Chapter 259
The writer prefers to read it with a perverse sense of humor.
To be honest.
Haruto still finds it somewhat unbelievable that they would so casually bring someone into the prestigious Shihoin Clan.
"Certainly."
"It's precisely because I'm not of noble birth that I'm willing to tell you so much... even though it seems I've misjudged you."
Kitahara Kenshin's gaze swept over Haruto's surroundings.
Look around Haruto: three mid-level nobles and one high-level noble. He seems to have nothing to do with the word "commoner".
"..."
Haruto was also taken aback for a moment.
There are quite a few captains who dislike nobles.
The captains and vice-captains of the 5th, 9th, and 11th Divisions, for example, did not have noble status. They not only had little contact with nobles, but some even harbored resentment towards them.
However, it's rare to see someone like Kitahara Kenshin so openly expressing his dislike.
"Do you have a grudge against the nobles?"
"Not before joining the Expeditionary Force."
With just two simple sentences, Haruto understood almost everything.
"... The infighting is fierce. It seems your Third Division suffered heavy losses?"
Two-thirds.
The Third Division is the support division among the Gotei 13. As a "reserve force," they are also the division that sends the most troops to Hueco Mundo and the one with the most members.
With a loss of up to two-thirds of their organization, it's no longer a question of whether they've collapsed or not—if it weren't for the fact that they had nowhere to escape in the Forest of Menos and the few remaining members of their sense of responsibility, the Soul Reaper under Kitahara Kenshin's command would probably have all deserted long ago.
And.
Kitahara Kenshin did not refute Haruto's claim of "insulting" Haruto; in other words, his relationship with the noble squad in the Forest of Menos was quite strained—don't be fooled by Haru Kusaka's seemingly easygoing nature; that's because Haruto's strength and "position" far surpass his. If it were a captain like Kitahara Kenshin, without any background...
What kind of kind of person would dare to lay a hand on their own brother?
"Then you certainly have reason to be dissatisfied with the Central 46 Chambers."
Haruto nodded.
Both he and his subordinates had suffered unfair treatment, so merely complaining was no big deal.
"... Can I take that as support for my actions?"
How could that be?
I support wiping them all out; killing a few is no big deal.
Haruto definitely can't say this now. The right time is after Aizen has wiped out all the Central 46 Chambers...
Or perhaps he would blast all Central 46 Chambers.
"..."
Kitahara Kenshin stared into Haruto's eyes for a long time.
"Do you approve of the Central 46 Chambers's proposal?"
"I agree with Captain-Commander Yamamoto's idea."
Haruto stands firmly around the leadership of the Gotei 13 -Captain-Commander at its core, and this will not change under any circumstances.
Even "harmonious coexistence" with the King of Hueco Mundo?
"... You know quite a lot."
An ordinary team captain shouldn't know these things.
Unless Kitahara Kenshin witnessed something firsthand during the Hueco Mundo expedition... or was misled by someone?
The upper-ranking nobles knew certain secrets.
Looking at the drugs those criminals took, it's clear that someone was involved in Kitahara Kenshin's defection.
You did not deny the truth of this matter.
Kitahara Kenshin's tone turned dangerous.
"Captain Kitahara, there's no need to deceive me. This is also for the stability of the Three Realms."
"Does the greater good have to sacrifice so much of our 'personal interests'?"
"..."
"Well."
Haruto sighed softly.
He recalled his past self: when it comes to things involving online politics, whether in real life or on forums, arguing hundreds or thousands of times will never get any results.
That dilapidated and crumbling aristocratic system should have been abolished long ago.
However, just like the existence of Baraggan, it did indeed ensure a certain degree of stability in the Three Realms.
Solve them...
It must be done at the right time.
Kitahara Kenshin was an idealist who suffered persecution under the system, and if he could, Haruto would not want such a person to die in the stinking underground of Seireitei.
But!
Wrong methods will only lead to unnecessary sacrifices.
This was a mission personally issued by the Captain-Commander, and there were also certain shady high-ranking nobles lurking in the shadows.
Not to mention...
Kitahara Kenshin had become a "knife" used by the nobility to eliminate dissidents.
I'm sorry.
Haruto's eyes and brows were lowered.
"You couldn't refute me, yet you're still determined to kill me?"
"Yes."
Haruto's left hand rested on the hilt of the sword.
But you didn't get angry or embarrassed.
I just feel sorry for you.
Haruto did not draw his sword.
A chilling and terrifying killing intent, mixed with Reiatsu, surged towards Kitahara Kenshin like a tsunami.
"... Is that so?"
Kitahara Kenshin's speech was momentarily interrupted.
He truly felt the gap between the two sides: in terms of Reiatsu, he was far weaker than Haruto... and he wasn't even sure if this was Haruto's full strength.
"This won't kill me."
But he was, after all, a captain who had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
As Zanpakuto Kitahara Kenshin drew his Zanpakuto from its sheath, he quickly regained his composure.
"No."
Haruto shook his head.
"You were already dead the moment I arrived here."
"So confident?"
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought them here to 'broaden their horizons'."
"You can say that after you've 'witnessed' my Zanpakuto."
Kitahara Kenshin hadn't finished speaking.
"Shiryū"
A jet-black cloth formed from Reiatsu shot out from the void surrounding Kitahara Kenshin, instantly wrapping half of his body like a dumpling.
The next second.
"Hiss!"
The seal was broken by immense force.
Kitahara Kenshin's physique was no longer as natural as before, but had become even more exaggerated than Fist of the North Star:
The muscles writhing on the body surface were even thicker than the Shiryū.
"..."
"Drugs and Shikai?"
Haruto showed no surprise whatsoever.
Using the completely degraded version of the first song of the Bakudō #99, it was still somewhat difficult to fight against Kitahara Kenshin in this state: before the fight, Haruto had already judged how much drugs Kitahara Kenshin had taken from his opponent's extremely fluctuating Reiatsu.
If Munechika then was one, then Kitahara Kenshin, in order for the medicine to have an effect on him Captain-level, must have consumed at least a hundred: the previous Jinzen was to suppress and consume these external forces.
In addition...
Kitahara Kenshin's Zanpakuto transformed into a metal strip with a semi-circular notch in the middle.
This Zanpakuto's ability is to make anything it cuts with its "notch" brittle: whether it's Kidō or a physical object, each hit halves the target's defense... It's a rule-based Zanpakuto with special abilities.
Soul Reaper has mastered Bankai does not need a release phrase when Shikai.
When Haruto used his Bakudō, Kitahara Kenshin had already released his Zanpakuto and slashed several times before the Shiryū hit.
Otherwise.
No matter how strong the brute force gained through drug use is, it's impossible to break through the seal of Shiryū.
"Well enough."
The power of this knife.
It's quite useful for fighting Hollows and Quincy, but it's not very effective in the Soul Reaper civil war.
No...
It seems like it can be used to cut off an opponent's Zanpakuto during a fight?
"Hyakurensan"
He flicked his index finger lightly against the end of the knife handle.
Silver metal plates interlocked and shot out from the wide space behind Haruto, attacking Kitahara Kenshin simultaneously like Spartan javelins!
"Heavenly Dance: Swift Succession!"
Kitahara Kenshin Zanpakuto his Zanpakuto forward with force.
The Reiatsu lingered in the path the blade had traversed, forming an impenetrable net that blocked all the chains.
"Clang clang!"
"It's useless."
As the second finger he had clenched flicked towards Kitahara Kenshin, the number of Hyakurensan appearing from the spatial ripples immediately doubled!
"Call out--"
"Dankū!"
Kitahara Kenshin's newly erected Kidō barrier was instantly breached from the front by the Hyakurensan!
"Smack!!"
At the same time, Dankū and broke apart.
In the blink of a Hyakurensan bolts pierced through Kitahara Kenshin's limbs and bones, nailing him firmly to a dark silver cross made of countless chains.