earth.
A single blade descended.
"Rhino Strike・Dragon Flash!"
Boom!
A muffled, thunderous roar erupted. The street ahead of the blade's tip vanished instantly, replaced by a massive, abyss-like canyon that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Countless pieces of rubble disappeared in that moment, as if they had been completely erased from existence.
To prevent the imposter from escaping, Naraku Sora had directly unleashed his full base power.
The destructive force was highly impressive.
Fortunately, there were no residents on this street, and any souls with a bit of sense had long since fled the area when the battle broke out.
Therefore, it did not cause any casualties.
Shiba Isshin took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. He used Flash Step to appear beside Naraku Sora and said with a serious expression,
"Lord Naraku, what exactly are they?"
"Science."
"?"
Shiba Isshin looked completely bewildered.
Naraku Sora toyed with the irregularly shaped gemstone in his hand, holding it up to the sunlight in the sky, causing it to reflect a myriad of gorgeous colors.
"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics myself."
"I just detected technology related to Artificial Souls from these two little trinkets."
"There might be a mole in Squad 12."
Shiba Isshin frowned, the so-called "Artificial Soul technology" subconsciously surfacing in his mind.
Just a short while ago, Captain Kirio Hikifune of Squad 12 had announced the invention of an Artificial Soul technology capable of changing the history of Soul Reapers.
After multiple verifications, its value was deemed immeasurable.
But how much time had actually passed? Had this precious Artificial Soul technology already been exploited by some criminals?
Naraku Sora, meanwhile, stared blankly at the irregular gemstone.
There was something else he didn't say out loud: this thing contained not only Artificial Soul technology but also the power of the Spirit King.
It was likely tissue, such as skin fragments.
Besides that, there should be a blend of several other technologies.
The person who invented this thing was absolutely a genius; it was just a pity that his intellect wasn't used for the right purposes.
Towards this kind of uncontrollable and dangerous element, Naraku Sora never had a single shred of pity.
It was different from Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
Although those two were equally dangerous, they relatively had bottom lines that restrained them.
Furthermore, Naraku Sora understood their personalities very well and could safely entrust his back to them.
But this researcher who had suddenly popped up had no bottom line to speak of.
Not to mention, his ultimate goal in creating these clones was—
To destroy the Soul Society.
It was quite absurd when he thought about it; it seemed like every villain's goal was to destroy the Soul Society.
"Lord Naraku, you seem to know the identity of the mole?"
Shiba Isshin spotted the blind spot.
Naraku Sora nodded.
"It should be a man with yellow-green hair, named Kagerōza something..."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Seireitei is no longer safe. We have absolutely no idea how many Soul Reapers have been cloned."
"And ordinary people have no way of distinguishing the real from the fake."
"Whether it's memories or strength, the clones are exactly the same as the originals. At most, there's a slight difference in personality."
Hearing this, Shiba Isshin's expression instantly grew solemn.
He didn't know much about Naraku Sora, but he had seen the figure who stepped forward to turn the tide during the Hell Rebellion.
Therefore, his heart was mostly filled with respect and admiration for him.
"But those two imposters just now didn't seem to fool you, Lord Naraku."
Shiba Isshin hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you perhaps have some special method of distinguishing them?"
"It's an exclusive trick. You wouldn't be able to learn it."
Naraku Sora waved his hand, signaling Shiba Isshin to give up on such pointless thoughts.
He couldn't exactly say that he had detected the anomaly in their spiritual signatures through his Pesquisa, could he?
He was the Substitute Head Captain now, after all; he had to somewhat care about his public identity.
Speaking of which, when Old Man Yama was around, this guy didn't come out to cause trouble. But the moment he left, he immediately jumped out to destroy the Soul Society.
Wasn't this blatantly trying to make him look bad?
If Old Man Yama found out, he would think he was incompetent at his job.
No, he couldn't just wait around like this.
He had to do something.
Thinking of this, Naraku Sora suddenly felt a sense of urgency and abruptly stood up.
"Isshin, come with me!"
"We're going back to call for backup and turn this Seireitei upside down!"
Squad 12, Dangai Research Division.
A man wearing a white researcher's uniform stared intently at the screen in front of him, his fingers cracking loudly.
The data representing Saitō Furōfushi and Katori Batsu'unsai had completely vanished, which meant the sneak attack plan was a total failure.
For a moment, the man's face looked as ugly as it could get.
"Damn it, this guy actually dared to go for the kill!"
"Does he have any regard for the laws of the Soul Society?! What does he think Central 46 is?! He deserves to die!"
"Fortunately, Kirio Hikifune, who is familiar with Artificial Soul technology, is currently not in the Soul Society. As for the other researchers, it's absolutely impossible for them to crack my Reigai technology in a short amount of time."
"As long as I find the other half of my soul and complete the fusion, let alone a mere Naraku Sora, even if Yamamoto Shigekuni returns from the Dangai, he won't be able to stop my plan!"
Speaking of this, the man suddenly thought of something and pressed several buttons on the console in quick succession.
Soon, a figure appeared inside the research facility.
"Hiyosu, what's the situation in the Dangai?"
Hiyosu, whose entire body was green and looked like a fat catfish that had become a spirit, had a bizarre glint in his eyes. He bowed his head respectfully and said,
"Reporting to you, sir. The Kōryū has formed a circuit and successfully sealed off the Valley of Screams. Yamamoto Shigekuni and the others will not be able to return to the Soul Society anytime soon."
"The relevant anomaly data has already been sent to multiple Captains under Captain Hikifune's identity, prompting them to head to the Dangai in batches to investigate."
"The Gotei 13 is gradually crumbling."
Hearing this, a delighted smile appeared on Inaba Kagerōza's face.
He had been waiting for this day for a very long time.
"My apologies, Lord Naraku—"
In front of the Hakudōmon, a giant resembling a small mountain stood by the city wall, holding a massive battle axe in each hand, his aura terrifying.
"This path is closed!"
Naraku Sora narrowed his eyes. His Pesquisa, which had already become a passive ability, instantly captured the abnormal spiritual signature on Ikkanzaka Jidanbō.
This was not the original, but an imposter.
Since he wasn't real, there was nothing more to say.
With an amiable smile, Naraku Sora raised his right hand. As his five fingers clenched into a fist, a thunderous roar erupted.
"Single Bone!"
Ikkanzaka Jidanbō's pupils shrank drastically. He subconsciously crossed his twin axes in front of him, attempting to block the attack in this manner.
Shouldn't a normal person ask for the reason first?
Why attack right off the bat? Has this guy truly rebelled?
Boom!!
Under Ikkanzaka Jidanbō's shocked gaze, that completely unflashy punch actually shattered his axes directly.
Then, the unparalleled force of the punch closed in, striking his chest with absolute precision.
Before he could even let out a scream, his mountain-like body contorted and deformed under the berserk power.
Centered on the point of impact, a depression abruptly expanded, kicking up ripples of force. At the same time, his flesh and blood, enveloped by Reiatsu, instantly disintegrated, spraying out a waterfall-like mist of blood.
Dragging a long, blood-red trail, Ikkanzaka Jidanbō plowed a trench into the ground and crashed solidly into the Hakudōmon behind him.
Surging Reiatsu wreaked havoc within his body.
Under Shiba Isshin's shocked gaze, Ikkanzaka Jidanbō let out an earth-shattering roar:
"..."
Before he could finish speaking, his entire body swelled up like a balloon and exploded like a firework with a loud bang.
A massive amount of blood mist painted the Hakudōmon and the walls constructed of Sekki-seki.
The scene was, for a moment, quite spectacular.
Shiba Isshin: "..."
Although Ikkanzaka Jidanbō was merely a gatekeeping hero whose strength was far inferior to a Soul Reaper Captain—at best, he was at the level of a seated officer.
But for such a massive body to be completely blown apart with just one punch was simply too terrifying.
Right...
"Lord Naraku, weren't we supposed to act cautiously?"
Shiba Isshin suddenly remembered that an unknown number of Soul Reapers in the Gotei 13 had already been replaced by clones.
Wouldn't barging in so openly completely expose their actions to those traitors?
Naraku Sora shot him a sidelong glance. "Who told you that?"
Shiba Isshin's breath hitched.
"You said earlier that we were going to gather trustworthy..."
Naraku Sora twitched the corner of his mouth, stretched his arms, and walked straight toward the blood-splattered Hakudōmon, saying without looking back:
"Don't misunderstand my meaning, Isshin."
"I said we're calling for backup!"
The moment his voice fell, his knuckles emitted a sound like grinding metal, and he threw another punch.
In an instant, the earth shook and fierce winds flared up.
Countless cracks appeared on the towering Hakudōmon. A deafening crash echoed like thunder throughout the entire district, making the hearts of the arriving Soul Reapers tremble.
Under countless shocked gazes, the indestructible Hakudōmon collapsed with a loud crash, kicking up a wave of dust hundreds of meters high.
Scorching winds raged, and the earth quaked.
A tall, straight figure emerged from the gradually settling dust, entering everyone's line of sight.
From the crowd, Hirako Shinji rushed out. His angry voice reached the ears of all the Soul Reapers and even spread further away:
"Naraku Sora, you slaughtered a comrade for no reason and destroyed the Hakudōmon! Are you planning to rebel—"
Facing the accusation, Naraku Sora looked at the crowd and revealed a harmless smile. Using his Reiatsu to amplify his voice, he broadcasted it even wider and further:
"That's right, I'm rebelling."
Looking at those slightly raised corners of his mouth, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in Hirako Shinji's heart.