Shinobu Kocho naturally recognized the person before her.
She stared blankly at the back of the figure shielding her.
He wore a slightly tattered Shihakusho, his messy black hair fluttering in the wind.
In his hand, he gripped a Zanpakuto that exuded a bizarre aura.
The blade was covered in ferocious, interlocking jagged patterns, as if composed of countless tiny serrated edges. Right now, it radiated a searing heat, looking as though the entire sword had caught fire.
His sword emitted a ravenous hunger that seemed ready to devour everything, sending chills down the spines of the nearby ordinary squad members and causing them to subconsciously tighten their grips on their Asauchi.
But this feeling that made others fearful and uncomfortable was something Shinobu Kocho had missed for seventy years.
"...Asuka!!"
Shinobu froze. Her nose stung, and her eyes instantly welled with tears.
Rangiku Matsumoto and the surrounding Soul Reapers were also stunned.
'Who is this guy? Did he come to the World of the Living with us?'
'No, that's not right. How is his Spiritual Power so weak that it's completely undetectable?'
Asuka turned sideways and gently adjusted his breathing. "Sorry I'm late."
"You idiot!!"
Shinobu hugged Asuka tightly, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
"Thank goodness... you're alive... you're really alive!"
"Where have you been?! Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?!"
"It's been seventy years! I'm practically an old woman now!!"
"Do you know how scared I was?! I was afraid you had died! I was afraid you left me all alone in this world!"
She abruptly raised her head, staring intently at Asuka's face through tear-filled eyes. "Why didn't you come find me?! Why did you wait until today to show up?!"
"You're such an idiot! Asuka, you massive idiot!!"
Asuka didn't speak. He wrapped an arm around Shinobu's shoulders while warily eyeing the horde of Hollows glaring at them from all sides.
If any blind, mutated Hollow dared to approach right now, he would absolutely make it regret being born into this world.
"S-Sixth Seat Kocho?" The young squad member whose leg wound Shinobu had just treated gaped, his voice dry, scarcely able to believe his own eyes.
Miss Shinobu Kocho, renowned in the Fourth Division for her gentleness and medical expertise, who always remained unruffled even when faced with the most gruesome injuries, was currently acting like an emotionally shattered child.
She clung desperately to the strange man's clothes, as if the moment she let go, he would vanish into thin air once more.
"Hey, hey, hey, what in the world..." Another squad member's words were cut short by a bone blade swung by a mutated Hollow from the flank. He rolled away in a panic, his face covered in dirt.
Rangiku Matsumoto's brows knitted together tightly. The ash mist formed by Haineko rescued the squad member as she shouted sternly, "What are you all spacing out for?! Do you want to get your heads bitten off?!"
But she, too, had absolutely no idea what was going on.
"Huh? Does Miss Kocho... know this handsome guy?" She dodged a Hollow's attack and looked at Asuka's face in confusion. "That makes no sense. There's no way I wouldn't remember a hottie like him..."
The battle did not pause for this interlude. The roars of the mutated Hollows, the shouts of the Soul Reapers, and the explosive blasts of Kido intertwined into a chaotic symphony.
Several smaller, highly agile mutated Hollows seemed drawn by Shinobu's uncontrolled emotional fluctuations and the unsettling Spiritual Pressure radiating from Asuka. Recklessly, they rapidly closed in.
"Duck," Asuka suddenly said.
Shinobu complied almost reflexively, burying her face deeper into his chest.
A violent, scorching Spiritual Pressure erupted from the tip of his blade like an ignited powder keg!
The air was sharply compressed, and the Spiritual Pressure warped, emitting an ear-piercing detonation.
The ambushing mutated Hollows slammed headfirst into a wall of sword wind blazing with crimson-black flames. The moment their tough Hierro touched the turbulent currents, it vaporized.
All that remained were a few wisps of charred smoke and the thick stench of burning in the air.
Nugata's voice echoed in Asuka's mind once more, though it offered no unnecessary words.
The shockwave from the explosion kicked up dust, blowing Rangiku Matsumoto's blonde hair wildly behind her.
She instinctively raised Haineko to shield herself, the ash-mist blade scattering chaotically in the gale.
Her pupils shrank as she stared fixedly at Asuka's unmoving back, and at the long sword in his hand that could unleash such terrifying power with a single swing.
'...Is that really a Zanpakuto? It's practically an ancient beast forcibly restrained!'
"Hiss..." The sound of sharp intakes of breath echoed among the few squad members who barely managed to stay on their feet.
The way they looked at Asuka completely changed, shifting from suspicion to sheer terror.
This kind of power—capable of instantly obliterating multiple mutated Hollows—was definitely not that of an ordinary Seated Officer!
'Just who exactly is this mysterious man? And what is his relationship with Sixth Seat Kocho...?'
"Don't be afraid, I'm here," Asuka's voice sounded again, still deep and steady. "This time, I'm taking you home."
"Home..." Shinobu gazed at him blankly, the shattered tears in her eyes slowly gathering once more.
Seventy years of longing and waiting had finally received an answer in this moment.
She punched Asuka playfully in feigned anger, using her sleeve to fiercely wipe the tear stains from her face.
Although her eyes and the tip of her nose were still red, something was reigniting in the depths of her gaze.
She abruptly pushed Asuka away a little and picked up her Tsumugi. "Who wants to go home with you?! Have you no shame!"
Shinobu's voice carried a heavy nasal tone, along with a joy she hadn't even noticed herself. "Let's clean up these unromantic pests first!"
"Alright."
Rangiku Matsumoto watched from afar as the flames of battle mixed with tears in Shinobu's eyes. Though still inwardly shocked, she fulfilled her duties as a Vice Captain. "Tenth Division! Reform formation!"
"Coordinate with... uh... Sixth Seat Kocho and her friend! Charge!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the squad members shouted in unison.
The battle erupted once more, but the rhythm had completely changed.
Asuka no longer held anything back. Every swing of Nugata brought a screech that tore through the air and a wave of scorching heat.
The jagged patterns on the blade seemed to come alive. Every time it collided with a mutated Hollow's body, it would directly and completely devour the opponent, proving several times more efficient than the combined tactics of sword strikes and Kido!
Although the sounds of retching echoed endlessly, he didn't hesitate with a single strike.
Shinobu followed closely behind Asuka's flank, her movements as agile as a butterfly flitting through flowers.
The rapier danced and twirled in her hand. With every precise thrust, countless tiny spirit insects glowing with a faint purple luminescence were summoned from the void, like a miniature army guided by their queen.
They avoided Asuka's rampaging crimson-black turbulent currents, specifically lunging at the mutated Hollows whose Hierro defenses had been torn apart by Asuka but hadn't yet been devoured, burrowing into their wounds to detonate lethal poison from within.
The coordination between the two possessed an astonishing synergy.
It was as if seventy years of separation had never erased the instinct of fighting side-by-side during the era of evil demons.
Asuka's blade paved the way for Shinobu's poisonous insects, while Shinobu's poisonous insects covered any potential gaps left by Asuka's wide, sweeping strikes, efficiently eliminating the threats.
Rangiku Matsumoto led the squad members in providing support from both flanks. The cutting ash mist of Haineko intertwined endlessly with the Shakkaho spells released by the squad members in coordination.
For a time, the situation actually began to develop in a favorable direction.
Rangiku's golden eyes simply couldn't look away from the seamlessly cooperating pair.
She had never seen Shinobu fight like this. The purple trails left by her rapier were ruthless and decisive, every strike carrying a venting hostility.
'Just who... is this man?'
"Vice Captain! Watch out above!"
A squad member's alarmed shout interrupted Rangiku's train of thought.
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