Sword Draw: Ring Severance / Manipulation Even in Death

Above a dark cloud in the sky.

Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes, keeping the corners of his mouth turned up and his hands tucked into his sleeves as he said with a smile:

"What terrifying Reishi Manipulation and combat skills. If he and I were at roughly the same Rei'i Grade, I'd probably be the one to lose in the end."

Gin Ichimaru, the greatest genius since the founding of the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts and the current Third Division Captain of the Gotei 13, let out a sigh of admiration.

If anyone else had heard him, they would probably have stood there stunned for a long time.

Sōsuke Aizen, standing beside him, let his arms hang naturally at his sides and smiled down at the scene below.

"Gin, there's no need to belittle yourself. Even if you really were at the same Rei'i Grade, you have a way to kill him in an instant."

At those words, Gin Ichimaru's brow twitched slightly above his narrowed eyes, but only for an instant. He replied with a smile:

"After all, I've followed you for so many years, Captain Aizen. I've seen and learned so much, so it's only natural that I have a few trump cards, isn't it?"

Gin Ichimaru did not deny Aizen's words. Instead, he gave Aizen the credit for his trump cards.

He put away his smile and continued, sounding somewhat puzzled:

"Captain Aizen, most of the test subjects we released are already dead. It doesn't feel like we've achieved what we expected."

"Kisuke Urahara hasn't been drawn out either, and those precious test subjects like Shinji Hirako are still hiding in the World of the Living. What should we do next?"

"Gin, you can't judge everything by appearances alone. This experiment can be considered a success."

Aizen contradicted Gin Ichimaru in a gentle voice and explained softly:

"Those test subjects really did acquire the abilities of Soul Reapers."

He was referring to the Hollow that could render Reishi inert.

Then he pointed at the sixty remaining Hollows:

"Disguising themselves, feigning weakness, and waiting to hunt their prey. The fact that ordinary Hollows possess such intelligence proves that the path I've taken isn't wrong."

Gin Ichimaru nodded in understanding.

He had seen far too many Hollows while following Aizen.

In fact, the vast majority of ordinary Hollows were just like the textbooks described: nothing more than mindless beasts.

Even when faced with someone of his Rei'i Grade, they would charge at him howling, intent on swallowing him whole, without even the instincts to fear or survive.

But among the Hollows below, although only a few were test subjects,

the rest had spent so long with those test subjects that they had been influenced as well, and had actually begun to develop instincts.

That was already a very good result.

Gin Ichimaru smiled and asked another question:

"What are you planning to do, Captain Aizen? Kill all these little fellows? Tokoyo Misao seems to be from one of the Five Great Noble Clans, or something like that."

As soon as he finished speaking, a badge at his waist flashed red.

He reached for it, and after receiving the information inside, he looked up and said:

"Captain Aizen, Soul Society knows what's happening here."

"Kaien Shiba, the lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, has already requested use of a Senkaimon. He'll be here soon."

"In that case, let's give them one last minute."

Aizen replied gently, "Those sixty Hollows will attack with all their strength next and enter a frenzy. If they can hold out for a minute,

"then it'll be time for me, the Fifth Division Captain leading the reinforcements, to appear and rescue them."

Chapter 40: Sword Draw: Ring Severance

A silent street.

Tokoyo Misao faced the sixty remaining Hollows alone, his expression calm.

He did not attack first. He simply waited for the Hollows opposite him to make their move, taking the opportunity to recover his Spiritual Power.

Among the sixty Hollows, the three that Sōsuke Aizen had modified opened their mouths, and a pink mist spread through the pack.

After the Hollows inhaled the pink mist, their eyes, which had glowed with a pale yellow light of Reishi, instantly turned red.

An ominous, blood-red light burst from their eyes, staining the moonlit street an unsettling red.

"Aaargh!!!"

The Hollows opened their blood-red eyes wide, spread their arms, and threw their heads back, letting out shrill howls.

Their bodies swelled abruptly, releasing the Reishi within them without restraint. It formed a tide of Reiatsu that bore down heavily on the entire area.

"This is bad. These things are going berserk."

Shūhei Hisagi, who had originally planned to wait ten minutes before releasing his Shikai to help Tokoyo Misao, immediately got to his feet. Forcing himself to endure the intense pain and exhaustion throughout his body, he released his Reishi wildly and shouted:

"Reap..."

"Pfft!"

But as he attempted to release his Shikai and call out his Zanpakuto's name, he suddenly felt a terrible twisting pain in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Reishi he had just released scattered all at once. His body lost all strength, and he slowly fell forward.

"Shūhei Hisagi, what's wrong?"

Renji Abarai turned around in a flash and caught the falling Shūhei Hisagi with his own body.

Momo Hinamori and Izuru Kira also hurriedly turned and came over to check on him, only to find that their senior had already passed out.

Suddenly, a faint cracking sound rang out.

Izuru Kira immediately turned back around and pressed both hands against the Kidō, Kyokkō, pouring Spiritual Power into it.

"The Reiatsu these Hollows are giving off nearly crushed my Kidō."

After examining Shūhei Hisagi, Momo Hinamori turned deathly pale and said in a trembling voice:

"Hisagi forcibly interrupted his treatment just now and tried to release his Shikai, but the Reiatsu from the Hollows forced it back. He suffered internal injuries, and now he's hurt even worse. There's no way he can fight."

"Damn it, why did these things suddenly go berserk? Can Boss Misao handle them?" Renji Abarai grimaced.

Even with Izuru Kira's Kidō blocking it, the Reiatsu seeping through Kyokkō still weighed on him, leaving his face covered in sweat.

"Momo, hurry and help! I can't hold it much longer!" Izuru Kira shouted.

Momo Hinamori immediately ran to his side and poured her own Spiritual Power into Kyokkō.

But even as the two poured in their Reishi with everything they had, they could still hear faint cracking.

In only a moment, their breathing grew ragged, their faces turned deathly pale, and beads of sweat rolled down their cheeks.

Both gritted their teeth and held on desperately.

They both knew that if they kept enduring this violent Reiatsu, their Spiritual Power would run out in thirty seconds at most.

And the severely injured people behind them might be crushed to death by that Reiatsu while they were still unconscious.

Hold on!

They both shouted in their hearts, pouring out their Spiritual Power frantically.

Their eyes remained fixed on the straight figure standing ahead of them in the moonlight.

Tokoyo Misao calmly watched the Hollows descend into madness and tightened his right hand around his Asauchi.

When their eyes, blazing red, fixed on him, a prickling sensation suddenly spread through the skin all over his body.

His heart beat faster and faster, pounding against his eardrums like rolling thunder. He could even hear the blood flowing through his body.

Of course he knew this was because the Hollows facing him could now threaten his life, and posed an enormous threat at that.

Faced with his body's instinctive warning, Tokoyo Misao suddenly grinned, baring a row of white teeth.

Silver light flashed in his eyes. He lowered his body, raised his Asauchi high in his right hand, and opened his left hand, assuming a fighting stance.

"Aaargh!"

The Hollows howled and charged at him, bringing fierce gusts of wind.

Tokoyo Misao stomped forward with his right leg. The ground instantly sank beneath his foot, but no cracks appeared, leaving only a footprint.

He swung his Asauchi in his right hand, chopping straight down at the first Hollow to approach.

Blue Reishi gathered along the Asauchi's blade.

As Tokoyo Misao slashed, it drew a crescent of silver light through the air.

Splurt.

The silver light cut the first Hollow in front of him cleanly in two.

A shrill rush of wind roared toward Tokoyo Misao's left ear.

The fist was not particularly large, but it was so fast that even the wind seemed unable to keep up.

Tokoyo Misao's open left hand suddenly clenched into a fist. Reishi shone on the back of his hand, turning his skin a deep blue.

He swung the back of his left hand and struck the incoming fist.

Bang!

The Hollow's fist was knocked aside, and the tremendous recoil carried its entire body into the air.

By then, the other Hollows' attacks had arrived as well.

From above, ahead, behind, and to his right, countless fists and blades attacked him from every direction.

At that moment, Tokoyo Misao curled his left hand into a claw and seized the forearm of the Hollow hanging in the air.

The Reishi glowing on the back of his hand instantly moved to his fingertips. He dug them down, driving them straight into the Hollow's arm.

Then, using his left foot as a pivot, he spun around once, wielding the Hollow as a weapon.

Thud, thud, thud.

The Hollow he swung around blocked every incoming attack.

After one rotation, the Hollow in his grip turned into Reishi and gradually scattered.

Taking advantage of the opening, Tokoyo Misao raised his right foot and stomped down.

With a booming bang, the entire patch of ground sank nearly half a meter, leaving a huge circular crater.

The surrounding Hollows were thrown into the air, losing their footing and flailing their arms and claws.

Tokoyo Misao returned his Asauchi to its sheath, held it at his waist with his left hand, and lowered his body, his right hand hovering loosely over the hilt.

Streams of Reishi poured from his left hand into the sheath, completely enveloping the Asauchi's blade inside.

Just as the Hollows' feet were about to touch the ground and regain their footing,

Tokoyo Misao gripped the hilt with his right hand and drew the blade.

Clang!

A clear ring sounded as a silver-white blade of light spread in every direction.

The circular slash severed every Hollow around him at the waist.

"Sword Draw: Ring Severance."

Chapter 41: Manipulation Even in Death

After that single strike, the space around Tokoyo Misao cleared for a brief instant, before the frenzied Hollows behind them surged forward again.

He threw away the sheath with his left hand, gripped the hilt in both hands, and charged forward.

His feet pattered against the ground as he ran, with no fluctuation of Reishi beneath them.

As Tokoyo Misao approached the hulking Hollow ahead, he suddenly lowered his body, dodging the blade that came at him.

As he passed the Hollow, the blade he gripped in both hands swept across the Menos Grande's lower leg.

Splurt. A line of blood sprayed out.