"Taste this, Shishoku!'"
"'Run, Itegumo!'"
Kana and Isane released their Zanpakutōs simultaneously, creating a chance for the medical team to escape.
They were en route to the World of the Living for support, but unexpectedly encountered Szayelaporro, returning from the time stream inside the Dangai.
They had no choice but to stay behind and deal with this menace.
"Hehehe... seems I misunderstood," Szayelaporro's lips curled upward. "I thought you'd brought that group of small fry to block me."
"It's been quite some time, hasn't it? Your Reiatsu has improved noticeably since last time. But..." Szayelaporro easily evaded the incoming slash and continued, "It's still not enough!"
Kana launched a flurry of strikes, but Szayelaporro dodged them all.
By now, the other Shinigami had evacuated the corridor, leaving only Kana and Isane to confront Szayelaporro.
Szayelaporro ignored the others.
He held grudges. Were it not for his strength, he would've been torn apart by the time vortex.
And Kana was one of the culprits who sent him there.
"I'll shatter your bones, rip them out one by one, then piece them back together—again and again, ten thousand times!" Szayelaporro grinned sadistically.
"Is that so?" Kana smiled faintly. "But I feel like you've gotten weaker. That little fantasy might not come true."
The pressure he once gave off was no longer as overwhelming.
"I've already analyzed your abilities!"
Szayelaporro knew her attacks could dull his senses, so he avoided taking them head-on.
Isane flashed behind him with Shunpo and released a burst of icy mist.
The mist wrapped around him and instantly froze him solid.
But with a wave of his hand, Szayelaporro shattered the ice.
Their Reiatsu difference was vast— Itegumo couldn't hurt him.
Boom!
"You think something that basic can hurt me?"
He slapped Isane hard on the shoulder, sending her flying.
Thud—
Kana appeared instantly, blocking a whip-like strike from one of Szayelaporro's white tentacles.
"Isane!" Kana was concerned.
"Cough— I'm okay... I can still use Kaidō," Isane coughed as she tried to stand. Her left arm was broken. She immediately began healing herself.
Unohana hadn't promoted her to vice-captain just for her Kaidō potential.
After over twenty years of training, her talent had fully matured.
Seconds later, she stood up again.
"Oh~ That's Kaidō, huh? Interesting..." Szayelaporro watched her heal, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "To recover from a bone fracture that fast—impressive, even among Shinigami!"
"I don't want to kill you anymore." He grinned viciously. "Such excellent material is hard to find!"
While he spoke, Kana had already resheathed her blade.
Shing!
Her sword flashed out in a streak of blue, transforming into a continuous stream of glowing strikes.
"Senmai-Oroshi: Flowlight!"
Szayelaporro had suffered from this technique before and didn't dare block it directly.
If she landed too many hits, it could dull his senses—or worse, awaken the sealed consciousness within his mind.
Several white bone tentacles whipped forward to intercept the streaks of Flowlight, causing a rapid clash of metal-like impacts.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The white tentacles were made of exoskeletal bone. Even under the effects of Shishoku, they didn't affect his core body.
"The same trick won't work twice!" Szayelaporro sneered. "Still not running? Waiting for a miracle? The Kōtotsu just passed by—there's no chance it's coming back!"
He had been sucked into the time stream by the Kōtotsu and emerged near the same anomaly. He knew exactly where it was.
Slice!
Flowlight finally broke through the tentacle defenses, leaving a bloody gash on his face—and freezing his grin.
"Hehehe... your sword's gotten faster." His eyes burned with fury.
Last time, she hadn't even been able to make him bleed.
Now she had.
He raised his hand, terrible Reiatsu gathering at his fingertip.
Szayelaporro was powerful—even in Hueco Mundo, few could match him.
But he was also arrogant, and he'd never taken these two seriously.
Had he been fighting someone his level, he never would've charged a Cero from such close range.
His arrogance would cost him.
Flash!
Kana and Isane appeared on either side of him and swung together.
Slash!
He was hit—left arm gashed, right arm frozen solid.
Szayelaporro realized his mistake and canceled the Cero.
His tentacles whipped out like lashes, forcing them back.
He glanced at his arm—the ice wasn't fading quickly.
"I got him frozen!" Isane shouted.
She hadn't tried to freeze his entire body—only focused Itegumo's power onto his arm.
"Got it!"
Kana knew it wouldn't last long and moved fast, sheathing her sword.
She bent low and vanished.
Flash-flash-flash-flash!
Four Kana silhouettes appeared around him in a blur, trapping him.
Szayelaporro sensed danger, but his frozen arm was useless. He only had one good arm left—he couldn't block attacks from four directions.
Two tentacles lashed at Kana's copies while two others shielded his body.
But the four Kanas vanished—and reappeared in a single direction.
"Quadrant Shun Strike!"
Slash!
"Aaaagh!!!"
Szayelaporro clutched his neck, blood spraying, eyes wide in disbelief.
Kana crouched low, warily watching him while massaging her ankle.
Shun Strike was a burst-style technique—and using it four times in a row had torn at her tendons. She could barely stand.
Flash!
Isane appeared behind her instantly.
Her glowing Kaidō lit up Kana's ankle.
"Thanks... much better..."
Kana's tense face eased. The pain had nearly dropped her.
"...Something's wrong," she muttered.
She noticed Isane's tight expression and turned to look—
Szayelaporro was still clutching his neck, screaming.
"AAAAAAH!!!"
Suddenly, he twisted his head and gave a crooked grin.
"Hehehe... just kidding~"
"Thanks to you two, I've learned a healing technique. Though the principle is a bit different..." He raised his hand, glowing faintly. "It activates the Hollow's regenerative ability."
Szayelaporro was a scientific genius. After watching Isane heal with Kaidō, he'd quickly developed a Hollow-specific healing move.
"This is bad..." Kana's face darkened. A Hollow that could learn new moves mid-fight was terrifying.
Somehow, his frozen arm had already recovered.
"Now then..."
Szayelaporro spread his arms. Four tentacles shot toward them.
Kana parried one aimed at Isane's waist, but a second wave struck immediately.
She was caught by a tentacle, and its sac began to swell.
"Hadō #54: Haien!"
Isane raised her left hand. A disc of fiery Reishi struck the tentacle.
It recoiled, and Kana broke free.
"Too late~"
Szayelaporro smiled. A sac on his tentacle burst, releasing a palm-sized cloth doll.
It landed perfectly in his hand.
"Did I mention? My ability also affects the senses~" He showed off the doll arrogantly. "You know what this is?"
Kana's eyes widened. The doll looked just like her.
A terrible feeling surged through her—she slashed instantly with Flowlight.
Slash!
The beam pierced Szayelaporro's abdomen.
"This is a control doll. With it, I control your senses~" He ignored the wound and flicked the doll's head.
Thump!
Kana felt a tremendous shock between her eyes—and blacked out.
"Oops. Guess I hit too hard... I wanted to play a bit more." Szayelaporro sighed in mock regret and casually dropped the doll—then stomped on it.
Crack! Crack!
"KANAAA!"
Isane rushed to heal her.
Szayelaporro squatted beside them.
"Why are you just staring?" he asked with a smile. "Heal her! I want to see what else you can do!"
He was genuinely fascinated by Shinigami healing arts. He had all the patience in the world.
Isane was drenched in sweat, heart pounding, but still reached into her Reishi Pocket for emergency medicine.
Suddenly, her hand was empty.
She looked up—the pill was already in Szayelaporro's hand.
He popped it into his mouth and chewed.
"Hmm... activates Reiatsu to heal spirit tissue. Quite similar to my method."
Isane gritted her teeth and quickly took out another pill. This one made it through—she fed it to Kana.
"Seems more effective on Shinigami. Kaidō probably helps."
Szayelaporro studied Kana's color returning. "But... as I said..."
He retrieved the doll. "I said I'd crush your bones ten thousand times!"
He still held a grudge against Kana and wouldn't let her go easily.
Healing her was just so she could suffer more.
"Letting you faint was too kind. Let's wake you up first..."
He grinned. "Now, which part should I hit to wake you?"
Just then, the shadow beneath Isane writhed.
A dark figure erupted from it.
WHAM!
Szayelaporro's face contorted from a devastating punch.
The doll flew from his hand—right into the shadow's.
It tossed the doll to Isane.
It was Nanatsuki's shadow—left behind as insurance.
As a medic, Isane lacked combat power. Nanatsuki wasn't about to send her out unprotected.
But his main body was also in combat, so the shadow hadn't responded immediately.
"Sensei?!"
Tears welled in Isane's eyes. Szayelaporro had pushed her to her limits—seeing Nanatsuki's shadow appear released all her tension at once.
"This shadow doesn't have much Reiatsu. Take Kana and go," the shadow ordered.
Szayelaporro hadn't yet split into clones. He was already on par with Baraggan.
But this was just a remote projection—the shadow couldn't supply continuous Reiatsu and wasn't capable of killing Szayelaporro.
"Understood!"
Isane picked Kana up princess-style to treat her while moving.
"You're not getting away!!!"
Szayelaporro roared and got up.
WHAM! "Urk—!"
A blow to the stomach sent him reeling, retching.
The shadow's attack had cut off his pursuit.
It couldn't deal lasting damage, but if all its Reiatsu was focused...
The blade suddenly gleamed—lightning and fire dancing across it.
"What the hell?!"
Szayelaporro barely had time to register it—when the thunderfire slash struck.