While Bai Chen was still immersed in the joy of his explosive surge in power, there was something he didn't realize—
When he released his spiritual pressure at full strength earlier, the disturbance he caused was far too great.
So great, in fact, that it instantly triggered widespread panic across the surrounding districts.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Kofuseyama… what happened over there?"
"This spiritual pressure is insane! It actually caused an earthquake across the entire district?!"
At that moment—
On a street not far from Kofuseyama, within the Third District of West Rukongai.
Inside a brightly lit courtyard residence.
Startled cries rang out intermittently as people struggled to keep their footing.
Wearing a green headscarf and sporting dark skin—
Shiba Ganju, one of the most notorious delinquent bosses in all of West Rukongai, stared in sheer alarm toward the direction of Kofuseyama.
Despite being someone who should've seen it all, his body swayed unsteadily, panic written all over his face.
His pale complexion made one thing obvious—
Ganju was genuinely shaken.
"Kofuseyama isn't even that far from here!"
"And yet… just spiritual pressure alone is spreading across the entire district and causing this level of destruction!"
"Something this ridiculous… even Brother Kaien couldn't pull it off, right?"
As Ganju finished speaking, the woman beside him—
Curvaceous, wearing a tight red halter-style top—
Shiba Kūka spoke up, her expression complicated.
As she did, she glanced downward.
The old wooden floor inside the house had already shattered completely under the high-frequency tremors.
Wood splinters flew everywhere.
The damaged foundation beneath was fully exposed.
And it wasn't just the floor—
The hanging lamps on the ceiling and the items on the tables were swaying violently, some already crashing down.
Clearly—
Everything inside this house—
No, more accurately, the entire Third District—
Was suffering unprecedented destruction due to the overwhelming spiritual pressure erupting from Kofuseyama.
"Yeah…"
"Kūka, you're right."
"Even if I went all out and released my spiritual pressure, I could at most affect a small area within Kofuseyama itself."
"There's no way I could reach this kind of scale."
Standing before Ganju and Kūka—
Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper, and one holding high office as the Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division—
Shiba Kaien spoke frankly, his brows tightly knit.
That's right.
This courtyard, plain as it looked, was the residence of the Shiba siblings—
Once members of one of the Five Great Noble Houses of Soul Society, now fallen and long since in decline.
Originally, for Kaien, today had been his monthly leave.
A rare stretch of free time.
And being someone who valued family deeply, he'd made a point of returning to Rukongai as soon as possible to reunite with his younger sisters and brother.
Yet he hadn't been home long before this sudden calamity struck.
Faced with such a bizarre situation—
Kaien's first instinct was to wonder:
Had a natural disaster occurred at Kofuseyama?
Yes.
In the eyes of this famed prodigy of Soul Society—
To unleash such absurd, terrifying power in such a brief instant—
The only explanation he could think of was a natural catastrophe.
"Ah… a natural disaster?" Ganju froze, then instinctively shook his head.
"I've lived in Rukongai for years, and I've never heard of natural disasters happening here."
"So, Ganju…" Kaien's expression darkened further.
"You think this was caused by someone?"
After all—
He was a Vice-Captain of the Gotei Thirteen.
One of the notable figures within the Seireitei.
Even setting aside the other captains—
Kaien's own spiritual pressure was already formidable.
And yet, when he sensed that overwhelming pressure radiating from Kofuseyama—
Even someone of his caliber, possessing strength on par with a captain—
Still felt the same unease and dread as his siblings.
Based on Kaien's understanding of the captains' power—
Across the entire Gotei Thirteen—
Aside from the Captain-Commander, the universally acknowledged "strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years"—
No one else—
Not Unohana Retsu, not Kyōraku Shunsui, even those veteran captains who'd served for centuries—
Could possibly create an effect like this, even if they unleashed their spiritual pressure at full force.
Which meant—
If Ganju wasn't mistaken—
If this terrifying spiritual pressure that defied all common sense wasn't a natural disaster…
But something released by a person—
Then wouldn't that mean…
That over at Kofuseyama—
A powerhouse had appeared out of nowhere, someone whose spiritual pressure and raw power rivaled even the Captain-Commander?
"Ghh…"
At that thought—
No matter how steady Kaien usually was, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath, his heart pounding with shock.
Without even realizing it—
Cold sweat had already soaked through the back beneath his shihakushō.
Clearly—
Toward this unknown, mysterious threat—
Shiba Kaien felt genuine, deep-seated unease.
"Brother Kaien… what should we do now?"
"Are we just supposed to sit back and let this continue?"
Fighting through the dizziness brought on by the relentless vibrations,
Kūka asked anxiously.
This had only been going on for a short time—
And the house was already in ruins.
If that terrifying spiritual pressure didn't fade and the tremors continued—
It wouldn't be long before the entire Third District was reduced to rubble.
Sensing his sister's anxiety—
And mindful of the duty he bore as a Vice-Captain—
Kaien considered briefly, then made a swift decision.
"Kūka. Ganju. Let's go."
"We're heading to Kofuseyama—"
"To find the source of this abnormal spiritual pressure."