The intense pain and ultimate humiliation finally shattered Tokinada's last shred of sanity. The instinct for survival and the madness of revenge mingled together.
His remaining intact left hand shot up, the fingertips glowing with a dangerous crimson spiritual pressure.
He wanted, in this state, to desperately end things with Tosen, or at least take someone down with him.
However, his incantation hadn't even begun.
'Bakudo #1, Sai.'
Setsuna's calm voice sounded. He didn't even raise his hand, merely moving with a thought.
Shwip!
Several of the most basic, simplest yellow Reiatsu Restraints materialized out of thin air, precisely and swiftly wrapping around Tokinada's left hand, neck, and torso, completely dispersing and binding the faint Reiatsu he had just begun to gather.
An elite of the prestigious Five Great Nobles, before Setsuna, couldn't even break free from the most basic Bakudo. He was trussed up like livestock awaiting slaughter, only able to futilely writhe and wail on the ground.
"This..." Komamura watched, his mind shaken.
He knew Setsuna was strong. He had heard of Setsuna's feat of matching high-level Hado with only Hado #1. But he hadn't expected Setsuna's Bakudo to be this formidable as well.
Using only the most basic [Sai] to suppress an elite noble like Tokinada so completely… this level of exquisite, ultimate control over Reiatsu was truly beyond his imagination.
But following closely was a deeper confusion and the piercing pain of self-reflection.
'I once vowed to change the world's view of the Wolfman Clan, to cleanse our tarnished name, to earn respect through justice and loyalty... But now, I've become an 'accomplice' in assaulting a noble, witnessing and tacitly permitting such brutal vigilante justice.'
'What exactly should the 'justice' I seek look like? If the law cannot punish evil, is fighting violence with violence right or wrong? From the very beginning, has the path I chosen strayed off course?'
While Komamura's inner conflict raged, Tokinada's wails continued without cease. He writhed on the ground like a worm.
As if grasping at a final straw, his bloodshot eyes snapped towards Yoruichi, who had been silently standing by, and he screamed hoarsely:
"Shihoin Yoruichi, do you see this? You are also one of the Five Great Nobles! Are you just going to stand by and watch these lowborns humiliate and mutilate the dignity of a noble like this? Stop them! Save me! Your Shihoin Clan and my Tsunayashiro Clan are closely linked! Are you going to betray the noble cause?"
Yoruichi's eyes held not a shred of sympathy, only undisguised disgust and contempt. "Tsunayashiro Tokinada, don't lump me together with scum like you. I, Shihoin Yoruichi, am ashamed to be associated with human garbage like you, who wear the cloak of nobility but are rotten and foul inside."
"Noble glory is earned through protection and responsibility, not by bullying the weak and murdering your kin to maintain your pitiful and pathetic sense of superiority. Your actions defile the name of all true nobles!"
These words, like a final verdict, completely severed Tokinada's last delusion.
The final glimmer of hope in his eyes died, leaving only utter despair and venom.
Tosen tortured Tokinada for twenty minutes before exhausting his strength. After all, he was just an ordinary soul from the Rukongai, not even a Shinigami.
Unable to resist his venomous tongue, Tokinada sneered, "Can't even muster the strength to retaliate? Truly useless!"
Hearing this, Komamura, who had been lost in confusion, solidified his resolve.
Komamura stood up and took the blind man's staff from Tosen's hand. "Tosen, it's my turn now."
Looking at Komamura, whose physique was as sturdy as a giant tower, Tokinada's face changed color.
If Tosen had tormented him to the point of wishing for death, he couldn't imagine what kind of suffering Komamura would inflict.
Tokinada began to regret his venomous tongue. "Wait, you need to think clearly..."
Komamura pulled out the blind man's staff. Tokinada's heart relaxed for a moment, but in the next instant, he saw flames ignite on the tip of the staff.
"Wait, what are you trying to... Owowwwwaaaahhh!!!"
Tokinada let out another agonizing scream, one that would bring tears to the eyes of any listener. To the ears of those present, however, it was naturally quite melodious.
Listening to these screams, rising and falling with a seemingly rhythmic cadence, Tosen's heart felt as if it were being redeemed.
He turned towards Setsuna's direction. Though he couldn't see, he bowed deeply. His voice, hoarse from his earlier shouting and intense emotion, now carried a peacefulness born of release.
"Thank you, Captain Chiaki. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."
Although he didn't know Setsuna's exact identity, he had heard Komamura mention 'Captain Chiaki'.
Setsuna looked at this young man, covered in blood and dirt, despondent yet seeming to have broken some kind of shackle. He spoke solemnly, "Tosen Kaname, if the justice you yearn for does not exist in this world, if the existing rules and institutions cannot shelter the good, cannot punish true evil..."
"Then why not follow me, and together, create a new 'justice' of our own for this twisted world?"
Tosen's body shook violently.
He 'looked' at Setsuna. Though before him remained eternal darkness, these words were like a beam of light tearing through thick clouds.
"I..." His throat was dry. Feelings of inferiority and practical considerations surged within him. "I am just a blind man from the Rukongai, not even an ordinary Shinigami. What can someone like me possibly do?"
Setsuna smiled. "What does it matter if your eyes cannot see? Though you are blind physically, your heart has never been blind. You could see Kakyo's kindness, you could see Tsunayashiro Tokinada's hypocrisy and cruelty. Amidst the darkness, you still persistently sought the truth. This makes you countless times brighter than many who have functioning eyes yet turn a blind eye to injustice, or even collude with it."
Setsuna's tone became distant, recalling Asmita from the Saint Seiya World, another naturally blind powerhouse. "During my travels in the Living World, I also befriended a blind monk. His world had no color, but his 'mind's eye' could observe the world… a realm nearing that of the gods and Buddhas."
"Tosen, your world may differ from others, but that by no means makes you inferior or powerless. On the contrary, it might allow you to perceive some more essential things that ordinary people overlook."
In Setsuna's view, given Tosen's experiences, he might possibly become the second person, besides himself, to comprehend the Eighth Sense.
"Join my 11th Division," Setsuna extended a formal invitation, his gaze sincere. "Here, you may not find the perfect justice of your ideals. But here, at the very least, we are willing to give everyone who refuses to accept the status quo, who wants to change and create, an opportunity, strength, and..."
His gaze swept over the dying, venomous-eyed Tokinada on the ground. "...the confidence to face the darkness without kneeling to power, to stand with your back straight."
Tosen was immensely moved. He knelt on one knee. "I am willing to become the blade in your hand!"