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That afternoon.
Human World.
"Reiji, what exactly do you and that woman mean?" Matsumoto Rangiku waved her fist, her soft, powerless little fist pounding on Reiji's chest.
Aozaki Reiji's escapades outside were something she never interfered with, but there should be a limit. Yoruichi and the others were one thing, but this Tsunayashiro Asaho didn't look like a good person.
"What 'what exactly do you mean'? I don't understand." Aozaki Reiji hugged her tightly, his expression unreadable.
Ichimaru Gin looked at him with a complex expression, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and asked uncertainly,
"Reiji, you're not thinking of killing her here, are you?"
Seeing Reiji purse his lips and remain silent.
Matsumoto Rangiku's anger intensified, her cheeks puffed out, and her eyes filled with tears.
"Reiji, say something!"
"As expected of Ichimaru, a truly accurate guess." Reiji let out a long sigh, stroking the hilt of Shinra Bansho, breaking the silence.
"The time is almost right, that woman is here," he suddenly looked into the distance and said calmly.
That woman?
Matsumoto Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin were stunned.
Reiji didn't say it explicitly, but they both guessed who that person was.
But why?
Weren't the two of them just chatting happily? What made Reiji suddenly want to kill her?
They recalled a small detail.
Ever since they arrived in the Human World, Reiji had been looking into the distance from time to time, as if waiting for something.
Before they could react, Reiji had already released Matsumoto Rangiku, his gaze gradually turning cold.
"Reiji!"
A voice sounded in his ear, and Reiji turned his head to look at the approaching Ichimaru Gin.
The latter pondered for a moment and said solemnly,
"Are you sure you want to go? That's the Tsunayashiro Family, one of the Four Great Noble Clans. No Shinigami would dare to do such a thing."
"And although she is an enemy, now is not the right time to kill her."
"Perhaps we can wait until later to figure something out…"
To kill this young lady of the Tsunayashiro Family.
He couldn't voice his last sentence.
He had never imagined he would have such audacious thoughts.
But after such a thought arose, he was surprisingly of the opinion that it wasn't such a big deal after all.
He truly had been infected by this thoughtless idiot.
Ichimaru Gin shook his head with a bitter smile.
Aozaki Reiji suddenly chuckled,
"Ichimaru, I'm sure I want to go."
"Why?" Ichimaru Gin asked, puzzled.
Reiji smiled, his tone chilling and cold, enunciating each word:
"This is not a whim. I have three reasons to kill her."
"First, as you should have also noticed, she is the backbone of that group of people, which means she is our true enemy."
"Second, she wants to kill me, whether before or after she recognized me, it's always been the case."
"But she is ultimately too young. She reacted immediately upon seeing me, but the killing intent in her eyes towards me, towards us, was completely unconcealable."
"Third, she is too smart. Her willingness to play along with me precisely shows that she is not as crazy as she appears."
"Such a smart person is our enemy. If we miss this opportunity, things will definitely become very troublesome in the future."
Aozaki Reiji grinned almost cruelly.
"Predictable dangers should be nipped in the bud before they even happen."
In the dense forest, the two looked at each other from a distance, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the green leaves, spilling onto their bodies.
Ichimaru Gin, however, felt that the sunlight was even colder than the shade, chilling him to the bone.
Aozaki Reiji's smile grew even wider, almost maniacal.
"Tsunayashiro Family, Four Great Noble Clans, what grand titles."
"But do you know, I've endured them for a long time, I'm sick of these clowns prancing around in front of me!"
"I've never been one to sit idly by. Let's start with this woman!"
His tone suddenly became profound.
"No one dares to do it? Heh, from now on, someone dares!"
At these words, Ichimaru Gin felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his body trembling slightly.
Perhaps it was because Reiji had always been too good to them, treating them with gentleness and indulgence.
He had forgotten, at some point, this man's ferocity and madness.
But it was precisely because of this that he and Matsumoto Rangiku had survived until now.
Their killing techniques were learned from this man. Their first kill was also witnessed by this man.
Ichimaru Gin was still trembling, yet he felt no fear, only an unprecedented excitement.
He clenched his fists tightly, raised his head with a determined gaze, and gritted his teeth:
"I'll go with you."
Aozaki Reiji smiled with satisfaction, as if he had finally gotten the answer he wanted.
However, he directly refused:
"No need, it's more convenient for me to act alone."
"Besides, even if something were to happen to me, Matsumoto Rangiku needs someone to protect her, and this protection has nothing to do with strength."
"With you staying here to look after Matsumoto Rangiku, I can act without any worries."
"I'll be back very soon."
After saying that, Reiji turned and left without hesitation.
It wasn't until Reiji's figure disappeared into the depths of the forest that Ichimaru Gin, who had been standing like a statue, slowly exhaled.
He realized that a layer of cold sweat had seeped from his back at some point.
For "us"…
Recalling the two words Reiji always had on his lips.
He was silent for a moment, then suddenly bowed solemnly towards the depths of the dense forest.
Even though it was already empty there.
Suddenly, Ichimaru Gin unconsciously looked up at the sky.
The sun was bright, shining on the dusty ground, reflecting silver light that dazzled his eyes.
A familiar scene…
Ichimaru Gin froze, lowered his head, and silently looked at his hands, as scolding voices from years past echoed in his ears:
"Pull this brat away! What is he doing?!"
"Damn it! Let go! I warn you not to cause yourself trouble!"
"Because of that new guy, we don't have much food left! And you still dare to steal our stuff!"
He still remembered the pain of being beaten, and the ferocious appearance of the wandering souls holding broken samurai swords, surrounding him.
At that time, he looked up at the only light in the sky, hoping to be like a tree, like a blade of grass, needing only the light from the sky to survive.
"Ugh ah…"
After an unknown amount of time, a scream startled him awake from his dream.
When he came to his senses, the people who had just been baring their fangs and claws were now lying sprawled on the ground, their blood staining the grass red.
A handsome man with long black hair held a blood-stained samurai sword. The blood added a touch of demonic beauty to the man, who resembled a dark sun, emitting a black light that enveloped him.
The handsome man squatted in front of him and said very warmly:
"Kid, are you alright?"
"Silver hair, how rare…"
"To tell you the truth, I used to fantasize about having long silver-white hair myself, preferably with heterochromatic eyes."
"I'd open my eyes and shout 'Amaterasu!', and anyone I looked at would be engulfed in an inextinguishable black flame."
"How about it? Isn't that a great ability?"
"Speaking of which, kid, what's your name?"
"Ichimaru… Ichimaru Gin…" He only opened one eye, because the other eye was already swollen shut.
"…"
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