"Everyone, attack together. His strength is not to be underestimated."
Kaiko ordered the surrounding V operatives.
More than twenty black-clad figures immediately charged at Uchiha Byakuya.
Even Kaiko himself was wielding a koukaku Quinque shaped like a cannon; likely an SS or even SSS-rated Quinque, specifically prepared to deal with Byakuya.
At that moment, Kaiko aimed the Quinque at Byakuya and fired an RC-concentrated blast.
Byakuya was completely surrounded from all directions; theoretically, there was nowhere to escape.
The sheer power of the RC-concentrated blast was overwhelming. Visually, it even appeared to create a shockwave-like effect.
Yet, Byakuya remained calm and glanced at his watch.
Judging that the timing was about right, his Mangekyō Sharingan emerged, and a spatial vortex opened before him.
Just as the RC-concentrated blast was about to strike him, he teleported himself into the Kamui dimension.
At the exact moment of impact, the explosion created a massive crater in the ground. The impact sent debris and thick clouds of dust billowing into the air, severely obscuring visibility.
Kaiko and the other black-clad operatives lost sight of Byakuya entirely.
Kaiko raised his hand, signaling the others to hold their positions. He wasn't sure about Byakuya's current status.
At least, in the split second before the explosion, he had seen Byakuya standing completely still, as if he had taken the attack head-on.
Was the brat frozen in fear?
Or did he have some other plan?
After all, Kaiko was using an SSS-rated koukaku Quinque. The sheer force of the blast wasn't something a human body could possibly withstand.
Even a kakuja would struggle to survive multiple hits from this weapon.
Logically speaking, he should be dead beyond a doubt.
After waiting for a while, the dust began to settle.
Kaiko and the V operatives scanned the area but Byakuya was nowhere to be seen.
It was as if he had been completely obliterated.
"Not even a corpse left… Maybe some remains got buried under the rubble…"
Kaiko muttered.
He had never used this level of a Quinque on a human body before.
But given the destructive power of an SSS-class Quinque, this outcome wasn't all that surprising.
What puzzled him the most, however, was why Byakuya hadn't even attempted to dodge.
With Byakuya's abilities, dodging that attack wouldn't have been difficult.
At worst, he would have taken some minor damage from the shockwave and then gradually succumbed under their combined assault.
That was the scenario Kaiko had originally anticipated.
"Maybe… he just accepted his fate."
Kaiko murmured.
Given the situation, escape had been impossible; perhaps Byakuya simply gave up in order to die a quicker, less painful death.
But in reality, Byakuya was already inside the Kamui dimension.
He was heading straight for Furuta and Rize, to see whether he could fully entrust them to Yoshitoki Washuu.
"What a shame. Losing Byakuya as an asset… Well then, the next 'Reaper' position will be assigned to Kishou."
Despite Byakuya's defection, Kaiko's trust in Arima Kishou remained unshaken.
In his eyes, Byakuya had always performed flawlessly; until today, when he suddenly pulled this foolish stunt for the sake of Furuta and Rize.
Arima Kishou had nothing to do with this matter.
The V organization always needed a convenient "cleaner" to handle the dirty work, and there was no better choice than Arima Kishou.
"We can report back now. The 'traitor' has been eliminated."
Furuta and Rize weren't running fast enough.
By the time Uchiha Byakuya found them, they had only just reached the 3rd Ward and were already gasping for breath.
Exhausted beyond their limits, they hid in a secluded alley to rest.
Hugging their knees and curling up tightly, the two of them pressed close together, sitting in the darkest corner.
"Rize… do you think we'll ever see Byakuya-nii again?"
Furuta asked softly, his expression downcast.
"Who knows… Byakuya-nii is really strong. He should be able to survive, right?"
Rize seemed relatively calm.
"…I hope so."
Furuta wasn't so sure.
He understood better than Rize just how terrifying the V operatives were.
And Byakuya-nii was alone; if he got surrounded, escape would be nearly impossible.
Just then, they suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
Their nerves tensed instantly. Forget speaking; they didn't even dare to breathe.
Furuta's heart pounded so hard it felt like it was about to leap out of his throat.
Please don't be the Washuu…
He prayed desperately.
Rize's face turned slightly pale. She instinctively pressed closer to Furuta, as if that would somehow make her feel safer.
Thump… Thump…
Furuta could clearly hear both his and Rize's heartbeats, along with the footsteps drawing nearer.
It's over.
Furuta realized the person was coming directly toward them.
It was most likely a Washuu operative.
If they got caught now, all their efforts would have been for nothing.
There would be no second chance to escape.
Rize would definitely be imprisoned again.
And Byakuya-nii's fate was still unknown… They would have let him down.
The next moment, Furuta and Rize could already see the stranger's feet.
Paralyzed by fear, neither of them noticed the faint sense of familiarity in that pair of shoes.
"Rest a little longer, then we'll keep moving."
It wasn't until they heard that familiar voice that they realized something was off.
Furuta froze for a second, then his eyes widened in joy.
"Byakuya-nii?!"
"Shh…"
Uchiha Byakuya raised a finger to his lips.
"The danger isn't over yet. We can't let our guard down."
Furuta immediately shut his mouth and nodded vigorously.
"So Byakuya-nii is really okay… I thought we had been exposed…"
Rize let out a deep sigh of relief.
"I'm fine. Those guys won't find us for now. Let's head to the 6th Ward."
Byakuya said.
"Got it."
Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline, but Furuta no longer felt tired. Rize was the same.
Byakuya led them forward, keeping their movements hidden the entire way.
Before long, they reached the 6th Ward.
But finding Kamishiro Matasaka wouldn't be easy.
To speed things up, Byakuya casually "fished" for a random ghoul, easily subduing them.
"I won't kill you," he said, "but you need to take me to your 'leader.'"
However, before the words had even fully left his mouth-
Kamishiro Matasaka had already appeared.
"No need for that. I'm right here."