"Muten Natsu... Muten Natsu..." Kaien Shiba shook his head. "You went to all this trouble just to kill me again. And here I was, still holding out hope for you. I was wrong about you. You were only looking for an excuse to run from your own responsibilities."
"Muten," Rukia Kuchiki said, drawing her Zanpakutō. "There's no need to hesitate anymore."
"Yeah... you're right." Muten Natsu turned slightly and gripped Myōki's hilt. "The pursuit could be explained as an unconscious habit. The attack could be explained as him mistaking Nell for an enemy. But Kaien-aniki would never dodge the problem by blaming someone else!"
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia Kuchiki swung her Zanpakutō. "Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"
Cold moonlight shot into the sky, and the surging chill condensed into pillars of ice.
"Hmph!" The 9th Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie, sidestepped out of Tsukishiro's range and drew the Zanpakutō at his waist. "You think a move like that can hurt me?"
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" Rukia Kuchiki thrust her blade straight ahead, sending an avalanche of frigid air roaring toward him.
When she used Tsukishiro, Rukia Kuchiki had deliberately shifted the angle just slightly.
When Aaroniero dodged, he would naturally move in the easier direction.
Rukia Kuchiki had predicted his escape path from that. The instant Aaroniero's foot touched the ground, solid ice had already formed.
"I know your techniques and Muten Natsu's better than anyone!" Aaroniero activated Sonído first, avoiding the cold air. "Do you really think a move that hasn't improved at all will work on me?"
"Bound by convention," Muten Natsu's figure suddenly blurred. "Myōki!"
Rukia Kuchiki's two attacks had forced Aaroniero to use Sonído, and at the same time, they had given Muten Natsu more than enough time to gather power.
A graceful arc of light dragged surging black mist behind it, like a black banner whipping through the air.
Aaroniero had only just raised his Zanpakutō when the wrist holding it was severed along with his chest.
Behind him, Muten Natsu turned, and the bloodstained Myōki in his hand followed the motion, closing in again on Aaroniero, who had been cut in two.
"Rage Through the Seas and Heavens," white Hollow matter sprayed from the severed surfaces of Aaroniero's body, reconnecting the two halves. The Zanpakutō in his hand spun, releasing a stream of water that formed a long trident. "Nejibana!"
Waves of Reishi water surged outward, slowing Myōki slightly. Then the trident swept upward, lifting Myōki's blade. With a faint twist, it released a water tornado, and the trident pierced through the center of the vortex, stabbing straight toward Muten Natsu's chest.
Ink spread in front of Muten Natsu and blocked the trident's attack, only to be scattered by the Reishi water in the next instant.
Aaroniero spun the Nejibana Trident with one hand, knocking Sode no Shirayuki away with the butt of the weapon. With a backhanded motion, he released a rushing torrent that forced Muten Natsu back, then raised another surge of water. Hidden behind the water curtain, he gripped the shaft with both hands and slammed it down hard.
The rising curtain of water crashed down with it, pouring like a waterfall and smashing the solid ice apart along with the brick and stone.
"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime Inoue summoned Shun Shun Rikka to shield Nell in her arms.
Aaroniero's Reiatsu was far too terrifying. She was afraid Nell would not be able to withstand it.
"You've changed to a new Zanpakutō, haven't you... Muten Natsu?" Aaroniero looked perfectly at ease. "That strike just now had decent power. Too bad your aim was ordinary."
Muten Natsu noticed that Aaroniero's clothes had been restored to their original state. "That wasn't High-Speed Regeneration?"
"In exchange for a sturdier Hierro skin, most Hollows abandon High-Speed Regeneration when they undergo Arrancarification. I'm no exception." Aaroniero spun the Nejibana Trident in his hand. "You simply... didn't hit me."
Muten Natsu stared at the spinning Nejibana and pressed his lips tightly together.
A Zanpakutō that released Reishi water currents. A distinctive high stance. Using one wrist as the axis, it relied on rotation as its main form of attack. Its dance-like movements drove sweeping waves forward, perfectly combining the trident's sharpness with the force of the Reishi current.
There was no doubt about it. This was Kaien Shiba's Shikai, and his unique fighting style.
"What a shame... If you had been a little stupider, you could have died more comfortably." Aaroniero advanced through the dancing waves. "But now, you can only die in despair before the overwhelming gap in our strength!"
There was also no doubt that this was not how Kaien Shiba spoke, nor was it something he would do.
The moment Rukia Kuchiki noticed Muten Natsu raise his hand, she ignored Aaroniero's attack, used Shunpo to reach Orihime Inoue, scooped her up, and fled at full speed.
"Bankai." Muten Natsu spread his arms. The unusually active spiritual ink overflowed from them, turning into a pitch-black tide. "Rin'en Bokukō!"
During their brief exchange, Rukia Kuchiki had already gained a rough sense of Aaroniero's strength.
He was very strong, and he had a wealth of combat experience. He was definitely not an enemy who could be dealt with easily.
So the instant she saw the change in Muten Natsu's eyes, Rukia Kuchiki knew he intended to use Bankai.
After all, Nejibana's ability was special, and it countered both Muten Natsu's Bokukō and Myōki.
Bokukō's spiritual ink would be dispersed by Nejibana, while Myōki's Ink Fortress would be neutralized by Nejibana's Reishi water currents. Even Muten Natsu's katana-drawing technique would be slowed by the impact of the water, losing its original destructive force.
Under these circumstances, activating Bankai was practically Muten Natsu's only choice.
A savage roar rang out, completely different from before. Amid the ink, Rin'en Bokukō greedily absorbed the Reishi of Hueco Mundo, and as its massive head burst out from the waterfall of spiritual ink, half of a stark white mask had appeared on it.
Clusters of spikes and upright scales broke through the mask and grew outward, adding an eerie, sinister edge to the already ferocious Rin'en Bokukō.
The enormous head crushed the passageway, grinding through half the wall and the corridor's rubble as it lunged at Aaroniero. Overactive spiritual ink surged from the head and churned wildly, corroding everything it touched.
"So Bokukō is still here!" Aaroniero planted the Nejibana Trident at his feet, and a wave surged upward. "But using Bokukō's Bankai in front of me? You're digging your own grave!"
The Reishi water current struck Rin'en Bokukō, only to merge into it in a strangely unnatural way.
Under Rukia Kuchiki's astonished gaze, the pitch-black head of Rin'en Bokukō slowed the instant Nejibana's water current merged with it.
Aaroniero's face twisted into a savage grin. He gripped the Nejibana Trident with both hands and spun it, and Rin'en Bokukō's massive head was actually dragged along by the water current. It changed direction and swallowed the completely defenseless Muten Natsu in one bite.
"Muten!" Orihime Inoue's heart clenched. She instinctively tried to use Sōten Kisshun, but she could not determine Muten Natsu's location at all.
After completing its attack, Rin'en Bokukō had already collapsed into spiritual ink, falling from the air along with shattered stone and debris.
Ignoring the corrosive nature of the spiritual ink, Rukia Kuchiki moved closer, searching for any trace of Muten Natsu.