Chapter 373: Monster?

Shun! Shun! Shun! Shun!!!

Four captains of the divisions appeared instantly in the area.

The Second Division Captain, Soi Fon, with her short hair tied in a sleek braid, stood poised, her small frame and sharp eyes locked onto H'el. She instinctively took her position slightly behind him, just out of his line of sight, in a blind spot where human perception is weakest.

"Is he really that formidable? A man even the Head Captain has to personally step in to stop?" Soi Fon muttered, gripping her Zanpakuto, her posture ready for combat, though a hint of doubt lingered in her mind.

The man before her had spiritual pressure barely at a lieutenant's level—weak for even a lieutenant—yet he had defeated Matsumoto Rangiku. Still, was he truly such a threat that even Head Captain Yamamoto had to intervene?

Captain Sajin Komamura of the Seventh Division appeared, standing on the spiritual particles in the sky. His massive frame loomed overhead, his full-coverage bamboo and wood helmet gleaming, with his eyes glaring like a wild beast's through the narrow slits.

Yamamoto's presence made Komamura wary, sensing something extraordinary was happening. He raised his guard.

Captain Kenpachi Zaraki of the Eleventh Division had arrived, his wild smile revealing a scar running down his left eye, while his right eye was covered with a distinctive eyepatch. His captain's haori flared at the jagged edges, and his hair, tied in small bundles, was adorned with bells that sensed spiritual pressure.

Kenpachi's presence exuded pure savagery and madness. Seeing even the old man, Yamamoto, getting involved, he grinned with satisfaction. He thought, "This time, Yachiru's direction was right." He had broken through walls straight to this place, searching for the strongest opponent.

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of the Tenth Division appeared in the air, and upon seeing Rangiku Matsumoto pinned against the wall with H'el's finger nearing her forehead, and Yamamoto halting H'el's hand, his expression sharpened.

"Rangiku!" Hitsugaya, with a serious expression, immediately used Shunpo to reach her side. He grabbed her arm and quickly moved her away, placing her against another wall.

However, Rangiku seemed stunned, her eyes wide and vacant, as if the scene before her had triggered some distant memory of a time when her life was disregarded.

H'el, paying no attention to Hitsugaya's rescue, was instead curious about Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's words.

"You are right," H'el said, surprisingly calm after being stopped. He nodded thoughtfully.

He was someone who had lost his past and was searching for it. If this orange-haired Shinigami was connected to his past and he ended up killing her, how would he face himself when he finally recovered his memories? Would he feel... regret?

He wanted to describe the feeling as pain, but he felt his emotions weren't deep enough for that. Logic would make him feel sorry, but pain? That might be beyond him.

Regardless, he finally understood he shouldn't kill recklessly, in case he unknowingly harmed an old friend.

H'el withdrew his extended finger, despite Rangiku not being there anymore.

"Old man, you seem... to know me well?" H'el asked, his eyes filled with an odd curiosity.

In his memory, there was no information about Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, which meant it must have been from before he appeared in Hell.

Yamamoto, with his drooping eyelids, raised them slightly, looking closely at H'el for the first time.

When he was a child, H'el had defeated the Gotei 13's captains of the past with just his Shikai, even when Yamamoto himself had intervened, nothing had changed.

At that time, he still had only the Three Thousand Worlds... Later, even the Monk Who Calls the Real Name descended from the Soul King Palace, unable to truly defeat him, merely cutting half of his power away, stripping him of his name and giving him the name "Black Ant."

But this did not make him weaker. Instead, it allowed him to master substitution techniques and achieve power 400 times stronger than before.

The H'el without his past had returned.

Now, seeing him grown, Yamamoto couldn't help but sigh at how swiftly time had passed. In the span of a hundred years, he still couldn't stop him.

Yamamoto, carrying a heavy heart, was about to speak when Kenpachi Zaraki cut him off.

"Old man, take a break. Let me test if this rogue is worth fighting." Kenpachi strode forward. Yachiru, perched on his shoulder, leaped to a safer rooftop to watch the show.

Kenpachi's smile widened, his spiritual pressure surged, tearing through the air. His captain's haori flapped wildly as he brandished his sword, charging at H'el.

Suddenly, without even looking at the approaching Kenpachi, H'el extended his left hand, curled his middle finger, and flicked it.

'Boom—!'

The force of the flick felt like it shattered space itself. Countless spiritual particles were pulverized, and the deafening sound was so intense that it made the captains feel like they were about to vomit blood. Soi Fon, closest to the impact, could only stare in shock, hands covering her ears.

The massive shockwave obliterated nearby buildings and hit Kenpachi head-on. He seemed like a cannonball, eyes wide in surprise as his entire body was crushed by the force. In an instant, his bones shattered, and he became a blurred shadow, blasted back along the path he had come from.

He was flung ten miles away, crashing through several towers, leaving a trail of dust before he finally came to a stop, embedded in the last tower, unconscious and broken.

The collapsing towers created a loud commotion, and all of Seireitei was on edge.

Soi Fon uncovered her ears, looking in shock towards the distance, her face pale.

With just a flick of his finger, H'el had sent the battle-hungry Kenpachi Zaraki flying ten miles away, smashing into the towers, his fate uncertain.

Soi Fon's gaze turned back to H'el in utter disbelief.

What kind of monster is he?!

°°°

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