Devilish Gaming: Ch.23

“This was caused by a Ryoka! Go check down there and we'll check over here!”

“We'll check at the western and eastern sectors to make sure they didn't get too far!”

“Alright! Spread out!”

“Hah…” Chad blew on the steam radiating from his fist as he lowered his fist, watching as the many Shinigami that raced to the crater quickly scattered to find him.

Looking up at where the hurricane of spiritual energy was fading away, Chad glanced at the other three streaks of light were falling to the ground before shaking his head as he looked back at the ground.

'First, I need to regroup with the others and then we'll try and figure out what's going on.' The teen thought as he dropped from the tree, landing a crouch while staying still to make sure no one heard that.

As no one came around the corner after half a minute, Chad was gone from his position and quietly jogging through the maze-like pathways of the Seireitei in order to get back to his friends.

However, as he turned a corner, he frowned at the sight of numerous Shinigami in front of him, who looked just as surprised to see him before Chad readied himself as they all unsheathed their swords.

Not slowing down, Chad slid under the jump attack of the first Shinigami before grabbing their ankle and threw them back at the charging group with a spin.

As the throw toppled them down to the ground, the Brazo Derecha de Gigante appeared as he slammed his fist knuckles first into the ground and unleashed a shockwave that sent everyone flying back.

With a grunt, the teen was up and charging through the group, leaving explosions in his wake that stopped anyone from getting close to him before leaping up and over a row of walls with another explosion.

While he wanted to take them out to make sure they couldn't follow him, he also didn't have much time to worry about them as they only had three days before the execution if Yoruichi was right in her calculations.

'I need to meet up with either Ichigo or Yoruichi. With them, we'll be able to find the ot-!' Chad stopped his thought process as he felt danger approaching from the side and dropped to his knees with a slide.

Just as he did so, a dozen or so metal birds pierced through the air with a piercing cry, quickly spinning around while flipping to his feet as he stared at the guy standing on the rooftop besides him.

Looking to be the same age as him, the guy had dark shaggy hair and a mole underneath his right eye, with the standard Shinigami attire with shortened sleeves over a light-coloured turtleneck and a light-coloured apron over his waist.

Chad frowned as he watched the birds curving through the air before diving and sinking into the segmented whipsword the guy was wielding.

“Let me pass.” Chad asked as Brazo Derecha de Gigante began to glow and the other man frowned before Chad's eyes widened as the man smacked his whipsword on the ground while making hand signs with his free hand.

The next moment, the tiles below his feet condensed and formed into a pack of barking and snarling dogs that leapt through the air at him, Chad quickly covering his body in Bringer Light as he dashed forward.

Shifting Brazo Dereca de Gigante into its defensive shield form while holding his arm in front of him, Chad winced as he smacked all the dogs out of his way while feeling the slight sting from the scratches that were left on his arm.

Pulling his arm back while shifting it into its offensive form, the other guy was quick to make a few new hand signs while spinning his sword in front of him right as Chad charged his spiritual energy to his fist.

“Gigante Cañón!” Punching forward, a powerful blast of scarlet red spiritual energy pierced through the air and impacted the guy's shield, whose eyes widened as the blast not only knocked his shield but also sent him crashing through the roof.

Landing on one of the rooftops, Chad didn't stop as he continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop while frowning as he heard an explosion and turned around to see the man riding on a metallic horse while following him.

Landing on the path with a grunt, Chad spun around and unleashed another blast into the ground that also knocked down the walls around him, the black-haired guy jumping from his horse and slicing through the dust cloud with his whipsword.

However, as he did so, he frowned as he saw nothing and looked at the destroyed walls only to let out a non-audible sigh as he saw no traces of which way Chad had gone.

“Hey, Atau!” The young man blinked as he heard his name being called, looking up to see a tall muscular man with a distinctive hair cut with black sunglasses and dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform with the hilt of a small katana sticking out from the front of his uniform.

“Found any Ryoka yet?” The man asked before blinking behind his glasses as Atau held up one finger before giving a shrug.

“They escaped, huh? That means they're pretty good to have been able to escaped from our 3rd Seat. Well, I've already sent people on the right path so you take the left and I'll take the centre! Shoot up a smoke into the sky when you find him, okay?!” The man ordered before grinning as Atau nodded and took off down the hole in the left wall.

Standing up, Tetsuzaemon Iba frowned as he began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, following the very faint trace of spiritual energy the Ryoka had left that Atau had missed.

'Time to bring him to justice and find his friends too.'

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Chad was keeping his breathing soft and consistent as he raced through the pathways of the Seireitei, making sure to come to a stop near corners as well as jumping over walls when he came close to other Shinigami finding him.

Looking down at his arm, he frowned slightly as he saw that the slight scratches had already healed, but it was still a surprise for him to see the Brazo Derecha de Gigante when even Tatsuki struggled to do it.

'And he was not even a lieutenant let alone a captain. This is going to be tougher than I thought.' Chad thought as he stopped at another corner, taking a quick glance down both paths before taking the left path when he saw both was clear.

However, his eyes widened as Spiritual Sense shouted at him to dodge and he followed its command by diving forward with a spin, watching in shock as an object slammed into the ground and cratered it with a powerful shockwave.

As he sent out a blast from Brazo Derecha de Gigante into the dust cloud, though, he was highly confused and cautious as he saw the ground rippling while the dust settled, readying himself as he realized that the fight was only beginning.

“Sink or Swim, Isonade! (Beach Stroker!)” Chad's frown deepened at the deep and gruff voice that echoed around him before his eyes widened as he felt his feet sinking into the ground below him.

Quickly sending an explosion from his feet to push him away and onto a rooftop, Chad grunted as his feet sunk into the tiles right before the roof hardened and locked him in place.

The next moment, he was quick to unleash an explosion to shatter the roof and turn Brazo Derecha de Gigante into its shield form, placing it in front of him right as he watched a man with sunglasses slam a large bladed scimitar with a pick-like protrusion a few inches away from the tip with a roar.

Immediately, he could feel the difference in power as the man's blow sent him blasting through the air and through a series of rooftops, the force behind it reminding him of Kugo or Jackie when they stop holding back.

'O-Okay, this…this is not good.' Chad groaned as he stood up, flexing his arm only to wince as he saw half of the shield already lit up with a bright blue glow.

He wasn't able to think more of it as he saw the man sinking back into the rippling ground with a smirk, rolling to his feet with a ground while now on high alert as he awaited the next attack.

'Or…' Chad's thought trailed off as he lifted his fist high before bringing it down with a grunt, unleashing not only the charged-up energy but also his own spiritual energy in the form of a powerful explosion.

Looking at the surprised face of the Shinigami as he had went to dive out from the ground only to lose most of his cover, Chad didn't give the man much time to think as he blasted forward with Brazo Derecha de Gigante pulled back.

“Oh shit!” The man exclaimed as he quickly held his sword ready only to wheeze as Chad's fist slammed into the flat side of his blade with a spiritual blast, sending the two of them flying in opposite directions.

Spinning and rolling to his feet, Chad frowned as he saw the man do the same, the Shinigami reaching up and wiping the trail of blood from the corner of his lips before smirking as he nodded.

“Not bad, Ryoka. It's been a while since someone other than Ikkaku has drawn blood from me with our first exchange.”

“Thank you.” Chad didn't want to talk and just wanted to get away, but he also knew that the man would follow him so he was forced to respond.

“That's all? Just thank you?”

“I'm merely here to rescue our friend. Unfortunately, I do not have time to be friendly.”

“Rukia Kuchiki, right? The one that's going to be executed in three days?” The man asked with a raised eyebrow and Chad's frown deepened as he nodded.

'So, Yoruichi's calculations were right. If so, I really don't have time to waste here.'

“I was going to keep our fight going, but if you're here to stop the execution, I can't let you pass as the lieutenant of Squad 7.” The man's words made Chad's eyes widened slightly as he finally caught sight of the wooden badge tied around his left arm.

A second later, Chad stoic gaze returned as he began to bounce on the balls of his feet while holding his fists up in a boxing stance.

“Hmm, impressive emotional control.” The man spoke as he went into his own stance by crouching slightly and turning his left side towards Chad while holding his sword with his right hand and the pick protrusion held against the ground.

“You too.” Chad spoke as while the man had the same confident smirk on his face, the teen noticed the tensed shoulders of the man as well as the cautiousness in his stance.

“Thank you. The name's Tetsuzaemon Iba. What's yours so I may know the name of my foe?”

“Yasutora Sado. Call me Chad.”

“Chad…I like that name. Well, Chad, let us see whether I will win and take your life or if you will win and rescue your friend!” Iba declared with a grin and Chad smirked slightly as he had to appreciate the man's honesty before he nodded.

“Okay.” With that one word, the world cried as Chad launched himself forward with an explosion, Iba quickly stabbing the pick of his blade into the ground before spinning in a wide circle.

As he did so, Chad leapt as a shockwave of spiritual energy shot across the ground before the ground itself began to move like raging water.

“Let's have a good time in the sea of the world, Chad!” Iba exclaimed as he leapt backwards while placing his sword below his feet like a board and Chad watched in awe as the man solidified dirt below his feet into the form of a surfboard right as the walls came crashing down like thunderous waves.

Jumping into the air while struggling to condense and form the reishi into a platform below his feet, Chad frowned as he was barely able to make a platform before looking up right as Iba blitzed towards him with his sword held back.

With a grunt, the teen leaned back and let the sword sail over his head before unleashing a blast that helped sent him spinning through the air, the teen making sure to keep sight of Iba as the man leapt from his skateboard and sunk into the ground right as he watched everything turn solid.

The moment he landed, Chad was not surprised to find his feet sinking into the ground once more as he unleashed an explosion from his back to sent himself forward and out of the rippling ground only to curse as Iba shot out of the ground after him.

Spiritual energy charged to his feet as Iba spun his sword above his head, both fighters facing each other before the lieutenant brought his sword down with a roar right as the Fullbringer punched upwards with a powerful blast.

The air trembled and shook the ground below them as Chad was sent crashing into the ground from the powerful explosion made by their class while Iba grunted as he was sent in an arc through the air.

Landing crouched on the dirt with a grunt, the lieutenant was surprised to see Chad already sliding to a stop in front of him with his non-armoured fist pulled back, the red orb in his hands shocking the man as Chad aimed the palm at him.

“Cero!” The Hollow Reiryoku roared as it clashed with the reishi of the Soul Society and unleashed a powerful scarlet beam that sent Iba flying through a couple of walls.

The man grunted with each impact as the blast dissipated, lowering his blade and shaking arms only to frown as he saw Chad looking slightly tired with his fists held up.

'I may have underestimated him. …No more.' Holding his blade against the ground while crouching lowly, Chad frowned as the man tore out a chunk of mud sludge from the ground that was the size of his body before watching as Iba threw it up high into the air.

As he did so, however, Chad's eyes widened as the sludge split into dozens of balls that all solidified as they dropped down, quickly looking back down right as he heard Iba charging towards him with his blade held tot eh side.

Ducking under the first swing at his head, Chad unleashed a blast from his back that shattered a few boulders coming to land on him, quickly focusing back on Iba as he ducked and weaved around the man's barrage of quick swings.

The dirt rocks rained down onto the two fighters, but both Chad and Iba didn't let up a single moment as they exchanged a dance of counters and parries while moving around the rocks that fell past them.

Iba swung down and missed only to stab his sword onto the ground and rip up the dirt, unleashing a wave of it that solidified into a barrage of spears right as Chad shifted Brazo Derecha de Gigante into its shield form and blocked them.

Shifting his arm back into its offensive form the moment the attacks stopped, Chad surprised Iba as he blocked the slash with his unarmoured arm and pushed it to the side while tearing off a chunk of his arm.

However, Chad followed up on the counter with a vicious punch to Iba's chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs as the teen roared while slamming the man back first into the ground.

“Cero Gigante!” The world screeched as a pillar of Hollow Reiryoku erupted and obscured the two from view, the blast seen by all near the headquarters of the Seventh Division as Atau noticed it before rushing over in that direction with wide eyes.

However, as he landed there, he was shocked to see Tetsuzaemon lying in a large crater with the burnt imprint of a fist on his chest, the ground charred from the heat of the blast while Chad was nowhere to be seen.

“Don't worry…I'm fine.” Despite him saying that, Tetsuzaemon couldn't help the wince as he felt the pain from his broken ribs and cracked sternum, taking shallow breaths as Atau quickly fired a Byakurai into the sky to get more allies to them.

'He held back on that final strike.' The Shinigami thought with closed eyes as he felt his body being lifted and raced towards the 4th Division hospital, having seen how the teen had pulled his fist back to hit him with the force of the attack rather than letting it pierce right through him.

'He…could have…killed me…but he didn't. The question is…why?'

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Chad gasped as he slid down against a wall and sat down in a warehouse, thankful for his slow regeneration that was healing the deep gash on his arm as well as the stab in his abdomen from where Iba had gotten him while he punched the man into the ground.

'Hah…hah…we're…definitely not ready.' Chad thought with deep breaths as he let the adrenaline fade away, having already placed a few crates in front of the only entrance to the warehouse along with chunks of stone he had torn from the ground.

Chad wanted to say that they might be able to do better, but he struggled to take out just one lieutenant and there's supposed to be thirteen of them along with thirteen captains that were even stronger.

As much as he hate to say it, he along with Uryu were easily the strongest behind Ichigo and even then, his best friend wasn't that much stronger than him.

However, if they wanted to stand even a smidgen of a chance, this endeavour is going to need a cra ton

'I need to heal…and then…I need to find Orihime and Tatsuki.' Uryu and Ichigo can fend for themselves, but he has fought against Tatsuki and Orihime enough to know that they would struggle against a lieutenant individually.

Together, they could take out one, but since Tatsuki is a prideful fighter, she would want it to be one on one and that would be her downfall.

'I can't think of that now.' Chad thought with a sigh as he closed his eyes, resting his warm body against the cool stone before letting out a sigh as he let the exhaustion finally knock him out.

A/N: And the chapter is done and Chad got his first W against the Soul Society.

Firstly, let me say that Ikkaku and Iba were supposed to be equal and Ichigo beat Ikkaku so Chad should be able to go toe to toe against Iba.

Secondly, Chad was aiming more to end the fight fast while Iba went for the kill, which made him somewhat predictable as Chad was farming blows until he had enough energy to knock the man out with one powerful attack.

Finally, yes, that is Atau from the Hell Arc that becomes Iba's lieutenant, but at this time, he's just a 3rd Seat.

Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!