Chapter 28: Zuo Zongwei and the Shadow
The Shadow quickly disappeared into the night. Komamura Sajin did not make a move, or rather, he had no chance to do so. The Shadow's speed was simply too fast.
Gazing at the Rukongai shrouded in darkness, Komamura Sajin hesitated. He felt that today's events were very wrong and required careful consideration, but there was no time for him to think.
The female Shinigami who had been taken was named Sayaka. Although she was just an ordinary member of the 7th Division, Komamura Sajin had high hopes for her talent and had personally selected her for his division.
If it were a captain from another division, they would surely weigh the pros and cons in this situation. But Komamura Sajin only hesitated for a moment. After leaving a series of carved marks beneath the corpse of Dondochakka, he quickly gave chase in the direction the Shadow had vanished.
Several kilometers away, in a forest, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on a thick tree branch, holding a military micro-computer.
Hiss~
The image on the micro-computer froze. Su Xiao tapped the side cover, but it was useless.
Through the surveillance footage, Su Xiao confirmed that his target had given chase. This was also why he had chosen Komamura Sajin. In other words, Komamura Sajin was bait.
If Su Xiao could defeat and kill Komamura Sajin tonight, then his hunt within the Seireitei would officially begin.
"It seems he's not going to follow orders. As expected."
Su Xiao tossed aside the micro-computer in his hand, stood up, and leaped down from the tree branch.
To lure out Komamura Sajin, Su Xiao had used the clue of "Aizen's murder." After this, the Shadow would be exposed to the sight of many captains, becoming the prime suspect for tonight's incident. In the Shadow's, no, Zuo Zongwei's case, after he made a certain decision, his role in Su Xiao's mind had been downgraded from high-end combat power to high-grade cannon fodder.
After that, things became much simpler. He directly used the Shadow to lure the enemy. If it failed, there would be losses, but it wouldn't be an unacceptable degree.
Two figures moved through the Rukongai, one after the other. After chasing for a few hundred meters, Komamura Sajin stopped.
It wasn't that he didn't dare to continue the chase, but his reason told him he couldn't go any further.
"Captain, give up on me! I..."
A loud shout came from ahead. It was the female Shinigami. She was bound by strands of red blood threads, completely unable to resist.
With a thud, the Shadow threw the female Shinigami to the ground. Strands of red blood threads extended from his Zanpakutō. The blood threads surged, and the female Shinigami was surprised to find herself free again.
Swish! A flash of blood-red light cut through the night sky. The female Shinigami's body stiffened. The slash had passed through her neck.
The female Shinigami lowered her head. She tried to stand up, but her movements were stiff, like a walking corpse.
"That's right, it's the Yellow Springs."
Seeing this, Komamura Sajin confirmed Zuo Zongwei's identity.
"Komamura, that person's order was to lure you into the forest, but I don't intend to do that."
The Shadow, or rather, Zuo Zongwei, smiled. The Zanpakutō in his hand slowly sheathed. The female Shinigami's eyes flashed with a blood-red light, and a sinister smile appeared on her face.
"Although doing this might..."
Zuo Zongwei stopped mid-sentence, his body suddenly freezing.
"Komamura, leave... here... now... that guy..."
Zuo Zongwei's blood vessels bulged all over his body. A magic circle appeared in his pupils. After a moment, Zuo Zongwei's expression returned to normal. Now, he had become the Shadow.
"As expected, if loyalty drops below a certain level, you can't retain the summoned creature's personal consciousness."
A slightly dissatisfied voice came from the darkness.
"Who!"
Komamura Sajin drew the Zanpakutō from his waist. It was a very traditional-looking Zanpakutō.
A figure draped in a black robe and wearing a hood emerged from the darkness. It was Su Xiao. He walked behind Zuo Zongwei and pressed a diamond-shaped crystal in his hand against Zuo Zongwei's back.
The diamond-shaped crystal ignored the obstruction of flesh and blood, gradually sinking into Zuo Zongwei's body. Zuo Zongwei's eyes regained some vitality, but they were far from as lively as before.
"From now on, kill any living creature that approaches this area."
"Yes."
Zuo Zongwei, no, the Shadow knelt on one knee. Although his attire was still shabby, his demeanor was completely different from before.
The reason Su Xiao retained the Shadow's personal consciousness was that he wanted to utilize the Shadow's Bankai ability. As an expert in alchemical biology, Su Xiao could certainly completely control the Shadow, but doing so would cause him to lose two abilities: the Shikai and Bankai of his Zanpakutō.
Undoubtedly, losing these two abilities would greatly reduce the Shadow's combat effectiveness. But if he didn't do this, Zuo Zongwei's betrayal was only a matter of time. Su Xiao had been observing earlier to see if he could increase Zuo Zongwei's loyalty. Judging from the current situation, it was completely impossible. Therefore, he decisively sealed Zuo Zongwei's consciousness, making him the Shadow.
Komamura Sajin witnessed all of this. The bizarre turn of events made him feel uneasy.
"Who are you?"
As soon as Komamura Sajin said this, he regretted it, realizing that asking this was meaningless.
"We just met during the day, and you can't recognize me now? Canine olfactory senses should be quite sharp."
Su Xiao pulled down his hood, a very casual smile on his face.
"It's you..."
Komamura Sajin was only surprised for a moment before accepting the fact.
"So this is your purpose for entering the Seireitei? If I'm not mistaken, Captain Aizen also died by your hand, right? Research staff member, Bai Ye!"
Komamura Sajin gritted his teeth as he said the last few words. He was secretly alarmed at this moment, for a simple reason: he had also swallowed a Reishi Sphere, and the Reishi Sphere had been created by Su Xiao. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
Komamura Sajin grew more and more frightened the more he thought, but he didn't retreat immediately because there was no longer a chance to do so. He was now in the Rukongai area, surrounded by wilderness, and the Shadow was blocking his rear.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. The smile on his face gradually faded.
Crack, crack...
The sound of mechanisms opening and closing came from within Su Xiao's clothes. Rings and shackles slid out from his cuffs, falling to the ground.
A nearly visible blood aura began to spread around Su Xiao. In an instant, the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs in the vicinity ceased completely. Everything within half a kilometer fell into dead silence.
Swish! Dragon-Slaying Flash was drawn. Pale blue electric arcs surged along its blade. In the night, Dragon-Slaying Flash looked like a blade of lightning.
"A clever deception."
Komamura Sajin had "completely understood" what was going on. Or rather, he had guessed Su Xiao's purpose for infiltrating the Seireitei. It was most likely for revenge, and the captains of each division were his targets.
If it were an ordinary person, Komamura Sajin wouldn't be this nervous. But Su Xiao was the research staff member who had provided the Reishi Spheres. If he had tampered with the Reishi Spheres, that would be an extremely terrifying thing.
In fact, Komamura Sajin was overthinking it. The Reishi Spheres were entirely beneficial to Shinigami, with no harm. With captains like Yamamoto Genryūsai, Unohana Retsu, and Kurotsuchi Mayuri present, Su Xiao wouldn't dare tamper with the Reishi Spheres. That would be an act of self-destruction, a foolish move.
"Bai Ye, I have one last question. You've gone to all this trouble..."
Komamura Sajin's words didn't register with Su Xiao at all. The reason was simple: he had already guessed the other party's goal—to extract more information from him.
Although Su Xiao ignored Komamura Sajin, he was still probing the other party's data. He needed to determine the strength of a captain-level Shinigami. Komamura Sajin should be one of the weakest among the captain-level Shinigami.
[Comparing intelligence attributes between both parties... Comparison complete. Our intelligence attribute is 1.53 times that of the enemy. Obtained 100% of the enemy's data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Komamura Sajin
Category: Shinigami
Health: 100%
Mana: 2600 points
Strength: 95 (True Attribute)
Agility: 85
Stamina: 98 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 60
Charm: 25
Skill 1, Shinigami Constitution (Passive): Health +3000 points, Mana +2000 points. Can absorb Reishi.
Skill 2, Hakuda (Passive): Advanced close-combat techniques of a Shinigami. Enhances melee combat ability.
Skill 3, Kidō (Passive): This ability can be further divided into Hadō (Attack), Bakudō (Binding), and Kaidō (Healing). Komamura Sajin is only proficient in Hadō.
Skill 4, Ancestral Wolf Clan (Passive): This ability cannot be analyzed through detection-type equipment.
Skill 5, Zanpakutō (Shikai: Tenken): Upon release, the Zanpakutō itself does not change. Komamura Sajin can partially giantify his spiritual body.
Skill 6, Zanpakutō (Bankai: Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō): Summons a giant black-armored warrior (Tengen Myō'ō). The movements of Tengen Myō'ō are synchronized with Komamura Sajin's main body. There is a life link between the two. When Tengen Myō'ō is injured, the corresponding part of Komamura Sajin's main body will suffer an equivalent injury.
Skill 7, Humanization Technique (Ultimate Skill): This ability is currently unavailable.
...