Amamiya Shin's eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted into a grimace. Despite the searing pain of his wounds, he managed to force a cold smile.
He was celebrating nothing less than his imminent victory.
Threads of spiritual energy tightly coiled around Hasumi Ren's sword arm, corroding his spiritual body and pumping toxins into him.
'I don't care how strong or resilient you are. Once this toxin sets in, you'll be nothing more than a helpless lamb waiting for the slaughter.'
'In the end, I'm the winner.'
However, in the very next heartbeat, something happened that defied all his expectations.
Hasumi Ren moved with complete ease, showing no signs of being slowed by the poison.
Ignoring the spiritual threads wrapped around his wrist, he swung his Zanpakuto with a sudden burst of overwhelming spiritual pressure, shearing through Amamiya Shin's blade right at the hilt.
Amamiya Shin stared blankly at the broken remains of his Zanpakuto, his eyes filled with a total lack of comprehension.
"What...?"
The threads slid uselessly from Hasumi Ren's arm and fell to the ground.
A split second later, the speed of his blade suddenly surged.
With one strike, he severed Amamiya Shin's right arm.
With a second strike, he pierced the man's left shoulder, pinning him firmly to the ground.
Then, Hasumi Ren stopped. He still needed to keep the man alive for interrogation.
Amamiya Shin lay on the ground, gasping for air, his eyes filled with a mixture of resentment and disbelief.
He simply couldn't understand it.
He struggled to say something, but the agonizing pain from his wounds reduced his voice to a series of ragged, wheezing sounds.
Looking at the man bleeding out before him, Hasumi Ren thought for a moment and decided to stop the bleeding so his captive wouldn't die prematurely.
He sheathed his sword and struck the side of Amamiya Shin's neck with the side of his hand.
After knocking him unconscious, Hasumi Ren's hands glowed with the green light of Kaido as he treated the severed arm and the gruesome gash on the man's chest.
Hearing movement behind him, Hasumi Ren glanced over his shoulder. Soi Fon had finally broken free from the Rikujokoro and dragged her heavy limbs outside.
She scanned the area with frantic eyes, but her gaze went dull as she took in the sight of Hasumi Ren and the incapacitated Amamiya Shin.
"...Eh?"
The scene before her was far beyond her understanding.
The powerful enemy who had nearly bested her was now lying on the ground in a pathetic state, looking like he was on the verge of death.
Meanwhile, Hasumi Ren—the one she thought would be trapped in a life-or-death struggle and desperate for her help—was simply crouching there unscathed, his clothes barely even dusty.
'What is this? Was there some kind of hallucinogen in that poison?'
'Am I seeing things?'
Soi Fon steadied her breathing, and only then did she notice the green glow coming from Hasumi Ren's hands.
'What is that light in his hands?'
'It looks like... Kaido?'
'Wait, is that right...?'
Soi Fon felt the situation was spiraling so far beyond her expectations that she couldn't process it for a moment.
"Hasumi Ren, what... what are you doing?"
Hasumi Ren had already noticed Soi Fon behind him. Hearing her question, a look of helplessness crossed his face.
"Begging my enemy not to die."
Soi Fon: ???
Even though the truth was right in front of her, Soi Fon still found it impossible to believe.
After all, Hasumi Ren had been struggling just to survive her training last night, and the bruises on his face had only just vanished.
How could he possibly defeat an enemy that even she had found difficult to handle?
"But... how did you beat him? Is your strength... really at this level?"
Seeing her complete confusion, Hasumi Ren sighed and offered a casual excuse.
"My Zanpakuto's ability just happens to be a perfect counter for him. I guess I got lucky."
Hearing his explanation, Soi Fon blinked as she tried to make sense of it.
"Oh... I see."
At least that was an explanation.
Then, Soi Fon finally recalled the surge of power that had erupted when Hasumi Ren released his Shikai earlier.
She had been too focused on breaking her own restraints at the time to pay much attention to his release.
She vaguely remembered him sending the enemy flying with a single strike...
Finally, Soi Fon managed to wrap her head around the situation, and her rational mind began to take over.
Although the toxins in her body were still causing some sluggishness, the enemy had lost all ability to resist.
Without a doubt, Hasumi Ren had earned the primary credit for this mission.
As for her, she had been far too reckless. She decided she would have to perform a deep self-reflection in front of Lady Yoruichi once they returned to review the mission.
Soon, two figures appeared before them.
It was Sugimoto and Kawasaki, who had been investigating the other direction.
They had rushed to the scene the moment they sensed the flare of spiritual pressure, only to find that the battle had already concluded.
By then, Hasumi Ren had finished stopping the bleeding. He used Bakudo to bind Amamiya Shin's limbs and sat down nearby to recover his spiritual energy.
"Is this... the enemy?"
After receiving a positive response, the two looked at Amamiya Shin's battered state and the traces of Kaido treatment with pure shock.
He had certainly been brutal.
A moment later, four spiritual signatures rapidly approached.
The two Stealth Force members immediately went on alert, but they were taken aback when they saw who it was.
Several members of the 9th Division had returned.
Tosen Kaname sensed Amamiya Shin's spiritual pressure on the ground, his expression becoming grave.
This was quite a surprise to him.
"As expected of the Stealth Force. It seems you have already subdued him."
"Thank you for your hard work. We will take custody of this man now."
He motioned for his subordinates to move forward.
"Hold on."
Soi Fon stepped in front of them, her voice filled with suspicion.
"Fifth Seat Tosen, it seems your team was searching in the wrong direction. The deserter was hiding right here the whole time; he never went far."
"It was indeed an oversight on our part."
Tosen Kaname gave a slight nod.
"We appreciate your assistance. Now, please hand over the prisoner. We need to take him back for interrogation."
Everything he said and did appeared perfectly logical and appropriate.
But it was that very composure that made Soi Fon's expression turn ice-cold.
This attitude of acting as if it were only natural to step in and claim the rewards of someone else's labor was incredibly grating.
Before Soi Fon could say anything else, Hasumi Ren stepped forward and looked Tosen Kaname in the face.
"You all left in such a hurry earlier without sharing any intel. Now that we've captured the target, you suddenly show up to demand him? That doesn't seem right."
Tosen Kaname's brow furrowed as he turned toward the source of the voice.
"And what, might I ask, are you implying?"
"We are the ones who took him down and captured him. Since this involves our mission, the Stealth Force will be taking him in."
"Naturally, we will hand him over to the 9th Division once our own investigation is complete."
Tosen Kaname looked thoughtful. What the man said was indeed reasonable, but...
He could not ignore Lord Aizen's orders.
This man was a vital piece meant to cover up the traces of the experiments here. He had strange abilities and, reasonably, should not have been captured by these Stealth Force members.
Regardless of how he had been defeated, he could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Stealth Force.
With that thought, Tosen Kaname spoke in a deep, serious tone.
"I'm afraid I cannot agree to that. This man committed a grave crime within the 9th Division, so he must be held in our custody."
"We will keep the Stealth Force's efforts in mind. Hand him over to us, and you will be rewarded in the future."
He took a step forward, only for a blade to be thrust horizontally in front of him.
"Soldier, what is the meaning of this?"
Tosen's voice remained calm, but his hand was already resting on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
"I should be the one asking what you mean, Fifth Seat Tosen."
"I already said the 2nd Division is keeping him. We'll hand him over once our interrogation is done. What, are you trying to steal credit from the Stealth Force?"
"Or is it that you're not just blind, but deaf as well?"