novelnext Chapter 131 The Two Sides of the Balance
Chapter 131 The Two Sides of the Balance
Chapter 131 The Two Sides of the Balance
When Isshin and Ryugen, carrying the unconscious Masaki, stumbled open the shop door in a disheveled state.
Kisuke Urahara was squatting behind the counter, repairing an old radio.
"Oh my, isn't this Captain Shiba?"
"Although I said you're always welcome here, this kind of 'gift' is a bit too much."
Urahara pushed up the brim of his hat, and the moment his eyes, hidden in the shadows, met Masaki's gaze, all traces of his previous frivolous expression vanished.
On her fair skin, a black void, like a greedy vortex, throbbed menacingly in her chest.
"Mr. Tessai, please activate the barrier immediately."
"learn."
The burly man was not an ordinary handyman, but rather the former Great Demon Master, Tetsuzai Wakashi, who had defected from Soul Society with him.
Under his guidance, the group protected Masaki, who was sealed by the barrier, and quickly arrived at the underground training ground.
Ryugen Ishida stood beside Masaki Kurosaki, who had already lost consciousness, his mind completely blank.
"Damn it... why did it turn out like this!" Longxian growled through gritted teeth.
"Well, Quincy, please calm down."
Kisuke Urahara walked to Masaki's side and gently tapped his palm with his fan: "Before I can provide any assistance, I must first explain what exactly happened to Ms. Masaki."
"Her case is not an isolated one... I've been studying it for almost a century..."
"7
"A hundred years?!" The two people opposite each other were both shocked.
"Indeed, Miss Masaki's condition is called [Hollowfication]." He spoke coldly, as if recalling unpleasant memories: "Hollowfication is the process of injecting a hollow soul into another soul, causing the boundaries between souls to collapse, ultimately achieving the goal of sublimation..."
"Although it was originally intended to strengthen the souls of Shinigami, in reality, after being Hollowfied, the souls eventually become irrational monsters, uncontrollably self-destructing..."
He pointed a finger at Masaki, whose face was deathly pale: "That is, [soul suicide]."
"What?! Then hurry up and restore Masaki to her original state!" Ishida Ryugen shouted urgently.
Kisuke Urahara shook his head: "Returning to the original state is impossible; Hollowfication is a technique that cannot be controlled."
"What should we do then? Are we just going to sit and watch Masaki-san die?" Shiba Isshin asked anxiously.
Urahara added, "While restoring her to her original state is impossible, at least we can save her life..."
'
"How do I do it?"
In response to Shiba Isshin's question, Urahara Kisuke pointed to Ryugen, Isshin, and Masaki in turn: "To prevent the soul from committing suicide, we need to inject something opposite to Hollowfication into the soul to maintain its balance."
"For example, injecting a vaccine that combines Quincy power with a human soul into a Shinigami suffering from Hollowfication symptoms can maintain that Shinigami's state..."
"It's too complicated, I didn't understand a word!" Shiba interrupted Urahara Kisuke's explanation, completely bewildered, and said bluntly, "Why don't you just tell me what to do now?"
"Alright, alright, Captain Shiba, I'll just be blunt."
"To save Ms. Masaki, a Quincy, we must... use your powerful Shinigami power as a vaccine."
"You need to separate your power and stay by her side until she dies in order to suppress this symptom."
Ryūgen Ishida suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with struggle and pain.
He had already realized the problem.
Asking a Shinigami captain to give up his Shinigami powers to save an evil Quincy? That's simply impossible!
He looked at Masaki, opened his mouth, but found that the words "Let me do it" were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.
He knew very well that, as a Quincy, he was completely unable to provide the Shinigami power that could neutralize Hollows.
A deep sense of powerlessness quickly spread through his heart.
What should I do..., Masaki...?
"I understand! I'll do it!"
A loud voice broke the silence.
Shiba Isshin untied the captain's haori from his body and casually threw it on the floor.
"You're making it too complicated! Isn't it just about giving up the power of death and protecting her for the rest of your life? Then let's get started!"
What a waste of time!
"Grim Reaper...do you know what this means?" Long Xian asked through gritted teeth, "You will lose everything...your seat, your power, your pride as the Grim Reaper..."
"Don't you have any attachment to Soul Society?" Kisuke Urahara asked curiously.
"How could there not be! There are plenty!" Isshin laughed heartily, then turned to look at Masaki, who was groaning in pain. "But you know, if I just stand by and watch my savior die in front of me without doing anything, tomorrow I'll definitely laugh at myself today!"
This person... Ishida Ryūgen was stunned, completely unprepared for his answer.
Kisuke Urahara looked at Isshin, bowed slightly, and showed a hint of respect in his eyes: "As expected of the head of the Shiba family, this magnanimity is truly admirable... In that case, I would like to ask Captain Shiba to show me a model."
He turned around, walked to one side of the Japanese-style room, and opened a wooden door.
Shiba Isshin saw that the Asuka members were lying on the tatami mat with their eyes closed.
His breathing was even but heavy, and his body exhibited an unusual stiffness.
"This is....
""
"His current condition is very similar to the treatment plan that will follow."
Kisuke Urahara pointed at Asuka and said calmly, "In order to save his life, I also put his soul into a special artificial body."
"But the guy wasn't very appreciative, so I knocked him out..."
"This prosthetic body will suppress and disperse his original power, turning him completely into a human." Perhaps only in this way can his shattered soul not completely disintegrate.
"And the method to save this Quincy lady is the same."
Urahara turned his head and looked directly into Isshin's eyes: "You will enter the same Gikai, except that you will bind the Quincy girl... to your own soul."
"You will become human, just like this guy."
Shiba kept looking at the birds.
Indeed, the aura of spiritual power can no longer be sensed from him.
"What? You're making it sound so scary..." Yixin chuckled, his usually carefree face now radiating an open and honest confidence: "Feels pretty good! Let's get started!"
...Then please enter the artificial body.
Masaki's inner world.
It was a desolate wasteland shrouded in dark, torrential rain.
A huge rift opened in the sky, and a pure white creature wearing a bull's head mask let out a mournful roar.
Its claws are deeply embedded in the heart of the earth, attempting to devour the entire world.
-
Where am I? Am I going to die? Masaki looked at the giant Hollow with a blank expression.
Someone please save me...
The giant mouth slowly swallowed her.
"Hey, big guy."
A familiar voice sounded from behind Masaki, and she felt herself being picked up.
"This girl's future is already reserved for me. So, could you please move aside?"
Shiba Isshin's figure appeared in the torrential rain.
"Ah—! It's Mr. Death from that day!" Masaki exclaimed.
"Hey, I'm here to protect you."
Isshin embraced Masaki, turned his head, and gave her a bright smile.
roar-!!!
Upon seeing the sudden appearance of Shiba Isshin, the Hollow's phantom let out a deafening roar.
"I'd love to chat with you a little longer, but it seems like I don't have the time right now."
Yixin's gaze instantly turned sharp as a knife.
He gripped the moon, and at that moment, all his spiritual pressure frantically converged onto the blade.
"I might not need it again... Consider this a parting gift to you!"
With a twist of his body and a wrong step, he shattered the wasteland in Masaki's heart, his Zanpakuto drawing a perfect arc—"Getsuga Tenshou—!!!"
In an instant, a massive crescent-shaped slash, large enough to span the sky, roared out!
That was spiritual pressure condensed to its extreme, that was Shiba Isshin's final cry as a Shinigami.
In the real world, Masaki's furrowed brows finally relaxed, and she smiled.
Yi Xin slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
Standing guard beside him, Ryugen Ishida watched Isshin's back, which remained as upright as a mountain even though his spiritual pressure was completely gone.
He suddenly realized.
Masaki has found her place.
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