Chapter 99

What? You're asking why Kūgo Ginjō?

That's because a mere person lost in the pursuit of power is simply not worth Xuanxin's efforts.

When Yammy's iron fist collided with Xuanxin's blade, the force transmitted shocked even Xuanxin.

Seeing Xuanxin being knocked back several steps, Yammy's face was even more shocked! You should know that even when Starrk faced this punch, it wouldn't have been as simple as just taking a few steps back.

Just then, a golden beam of light shot straight into the sky. Within the beam, the mark that had been imprinted on the back of Xuanxin's hand to restrict his power was actually broken through by Xuanxin.

You must understand, that was a mark intended to limit the power of the Grim Reaper; normally, it could only be unsealed using a [Limitation Seal], but now...

Upon seeing this, Kisuke Urahara Yoruichi a meaningful look, and then the two began exchanging glances.

Kisuke Urahara: [Are you sure your Xuanxin is a Shinigami? What kind of Shinigami is like this?!]

Yoruichi: [Then look at him, whose husband is he? Have I ever made a mistake in my judgment??]

Kisuke Urahara: [... Fine, so this is why you let Captain Unohana sneak into our base? Are you...?]

Yoruichi: [Shut up!!]

Unlike the lighthearted little skit on Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara's side, Yammy, who was at the center of Xuanxin's Reiatsu, had a solemn expression as bitter as sleeping pills.

Faced with this intense, almost liquid Reiatsu, Yammy even found it difficult to breathe, a feeling he had only experienced before when facing Sōsuke Aizen.

After a brief moment of shock and disbelief, what surged into Yammy's heart was Void's most primal bloodlust and madness!

"Haha, that's more like it! This is the kind of battle I've been wanting!"

After saying that, Yammy's body swelled up even more, and he raised his huge fist to strike Xuanxin.

Seeing Yammy leaping towards him, Xuanxin's eyes also lit up with approval.

With a loud "bang!", the iron fist and the double blades collided.

There were no fancy probing moves between the two; it was just the most primal clash between fists and swords.

However, as the battle progressed, Yammy gradually showed signs of fatigue.

Although Yammy's power was greatly enhanced after Aizen's modifications, it still couldn't compare to Xuanxin had been slowly nurtured with the Hōgyoku for hundreds of years under Musashi's guidance.

Moreover, Aizen had repeatedly instructed him not to use his Resurrección in the World of the Living, which put him in an even more passive position.

As Xuanxin broke through the seal, the already precarious Hierro became as thin as a sheet of paper under Xuanxin's blade.

With each strike of Xuanxin, a deep wound was left on Yammy's body. Since Yammy did not possess the power of the Hōgyoku, he could not regenerate and recover quickly, so his overall condition was getting worse and worse.

Yammy's hand had reached for the knife at his waist several times, but reason ultimately pulled him back.

Yammy's little action was also noticed by Kisuke Urahara himself.

[A humanoid Hollow... not only has it broken the boundaries of the mask, but it has also highly concentrated the immense Reiatsu of a Hollow within its body. Is this the ultimate evolutionary state of Hollows that Aizen sought?]

While Kisuke Urahara was still carefully observing Yammy, hoping to glean some insights from him...

In the center of the battlefield, Yammy, who was being relentlessly beaten by Xuanxin, raised his head somewhat impatiently, glanced at the night sky obscured by dark clouds, and frowned.

He was still waiting for the Negación to descend. Now the mission objective was in his hands. All he had to do was lower the Negación and the task Aizen had instructed would be completed immediately!

But it was in that instant of looking up that Xuanxin seized the opportunity. You must know that in the eyes of a sword master like Xuanxin, even a moment's hesitation from his opponent is enough to cost him his life.

"You dare to look around when you're fighting me? Your arrogance ends here."

Xuanxin's icy voice seemed to explode in Yammy's ears.

In that extremely brief moment when Yammy looked up, Xuanxin's figure darted into his midline like a ghost.

The [Shingon] in his left hand firmly held Yammy's giant fist, while the [Mumyō] in his right hand transformed into a bolt of black lightning, aiming straight for Yammy's throat!

The fear of death instantly gripped Yammy's heart.

At this critical moment, Yammy's body once again erupted with a deafening red Reiatsu.

Under this Reiatsu, the "1" in the "10" tattoo on Yammy's shoulder, which represented something, faded a bit. As the "1" faded, Yammy's figure seemed to grow taller out of thin air.

"Roar--" Yammy, who had escaped the threat of death by taking advantage of this Reiatsu, roared to the sky once again.

But before Yammy, a golden bolt of lightning struck straight at his Yammy.

"Shunkō!"

Yoruichi appeared behind Yammy in a black combat suit at some unknown time; her original orange tracksuit had long since turned to ashes in the golden lightning.

With Yoruichi's attack, Yammy was knocked to the ground once again.

Looking at the fallen Yammy, Yoruichi said, "Alright, let's finish this quickly, things might get complicated if we delay. Urahara, go prepare the isolation spell!"

Upon hearing Yoruichi's words, Xuanxin and Kisuke Urahara nodded, and then Xuanxin charged directly towards Yammy. Two figures, one white and one purple, instantly launched a fierce and relentless attack on Yammy, who had just stood up.

Yammy has now lost his chance to Resurrección; he now has only one path left: defeat. His only hope for survival is the Negación that Aizen once promised.

But just then, a Hell Butterfly suddenly flew over from a grove of trees in the distance.

Seeing this, Kisuke Urahara quickly reached out and took the Hell Butterfly, listening intently. The next second, Kisuke Urahara suddenly widened his eyes and shouted at Xuanxin and Yoruichi:

"Xuanxin, Yoruichi, something terrible has happened! The base has been attacked by Kaname Tōsen, and his target is Orihime! Rangiku and the others are currently locked in battle with him!"

Upon hearing this news, a flame of anger instantly ignited in Xuanxin's eyes.

"You, Sōsuke Aizen, so this was a diversionary tactic! You were waiting for me here all along!"

Xuanxin boldly guessed that perhaps Orihime was talking about the main objective of this mission, otherwise she wouldn't have been so slow to release the Negación and let Yammy retreat.

Xuanxin turned his head, glanced at Yoruichi beside him, and said, "Yoruichi, you and Kisuke go and support Ichigo."

Yoruichi glanced at Yammy, who was covered in blood but still the Roar madly, and a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes. "But, this guy..."

"Don't worry, leave this to me," Xuanxin said confidently.

Upon hearing this, Yoruichi nodded. She also realized that Aizen's main target was Rangiku. Then she nodded heavily and said:

"Alright, you'd better hurry! Let's go, Kisuke!"

The two instantly became blurry images, rushing towards Karakura Town at top speed.

Meanwhile, they returned to their base in Karakura Town.

Let's rewind ten minutes.

After Xuanxin, Yoruichi left the base, the main fighting force left in the base consisted of Rangiku and Ichigo. In Kaname Tōsen's eyes, they were just two weak young men, so now was the best time to make a move.

So when Orihime returned to her room to rest, Kaname Tōsen also slipped into Orihime's room under the cover of darkness.

Upon entering the room, Kaname Tōsen didn't immediately take action. After waiting a while to make sure no one was coming, he emerged from the shadows.

"I'm sorry, but for the sake of Lord Aizen's new world and true justice, please come with me."

After saying Kaname Tōsen coldly stretched out his hands, preparing to knock the seemingly weak girl unconscious.

However.

Just as Kaname Tōsen's fingers were about to touch Orihime's shoulder...

"I refuse!"

Orihime Inoue hurriedly put her hands in front of her, shouting with fear but a firm tone.

In an instant, a polyhedron composed of triangular light shields completely protected Orihime.

Kaname Tōsen a puzzled expression, preparing to reach out and smash it to grab Orihime, but when his hand struck the shield, the golden light shield remained completely still.

"What... what kind of power is this!" Kaname Tōsen asked in bewilderment.

Seeing that Kaname Tōsen failed to break the shield, Orihime's expression hardened further, and she looked at Kaname Tōsen again, saying:

"I said! I! Reject!"

Instantly, an incredibly powerful repulsive force erupted from the light shield, forcefully pushing Kaname Tōsen, the former captain of the Gotei 13, out of the window.

Kaname Tōsen regained his footing in mid-air in shock and landed in the courtyard.

For the first time, an expression of disbelief and shock appeared on his face, which was hidden behind his goggles.

He knew this girl might be special, after all, it was a mission specifically assigned by Aizen, but he never expected the girl's power to have reached such a level.

The commotion coming from the courtyard had already alerted the people who remained behind.

"Orihime! What's going on? I'm here!" Rangiku shouted as she ran.

Upon seeing Kaname Tōsen, everyone immediately drew their Zanpakuto and aimed them at Kaname Tōsen.

"It's you! You traitor! You won't even touch a hair on her head!" Ichigo Zangetsu high.

Meanwhile, Orihime, still in her room, hugged herself tightly, her eyes filled with an undisguised panic, but beneath that panic lay a determination she had never known before.

At this moment, two other Reiatsu were also rapidly approaching the stronghold. Seeing this, Kaname Tōsen also gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

He knew that with Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara's return, he didn't have much time left, Yammy definitely couldn't hold off Xuanxin for long.

Then Kaname Tōsen drew his Zanpakuto and said, "Since that's the case, then I have no choice but to offend you."

Meanwhile, in the woods outside, Yammy had already been hacked into a bloody gourd by Xuanxin's merciless slashes.

His massive body was covered with crisscrossing knife wounds, but even so, his right hand remained clenched into a fist, not loosening its grip for a moment.

Seeing that Yammy was completely powerless to fight back, Xuanxin no longer hesitated and prepared to use his final blow to show his "respect" for his opponent.

Xuanxin raised his Zanpakuto high, and Reiatsu began to gather on the blade.

Just then!

But suddenly, the sky was torn apart once again.

Seeing this familiar scene, Xuanxin knew that what was coming next was the Negación that had allowed Aizen to escape.

Seeing this, Xuanxin also accelerated the gathering of Reiatsu, preparing to unleash that slash before the Negación descended.

Just as Xuanxin finished gathering his power, the previously dormant Hōgyoku suddenly burst into light, and a bone-white shield quickly formed in front of Yammy.

When Yammy saw the shield, a surge of hope for survival welled up within him.

Xuanxin, however, paid no attention to the shield and simply swung down with both hands and the Negación!

"Kill him!"

"Boom--!" A golden beam of light suddenly rose up, sweeping up dust.

But when the dust settled, the scene before him moved Xuanxin somewhat.

At this moment, Yammy stood sideways in place, with a terrifying gash that seemed to have been severed from his shoulder all the way to his abdomen, so deep that even his internal organs and vertebrae had been cut off. If you looked closely, you could even see the structure of Yammy's body.

Behind Yammy, within the Negación, lay a severed arm, and in the palm of the hand shimmered the "Hōgyoku."

Looking at Yammy, who was only breathing in but not out, Xuanxin's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Xuanxin walked up to Yammy and was about to finish Yammy off.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the sky. "Teacher Shihoin, your swordsmanship is still as amazing as ever."