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

“You’re from the Urahara family, you should know more than I do,” Kyoka Suigetsu said sullenly. “What happens when the miasma of hell encounters overly intense emotions?”

"Tsk..."

Mima rolled her eyes and glanced at Aizen:

"I'm losing my patience. Should I cut off his hands and feet first?"

The phrase "a flower in a mirror and the moon in the water" refers to a relatively rare phenomenon.

When the miasma of hell begins to erode people, emotions become a double-edged sword. Positive emotions can, to some extent, slow down the erosion process, while negative emotions can greatly accelerate it.

The idea of ​​"illusory flowers and watery moon" is not wrong. After all, Xiu Mu Xiang He has not seen anyone for more than two hundred years. Letting him see his wife and brother-in-law might stir up some positive emotions, slow down the erosion process, and make it easier to cut the chain.

But she probably didn't anticipate Kuchiki Hibiki's strange thought process. Despite it being a reunion after hundreds of years (even though it was fake), this guy was still immersed in his own delusional thoughts, which instead stirred up negative emotions.

Now things have gotten even worse; the erosion by the hellish miasma has accelerated even further, and the chains on Xiu Mu Xiang He's chest are almost solidifying.

After losing sight of his illusory goal, he fell into a brief silence, standing there muttering incoherent phrases.

But silence does not mean pause. In less than a minute, his spiritual pressure combined with the hellish miasma, becoming stronger and the chain on his chest becoming more solid.

After witnessing this guy's terrible performance, Mima's patience was almost completely worn out.

It's not like we can cooperate just because our goals are similar—what kind of team do I have? Even if we're going to be rebels, we're the strongest rebel group in history. Do you think just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can get in? What kind of scumbag are you, Kuchiki Kyouga? Besides your Zanpakuto ability, do you have even the slightest redeeming quality?

Just like he said, why not just disable this guy's mobility, then capture him and put him in a lab to be transformed into a machine that can only mindlessly unleash its abilities? That way, everyone can save themselves a lot of trouble, and Soul Society will have one less hidden danger.

"Hmm... being too forceful isn't good either."

Aizen shrugged: "After all, there are still ways to use him. Unless there's absolutely no other choice, it's best not to go too far."

“That makes sense,” Mi Zhen rolled her eyes. “But precisely destroying the Hell Chains without causing major damage is a real hassle.”

Just as Lan Xiran said, it is difficult to control the force to step on an ant without crushing it, let alone precisely crush a stone on the ant's antennae.

—The chains of hell on Kuchiki Hibiki's chest are almost complete.

A fully formed Hell Chain requires destructive power at the level of Hollow White to break. It's not that they can't come up with such a method, but that level of exertion would inevitably cause a great commotion, risking being detected by the Soul Society, and it would be difficult to guarantee the personal safety of Kuchiki Hibiki.

Therefore, disabling mobility is actually a more prudent proposal.

But Aizen is right; it's not good to go to extremes from the start.

Looks like we need to find some outside help.

"Okay, my turn."

Mima slipped her fingers inside her collar, took out a necklace with a black crystal hanging from it, and then channeled a little spiritual pressure into it.

The black cavity crystal flickered a few times, and the next second, a black cavity was created out of thin air next to Mi Zhen.

A moment later, a leisurely sound of footsteps came from inside.

"Ugh... why does it smell like hell?" Shikaku Hakunzai fanned her nose with her palm as she poked her head out of the black cavity. After glancing around for a few moments, she gave a look of disgust. "It's been almost a thousand years, and the Blood Burial Seal still hasn't been improved. It really smells awful."

"Hey, good afternoon."

Mizhen greeted her, "It's time to ask you for help again."

"Who to hit?"

Shikatori Hakunsai blinked, drew his sword, and pointed at the guests present, calling out by name: "The guy with glasses, the guy with glasses... his sister? And your brother... Oh, you want to fight that guy over there, right?"

“No need to kill him.” Mima glanced at Kuchiki Hibiki, who had already begun searching for a target. “Please help control him. Ideally, you should be able to cut the chains of hell without causing a major disturbance.”

"Really? Whatever."

Shikato Hakunsai pushed the half-drawn sword back, then casually glanced at Kuchiki Hibiki before preparing to set off.

"I am honored to see the original senior again."

Aizen stood to the side and said something, a smile playing on his lips, his glasses gleaming so that his expression was obscured.

“Oh~ I’ve seen you before. You were in that battle before.” Shikatori Hakunsai glanced back at Aizen, quickly noticing the captain’s haori under his raincoat, and raised an eyebrow, saying, “Captain, huh? Genryusai has really found some good talent.”

"You flatter me. I am just a newly appointed person with little experience."

Aizen smiled modestly: "I still need to rely on your guidance, senior."

"As for guidance..." Shiroto Hakunsai seemed to have thought of something, and sighed, "I'm not cut out to be a teacher, so I'll pass—anyway, I'm just here to do some work. If you like it, feel free to look around."

After saying that, she took the knife, sheath still attached, in her hand and walked step by step toward Kuchiki Hibiki, a troubled look on her face.

"Not going to kill them... that's a bit troublesome."

A young woman with a strong literary temperament walked towards a violent man without any fear.

It was a truly bizarre scene.

But as everyone knows, in the world of Bleach, being ugly is a cardinal sin, and anyone who is unfashionable will be severely beaten no matter how strong they are.

After walking about a hundred meters away from Kuchiki Hibiki, he seemed to finally notice that someone was approaching him.

His eyes, already stained crimson by the miasma of hell, suddenly glared over.

The spiritual pressure, powerful enough to scare an official into unconsciousness, seemed no more forceful than a gentle breeze in front of Shikato Hakunsai. She watched as Kuchiki Hiyori casually summoned the fallen Muramasa into her hand, then bent her knees and launched a sprint like a cannonball.

She shook the sheathed Zanpakuto in her hand, then put it down.

Until the very last second before the blade was about to strike, she remained in this wide-open position and nodded in a moment of sudden realization.

"Okay, I know how to do it!"

In the next instant, Muramasa's knife tip pierced directly into the center of Shikatori Hakunsai's throat.

That really makes it... completely worry-free.

Shikatori Hakunsai is not the type to play tricks on her opponents by feigning weakness; she must have had her reasons for making this choice.

In the very few records about Shikatori Hakunsai, the reason why she wasn't directly scattered along with her ashes by the old man was that "killing her might cause a huge change"—that is to say, she wasn't invincible, but rather that killing her would require paying a price that the Soul Society couldn't bear.

As for the specific cost, there is no record of it.

But based on the abilities she demonstrated, Mima made a bold conjecture.

Now is the time to verify it.

The moment the blade pierced her skin, Shikatori Hakunsai's spiritual pressure "dispersed." To be precise, her spiritual pressure field became so enormous that it completely covered their perception range, creating this strange illusion.

She seems to be...everywhere!

It was exactly the same as when he controlled Shihōin Hyōgetsu.

Given that she can do the almost absurd thing of "using her abilities without releasing her Zanpakuto".

Mima tentatively considered this a kind of "contract," just like she had experienced before, where within her capabilities, she had to pay a very high price to do something.

For example, taking one step requires 30% of one's physical strength, and an attack consumes half of one's spiritual power... and so on.

In the blink of an eye, Xiu Mu Xiang He was struck as if by lightning!

The near-sonic charge was like crashing into an insurmountable wall. There was not even a microsecond of buffer between movement and stillness. He remained stiffly in the thrusting posture, unable to advance even a millimeter, no matter how much spiritual pressure surged or how much his muscles bulged.

Then, Shikato Hakunsai took a step back and pointed at him, saying, "Well... how about this, for the next three minutes, your body cannot actively perform any activities except for the peristalsis of the organs necessary to maintain vital signs."

Once the words are spoken, the bondage is formed.

Kuchiki Hibiki remained frozen in that comical pose, as if under a spell, his blood vessels almost bursting, yet he couldn't move.

Shikato Hakunsai stroked his chin and walked to the side of the Kuchiki Hibiki River.

I casually picked up the hell chain from his chest and tried tugging at it a couple of times, but it didn't work.

She sighed helplessly, turned around, and greeted Mima and Aizen, "I've got him under control, but the chains of hell are quite strong. Even I can't break them without making a big fuss."

Aizen pushed up his glasses and smiled, "That's easy."

Then, he and Mima arrived one after the other at Kuchiki Hibiki's side and began to check the situation.

Mirror Flower Water Moon and its clone Sand Tide, one sat down in front of the Gates of Hell, and the other acted as a guard at the leak in the seal.

Suddenly everyone had something to do.

However, Mima was an exception; he went over and started chatting with Shikatori Hakunsai.

"That's really impressive—" Mima reached out and poked Kuchiki Hibiki's stiff body, asking curiously, "What kind of contract can achieve this level?"

"It's just a matter of consuming spiritual energy." Shikato Hakunsai's face was relaxed, showing no trace of the disheveled appearance he had when he controlled the energy for a few seconds before starting to sweat, as he had when he fought Shihōin Hyakugetsu.

Chapter 170: The Knocking Sound

“I used my spiritual pressure to connect with him… well, how should I put it? I ‘connected’ with him.”

She blinked and explained, "He won't be able to move a single finger until my spiritual pressure is depleted, that's about it."

That was truly a simple yet powerful form of hard control.

But as for depleting spiritual pressure... this move probably won't be very effective against Aizen.

Although the two seem to be very compatible partners now, they are clearly harboring countless dirty thoughts in their hearts, and the methods they use to deal with each other could probably fill several dictionaries.

This is the simple and unpretentious cooperation model among villains.

The main purpose of discussing abilities with Shikatori Hakunsai in front of Aizen was to play the deterrent card. Only by making this guy feel that cooperation is more beneficial than hostility can Mima not worry about being stabbed in the back one day.

Ultimately, Aizen is quite a repressed and eccentric man in a certain sense. His behavior exudes the loneliness and solitude of a master. Even if he were to become the ruler of the three realms, he would probably be itching to create a rival for himself.

From this perspective, Mi Zhen's actions are probably quite to his liking.

—Finally, someone to play cards with at the same table.jpg

Aizen, who was being maliciously speculated about by Yama, was completely unaware of this. He grabbed the chain on Kuchiki Kyoga's chest with both hands and struggled a couple of times. The chain made a creaking sound, but showed no sign of breaking.

"There's really no way to deal with this using conventional methods."

Aizen released his hand and was about to reach for his waist when he remembered that Kyoka Suigetsu was still admiring the scenery at the Gates of Hell. So he chuckled and said, "As you can see, most of my attacks create a lot of noise, so I can only leave it to you."

Mizhen pondered for a moment: "There is a way...."

Two days ago, he probably really wouldn't have been able to do anything about this—not that he couldn't break it, but he could have simply unleashed his Raging Torrent and then given the chain a Cero.

Or you could condense three, four, five, or six tenths of your spiritual pressure and slash with it; there are many ways to do it.

However, those methods, even just the aftershocks, could potentially kill Kuchiki Hibiki, so they are obviously unusable.

Since both Aizen and Shikatori Hakunsai have stated that they are not capable, regardless of whether they are truly incapable, the task of dealing damage can only be left to Yama.