Defeat!

Natsuki charged toward Azashiro Kenpachi, intending to end the battle quickly and defeat him.

With his Shikai already unleashed, he truly had no more trump cards left.

When it came down to it, he hadn't been a Shinigami for many years; even counting his time in Hueco Mundo, it was only about as long as it took for an ordinary soul to go from entering the Shinigami Academy to graduation, perhaps slightly longer, but not by much.

Unlike the protagonist Kurosaki Ichigo, who possessed immense power from the start and only needed to fight to unseal the strength within his body, there was a limit to how fast Natsuki's strength could grow, no matter how rapid his progress.

As the captain of the 11th Division, Azashiro Kenpachi was a captain-level existence after all, and he had already displayed many bizarre abilities; however, Natsuki did not know exactly how many trump cards he held, so he had to defeat him within a limited window of time.

His mind was made up.

The blade in Natsuki's hand slashed out.

The crimson mist surrounding them vanished in an instant.

At the same time, the crimson earth returned to normal.

The fluttering crimson butterflies were also annihilated, but the crimson light upon Natsuki's Zanpakuto grew increasingly intense.

It was still a slash!

Although the release of Natsuki's Zanpakuto caused massive changes to the surrounding environment, its most powerful form of attack remained a direct strike.

The crimson slash covered a vast area, like a red curtain, threatening to envelop Azashiro Kenpachi.

Just then, Natsuki's body suddenly stiffened.

I can't move!

Natsuki's expression turned grim.

In that instant, it was as if he had lost control over his own body; a strange power had appeared within him, a power possessing a will of its own, fighting to seize control of his physical form.

Then, relying on the abilities of his Zanpakuto, he realized this appeared to be Reiatsu.

A Reiatsu that did not originate from him.

At this moment, there were only two people here; if it wasn't his own Reiatsu, it was clearly that of Azashiro Kenpachi.

Is this your ace in the hole?

By injecting Reiatsu into his body to manipulate his movements, even though Natsuki quickly forced his Zanpakuto to try and devour the intruding Reiatsu and extinguish the will contained within it, in a real battle, a momentary lapse was enough to decide the outcome.

Because of Azashiro Kenpachi's interference, Natsuki's charged strike ultimately failed to be fully unleashed.

The crimson curtain was shattered by a swing of Azashiro Kenpachi's blade, and then, Azashiro Kenpachi's sword landed on Natsuki.

Blood splattered outward.

Pain!

Extreme pain.

Natsuki lay on the ground, feeling the agony coursing through his body.

This was the first time he had suffered such a severe injury since arriving in this world.

At this moment, his feelings were very complicated.

He had clearly chosen to flee at the first opportunity, yet he hadn't expected Azashiro Kenpachi to seek him out personally; he could only say that his luck was truly terrible.

"Are you not going to kill me?"

Natsuki looked at Azashiro Kenpachi, who was standing beside him. "Or do you want to hear my last words?"

"If it's the latter, then I suppose I have no last words."

Although he had built some friendships in this world, he was, on the whole, still alone and unburdened. On the contrary, after dying, he didn't feel any regret for having lived a few more years in this world and experiencing a life he hadn't known in his previous one; instead, he felt it had been worth it.

Although he had now completely cleared the strange Reiatsu that had invaded his body and interfered with his movements thanks to his Zanpakuto, it was too late; it would be of no help in changing his current predicament.

Azashiro Kenpachi's strike, containing high-density Reiatsu, had directly broken through his layers of defense and inflicted a grievous wound.

The fact that his defenses were breached was naturally related to the earlier Reiatsu interference.

"I have no need to kill you!"

Azashiro Kenpachi said calmly.

Immediately, he turned and walked away.

Noticing Azashiro Kenpachi's departure, Natsuki was somewhat surprised and asked again, "If you let me go, aren't you afraid that I will expose what you have done?"

Azashiro Kenpachi's footsteps paused.

Natsuki suddenly felt that his mouth had been too loose.

Although he had no regrets, it was obviously better to stay alive if possible.

He hoped this remark wouldn't remind Azashiro Kenpachi to silence him.

"Suit yourself!"

Azashiro Kenpachi said once more, his footsteps continuing forward as he departed.

Natsuki truly could not fathom what Azashiro Kenpachi was thinking; he had been constantly plotting within the Rukon District, aiming to transform the entire district into a weapon, yet he seemed entirely indifferent to his schemes being exposed.

Thoughts flickered, and without hesitation, he continued to utilize his Zanpakuto in its Shikai state. In an instant, the surrounding Reishi was forcibly gathered, surging into his body to mend his severely wounded form. Although the injuries were not fully healed, they were at least no longer life-threatening.

This was the ability of his Zanpakuto after Shikai.

The absorption and manipulation of Reishi.

In its Asauchi state, his Zanpakuto could passively absorb the high-concentration Reishi in the surroundings, subsequently strengthening his own spiritual power.

Yet in the Shikai state, this ability transformed from passive to active.

However, the current range of this active effect was limited.

It only took effect within the crimson radius manifested after the Shikai.

This could be considered a domain or a barrier; within it, as the battle progressed, the Reiatsu of his enemies would be stolen by Natsuki, then converted into pure Reishi to replenish the energy Natsuki consumed during combat.

At the same time, the fluttering Hell Butterflies could serve as a third eye for Natsuki, granting him a brand-new perspective—an extension of his Spiritual Perception.

Additionally, he could channel spiritual power into a formidable defense, or concentrate it upon his Zanpakuto to unleash a powerful strike in an instant.

Previously, Azashiro Kenpachi's Ghost Way had been dismantled and absorbed by Natsuki using the power of his Zanpakuto.

But Azashiro Kenpachi's blade seemed even more bizarre.

Beyond being able to cast multiple Ghost Ways simultaneously and condense high-concentration Reiatsu onto the blade, he could silently inject his Reiatsu into Natsuki's body, using the Reiatsu imbued with his own will to manipulate and interfere with Natsuki's physical form.

Even though Natsuki immediately activated his blade's ability to attempt to dismantle and absorb it, the presence of Azashiro Kenpachi's will meant it still took a moment of time—and in battle, that moment was fatal.

Thus, he took a slash and lost this fight.

But Natsuki firmly believed that if he were given another chance, now that he knew of these bizarre abilities of Azashiro Kenpachi, he would absolutely not lose.