novelbin Chapter 314 - 407 Intent
Chapter 314 - 407 Intent
With 9th Division Lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi and 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura mortified by 9th Division Captain Kaname Tosen betraying them, the sense of personal violation burning in their souls, in the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi asks her captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, if he heard, leading Mayuri to confirm that he did with a sinister chuckle, but when Nemu inquires what they will do, Mayuri bluntly states that the situation does not interest him, his eyes gleam with detached scientific curiosity.
Meanwhile, as he stands with his friends and Makizo Aramaki on the steps of Sokyoku Hill with the aid of Ganju Shiba, who was supporting his exhausted body,
"Is this all true? Is everything we’ve done... was it all for nothing?" Ichigo muttered wonderingly looking at Shiba and others, his voice ragged with physical and emotional exhaustion.
"It may be a trap to lure us out, a final deception," Shiba mused looking at Ichigo strangely, his hand resting on the hilt of his own weapon, suspicion overriding relief.
At this moment, the silent Uryu adjusted his glasses, the movement sharp and deliberate, and glanced at Ichigo spoke, "It seems to be true, Ichigo. Haven’t you noticed the massive, overwhelming Reiatsu that suddenly appeared above us, like a beacon?"
Ichigo was shocked, the words confirming the sudden, vast presence he’d felt, and then sensed the sudden Reiatsu and also found out that Rukia is also in the same place, the thread of her familiar power pulling at his heart.
Back on Sokyoku Hill,
Renji refuses to give Rukia over to Aizen, clutching her tighter, his will a desperate, defiant shield, who acknowledges this with an amused tilt of his head.
When Gin attempts to draw his Zanpakuto, the faint scent of copper suddenly in the air, Aizen tells him to wait and calls Renji stubborn for not giving him Rukia, a mocking kindness in his voice, only to promise that he will let Renji have his way by keeping Rukia in his arms while destroying the rest of him as he draws his zanpakuto, the movement slow and deliberate, intimidating Renji, who leaps back as Aizen slashes at him with blinding speed.
While blood spatters on the ground, a few droplets landing near Rukia’s cheek,
"Renji, are you okay? Please, let me go!" Rukia expresses concern, her voice thick with worry and guilt, looking at Renji’s injury.
Renji stands, his right sleeve ripped open and his sword arm wounded, a line of crimson staining the white of his uniform, as he holds Rukia in his left and points his Zanpakuto at Aizen, the blade trembling only slightly.
"Your defensive skill improved pretty much, but you have chosen a bad time to be persistent because it is difficult for me to step on ants without crushing them, and I would hate to see a former subordinate die." Aizen spoke looking at Renji, praising his growth and mocking his defiance in the same breath.
With Rukia still expressing concern for him, her eyes wide with fear,
Renji tells her to shut up, the command a raw sound of protective desperation, and then glanced at Aizen, demands to know why he kills Hinamori if he feels this way, if he truly cared for his subordinates.
Aizen glanced at him and replied, his voice chillingly rational, "I have trained Hinamori so she could not live without me; I am being merciful by killing her. I gave her the peace she craved."
Seeing Renji’s stunned expression, Aizen expressionlessly elaborated further, the monstrous coldness of his logic on full display.
"I never intended to kill Hinamori myself, instead letting Izuru and Hitsugaya do the job for me, a poetic conclusion to her misplaced devotion, but it’s a pity those attempts didn’t work out; I had no option but to do it myself."
Hearing this, Renji notes that Aizen had both Izuru and Hinamori in the palm of his hand, toys to be played with, and with Aizen asserting that Renji was in the palm of his hand as well, the weight of the realization crashing down on the Lieutenant.
Renji was annoyed, a raw wave of anger washing over his exhaustion, and replied that Aizen is not the captain he knew and is definitely not getting Rukia even if Renji does not know what his plan is, his defiance the only true thing left.
However, Aizen counters that he was never the captain Renji knew because that was an illusion, a beautiful, comforting lie, such that the Aizen who Renji knew never existed, his words a final, shattering blow to Renji’s loyalty.
Angered by this, the insult fueling his spiritual pressure, Renji leaps high into the air and releases his Shikai, Zabimaru, the segmented blade extending like a furious, metallic spine.
As the segments of Zabimaru hurtle toward him, the sound a sharp, cutting whistle in the air, Aizen inquires if Shikai is the best that Renji can do with his injured arm and holds his Zanpakuto above his head, a single, casual block, causing Zabimaru to deflect off of it into the ground nearby, startling Renji with the sheer, effortless disparity in their power.
With Aizen stating that he must know Shikai will not buy him any time at all, his voice dismissive, Renji retracts Zabimaru, the segments snapping back with a loud thwack, and proclaims that he does not know this before swinging Zabimaru at Aizen once more, a final, desperate gamble, only for Aizen to casually grab the end segment with his bare hand, stopping Zabimaru in its tracks and causing the remaining segments to bunch up in midair, completely paralyzed.
...