"Yoruichi, how many people know of Kisuke Urahara?" Silas asked.
"What do you mean?" the cat responded.
Silas wasted no time in interrogating the reason why Kisuke, a Soul Reaper, was no longer part of the Soul Society. Since Kisuke hadn't explained anything to him, Yoruichi found it surprising. So she gladly informed the two how he was once a captain of squad twelve, the squad in charge of the technological development department, of which he was also its founder.
Uryū found the information appealing. As for Silas, he questioned if Kisuke had any enemies. The long-awaited truth that Ichigo was told late was finally given. Yoruichi explained to them that Kisuke escaped to the world of the living after being banished in an unfair trial. Though she didn't outright state that it was Aizen who plotted it, she did insinuate that Kisuke had enemies who wanted his research.
"Then it means our arrivals are to be expected," Uryū deduced. At his words, a giant wall at a height of more than ten meters began falling from the sky. It crashed all around the Seireitei, acting as a barricade. Following its descent was an extremely large, muscular man. His height was at least nine meters. His hair was tied in a ponytail, he had long sideburns, a Soul Reaper's outfit, and an armour on his left shoulder. This was Jidanbō Ikkanzaka, a gatekeeper in charge of protecting the Seireitei from trespassers.
"At last, I have a customer trying to—" Before Jidanbō could finish his sentence, he was left in a daze when he didn't see anyone. The group had long left on Silas's commands.
Considering the walls had come down only meant that had Aizen ordered them to. During the story, he had also placed Soul Reapers behind the gate, knowing full well Ichigo and his friends would defeat Jidanbō. Of those Soul Reapers, Gin Ichimaru was one of them. Aizen was such a calculative individual that he even knew where and what Ichigo was planning once he entered the Soul Society.
By no means was Silas going to let a Soul Reaper like that have his way, so the group departed to a different gate. These walls had four entrances, and each entrance had a giant guarding it. Jidanbō in the west gate, Higonyūdō in the south gate, Danzōmaru in the north gate, and Kaiwan in the east gate. Silas's group chose to travel to the south gate.
Before they reached there, they already saw Higonyūdō waiting. He, too, was a very large man with a double chin, almost equal to the size of the gate behind him. Unlike Jidanbō, he wore a white robe over his right shoulder and had it tucked into his obi sash.
Uryū adjusted his glasses, asking, "What's the plan, Ichigo?" Yoruichi suggested the trio wait it out until the walls were released. Yet Silas knew a plan like that wouldn't be advantageous to his own goals.
"All we have to do is defeat him, and he'll open the gate," Silas stated. Both agreed, so they allowed Silas to take on the giant alone.
Walking up to Higonyūdō, the giant was surprised to see that it was only one person. "Higonyūdō was beginning to think the walls were lowered for no reason," the giant said, addressing himself in third-person. "Come and face Higonyūdō, boy. Let Higonyūdō show you the power of the gatekeeper who guards the red hollow gate!"
"I just need to confirm something," Silas calmly said. "If I defeat you, you'll open the gate, correct?"
"Defeat Higonyūdō?! Haha-ha! No one has ever defeated Higonyūdō in Higonyūdō's three hundred years of guarding the Seireitei." Those were the same lines used by Jidanbō when Ichigo first met him.
Content that it was the same with all the other gatekeepers, Silas's eyes blazed with a cold fury. He raised his palm skyward. His spiritual pressure crackled as he said, "Hadō #63. Raikōhō." In his outstretched hand, a spear of molten lightning erupted. It streaked across the air, snapping like a celestial dragon's maw.
Higonyūdō bellowed in defiance, raising his massive club to intercept it. But the clash was no contest. The lightning spear tore through the wood like it was paper, shattering his weapon into splinters and searing a sizzling gash across his chest. The giant roared in pain, falling with a thunderous tremor that shook the earth, leaving him a smoldering ruin.
A hush fell over the quick fight. Uryū and Yoruichi came out, stunned at the display of raw power. Silas lowered his hand, the electric storm swirling around him fading. The victory was his, but the chilling question hung heavy in the air—just how strong was Silas Wren?
While he was being tested by Kisuke, he had been wise enough to get proper training in kidō. Kisuke was a genius when it came to casting spells. Using the time frame before passing through his senkaimon, Kisuke had used that moment to teach Silas seven deadly kidō spells, all of which were perfected in a single day!
After Higonyūdō arose from his defeat, a fear fell upon him. He couldn't tell if it would be a good idea to let someone as dangerous as Silas inside. "Don't kill Higonyūdō!" he cried. "Utter defeat! Higonyūdō has been utterly defeated by the boy!" Tears filled the giant's eyes—an unexpected reaction by the other two. Uryū tried to tell him that they weren't here to murder anyone. Believing that to be true, the giant praised Silas for his prowess, allowing the group to pass through the gate.
This was the standard procedure for all the gatekeepers: if they're defeated in battle, they are permitted to open the gates. Granted, no one had ever defeated any of them, so they made that rule up themselves.
With Higonyūdō's monstrous strength, he placed his fingers beneath the gate and opened it right up. Uryū and Yoruichi were calm, but Silas still had his guard up in case Gin or another captain-level Soul Reaper was waiting for them on the other side. For who was to say that Aizen hadn't stationed his men at the other three gates?
Yet to Silas's content, not a single person was present.