Restricted Death

Chapter 180 Anger
Shin, along with Matsumoto Rangiku and two other members of the 10th Division, rushed towards Rukongai.

"Captain, nothing serious might happen. Hoshino only stayed behind to cover the retreat, and he has already called for reinforcements."

Matsumoto Rangiku kept reassuring him, "Hoshino is at least a fourth seat; an ordinary Hollow wouldn't be a match for him."

Xin kept a somber face and didn't say a word the whole way, just kept his head down and kept going.

The Rukongai area is very large, and the 79th ward is quite far from Seireitei. Shin and his men rushed at full speed for a while but did not see any rescue forces.

As they approached, Shin sensed a strong spiritual pressure and suddenly increased his speed, leaving Matsumoto Rangiku and the others behind, and arrived at the destination first.

This spiritual pressure was somewhat violent, like a collection of many negative emotions.

Shin also saw the Void, which had six legs and resembled a reptile. Its face was an exaggerated mask, and red, tentacled or hair-like things grew from its head.

Inside its enormous mouth was half a corpse dressed in a Shinigami outfit.

When Matsumoto Rangiku and the others arrived, their pupils widened in shock upon seeing this scene.

“That’s…Asai…”

A team member spoke in a trembling voice, recognizing the corpse in the hollow mouth as one of the team members who had stayed behind with Hoshino Toru.

Matsumoto Rangiku glanced around. There were signs of a battle; the ground had been damaged by the Kido, and large pools of blood were soaked in many places.

Are they all... dead?

Matsumoto Rangiku felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

She turned to look at the letter beside her: "Captain..."

Xin remained silent, calmly gazing at the void.

The creature noticed Shin and the others' arrival, but upon seeing the white haori Shin was wearing, it unconsciously took a step back.

It doesn't seem stupid; it knows what a captain-level Grim Reaper means.

Matsumoto Rangiku and the others drew their Zanpakuto with a "snap" and assumed fighting stances.

"Wait," Xin said, stopping them.

He suddenly remembered why this creature looked so familiar.

It seems that in the original story, Shiba Kaien and his wife died at its hands.

It is a Hollow with the ability to infinitely fuse and evolve, and it also has the ability to make a Shinigami's Zanpakuto temporarily disappear.

Inazome's experimental subject!

This Hollow was later devoured by the 90th Espada, becoming a part of it, and later died at Rukia's hands.

"team leader?"

“You don’t need to come any closer,” Xin said, then instantly moved to a spot not far from the void.

Metastasia has a clear understanding of its own strength. With its ability to unexpectedly make a Shinigami's Zanpakuto disappear temporarily, it can defeat most Shinigami. Ordinary vice-captains would easily be defeated in front of it.

But this does not include those guys in white from Death.

It firmly believes that with its ability to continuously devour and fuse, it has an infinite limit to its evolution, and at that time it will be able to disregard any captain.

But for now, it's best to retreat for the time being. We've already gained quite a bit from this trip, devouring a guy with considerable spiritual pressure.

Seeing the Grim Reaper captain in the white haori approaching him, Metastasia turned and ran away without saying a word.

boom!
The immense and terrifying spiritual pressure crashed down like a mountain, causing its limbs to go limp and leaving it frozen in place.

"damn it!"

It uttered human words and cried out in alarm; under such terrifying power, it had no ability to resist whatsoever.

On the other side, Matsumoto Rangiku and the others were also impacted by their captain's spiritual pressure. Although the pressure wasn't specifically targeted at them, the aftershocks were still quite unbearable for the two team members.

"team leader……"

This was the first time Matsumoto Rangiku had faced her captain's spiritual pressure directly, and it was far more powerful than she had expected.

He might be stronger than the former Captain Shiba.

Pfft!
Finally, the beast could no longer withstand the pressure and collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Metastasia cursed incessantly, knowing full well that the conflict between Hollows and Death Gods was always one of mortal strife, especially since it had just killed several Death Gods.

Xin slowly approached it, gazing indifferently at the beast.

Devour...merge...

Is there still a chance...?

"Matsumoto."

Upon hearing the sound of the letter, Matsumoto Rangiku quickly replied, "Yes!"

"You should leave here first, the farther the better."

Matsumoto Rangiku hesitated for a moment, then immediately chose to obey the order.

"Yes!" She immediately grabbed the arms of the two team members on either side of her and led them away at high speed.

That monstrous creature is no match for the captain.

After they withdrew several hundred meters away, an invisible spiritual barrier enveloped the area at the same moment.

Then, Matsumoto Rangiku felt her captain's powerful spiritual pressure recede like a tide.

"Vice Captain Matsumoto, what is the captain going to do?"

The teammate beside him recovered and asked a question.

Matsumoto Rangiku pondered, unsure of what Shin should do. Should she vent her anger on the other side of the void all by herself?
"I don't know, just follow the captain's orders."

She spoke calmly, glancing in the direction of the letter, and unconsciously clenched her fist.

Hoshino...

They were talking together this morning, and Hoshino Tomoki, despite having a lot of work to do himself, was still willing to help her with things he didn't need to do.

She also harbored resentment towards the other person for being too easily swayed...

Damn it, how did it suddenly turn out like this!
Matsumoto Rangiku was filled with resentment.

Several more spiritual pressures were rapidly approaching. Matsumoto Rangiku looked over and saw Aizen Sousuke, the captain of the Fifth Division, personally leading several members toward them.

"Vice-Captain Matsumoto, how is the situation?" Aizen asked anxiously as soon as he arrived.

Matsumoto Rangiku's eyes dimmed, and after a moment of silence, she slowly said, "We're too late. Hoshino Shisei and the three team members he led have all perished."

Gin Ichimaru stood behind Aizen, his narrowed eyes silently watching Rangiku Matsumoto.

"What about the Hollow?" Aizen asked again.

Matsumoto Rangiku responded, "He's already been subdued by our captain, but our captain told us not to come any closer, Captain Aizen..."

Aizen paused for a moment, then said, "I understand."

He then said dejectedly and regretfully, "It's our fault for arriving late, and it's also my fault for not giving Captain Tachikawa enough warning beforehand."

"..."

Matsumoto Rangiku remained silent.

The group waited there for about half an hour, and no one said a word. The three members of the Tenth Division were shrouded in a somber and sorrowful atmosphere.

Finally, they sensed that Shin's spiritual pressure seemed to have weakened considerably, while the Hollow's spiritual pressure had disappeared.

“It seems to be over,” Aizen said. “Let’s go.”

Matsumoto Rangiku nodded.

When the group arrived at the location of the letter, they were shocked by what they saw.

The void had already been torn into eight pieces and was now slowly dissipating into spiritual particles, which was not unexpected for them.

Three corpses lay neatly in front of Yu Xin.

After a brief moment of distraction, Matsumoto Rangiku quickly came to Shin's side.

"Captain, this..."

"died."

The letter only stated that...

The three corpses were fully clothed and lay side by side, without a single wound on their bodies, and even their complexions were rosy.

But strangely, it was completely devoid of life.

Xin tried to use his "rewinding" ability to save them, but he exhausted his spiritual power and only managed to restore their bodies.

He cannot bring the dead back to life.

On the other side, Aizen's eyes flickered uncontrollably as he watched this scene.

He unconsciously pushed up his glasses and lowered his head slightly, letting the reflection from the lenses obscure his vision.

"Captain Tachikawa."

He approached the letter and met its gaze, which held a hint of coldness.

"I'm sorry, Captain Tachikawa," Aizen apologized. "This Hollow was extremely strong. I should have warned you more beforehand, otherwise Hoshino Fourth Seat and these two team members wouldn't have been in trouble..."

After a moment of silence, Nobunaga sighed and said to Aizen, "It's not your fault, Captain Aizen. I've been leading the patrols all this time, but this afternoon I handed the job over to Hoshino."

After he finished speaking, he stopped looking at Aizen and instead turned his gaze to the corpse on the ground.

He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to bear it anymore.

It just so happens that this happened today, and it just so happens that it happened while Hoshino was leading the team.

If he had continued to lead the team today, this imaginary thing would never have happened.

(End of this chapter)