Chapter 233: How to Repay Virtue?
The blade burning with blue flames came crashing down.
"Satoru!! Wait!!"
A somewhat urgent shout came from the distance.
Satoru acted as if he hadn't heard, the speed of his descending blade not diminishing in the slightest.
But just as his sword was about to fall upon Tokinada, a blade formed from condensed black shadows suddenly emerged from the ground nearby.
Clang!!!
Risō Jakumetsu collided with the shadow blade, spraying dazzling sparks into the night.
Satoru showed no surprise, not even changing his expression.
While one blade was blocked, his other sword snapped tight in his grip and swung down—
"Bushōgoma!!"
As the skill name was shouted, a violent whirlwind instantly formed and rushed toward the sword in Satoru's hand.
Satoru's descending blade changed direction mid-air, flying toward the whirlwind with rattling chains.
Then, the first blade that had been blocked by the shadow blade erupted with blue flames.
Though the blade itself was blocked, the blue flames passed through unimpeded.
A massive cluster of blue flames directly struck Tokinada, engulfing him in a great ball of fire.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
From within the flames, Tokinada emitted screams of agony.
Satoru moved his feet, using Flash Step to leave his position.
The next moment, a man wearing a flower-patterned cloak and a conical hat appeared where he had just been standing.
Seeing Tokinada rolling wildly on the ground while being fiercely burned by the flames, Shunsui didn't hesitate, erupting with dazzling Reiatsu from his body.
Tokinada felt as if an invisible mountain had been pressed down upon him.
The air vibrated, light distorted!
Under the immense Reiatsu pressure from Shunsui, the flames enveloping Tokinada were forcibly suppressed and extinguished.
However, Tokinada's body was already badly burned and tattered.
Seeing his former classmate in such a state, Shunsui felt complicated emotions.
Satoru stood in mid-air, looking down at him.
"Old man, are you going to stand up for him?"
Shunsui showed a bitter smile.
This guy Satoru really didn't hide his displeasure at all.
His cheap senior had instantly become "old man" again.
He adjusted his straw hat.
"Satoru, this guy is still one of the Five Noble Clans. If he's killed in the streets, it would cause a lot of trouble."
"Moreover, he once studied under Old Man Yama too, making him your half-senior. If you kill him, it would be hard to justify morally."
Hearing this, Satoru showed a puzzled expression.
"This guy? Studied with our teacher?"
"Yes, though not as a formal disciple, he was still a student."
Seeing that Satoru seemed to be softening, Shunsui quickly nodded and added an explanation.
Satoru nodded: "I see, I understand."
Just as Shunsui was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Satoru raise his twin swords again.
"If it were someone else, I might let it slide, but bearing our teacher's name changes everything."
"Today, I must clean house!!"
With that, he prepared to charge.
But a second figure blocked his path.
White long hair tied in a single ponytail, wearing a captain's haori.
It was Jūshirō Ukitake.
Satoru raised his eyebrows: "Ukitake-senpai, are you going to stop me too?"
Jūshirō spread his arms, blocking his way with a somewhat apologetic expression.
"Sorry, Satoru, I can't let you kill him."
"But I promise, I'll make sure he faces proper judgment!"
Satoru gripped his twin swords, quietly watching the two before him.
"Proper judgment... what's that?"
"The rules of the Soul Society are all about noble supremacy."
"That guy is from the Five Noble Clans, at the very peak of the pyramid. How do you expect Central 46 to judge him?"
"A thousand years imprisonment, with a thousand years suspended sentence?"
The corners of his mouth lifted in a mocking smile.
Hearing this, Jūshirō's expression turned grim.
Satoru was right—what kind of judgment could a member of the Five Noble Clans receive, even if just from a branch family?
Shunsui adjusted his straw hat and came to his side.
The older man raised his hand and patted Jūshirō's shoulder.
Then he looked at Satoru.
"Satoru, I'll make sure he's punished."
"I swear on the Kyōraku family's honor, I will make it happen!"
Satoru didn't speak, just kept watching the two.
While they were talking, several other figures had arrived nearby.
They were captains and vice-captains from the surrounding areas.
Seeing the tense standoff before them, everyone was surprised, unsure of what was happening.
Under everyone's gaze, Satoru suddenly turned and walked toward the opposite riverbank.
Each step landed on Reishi footholds in mid-air.
Each step seemed to land on everyone's hearts.
Step by step, he reached the opposite bank and stood before Kaname Tōsen.
Though he couldn't see Satoru's form, Kaname could sense the figure who had been fighting Tokinada now standing before him.
He opened his mouth, about to speak.
Swish!!
Satoru tore off his captain's haori.
Then, he stretched out his hand toward the riverbank.
Clumps of wild grass spontaneously detached from the ground, floating into the air.
The grass was shredded into fibers by Reiatsu, twisted and dehydrated, then bound together to form a brush that flew into Satoru's hand.
Gripping the brush, Satoru channeled his Reiatsu into it and pressed it against the inner side of the white haori.
Ink formed from Reiatsu danced across the haori like soaring dragons and serpents.
Bold, vigorous characters gradually appeared on the fabric.
As the final character was completed, Satoru abruptly flung the haori.
The soft cloth seemed to gain weight out of nowhere, slapping squarely into Kaname's chest.
Kaname grasped the haori with some bewilderment, slowly unfolding it.
Though he couldn't see the ink traces, he could clearly "see" the pattern of Reiatsu imprinted on the haori.
It displayed eight Chinese characters:
"Repay kindness with virtue, But how should one repay malice?!"
"Looking" at these eight characters, Kaname's hands unconsciously tightened around the unfolded haori.
His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Satoru stood nearby and suddenly spoke:
"Kaname Tōsen, if you could obtain power, would you choose revenge?"
"Though you are blind, you have already seen what needed to be seen."
"Now, tell me your answer."
Kaname widened his lifeless eyes, fiercely "staring" at the haori in his hands.
Just as he had previously answered Tokinada—if it were only about the hatred for Kakyō's death, he would endure the pain in his heart for his dear friend's beliefs, choosing to support his friend and abandon revenge.
But now, this was no longer simply Kakyō's hatred alone.
Tokinada... even though he himself came from Rukongai, having faced human wickedness since childhood and grown up witnessing it, he had never encountered such pure evil.
Such a person should never exist in this world.
Or rather, a world that could accept such a person becoming a noble, elevated above all others—that was absolutely unacceptable!
He suddenly raised his head, looking toward Satoru.
"Revenge..."
"I choose revenge!!"
"Heh."
Satoru grinned, revealing a smile.
In the shadows of the distant forest, Aizen stood quietly wearing a black cloak.
For some reason, at this moment, he felt his mood inexplicably exhilarated!