The Universal Villain

"Excuse me for being blunt Old Man Yama, but why did you summon us here?" Shunsui and the other captains came as quickly as they could due to the Head Captain declaring it urgent. Hearing Shunsui Yamamoto spoke. "I think you will all understand why I called this meeting once you hear what Captain Mayuri has to say."

Yamamoto gestured towards Mayuri, who stepped forward slightly. "As you are all quite aware, I have been studying Renji's strange situation for quite a while now however, there has been a... Change in his condition." Pausing for a moment, all the captains stared at Mayuri when Captain Hitsugaya spoke up. "Well, then what is it?"

"Lieutenant Renji is now deceased." Having no personal attachment to Renji Mayuri said these words easily however, as for the other captains, their reactions varied. A dead silence carried itself through the meeting halls before the Head Captain's voice broke it. "As much as I would like to give you all a moment of silence for Lieutenant Renji, Captain Mayuri still has more to report."

Speaking firmly, the other captains said nothing as most of them had their heads lowered. Continuing his report, Mayuri spoke again with a slight bit of enthusiasm in his voice. "Although death may be the word I would use. A strange void like substance devoured his body while under test. On top of that, I could also conclude the reason he wasn't waking up was that his consciousness was elsewhere as if it was trapped or contained."

Chuckling to himself, Mayuri had a grin on his face as he continued. "Nowhere is where it gets interesting. While examining the area was Renji's body was found, I discovered traces of the same Non-Reiatsu based energy or NRB for short. This NRB was very similar to the ones I researched from the orbs that attacked the Seireitei except even denser and more powerful."

"On top of that, there were even more NRB on Renji's body, to be exact. With this data, I have also formed a theory." Hearing Mayuri, the Head Captain raised his long brows. "Oh, and what is this theory."

"From the change in density and strength, I can conclude that the culprit is not only the same person responsible for previous attacks on the Soul Society, but he is also growing stronger at an alarming rate. Comparing the two NRB traits, I can say that this power of his has almost doubled throughout the orb attack and Renji's defeat."

"What?" This time it was Kenpachi who looked confused and shocked at the same time. He fought Shen personally and knew how strong he was and found it hard to swallow. He obtained that strength within that short time.

"If that's the case, then time is not on our side. If he truly is getting more powerful by the day, It won't be long before its out hands." Captain Tosen said with a strange look on his face. Hearing Captain Tosen, the other captains had also realized the severity of this discovery. No matter how strong they all were keeping up with someone who grows that quickly was beyond their abilities.

Seeing all the captains before he goes silent, the Head Captain tapped his cane on the floor, gaining everyone's attention. "No matter how strong he is, we must not falter. We are the Gotei 13. We protect the Soul Society and the inhabitants of earth no matter the cost." Looking over all the captains there, he continued to speak. "We shall begin planning a countermeasure against this foe. This meeting is dismissed!"

And with that, all the captains were dismissed from the room. Least to say the atmosphere was grim as the captains entered the area were all there Lieutenants were waiting. After only a few moments, the sound of crying could be heard coming from a small girl with black hair covered by a little bun. Holding Momo was Captain Hitsugaya, comforting her as she cried.

The news of Renji's situation already had other Lieutenants close to him on edge. Standing there silently, Shunsui hadn't spoken since he left the meeting room. "Captain, are you all alright?" Standing behind him with a worried expression, Nanao hadn't seen Shunsui so deep in his thoughts before. Standing silently for a little longer, Shunsui finally talked to her.

"I can't help but think If I had stopped him then and there none of this would have happened. If I decided to kill him when I had the chance instead of simply capturing him, Renji might still be alive, and we wouldn't have to worry about all this." Chuckling, at his own words, Shunsui sighed as a relaxed expression, returned to his face.

"Sorry for worrying you with all this. I'm fine." Smiling at Nanao, Shunsui spoke again. "Alright, let's go, I could use a cup of sa-" Before Shunsui finished his sentence, something caught his eye. In the distance, he spotted something flying into the air, leaving a red trail behind it. And in the next instant, that small red light exploded like a firework shining bright like star catching the captains and lieutenant's attention who didn't notice it before.

"What is that?" Nanao asked before noticing Shunsui's expression began to change. In front of the Seireitei, two people were standing there, one holding there hand in the air while the other was silently standing behind. "That should have gotten their attention." Grinning as the scattered remnants of his little stunt began to rain from the sky.

Shen's little firework display exploded into a rain of fragments, some hitting the Senkaimon protecting the Seireitei shattering on contact while others hit the Rukon District. For the ones that did, they exploded the moment they touched the ground, causing chaos for everyone living peacefully in their homes.

As fires began to spread from house to house, Shen ignored what was happening behind him began to back away as something fell from the sky. One by one, a massive wall formed in front of Shen with him standing a bit away, merely staring at the gate in front of him. "Its about time."

Meanwhile, in Karakura town, Ichigo and his friends were sitting inside of his room. All of them were told by Yuroichi to relax while she talked to Urahara, but they just couldn't. After all that had happened, they found themselves uneasy. "So, what do you guys think?" Looking at the other's Ichigo asked them.

Hearing Ichigo, the others weren't didn't reply due to not knowing what to do as well. "Maybe we should listen to Yuroichi and wait," Orihime said although even she didn't seem to agree with what she said. "But we need to find Rukia as soon as possible. Who knows what he's doing now." Uryu said, looking at Orihime.

"Yeah, your right..." Orihime replied, agreeing with Uryu. "Then what do we do? It's your call, Ichigo." Looking at Ichigo, Chad spoke for everyone in the room as they all nodded and looked at Ichigo as well. Seeing them all turn to him, Ichigo took a deep breath and stood up, looking towards the window as if trying to clear his mind. "I..." Saying one word before pausing, Ichigo quickly jumped on his bed, looking out the window.

In the distance towards the busy section of Katakura town, Ichigo saw a large column of smoke. "Hey, guys, look at this!"