Soi Fon's Favor

The female member of the Punishment Force watched Aoto's Zanpakuto suddenly rise, alarm bells ringing in her mind, yet she was too slow to do anything.

Aoto swung his blade upward in a casual, sweeping motion, and the next second, she felt a searing, agonizing pain.

Looking toward her right shoulder, the source of the agony... she discovered that her right arm had been severed from her body.

"Way of Destruction, Number 54, Hainawa!"

A disc-shaped flame shot out, striking her entire right arm with precision and burning it to ash in an instant!

"I hope the money you earned this time is enough to cover your retirement..."

The female Punishment Force member, her spiritual pressure plummeting, was about to scream when Aoto "released" her.

He had no desire to hear that woman's voice!

Turning back to pick up the two wolf legs, Aoto stowed one away and began gnawing on the other.

"Hmm, this flavor—it's an Adjuchas modified by Szayelaporro! Must be part of the remnants left after his defeat. Who knows where they've all been hiding? My main body couldn't find them, but the nobles managed to sniff them out."

"But this time, the main body should be able to track them down!"

"Truly delicious! This processing method is far superior to mine! A single Adjuchas leg is enough to make me feel full."

"If that guy Szayelaporro ever became a chef, he'd probably be even more famous than he is as a scientist!"

After fully digesting the wolf leg and letting his spiritual pressure recover completely, Aoto finally deactivated the effects of Shakukuro.

By now, quite a few Shinigami had arrived at the edge of the pitch-black battlefield as reinforcements.

Zaraki Kenpachi was not among them. It wasn't that he hadn't arrived, but rather that he had left once he saw the battle was already over.

Just another bunch of trash Hollows... was what he had said.

Ikkaku and Yumichika had managed to bag ten Gillian, so they were quite satisfied.

Shiro, however, had arrived late and was currently filled with resentment.

He had wanted to show his master the progress he'd made over the last two months!

Yet, the first person Aoto faced after emerging was none of them.

It was the Captain of the Second Division, Soi Fon.

She was the current Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force, an organization equal in rank to the Gotei 13.

The Stealth Force was divided into five divisions, the first of which was the Punishment Force, a unit under Soi Fon's direct command.

That female operative belonged to that very unit.

In a sense, she was Soi Fon's direct subordinate.

But facing Soi Fon now, Aoto showed no signs of fear.

And Soi Fon hadn't come to settle scores.

"I owe you a favor."

Soi Fon said this softly before turning to leave.

Aoto gave an imperceptible nod and descended from the sky.

The fact that a subordinate of the Punishment Force had been bribed by nobles to perform private work—and in Hueco Mundo, no less—would have had a devastating impact on Soi Fon's reputation.

By using Shakukuro to shroud everything in darkness, Aoto had not only taught the operative a lesson and stripped her of her Punishment Force uniform, but he had also dumped her in the distant South District 21, where other Punishment Force members would find her first. This had preserved both the reputation of the Punishment Force and her own honor.

Naturally, Soi Fon had to step forward to thank him.

The Third Division of the Stealth Force, the Correction Corps, also functioned as a surveillance unit for the entire Soul Society.

Before Urahara Kisuke became the Captain of the Twelfth Division, he had been the captain of that very unit.

Thus, a portion of the technology the Twelfth Division currently used to monitor the Soul Society had been brought over by him from the Stealth Force.

Earlier, when the female operative's spiritual pressure vanished from the Soul Society, the Correction Corps had detected it immediately.

The Stealth Force mobilized fully, and the nobles who had dealt with her were quickly identified.

Afterward, the Punishment Force had already stationed guards in several areas suitable for opening a Garganta, waiting to apprehend her upon her return.

They just hadn't expected her to be bold enough to open a Garganta in a busy district, drawing so many Menos Grande back with her.

Severing an arm was, in Soi Fon's eyes, getting off easy.

Even though Soi Fon had known her for a long time, that only made her betrayal all the more intolerable.

Soi Fon's own family had died in the line of duty for the Stealth Force, so she had zero tolerance for anything that would tarnish the organization's name.

"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

As Shiro completed his Shikai, a chain sprouted from the hilt of his blade, ending in a crescent-shaped blade.

Furthermore, a massive ice dragon appeared at Shiro's side.

If one were to control this ice dragon directly for attacks, Hyōrinmaru could be classified as a direct-combat type Zanpakuto.

But Hyōrinmaru possessed other abilities as well.

The most fundamental ability is called "Heavenly Weather Manifestation," which is the most basic yet most powerful ability of Hyōrinmaru.

That is, the manipulation of water vapor in the atmosphere.

Although Shiro does not control this technique very well, he can still significantly reduce his spiritual pressure consumption when using various moves.

Aoto watched and felt it was quite impressive.

At Shiro's strong insistence, the master and apprentice decided to have a spar.

Aoto stated that he would not use his Shikai, telling Shiro to attack however he pleased.

An irritated Shiro immediately brought out his full strength.

But in Aoto's eyes, this ice dragon was riddled with openings!

And so, once again without using his Zanpakuto, he bypassed the ice dragon's obstruction and arrived right in front of Shiro, landing a strike to his gut.

But at the very moment of impact, an Ice Mirror shattered...

The real Shiro appeared further back.

Shiro had long been guarding against his master knocking him out directly again.

He had referenced many sources before coming up with this "Ice Mirror" technique.

By using light refraction through multiple layers of ice mirrors, he made the enemy in front believe he was still standing in his original spot.

And while Shiro had retreated, the ice dragon remained in place.

If Shiro were knocked out, the ice dragon would naturally vanish.

But since he hadn't been, the ice dragon became a threat to Aoto.

The ice dragon coiled layer upon layer, and Aoto was now in danger of being frozen solid.

Rangiku Matsumoto, watching this master-apprentice battle from the side, widened her eyes... could Aoto really be about to flip the script and lose?

Although she was surprised that Shiro had attained such strength in just two short months, she was even more surprised at the thought of Aoto losing!

How could he resolve this crisis without using his Shikai?

However, Ikkaku and Yumichika, who were also watching the battle, saw a completely different situation than Rangiku Matsumoto.

Crack! The ice dragon's body coiled completely into a massive ice sphere.

And through the transparent ice layer, Aoto could be seen frozen solid inside.

Did he win?

Shiro found it quite hard to believe.

Just then, an arm rested on his shoulder.

"It's only right that you can't believe it!" Aoto's voice appeared right by Shiro's ear. "If even you don't believe it, how could I possibly be sealed inside?"

The very first second Shiro heard that voice, he tried to move.

But it was too late.

Binding Art #4, Crawling Rope!

Shiro was instantly bound by a rope made of spirit particles.

And it was tied quite tightly, too!