Chapter 256: Satoru's Reign of Terror
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
High in the sky, Starkk stood calmly, continuously firing Ceros.
In the distance, Satoru wielded his sword with both hands, drawing long arcs of blade light as he elegantly sliced through the waves of Ceros before him.
Although he had seen Starkk's abilities in the anime, facing them in reality still left Satoru somewhat awestruck.
Too fast.
With just two guns, he could instantly fire hundreds of Ceros.
If he remembered correctly, an eleven-barrel close-in weapon system only fired about one to two hundred rounds per second.
How did you manage to shoot so many with just two guns?
Truly a master of shooting!
Meanwhile, Starkk's shock was no less than his.
Blessed with extraordinary talent, Starkk's evolution had been abnormal since his Adjuchas days.
While other Adjuchas struggled desperately to avoid degenerating, he had already become a Vasto Lorde.
While other Vasto Lordes played king, ate dirt, or enforced justice, he had quietly completed his transformation into an Arrancar.
Because his evolution was too rapid, his Reiatsu constantly leaked uncontrollably.
This leaking Reiatsu could easily kill any ordinary Hollow trying to approach him.
Even Vasto Lorde-level Menos Grande couldn't survive long near him.
Throughout the long years, his constant thought had been how to weaken himself, lest he accidentally obliterate those around him.
It wasn't until today, meeting this man named Satoru, that he learned such powerful beings existed in the world.
Never mind his leaking Reiatsu... even after reuniting with Lilynette and using nearly all his strength, he still couldn't gain any advantage.
Is this guy a monster?
Starkk slightly furrowed his brow, feeling the pressure.
Yet even so, he didn't change his tactics.
In his view, his Ceros were enough to fight Satoru to a standstill.
If he could make these two Shinigami retreat knowing the difficulty, that would be for the best.
Having finally encountered someone he could communicate with normally, even if they came with hostile intentions, he didn't want to kill them.
Aizen stood on the ground, looking up quietly as he watched Satoru's battle.
After a moment of contemplation, he spoke:
"Satoru, use your full power."
"Baraggan might learn of our arrival at any moment. Finish this quickly."
"Roger!"
High in the air, Satoru responded loudly.
He widened his eyes, his pupils locking onto a specific spot.
There... amidst the hundreds of Ceros, was a tiny opening.
With just the naked eye, it would be impossible to detect this barely noticeable gap in the sea of blue Ceros.
But, guided by instinct, the enemy's weakness couldn't be hidden!
Satoru grinned, his body leaning slightly forward.
The next moment, blue flames erupted from his body.
His foot, wrapped in massive Reiatsu, stomped violently on the air as he instantly crossed a thousand meters with a long blue trail, arriving before Starkk!
BZZZT!!!
While moving, Satoru unleashed his full Reiatsu, instantly filling the space between heaven and earth. The air itself vibrated uneasily.
"Wha...?"
Starkk showed a stunned expression.
So during their entire fight just now, his opponent hadn't been using his true power?
Having never fought an opponent of this level before, Starkk clearly panicked when faced with Satoru's sudden assault.
"Idiot! Don't panic!"
From within the twin guns, Lilynette shouted angrily.
Without waiting for Starkk to act, she pulled his hands up herself to meet Satoru's attack.
However, before she could fire, a short blade had already flown over.
CLANG!!
The short blade, burning with blue flames, struck the side of the gun, knocking it away.
In mid-air, Lilynette let out a startled cry.
Starkk instinctively reached out, trying to catch the knocked-away gun.
But the long chain attached to the short blade suddenly looped around, snapping as it bound Lilynette and flew back toward Satoru's direction even faster than it had come.
"Lilynette!"
Starkk cried out in alarm.
"Hahahaha! Lilynette belongs to me now!"
Satoru laughed heartily, reaching out to take the black long-barreled pistol being reeled back by the chain.
But before the gun could land in his hand, it suddenly vanished, transforming into dozens of gray wolves wreathed in Reiatsu flames.
The wolves opened their jaws wide, biting down at Satoru from all directions—
CRUNCH!!
The wolves snapped their teeth shut, only biting into empty air.
Not far away, Satoru's figure reappeared.
"Whew, that was scary, so scary."
Watching the gray wolves that Lilynette had transformed into, Satoru wiped away a nonexistent cold sweat.
"Damn it, I still failed?!"
Lilynette's voice echoed through the air.
Satoru chuckled. "Keep trying, maybe next time you'll succeed."
"Bastard, don't look down on me!"
Lilynette shouted, transforming into the pack of wolves once more and charging at Satoru.
"Hehehe, come on then! Let's see which of us is stronger!"
Satoru brandished his two blades and charged toward the wolf pack.
Watching the two locked in fierce combat, Starkk didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Lilynette and Satoru were fighting so intensely, while he, the actual combatant, had nothing to do.
Well, it didn't matter—he hadn't really wanted to fight in the first place. He might as well wait here for the outcome.
Thinking this, he relaxed slightly.
Just then, a voice sounded behind him—
"Already letting your guard down?"
Crap!!
Hearing the voice, Starkk's pupils contracted.
He reached out, grabbing at the air, and a sword condensed from Reishi fell into his hand.
But his opponent was faster.
The moment he gripped the sword, searing pain shot through his back.
To Starkk's shock, Aizen's figure was now standing there, as if he had been there all along.
Aizen smiled, holding his Zanpakutō.
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade.
Though he couldn't see it, the intense pain told him he had been slashed with a deep, long wound across his back.
Starkk staggered and began to fall from the sky.
"Starkk, Starkk!"
Lilynette, in her pistol form, cried out anxiously.
Because they were in a merged state, she could clearly feel that Starkk was severely injured.
If he fell like this, even if the ground below was soft sand, his injuries would worsen!
She wanted to revert to her human form, but half of her soul was still transformed into the wolf pack, fighting Satoru in the distance.
What to do, what to do?!
Just as Lilynette panicked, a hand suddenly reached out and snapped to grab Starkk by the collar.
Starkk jolted to a halt in mid-air.
Lilynette looked over in surprise and realized that Satoru had somehow already arrived nearby.
What about the wolf pack?
She instinctively reached out with her senses and realized, to her shock, that Satoru had already defeated all the wolves.
The terrifying gap in their strength made her tremble.
Ever since becoming a Vasto Lorde, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt fear.
Hundreds of years? Thousands of years?
Or... even longer?
Since half of her split form had been destroyed by Satoru, she could now revert from her pistol form back to human form.
In a flash of light, Lilynette separated from Starkk.
The girl supported Starkk, warily looking at Satoru.
"Sorry, Lilynette, I..."
"No, it's my fault! If I hadn't gone chasing after Satoru, you wouldn't have been ambushed!"
Lilynette said through gritted teeth.
Hearing this, Satoru laughed.
"What are you thinking? That's Sōsuke we're talking about, an expert in ambushes."
"Even if you hadn't fallen for my trap, Sōsuke wouldn't have missed his shot even if you hadn't come."
Aizen, who had just arrived: "..."
Added another entry to Satoru's dedicated grudge notebook for that comment.
Looking at the two before him, Starkk's expression turned grave, as if hesitating about something.
But in the end, he just sighed.
"How will you deal with us?"
"If you need test subjects, I'll go alone. Don't make Lilynette go through that too."
"Don't worry, I'll cooperate fully. I'll make sure you get what you want."
Hearing this, Satoru laughed heartily:
"Don't worry, all forms of enslavement will be implemented without exception!"
"From now on, you'll work a full eight hours every day, with only three meals and snacks provided daily."
"Only three bonuses a year, and just two months of annual leave."
"What's most ruthless is that you only get a raise every four months, and overtime only pays triple wages!"
"After work, mandatory training for one hour."
"Only one Satoru-brand counseling session per week!"
"Well? Scared now!"
Hearing Satoru's words, Starkk showed a somewhat stunned expression.
Aizen closed his eyes and raised a hand to his forehead.
He stepped forward and began conversing with Starkk.
Whenever Satoru tried to discuss serious topics, nothing good could come of it.
After listening for a while, Satoru quickly grew drowsy.
He stretched lazily and walked toward the Tsunayashiro Shinigami.
Seeing Satoru approach, the group instinctively gulped.
They had recognized him the moment he appeared.
Many wanted to flee immediately, but were pinned down by the terrifying Reiatsu generated from the ongoing battle.
Soon, the Tsunayashiro Shinigami whom Satoru had saved earlier arrived and explained what had happened.
Upon hearing that Satoru was here to recruit them, the Shinigami showed understanding.
Yet, they still had concerns.
While Satoru was undoubtedly powerful, he might still be slightly outmatched against the evolved Baraggan.
It wasn't until they witnessed Satoru's battle with Starkk that these Shinigami finally understood.
The former prodigy of Shin'ō Academy was no longer just a simple student.
Satoru... this man had truly become a powerful Shinigami.
Even if their clan head were still alive, he probably couldn't contend with him anymore.
Plus, there was that guy following Satoru...
Several leading Tsunayashiro Shinigami secretly glanced toward Aizen's direction.
As if sensing their gaze, Aizen turned and gave them a smile.
!!!
The Tsunayashiro Shinigami nearly collapsed on the spot.
This wasn't a smile.
It was pure malice condensed into icy pressure!
They had no doubt that if they refused Satoru's recruitment, that bespectacled man would make them wish they were dead!
Compared to that, following Satoru—while still dangerous—was better than immediate death...
Satoru walked over and surveyed the Tsunayashiro Shinigami.
He cleared his throat, about to speak.
Then he saw the dozen Shinigami in front all drop to one knee.
"We of the Tsunayashiro Clan pledge our loyalty to Lord Satoru!!"
Seeing the Shinigami submitting without resistance, Satoru was momentarily stunned.
I haven't even started persuading them yet, and they've already surrendered?
But then, he grinned widely.
Sōsuke had to talk endlessly just to recruit one person.
Look at me—I didn't do anything, just exuded some kingly aura, and they yielded!
The difference was clear without another word.
Seeing the Tsunayashiro Shinigami surrender, Aizen gave an almost imperceptible nod and turned his attention back to Starkk.
...
...
Las Noches.
Baraggan in his skeletal form sat leisurely on his massive throne, leaning comfortably to one side with his cheek resting on his hand, watching the busy scene below.
Half of Las Noches had been reduced to ruins from his battle with Senzaemon.
Now, Adjuchas and their subordinates were desperately working on repairs.
Baraggan raised his hand and held it before his face.
As light and shadow flickered on his arm, the limb originally composed entirely of white bone began to manifest flesh and skin.
Feeling the feedback from his physical body, Baraggan chuckled darkly.
Had he known that devouring Senzaemon would yield such marvelous gains, why would he have waited until now?
In his current state, he was likely an invincible existence in this world!
How could the Shinigami of the Soul Society possibly defeat him, who had broken the boundary between Hollow and Shinigami?
Impossible!
Thinking this, Baraggan couldn't help but laugh aloud.
BOOM!!!!
Before Baraggan's laughter could fade, a massive explosion suddenly erupted.
"What's going on?!" Baraggan roared angrily.
Over a dozen Adjuchas hastily flew up into the sky, looking toward the direction of the explosion.
They saw many familiar figures standing there.
After confirming what he saw was correct, one Adjuchas excitedly reported:
"Lord Baraggan, it's the Shinigami... the Tsunayashiro Shinigami!"
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Baraggan became interested.
Weren't they fleeing like desperate dogs earlier? How dare they return now?
The Adjuchas continued: "They've broken through a section of the outer wall and are entering!"
"...Strange. There's already a damaged wall from the previous battle nearby. Why would they specifically break another section?"
Baraggan paid no attention to his subordinate's muttering.
He slowly rose to his feet and floated upward.
He wanted to see who was leading these Tsunayashiro Shinigami.
To gather a pack of fleeing dogs and bring them back for revenge... this was someone with capability.
If this person knew what was good for them, he wouldn't mind accepting such talent as a subordinate.
The soul fire in his skeletal eye sockets flickered slightly as he focused on the distant figures.
When he clearly saw the Shinigami standing at the forefront, Baraggan suddenly exclaimed:
"Satoru!!"