"He has to be punished! So I tore out his soul, stuffed it into a parakeet, and gave him a little challenge." Shrieker waggled his fingers. "If someone can protect him for three months without getting caught by me, I'll resurrect his mother."
Muten Natsu tightened his grip on the hilt. "Resurrect?"
"Of course that's a lie!" Shrieker burst out laughing. "The best part of this game is watching him see the people protecting him die over and over again. Every time someone dies, he begs me to stop killing, crying about how he can't go on like this anymore."
"And every single time, I say one line to him." Shrieker's voice brimmed with amusement. "The moment he hears it, he perks right up, screaming 'Mom, Mom!'"
His green tongue slid happily over his mask as he chuckled. "[Mommy is still waiting for you to save her!]"
"So you were never trying to hunt Shinigami." Muten Natsu lowered his gaze slightly. "You're just enjoying the process of tormenting that child."
"Correct answer! Too bad there's no prize!" Shrieker giggled. "Such a pitiful kid~ You don't want him to get hurt again, do you?"
Several clones crawled up onto the wall. In the birdcages they were holding was the parakeet possessed by Yūichi Shibata.
"Put your sword away, Shinigami." Shrieker pointed at the cage. "Otherwise, this brat dies."
"Fine." Muten Natsu slid his Zanpakutō back into its sheath. "And then?"
"Don't move." Shrieker flicked a finger. One of the clones spat out leeches that stuck to Muten Natsu's body. "Enjoy yourself~"
The green tongue quivered. The leeches exploded, tearing into Muten Natsu's flesh and leaving charred, mangled wounds behind.
"And don't try to secretly release your Zanpakutō." Shrieker looked over the injuries with satisfaction. "I've eaten two Shinigami. I know exactly how you fight. If you scare me, that kid won't survive."
Muten Natsu tugged at his tattered Shihakushō and calmly met Shrieker's gaze. "And then?"
"!!!" Shrieker didn't like that reaction. He summoned more clones, which spewed leeches in rapid succession, bombarding Muten Natsu. "Die!"
"Muten!" Ichigo Kurosaki shouted anxiously as Muten Natsu's figure was swallowed by clouds of smoke and explosions.
"Attacks at this level…" Muten Natsu waved a hand, dispersing the smoke. "Killing me might be a bit difficult."
"You bastard…" Shrieker flared with rage under Muten Natsu's calm stare and immediately ordered his clones to spray leeches toward Ichigo Kurosaki. "Then what about them?"
Muten Natsu's figure flickered. His Zanpakutō flashed from its sheath, carving a smooth arc through the air.
Reiatsu surged from the blade, forming a hazy, worm-like mass that blocked the leeches.
They detonated at once, but the shockwaves were completely smothered by the Reiatsu construct.
Insect Flash!
"You broke the rules!" Shrieker snarled. "I'll blow that brat up right now!"
"I broke the rules?" Muten Natsu raised an eyebrow. "No. I am the rules."
Shrieker snorted. "You?"
"Me." Muten Natsu's clothes were shredded and his body covered in wounds, yet his gaze remained utterly calm. "Because I can kill you with a single strike."
A savage light burst into Shrieker's eyes. He hated that look. "Then try it!"
"Let me explain the situation," Muten Natsu said, sounding like he was lecturing a disobedient student. "I let you run wild because I don't want anyone to get hurt. That includes the child, and the people behind me. So if you try to harm any one of them, I will cut you down without hesitation."
He swept his blade behind him. The pressure carved a smooth fissure across the road.
"The instant your attack crosses this line is the moment you die. Go on. Try it."
Shrieker's gaze wavered. "You think I'm afraid of you?"
"Not exactly." Muten Natsu let out a soft laugh. "You are afraid of me. Otherwise, you'd face me head-on instead of hiding behind these cheap tricks."
"Cheap tricks?" Shrieker grabbed one of his clones. "You dare call my powers cheap tricks?!"
"You've lived this long, devoured two Shinigami, and you're still this weak precisely because you cling to those tricks." Muten Natsu rubbed his earlobe. "Whether Shinigami or Hollow, their abilities reflect who they are. Your cowardice keeps you from facing enemies directly. Your loneliness makes you crave companions. Your violence makes you obsessed with explosions. And in the end, all you have are these worthless tricks."
Shrieker finally understood why he hated Muten Natsu's gaze so much.
Because it was far too familiar.
It was the look people use when staring at trash, without the slightest attempt to hide their contempt.
"I got a little carried away talking," Muten Natsu said as he slid his blade back into its sheath. "Let's continue."
The fury churning inside Shrieker finally burst out in a single roar. "Die!"
He hurled a clone with all his strength. Unlike before, when the leeches were sprayed out, this time the clone slammed directly into Muten Natsu's body. The leeches stored inside its brain detonated all at once, releasing a terrifying blast far stronger than anything before. The explosion tore into Muten Natsu's shoulder, shredding flesh and spraying blood.
"Big brother!" The parakeet's voice broke into sobs. "Don't… don't worry about me!"
Now that he knew his mother's resurrection was nothing but Shrieker's lie, Yūichi Shibata had lost any desire to go on living.
"Where should I blow up next?" Shrieker raised another clone excitedly. "Why not just blow everything up together!"
More than a dozen clones leapt at once, charging toward Muten Natsu.
Yet not a single one dared to cross the line behind him.
Watching the clones draw closer, the corners of Muten Natsu's mouth slowly lifted.
A translucent screen of light hovered before his eyes, lines of text appearing upon it:
[Chest wound healing progress: 99%]
The injury in Muten Natsu's chest required the absorption of Reishi to recover.
Reishi could not be taken directly from living spiritual bodies, because it still carried the owner's Reiatsu. Only after that Reiatsu dispersed could the Reishi be used to repair Muten Natsu's body.
That was why, under normal circumstances, he could only absorb faint ambient spiritual energy and Reishi from the air, causing his chest wound to heal very slowly.
But Shrieker's explosions had caused countless small spiritual entities to die one after another, filling the area around Muten Natsu with Reishi stripped of Reiatsu.
He absorbed that Reishi, using it to restore the injury in his chest.
In a very short time, the progress had reached 99%.
Beneath the blood covering it, the horrifying wound in his chest was now almost completely healed.
This was one of the reasons Muten Natsu had deliberately dragged out the conversation with Shrieker.
All he needed was a little more time, and his injuries would fully recover.
The clones continued to close in, but Muten Natsu's gaze never left the light screen before him.
[Chest wound healing progress: 100%]
[Soul damage fully healed]
[Shikai restored]