Chapter 170: Hollow's Shinigami
Tōsen Kaname, who had leaped into the sky, released his Zanpakuto and directly attacked the surrounding Shinigami. But with such a straightforward attack method, let alone captain-level Shinigami—even ordinary soldiers would have enough reaction time to dodge.
"Suzumushi First Form: Benihikō!"
Obviously, Tōsen Kaname hadn't expected his attack to be effective. The first attack was merely to force the captains to leave their current positions. The next moment, Tōsen Kaname held the blade handle vertically, stroking the ring on the knife's guard position with his palm. As Zanpakuto absorbed Tōsen Kaname's Reiatsu, the blade began vibrating rapidly, making a chirping sound similar to insects buzzing.
An invisible sound wave enveloped the area instantly. His targets were the weaker vice-captains.
"Watch out, Rukia! His target is you!"
Seeing his younger sister being targeted by Tōsen Kaname, Byakuya Kuchiki hastily warned her.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
Hearing Byakuya Kuchiki's reminder, Rukia Kuchiki didn't dare be careless. She directly released her Zanpakuto. The released Sode no Shirayuki was absolutely beautiful—the white ribbon at the handle's end wrapped around Rukia's right arm. She immediately drew several ice chains in the air that shot upward, blocking Tōsen Kaname's sonic attack.
As for Renji and Kotetsu Isane beside them, they weren't so fortunate. In their haste, with their bodies not healed at all, they were directly hit by the sound wave attack when they failed to dodge in time.
"Captain! Why didn't you warn me?!"
Renji, injured again, said with a displeased expression.
But the thin-skinned Byakuya Kuchiki naturally wouldn't admit to favoritism. He simply said softly, "After all, you're a vice-captain, not like Rukia, who's just a seated officer of the 13th Division. I have certain confidence in you."
Hearing what his captain said, Renji didn't know whether to feel praised or insulted. In any case, he could only swallow this loss with tears.
Seeing that his attack had successfully disrupted Byakuya and the others' formation, Tōsen Kaname extended his hand and wiped across his face. An extremely white, featureless mask instantly covered his face. He dove vertically down toward everyone.
"Masked? Is this Hollowfication? Tōsen Kaname... You've truly fallen!"
After Hollowfication, Tōsen Kaname's speed, strength, and Reiatsu had all greatly improved. Seeing Tōsen Kaname dive down, Ichimaru Gin didn't choose to engage with the others. Instead, he leaped on the spot into the air, as if wanting to keep distance from Tōsen Kaname.
"Fallen? I simply gained more power. What qualifications do you have to say I'm depraved!"
The memories of the past were vivid in his mind. The person who once knelt before Central 46 had already died on that rainy night. All that remained was a wreck carrying the fire of revenge.
The moment he landed, a large amount of smoke and dust rose from the ground. The space within the Anti-Spirit Membrane trembled violently. Tōsen Kaname, whose blade had just struck the ground and hadn't yet been pulled out, hadn't made any further moves.
At this time, there was a sound of cutting through the air. A large man sliced through the smoke with his sword and slashed directly at Tōsen Kaname.
"Zaraki Kenpachi? That's fine too... Let's settle old and new grudges together!"
The Zanpakuto in Zaraki Kenpachi's hand fell suddenly, but there was only a "clang" sound. Under Zaraki Kenpachi's disbelieving gaze, Tōsen Kaname, who was crouching on the ground, hadn't stood up at all—yet caught his slash barehanded using only his strength.
"Unbelievable, isn't it? The me now is several times stronger than before!"
With that, Tōsen Kaname exerted force with his legs. Using the blade inserted in the ground as a supporting point, he kicked Zaraki Kenpachi directly, launching him tens of meters away and directly into a distant wall.
"Suzumushi Second Form: Suzumebachi!"
With one successful hit, Tōsen Kaname pulled the blade from the ground. After sweeping around, Suzumushi instantly created countless sharp blades with pointed ends that attacked the surrounding enemies.
The fast-moving sharp blades were densely packed. At such close distance, they made one's scalp tingle.
"Scatter: Senbonzakura!"
Faced with this situation, Byakuya Kuchiki didn't dare hold back. He immediately released his Zanpakuto. The blade transformed into thousands of cherry blossom petals forming a flower wall that stopped all the sharp blades shot by Tōsen Kaname.
His Reiatsu hadn't yet recovered. After barely blocking Tōsen Kaname's attack, Byakuya Kuchiki inevitably began panting. But to avoid being noticed by Tōsen Kaname, he still resisted his body's discomfort and maintained an upright posture.
"Brother!"
Seeing Byakuya Kuchiki's condition, Rukia ran over very distressed and stood by his side. After all, there was still the former Third Division Captain Ichimaru Gin in the sky. For this duplicitous person, Rukia was very wary.
"Interesting, truly interesting. The power after Shinigami Hollowfication can achieve such obvious improvement."
On the other side, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, who was observing the battle from a distance, stroked his chin and told Nemu, "Record the battle data just now. It will become very important reference material when we return."
"The monster I met in Hueco Mundo before must have successfully completed the Shinigami transformation of a Hollow. His completion is extremely perfect. Whether it's his soul or Reiatsu, there's no trace of Hollow presence. This is simply a perfect masterpiece!"
Speaking of this, Kurotsuchi Mayuri's voice became sharper. He couldn't help clenching his fists and trembling. "I truly... truly want to capture them for the laboratory. But unfortunately..."
"However, this guy before me is also acceptable. The same principle may allow me to reverse-engineer the process." Thinking of this, Kurotsuchi Mayuri suddenly took out a potion filled with transparent liquid and handed it to Nemu.
"Later, find a suitable opportunity, and I'll signal you to inject this into Captain Zaraki's body."
"Understood!"
Nemu took it expressionlessly and nodded, not caring at all about the effects of the potion her captain had given her.
Returning to the battlefield, Tōsen Kaname stood among the captains after releasing his technique. Even though he was surrounded, he didn't care at all. Instead, he said to Byakuya Kuchiki, "The attack I just released was only sixty percent of my Reiatsu. I didn't expect you, Captain Kuchiki, to be so weak."
"Just stopping it has already made you so exhausted. It seems I can kill all of you alone!"
"Stop talking so shamelessly!"
After Tōsen Kaname finished speaking, Renji at his side rushed forward waving Zabimaru and roared, "You're just a villain taking advantage of others' misfortune! If the captain weren't the most seriously injured, you wouldn't even have a chance to attack."
"Roar: Zabimaru!"
At a distance of about ten meters, Renji began spinning Zabimaru in his hand. Zabimaru extended through the air, and when approaching Tōsen Kaname, it coiled back three times in succession, then attacked Tōsen Kaname at a very tricky angle.
Clang!
But the last thing Tōsen Kaname, who was blind, worried about was someone attacking from unusual angles.
Any disturbance around him couldn't escape his notice. It made no difference if you attacked from a tricky angle.
Tōsen Kaname placed the blade in his hand behind his back. The blade from Zabimaru's attack struck his blade instantly. After a burst of sparks, Tōsen Kaname raised his hand and chopped Zabimaru into several pieces that fell to the ground.
"You're so weak, Abarai. I'm getting more and more disappointed in you!"
Seeing his Zanpakuto easily damaged by Tōsen Kaname before him, Renji gritted his teeth resentfully. But he wasn't overwhelmed by anger enough to rush up recklessly. Instead, he began running circles around Tōsen Kaname.
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