I'm really not the number one slacker in Soul Society.

What an arrogant attitude...

Muramasa felt like several veins were popping out on his head—were all Shinigami and Zanpakuto of this era so rude?

Then, he broke through the fog and came to a distance where he could clearly see the Reverse Moon Rain.

The figure is humanoid, female, holding a rusty two-bladed weapon. It looks unremarkable and has no particular strength.

"It's strange." Muramasa suppressed his anger and said calmly:

"You and your master both seem confident that you can easily take me down, which is truly baffling."

"Is that so?" Nizuki Shigure replied, "I also find it very strange. Why would someone fail to see through such a simple difference in strength, and become so arrogant as to think they can contend with us?"

Muramasa sneered, "Then let's give it a try and see who's bragging."

During the conversation, countless invisible tentacles surged out from behind Muramasa, reaching towards Shigure Sakazuki with the density of a tidal wave.

This is one of Muramasa's signature techniques, Bankai: No Hooks - using tough limbs that can only be seen in a mirror to bind the opponent. It combines offense and defense and is extremely secretive. It is a simple yet powerful move. Generally speaking, once someone is entangled by these tentacles, the outcome of the match can basically be determined.

Meanwhile, Shigure simply held his sword and stared at Muramasa, seemingly oblivious to the impending crisis.

—We succeeded!

Just a second before binding Shigure with his tentacles, Muramasa felt a sudden surge of joy.

—And then came immense confusion.

Why can't the tentacles move forward anymore?

As he saw, dozens, even hundreds, of tentacles stopped just centimeters in front of Shigure, no matter how hard he tried to move them, he couldn't cross that small space. It was as if...

It's like being separated by an entire abyss!

"what happened?"

A sense of unease crept into Muramasa's bewildered mind.

He immediately raised his hand and unleashed his brainwashing ability on Nizuki Shigure, sending out waves of sound that reached the latter directly.

Something's wrong; we need to act quickly!

Upon seeing this scene, Mi Zhen, who was watching, felt a sudden tightness in her chest.

However... nothing changed during the Reverse Moon Rain!

She still looked at Muramasa with indifferent eyes, then lowered her eyes, chuckled softly, and said, "I see... It was indeed the right decision for me to do it; she's not capable of handling this."

"what happened?!"

Seeing that his most relied-upon ability seemed useless, Muramasa felt a pang of panic: "Why...?"

"Haven't you brainwashed me?"

Nizuki Shigure spoke first: "Your ability is quite good, but you also need to be able to hit the target."

"What do you mean? I missed? How is that possible?! You're clearly standing right here!"

"I have no obligation..."

Time seemed to stand still. One second, Shigure Uesugi was more than twenty meters away from Muramasa, and the next moment he appeared in front of him like a ghost. Instead of swinging his sword, he put his fingers together, stretched them out, and stabbed straight into Muramasa's chest.

"Let me explain."

Before Muramasa could even be surprised, the lightning-fast strike pierced his right chest and went straight through his back.

Blood splatters!

This is……

Mima blinked, somewhat confused.

In his view, Shigure Gyou only said half of what he wanted to say, then walked over to Muramasa at a leisurely pace, added the second half of his sentence, and delivered a chop to the neck.

Even the speed of that hand chop wasn't particularly fast; even the lowest-ranking official could easily deliver such an attack.

But Muramasa just stood there dumbfounded, like a statue, completely still.

Forget about retaliating, he probably didn't even realize what had happened.

After a brief moment of thought, Mizhen discovered the trickery involved.

The problem wasn't Muramasa, but time.

When the Reverse Moon Rain began to move, the flow of time in the space where Muramasa was located was greatly reduced. Mima didn't know the exact multiple, but it couldn't possibly be less than fifty times, otherwise Muramasa wouldn't have had a chance to react.

The same applies to avoiding being hit by the tentacles and sound waves. She altered the flow of time around her, making those things slower than a tortoise, so they couldn't possibly hit her.

Is this another kind of power of the Reverse Moon Rain?

Mizhen gasped, almost uttering a modal particle that was practically a swear word.

"See? It's a simple difference in strength, isn't it?"

Shigure pulled out his hand, shook off the bloodstains, and then grabbed Muramasa by the neck like he was lifting a chick, lifting him up forcefully: "So, who is arrogant here?"

"What...did you do...?"

Muramasa, finally realizing what was happening, spat out a mouthful of blood, only to be disdainfully dodged by Shigure.

She clearly doesn't have the same bad habit as Lou Shilang, who avoids explaining things whenever possible.

Ideally, the enemy should be left with doubts as they roll into their graves, so aside from taunts, the author is extremely sparing with words.

Now, the outcome is decided.

As Shigure's hand tightened like an iron clamp, he squeezed Muramasa's neck until it was thinner. The latter, suffering from lack of blood and oxygen (don't ask why Zanpakuto need these things), immediately felt dizzy and weak, and was about to faint.

"It seems Muramasa's abilities aren't as miraculous as the legends say." Mima shrugged. "With this level of ability... can we really place high hopes on Kuchiki Kyouga?"

"Oh?" Aizen raised an eyebrow. "It seems... the outcome is already decided."

“You could say that,” Mima yawned. “However, it’s a bit troublesome to beat this guy to the point of being almost dead but not quite. It’s hard to control the force.”

"In that case, please wait a moment."

Aizen adjusted his glasses and said, "Leave him to me. I have an experiment I want to conduct."

"Ok?"

Mima raised an eyebrow, not answering immediately, but first calling out to Gyouki Shigure in her mind: "So? Do you agree?"

"I have no opinion."

Shigure responded in a low voice, then released his grip on Muramasa's neck without hesitation.

He tossed it aside like trash, then swiftly retreated into the fog, disappearing without a trace.

Muramasa, suddenly given a chance to live, didn't even have time to cough up blood and catch his breath. Without thinking, he transformed into a streak of purple light and escaped the terrifying place at an even faster speed than when he arrived.

What exactly is this guy's ability...? I'm no match for a Zanpakuto... How is this possible...?

Damn it... I don't have time to think about it anymore, I have to get out of here...

I... can't die here!

The purple light, like an arrow, flew swiftly away from the flowing moon.

In the blink of an eye, he traversed over a hundred meters and then transformed back into the appearance of Muramasa.

Even though he had escaped from the mental space, his injuries did not heal automatically. His chest, pierced by the Reverse Moon Shigure, was still bleeding profusely. If it weren't for the fact that his Zanpakuto seemed to be quite resilient, he would probably have collapsed from blood loss half a minute ago.

Upon returning to the real world, he did not hesitate to flee to a distant place.

What a joke! The sword spirit alone easily beat him into this state. If it were his master doing it himself, he wouldn't even be alive.

Arrogance does not equate to stupidity.

Running away is not shameful; he still bears the heavy responsibility of saving the Kuki-no-Ku River and cannot die here.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you can escape.

In the blink of an eye, a refined-looking man wearing a straw cloak appeared beside Muramasa and gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

Although the movement was not large, Muramasa felt as if an entire mountain was pressing down on his shoulders. He immediately lost his balance, his legs went weak, and he fell forward.

But Aizen was a man of principle and wouldn't stand to see someone lose face in front of him. He immediately grabbed Aizen's shoulder, making him barely stand, before smiling slightly and raising the Kyoka Suigetsu sword from its sheath.

The red and white ropes that were tied to it disappeared without a trace, and just like that, Aizen laid bare his defenseless Kyoka Suigetsu before the village.

"You can materialize your Zanpakuto, right?"

A cold, unfathomable glint flashed across Aizen's glasses, then he looked at Muramasa with an almost benevolent expression and said softly:

"Then, try using it on my 'illusory flower in the water' technique as well."

"what?"

Muramasa coughed up blood and looked at him in utter shock.

What's wrong with this guy...? He's making me use my ability on his own? Isn't that like walking into a knife's edge?

This bespectacled man looks like the kind of cunning person who's full of bad intentions; he must be plotting something!

"Give it a try." Seeing Muramasa's hesitant attitude, Aizen added, "If you do things to my satisfaction, I'll let you go. Otherwise, I'm afraid she'll be the only one who can deal with you—I'm sure you don't want to fall into her hands, do you?"

Chapter 160: A Fateful Encounter in a Mirror, A Scene Reflected in Water and Moonlight

Mima, who was watching from behind, rolled her eyes because her reputation had been unfairly damaged.

"What... exactly do you want to do?"

"It's nothing, just a fun little experiment." Aizen pushed up his glasses. "So? Are you going to cooperate or resist?"

Faced with this situation where it was almost obvious that something was fishy, ​​Muramasa hesitated for a short while before making a decision.

He raised his hand and released a strange "ripple" onto the illusory reflection.

Since disobeying will only lead to death anyway, I might as well try my luck.

The reflection in the mirror and the moon in the water trembled immediately upon being hit by this ripple, emitting a clear, bright light as pure as water.

But what's with this aura...?

Mima frowned and checked the situation again and again, but got the same result.

He couldn't perceive the illusion of a mirage using his spiritual pressure...