Chapter 175: Tōsen Kaname Falls
As Kurosaki Ichigo unleashed that slash, it's red and black Reiatsu directly tore apart Tōsen Kaname's attack and severed one of his arms.
BOOM!
With Tōsen Kaname's massive arm falling to the ground, the audience fell silent at this moment. Even Tōsen Kaname himself wore an expression of disbelief. After Hollowfication and complete Resurrección, he possessed the top-tier Hierro among Menos Grande. Yet even this still couldn't block that brat's attack.
It had only been about a week since Ulquiorra kidnapped Inoue Orihime. He'd just returned from Hueco Mundo, and Tōsen was aware his Reiatsu was very weak. Why?! Why was this happening?!
He was obviously just a half-Shinigami who had been taught single-handedly by Grimmjow. Just a product of Aizen's interest. He had worked so hard for so many years. To achieve his goal of crushing the corrupt Soul Society, he had paid so much effort.
"Damn it!! You bastard!!"
An uncontrollable sense of resentment surged directly into his heart. He couldn't bear that his dedication had been trampled on by a brat who had trained for less than a year.
Piercing green light emanated from Tōsen Kaname's two huge compound eyes, then two dark green Cero shot toward Kurosaki Ichigo in an instant.
Tōsen Kaname, who had completed his Resurrección, paid more attention to the transformation of his own soul than other Arrancar. So his Cero possessed unique corrosion and penetration. In Tōsen Kaname's opinion, his Cero was comparable to the top four Espada.
However, the next scene directly surprised everyone present. Facing the oppressive two-way Cero, Kurosaki Ichigo looked calm and showed no signs of panic.
"Too slow!"
As Ichigo's voice sounded, there was only a "smack," and the Cero that was powerful enough to easily kill an ordinary Menos Grande was easily slapped away by Kurosaki Ichigo.
This scene not only stunned Tōsen Kaname—even others including Ichimaru Gin couldn't believe their eyes.
No one knew what had happened to Kurosaki Ichigo in just half a day after Aizen left Hueco Mundo. But as Ichigo's companions, Byakuya Kuchiki and others were very clear. When fighting the Espada, Ichigo had been overwhelmed.
At this moment, presumably, they were like two different people.
"No! Impossible!"
Being able to casually shoot Cero not weaker than an Espada's—if it didn't have a relatively special ability—meant that his strength was more than one level higher than his opponent.
Looking at Kurosaki Ichigo's extremely calm eyes, Tōsen Kaname's heart actually panicked. He was afraid to meet that kind of gaze, because those were the same eyes Aizen used when looking at Gotei 13 and the other captains.
"Gurgle gurgle!"
With Tōsen Kaname's unbelieving cry, his severed arm grew back under the effect of Menos Grande's High-Speed Regeneration.
"Give up resistance. I have no intention of killing you, because my target isn't you."
As he spoke, Kurosaki Ichigo raised the Zanpakuto in his hand above his head. Black flames erupted from his body like turbulent waves, enveloping his entire form.
"Give up?"
"Hehe... hahahaha!!"
Tōsen Kaname suddenly snorted, then extended his hand, grabbed his face and laughed wantonly. "What do you know? What do you know?! You're just a lucky guy who obtained a power that doesn't belong to you. That's all."
"You don't know what I've been through. Why should you tell me to give up?!"
"Damn you, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
With that, Tōsen Kaname said no more. The Reiatsu throughout his body gathered in one place. A massive green shockwave directly lifted surrounding buildings away. The terrifying air pressure actually formed a huge hurricane eye.
"Stop it!"
Seeing Tōsen Kaname destroying the area so recklessly, even though Ichigo had intended to hold back, he didn't care about anything else. As the black afterimage flashed through the air, Kurosaki Ichigo's figure had appeared beside Tōsen Kaname's huge body.
"I said, stop it!"
With Kurosaki Ichigo's shout, the enormous disturbance Tōsen Kaname had just created stopped instantly. At this time in the Human World, Reiatsu stabilized, as if returning to its previous calm.
Just under everyone's watchful eyes, Tōsen Kaname's back was torn open. Black Reiatsu gushed from his wound.
"Splurt!"
Everyone looked intently. At some point, the Zanpakuto in Kurosaki Ichigo's hands had been inserted into Tōsen Kaname's body.
"Kurosaki..."
Tōsen Kaname extended his hand, trying to grab him, but the arm he'd just raised was blocked by Kurosaki Ichigo's hand.
Tōsen Kaname looked at Kurosaki Ichigo, who lowered his head with a complicated expression before him. As if he'd figured something out, he said with a bitter smile, "So this is how it ends after all. But... that's fine too!"
Tōsen Kaname was very tired. He was too exhausted. The feeling of powerlessness had accompanied him for hundreds of years. Even after he began following Aizen and became a captain of Gotei 13, the haze in his heart still lingered.
Thinking of this, he seemed to let go of something. His raised arm began to drop. At this time, the Reiatsu in his body began collapsing. Unable to maintain his Resurrección form, he returned to his previous Shinigami appearance.
However, having just been released from Resurrección, he still possessed the vision that Hollowfication had given him. He turned his head and looked at Ichimaru Gin not far away with complicated emotions. He'd known long ago that this person's reasons for choosing to follow Aizen were extremely complex.
But whatever would happen after this had nothing to do with him anymore.
As Ichigo slowly pulled the Zanpakuto from Tōsen Kaname's body, the other's body could no longer maintain its form. His head drooped as he fell toward the ground.
Seeing this scene, Kurotsuchi Mayuri quickly said to Nemu, "Nemu, catch Tōsen Kaname. He can't die—at least not now."
As the first Shinigami who had followed Aizen for hundreds of years, Tōsen Kaname must know many of Aizen's secrets that others didn't. These secrets included the Hollowfication experiments that Kurotsuchi Mayuri was most interested in.
However, at the moment when Nemu was about to catch Tōsen Kaname, his eyes suddenly widened. His body suddenly burst open, leaving only blood mist filling the sky.
"Is this a failsafe you left behind, Aizen?!"
Not only were the Gotei 13 captains surprised—even Ichimaru Gin from Aizen's camp felt chills when he saw this scene. A complex emotion lingered in his heart, hard to express.
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