His left hand transformed into a mouth and forcibly swallowed a massive Hollow. As he gulped it down, his originally human body swelled into the shape of a Menos. His face stretched into a twisted mask, and beneath the taut skin, something inside could faintly be seen...
Just hearing Nell and her companions' somewhat jumbled description was enough to make the scene feel horrifying.
More and more clues were pointing to Kaien Shiba. Though at this point, it seemed more appropriate to call him the 9th Espada, Aaroniero.
"Muten?" Nell looked up at him. "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine." Muten Natsu touched the skull mask on her head. "I'm fine."
Orihime watched his profile and felt that he was not really saying it to Nell. It sounded more like he was saying it to himself.
After that, Muten Natsu seemed to put the matter out of his mind and patiently answered Nell's questions one after another.
What was Soul Society like? Were there any fun things in the World of the Living? How long had it been since he had seen his old friends in Las Noches?
As if deliberately trying to distract her, Muten Natsu answered each question in great detail.
So Nell only grew more and more curious.
Ririn sat on Orihime Inoue's shoulder, admiring the sight of Muten Natsu holding the child.
On the endless white sand, beneath a starless moonlit sky, a lazy-looking man held a cute little girl and gently described everything she was curious about.
Muten Natsu would probably make a good father someday... Huh?
Ririn suddenly noticed something and studied Muten Natsu's expression carefully.
The more she looked, the stranger it seemed.
Why did Muten Natsu look at Nell almost the same way he looked at Orihime Inoue and Rukia Kuchiki?
A bold guess surfaced in Ririn's mind, growing clearer and clearer.
No wonder...
Ririn had always found it strange. No matter how dense he was, sleeping beside two beautiful girls should not leave Muten Natsu completely unmoved.
Whether it was Orihime Inoue or Rukia Kuchiki, their feelings could not have been any clearer. So why was Muten Natsu still as wooden as ever?
He was obviously at an age full of youthful energy, yet he seemed to have none of those worldly desires at all. No matter how she looked at it, it was too strange.
But... if Muten Natsu did not see Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue as female friends, and instead saw them as daughters, then everything made sense.
Why did Muten Natsu always try to handle danger by himself?
Of course. He could not let his precious daughters take risks.
Why was he completely calm about the three of them sleeping together?
Of course. It was perfectly normal for a family to sleep together.
Why had Muten Natsu, Rukia Kuchiki, and Orihime Inoue still made no further progress?
Of course. If it was already family affection, where else could it even go?
Ririn felt like there had to be something seriously wrong with Muten Natsu. Two girls that pretty, and instead of making them his wives, he was raising them like daughters... Huh?
Ririn thought it over carefully, analyzed it seriously, and combined it with what she knew of the past. In the end, she realized there really was not anything wrong with it.
When Muten Natsu met Rukia Kuchiki, she had still been a baby wrapped in a blanket. It was completely natural for Muten Natsu to treat her like a daughter.
When he met Orihime Inoue, Muten Natsu had already lived in Soul Society for decades. Faced with Orihime Inoue, who had still been a middle school student at the time, treating her like a daughter was only natural too.
From Muten Natsu's perspective, there was nothing wrong with that way of thinking.
If he had other ideas, that would be the real problem.
But the problem now was that the children from back then had already grown up.
And Orihime Inoue had grown... Ririn glanced downward. Very big.
Orihime Inoue tilted her head. "What's wrong, Ririn?"
Ririn shook her head. "Nothing."
It was just that you wanted Muten Natsu to be your husband, while he only wanted to be your father.
Not a big deal, really...
"By the way, Nell." Muten Natsu looked toward Las Noches as it gradually filled his entire field of vision. "What was that fastest way to reach Las Noches you mentioned earlier?"
"Oh, that? It's simple." Nell lifted her little face. "There are guards around Las Noches. To reach Las Noches as quickly as possible, we have to go around those guards. The strongest one is..."
"I, the Guardian of the White Sands, Runuganga..." The surging white sand gathered into a massive humanoid Hollow, looking down at them from above. "will wipe you all out."
"Yes, yes, yes, that's him!" Nell pointed at the White Sand Hollow. "You absolutely must not run into... We already ran into him! Aaaaaah!!!"
Runuganga stretched out a huge hand and swatted at them.
The giant pet insect Bawabawa truly looked like a tiny caterpillar in front of Runuganga.
Muten Natsu handed Nell to Orihime Inoue. Myōki sprang from his palm, and an elegant arc of light flashed, forcibly cleaving Runuganga's enormous hand apart.
"I just received a report that someone had invaded. So you're the intruders!" Runuganga's split palm joined back together. "Unforgivable. I'll turn all of you into sand in this desert!"
"That kind of attack won't work!" Pesche shouted in warning. "He's made of sand. No matter how many times you cut him, he can restore himself in this desert!"
"I am the king of this desert!" Runuganga spread both arms wide. His restored palms did not attack them, but dropped to either side of his body. "Meet your deaths in the endless white sand!"
Runuganga's mouth split open, revealing a deep black void inside, and an eerie howl rang out.
The white sand beneath them began to sink violently, centered on their position. In the blink of an eye, it formed a huge sand pit, while the surrounding quicksand dragged everyone downward.
"Water! Water! Water!" Dondochakka grabbed Bawabawa to keep himself from sliding into the quicksand vortex. "If we use water, we can defeat him!"
Water?
Spirit Ink overflowed from Muten Natsu's palm. He glanced at Runuganga's massive body, then spread his arms, ready to use Bankai and settle it all at once.
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" Rukia Kuchiki leapt into the air first. Fine ice crystals split into four streams and floated before her. As she thrust her blade forward, cold air surged out like an avalanche.
Crystal-clear solid ice completely sealed Runuganga inside, and the violently flowing white sand gradually fell still.
Her slender body landed lightly. Rukia Kuchiki put away Sode no Shirayuki, then slapped down Muten Natsu's raised arm. "When someone said water, did I not cross your mind at all?"
"I didn't expect you to freeze such a huge Hollow all at once." Muten Natsu examined the enormous ice sculpture. "Your Hakuren can actually do this much now..."
"Don't underestimate how much we've grown." Rukia Kuchiki gave a soft snort. "While you were training, Orihime and I weren't just sitting around."