Bleach: Watch Closely, This Is How You Use a Zanpakutō-Chapter 215: Brothers

In the afternoon, Metastacia was cutting down members of the Tsunayashiro Clan, waiting for them to undergo Hollowfication.

His revered Aizen-sama was expecting him to finish the job and return in time for dinner, so he was feeling a little impatient.

Before arriving, he had been an artificial Adjuchas—an arachnid-like Hollow with a vaguely humanoid form, eight legs firmly planted on the ground, and thick red tentacles protruding from his back.

Originally, he was nothing more than an ordinary Hollow, but thanks to that man's modifications, he had evolved into an Adjuchas and gained many brothers in the process.

Now, however, he was inhabiting the body of a Tsunayashiro Clan Shinigami. It felt uncomfortable—his instincts told him he should be crawling, not walking.

Fully transforming this body back into his original form would take some time.

Metastacia grabbed a nearby Shinigami with red-ringed eyes.

"Second, how many of them are left?"

The Shinigami's true form was identical to his own, though he was also using a stolen body.

"No clue, boss. I never enhanced my perception—you should ask Third instead." Second scratched his head.

"Really? Guess I remembered wrong. Where is Third?"

Metastacia glanced at his brothers. A horde of monstrous figures, each with writhing red tentacles sprouting from their backs, were rampaging through the area, slaughtering without restraint.

The sight of all the blood thrilled him.

Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to memorize all their faces yet.

He had named them himself, but lacking creativity, he had simply gone with "Metastacia the Second," "Metastacia the Third," and so on. To make things more personal, he just called them "Second" and "Third."

It really did sound like they were family.

"Third is probably with those two," Second muttered, his expression sour. "They need the backup more."

Thinking about that Shinigami and the bull-headed Hollow put Metastacia in a bad mood.

To Aizen-sama, they seemed far more valuable than him.

He swung the Zanpakutō he had taken from his host's body and gazed down at the Shinigami who were about to become just like them.

All it took was a touch from their tentacles—once contact was made, a Shinigami's Zanpakutō would simply vanish. And without their blades, they were nothing more than defenseless prey.

Bored, Metastacia wandered from room to room, observing each Shinigami's horrific transformation into a Hollow. He debated whether to push further into this area or pull back.

After all, he had only been told to buy time, but no one had specified how long that was supposed to be.

How was he supposed to know when it was enough?

...

Ten minutes later, a cloaked figure glided silently through the sky along a Reishi path.

Rain poured down in sheets. Masatsuki Aozaki peered through a gap in the attic, his gaze falling upon a sprawling wooden estate at the edge of the horizon, shrouded in the storm.

This was the Tsunayashiro Clan's domain.

Officially, the title of "Head of the Nobility" still belonged to the Kuchiki Clan.

But in reality, as the Tsunayashiro Clan had expanded its influence over the past few centuries—manipulating the power structure within Seireitei—their dominance had made them the true rulers behind the scenes.

Now, their grand estate was drowning in blood.

Not a single living figure could be seen.

From his vantage point in the sky, even he couldn't take in the full extent of the carnage at once.

The towering wooden gates were shut tight, while the once-pristine white walls of the courtyard had been stained a deep crimson.

Masked creatures roamed the grounds, cutting each other down. Some fought desperately, only for their bodies to collapse and dissolve into Reishi mid-battle.

Most nobles lived within the designated Noble District, but the Tsunayashiro Clan—one of the Five Great Noble Houses—considered themselves the true rulers of Seireitei.

Their vast private territory reflected that arrogance.

As if they would ever lower themselves to live alongside lesser nobility.

"Damn, Aizen's really going all out. Is he trying to wipe out the Tsunayashiro Clan completely?"

Masatsuki muttered to himself, already concealing his Reiatsu as he descended.

"Not that I'm complaining," he sighed.

"Seeing the Tsunayashiro Clan in ruins like this is satisfying—but it's not quite the same if I don't do it myself."

He had planned to settle things with the Tsunayashiro Clan for a long time.

He never forgot a grudge.

He had simply been biding his time.

Aizen had merely beaten him to it.

"If we keep killing like this, some of them are bound to slip away!"

Masatsuki Aozaki had already been feeling a hint of regret, but seeing the Tsunayashiro Clan members putting up such stubborn resistance filled him with excitement. He leaned forward, ready to dive down and slaughter them all—until a familiar figure caught his attention.

"He's stepping in personally? Looks like he really despises the Tsunayashiro Clan."

...

The streets of the Tsunayashiro estate were in chaos.

Amid the torrential rain, people ran frantically, dodging the blades cutting through the downpour.

And then, suddenly—the streets fell silent, emptied of life.

This place was practically a city within a city. Seireitei was already three times the size of the World of the Living's modern Japan, and this noble district alone could rival any thriving metropolis.

Kōga Kuchiki stood in the shadows, draped in a black cloak. Muramasa, still dripping with fresh blood, was clutched in his hand. In the other, he held the severed head of a Tsunayashiro clansman.

Lowering his gaze, he watched as thick raindrops splattered onto the ground, mixing with the diluted blood that was slowly dissolving into Reishi. The contrast painted a grim yet strangely beautiful scene.

A black blade tore through the rain, its sharp edge shrieking against the air as it halted just before Kōga Kuchiki.

Aizen's carefully prepared war hound—a powerful Hollow—had skewered one of the guards. The Shinigami, a Seated Officer, had been completely helpless.

As expected of a Vasto Lorde.

"A dead Tsunayashiro," Kōga murmured, voice indifferent, "is the best kind."

The horned Hollow glanced at him briefly, showing no interest before continuing its hunt for prey.

Its instincts had been left mostly unrestrained to preserve its combat ability, making its intelligence barely superior to that of a Gillian.

To this creature, Kōga was an ally—but not a superior.

It had no need to listen to him. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

It had only one directive: kill.

"A mindless beast..." Kōga snorted in disdain. "Wasted potential. Even with that much Reiatsu, it has no idea how to use it."

The bull-headed Hollow let out a long, guttural howl, as if venting some unseen frustration. Then, with a powerful kick, it launched itself into the panicked crowd like a cannonball.

"Tch. Even a brute like that can get pissed off?"

Kōga smirked, a trace of mockery in his expression.

His eyes drifted to the fallen Shinigami littering the streets. Their faces were gradually being consumed by an eerie layer of white.

A familiar sight.

"Hollow souls forcibly infused into another soul, breaking down the boundary between them... elevating the subject to a higher state of existence."

"A bold idea," Kōga mused, "but an incredibly flawed one."

The Hollowfied Shinigami before him had grown stronger, stepping into a new realm of power—

But compared to the true monsters of the Three Worlds, they were still far too weak.

"What if a Vasto Lorde's soul was infused instead? How far could a Shinigami go...?"

He shook his head slightly, as if rejecting his own thoughts.

No experiment had ever succeeded in achieving stable Hollowfication through soul infusion.

Most subjects simply lost control, their spiritual bodies collapsing until they perished.

Only Shinigami at Lieutenant level or higher could withstand the transformation—but even they inevitably lost their sanity, devolving into mindless Hollows.

Becoming a monster with no sense of self...

What meaning was there in gaining power if it came at the cost of everything else?

...

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