Kugo Ginjo slashed at the Shinigami before him with a ferocious expression, completely ignoring the look of ridicule in his opponent's eyes.
"Why are you doing this?!" he roared. "I had already come to an agreement with your Captain Ukitake! I was willing to become a Substitute Shinigami to help you protect the World of the Living!"
"Why?! Why?! Why?!"
Every questioning shout was accompanied by a more forceful strike, but his opponents parried his attacks with effortless ease.
After all, they were in no rush whatsoever. Although Kugo Ginjo was strong, the strength of the Fullbringers he had gathered was quite uneven. As long as they stalled this leader, whose strength was already brushing the edges of Captain level, the rest of the group would be utterly helpless under a siege. It was nothing more than a game of cat and mouse.
Kugo Ginjo naturally knew this as well, which was why his assault was so desperate. However, the other side had clearly obtained detailed intelligence on him. The personnel they had sent were extremely targeted. Let alone quickly defeating them to return and rescue the others, if this dragged on any longer, he might end up falling here himself!
A sense of despair began to spread within the man's heart. His original respect and friendship for Jushiro Ukitake had completely degenerated into bone-deep hatred.
Damn Ukitake! Damn Shinigami! They're all liars! It's all a lie!
Just before anger could erode his last shred of clarity, Kugo Ginjo suddenly saw a look of terror surface on the faces of the two men in front of him.
Are they bluffing me?
Suppressing the urge to look back, Kugo Ginjo desperately squeezed every bit of strength from his body, pouring his last trace of Reiatsu into an attack. He finally managed to push the two back, earning a momentary breather.
Just as he prepared to continue fighting, he was surprised to find that the two men did not advance toward him. Instead, they had already turned and fled.
Now, Kugo Ginjo could no longer control his curiosity. He turned around, and what met his eyes was a battlefield akin to an Asura's purgatory.
The Fullbringers wore expressions of absolute terror, but they were all still alive. Meanwhile, the 'cats' that had originally come to catch them had all uniformly collapsed on the ground.
Who is it?
He blankly scanned the battlefield but failed to find a single unfamiliar face, until two more agonizing screams echoed from behind him.
Kugo Ginjo looked back to see a young man slowly sheathing his sword.
"What is your name?" the man asked.
"Huh? Me? My name is... Kugo Ginjo."
Suzuki Makoto nodded in understanding. At this point in time, Kugo Ginjo had not yet become the bitter, deep-seatedly hateful middle-aged man he would be later; he was still a sunny and cheerful young lad. This was why Makoto hadn't recognized him at first.
"My name is Suzuki Makoto. I am a Shinigami."
Hearing the word 'Shinigami', Kugo Ginjo reflexively tightened his grip on his sword, but he immediately lowered it again. It wasn't that he already trusted Suzuki Makoto, but rather that with Suzuki Makoto's strength, killing him wouldn't require wasting time asking for his name.
"They... they were also Shinigami, right?"
"In the Soul Society, only the Gotei 13 are called Shinigami," Makoto explained. "Those guys merely possessed a talent for Spiritual Power and acquired Zanpakuto."
"Then why did they want to kill us?"
"Because of the source of your power."
Kugo Ginjo subconsciously looked down at the sword in his hand.
"Our power?"
"You call yourselves Fullbringers, but do you know what the source of your power is?"
"Isn't it because our mothers were attacked by Hollows while pregnant, which gave us this kind of power?"
Having gathered so many Fullbringers, he had naturally conversed with everyone long ago. Their highly similar experiences had quickly allowed Kugo Ginjo to guess part of the reason.
"You're not wrong, but you actually have the cause and effect reversed," Makoto corrected. "Your power wasn't born because you encountered Hollow attacks; rather, the Hollow attacks happened precisely because you possessed this kind of power."
Suzuki Makoto opened the sword box on his back. Out of the original five sword slots, only two swords remained inside.
Drawing the Mortal Blade, he looked at Kugo Ginjo with a hint of pity.
"Although I'm sorry to say this, I am just like those people—I am also here to retrieve your power."
Kugo Ginjo fell silent. Did this count as jumping out of the tiger's den only to fall into the wolf's lair?
Under the massive emotional roller coaster of today, even he was somewhat unable to cope. His brain spun in confusion, yielding nothing but endless bewilderment.
The man remained silent and sheathed the sword in his hand.
"What exactly is our power?"
"That is a long story."
"At least let me die understanding why, won't you?"
"You won't die. Those guys didn't have the ability to strip away your power, so they could only kill you. But don't lump me in with those pieces of trash," Suzuki Makoto corrected him.
He naturally intended to retrieve the Soul King fragments from these Fullbringers. He would leave a portion for Aizen, a portion for Kisuke Urahara, and the rest he needed to take back to the Seireitei to hand over to Shunsui Kyoraku, letting that guy continue to rack his brains dealing with the Tsunayashiro family.
"Uh, thank you?"
"Oh, you're welcome. If you can get them to give up resisting, that would be even better."
Kugo Ginjo let out a resigned sigh and turned to walk toward his battered and bruised companions.
Their communication was clearly far from harmonious. However, the majority of them had already been scared out of their wits by today's attack. Therefore, trading their power for a peaceful life was a worthwhile bargain for many of them.
Eventually, everyone was persuaded. Only then did Kugo Ginjo walk back to Suzuki Makoto.
"Mr. Suzuki, we are all willing to cooperate with you, but could we trouble you to explain things to us?"
"I can."
Thus, as Suzuki Makoto began to sever the Soul King fragments from their bodies, he gave them a rough description of the Soul King's existence.
"So the reason you are all simultaneously retrieving the Soul King fragments is to help the Soul King recover?"
"It is merely to prevent the power from being abused. From now on, you guys won't have to worry anymore; those people won't be able to find you again."
After getting everyone else settled, Suzuki Makoto did not make a move on Kugo Ginjo. Instead, he took out a badge and handed it to him.
"This is a communicator that can notify me. If you find other Fullbringers, you can gather them temporarily and then let me know. I will continue the work of retrieving the Soul King fragments."
"You're not going to take the Soul King fragment from my body?"
Kugo Ginjo looked at the chibi skull badge in his hand with some surprise.
Suzuki Makoto also looked at the Substitute Shinigami Badge that Ukitake had entrusted him to bring, and he shrugged.
"I don't have the capability to search the entire World of the Living by myself. You Fullbringers naturally attract one another, so it will be much easier for you to search. If you run into any formidable enemies, you can escape to Karakura Town; it'll be very safe there."
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