Chapter 65: The Great Sinner from Two Thousand Years Ago
The bursts of spiritual pressure erupting again and again from Sokyoku Hill drew the gaze of almost everyone in Seireitei. While eyes were fixed on the high cliff, however, one person had already slipped away, infiltrating the deepest level of the Central Great Underground Prison at some unknown time.
The Eighth Prison.
Mugen.
Unlike the Maggot's Nest, which held those deemed potentially dangerous, sparks that Central 46 wished to snuff out early, Mugen was different.
Mugen was the place where truly dangerous criminals were sealed.
There were only a handful of inmates, but without exception they were monsters who had nearly brought Soul Society to ruin, or had already committed unforgivable sins.
Kotsubagane suppressed spiritual pressure.
No light.
No up, no down, no sense of left or right.
It was a pitch black cavern that felt like an artificially carved out, disconnected space.
Criminals were thrown in, stripped of any perception of the outside world.
In time, the world outside forgot them as well.
"Ah, ah. That's what they say, but I still managed to get in, didn't I?"
With that lazy, catlike stride of his, Ichimaru Gin swung a key of unknown origin and opened Mugen's gate.
Inside, he found a single prisoner.
The man was bound by Bakudo, his five senses sealed, his body unable to move.
That was the standard in Mugen.
To undo the bindings, even high level Kido was useless. The Bakudo was physical, constructed with enormous effort. Only Central 46's keys could release it.
And those keys were now in Gin's hands.
He had, in a sense, effortlessly stripped away every restraint on the prisoner.
Then he walked out, leading the man back into the world.
"I never thought I would see the light of day again."
The prisoner closed his eyes, drawing in the scent of grass and earth. He listened to the wind and felt the warmth of the sun on his skin.
The heart that had been frozen for ages slowly began to stir.
When he opened his eyes, his yellow pupils shone with an overpowering sense of dominance.
"It was not easy getting you out, you know."
Gin sat on a nearby tree trunk, legs crossed.
"A former Captain of the Twelfth Division thought it was unsafe to keep all the Mugen seals in one place, so he scattered them. I had to run all over to collect them. That part was still manageable. What gave me the biggest headache was Sokyoku."
"That one is a core seal prepared especially for you."
"Only when Sokyoku is released does a tiny opening appear."
"Otherwise, even if I ran myself ragged gathering every key and released your Bakudo, you still would not be able to take a single step out of Mugen."
The prisoner raised his head and stared straight at Gin, utterly unafraid.
"You wracked your brains and exhausted yourself just to release me, the one who nearly destroyed Soul Society once."
"What are you after?"
"And I am curious. How did you even learn I existed?"
"I have been 'dead' for two thousand years. That is long enough to erase every trace of an intruder like me who never belonged to this world."
"Oh, that?"
Gin spread his hands in mock complaint.
"Recently, an Adjuchas showed up in Rukongai. It accidentally wandered into an acquaintance's laboratory, gobbled up some discarded, unclean bits and pieces, and mutated a little. Ended up with an ability to hide its spiritual pressure."
The prisoner frowned slightly, not quite following.
"At the same time, it trashed the lab. When my acquaintance and I were about to leave, I just happened to notice a line of text on the floor. To be precise, a name."
"Arturo Plateado."
Gin narrowed his eyes, watching the tiny shift in the man's expression.
"By the way, that Hollow's called Cokes Kucabara. Dog type Menos Grande."
"Cokes…?"
The prisoner's expression eased.
"I see. You saw that name, got curious, dug into the old records, and then found my story."
"Cokes was my subordinate. Loyal fellow. Looks like he has been looking for a way to rescue me all this time."
He laughed.
"If he had the power for that, he wouldn't still be a middling Menos Grande. His loyalty and ambition are proportional, I'll give him that. I imagine what he really wants is my Zanpakuto. Eat my sword, inherit my strength, yes?"
Arturo's hand brushed the remnant of the mask on his forehead. Under the tattered cloak, aside from that fragment of bone, he looked much like a human.
In truth, the one called Arturo Plateado was a naturally Arrancarized high level Menos Grande.
He had broken his mask with his own power, turning the core of his soul into a Zanpakuto.
Though he had been sealed away, he still lived, and his sword remained.
So he needed only an instant to see through his former subordinate's intentions.
"That good for nothing must have only just evolved enough to devour Zanpakuto steel. But even so, he is still no match for a Shinigami in a straight fight."
"If he dares approach Seireitei, he will be killed. Best case, he gets away half dead…"
"In that state, his body, warped by that special mutation, would degenerate into a brainless wild dog. Wouldn't it?"
Arturo threw his head back and laughed.
"If that is how it turned out, it would be perfect. That is exactly what a useless fool deserves."
"What about you, Mr. Arturo?"
Gin's casual question cut through the Arrancar's satisfied laughter like a knife.
"What did you say?"
"Relax. I am not mocking you." Gin tilted his head. "I am only curious."
"How much courage does the great criminal who nearly conquered Soul Society two thousand years ago have left to stand against it now?"
"…Heh."
Arturo gave Gin a long, weighing look.
"I get it. You want to use me to destroy Soul Society, right? I am confident I can do it."
"But it is also true I am not at my peak."
"And you, a Shinigami, actually broke my seal and are inciting me to turn on Soul Society. Seems that old Yamamoto is at the end of his rope, unable to keep his own subordinates in line."
"Now, now. The Captain Commander is still hale and formidable."
Gin smiled.
"As for you not being at your prime, I already accounted for that. Right now there is something very nice waiting to be taken. Not only can it restore you, it can push you beyond what you once were."
He spoke with an air of deliberate mystery.
"Oh?"
Arturo was about to scoff and say, "As if something that good would be left for me," when a figure burst from the trees, appearing at one of the concealed exits leading up from the underground prison.
"Ichimaru. You mean the Hogyoku, don't you?"
"Eh?"
Gin blinked in surprise at the newcomer.
"Well, well. If it isn't Captain Hitsugaya. Since when were you tailing me?"
"…That is none of your business."
Toshiro Hitsugaya's expression was as cold as ice. He raised the Gikon in his hand.
"I recorded your entire conversation. The audio is not perfect, but once I take you in, we will get to the bottom of this."
"Take us in…?"
Gin's mouth twisted into a へ shape, as if he could not believe what he was hearing.
"Captain Hitsugaya, you know you are only one person, right? Think you can catch the both of us at once?"
Arturo, on the other hand, let out a sneer.
"He is not that stupid. Short he may be, but he is wearing the same uniform as you. He would not be that naive."
As he spoke, his gaze slid past Toshiro and rested playfully on the two women who had appeared behind him.
"C Captain…"
The instant the green haired, yellow eyed man in the mask turned his eyes on her, Isane felt as though she had been plunged into an ice pit.
"Do not be afraid, Isane."
Retsu Unohana soothed her gently while coolly taking stock of the situation.
"Use Tenteikura to inform the entire division that a dangerous criminal has colluded with a traitor. That should be more than enough to calm everyone down. To be frank, I almost think Captain Ichimaru has done us a favor."
"Captain Unohana really is unflappable. Still, is it not a bit dangerous for the head of the medical division, who is supposed to stay in the rear, to be standing on the front line?"
Gin clapped lightly, unable to resist praising her composure.
His relaxed tone only brought back unpleasant memories for Toshiro. Suppressing the killing intent boiling in his chest, he forced his voice to remain cold and even.
"Before we fight, Ichimaru, I have a question for you."
"About that girl… who killed Vice Captain Hinamori?"
"—!"
Gin's blunt counter question hit Toshiro like a spear through the heart.
His hand tightened on the hilt of Hyorinmaru on his back. His stare turned even sharper, his spiritual pressure and killing intent surging like a blizzard, as if he could force the truth out of Gin by pressure alone.
But Gin seemed not to feel a thing. No one could see what lurked behind that perpetual smile, whether it hid malice or something else entirely.
"You might not believe this, but… that girl. She committed suicide."
"What?!"
Toshiro's pupils contracted as fury flared.
"Is that so. Then you have no intention of telling me the truth."
"In that case, I will not hold back. If I cannot uncover the culprit…"
"I will simply eliminate every suspect."
"Captain Hitsugaya… Isane."
Unohana wanted to persuade her increasingly extreme colleague, but she knew it would be useless. Instead she urged her Vice Captain to hurry.
"Ah. Understood."
Isane quickly began casting Tenteikura, a high level Bakudo that captured spiritual pressure and transmitted information to multiple targets in an instant.
Those with Bakudo aptitude usually had decent overall Kido skill.
And then, just as the spell was about to complete, Arturo raised his hand. His palm pointed at Isane, fingers curling into a loose grasp.
The nascent spell shattered.
More accurately, the spirit particles forming it went berserk and scattered.
"Ah…!"
Isane fell backward in fright.
Seeing this, both Unohana's and Toshiro's expressions grew more severe.
"This ability… manipulating spirit particles? No, perhaps a different application of absorbing spirit particles."
Whatever it was, Unohana understood one thing clearly.
In front of this Arrancar, using Kido would be nearly impossible.
"Captain Hitsugaya. Where is Vice Captain Rangiku?"
"We ran into Kira on the way. She went to intercept him. I cannot reach her right now."
Toshiro ground his teeth.
"Then our only option is to get Isane out of here first and have her alert the others."
The thought flashed through Unohana's mind.
Arturo, however, was one step ahead of them.
He flared his spiritual pressure, constructing a circular white space that sealed all three of them inside.
"Oh, this is impressive. How long can this thing hold?"
Gin whistled.
"An hour or two at least. It was originally meant as an arena so prey could not escape. I did not expect to use it in a situation like this."
A technique that could imprison two Captains and a Vice Captain for one or two hours was frightening in itself. Yet Arturo felt more insulted than proud.
Even so, to avoid being dragged back into a cell and to quickly regain the strength needed to take revenge on Yamamoto, he was willing to swallow this humiliation.
The shame only fanned the flames of his fighting spirit.
"Let us go. Time to take that Hogyoku you mentioned."
"…You believe me that easily? You do not even seem to know what the Hogyoku truly is."
Gin sounded genuinely surprised.
"It is nothing but another divine relic."
Arturo snorted.
"I know all too well what objects like that can do. That it could restore me and even push me beyond my peak is no surprise."
"As for why I believe you… do not make me laugh. I have never felt anything as sentimental as trust."
He strode past the tree where Gin was perched without looking back.
"I am giving a nobody like you some face because you saved me."
"If you do not appreciate the favor of the King of Hueco Mundo, I will execute you. It is that simple."
"…He does not sound like the sort of subordinate Captain Aizen would take a liking to. This is really…"
Gin muttered to himself, sounding troubled.
Then the corner of his mouth curled.
"…Too good to be true."
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