I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

“Vastow, huh...this is not to be underestimated…”

The usually cheerful captain of the Eighth Division wore a solemn expression.

................................................

Hueco Mundo.

As expected of a technique that only the highest-ranking Hollow can unleash, the jet-black King Hollow Flash shattered Mima's Triple Void Slash in succession, yet it still shot straight into the sky with undiminished momentum.

The immense spiritual pressure even crushed the bricks and tiles on the ground, demonstrating its formidable power.

However, the triple blockade created a momentary opening in Wang Xu's flash, which Mi Zhen seized and immediately used Shunpo to leave mid-air and reach the ground in the distance.

Hmm... Operating two bodies at the same time is indeed very troublesome. This is even with one body only lying down and talking. If you want to increase your combat power in this way, you will need to practice more.

This is the benefit of concealing one's talents; when acting, it's as if divinely inspired.

Ryugetsu's ability is "Interference with Time," which currently has three forms and can be used through different release phrases—"Severance," "Elimination," and "Surge." The Forty-Six Chambers only recorded a portion of the "Severance" ability.

The limit of the split is that it allows Mizhen to create two clones outside of his main body. During use, Mizhen can manipulate all his bodies at the same time and arbitrarily distribute spiritual power to one of them, which is why he created the illusion of "clone death and spiritual power depletion" on Shunsui's side.

However, this ability also has its drawbacks: performing several actions and processing several senses simultaneously with one consciousness is much more difficult than drawing a square with one hand and a circle with the other. Every time Watanabe does that, he feels like he has a split personality—if he uses it too much, it might actually become real.

Fortunately, Kyoraku Shunsui wasn't a chatterbox. If he had chosen to stay in his room and chat with Mima, the difficulty of his dual-task operation would have skyrocketed.

Szayelaporro is the strongest enemy he has encountered since his transmigration, and he cannot afford to be careless in his battle against him.

Like now!

Instinct warned Mima; every nerve in his back screamed a desperate cry, and without thinking, he immediately slashed his sword in the direction from which the danger was coming—

It's Szayelaporro!

He used the sound technique to move behind Mima and unleashed a powerful slash.

At this time, Szayelaporro had not yet separated his brother's soul through the oracle of conception, so his fighting style was naturally vastly different from the later tech-obsessed research freak—simply put, it was the most direct violence!

The gust of wind whipped up by the blade created ravines dozens of meters long in the sand. While the effect of the slash was not as devastating as Wang Xu's Flash, it was more flexible and more suitable for fighting smaller enemies.

However, this attack failed to sever Mima in two as he had intended...

No, that's not right. That's not the feel of swords clashing at all. He hit a steel wall!

"What? Confused?" Mima curled the corners of her lips into a provocative smile. "Guess what you chopped down?"

—Commentary is out of the question; he's not like Lou Shilang, a bumbling fool who can't keep his mouth shut.

However, the strategy of using words to disrupt the opponent's mindset is quite interesting to execute, and Szayelaporro was almost driven to the point of breaking down in anger.

The answer is actually quite simple: it wasn't Ryugetsu that blocked Szayelaporro's attack, but Kido.

To be precise, it is the most deeply studied binding path by Mima, the eighty-first Danku.

The transparent wall created by this technique has strong defensive capabilities, but it also has the drawbacks of being immobile and only able to defend against one-sided attacks, making it unsuitable for high-speed and agile close combat—until Mima comes up with a new solution.

The essence lies in what is concentrated. In one-on-one combat, a shield doesn't need to be too large; simply shrinking the shield will suffice.

After dismantling the spell of the Void Severing Technique, Mima discovered a new method of Void Severing Technique that was smaller in size, had stronger defensive capabilities, and consumed less spiritual pressure. Combined with the function of abandoning incantation provided by the Tongtianlu, a highly promising melee-type Kido was thus created and made great contributions in the first battle against a powerful enemy.

But he can do more than that.

After deflecting Szayelaporro's first strike, Mima whispered in a low voice, "Surge forth, Flowing Moon."

The next instant, Szayelaporro, following his battle instincts and about to unleash his next strike, suddenly realized something was wrong.

How can this guy be so fast!

In their brief encounter, he had formed a basic impression of this Grim Reaper—he had a few tricky abilities, but his reactions were too slow. He could disrupt Grim Reaper's rhythm by using his spinning attack a few times, and victory would be his sooner or later!

But in that instant, the Grim Reaper's movements suddenly became more than twice as fast!

Wielding a sword with his right hand and unleashing various Kido techniques with his left, Szayelaporro was astonished to discover amidst the lightning, thunder, and rain of sword light—

He himself is the one being suppressed!

Chapter Eleven: Being a Gangster Boss Isn't Easy

Very well, they've fallen for it!

Mima swung two swords with lightning speed, both of which were blocked by Szayelaporro, but the red fire cannons fired continuously from his left hand hit him squarely in the face, blasting a crack in his mask with two loud bangs.

Let the flowing moon surge forth.

Liu Yue's final ability is simple and brutal: it accelerates her own time, with a maximum multiplier of 2.6 times.

Unlike "Sever" and "Eliminate", "Surge" is the only ability that can directly increase physical attack - after all, speed is power, and the faster you cut, the greater the force will be.

However, like "elimination", "surging" also has obvious flaws.

That means the mana consumption is too high.

If released continuously, ten minutes of "surging" would consume most of Mi Zhen's spiritual power.

Despite being overwhelmed by Mima's combo, Szayelaporro has not shown any major weaknesses. In fact, he is rapidly adapting to the rhythm of the attack and will likely be able to turn the tables and put pressure on Mima in just a few minutes.

Furthermore, Szayelaporro has only demonstrated his slashing techniques and Cero so far; none of those fancy, scientist-specific gadgets have been seen.

But it didn't matter; Mima hadn't expected to win anyway.

Under his deliberate guidance, the battlefield has moved far away from the research institute, which naturally creates room for some subtle maneuvers.

Beneath the rubble and ruins blasted by the Cero, another Mima quietly crawled out.

This was a clone he created on a whim during his second attempt to counter Cero with Time Reduction. Because the amount of spiritual energy allocated to it was so small as to be almost negligible, Szayelaporro naturally didn't notice it.

Mima hopped up the stairs in two quick steps and arrived in front of Anise, who was still bound by the demonic path.

He brandished his knife with a cold laugh, striking a perfect villainous pose.

"?"

Her eyes widened, and she tried to struggle but couldn't move.

Looking at her rapidly changing eyes, who knows what she was thinking in that instant?

But instead of swinging his knife, Mima grabbed Anise's head and pressed it down, his eyes flashing with a menacing starlight that instantly increased his intimidating aura.

"This is a ghostly method that can detect lies. I will ask you questions, and you will answer them. If you tell even one lie, I will kill you immediately, understand?"

—Of course, this is fake.

He knows the Tongtian Lu, not the Shuangquan Shou, so where would he get the ability to detect lies? But this white-haired girl is obviously not brave enough to doubt that he is bluffing. As long as she believes it, the fake lie detection will naturally become the real one.

Aside from the guilt that comes with persecuting innocent young girls, this method has no drawbacks.

Sure enough, Anishite, terrified, didn't suspect anything and stammered through her tears, "I...I promise to tell the truth! Please don't kill me!"

"You said you can open up the dark chamber more easily, to what extent exactly can you do that?"

"I can open... six at the same time, and others can use... props made from my body tissue can also be opened, closed, and traversed through the black cavity without any cost... and... also, I can create rift spaces within the black cavity, allowing people to stay inside..."

"?"

Holy crap, that's awesome!

Thinking about the tactical value that this cowardly guy might represent, Mi Zhen gasped.

No, this person... no, this Xu absolutely cannot die, she will be of great use in the future!

"very good."

Mima put on a good-natured smile for Anise, then snapped her fingers, and a necklace made from a modified Hundred Steps Barrier, which was useless except for its ability to glow, was placed around her neck.

"Want to know what this is?"

Anise nodded at first, then shook her head frantically.

“This is a ghost bomb, not very powerful, but it can easily blow your head off at this distance.” He patted Anise on the shoulder. “I can detonate it at any distance—if you don’t obey.”

Anise was so frightened that she couldn't speak. It was unclear whether she was too scared to think or simply lacked the ability to sense spiritual pressure, but she actually believed Mima's naive claims that would fool even a child.

"Why...me..."

"No reason needed, just follow orders."

The gangster-like threats quickly turned Anise into a mere nodding yes-man. Mima endured the excruciating pain from her conscience and continued to act like a murderous maniac who would press the bomb switch at the slightest provocation.

"Now, I need you to open a dark passage leading to modern-day Kyushu, Japan. Can you do that?"

Anise didn't dare to refute, but only glanced weakly at the bindings that were almost binding her like a dumpling.

"That was an oversight—"

Mima untied the bindings and watched as Anise stood up timidly. With a casual wave of her hand, she created a dark passageway large enough for a person to pass through.

Anise, who was practically curled up into a tiny ball, asked pitifully:

"I...I did it...I defused the bomb..."

But Mima didn't give Anisette a chance to finish speaking. Instead, he walked behind her and pushed her a step towards the grotto.

"Very well, let's go."

Anise was startled at first, then immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum: "Eh? No no no... No, if I leave here, Lord Sá... Sál Apollo will kill... kill me!"

Mi Zhen snorted coldly: "What, did he plant a bomb on you too?"

"That...that's not the case..."

"But I have it!"

He tapped the collar with his index finger and said with a smile, "Szayelaporro might not kill you, but if you disobey orders, I'll take your life right now, understand?"

To be honest, by this point in the performance, Mijin was already starting to lose her composure.

Being a bad guy must be a very stressful thing. If Anise was a little bolder, even if she just talked back, her acting skills might have been exposed, and she wouldn't have been a threat at all.

But she didn't. She only dared to nod hesitantly, and then Mizhen pushed her into the dark chamber.

Chapter Twelve: Here's a big treasure for you!

Very good, the main objective has been achieved, now it's time to do other things.

After leaving Hueco Mundo using the Black Hole, Mima, who was fighting Szayelaporro, assessed his remaining spiritual energy.