Chapter 138: The Kuchiki Brat!
In flashes of movement, Aizen led Harribel along the planned route, circling three times.
Hmm... that should be about enough.
Aizen quickly calculated the strength of the Kidō he had set up in his mind.
The sowing work was complete, and now it was time for the harvest!
He slightly raised the corner of his mouth and placed his hand on the Zanpakutō at his waist.
But just then, he suddenly froze.
To capture high-quality Menos Grande, he had set up many small Reiatsu sensing devices in the Menos Forest.
Just moments ago, one of these devices had detected a special Reiatsu.
He was all too familiar with this Reiatsu fluctuation.
Satoru!
Why would that guy suddenly appear in Hueco Mundo?
And in the Menos Forest at that...
While puzzling over this, the device detected another Reiatsu.
A Menos Grande of Ajakas level!
The Menos Grande and Satoru came from the same direction and left in the same direction too.
Aizen narrowed his eyes.
What's going on?
Was Satoru being chased by an Ajakas-level Menos Grande?
Ridiculous... with that guy's strength, killing an Adjuchas-level should be effortless.
Probably just his usual eccentric behavior, engaging in some performance art.
He'd deal with this Hollow in front of him first.
Just as he was about to take action, the Reiatsu detection device suddenly picked up another Reiatsu.
The moment he sensed the new Reiatsu, Aizen paused his movement.
Kōga Kuchiki!
This guy had concealed his Reiatsu extremely well, with almost no fluctuations.
If he hadn't coincidentally passed by his Reiatsu detection device, he probably wouldn't have been detected at all.
A highly suspicious individual, hiding his Reiatsu, following from far behind.
Even using Satoru's brain to think, it was obvious nothing good would come of this.
The sword that was already half-drawn was slowly returned to its scabbard by Aizen.
He turned his head to look at Harribel charging toward him.
What a pity, he had finally lured this big fish to the point where he could reel it in.
He'd have to deal with it next time.
Facing the fiercely charging Harribel, he raised his hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
Countless silver-gray cloth strips instantly flew out from the surrounding silver sand dunes.
Slap slap slap!!!
Under Harribel's astonished gaze, these cloth strips fiercely struck her body, binding her tightly layer by layer.
Then, dozens of light pillars condensed from the air all around, flying toward her together and pinning her body firmly to the sandy ground.
Damn it!
Harribel's pupils contracted sharply.
If she didn't break free quickly, she would be severely injured by her opponent!
She struggled with all her might, trying to escape from Aizen's restraints.
But what happened next left her utterly bewildered.
Aizen, who had easily subdued her, actually turned around and walked into the distance.
As if sensing Harribel's confusion, Aizen looked back and showed a mocking smile.
"Unknown Hollow, this time, you should properly thank a certain foolish brute."
After saying this, his figure flashed and disappeared into the air.
Harribel lay on the ground, her eyes filled with confusion.
Thank a certain... foolish brute?
What did that mean?
She frowned.
After gathering Reiatsu for a few seconds, she let out a low roar as golden Reiatsu erupted violently!
From within the pillar of Reiatsu, she slowly emerged, gazing in the direction Aizen had departed.
Then, she vanished with a Sonído.
...
...
Not long after, following the direction provided by the Reiatsu detection device, Aizen found Satoru fleeing.
Seeing Yoruichi beside Satoru, he instantly understood what had happened.
As expected, just as he had anticipated, that fellow Kōga Kuchiki had already defected to the enemy.
Then... Tsunayashiro Takatori must still be alive as well.
The Hollows pursuing Satoru were likely cooperating with Takatori.
This was actually good news—it seemed the entity behind that Menos Grande was someone who understood benefits and was willing to make deals.
He himself quite liked this kind of Hollow.
He didn't rashly reveal himself, instead using all his power to conceal his Reiatsu while hiding in the distance.
Watching Satoru boldly strike out and instantly kill the Adjuchas with one punch, Aizen gave a slight nod.
Not bad. Even without any combat experience against Adjuchas, he was able to seize an opening and defeat the enemy in a single blow.
Setting aside strategy, just in terms of combat, Satoru always managed to surprise him.
Seeing Muramasa suddenly materialize in the air and attempt to ambush Satoru, Aizen decisively raised his hand.
Thunder Roar Cannon!!
Forcing Muramasa back with one blast, he draped himself in a modified version of "Bent Light" and descended upon the battlefield.
Facing Kōga, who was unaware of his abilities, Aizen easily placed him under hypnosis.
Staring at the figure shrouded in light and shadow before him, Kōga swung his sword:
"Muramasa, kill him!"
"Yes!"
Muramasa nodded, his figure flickering as he instantly appeared before Aizen.
He extended his hand, shooting several purple Reishi threads toward Aizen's body!
But before they could even touch Aizen, a figure suddenly intervened.
Under Muramasa's astonished gaze, Satoru's body seemed to burn with flames, his Reiatsu boiling and churning violently.
Facing the purple Reishi threads shot at him, Satoru abruptly swung his arm, smacking all the threads into fragments as if swatting away a volley of arrows!
Muramasa couldn't help but feel like he'd seen a ghost.
What kind of joke is this... his Reishi threads were solidified manifestations of powerful Reiatsu released after Bankai, tougher than steel!
This guy actually shattered his Reishi threads with his bare flesh?
No, that wasn't the main point.
His Reishi threads could penetrate a Shinigami's soul defense and pull out the physical form of their Zanpakutō.
Even if Satoru could close off his heart, his Reishi threads should have been able to pierce through at least a little.
Yet in that moment, it felt like he had struck a rock.
Not a single trace of a soul could be detected within Satoru's body.
It was as if... he wasn't fighting a Shinigami, but a corpse.
This eerie sensation made Muramasa's scalp tingle uncontrollably.
After swatting away the Reishi threads released by Muramasa, Satoru grinned.
"Two versus two, a fair fight!"
Muramasa: "..."
The hell with your fair fight.
If Zanpakutō count as people, wouldn't your side have four?
Watching Satoru blocking in front of him, Aizen raised his sword and tapped the flat of the blade against Satoru's arm.
"What are you so proud about, you who carelessly let your guard down at a critical moment, nearly got successfully ambushed, and only escaped thanks to me saving you?"
Satoru's eyes widened.
"Was... was that carelessness? I knew you were coming and deliberately created an opening to give you a chance to show off!"
"Heh." Aizen chuckled lightly.
Though he said nothing, it felt like countless arrows had pierced through Satoru's young heart.
Gnashing his teeth, Satoru turned to glare at Kōga.
"Kuchiki brat, for tarnishing my innocence, today I will definitely beat you until you kneel on the ground!!"