Whatever the Problem, Just Trust the Blade in Your Hand

How to defeat "Metastacia."

Answer: like this.

Have two Shinigami skilled in Shunpo lure him in, then regroup with the main force.

Fourteen Shinigami surrounded Metastacia in a semicircle.

The creature had all six hands on the ground and a long mane of red tentacles. Yellow eyes protruding from his two masks like telescopes watched the Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division.

There was wariness in his eyes, but no fear. He probably thought they were no different from the ones he had encountered before.

Kaien Shiba led the group this time, with Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki accompanying him. Miyako Shiba stayed at the barracks in case of emergencies, while Rukia was in a squad with Wang Chuan.

Kaien Shiba raised a hand. "Binding team, move!"

In an instant, four Shinigami, including Kiyone Kotetsu, made their move.

Bakudō number 30, "Beak-Piercing Triple Flash" × 3

Nine pointed beams of light shot toward Metastacia, but he dodged most of them. Only three or four struck him, drawing a howl of pain.

"Carriage of thunder, gap in the spinning wheel, this thing has light, gather and divide into six!"

"Bakudō number 61, Six Rods Prison of Light!"

In an instant, Kiyone Kotetsu successfully cast Bakudō number 61, Six Rods Prison of Light.

All six bands of light struck Metastacia without a single one missing.

The high-level binding Kidō held Metastacia in place. He couldn't break free anytime soon.

"Hakuda team."

Kaien Shiba, Sentarō Kotsubaki, and two others, four in all, stepped forward to fight at close range.

There was also a Hadō team, made up of Wang Chuan, the two Shinigami who had served as bait, and three other Shinigami, including Rukia. They provided support with Hadō and took over casting Bakudō when the binding team ran low on spiritual pressure.

The plan went exceptionally smoothly. The Hadō team repeatedly destroyed Metastacia's tentacles as well, doing their best to strip him of his ability to fuse with Shinigami.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

Metastacia's few remaining red tentacles suddenly converged on a member of the Hakuda team.

"Watch out!"

"A You!"

Unfortunately, Wang Chuan's warning came a little too late. The Shinigami called A You had already been fused with Metastacia.

At the sight, Wang Chuan gripped the hilt of his Zanpakuto, his eyes filled with fury. Yet he slowly closed them, murmuring something under his breath.

"Hehe, the looks on your faces right now are so amusing."

"Damn it."

"Everyone, fall back. Use Bakudō and Hadō from a distance."

"But Captain, that's A You."

"A You is already dead. That's just a shell occupied by a Hollow now."

"But..."

Kiyone Kotetsu wanted to say more, but Kaien Shiba cut her off firmly.

"That's an order!"

"Yes, sir."

It was the best choice. Even if they let the Hollow escape today, now that they knew his methods, they could target him more effectively in a future hunt.

The way he occupied a Shinigami's body was too bizarre. Kaien Shiba didn't dare gamble on how many times he could use it.

As everyone fought and retreated with Kidō, Wang Chuan stepped forward.

"Wang Chuan, fall back!"

"Captain Shiba, let me try."

There were two seconds of silence.

"Are you confident?"

"I'll try."

"Ten seconds. If you can't do it, fall back."

"All right."

Wang Chuan walked forward slowly, drawing Surpass the Peak with its golden flames. His aura and spiritual pressure continued to rise.

"Actually, I'm arrogant. I thought that after doing so much, I'd be able to finish you off without anyone getting hurt."

"Heehee, but I've eaten one of you now."

Metastacia taunted him, but Wang Chuan ignored him.

"But unfortunately, in the end, I'm not someone who can calculate everything, nor am I someone who can crush everything in my path."

"Blah, blah, blah. Let me eat you."

With that, Metastacia paid his words no mind and charged straight at Wang Chuan.

"So I still need to grow stronger, and stronger still."

"Breath of All Things, Jinzen. One explores outward, the other digs inward. If I combine the two, I should be able to grow even stronger, shouldn't I?"

Looking up at the charging Metastacia, Wang Chuan raised his Zanpakuto and rushed forward with Shunpo, then brought the blade down. Golden flames lit up the surroundings, so bright that no one could keep their eyes open.

After the strike, Wang Chuan and Metastacia stood back to back.

"You're just trying to scare me, all bark and no bite."

Metastacia turned as he spoke and tried to walk toward Wang Chuan again.

Wang Chuan merely sheathed his Zanpakuto slowly as it left its Shikai state. "Didn't you hear it?"

"What... How... could..."

"The approaching footsteps of death!"

Metastacia died, leaving only A You's body to slowly fade away.

The others who had retreated stood frozen on the spot.

Kaien Shiba was the first to recover. Seeing that Wang Chuan hadn't moved for some time, he walked over.

"Are you all right?"

"I used up too much spiritual pressure. Nothing else is wrong."

"Nice work, you."

"Unfortunately, I realized it too late. Otherwise, I could have saved A You."

Wang Chuan shook his head, and Kaien Shiba fell silent for a moment.

"It couldn't be helped. This is the Thirteenth Division's job."

He fell silent again after that.

In that silence, A You's spirit body faded away completely.

Then, without a word, everyone gathered A You's belongings, took a short rest, and returned to the Thirteenth Division's barracks.

There were no further surprises. Wang Chuan finally finished his four months in the Thirteenth Division without incident and returned to the Fourth Division.

"Lieutenant Isane, I'm back."

"Our Eighth Seat is back. The captain told you to go see her when you returned."

"All right."

Wang Chuan's mood sank at once. It seemed the beatings would start today.

Before long, Wang Chuan arrived at the captain's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Captain, I'm back."

Unohana didn't look up. She was preparing tea.

Wang Chuan sat down across from her of his own accord. Paying no mind to the atmosphere of Unohana's tea ceremony, he began chattering about his experiences in the Thirteenth Division.

"Captain, have you met Captain Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division? Have you examined him? I checked him but couldn't find out what was wrong. I could only use healing Kidō to ease his condition."

"Their lieutenant, Kaien Shiba, is a good man and capable too. His wife is the division's Third Seat. They really are a fine couple."

"Oh, right, our Lieutenant Isane's younger sister is over there too. She's a lively young woman, but she loves drinking. She and another Seated Officer, Sentarō Kotsubaki, often sneak drinks during the day."

"Back to Lieutenant Shiba. He's the head of the Shiba Clan and has a younger sister and brother. I don't have much of an impression of his brother, but his sister is a fireworks maker. I hear she's very skilled, and she's quite pretty. Mm, she has a good figure too."

Clack—

The sound of cups knocking together.

Wang Chuan sensed a wave of killing intent and suddenly understood.

Not only had he disrupted the atmosphere of the captain's tea ceremony, but he had also talked about one beautiful woman in front of another. He was practically courting death.

Life in the Thirteenth Division was too comfortable. I've let my guard down.

"Ahem, Captain, there's one more important matter to report."

Wang Chuan sat up straight, pretending not to have noticed Unohana's slip.

"During my time in the Thirteenth Division, we hunted down a special mutated Hollow. He looked completely different from an ordinary Hollow and had the strength of a lieutenant. He's suspected of being able to devour Zanpakuto, and it's confirmed that he can fuse with Shinigami and take over their bodies. One member of the hunting party died that way."

"I suspect this may be connected to the earlier sewer incident."

He fell silent after that and waited for Unohana to finish the tea ceremony.

"Have some tea."

Wang Chuan took the cup Unohana offered, thanked her, and began to savor it.

He couldn't taste anything in particular, but considering he'd upset the captain, he still put on a look that said, "What good tea."

After taking a sip, Unohana said, "The Captain-Commander will summon you later."

Here it comes, here it comes. The Captain-Commander is coming.

"I understand. When exactly?"

"I told the Captain-Commander it would be in half a month. You need time to recover from your injuries."

Wang Chuan studied his captain's face but couldn't make out the slightest expression. It was as still as an ancient well, showing neither fighting spirit nor the delight of someone whose frightening prank had succeeded.

"Compared to you, Captain, I still have a long way to go in both swordsmanship and temperament," Wang Chuan remarked.

"You're too modest. Your spiritual pressure is already very close to the usual Captain level, and you've also carved out a somewhat different path in swordsmanship."

"Breath of All Things? You saw through it after all, Captain. It's only a small breakthrough, but I'm still quite pleased that it caught the First Kenpachi's eye."

"Breath of All Things: sensing the breathing of all things' spiritual pressure, finding the weaknesses in their spiritual pressure, and then killing them in a single strike? That's no small breakthrough. The Shinigami's Jinzen hasn't changed in many years."

After saying that, Unohana spoke no more. Wang Chuan, too, silently sipped his tea without speaking.

Unohana didn't ask how Wang Chuan knew she was the First Kenpachi, either. Judging by how he had refused to spar with her from the very beginning, the boy knew a great deal.

Thud—

Unohana set down her teacup.

"Now that we've finished our tea, it's time to help you improve your strength."

"Captain, I don't think there's any need to rush."

Unohana didn't respond. She simply got up and led the way. Wang Chuan had no choice but to follow.

The two walked on until they reached a wide, deserted area, where they stood facing each other.

"Although my Shikai has healing abilities, to make sure you can still meet the Captain-Commander in half a month, I'll suppress my spiritual pressure to Captain level this time."

"All right."

Wang Chuan said no more. He understood what Unohana meant: he wasn't yet worthy of her full strength. Her spiritual pressure surpassed Captain level, and if he faced Unohana's Bankai, Minazuki, as he was now, she might very well kill him because she couldn't hold back.

It was a pure gap in spiritual pressure, unrelated to swordsmanship.

Hopefully, my Shikai will be enough to satisfy Sister Unohana. I hope so.

"Advance, Surpass the Peak."

After drawing his Zanpakuto, Wang Chuan immediately activated his Shikai. Facing Unohana, it was a necessary show of respect.

It was also the method he had devised to deal with Unohana: relying on his constantly growing spiritual pressure.

For one thing, with the captain present, it would be hard for him to die unless the spiritual pressure Surpass the Peak granted him burst him apart all at once.

For another, he could continuously expend spiritual pressure on powerful techniques while draining and replenishing it to expand the upper limit of what he could withstand.

Retsu Unohana, who called herself Yachiru, claimed to have mastered every sword technique in Soul Society. She had only one reason for learning healing Kidō: so that she, a "sword demon," could better enjoy the pleasure of battle!

And there was only one reason he had caught her attention: having mastered sword techniques from the world of pirates that she had never seen before, he gave off an aura unfamiliar to the captain.

So...

"I hope my Shikai will give you a good fight, Captain."

"I hope so too."

Clang—