Chapter 217: Gotei 13 Arrives (Part 1)
"This is bad! Nelliel!"
Witnessing Nelliel suddenly cease her movements, both Ishida Uryū and Ichigo felt extraordinarily anxious. Under these circumstances, Ginjō Kūgo's forces had already surrounded them. If Nelliel turned against them due to Tsukishima's ability, the consequences would prove catastrophic.
"Hey! Tsukishima, excellent work!"
After catching his breath momentarily, Ginjō Kūgo advanced forward with his arm that was nearly shattered and addressed Tsukishima positioned beside him.
From Ginjō's perspective, as long as Tsukishima's ability remained effective, the situation wasn't entirely hopeless.
"Nelliel, are you alright?"
Kurosaki Ichigo staggered upright and approached Nelliel's position. Meanwhile, Tsukishima retreated backward with a satisfied expression, coming to Ginjō's side and declaring:
"Don't worry. I've inserted my existence into her memories. I'm certain it won't be long before I— AAGHHHH!"
Suddenly, Tsukishima—who had been brimming with confidence—clutched his throat and began retching violently. His entire face transformed to a sickly blue hue.
"Tsuki... Tsukishima, are you alright?"
Witnessing Tsukishima Shūkurō suddenly manifesting such symptoms, Ginjō Kūgo's heart seized with dread. An ominous premonition arose spontaneously within him.
Just as Ichigo attempted approaching Nelliel and walked to her side, Nelliel—who had kept her head lowered continuously—suddenly raised her head. She regarded Tsukishima with contempt and spoke sarcastically:
"A mere human being attempting to tamper with my memories? I truly don't know what to say!"
Cold light flashed within Nelliel's eyes. She drew the Zanpakutō from her waist. Raging, violent Reiatsu erupted from her body instantaneously.
BOOM!
Tsukishima—who'd been attempting to manipulate Nelliel's memories—was already straining desperately to prevent his consciousness from collapsing entirely. However, under the pressure of Nelliel's Espada-level Reiatsu, the whites of his eyes rolled backward and he lost consciousness completely!
"Damn it! Everyone scatter and escape!"
Witnessing the plan's failure, Ginjō Kūgo simply ordered the surrounding Fullbringer companions to evacuate independently. Whoever could escape would count as one survivor.
The Arrancar's Reiatsu before him had already exceeded his expectations tremendously. If he'd succeeded in plundering Kurosaki Ichigo's Fullbring technique, he might still possess opportunity to resist.
Now, even escaping represented an unaffordable luxury!
BOOM!
After gathering her strength, Nelliel burst forth explosively. Her entire form transformed into countless afterimages and materialized in midair.
Ginjō Kūgo had just begun fleeing when a sharp, cold luminescence directly pinned him to the ground. He struggled in obvious agony.
Then Nelliel turned her attention toward the other Fullbringers. Although these individuals possessed strange abilities, they remained merely human ultimately.
Weak human physiques proved completely vulnerable against this caliber of combat power. As a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande who'd achieved independent Arrancarization, Nelliel's potential proved extraordinarily high. In Fiander's assessment, she ranked second only to the current Lilynette—even Ulquiorra appeared slightly inferior to Nelliel regarding innate talent.
"Forget it, Nelliel! Let them go... please!"
Witnessing the Fullbring users who'd called themselves his compatriots fleeing desperately, Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't bear continuing after all. He didn't wish to witness them being slaughtered by Nelliel. After hesitating momentarily, he persuaded her.
Regardless, Ginjō Kūgo and Tsukishima Shūkurō—the masterminds orchestrating everything—had been captured. The others could simply be released.
After Tsukishima suffered backlash from Nelliel's powerful mental force and lost consciousness, those who'd been affected by his ability also awakened. Recalling what they'd done to Kurosaki Ichigo throughout recent days, everyone felt profound regret. However, this represented matters for later discussion.
Hearing that Ichigo instructed her to cease pursuit, Nelliel possessed no intention of hunting down those individuals. Instead, she approached Ginjō Kūgo directly, gazed downward at him struggling upon the ground with blood gushing from his body, then stomped upon his stomach and declared:
"Unforgivable! A foolish creature like you dares covet Ichigo's power? For such audacity, how dare you—"
Just as Nelliel prepared lifting her foot upward to stomp downward once more, something extraordinary manifested suddenly within the sky. A massive Senkaimon gate appeared prominently in the heavens.
Because Kurosaki Ichigo's Fullbring technique hadn't been stolen by Ginjō Kūgo, he still retained partial Reiatsu within his body and could perceive all of this.
Through the enormous gate, Ichigo could clearly distinguish the figures of Gotei 13 captains rushing forward from beyond the threshold.
As the gate opened gradually, the captains emerged beneath Kurosaki Ichigo's watchful gaze, observing the sudden situation transpiring below.
"Byakuya, Kenpachi, Tōshirō, Ikkaku, and Renji!"
Observing these long-absent Soul Society companions, Kurosaki Ichigo displayed a joyful smile across his features. At this moment, a familiar voice that couldn't be more recognizable emerged from behind Ichigo:
"It's been quite some time, Ichigo!"
Hearing this beautiful female voice, Ichigo turned his head hastily. He witnessed Rukia Kuchiki—Vice-Captain of Gotei 13's Thirteenth Division—materialized behind him, gripping an azure longsword within her hand.
"Everyone... everyone's here!"
Ichigo appeared delighted, gazing at the familiar individuals present and murmuring softly.
"What? It's already concluded? What a waste! I pleaded with the Captain for considerable duration to bring me here!"
Madarame Ikkaku glanced sideways at the situation below and spoke with obvious disappointment.
At this moment, Hitsugaya Tōshirō positioned in the sky called down toward Nelliel below:
"Miss Espada, the individual beneath your foot represents a felon wanted by Soul Society. Could you please surrender him to our custody?"
Tōshirō descended from the air to ground level while speaking, regarding Nelliel with vigilance evident within his eyes. However, considering that the other party had rescued Kurosaki Ichigo regardless, his words contained no intention of provoking conflict.
"Ichigo?"
From Nelliel's perspective, had Soul Society not suddenly intervened at this juncture, the life or death of the human beneath her foot would actually prove irrelevant. What she cared about was Ichigo's personal sentiments.
When Kurosaki Ichigo witnessed Nelliel regarding him with hopeful eyes, he suddenly didn't know how to articulate his thoughts.
If possible, he didn't wish involving Nelliel in such matters. The other party had disobeyed that formidable individual's orders and traveled from Hueco Mundo to assist him. If he surrendered Ginjō Kūgo to Tōshirō and the others, how could he possibly prove worthy of Nelliel's actions?
Considering this, Kurosaki Ichigo's expression grew solemn. He addressed Hitsugaya Tōshirō directly:
"Tōshirō, if possible, please allow me to handle this matter personally!"
"Ichigo!"
Rukia, positioned behind him, regarded Kurosaki Ichigo's physical condition with obvious concern and called out hastily.
"Don't worry, Rukia. Trust me!"
Turning his head, he forced a smile while addressing Rukia. Ichigo limped forward step by step toward Ginjō Kūgo's position, gripping the elongated blade that had transformed from his Substitute Shinigami Badge within his hand.