Anticlimactic

"Dang ~ dang ~ dang ~ dang ~"

The sounds of swords clashing against each other reverberated in the forest, sometimes followed by a consecutive loud sound.

Their surrounding was razed to the ground. The dense forest was in a mess because of the battle between two men. A bunch of holes on the ground was also found around them.

Ryūzaki Sengyo was baffled as he watched the fight. He has always been confident in his own skill and his Zanpakuto's ability, but upon seeing the battle unfolding in front of him, he realized that a Captain's strength was beyond his understanding.

Meanwhile, after exchanging blows, Kimura Muyang twisted his foot and swung his sword at Watanabe Keiryū, utilizing the momentum of the spin while pointing the palm of his other hand at Watanabe Keiryū's chest.

Watanabe Keiryū managed to block Kimura Muyang's attack, but he noticed the blue light concentrating on Kimura Muyang's hand a little too late!

"Hadō #33. Sōkatsui!"

A blue flame was discharged from Kimura Muyang's hand, and the loud sound startled Ryūzaki Sengyo, who was watching from the sidelines.

"What's up with that destructive power? It's just a #33 Kidō." Ryūzaki Sengyo has never been this overwhelmed by emotion after years. Be it Kimura Muyang's Reiatsu, Zanjutsu, Kidō, and even raw power were so overwhelming that even his heart was stirred upside down.

Kimura Muyang was just a Lieutenant, no different than him. Kimura Muyang even just graduated last year, and even though he didn't say it out loud, he was certain that Kimura Muyang was just lucky. He also believed that the rumor about Kimura Muyang was exaggerated by a bunch of ignorant people and just laughed it off.

But now that he saw what this lucky brat was capable of firsthand, Ryūzaki Sengyo was so embarrassed! Even the apathetic Ryūzaki Sengyo was overwhelmed by emotion as he watched the fierce battle.

Watanabe Keiryū was covered in smoke after being blasted away by Kidō. However, instead of chasing Watanabe Keiryū and followed up with another attack, Kimura Muyang waited and ascertained Watanabe Keiryū's condition.

Meanwhile, Watanabe Keiryū furrowed his brows upon seeing the injury that he sustained from taking on Kimura Muyang's Kidō on the chest. Rather than an injury, it was more of a bruise. After all, he was confident when it came to toughness.

What really bothered Watanabe Keiryū was Kimura Muyang. Watanabe Keiryū's biggest advantage was his extraordinary physique. His tough physique gave him more strength and speed than an average Shinigami, but both Kimura Muyang's speed and power rivaled his.

During the attack just now, it was as if Watanabe Keiryū's advantage in physique was completely meaningless. Not only that, Kimura Muyang kept blasting him with Kidō and some other attacks from his blind spot. Indeed, the Low-Level Kidō that Kimura Muyang used earlier barely caused any damage, but it was quite pesky and threw off Watanabe Keiryū's rhythm.

What Watanabe Keiryū was unaware of was the fact that Kimura Muyang constantly strengthened his physique as per Shiun's instruction, so when it came to the physique, Kimura Muyang was way above an average Shinigami. In fact, it was Kimura Muyang who was surprised that Watanabe Keiryū turned out to be that tough. Even though he used the low-level Kidōs earlier, knowing that it wouldn't inflict that much damage on Watanabe Keiryū, he was still surprised that it only threw off Watanabe Keiryū's rhythm.

After a while, Kimura Muyang still didn't see any movement from the smoke, so he thought that Watanabe Keiryū must be planning to hide in the smoke.

Kimura Muyang was getting tired of it and said: "Are you planning to hide? Just don't forget that you are still a fugitive. Are you sure it's wise to drag this on?"

Seeing that Watanabe Keiryū still showed no sign of coming out, Kimura Muyang was getting impatient. He raised Zanpakuto up high and struck down.

An azure crescent-like compressed air blew came out from Kimura Muyang's Zanpakuto, blowing away the smoke, revealing Watanabe Keiryū, who was standing there, completely unfazed.

"I thought you would use this chance to attack."

Kimura Muyang asked because he found it odd.

"Are you holding back or what?"

"It's too late." Watanabe Keiryū shook his head with a helpless look on his face.

"?" Kimura Muyang froze for a moment as he didn't understand what Watanabe Keiryū meant, but his expression changed as he looked around.

Before he realized it, there were two figures beside Ryūzaki Sengyo.

"Captain Kyōraku, Sister Kirio!" Kimura Muyang said in surprise as he saw them, "Since when did you guys...?"

"Just now." Hikifune Kirio replied as he looked at Kimura Muyang with a satisfied look.

"This is quite a mess, hahaha. To think that you've come this far, Kimura. I'm honestly surprised." Kyōraku Shunsui said with a smile after observing their surrounding.

"Uh…this…"

Before Kimura Muyang could say a word, Hikifune Kirio interrupted him.

"We'll discuss that later, Captain Kyōraku. Captain Watanabe's affair comes first." After a slight glance at Kyōraku Shunsui, Hikifune Kirio turned to Watanabe Keiryū, "I'll let you choose, Captain Watanabe. Either give yourself up, or Captain Kyōraku will force you?"

Despite giving Watanabe Keiryū two options, Hikifune Kirio already took his stance, ready to subdue Watanabe Keiryū if he tried anything funny.

Watanabe Keiryū seemed hesitant, but in the end, he sheathed Zanpakuto. Apparently, he had no intention to resist.

Seeing Watanabe Keiryū's response, Kyōraku Shunsui and Hikifune Kirio sighed in relief, but they didn't let their guard down. Kyōraku Shunsui walked toward Watanabe Keiryū without taking his eyes off Watanabe Keiryū's Zanpakuto and patted him on the shoulder. He seemed to be whispering something to Watanabe Keiryū, and Kimura Muyang noticed that Watanabe Keiryū seemed to calm down a bit.

Kyōraku Shunsui then turned toward Kimura Muyang and said, "Okay, it's fine now, so put away your Zanpakuto, Kimura. Watanabe will not resist anymore."

"What?" It didn't quite sink in for Kimura Muyang yet, "Don't tell me it's over already?"

"Yes, or are you expecting something else, Li'l Yangyang?" Hikifune Kirio was already right beside Kimura Muyang after a quick Shunpo, "you still think it's not troublesome enough and want to make things worse? Even Azashiro Sōya's affair is not taken care of yet."

"That's not... It's just…just…"

Kimura Muyang looked towards Watanabe Keiryū and asked wonderingly: "Why didn't you use Bankai? You might be able to escape if you use Bankai."

"Bankai?" Watanabe Keiryū looked back at Kimura Muyang weirdly and seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated and ended up not saying anything else.

Hearing Kimura Muyang's question, Kyōraku Shunsui and Hikifune Kirio's expression changed, and they slowly reached out to their hands Zanpakuto's hilt. Seeing Watanabe Keiryū sigh, they were a little bit relieved but remained vigilant.

"Kimura, you'll be responsible for escorting Watanabe Ichiro. We're going back now."

Kyōraku Shunsui immediately ordered Kimura Muyang to carry Watanabe Ichiro back before he said anything weird again.

Kyōraku Shunsui and Hikifune Kirio glanced at each other, and both of them seemed relieved. Fortunately, everything was resolved without a hitch. If Watanabe Keiryū decided to use Bankai out of desperation, they'd have another problem at hand.

When Kimura Muyang carried Watanabe Ichiro, Ryūzaki Sengyo also followed him. Watanabe Keiryū was escorted by Kyōraku Shunsui and Hikifune Kirio as they made their way back to Seireitei.