Tang San's Opponent

A day of slaughter and summoning had yielded no substantial progress.

Everything summoned had been trash—not just Soul Reapers, but Hollows and humans as well.

There was no need to mention the humans. They were Quincy.

These Quincy were neither pure-blooded nor members of the Stern Ritter, so there was no reason to keep them.

Of this trash, only Ulquiorra and Tosen Kaname helped clean it up.

Grimmjow and Retsu Unohana could not even be bothered to move.

"My Soul Power is already full. I'm just waiting for my soul ring to form. Killing any more is meaningless now. I might as well stand guard." Grimmjow lay off to one side, using his arm as a pillow as he faced the night sky and closed his eyes.

"Weaklings without even the strength to fight back are equally unworthy of my blade." Retsu Unohana held her Zanpakuto in her arms, leaned against a tree trunk, and closed her eyes.

Only Tosen Kaname continued to carry out Aizen's orders without the slightest hesitation.

In one day, Tosen Kaname had reached Level 15 just by cleaning up trash.

Ulquiorra, meanwhile, only cleaned up trash occasionally.

There were unexpectedly few Soul Masters in the Soul Hunting Forest.

Over this period, they had only encountered five Soul Masters, and they had been a single team.

After slaughtering that group of Soul Masters, they gained six thousand soul coins.

Likewise, they encountered few Soul Beasts.

Most were ten-year Soul Beasts, not even worth attacking.

They encountered eight hundred-year Soul Beasts, but none were over five hundred years old.

It could be said that today's gains were pitifully small.

Lying on a straw mat, Aizen recalled the events of the past few days.

It had been the second day since they left the academy and came to the Soul Hunting Forest.

If he remembered correctly—

Tang San and Yu Xiaogang should have entered the Soul Hunting Forest at noon today.

Tonight, Tang San would obtain his first soul ring.

As the child of destiny in this world, Tang San's first soul ring was over four hundred years old.

It granted the Blue Silver Emperor poison and resilience.

Still too weak. It was nowhere near enough. How could a Tang San like that possibly contend with him?

He had to give him a sense of crisis!

After resting briefly, the five set out to search for Tang San.

Judging by Tang San's route, he should now be near the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest, not far into the woods.

At the moment, Aizen and the others were deep within the Soul Hunting Forest.

Thus, the five followed the path they had taken and headed back the way they came.

Along the way, Aizen and the others discovered a Soul Master team that was camping.

There were six people in total, including a child. They were likely here to help the child hunt for a soul ring.

Retsu Unohana, eager for battle, could not hold herself back any longer. She drew her blade and charged in.

At only Level 15, Retsu Unohana quickly fell into a disadvantage against five Soul Masters above Level 20.

One against five.

It was not that simple.

Yet Retsu Unohana was not afraid. Instead, she was somewhat excited.

The greater the difficulty, the more it demanded of her skill.

As long as she overcame it, she could surpass her current self.

Retsu Unohana struck first, thrusting her sword forward.

Her sharp Zanpakuto became a streak of silver light as it stabbed toward the nearest man.

The incredibly swift thrust made the man's face change in shock. He immediately unleashed his martial soul, the Dark Water Turtle.

The Zanpakuto struck the hard turtle shell and was deflected by its curved surface.

Only then did the turtle-shell man look up at the seven-year-old Retsu Unohana and smile smugly.

"Little girl, carrying a sword is dangerous."

There had been no process of summoning a martial soul and no display of soul rings, so the turtle-shell man believed that the sword in Retsu Unohana's hand was a real sword rather than a martial soul.

If the turtle-shell man had known that the blade in Retsu Unohana's hand was a martial soul, he probably would not have underestimated her so greatly.

Swallow Return Flash!

The blade that slashed backhandedly instantly cut open the man's throat.

The speed and fluidity of the attack were beyond expectation.

The turtle-shell man's death made the other four realize that this girl was not as simple as she appeared.

Without hesitation, the four men all summoned their martial souls.

Bull, horse, snake, wolf.

The four attacked at once, determined to kill Retsu Unohana in a single blow.

At the edge of life and death, Retsu Unohana's heart pounded violently.

Four directions, four attacks. With only one sword, blocking them all without injury was simply impossible.

With death so close, she was nearly suffocated by excitement.

Retsu Unohana swung her blade at them, intending to face all four alone.

Against the first man, in order to kill him quickly, Retsu Unohana chose to trade an injury for his death.

The wolf-type Soul Master's wolf claw struck her shoulder, while Retsu Unohana's sword pierced his chest and stabbed through his heart.

As she pulled it free, she twisted the blade, draining away his life.

Just as she was about to turn and confront the two behind her, the wolf-type Soul Master suddenly grabbed hold of Retsu Unohana.

The dying Soul Master's final counterattack brought a rare savage expression to Retsu Unohana's face.

Just as the enemies were about to strike, two shadows, one black and one blue, burst from the forest.

Grimmjow tore through the horse-type Soul Master's heart with one claw, while Ulquiorra snapped the bull-type Soul Master's neck with a hand strike.

The final snake-type Soul Master and the child were ambushed from behind by Tosen Kaname.

The child fell unconscious, while the Soul Master's skull was pierced through by a single blade.

Aizen slowly emerged and approached Retsu Unohana.

"Going into battle alone is far too dangerous. Next time you make a move, say something. As your companions, we will certainly help you."

Retsu Unohana nimbly swung her Zanpakuto, cutting off the arm of the Soul Master holding her. She snorted and did not respond to Aizen.

Aizen smiled slightly and stroked Retsu Unohana's smooth black hair, slowly tidying it for her. "I understand your desire to fight powerful enemies. Very soon, you will encounter prey you like."

Tosen Kaname stepped forward and rebuked Retsu Unohana.

"What is it? You should have something to apologize for, shouldn't you, Mao Zhi Hua?"

Retsu Unohana gave a chilling smile and looked at Tosen Kaname. "I don't!"

Enraged by Retsu Unohana's rude words and actions, Tosen Kaname shouted coldly, "You bastard!"

Aizen spoke up to stop Tosen Kaname. "It's all right, Kaname. I am not angry."

"Lord Aizen!" Tosen Kaname wanted to say something.

"I believe Retsu Unohana's actions are a display of loyalty that is difficult to restrain. The deaths of Soul Masters are useful to me, so she went and slaughtered Soul Masters. Am I right, Retsu Unohana?"

Retsu Unohana narrowed her eyes at Aizen and followed his words. "Of course."

Tosen Kaname was furious. He drew his sword and held it to Retsu Unohana's throat, only for her to knock it away directly and raise her own blade against his, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.

"Lord Aizen, look at her. What loyalty does she have? This is entirely a thirst for battle!"

"Enough!" Aizen looked coldly at the two of them.

The moment he spoke, both felt chills run down their spines, their legs trembling.

The pressure in his voice left them unable to move.

Aizen slowly walked toward Retsu Unohana, took her hand, and helped her return her sword to its sheath.

"I said that you will soon meet a suitable opponent. Although you cannot kill this opponent, making you feel pleased is still possible."

After temporarily resolving the conflict between them, they continued onward.

They headed toward where Tang San was.

"Tang San, I wonder whether you can withstand the opponent I found for you?"

"This is one of the weaker members of my current team."