Chapter 115: The Zen Master

“What…”
Hitsugaya stared with his emerald eyes at the eight pristine white tentacles writhing behind Ruby, utterly at a loss for words.

Previously, the sudden strike from one of Ruby’s tentacles had already thrown him into chaos—not only in speed but in force, pushing his own Great Red Lotus Hyorinmaru to its limits. Yet, to conceal his panic, Hitsugaya feigned calm and mocked Ruby’s attack. To his astonishment, Ruby had just amplified that power eightfold in an instant.

With that eightfold increase, Hitsugaya’s defeat would be but a moment away.

“Well then…”

Ruby slightly lowered her delicate head, a sneer of derision clear on her face.

“This is where we part ways, Captain.”

“Swish!”

Three tentacles shot out from behind her again, rapidly closing in on Hitsugaya, who was still in a defensive posture and unable to retaliate.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Suddenly, three black figures intercepted the tentacles, blocking their advance.

“You…”

Hitsugaya glanced at Matsumoto, Ikkaku, and Ayasegawa, who had stepped in to shield him from Ruby’s assault, and for the moment, he was spared from immediate peril.

“Sorry, Captain, for acting without permission.”
“But given the urgency, let’s not dwell on that, shall we?”
“Failing because of such triviality would be utterly unbecoming.”

“Haha, four against one? That’s totally fine on my end. But…”

Ruby covered her mouth with her sleeve and smiled mischievously, “If you get too careless, it’ll all be over in a flash.”

“!!”

Suddenly, another white tentacle appeared behind the four of them, whipping fiercely toward their unguarded backs. If it landed, aside from Hitsugaya, the other three would likely be immediately incapacitated.

“Snap!”

Out of nowhere, a bone-headed serpent with red fur lunged from the side and bit down on the tentacle aimed at them.

“What is that…”

Everyone recognized this unexpected presence—it was the Bankai of the wild dog that had originally been chasing their captain’s back, now standing firmly by his side.

“Looks like I arrived just in time.”

Kyouraku Asanosuke panted slightly, gripping the tail of the serpent head. Seeing that the four were relatively unharmed, he let out a relieved breath.

He had lost much stamina from sparring with Chad Yasutora at Urahara’s shop earlier and had rushed here despite Kisuke Urahara’s protests. At the critical moment, he intercepted Ruby’s attack.

“Another Captain, huh? Though judging by the clothes, maybe not…”

Ruby was unfazed by his intervention. He still had three tentacles unused, and judging by the spiritual pressure, this suddenly appearing Shinigami wielding Bankai wasn’t too formidable. Sweating heavily, his stamina was clearly depleted, posing little threat.

“Lieutenant Commander of the Sixth Division, Kyouraku Renji.”

“Lieutenant Commander, huh? Bankai seems pretty worthless then. Isn’t it supposed to be a power only Captains can master?”

Ruby sneered with impatience. It irked him that a mere lieutenant commander wielded Captain-level strength—it was simply infuriating.

“Whatever, I’ll finish this all at once anyway…”

Without further debate, Ruby bent down suddenly. The bone disc on his back, adorned with eight tentacles, began spinning rapidly, reaching a staggering velocity in an instant.

“Ugh…”
“Grr…”
“Wow…”

The high-speed rotating tentacles broke free from the grip of the Baboon King, Snake Tail Maru, and struck Hitsugaya, sending him flying backward. Yet Matsumoto and the others within the attack radius were less fortunate; they barely struggled before being captured by Ruby’s tentacles.

“This is easier than I thought. Five against one now turns into two against one~~~”

Ruby brushed off his sleeve, disappointed as he looked at Matsumoto and the others trapped in his grasp. Then, he arrogantly faced Hitsugaya and Kyouraku.

“Still want to continue? I’m ready anytime.”

“Damn it…!”

“!”

Hitsugaya prepared to move forward to entangle Ruby, hoping Kyouraku could seize the chance to rescue Matsumoto and the others. But before either could act, a massive shadow hurtled toward Ruby with tremendous force.

“What?”

Startled by the sudden attack, Ruby swung two tentacles fiercely at the shadow, halting its advance.

“Yami! What are you doing?!”

When Ruby recognized the attacker, anger flared. Yami, one-armed and flying toward him after being struck by Chojuro, nearly collided with Ruby, threatening to knock him away.

“Get out of my way, Ruby!”

Yami roughly brushed aside Ruby’s fragile frame, glaring coldly at Chojuro, who watched from above. Drawing his Zanpakuto, he shouted toward the much shorter figure in the distance, “You’ve really pissed me off this time!!!”

Yami... about to release his Bankai?

Ruby narrowed his eyes as Yami drew his Zanpakuto.

Having only been promoted to the Sixtieth Espada after Grimmjow lost his position, Ruby knew little about the other Espada. He was entirely unfamiliar with Yami, who bore the number ten. This was his first time witnessing Yami’s Bankai, stirring a flicker of curiosity within him.

“!”

Caught off guard by the situation, Chojuro immediately reached into his pocket and grasped his communicator.

Though Yami was manageable in his unreleased state, once Bankai was unleashed, his combat prowess—surpassing even Stark’s—would be beyond Chojuro’s ability to counter. If necessary, he would have to convince Nnoitra to lift all restrictions on himself.

“Rage to your heart’s content…”

“Stop, Yami.”

“!”

At the very moment Yami was about to release, a black portal suddenly appeared before him, and from it stepped a tall, dark-skinned man dressed in white.

“Who are you…”

“Zomari?”

Both Yami and Ruby froze, surprised to see the Seventieth Espada, Zomari, unexpectedly appear on the battlefield alongside them.

Zomari’s presence, where he should not have been, left Chojuro deeply exasperated.

Lately, nothing seemed to be unfolding according to plan...

“…”

Zomari ignored the others, fixing his golden eyes on Yami and Ruby. After a brief silence, he spoke slowly, “The mission is over. Return.”