Chapter 358

2-in-1 chapter:

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Swish—!

Kaelith reached out and gave a tug, instantly yanking Ichimaru Gin toward him.

Suspended midair, Gin attempted to struggle for a moment, but after realizing the chain was tightly bound and inescapable, he immediately turned his Zanpakutō toward Kaelith again.

Just as he was about to fire Kamishini no Yari, a wave of blue flames surged along the chain and suddenly ignited his body.

“Urgh!”

The intense burning pain made him grimace—his Zanpakutō’s release lagged a moment.

That brief instant was enough for him to be pulled right up to Kaelith.

“Kaelith-sama, I—”

Before he could finish, he saw Kaelith expressionlessly drive a blade straight into his chest.

Shhk!

As the blade pierced Gin’s chest, Kaelith violently dragged it sideways, slicing his upper torso open.

The Rixiang Jimie chain recoiled, and Ichimaru Gin collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Although Kamishini no Yari was devastating in offense, Gin had hardly invested anything in defense.

That one slash from Kaelith severed his life entirely.

Lying on the ground, staring up at Kaelith's commanding gaze, Gin parted his lips slightly.

Ah… no wonder even my original self admired this man.

Even when faced with someone whose appearance and spiritual pressure were a perfect match for the real me, he could be so decisive—killing in one blow.

Such appeal really was…

Gin’s consciousness faded as darkness swallowed his vision.

Under Kaelith’s gaze, Gin’s body suddenly began to crack like dried clay, color draining away.

Then it disintegrated, turning to fine ash and drifting into the air. All that remained on the ground was a small, red orb.

Kaelith raised his brow slightly as he crouched and picked it up.

Within that orb, he could feel the presence of a soul.

“This is... an artificial soul?”

Realizing that, a bolt of clarity flashed through his mind.

Something important was about to click into place. As he strained to recall, Kaelith suddenly bent backward on the spot—

Shhk!

Unohana Retsu’s blade slashed through the air where his neck had been just a moment ago.

Dodging her strike, Kaelith straightened again and continued studying the red orb.

He raised a foot—just as a blast of energy from Sōgyo no Kotowari flew past the space his leg had been in.

“A fire-breathing little—”

“For crying out loud! Can I get five seconds to think?!”

A throbbing vein popped on Kaelith’s forehead as he turned around.

Standing before him was Love Aikawa, both hands raised with his massive black club poised to strike.

Kaelith threw a punch—

Triple Layer—Ikkotsu!!

Boom!!

In Aikawa’s shocked eyes, Kaelith’s fist shattered the spiked club into dust.

The force of the punch didn’t stop there—it drove straight into his body.

Love tried to summon his spiritual pressure to withstand the impact, but it only lasted for barely two seconds.

Under the stunned gaze of the Quincy father and son watching nearby, Love Aikawa let out a distorted howl.

Then his entire body grotesquely swelled and exploded into a gore-drenched firework.

Ishida Ryūken: “…”

Even though Kaelith said this was a fake, judging from the fight just now, this guy was clearly Captain-class.

And he was taken out in one move?

They all knew Kaelith’s power was absurd—but this was downright outrageous…

Just like Gin, Love also dropped a red orb upon death.

Kaelith rubbed his chin.

To be honest, these red orbs looked strangely appetizing.

Kind of wanted a taste.

While he was hesitating—

“If you’re thinking about tasting that thing, I suggest you don’t.”

“Oh, Sōsuke!”

Seeing Aizen, Kaelith grinned.

But then he blinked.

“Wait a minute—how did you know what I was thinking just now?”

“It was written all over your face.”

Aizen’s voice was calm, unbothered even amid the chaos of battle.

He held out two red orbs and tossed them to Kaelith.

“I checked—these are modified souls.”

“Over two hundred years ago, Sōya Azashiro spearheaded a Vanguard Project that aimed to create fearless shock troops using things like this to purge Hueco Mundo.”

“From my research, all project data was destroyed under the oversight of the Central 46. Even the Tsunayashiro Clan has no surviving records.”

“It’s hard to imagine someone could still use this tech to manufacture modified souls.”

Hearing that, Kaelith mulled it over for a few seconds.

Then suddenly went, “Ah!”

“So that’s what this is… I get it now!”

These red orbs had felt familiar, but he hadn’t made the connection.

Once Aizen mentioned modified souls, Kaelith immediately thought of Kon.

And that brought back a certain arc.

Seeing the light go on in Kaelith’s eyes, Aizen perked up.

“You remembered something?”

Kaelith smirked. “I’ve pieced together the whole backstory now.”

Though he normally hated Kaelith’s smugness, Aizen decided to endure it for the sake of intelligence on the Vanguard Project.

“Go on.”

With Kyōraku, Ulquiorra, and others clashing in the background, Aizen pulled out a small notebook, ready to take notes.

If Kaelith gave him the old “I forgot the beginning, middle, and end” routine, he’d show him what real memory erasure looked like.

Kaelith stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

Then said:

“There was a green-haired girl. Great figure, beautiful face. Her intro was a nude scene, super impactful.”

“?”

Aizen paused, pen hovering in confusion.

What nonsense was this?

Kaelith kept going:

“The villain also had green hair—or wait, maybe it was half green, half yellow. Real unique hairstyle.”

“He kept trying to capture the girl, and though I forget why, let’s just guess it was to destroy Soul Society.”

“I mean, that’s usually what villains are after anyway.”

Aizen: “…”

“Let me think a little more.”

Kaelith sat cross-legged and began drawing circles over his head with his index finger.

It was the Invading Army Arc—an anime-original story. He’d figured it wouldn’t appear in this world, so he’d basically forgotten it.

Now that he thought about it, Kōga was an anime-only character too, and he had appeared.

So the arc’s presence made sense.

Problem was, the arc had been a mess.

He’d watched it on 2x speed back then, and barely remembered anything beyond the girl’s figure.

Oh, and the OP was nice—he had it in his old MP3 for a while.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

“I remember now…”

“The villain’s Zanpakutō was ridiculously broken, like full-on cheat mode.”

“He could absorb all of someone’s techniques and throw them back.”

“Not just that—he could even create a time-frozen space to store incoming attacks and release them later.”

“Man, if I had that Zanpakutō, beating sensei would be a cakewalk.”

Hearing the description, Aizen looked thoughtful.

If Kaelith wasn’t exaggerating, that Zanpakutō was indeed troublesome.

Still, no matter how strong the ability, it depended on spiritual pressure and skill.

Like Neliel’s Cero Doble—great in theory, but she still couldn’t beat Starrk and Lilynette.

They fired faster than she could swallow.

After sorting through Kaelith’s rambling, Aizen felt satisfied. Despite the detours, the information was valuable. Especially the description of the mastermind’s appearance.

Half-yellow, half-green hair—even in the diverse world of Soul Society, that stood out. Once he returned, it wouldn’t take half a day to narrow down the suspect.

He closed his notebook and turned to Kaelith, about to suggest they head back together— But before he could speak, Kaelith clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Sōsuke, no time to lose. We need to hurry back to Soul Society!”

“What?” Aizen frowned.

With serious expression, Kaelith declared:

“The green-haired girl hasn’t shown up here in the world of the living. That means she’s probably still in danger.”

“We’ve got to move now and rescue her!”

Aizen shot him a cold look.

All this chaos, and all you’re thinking about is the girl?

Shrugging off Kaelith’s hand, he shunpo’d over to the fake Komamura.

Seeing Aizen, the copy flinched.

It roared, “Roar! Ten—”

“Too slow.”

Aizen’s blade flashed diagonally upward.

A spurt of blood erupted—the fake Komamura collapsed.

Meanwhile, Kaelith had already reached the copy of Unohana.

Seeing him, she looked genuinely excited.

Though she was just a replica, her mind and personality were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

She had a primal urge to make Kaelith hers.

Ignoring the ongoing fight with Kyōraku, she lunged at him.

Her eyes were wide, brimming with a strange light.

In her memories, she’d had a grand, unforgettable battle with this man.

Though she couldn’t recall the full details as a copy, she wanted to recreate it now.

She was stronger than the original—surely, she could satisfy him more.

Besides, based on what little she did recall, the real Unohana had been regularly sparring with Kaelith in recent years.

They were closely matched.

She always lost—but only just.

Maybe she, being the superior version, could win.

Brimming with excitement and killing intent, she slashed down—

But before the blade could land, Kaelith punched straight through her chest.

Splurt!!

She coughed blood.

Kaelith withdrew his fist, burning the blood clean with Rixiang Jimie.

Then turned to leave.

On the ground, she rasped:

“Why… why…”

“My original… could spar with you… as an equal…”

Kaelith stopped and turned, wearing a deadpan expression.

“The real one is my dear Retsu. Of course I hold back with her.”

“But you? Even if you look the same, fight the same, and remember the same—you’re not her.”

“You’re a stranger to me.”

“So why should I hold back?”

With that, he turned and sauntered back toward Aizen, grinning.

“Sōsuke! Did you see that glorious one-punch finish?!”

“Yeah yeah… go stand over there and be quiet.”

As Kaelith laughed and Aizen sighed, Unohana’s vision faded to black.

Her body crumbled—another artificial soul orb dropped to the ground, which Kaelith lazily summoned into his hand.

Only Ukitake Jūshirō remained.

But stunned by Kaelith’s overwhelming power, he faltered—Kyōraku seized the moment and finished him off.

Shiba Isshin, Hirako Shinji, Ichimaru Gin, Ukitake Jūshirō, Komamura Sajin, Unohana Retsu—

Six Captain-class foes taken down in one battle. Six modified souls collected.

Kaelith gazed at the glowing red orbs in his hand—round, glossy, strangely appetizing.

They looked like some kind of elixir.

But remembering their true nature—artificial souls—his appetite faded.

With the battle done, Kaelith returned to Kurosaki Masaki and reinserted his spiritual energy.

But as soon as it entered her body, he clicked his tongue.

He had almost fully extracted Hollow White. Just a few more minutes would’ve completed it.

But the interruption from the modified souls had forced him to stop halfway.

Taking advantage of the pause, Hollow White had completely fused with Masaki.

Aizen came over and checked her condition.

Isshin and Ryūken watched nervously.

After a moment’s thought, Aizen shook his head.

“The fusion is too complete—there’s no quick fix.”

“What’s urgent now is dealing with the modified souls.”

“If the enemy really has an army of fake Shinigami built from these, then Soul Society is in serious trouble.”

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