Chapter 112: Yammy's Arm

Please be advised that updates will be irregular from now until the end of July. I hope for your understanding.

After handing Grimmjow over to Ichigo, Chojiro did not linger. He was far more concerned about the situation involving Hitsugaya and the others.

There were three Espada stationed there, while his own side had only one captain and two lieutenant-level Shinigami whose powers were restricted, plus one lieutenant. They stood absolutely no chance of victory.

According to the original sequence of events, Urahara Kisuke was supposed to intervene, and under normal circumstances, Chojiro would not have been overly worried. However, their arrival had occurred half a month earlier than his intelligence had indicated. To be safe, Chojiro decided to head over there himself to stabilize the situation.

"Hahahaha!"

With a powerful flex of his massive arms, Yammy shattered the ice covering his body. He looked triumphantly at the pale-haired brat before him and burst into laughter.

"What is this? It’s so chilly~~~"

Shaking off the remaining ice chunks and flexing his body, Yammy cracked his knuckles, the sound popping sharply.

"Tsk..."

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth. Even though he had not released his Bankai, he was currently in a state where his power limitations had been removed. How could a full-power Shikai strike fail to injure him?

"Hahahaha! Even though we are both '10s,' the gap between us seems to be quite large, doesn't it?"

Yammy smirked at Hitsugaya, then clenched his fist, causing a sizable ball of light to manifest in his palm.

"!!!"

"Die!"

"Boom!"

A massive red Cero shot directly toward Hitsugaya. If he failed to dodge, a body as small and slender as Hitsugaya’s would likely be crippled by a single hit.

"Ugh..."

Hitsugaya hurriedly swung his blade, creating a stream of ice to block the red Cero. However, the two forces seemed evenly matched, pressing against each other in mid-air, neither able to completely overwhelm the other.

"Boom!"

Finally, the ice stream and the Cero reached a critical threshold, exploding in the air before dissipating into nothingness.

"Bang."

On the other side, Ayasegawa, who was battling the newly promoted Sixth Espada, Luppi, was knocked back by a strike from Luppi's sleeve. Ikkaku and Matsumoto showed no intention of interfering.

"So—an—noy—ing—"

Drawing out the syllables, Luppi shook his head impatiently.

"I say, wouldn't it be better if all four of you came at me at once? Why not just leave that captain Yammy is fighting to me as well?"

"We aren't interested."

Ikkaku coldly rejected Luppi’s proposal. According to the code of the Eleventh Division, the golden rule of combat was that no one was allowed to intervene. Whether it was his own fight or someone else’s, interference was strictly forbidden until a winner was decided.

Since Ayasegawa had stepped forward alone, Ikkaku would not—and would not allow anyone else to—intervene until he either killed Luppi or was killed by him.

"So—an—noying... Yammy!"

"!"

Yammy, who was in a standoff with Hitsugaya, heard Luppi call him. He turned his head toward the arrogant-looking young man.

"Leave that little boy to me. I want to finish them all off at once."

"Huh? What are you joking about? I haven't even...!!!"

Yammy was about to reject Luppi’s suggestion, but before he could finish his sentence, another white-clad figure suddenly intervened, slamming into Yammy’s massive frame and driving him away in another direction.

"I'll leave that side to you, Captain Hitsugaya!"

Having finally arrived, Chojiro immediately drew Yammy toward himself, leaving Luppi to be handled by Hitsugaya and the others.

As for Wonderweiss?

That creature, devoid of any reason, posed little threat for the moment, despite possessing power on the level of an Espada.

"Thud!"

Knocking Yammy back, Chojiro came to a stop and stood face-to-face with the giant.

"Oh? I recognize you. I heard your name from Szayelaporro..."

Although it was just a glance, Yammy immediately identified Chojiro. When he had gone to Szayelaporro to have his arm treated, he had heard plenty about this man—though it was always spoken through gritted teeth.

"Szayelaporro? What a troublesome fellow..."

Chojiro frowned. Although he likely wouldn't have any further dealings with that perverted scientist, hearing that he was still obsessed with him sent a chill down his spine.

"Your arm seems to have recovered quite well."

Taking a casual glance at Yammy’s perfectly restored arm, Chojiro changed the subject.

"Gaha! Come to think of it, I only have an impression of you because of when I was getting my arm fixed at Szayelaporro’s. But you're only at the lieutenant level—don't get too full of yourself..."

Casting a disdainful look at Chojiro, Yammy let out a malicious laugh.

"That guy might be the Eighth, but in terms of pure combat power, he’s not even as strong as I am now. Making that guy look so pathetic in his lab wasn't exactly a great feat."

"Is that so? Then, compared to him, shouldn't you, the Tenth, be even more of a fraud?"

"Tsk... you’ve got a sharp tongue."

Yammy didn't care how Chojiro knew he was the Tenth; such analytical thinking did not exist in his mind. For him, destroying the man in front of him was the only priority.

"Die."

"!!"

A ball of light quickly enveloped Yammy’s fist, which he then launched toward Chojiro.

"Bang-boom!"

The Bala exploded at the spot where Chojiro had been standing, but this projectile, moving twenty times faster than a Cero, still failed to hit its mark.

*So fast... even faster than I imagined...*

Chojiro, having dodged the attack, narrowed his eyes. Having experienced the speed of a Bala firsthand, he realized his previous assessment had been too low. While the destructive power wasn't immense, that terrifying speed was enough to cause serious trouble for anyone.

"Hahahaha! You dodged it?"

Yammy didn't care that Chojiro had evaded his attack; he simply turned and fired another Bala.

"Bang-boom!"

Having learned from the first encounter, Chojiro successfully dodged again. However, it was clear that Yammy had no intention of letting the man in the white haori off so easily.

Using Sonido, Yammy appeared behind Chojiro and raised his restored right hand, slamming it down toward Chojiro’s head.

"Bang."

Sensing the wind pressure from behind, Chojiro immediately turned and blocked the surprise attack with his hand. But the moment he made contact with Yammy’s fist, Chojiro suddenly felt as if his arm were about to explode from the inside. His entire arm was knocked aside, and he used the momentum of the strike to retreat rapidly.

"This... this is..."

Chojiro stared at Yammy—or rather, at Yammy’s arm—in shock. He knew that sensation very well, but how was it possible? How could Yammy use such a technique?

"This is..."

Because of his astonishment, even Chojiro’s voice carried a faint, imperceptible tremor.

"Itto Kaso!!"