Restricted Death

Chapter 232 Absolute Zero
Just as Grimmjow was about to rush into the Hollow Chamber, he once again felt that invisible force restraining his body. The Hollow Chamber was right there, and he could escape Hueco Mundo simply by passing through it, but he was completely unable to move. He was frozen in mid-air, his eyes wide with anger, helpless.

For Shin, applying the "stagnation" power of his Zanpakuto to others is extremely energy-consuming, and it is directly proportional to the spiritual pressure intensity of the target, making it far less convenient than using it on himself.

Fortunately, Grimmjow was already severely injured, and his mind was on the verge of collapse due to the amplified fear. He had no accurate understanding of Shin's abilities and was not psychologically prepared. Under the combination of multiple disadvantages, Shin was able to so easily lock him down completely again with "Stagnation," like a statue of despair nailed to an invisible cross.

If it were Nellyel or Ulquiorra, given their guarded state and their full effort to break free, there's a high probability they could overcome the power of Shin's Zanpakuto's rules.

Grimmjow's frozen moment as he attempted to rush into the black cavity was laid bare before the other three Arrancar.

Even his last chance to escape was taken away. Grimmjow let out a hissing sound mixed with blood and extreme terror, "ho...ho..." from his throat. The last bit of frenzied fighting spirit in the depths of his eyes was completely extinguished, leaving only dejection and utter horror.

"Damn it!" Nelliel's voice was urgent and heavy. She tried to charge forward again, but found that the invisible cold aura attached to her joints, weapons and even spiritual pressure was more stubborn than before. Every movement was like struggling in viscous, extremely cold asphalt, and was several times slower and stiffer than before!
The rustling sound of ice crystals condensing in the surrounding air grew clearer and clearer, as if the whole world was sliding towards the eternal permafrost under the will of faith.

boom!
A powerful surge of spiritual pressure erupted from her once again, a result of her exerting her full strength in an attempt to resist the surrounding icy chill.

Xin glanced at her indifferently, and in that single glance, Nelliel felt her movements freeze instantly. In that brief moment, her entire body began to freeze from the bottom up. She maintained the posture of overdrawing her gun and instantly turned into an ice sculpture.

"damn it!"

The cruel mockery on Neutra’s face finally vanished completely, and the scythes gripped tightly on his six arms hummed and vibrated, emitting an impatient and dangerous hiss.

Abandoning all skill and cooperation, the six-armed scythe, imbued with destructive energy capable of tearing everything apart, slashed wildly down in the direction of Xin!

Faced with this hysterical, all-out attack, and full-force strike, Xin's face remained completely calm. He didn't even use the "Stop" power again. The black scythe that Nnoitra slashed down rapidly lost speed and finally froze just centimeters away from Xin, turning into an ice sculpture just like Nelliel.

Xin glanced at Ulquiorra not far away, and a black Cero shot out from his hand, but it instantly annihilated into countless ice particles before it had traveled less than a meter.

The temperature in this high-altitude region has dropped to -273°C, or absolute zero. At this temperature, the kinetic energy of any substance will cease to exist, and the human body can be frozen instantly, eventually leading to hypothermia and death.

This realm is undifferentiated, but faith can rely on the power of "stagnation" to ensure that it remains unaffected within it.

The outcome has been decided.

Xin slowly let out a sigh of relief, glanced at Neutra who was closest to him, and with a light flick of his ice blade, instantly severed two of Neutra's arms.

At that moment, Xin suddenly looked up as if he had a premonition, and four beams of light suddenly fell from the sky above.

Xin recognized what it was; he had seen it with his own eyes.

Reverse membrane.

This anti-membrane was clearly intended to rescue the four Arrancar, but within the absolute zero domain, even light can be frozen. As soon as the anti-membrane entered this domain, it was directly blocked and could not cover Nereel and the others at all.

Karakura Town, shrouded in a barrier.

Gin Ichimaru strained his eyes to look at the black dots high in the sky. At first, he could still feel the spiritual pressure emanating from them, but this feeling was cut off after the barrier appeared.

He was somewhat unsure of the current state of the battle. He also remained inactive.

Matsumoto Rangiku, who had originally left the area, returned to Ichimaru Gin's side after seeing Shin and the other Arrancar move the battlefield.

Aren't you going to help the captain?

Matsumoto Rangiku asked this question because she knew that Ichimaru Gin had mastered Bankai, which meant he had captain-level strength. So why hadn't he used it yet?

Gin Ichimaru remained silent for a moment.

The fact that Neluel and the other three Arrancars would appear here was completely unexpected for him.

Not only that, even Matsumoto Rangiku was attacked by the Arrancar.

He had always thought that Aizen might refrain from attacking Matsumoto Rangiku because of his own reasons.

But the series of events that have just occurred have left him feeling somewhat apprehensive.

Aizen no longer trusts him?
Or did he already know about the agreement he and Xin reached?
Or perhaps, this attack wasn't about the letter, but rather a test to see how I would react...

Many guesses came to mind, but he couldn't be sure about any of them.

This made Gin Ichimaru hesitant to act rashly. He was helping Shin deal with these Arrancar, and he was helping these Arrancar deal with Shin.

It's no wonder that Xin had doubts and suspicions about him earlier; his own thoughts were in complete disarray.

He did not answer Matsumoto Rangiku's question, and at that moment, a gap was suddenly opened in the barrier above.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Four bodies, carrying the lingering chill of the high altitude, crashed heavily onto the cold concrete of the rooftop, producing dull thuds and stirring up fine dust.

Gin Ichimaru's ever-present fox-like smile froze in that instant, transforming into a stiff mask. His gaze swept quickly over the figures thrown down, each one their life force so faint it was almost extinguished.

Xin's figure followed almost immediately, like a snowflake blown down by the wind, appearing silently in the center of the damaged rooftop.

The pure white haori he wore fluttered slightly under the wind pressure of the high-speed descent, then quickly returned to its draped state. It was neither damaged nor showed any signs of battle whatsoever, not even a single wrinkle. It was so clean and spotless that it formed a breathtaking contrast with the four heavily wounded enemies around him.

"Captain!" Matsumoto Rangiku exclaimed instinctively.

The city below returned to its bustling state, with the faint sound of traffic. Ordinary people continued their lives, completely unaware of the cataclysmic battle that had just taken place, a battle capable of destroying them countless times.

It was faith that won.

Moreover, it was a complete victory.

(End of this chapter)