Chapter 232: Truly Disgusting
Facing Satoru's descending blade, Tokinada raised his sword to meet it.
He was completely different from moments before.
Those eyes that were often narrowed, as if constantly scrutinizing and mocking others, now burned with unconcealed madness.
One of Satoru's strikes was blocked by him.
The other slash cut deeply into his shoulder.
The Reiatsu he used for defense proved as ineffective as soft butter.
Blood sprayed from his shoulder.
Yet even with such a severe wound, Tokinada revealed a crazed smile.
"Satoru, I've won."
"Now die obediently, clutching your contempt and hatred for me!"
As he spoke, his Reiatsu erupted, violently throwing Satoru backward.
Mid-air, Satoru flipped and landed lightly.
Tilting his head at the grinning Tokinada, he asked:
"You've won?"
"How exactly have you won?"
Pressing his bleeding shoulder, Tokinada grinned:
"My Wind Snakes are everywhere in the air."
"Their fangs are sharper than Zanpakutō!"
"A single bite will inject insoluble Reiatsu poison into your body... Once it reaches your heart, you're doomed!"
Hearing this, Satoru nodded.
"I see."
"Indeed, there's quite potent poison rushing toward my heart."
"Probably around here already."
He pointed to a spot just inside his shoulder.
Tokinada curled his lips in a mocking smile.
Though Satoru appeared calm, Tokinada had absolute confidence in his Zanpakutō's ability.
This guy was finished.
Despite Satoru's terrifying background and the complications of dealing with him, Tokinada didn't regret killing him.
From the moment Satoru said "You're not worthy of being my friend," his resolve had been firm.
He would definitely kill this man!
At worst, he could flee to Hueco Mundo and seek refuge with Tsunayashiro Senzaemon.
The main family's escape and the clan's fall from grace—these seemingly desperate circumstances had ironically left him an escape route.
Indeed, the causality of all things was fascinating...
Tokinada sneered.
Whether he was laughing at the world, himself, or something else remained unclear.
But the next second, the smile suddenly vanished from his face.
Under his stunned gaze, Satoru shook his head slightly.
Then two streams of blood suddenly shot from the wounds on his ears!
The amount was small—just a few milliliters.
But to Tokinada, it was like a thunderbolt from clear sky!
As the master of the "Wind Snakes," he could clearly sense that the blood Satoru expelled contained all the poison he had injected earlier!
"How is this possible? How did you do it?!" he exclaimed involuntarily.
"Simple. I had shadows enter the blood vessels, envelop the poisoned sections, then squeeze them out through the wounds."
Out of courtesy for Tokinada's enthusiastic explanation of his Zanpakutō's abilities, Satoru reciprocated by sharing how he countered them.
However, these words only confused Tokinada further.
Shadows entering blood vessels?
Whose shadows?
Wasn't this guy's Zanpakutō ability fire-based?
While he was still reeling in shock and doubt, Satoru had already raised his blade once more.
"Enough idle chatter. Now... it's time to cut someone down!"
With a sudden stomp of his foot, he utilized the "Ikotsu" technique to instantly close the distance between them, appearing before Tokinada and bringing his sword down in a slash.
Faced with this god-slaying version of Satoru, Tokinada had completely lost the courage he'd initially possessed.
This guy was wrong—terribly wrong!
Watching the blade descending toward him, he raised his hand, and a shield of light instantly materialized.
Hadō #39, Enkōsen!
CRACK!
To Tokinada's astonishment, Satoru shattered his Kidō defense with a single strike.
Back at Shin'ō Academy, his Kidō had even earned praise from Yamamoto Shigekuni!
What the hell was this?!
Because he had been so confident in his defensive Kidō, Tokinada didn't even have time to evade.
The blade wreathed in blue flames swept past his face.
One of his hands was severed from his body, sent flying high into the air!
Staring at his own detached hand, Tokinada's eyes nearly burst from their sockets.
A Shinigami missing a hand would suffer a significant drop in combat prowess!
With a furious roar, he unleashed his Reiatsu with all his might, forcing Satoru back, then lunged desperately toward his severed hand, hoping to retrieve it and reattach it using Kidō.
However, just as he was about to grasp his severed hand, a blinding flash of light shot forth from the darkness in the distance—
Hadō #54, Haien!!
The disc-shaped, radiant flames instantly enveloped his severed hand, reducing it to ashes mid-air.
Tokinada's eyes widened in horror.
The Kidō had been too fast, too powerful, and most crucially, it had been premeditated—he hadn't been able to react in time!
Watching his hand vanish, Tokinada teetered on the brink of madness.
"You've got to be kidding me! This can't be happening!!"
He brandished his sword, letting out a hoarse, enraged scream.
Satoru glanced in the direction from which the Haien had come and raised a thumb in acknowledgment.
Mid-air, a frenzied Tokinada commanded over a dozen wind serpents to charge at Satoru from all directions.
An ordinary Shinigami, faced with these attacks as subtle as a gentle breeze, would likely have no idea how to defend.
But with his Gigai field activated, Satoru could clearly see the forms of these winds.
The wind serpents, resembling venomous snakes, opened their mouths mid-air, revealing ferocious visages.
He raised his hand, swinging the chain of Risō Jakumetsu, and whirled it into a massive blue-flamed windmill.
The dozen-plus wind serpents charging at him were instantly annihilated.
After dispatching Tokinada's wind serpents, Satoru willed the blade in mid-air to change direction. With a sickening squelch, it pierced Tokinada's shoulder.
Hooking onto the latter's body, the chain retracted with a sharp clatter, slamming Tokinada to the ground with a heavy thud.
Satoru slowly walked over, looking down imperiously at the man before him—now riddled with multiple wounds and utterly battered.
Then, he spoke:
"Tokinada."
"If, in the future, you were to obtain power sufficient to defeat me... would you choose to seek revenge?"
Hearing Satoru's words, Tokinada's breath hitched.
This question... was the very one he had posed to Kaname Tōsen earlier!
Kaname had preserved his life by answering, "No."
If he wanted to survive, how should he answer?
The madman standing before him was definitely not someone who could be reasoned with by conventional logic.
Watching his frenzied fighting style, should I answer "I will seek revenge"?
If so, perhaps he would let me leave and wait for me to challenge him again.
But what if this guy is actually a schemer who would kill me immediately upon hearing I'd seek revenge?
Observing Tokinada's wildly shifting expressions, Satoru shook his head with a laugh.
"How disgusting."
With those words, his blade descended.