The smile was unnervingly grotesque—Kawai's mouth stretched almost to his ears!
His body quickly turned greenish-blue, even blotched with red on his face!
Kawai was clearly dead, yet in a harsh, heavily distorted voice he said, "Yohio Kamado! I won't let you go! I'll stay by your side—you can't escape!"
As he spoke, a red mass wriggled out of Kawai's body. Yoshio immediately slashed it, but the two chunks of red flesh squirmed like earthworms into the ground and fled!
"What… what the hell is that?!"
Tanimoto was startled; the other Shinigami panicked too. They never imagined the Kawai who'd been with them so long was a monster!
Yoshio's face stayed calm—he already knew Kawai's true identity.
Metastacia!
Because Kawai had manifested a soul ability identical to the one Yoshio saw in Metastacia back in the Rukongai.
["Parasitize: Merge into another's body; when the host is weakened, seize control of the body."]
He had seen this soul ability in Metastacia in West Rukongai, and now he saw the same in Kawai inside the tent.
What puzzled Yoshio was that he should have pierced its brain with Special Beam Cannon and killed it.
Did Aizen pick up this trash, recycle it, and modify Metastacia?
Kawai must have been parasitized only after entering the tent; otherwise Yoshio would have seen the soul ability before.
What modifications did Aizen make to Metastacia?
By now, the commotion had drawn people from outside.
"What happened?!"
Satoru Fujita anxiously flipped open the flap and saw Kawai lying in a pool of blood.
Tanimoto had regained his composure. "Kawai was parasitized by a Hollow. Go notify everyone—there's a Hollow that can parasitize our souls!"
"What?!"
Fujita and the Shinigami behind him went pale, while Yoshio added, "I just cut that Hollow in two, but both halves retained consciousness and escaped. I suspect it can split itself."
"The more you attack it, the more it splits, and the more hosts it can parasitize!"
Fujita and Tanimoto's faces turned ashen. They hurried out, and at that moment Ichimaru Gin arrived.
He still wore that relaxed smile and perpetual slitted eyes. "What's the matter?"
Tanimoto quickly explained what happened.
Everyone looked to Yoshio. Ichimaru asked,
"Yoshio-kun, may I ask how you noticed something was wrong with Kawai-kun?"
"Well…" Yoshio smiled mysteriously.
"It's my Zanpakutō's ability."
Whatever his power was, he could just attribute it to his Zanpakutō.
"What? Yoshio, you can already release your Zanpakutō?!"
"Wouldn't it be stranger if I couldn't? I'm a 9th Seat now—what seated officer can't release their Zanpakutō?"
"Then…" Ichimaru Gin looked at him. "Can you tell us your Zanpakutō's ability?"
"This…"
Yoshio paused, then said, "Sorry, it's a bit special, so I don't intend to disclose it."
It's normal for Shinigami to conceal their abilities, though each Shinigami is obligated to register with someone who truly has authority in the Gotei 13.
In other words, you can hide it, but at least the Captain or Captain-Commander should know.
Once they return, Yoshio will have to report his ability to his Captain or the Captain-Commander.
Some abilities really shouldn't be spread, lest they cause panic or weaken the ability itself.
Ichimaru Gin looked intrigued, patted Yoshio's shoulder, and said,
"How interesting. Looks like whether we make it back alive depends on you."
"That's overstating it—but I'll do my best."
Yoshio replied softly.
Ichimaru smiled faintly and turned.
"Keep a close watch outside. Don't let any Hollows infiltrate!"
Watching him leave, Yoshio exhaled.
By now, Tanimoto understood that Yoshio had just saved his life. His favorability toward Yoshio instantly hit 80—meaning Yoshio permanently acquired ["Special Beam Cannon."]
This discovery delighted Yoshio—wasn't this the moment he risked himself to save Tanimoto for?!
[Special Beam Cannon] is quite powerful!
Yoshio severely lacked offensive tools, even though right now, thanks to [Game Master], he had gained great strength.
Yes, [Game Master] allows him to pick up and master games quickly; naturally, it grants him power to contend with the BOSS within this game Aizen created.
It's like applying a buff—this buff not only lets him detect Metastacia's traces, it also boosts his stats.
Speed, strength, defense, reaction—all enhanced within this "game."
So Yoshio was very strong; he felt his base combat abilities alone had reached Lieutenant level.
And now, with [Special Beam Cannon], he was even stronger.
He said to Tanimoto, "Tanimoto, that Hollow parasitizes souls, so we must be careful not to let ourselves be parasitized."
"I'll say something unpleasant: if an ordinary Shinigami is controlled, it might not be disastrous.
"But if one of us seated officers is parasitized, it could cause heavy casualties!"
Tanimoto had rich combat experience; he quickly caught on and nodded.
"You're right. Here's the plan: since you can identify the parasitic Hollow, I, Fujita, and Tanaka will stick close to you."
Tanaka is the 5th Seat of the 5th Division—Kohei Tanaka—whose soul ability is Fireball.
Yoshio was also interested in his soul ability.
He agreed with Tanimoto's plan.
Soon Tanimoto gathered the two and explained his idea.