Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 459 The End of the Mad Lolita: Defeated in the Battle, that was her pursuit!

Long ago, Bane used the power of darkness, always by immersing himself in it, using surging dark elements to dye everything black.

In Soul Society, however, the pace was less hurried, allowing him to calmly and carefully experience the so-called darkness.

It was from that moment that he finally understood that the essence of darkness was not to be immersed in, but to be absorbed.

Strip away all the elements, and what remains is darkness.

This is a more advanced method than manipulating dark elements to flood everything with a frenzy.

Just like Saito's immortality and his "self-contained world" technique, if you simply try to invade and corrupt it with darkness, it probably won't have much effect, because you can't touch Saito's immortality.

But now, the absorption is different.

When Saito is immortal and can still be seen by Bane, and her words can still reach Bane's ears.

Bane had already noticed a key element: no matter how she established herself as a separate entity, she was still connected to this world and Hueco Mundo. Otherwise, how could she be observed by sight? And how could she transmit her voice?

Although Bane couldn't determine where the connection was hidden or how it was achieved, the existence of this connection was enough!

By returning to the void, one can absorb it!

Everything before my eyes was plunged into darkness. It wasn't just dimness; it was an inability to see anything at all. Even my other senses could only perceive the concept of darkness.

This made Saito, who was immortal, very uneasy. Her instincts were warning her that a terrible danger was approaching, but she could not sense where the danger was.

I can't see anything. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't make a sound. Apart from still being aware of myself, I can't perceive anything!

In this state of unease and fear, she recalled Bane's words from earlier: "Cherish the light before you."

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the world instantly regained its brilliance.

It was as if the omnipresent darkness had vanished all at once.

The dotted circle is still the same dotted circle, the moon is still the same moon, and the sand is still the same sand.

It was at this moment, when the light was restored, that Saito, who was immortal, felt pain.

Unbeknownst to her, the pitch-black Heart-Crossing Blade had pierced her chest, impaling her entirely on its blade.

Blood flowed from the wound, and the stinging pain jolted her awake. "Impossible! My Infinite Stalking! My Resurrection Blade!"

"Nothing is impossible. I could have killed you in the darkness, but I felt I should show you some mercy and let you die in the light," Bane said softly.

The Void can strip away and absorb all concepts within a limited area, leaving only 'pure darkness'.

Therefore, Saito, being immortal, could not feel the pain of being pierced in the chest in the darkness, nor could he sense any elements other than darkness itself.

And her so-called self-contained world was the same; without her even realizing it, it had been stripped of all concepts except darkness through the connection that Bane had previously failed to perceive.

Naturally, it would be impossible to maintain its state of being "a world of its own".

In some ways, Bane's Triple Release: Return to Nothingness is very similar to that of the Eye Monk: Hyosube Ichibei.

However, the monk with the eye remained within the concept of "blackening," and he could not control or strip away the "name" and "power" of anything that could not be blackened.

Bane, on the other hand, skipped this stage entirely, first stripping away his power and then returning him to darkness!

Feeling the pain in his body and the loss of spiritual pressure, a sense of defeat welled up in his heart.

There was resentment and bitterness, but in the end, Saito, who was immortal, laughed. And with her laughter, the hideous skull mask on her face shattered into dust and dissipated into the air, revealing her original appearance.

"I thought I could win this time, but damn it, I still inexplicably lost to you in the end." Saito, the immortal immortal, said with some helplessness and dissatisfaction as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"If you admit defeat, do you want to surrender? Perhaps I will spare your life." Bane looked at Saito, the immortal being, hanging on the blade, and said softly.

Hearing this, Saito, the immortal being, laughed loudly, "Who do you take me for? Do you think I'd surrender? Do you think I'd beg for my life? Don't underestimate me, you bastard!"

"That's true," Bane nodded, his tone somewhat wistful.

From the first time they met, Bane thought this flat-chested loli was too crazy, and now it seems she really is crazy enough.

"Are there any unfulfilled wishes?" Bane asked after thinking for a moment.

"Two things," Saito, the immortal being, nodded without hesitation upon hearing this.

Before Bane could speak, she continued, "First of all, I believe you will definitely have to fight that bastard Yamamoto Shigekuni someday. This is the destiny of those who stand at the top, just like you and me, and like me and him. So, when the day comes that you two fight, help me give him a good beating and tell him to stop acting so arrogantly like he's the best in the world!!!"

"I don't think the Captain-Commander is arrogant at all," Bane couldn't help but say.

But before he could finish speaking, after a brief eye contact with the immortal Saito, he suddenly laughed and said, "No, no, no, you're right. Although he has long since concealed his brilliance, he is indeed an arrogant and stubborn old man."

"Ha, how could I be wrong? His arrogance has long been ingrained in his bones. Someone has to teach him a lesson!" Saito Immortal laughed loudly.

As he laughed, blood kept gushing out of his mouth.

"And the second thing?" Bane didn't answer whether he agreed or not, but went straight to the next question.

"The second thing." A hint of regret and resentment flashed in Saito's immortal eyes.

That sense of resentment seemed to stem from anger at one's own incompetence and weakness.

Before Bane could decipher anything from her eyes, she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her spiritual pressure growing weaker, and said with a bitter laugh, "From beginning to end, not being able to witness your Bankai is the thing I regret most before I die."

Hearing this, Bane paused for a moment, then looked at the immortal Saito with a slightly complicated expression and said, "In your current state, I regret to inform you that I cannot fulfill your needs."

"I'm about to die, and you bastard are still mocking me like this." Saito Immortal forced himself to grit his teeth and curse.

"Actually, I don't understand. We have no grudges against each other, so how did things end up like this? After you escaped back then, wouldn't it have been better to just live a quiet life instead of causing trouble?" Bane asked, looking at the dying Saito Immortal.

"If that's the case, what difference is there between me and sitting in the Abyss?" Saito, immortal and ageless, raised his hand and gently placed it on the Heart-Crossing Blade that pierced her chest. A smile appeared on his lips as he said, "I was born into the Kuchiki family's direct line, and I was born with everything I could want. If I had been willing to follow the rules, I might have been the twenty-third head of the Kuchiki family, but I was not happy. I tried many directions, and finally realized that only by fighting with the strong could I feel alive. The pain of being cut, the exhilaration of slicing into the enemy, the blood splattering, the life-or-death struggle, the battle of wits and courage, the urgency of risking my life to breathe the next breath—it's too irresistible."

Even though he was on the verge of death, when talking about these things, Saito Immortal's face, which was pale from excessive blood loss, suddenly flushed slightly.

"What makes me even happier is that I've also found a group of like-minded lunatics with the same thoughts and mentality as me, which makes me seem less unconventional and eccentric. This shows that there are still quite a few people in Soul Society who, like me, are tired of the boring daily life and just want to chop, chop, chop, chop!!!" Saito Immortal gripped the blade of Shinwa and shouted excitedly.

It was like a final burst of energy before death; even though his palms were cut open by Xin Du's blade, he felt no pain, only the excitement of speaking.

Bane knew who she was talking about.

The first generation of the Gotei 13. Thinking about it carefully, this guy is really quite similar to Hana from back then. However, Hana was able to restrain her killing intent and not go down the path of making enemies of the world, while Saito, who is immortal, embarked on this path without hesitation.

As Bane pondered these thoughts, Saito's seemingly immortal, dying aura rapidly faded, and his voice grew dejected as he said, "It's a pity that that bastard Yamamoto betrayed us. He's a cold-blooded bastard, yet he insists on upholding some vague notion of order and justice. Doesn't he find it laughable? The thirteen of us combined are invincible, yet he chose to lay down his sword. Foolish bastard."

At this point, Saito, who was neither old nor dead, looked at Bane again. As the light in his eyes gradually faded, he used his last bit of strength to say, "Although I have only met you twice, both times were exhilarating battles. These were probably the happiest times I have had in the last seven hundred years. To die at the hands of a strongman like you, I can say that my wish has been fulfilled."

As soon as she finished speaking, her hand, which was gripping the Heart-Crossing Blade, completely lost its strength and fell limply into the air, dripping with crimson blood.

Bane also felt a little unspeakable. How to put it, it's still the same old story. He had no grudge against Saito Immortal, so killing him at this moment made him feel a little complicated.

"It seems that all these years of self-cultivation have dulled the knife in my hand quite a bit," Bane muttered to himself.

He slowly landed on the ground, placed Saito's immortal body on the ground, took out the Heart Crossing that had pierced her chest, and sheathed it.

A soul that is too powerful will not be able to dissipate even after death due to spiritual pressure issues, and Saito's immortality is clearly such an existence.

The spiritual pressure she displayed at her full power was more than twice as strong as that of Yamamoto Genryusai, a result of her breaking the boundary between Shinigami and Hollows, which amplified her strength.

Therefore, her body will not dissipate.

"We need to take it back to Seireitei and hold a soul burial for it," Bane smacked his lips.

No sooner had he finished speaking to himself than Saito, who had been silent, suddenly opened his eyes again and shouted, "Bane!!! I'll be waiting for you in hell. When that time comes, let's fight properly, an endless battle. Then, I will definitely see your Bankai!!!"

This guy suddenly came back to life, which startled Bane. After regaining his senses, he carefully examined the flat-chested loli. Hmm, this time she was really dead.

"That's ridiculous," Bane said, scratching his head.

However, if it were a soul burial, then Saito, being immortal, would indeed fall into hell and become a so-called "blame person," endlessly fighting in hell.

This is hellish punishment, but thinking about it, it seems really suitable for her?

"I will not fall into hell. Even if I am defeated and die one day, my final destination will only be the Pure Land. So, if you want to witness my Bankai, it depends on whether you can fight your way out of hell, Saito." Bane whispered softly, then hoisted her body onto his shoulder and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)