Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The First Meeting (Bouns Chapter)
Chapter 28: The First Meeting (Bouns Chapter)
"Open your eye, let me see." The girl observed carefully for a good while before speaking:
"It is quite bloodshot, but that’s merely the rupture and dilation of the conjunctival blood vessels. You should recover with a bit of rest. What’s important now is... Yato, tell me, is your vision affected in any way?"
"No," Yato replied with absolute certainty.
"It’s still just as clear as before."
"Really?"
"A hundred percent. Why would I lie to you?"
The two locked eyes for a long moment, then broke into smiles in perfect, tacit understanding.
—The Mangekyo activated through his Shikai did not cause any deterioration to his vision!
Until today, neither Yato, the reincarnated Soul Reaper, nor Akame, the Zanpakuto spirit, had been completely certain about this. They had both been afraid that some ridiculous, unforeseen complication might arise when the time came.
This was the world of Bleach. If using the Mangekyo Sharingan led to blindness, where was he supposed to go dig up the eyeballs of other Uchiha clan members?
Fortunately, the Mangekyo unleashed through the release of his Zanpakuto did not bring about such a troubling dilemma.
This trip to Hueco Mundo had truly yielded a bountiful harvest for Yato.
Slaying Hollows and completing the academy’s assigned mission was as easy as breathing for him, so that naturally went without saying.
He had become acquainted with Harribel, giving him a connection in Hueco Mundo that laid the groundwork for his potential future "Opposing Force Devouring" plan.
His Spiritual Pressure had elevated, and he had stepped into the realm of the Stage Two Shikai a full year ahead of his anticipated schedule. This afforded him ample time to hone his Shikai, further solidifying his certainty of securing a high-ranking Seated Officer position upon graduation.
Yato carefully mentally reviewed his experiences over the past few days. Feeling that nothing had been overlooked, he swallowed a pill.
This was a development of the 4th Division designed to soothe the nerves, perfectly suited for his current condition.
After resting for a few minutes, the pain in his eye and head eased. Yato patted Akame, which hung at his waist, and began walking toward the area where the Senkaimon was located.
Of course, since he was still in Hueco Mundo, he couldn’t just stroll leisurely as if on a field trip. He intermittently activated his Sharingan to keep a vigilant watch on his surroundings while maintaining a respectable travel speed.
Facts quickly proved that his caution was entirely justified.
"Who’s there?"
Beside a withered quartz tree, Yato stopped in his tracks, drew his Zanpakuto, and pointed it toward a spot where the Spiritual Pressure fluctuations were abnormal.
"Not coming out? Fine then, Hado #70..."
"Hey, hey, wait, wait! Yato-kun, it’s me."
A rather awkward voice echoed from the other side of a small hill.
A pale-skinned young man, accompanied by a dozen or so others, emerged from their hiding place.
They were a mix of young men and women, all roughly the same age, and like Yato, they all wore the uniform of the Shin’o Academy.
"Hideki Watanabe?"
Yato frowned, recognizing the lower noble who had been so eager to curry favor with Byakuya Kuchiki.
"What are you all doing hiding here?"
"Ambushing Hollows, Yato-kun."
For some reason, Hideki Watanabe’s attitude was leagues better than when they had first arrived in Hueco Mundo. He bowed with the poise of a noble, using honorifics with every sentence:
"We do not possess Yato-kun’s martial prowess. Up until now, we’ve only managed to kill eight Hollows. Four of us are still empty-handed. I’m sure you are aware of the academy’s rules, Yato-kun; every student must score at least one kill."
"Oh? But isn’t this outside the designated exercise zone? Aren’t you afraid of running into a Menos Grande?"
"Yato-kun, nearly all the Hollows inside the zone have already been wiped out by the other students. We had no choice but to take the risk and come out here, constantly concealing our tracks..."
"Alright, you definitely need to be careful operating out here." Yato nodded, his attitude softening slightly.
Out of habit, he swept a glance over his surroundings. Gripping his blade inward, he prepared to take his leave and head back to the Senkaimon.
Yet, it was this very glance that caused his movement to sheathe his sword to abruptly freeze!
Far off in the distance lay the battlefield where he and Harribel had fought together against the Adjuchas legion. From where he stood, it only looked like a few blurry, dark specks.
It was very far away, practically pushing the absolute limits of the naked eye’s visual range.
Logically speaking, it was absolutely impossible for these dozen or so people to know what had just transpired there.
But...
Byakuya Kuchiki seemed to have mentioned once that "Watanabe of the Six Eyes" was a lower noble renowned for his Spiritual Pressure perception, possessing senses far sharper than an ordinary person’s.
Could I have been exposed? The entire process of me helping Harribel...
Yato Uchiha gently stroked Akame’s tsuba, abruptly lifting his head. His Sharingan meticulously scrutinized the group opposite him.
His borderline freakish dynamic vision and ability to capture minuscule details revealed the subconscious reactions of every single one of the dozen academy students with crystal clarity.
Hideki Watanabe’s breathing hitched for a fraction of a second, and his nostrils flared by about 0.3 millimeters...
The girl beside him maintained a neutral expression, but her abdomen was trembling at a frequency of fifteen times per second...
The large guy in the middle had his hands clasped behind his back. Judging by the tremors in his shoulder muscles, his knuckles were definitely moving frantically... Was he signaling the people behind him?
A chilling glint flashed across his crimson Sharingan.
There is definitely a problem!
The hand resting on his hilt shifted from pushing the blade in to gripping it firmly. Akame was drawn once again.
The atmosphere instantly turned deadly, and a suffocating silence spread.
"Yato-kun, what’s wrong?" Hideki Watanabe forced a stiff smile, attempting to defuse the tension.
"We’re all classmates from the Shin’o Academy. Even if I was disrespectful in the past, there’s no need to point a sword at us..."
"Where were you all an hour ago?"
"We were right around here, ambushing Hollows."
"Is that so?" Yato Uchiha suddenly let out a scoffing laugh.
"Then why is your voice shaking, Hideki Watanabe?"
The young noble’s face seemed to pale even further, and he stammered, desperately trying to explain himself.
The students behind him lacked even his composure. The faces of many twisted with malice, and veins popped on their hands as they covertly gripped their Zanpakuto.
Yato sighed silently and closed his eyes.
Given the situation, there was no need to ask any further.
They had seen him helping Harribel. They had seen the black flames of his Stage Two Shikai. That was why they were exhibiting all these signs of fear and hesitation.
Could he gamble on them keeping their mouths shut and taking this secret to their graves out of classmate solidarity, never reporting it to Central 46?
Hah. What a joke.
Colluding with a Hollow was a capital offense punishable by execution! How could he possibly entrust his life to the hands of others?
So... what was he supposed to do with them?
In its Stage Two Shikai, Akame still couldn’t utilize Kotoamatsukami; he couldn’t permanently alter their wills and memories.
And even if they swore an oath to secrecy, he wouldn’t dare believe them.
Therefore...
Should he kill them?
Kill them... I have to.
Yato Uchiha’s Spiritual Pressure coalesced into a terrifying aura, like a looming tsunami.
If I’m going to kill them, it must be clean. Behead them, cut out their tongues, and leave them no chance to leave a message using Kido. Finally, I have to cover it all up with Amaterasu!
An unimaginably sharp killing intent ran rampant within Yato’s heart.
At a certain moment, his Spiritual Pressure erupted entirely. He instantly activated his Mangekyo and opened his eyes!
The six-pointed stars, red patterns against a black backdrop, were utterly devoid of emotion.
However.
Just as Yato prepared to act according to his plan—to kill Hideki Watanabe first and leave the group leaderless—he abruptly froze in place.
Because before he could even make a move, Hideki Watanabe’s head had already separated from his neck.
No, it wasn’t just Hideki Watanabe.
The dozen or so Shin’o Academy students behind him had all been effortlessly crushed by an abrupt, unseen slash. Whether noble or commoner, they were all plunged into eternal darkness in the span of a single breath.
Separating muscle and sinew, pulverizing bone, and severing the soul.
The method of killing was clean, elegant, and borderline artistic.
In less than half a second, over a dozen academy students were entirely wiped out.
In the next instant, a sound like tearing fabric ripped through the air.
Sosuke Aizen materialized at the scene.
"Yato-kun."
His voice was mellow and soothing, like that of a steady, approachable schoolteacher. Long, powerful fingers glided across Kyoka Suigetsu’s blade, cleanly wiping away the blood.
"Hesitation will dull your Zanpakuto."
The Lieutenant of the 5th Division lightly pushed up the black-framed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He gazed at the six-pointed Mangekyo in the boy’s eyes, a gentle smile gracing his lips.
"A truly magnificent Spiritual Pressure."
"To think that in a mere year since the incident with the Horiuchi family, you have managed to refine yourself to such a degree."
"Now then..."
Aizen swept his gaze across the surrounding corpses, then cast a look into the far distance where the Adjuchas had perished, before speaking with a tone of keen interest.
"What do you propose we do next, Yato-kun?"
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