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Chapter 335 B
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 15:05:01 +0000 UTCChapter 335
2-in-1 chapter:
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“Hungry, hungry aaaahhhhh!!!!”
Inside the life-support pod, Shinji Hirako let out a miserable scream.
White foam gushed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
The next moment, a terrifying surge of spiritual pressure erupted violently!
The tubes inserted into Shinji’s body couldn’t absorb such an enormous amount of Reiryoku in time and were instantly blown off.
The pod shattered, nutrient fluid splashing everywhere.
A barrier of spiritual pressure rose in front of Sōsuke, blocking all the flying liquid.
Crack!
Before everyone’s eyes, Shinji stepped onto the broken glass of the pod.
A helmet-like mask appeared on his face.
Though it lasted only a few seconds, Shinji had fully entered Hollowfication.
Sōsuke rubbed his chin.
“Hmm... even unwilling, he can enter the state this quickly?”
“If used properly, this might serve as a control ability.”
When facing multiple enemies of equal rank, suddenly producing the Hōgyoku and forcing one or two into Hollowfication would surely cause massive chaos.
As for the exact method, future experiments would confirm it.
Sōsuke’s mood brightened.
By now, Shinji had fully adapted.
With a loud roar, he drew his Zanpakutō and charged straight at Sōsuke.
“Sōsuke-sama!”
Without hesitation, Harribel used Sonído to block Shinji’s path.
If Sōsuke were injured under her watch, she’d have no face to meet Kaelith.
Several other Arrancar also rushed forward to protect Sōsuke.
Yet before they could react, they noticed Sōsuke had somehow already moved ahead of them.
Facing the unstoppable Hollowfied Shinji, Sōsuke simply raised his Zanpakutō.
First, he flicked Shinji’s attacking blade aside.
Then, he pressed downward—
BOOM!!!
Hollowfied Shinji slammed into the ground.
A terrifying spiritual pressure, like an orbital weapon, descended from the endless sky, pinning him down forcefully.
Centered on Shinji’s body, a two-meter diameter pillar of Reiryoku held him completely immobile.
No one else around even sensed a thing.
Gulp.
A few Arrancar couldn’t help swallowing nervously.
Powerful Reiryoku wasn’t new to them. Starrk, Baraggan—their Reiryoku was far beyond normal standards.
But to control spiritual pressure so precisely, like a crafted work of art, that took astonishing control.
As expected of Kaelith’s close friend!
“ROARRR!!! UGH AAAAHHH!!!”
Pinned to the ground, Shinji struggled wildly.
But under Sōsuke’s spiritual pressure and Zanpakutō’s suppression, even standing up was a distant dream.
Gazing down at Shinji, Sōsuke pondered for a few seconds.
Then, he crouched down and began working on Shinji’s head with his Zanpakutō...
……
…
Shinji had a nightmare.
In it, Kaelith had become the master of all three realms, sitting atop a lofty throne, laughing wickedly.
Below him rampaged countless muscle-bound men.
Among them were Soul Reapers, Arrancar, and even Quincy.
On the throne, Kaelith raised his right hand, pointing skyward, his left hand placed over his chest, declaring—
“From today onward! All the world’s beautiful girls shall be part of this king’s harem. Everyone else must marry muscle-bound men!”
Shinji’s pupils trembled.
He turned to flee, but after only a few steps, a rough, large hand grabbed his shoulder.
Terrified, he turned back to see Sōsuke—his entire body rippling with muscle—smiling eerily at him.
“Captain Hirako, where do you think you’re going?”
“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
With a heart-wrenching scream, Shinji abruptly opened his eyes.
After a brief moment of terror and existential doubt, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It was just a dream... thank goodness.
Still trembling, he assessed his surroundings.
It seemed like a hospital, decorated similarly to Squad Four’s style.
White bed sheets, a faint scent of disinfectant.
He frowned and rubbed his temples.
If he remembered correctly, Sōsuke had modified him somehow...
His pupils shrank.
Hollowfication!
A term he had never heard before, yet which surfaced clearly in his mind. He trembled slightly, placing his hand on his forehead.
Then, he pulled down.
A layer of bony texture, unlike anything he’d felt before, appeared across his face.
As Hollowfication took hold, he sensed his Reiryoku surging.
The Hollow-infused energy boosted his strength, layer upon layer. Since becoming a captain, it had been over a hundred years since Shinji had felt such exhilarating growth in power.
For a moment, he even forgot his current predicament and felt a hint of excitement.
But he quickly calmed down.
This was Hollow power... as a Soul Reaper, why did he possess Hollow power?
What had Sōsuke done to him?
Then, a more pressing concern arose.
Now that he had become a half-Soul Reaper, half-Hollow being, would the Soul Society tolerate such a thing?
If discovered, what would Central 46 do?
What would Captain-Commander Yamamoto do?
Slide!
As Shinji rapidly pondered, the infirmary door slid open, and Sōsuke appeared.
Seeing Shinji, he smiled.
“Good morning, Captain Hirako. Looks like you slept well.”
“Sōsuke...” Shinji gritted his teeth.
Sōsuke chuckled.
“Congratulations, Captain Hirako. You survived the Hollowfication procedure.”
“You should already feel it—your strength has greatly increased. Of course, as the price for this power, you also bear the risk behind it.”
“If Seireitei, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, or even the Royal Guard finds out you violated the taboo to gain such power... what do you think they’d do?”
“Not just them. Your subordinates, your allies... they likely won’t accept someone who might turn into a Hollow at any moment. Isn’t this feeling—waking up to suddenly become a public enemy—quite amusing?”
Amusing my ass!!!
Shinji glared furiously at Sōsuke. He’d only ended up like this because of that bastard!
Looking at Sōsuke, he suddenly recalled the dream he had just woken from.
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
Sōsuke walked over and glanced at the monitors beside the bed.
“Hmm... heart rate normal, some fluctuation in brainwaves. Try not to get too excited—it’s bad for your health.”
“All your metrics look good. I have to admit, Captain Hirako, you turned out to be quite an excellent test subject. I should’ve used you earlier.”
After making some notes, he nodded.
“All right, you’re free to go.”
“?”
Hearing this, Shinji blinked in confusion.
“Go? You’re letting me leave?”
“What else? You want to stay?” Sōsuke looked surprised. “If so, I don’t mind. I happen to have a few new projects that could use a test subject...”
“No, I mean—aren’t you afraid I’ll report everything to the Forty-Six—”
Before he could finish, Shinji’s face darkened.
Damn it—the Forty-Six was backed by the Five Great Noble Houses.
Except for one family that stayed out of politics, the other four were already aligned with Kaelith.
Reporting to the Captain-Commander... even if he believed Shinji, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to open conflict.
Even the Royal Guard might not offer much support. Their duty was to guard the Soul King’s Palace—what happened in Hueco Mundo wasn’t really their concern.
Damn it. Despite holding vital intelligence, he was powerless to act!
As his frustration peaked, Sōsuke spoke:
“It’s all right, Captain Hirako. Though few can help you, you can still fight alone—aiming to defeat Kaelith and me.”
“As your subordinate, I’ll support you.”
“Honestly, I’m quite curious to see how far you can go.”
Shinji felt a surge of anger.
Did this bastard see him as some kind of toy he could play with at will?
Then Sōsuke added:
“Of course, if you keep jumping around causing trouble, that would be annoying. To make things more interesting, I’ll establish a penalty rule.”
“You can scheme against us, but every time I catch you, I’ll shave your head.”
“Like right now.”
He suddenly pulled out a mirror.
Seeing his reflection, Shinji felt like cursing Komamura to the high heavens.
At some point, his head had been shaved again!
“Damn it... so you really did it on purpose last time!”
“Hehe, I don’t know what Captain Hirako is talking about. When you leave, just ask the ‘gatekeeper.’ Someone will escort you back to the Soul Society.”
With that, Sōsuke put away the mirror and turned to leave.
At the door, he paused and looked back.
Shinji looked over—and was startled.
Sōsuke’s face bore no smile now, only quiet coldness.
“Captain Hirako.”
“I hope you survive to the end. I’m very curious what expression you’ll show when you see the new world.”
With that, he closed the door and left.
Shinji stood silently for a long time.
……
…
Stepping out of the Garganta and back onto the soil of the Soul Society, Shinji exhaled in relief.
He had thought he’d never return.
Either he’d become Sōsuke’s permanent test subject or be killed outright.
He hadn’t expected Sōsuke would actually release him. He recalled what the green-haired female Arrancar had told him in the Garganta—
“Captain Hirako, if I’m not mistaken, the reason Sōsuke-sama let you go is because of Kaelith-sama.”
“Kaelith?” Shinji frowned. “Why?”
“Because... Kaelith-sama is gentle. He doesn’t want the path he treads to be paved with other’s blood.”
Shinji scoffed.
“Kaelith may be like that, but Sōsuke wouldn’t care. I know that guy too well. To achieve his goals, he wouldn’t blink at killing not just me, but the entire Gotei 13.”
Nelliel shook her head.
“Sōsuke-sama truly doesn’t care.”
“But he cares about Kaelith-sama.”
“I believe that unless he absolutely can’t avoid it, he won’t defy Kaelith-sama’s wishes.”
Shinji clicked his tongue.
As much as he hated to admit it, the Arrancar seemed to have a point. Sōsuke’s behavior really did differ depending on whether Kaelith was present.
He suddenly remembered a movie he had secretly watched during an assignment in the World of the Living.
A little girl and a giant monster had come to understand each other—the monster could destroy everything without care, but would never go against the girl’s will...
No. He couldn’t keep thinking about it. The moment he pictured Kaelith as the little girl and Sōsuke as the monster, he felt like cursing Komamura again.
It should be the other way around...
With a sigh, Shinji returned to Seireitei.
He had been gone for days. Squad Five was probably in chaos.
He needed to think carefully about how to explain his absence.
Upon entering Squad Five, he soon encountered some squad members.
“Captain Hirako!”
Seeing him, they bowed without hesitation.
“Oh, busy?” Shinji grinned. “These past few days... huh?”
Before he could finish, he was surprised to see two squad members turning to leave.
He quickly stopped them.
“Wait. You haven’t seen me for days. Aren’t you curious where I’ve been?”
The two paused, looking confused.
“Captain... have you been gone for a few days?”
“Now that you mention it, I suppose we haven’t seen you lately...”
“I don’t really remember.”
After confirming with each other, one smiled.
“Sorry, Captain. Vice-Captain Sōsuke handled everything, so we didn’t really need to find you.”
“Oh, what were you about to say? Where have you been these past days?”
Shinji: “...”
Under their puzzled stares, he turned and slowly walked away.
As he moved along the long wooden corridor, he ran into another group of squad members.
One of them suddenly exclaimed, “Captain Hirako!”
“Hmm?” Shinji’s eyes lit up.
So someone did care!
With hopeful anticipation, he watched as the squad member excitedly said:
“I didn’t expect it! You’ve taken a liking to the bald look too! I saw you sporting it before—I thought someone had forced you to shave it, but now you’ve chosen it again!”
“I love the bald style too. It’s an honor to share your taste!”
Shinji: “...”
For a brief moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to join Kaelith’s faction and just destroy the world.
After a moment of depression, he clenched his teeth.
Sōsuke... Sōsuke!
He and that bastard were now mortal enemies!
Kaelith was too well-connected to touch—but Sōsuke, Sōsuke Sōsuke—you don’t even have the surname Yurei!
I, Shinji Hirako, will make you pay!!
Comments
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I think the reasoning for Shinji to keep his mouth shut is honestly kinda weak. Still, thanks for the chapter.
