Chapter 404

The scarred Soul Reaper remained unmoved; he waved his hand, and the Soul Reapers behind him immediately advanced, surrounding Li An and Guo Yao. Their zanpakutōs glinted with cold light, and the atmosphere instantly turned tense.

At that moment, a familiar figure plummeted rapidly from the sky—it was Kurosaki Ichigo. He stood before Li An, Zangetsu in hand, his gaze resolute.

"What are you doing? Why are you blocking Li An from participating in the trial?" Kurosaki Ichigo demanded loudly, his voice filled with anger.

The scarred Soul Reaper's expression flickered slightly at the sight of Kurosaki Ichigo, but he forced calmness and said, "Ichigo, this is a matter within our Soul Reaper ranks. You'd best not interfere."

Kurosaki Ichigo snorted coldly: "Li An 09 is my friend. I'm taking charge of his affairs. If you can't give a reasonable explanation, no one here will stop him today."

As the standoff continued, Rukia Kuchiki arrived on the scene. She looked at the situation, her brow slightly furrowed: "What's going on? Why is there a conflict here?"

The scarred Soul Reaper hurried forward, bowing respectfully: "Lady Rukia, this Li An has violated our Soul Reaper rules. We are about to expel him."

Rukia glanced at Li An, then at Kurosaki Ichigo, a hint of suspicion in her eyes: "Li An, tell me what really happened."

Li An took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He knew this was no time for impulsiveness—he had to find a way to prove his innocence. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he had a plan.

"When I exposed Aizen's conspiracy, I gathered some evidence," Li An said slowly, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. "I suspect these conservative factions are colluding with Aizen. Their obstruction of my participation in the trial was likely ordered by him."

At these words, everyone present was stunned. Kurosaki Ichigo and Rukia's expressions turned very grave—they knew how terrifying Aizen's conspiracy was. The conservative Soul Reapers began to panic, their eyes betraying traces of alarm.

"Y-you're talking nonsense!" the scarred Soul Reaper stammered, his facial muscles twitching. "How could we possibly collude with Aizen? This is slander!"

Li An sneered: "Whether it's slander or not, you'll see when you look at this evidence." He pulled a stack of documents from his robe, each page detailing secret communications between the conservative factions and Aizen.

All eyes turned to the documents. The scene fell silent, broken only by the whisper of the wind. The conservative Soul Reapers turned pale—they knew their conspiracy had been exposed by Li An's countermove.

At that moment, several powerful spiritual pressures rapidly approached from afar—it was the senior leadership of the Soul Reapers arriving. Seeing the scene before them, their expressions turned grim.

"What is going on?" asked a senior Soul Reaper with white hair, his voice icy.

Li An stepped forward immediately and presented the full account and evidence to the senior leadership. The senior leaders examined the evidence carefully, their faces growing darker by the moment.

"It seems you truly colluded with Aizen," the white-haired senior Soul Reaper roared, his eyes brimming with boundless fury. "Guards, seize these traitors!"