Bleach: Watch Closely, This Is How You Use a Zanpakutō-Chapter 243: The Soul King’s Right Arm

Masatsuki Aozaki paid no attention to Mayuri Kurotsuchi. freewёbnoνel.com

His gaze remained locked on Jūshirō Ukitake, where a dark, singular eye was gradually taking shape.

"I can't let you keep causing trouble! I swore to that old man that I'd cure him."

"If I mess this up and he dies, the old man will probably throw a tantrum, cry, and threaten to hang himself—and I really don't want to deal with that."

Masatsuki tightened his grip on the Soul King's right arm. The solid texture beneath his fingers confirmed that he had seized the right thing.

"Got you! Now get out of there!"

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as his arm suddenly tensed, exerting force.

The violent clash of Reiatsu sent shockwaves through the air, creating a storm-like turbulence as if an explosion could erupt at any second.

Ordinarily, Mayuri would be beside himself at the sight of such destruction, but right now, he didn't care in the slightest.

His eyes remained unblinking, fixed on Masatsuki's arm.

Under his gaze, Masatsuki's hand slowly retracted, muscles tensing as he forcibly tore something from Ukitake's body.

He had succeeded.

The grotesque black mass had been yanked out.

Mayuri stared at the ink-like, arm-shaped entity, his curiosity surging uncontrollably.

Yet the sheer pressure of Masatsuki's overwhelming Reiatsu sent a shudder through him, immediately quelling any impulse to act rashly.

Instead, he simply watched, swallowing hard as his throat bobbed involuntarily.

Masatsuki had now completely removed the Soul King's right arm.

Only now did Mayuri get a clear look at the creature in its entirety.

It was beyond ugly—indescribably so—and the suffocating aura it emitted was enough to send chills down the spine.

Even standing in its presence felt like an unbearable weight pressing down.

Its body was pure black, an ink-like darkness that constantly twisted and writhed, resembling an arm yet shifting unnaturally.

In the center of its palm, a massive eye slowly peeled open, staring unblinkingly at the two before it.

More precisely, it was staring at Masatsuki.

Even with just a glance, Mayuri felt a crushing pressure seize him, freezing his consciousness for an instant.

What a terrifying thing...

An endless, suffocatingly thick Reiatsu poured out, dark as ink, spreading like an uncontrollable tide.

It surged from the grotesque arm, steadily creeping toward Masatsuki's body.

Was it... trying to claim a new host?

Mayuri's pupils shrank in realization.

"Masatsuki Aozaki, be careful! It's trying to parasitize you!"

He absolutely could not allow both of the Captain-Commander's disciples to die in his laboratory. If they did, both he and his research would be doomed.

However, before he could say more—

His mouth fell open in shock, his entire body going rigid.

Just as the mass of black Reiatsu was about to latch onto Masatsuki—

A radiant, emerald-green shield, as clear as glass, suddenly materialized in front of him.

It intercepted the incoming darkness with unwavering force.

Millón Escudo!

The surging Reiatsu slammed into the barrier with tremendous force—

Yet it was like ocean waves crashing against an immovable cliff, failing to inflict any harm on Masatsuki.

For a brief moment, Masatsuki and the Soul King's right arm locked eyes.

Then, without warning—

A deafening crack echoed through the air.

The Millón Escudo shattered.

In the blink of an eye, the swirling Reiatsu transformed into a monstrous black tidal wave, engulfing Masatsuki completely.

Mayuri opened his mouth, but no words came.

That shield had seemed unbreakable—so why had it shattered so suddenly?

The next second, the surging Reiatsu receded like a tide, revealing Masatsuki Aozaki's figure.

His clothes were in tatters.

However, to everyone's surprise, they instantly repaired themselves, as if they had never been damaged.

Seeing this, Mayuri Kurotsuchi let out a sigh of relief. This indicated that Masatsuki Aozaki was still in relatively good condition.

He knew that the clothes Masatsuki Aozaki wore were a gift from Senjumaru Shutara, possessing the miraculous ability to self-repair using Reiatsu. Now that Masatsuki still had the presence of mind to channel Reiatsu into fixing his attire, it meant he was not in any immediate danger.

What truly caught Mayuri's interest, however, was Masatsuki Aozaki's current appearance.

The man, whose skin had once been so pale that even women would envy it, now had a pitch-black right hand.

It looked as if he were wearing a dark gauntlet, encasing his entire arm, forming a stark contrast against his usual complexion—strangely jarring.

...

Meanwhile, in the laboratory, the complex devices connected to Jūshirō Ukitake suddenly lit up with red warning lights, accompanied by the piercing sound of alarms.

The moment he lost the Soul King's right arm, Ukitake's body began to deteriorate rapidly.

For years, he had relied on the power of the Soul King's right arm to keep his body functioning. Now, with that vital force suddenly gone, his condition plunged into a critical state.

The Soul King's right arm had replaced Ukitake's damaged lungs, serving as the key to his survival. Without it, his body was now on the irreversible path toward death.

"It's in your hands now. I hope to see a healthy Senpai when I return."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, flustered, snapped back, "You don't need to tell me! I'll save him!"

If Jūshirō Ukitake were to die, Mayuri had no idea what kind of severe consequences he would face.

He had only just managed to escape the Nest of Maggots, and his newly restarted research was still in its early stages—he couldn't afford for it to be derailed now.

At this moment, he was even more desperate than Masatsuki Aozaki for Ukitake to survive.

Noticing Mayuri's tense expression, Masatsuki nodded in satisfaction.

In the past, Ukitake's condition would have been deemed incurable. But after years of extensive research by Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, treating it was no longer an impossible task.

The real obstacle to Ukitake's recovery had always been the Soul King's right arm. Since it had replaced his lungs, conventional healing methods had been ineffective.

To cure him, they had to remove the Soul King's right arm from his body.

Now that Masatsuki had taken care of that, the rest would be much simpler.

He lifted his right hand, glancing at the pitch-black eye in his palm, and a smile crept onto his face.

After everything he had done, wasn't this exactly what he had been working toward?

With a single thought, his figure flickered and vanished.

...

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