The Tragic Cycle Ends Today (Shinigami Arc Finale)

Rangiku Matsumoto gazed at Ichimaru Gin and fell silent for a moment.

Deep down, she did not want Ichimaru Gin to simply die like this.

But she understood Ichimaru Gin too well.

Looking at those azure eyes of his, finally open yet devoid of any attachment to life, she knew with absolute clarity what he was longing for in this moment.

Perhaps obeying his desire for atonement and personally granting him a funeral without regrets would be the best conclusion to this century-long bond.

It might even be that dying beneath Ichimaru Gin's own blade—no, beneath her blade—would instead become the perfect redemption most longed for by the heart he had soaked in darkness for a hundred years.

After all, if she personally swung her sword and ended this twisted bond, it would prove to Ichimaru Gin that the crybaby who had once gone hungry in the Rukon District had now truly grown into a strong Shinigami.

That would let Ichimaru Gin close his eyes in complete peace, certain that no matter what storms she faced in the future, she could live on with resilience.

Certain that in Ross's New World, she could also step over Ichimaru Gin's bones and obtain a stable place of her own.

But Rangiku Matsumoto simply did not want to act according to that self-indulgent script.

She had never been the sort of heartless person who would stop at nothing for survival or ambition.

Nor did she have any desire to prove her coldness and growth before Ichimaru Gin by swinging her blade.

After painstakingly running herself ragged for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads for over a hundred years, serving this rotten world like an ox and a horse, she had finally welcomed a tomorrow without pressure.

Her thoughts were actually extremely simple and pure.