" Sōren Sōkatsui!"
A terrifying azure flame erupted from Kaien Shiba's hand, instantly incinerating the remains of the Menos Grande that he had cleaved into eight pieces with his Zanpakuto.
As a professional Soul Reaper, Kaien Shiba was well aware of the terrifying regenerative abilities of some Hollows. If some Hollows didn't have their remains completely burned away like he did, they would immediately regenerate. Therefore, all qualified Soul Reaper had mastered a skill of finishing off... no, a skill of delivering the final blow.
Rukia is alright now.
Kaien Shiba looked at Rukia Kuchiki, who was kneeling on the ground like a frightened little animal, trembling slightly and panting heavily, and his eyes were full of pity and reluctance.
Even as a qualified Grim Soul Reaper, one is destined to face death, but what happened today was far too heavy and cruel for a young girl.
" Rukia... just cry if you want to!"
Kaien Shiba knelt down, gently pulled Rukia's head into his arms, and whispered something.
"Captain Kaien... Captain Kaien... My soldiers, they all died before my eyes, in an instant, just an instant, the soldiers who were alive... they were all dead."
Rukia's eyes were filled with terror, her body trembling uncontrollably. Even though she had prepared herself for any hardship, even though she thought she was ready to face death, she realized that she was completely unprepared when it all happened before her eyes. Everything had happened so suddenly...
"I know, I know!"
" Rukia! You've done a great job. Faced with this crisis, not many others might have handled it as well as you."
Kaien Shiba didn't know how to comfort Rukia. Some things, the person involved had to figure out for themselves and get out of their own knots. No matter how much he tried to persuade her, the effect would be minimal.
"But... I couldn't save a single one of them!"
Rukia loosened the blouse of Kaien Shiba's chest, and tears streamed down her face like a torrential rain.
" Rukia..."
Kaien Shiba was startled by Rukia's words. Kaien knew that Rukia Rukia crying not because she had seen these horrific scenes, but because she hated her own weakness and her helplessness in the face of the Menos Grande.
"If... if I possessed Captain Kaien's power, I could defeat the Menos Grande, and I could save everyone."
Rukia spoke, her eyes hardened. She finally understood what she needed: power. She needed the power to protect everything she wanted to protect.
All the unfavorable factors happening before her eyes were merely due to the lack of power in Rukia Kuchiki. If she possessed the power of her brother or the strength of Captain Kaien, she could easily defeat the enemy and save the team members.
" Rukia... I understand."
"If, after what happened today, you still intend to continue as a Soul Reaper, I would recommend that you train with the Second Division."
"How are you? Can you stand up by yourself?"
Kaien Shiba reached out and gently patted Rukia's head.
"Yes! I can do it."
Rukia spoke, she picked up her Zanpakuto, which she had previously tossed aside, and used it as a Zanpakuto to barely stand up from the ground.
"Very well, although you're filthy and extremely unstable, I should take you to the Fourth Division first. But we still need to put out this fire first! Rukia, can you hold on?"
Kaien Shiba originally planned to take Rukia to the Fourth Division for treatment first, but with the raging fire in front of them, it wouldn't be appropriate to ignore it. After thinking for a while, he asked Rukia.
"I'm perfectly fine, putting out the fire is the priority."
Rukia nodded slightly after hearing Kaien Shiba's words. She had only suffered a mental blow and was physically tired, plus some non-fatal burns. For Rukia, these non-fatal injuries were nothing more than minor wounds.
"That's good! Since Rukia craves power so much, then open your eyes wide and take a good look at what kind of power you're seeking."
Kaien Shiba spoke, he arrived at the main hall of the Thirteenth Division, which was engulfed in raging flames, and drew his Zanpakuto from his waist.
"Let the water and sky reverse, Nejibana!"
Facing the blazing flames that burned his cheeks, Kaien Shiba unleashed his Zanpakuto.
In an instant, the Zanpakuto in Kaien's hand, originally shaped like a samurai sword, transformed into the trident, a symbol of the king of the sea in Greek mythology. At the same time, endless water flowed from Kaien's feet, surrounding Kaien. For a moment, Kaien seemed to truly become the king who ruled the sea in mythology.
"Such powerful Spiritual Pressure!"
"Is this the power of Captain-level?"
Rukia Kuchiki turned around and looked at Kaien, who Shikai his Zanpakuto. Her eyes narrowed into slits. This Spiritual Pressure was so much stronger than that of the previous Menos Grande! Not to mention comparing her to him, they were simply not on the same level.
"Turn it off!"
Kaien Shiba twirled the trident in his hand, drawing out countless streams of water to irrigate the raging flames. No matter how fiercely the flames burned, they could not resist Kaien Shiba's water streams. In no time, the fire that had engulfed the entire Thirteenth Division's barracks was completely extinguished.
" Rukia... let's go... okay?"
After extinguishing the flames, Kaien Shiba planned to leave with Rukia, but when he turned around, he froze completely.
Because the Menos Grande he had destroyed was standing unharmed behind Rukia, smiling at Kaien.
"Run! Rukia!"
Kaien roared at Rukia, while incredulously pondering the situation.
"Um?"
Upon hearing Kaien's words, Rukia's expression changed drastically. Her sixth sense instantly kicked in with alarming warnings; she sensed a deadly danger!
"It's too late!"
The Menos Grande standing behind Rukia gave Rukia no time to react; countless tentacles instantly bound Rukia and tightened their grip.
"Ah!!"
With the force of the tentacle, Rukia's originally loose Shihakusho clung tightly to her body, Rukia figure, which wasn't particularly impressive before, appear curvaceous and alluring.
"Hahaha... Rukia! Can you feel my power?"
Menos Grande watched Rukia being tormented by his tentacles and let out a wicked laugh.
"Damn it! Let go!"
Standing in mid-air Kaien Shiba watched Rukia being repeatedly thrown into various humiliating positions by the Menos Grande's tentacles. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face grew increasingly furious. With him, the squad leader, present, his own squad member was still being captured by the enemy—wasn't this a slap in the face to him, the former squad leader?
"You think I'm stupid enough to just let go like that?"
Having completely absorbed the memories of all those he had devoured, the Menos Grande now possessed emotions perfectly aligned with those of a human. He looked at Kaien Shiba with disdain. After absorbing these people's memories, he understood that if he released Rukia, he would be killed by Kaien, so he would not release Rukia.
What are you planning to do?
While Kaien verbally questioned the Menos Grande Menos Grande, she slowly approached him, intending to kill Menos Grande the moment she got a little closer.
"Don't come near me!"
"The combat strength of you squad leaders is beyond my expectations, so you should stay away from me, at least in a position that puts me in a relatively safe place."
Menos Grande saw the Kaien advancing towards him, his expression slowly changed. He had already experienced the power of Captain-level Soul Reaper, and he did not intend to experience it again. He Rukia, who was now tightly bound, in front of him, and spoke cautiously.
"Okay, okay... as long as you don't act impulsively, everything is negotiable."
As Kaien retreated, her brain raced.
"Hahaha... very good."
Menos Grande smiled gently at Kaien Shiba, who seemed to know exactly what was going on. He liked people like Kaien were so perceptive.
How do you like this location?
After retreating to a distance of about thirty meters from the Menos Grande, Kaien stopped and asked.
"That's fine."
Menos Grande, confident that Kaien was thirty meters away and no matter how strong Kaien was, could not threaten him, nodded slightly.
"Okay! Now that I've backed out, can you answer one question for me?"
"I want to know how you were resurrected?!"
"Shouldn't I have already killed you completely by now?"
Kaien needs to know the abilities of the Menos Grande before him. If he doesn't know the limits of the Menos Grande's regenerative abilities, he won't dare to attack rashly, ultimately causing Rukia to lose her life in vain.
"You dare bring up what happened earlier?"
Do you know how painful it is to be chopped to pieces and then burned by the flames?
Do you know?
Upon hearing Kaien's words, Menos Grande's face instantly contorted into a ferocious expression, and his tentacles tightened even more.
"Cough cough!!"
Rukia's face turned bright red, and she was already having trouble breathing.
"Calm down! Please calm down! I apologize for what I just did, but please, you must calm down."
Kaien looked at Rukia was suffering endless torment, with pity in his eyes, and repeatedly spoke to the Menos Grande.
"Hmph! I wasn't originally planning to tell you, but since you apologized, I'll tell you anyway~"
"I don't have the ability to resurrect, but as Gillian- level Menos Grande, I possess strong absorption and regeneration abilities."
After hearing Kaien's words, Menos Grande snorted coldly and spoke with a stern expression.
"Impossible! I should have burned all the pieces of your body!!"
After hearing Menos Grande's words, Kaien's eyes flashed with disbelief. He had clearly burned the Menos Grande to ashes just now.
"You didn't burn my whole body, did you?!"
Menos Grande smiled slightly at Kaien and asked in a cold voice.
"They didn't completely burn your body?! Could it be...?"
Upon hearing this, Kaien's expression changed instantly. He recalled what had happened before, and it seemed that he had indeed overlooked something.
"Pero~"
Looking at Kaien's ashen face, Menos Grande felt a surge of pleasure and stuck out his tongue.
"That's right! Just as you thought, you've forgotten the first tongue of mine that you cut off, haven't you?"
Menos Grande pointed to his tongue sticking out of his mouth, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes as he looked at Kaien.
Kaien severed his tongue, which was attacking Rukia Kuchiki, at the very beginning, and he relied on that remaining tongue to complete his self-regeneration... Now he was somewhat grateful that he hadn't, like some of his kind, reset his stats after evolving and discarded his self-regeneration ability in exchange for greater power.
"Damn it..."
Kaien knew he had made a fatal mistake and cursed himself for his carelessness. But fortunately, now that he knew the other party's abilities, things would be easier. He already had a plan to deal with this Menos Grande.
"Are you planning to attack me?"
Come on!
"The moment you lay a hand on me, I will take Rukia's life."
"Let's trade one for one and see who suffers in the end!"
"In any case, in this world, not even the person who created me will shed a single tear for me."
Menos Grande beckoned to Kaien with his finger. He didn't care whether he lived or died. He only cared whether he could make others feel pain and fear. Even if he died, as long as others felt pain after his death, it would be worth it.
"Tsk~"
"This is difficult!"
Holding his Zanpakuto, Kaien felt somewhat at a loss; this Menos Grande was too cunning.
Come on~ Come on~
"But if you kill me, it won't be as simple as just losing Rukia Kuchiki."
You'll miss this amazing opportunity to feast your eyes!
"This is rope skipping art by the young ladies of Five Great Noble Clans! Opportunities to see this are rare!"
The Menos Grande manipulated his tentacles, making Rukia change into humiliating positions in the air to satisfy his perverted desires.
"Bastard! Shameless..."
Whether from shame or from the tightness of the Menos Grande's tentacles, Rukia's face was as red as a red lantern hanging outside the door.
"You bastard, how dare you humiliate us Five Great Noble Clans like this!"
Kaien Shiba had never dealt with someone so full of flirtatious nonsense before, and he had no idea where the other person had gotten all this knowledge from.
"Look! Look!"
"Look! Look!"
"Such a rare opportunity is rare! Don't be ungrateful!"
The Menos Grande continued to manipulate Rukia Kuchiki through the air with his tentacles, constantly taunting Kaien Shiba. Yes, he wasn't intentionally playing these tentacle games; his main purpose was to distract Kaien Shiba and find an opportunity to escape.
"That's right~ That's right~"
"Oh Kaien!"
You can't be so ungrateful!
"What a beautiful scene!"
Just as Menos Grande and Kaien Shiba were locked in a stalemate across Rukia Kuchiki, a slightly frivolous voice rang in the ears of Menos Grande, Rukia Kuchiki, and Kaien Shiba.
"Um?!"
The next second, to the astonishment of the three, a man dressed in a snow-white Captain's Haori, with silver hair and an eye patch on his face, appeared before them.
" Sōgo?!"
Kaien felt a sense of relief upon seeing the newcomer. Although Sōgo was unreliable and sometimes even eccentric, he was incredibly reassuring as a teammate.
Who are you?
"Which squad leader? I've never seen you before."
Menos Grande stared at Sōgo for a moment, slightly taken aback. He could feel a sense of comfort and familiarity emanating from Sōgo, but he swore he didn't know Sōgo at all. Even the members of the crew he had eaten didn't know Sōgo. It was a very strange phenomenon.
"I'm here to compete with you~"
Sōgo, facing the Menos Grande, scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly, as if he were saying something shy.
"Compare?"
What are we comparing?
Menos Grande was taken aback. He had expected Sōgo to introduce himself, first boasting about how powerful he was and how easily he could kill him, then yelling things like, "You scum, release Rukia now, or I'll kill you! "Menos Grande never imagined that this strange-looking man's first words upon seeing him would be about comparing himself to him...
"Ugh, you should know that already!"
"Of course it's the embarrassing part—our manly dignity!"
Sōgo spoke hesitantly.
"That man is so annoying!"
For some reason, Menos Grande felt inexplicably angry looking at Sōgo. Hearing Sōgo speak made him furious. He really wanted to devour this silver-haired bastard.
"However, since we're competing on male dignity, it's not appropriate for a beautiful lady to witness it."
"The main problem is that mine is too big. I'm afraid that girls will fall in love with me after seeing it..."
"Me? I'm a man everyone loves."
Sōgo ignored Menos Grande and continued preaching to himself.
"Ha?"
"Where did this narcissist come from? Why doesn't he just die?"
"Just go die already, okay?"
After facing Sōgo, the countless voices in Menos Grande finally united, and they all expressed their hatred for Sōgo.
"While you certainly have artistic talent, treating a girl like this is wrong..."
Sōgo smiled slightly at the Menos Grande, and then, in the next second, before anyone could react, a little girl with a flushed face was in Sōgo's arms.
"Uh-huh?!!"
"Is that Rukia?"
Menos Grande stared at the girl in Sōgo's arms, completely stunned. He looked at his tentacles and realized that Rukia, whom he had been controlling, had disappeared.
"Okay, this girl is all yours now."
Sōgo casually tossed Rukia, whom he was holding, to Kaien Shiba like a doll.
"Be gentle! This is a wounded soldier!"
Kaien Shiba carefully held Rukia and frowned at Sōgo.
"Okay, okay~"
"I'm already paying attention!"
"So now it's time to see who wins between the two of us?"
Sōgo first casually waved to Kaien to indicate that he understood, then faced the Menos Grande and stretched his limbs slightly before drawing one of the two Zanpakuto from his waist.
"Let him know! Let him know who's Jiba charge!"
Sōgo shouted and released his Zanpakuto.
"It was my mistake to expect you to pronounce the liberation phrase correctly!"
As Sōgo unleashed his Zanpakuto, a colossal maw nearly a hundred meters long instantly appeared before everyone, its booming sound assaulting their eardrums.
"So you're my little brat?"
"Goodbye!"
The giant maw found a spot, and after quietly examining the Menos Grande beneath it for a while, it opened its blood-red maw and swallowed part of the Thirteenth Division's barracks in one gulp.
"Ahaha... So it's my father."
The Menos Grande opened his arms to the gigantic maw, accepting his destiny without resistance. At that moment, he felt no anger, but rather was moved to tears. It turned out his father had come to find him. No wonder he felt so familiar when he saw Sōgo ... This feeling was wonderful! This... must be fatherly love! Hollows... can have fatherly love too!
"Boom!"
The giant mouth left a bottomless pit in the barracks of the Thirteenth Division.
In an instant, not only did the Menos Grande disappear, but also the obsessions of countless lost souls...
(End of this chapter)