Help! I am bound to Aizen!
Chapter 381

Chapter 381

2-in-1 chapter:  

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BOOM!!

Amid a massive explosion, Ōetsu was blasted backward from the smoke. He flipped midair and landed steadily on the ground.

Looking at Kaelith slowly walking out from the smoke, like a demon god descending to earth, he curled his lips slightly, feeling a bit complicated.

Though the past few days of battle had already told him this was no opponent to underestimate, being suppressed to this extent still came as a surprise.

This kid—was his rate of progress even remotely reasonable?

He, after all, was the second-oldest member of the Royal Guard, yet he was being beaten down by a brat—hard to justify, really.

He let go of his grip, and the two Zanpakutō in his hands dissolved into light and reformed as physical manifestations some distance away.

“Hmph, little Kaelith, I admit your strength is indeed formidable—when it comes to frontal assault, no one can match you.”

“Yes.”

Kaelith nodded.

Ōetsu fell silent for two seconds.

Wow. Not even a shred of humility?

He adjusted his sunglasses and continued:

“However, I happen to have a blade here that’s just perfect for dealing with someone like you.”

Under Kaelith’s gaze, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

A manifested Zanpakutō spirit—an older sister-type woman—leapt from a distance and landed beside Ōetsu.

On her back was a large glass container filled with a gelatinous, jelly-like substance.

A Zanpakutō was embedded in the jelly, floating near the surface due to the guard’s buoyancy.

Ōetsu grasped the hilt and drew it from the jelly with a swipe.

“Little Kaelith, your Rixiang Jimie has the ability to bypass defenses.”

“But that ability has a limitation—if the opponent replaces defense with offense, your power that bypasses defense cannot activate.”

“And this blade of mine—Sayafushi —has a similar trait.”

“This sword possesses unmatched cutting power. In front of it, anything can be sliced!”

“That’s why I couldn’t even find a material worthy of being its sheath—it must stay submerged in the gelatin tank.”

“Now, Kaelith, let’s test it—when it comes to direct combat, is my Sayafushi stronger, or your Rixiang Jimie superior?”

Saying this, he pointed the blade toward Kaelith from afar.

Kaelith grinned:

“Alright, let’s try it then!”

The twin blades in his hands vibrated with a resonant hum.

“Roar, my beloved blades.”

“Through all we've faced, no one knows better than I your valor in battle!”

“If anyone dares to doubt your strength, I, Kaelith, will be the first to object!”

Hearing Kaelith’s words, Rixiang Jimie seemed slightly surprised.

As several bystanders and the manifested Zanpakutō spirits watched, Ōetsu and Kaelith charged at each other simultaneously.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!!

Sparks flew as the two exchanged over a dozen strikes in the blink of an eye.

Then they pulled apart again.

Ōetsu lifted his blade, pleased, and showed off its edge.

The sword looked exactly the same as when he drew it—pristine, without a single nick, radiating a seamless, cold gleam.

On Kaelith’s side, the blades of his twin short swords now bore several small notches.

“Well, little Kaelith—now you’ve seen what Sayafushi can do~”

Ōetsu smirked proudly.

Kaelith gave a short laugh: “Again!”

With that, he flashed forward and resumed the clash with Ōetsu.

Not far away, Shutara Senjumaru observed the scene with visible displeasure.

“Sayafushi... truly an unpleasant blade.”

As members of the Royal Guard, they rarely interacted much, but given their long lifespans, occasional sparring or exchanges weren’t uncommon.

Every time she fought him, Ōetsu would pull out this Sayafushi.

Against it, her carefully prepared divine garments and woven barrier fabrics were all meaningless—the blade would slice through everything effortlessly.

It annoyed her so much so that she started hating any blad that held similar powers to it. When she saw Kaelith’s Rixiang Jimie, she also took a disliking to it.

Still, if she had to choose between Sayafushi and Rixiang Jimie, she would definitely support Rixiang Jimie.

Tenjirō Kirinji clicked his tongue.

Sayafushi really was a pain.

What kind of power the blade could unleash depended entirely on its wielder.

In an average Shinigami’s hands, Sayafushi would just be an ordinary, forgettable weapon.

With his own speed, he could easily outmaneuver such opponents and win through positioning.

But in the hands of a battle-hardened monster like Ōetsu, Sayafushi was every enemy’s nightmare.

Even someone known as “Tenjirō the Lightning” wouldn’t dare claim he could dominate Ōetsu in speed.

A single misstep, and once Sayafushi landed a hit, it’d be all over.

Among those present, only the Monk let out a soft chuckle.

The three others instinctively looked toward him.

“Hyōsube-dono, you mustn’t laugh at my teacher!”

Kirio Hikifune protested.

Hearing this, the Monk laughed heartily:

“Not at all, not at all.”

“This old man isn’t laughing at young Kaelith—quite the opposite, I’m laughing at Ōetsu’s overconfidence.”

“Overconfidence?”

At his words, the others were taken aback.

Clearly, it was Ōetsu who held the advantage.

At this rate, Kaelith’s blades would be ruined.

While Zanpakutō can regenerate even in Shikai if broken, if the damage is too severe, it takes months—perhaps even years—to fully reforge and retemper them.

Kaelith might be without his Zanpakutō for a long time.

Still, since the Monk said so, the others focused on the battlefield again.

Seconds later, Tenjirō Kirinji was the first to notice something.

He blinked, a strange look appearing on his face.

“Wait… this has to be a joke, right?”

On the battlefield, Kaelith, grinning with a wild edge, launched relentless attacks at Ōetsu.

At first, Ōetsu was amused.

Fighting so fiercely even though clearly outmatched—was he trying to destroy his Zanpakutō in desperation?

Though Kaelith’s strikes were heavy and intense, as long as he endured them, once Rixiang Jimie gave out, victory would be his.

But after a while, Rixiang Jimie showed no signs of weakening.

Ōetsu started feeling unsure.

While keeping up the offensive exchange with Kaelith, he took a moment to focus on the edge of Kaelith’s blades.

And froze.

Rixiang Jimie’s edges were intact!

The small notches from earlier had disappeared!

A second later, under the stunned gaze that felt like he had just been soul-slapped by Komamura, the freshly made notches began rapidly healing as well.

In a blink, the edges had returned to their sharp, smooth state—gleaming and flawless once more.

Is my blade working?

This thing definitely activated, right?!

On the stands, Shutara Senjumaru stared at the scene in shock.

“Monk, what exactly... is going on here?”

She couldn’t help but ask.

Under the gaze of several companions, Ichibe Hyōsube crossed his arms and grinned.

“This is the ability of Reishi manipulation. You all surely know that everything in the Soul Society is made up of Reishi.”

“The bodies of Shinigami, the food we eat, the houses we live in—at their core, they are all Reishi.”

“Due to certain special circumstances, Kaelith has an exceptionally strong control over Reishi... Every time Rixiang Jimie is damaged by Ōetsu’s attacks, he immediately gathers Reishi from the surrounding air to restore the blade.”

“Therefore, no matter how many times Ōetsu damages his Zanpakutō, it’s impossible for him to win through that method.”

Hearing Ichibe’s words, everyone exchanged glances.

Tenjirō Kirinji’s expression twisted slightly.

Although the monk described it lightly, this ability isn’t something that can be brushed off so easily!

Quincy may have Reishi control, but theirs is one-directional—disassembling Reishi structures of surrounding matter and absorbing it into their bodies for combat use.

Kaelith, however, was transforming Reishi into another substance altogether.

This wasn’t just a Shinigami anymore… this bordered on the realm of the divine!

He couldn’t help exclaiming, “How is this possible?! That someone could actually achieve something like this?!”

Shutara Senjumaru slightly furrowed her brows.

She said in a low voice:

“There is.”

“According to what I know, the last person who could do something like this... was Yhwach.”

At her words, both Kirinji and Hikifune looked stunned.

On the battlefield, under Kaelith’s ferocious assault, Ōetsu’s stamina gradually began to dwindle.

Eventually, he could no longer maintain his stance in the blade clash.

Facing a fierce downward strike from Kaelith’s dual swords, he instinctively raised Sayafushi horizontally to block.

The moment he lifted the blade, his heart sank.

This is bad!

Under Ōetsu’s twisted expression, Kaelith grinned and brought his dual blades crashing down.

The transition from offense to defense in Sayafushi was immediately detected and exploited by Rixiang Jimie’s rules.

Crack!

Sayafushi’s blade was deeply struck by Rixiang Jimie—cutting from the edge all the way to the spine.

Had Ōetsu not withdrawn the blade in time, that strike would have split Sayafushi into three pieces!

Looking at the nearly-ruined blade in his hand, Ōetsu showed a pained expression.

Since its creation, Sayafushi had cut through everything—never needing sharpening or maintenance. He once thought it was an eternal, indestructible blade.

He never imagined it would fall victim to Kaelith today.

What a disaster!

Kaelith rested one Rixiang Jimie on his shoulder, the other pointing at Ōetsu:

“Jie jie jie... so, what do you think?!”

“Now do you understand whose Zanpakutō is stronger—your Sayafushi or my Rixiang Jimie?!”

Seeing Kaelith’s smug expression, Ōetsu felt like he’d just been emotionally violated by Komamura.

He plunged Sayafushi back into the jelly container, planning to take it home for repairs.

Then he looked at Kaelith and raised his hand:

“I’m done, I’m done!”

“I admit it, you’re stronger right now!”

“Damn it… monster, an actual monster… just two hundred years old and already this powerful?!”

But soon, he seemed to think of something, and a smile returned to his face.

“Hmph... Little Kaelith, you’ve already fought all the other Royal Guard members.”

“Next up… it’s time to challenge the Monk.”

Kaelith nodded.

“Exactly.”

“Heh heh, then I’ll look forward to it.”

“Let’s hope you won’t be so crushed by defeat that you can’t even fight anymore.”

Kaelith raised an eyebrow.

“That old man... gives you that much confidence?”

“Heh, this has nothing to do with confidence or not.”

Ōetsu shook his head.

“Last time you fought him, you only saw a fraction of Ichimonji’s power.”

“At that time, you were far too weak—not qualified to witness its true strength.”

“But now, you do have that qualification.”

“Unfortunately… the stronger someone is, the more easily they collapse after witnessing Ichimonji’s full power.”

“For a million years, countless powerhouses have stood before the Monk like you. But… in the end, they all lost.”

“Of those, at least seventy percent gave up hope of climbing further after losing to him.”

“Let’s hope you’re not the next one, heh heh.”

He looked at Kaelith, expecting to see some pressure.

But to his frustration, there wasn’t even a trace of anxiety in Kaelith’s eyes.

Kaelith grinned in response:

“No problem.”

“If I can’t do it once, I’ll try a hundred times.”

“If a hundred times doesn’t work, then ten thousand.”

“No matter who the opponent is, as long as I keep getting stronger and keep fighting, the day will come when I win!”

Ōetsu was momentarily stunned.

If someone else said that, he’d burst out laughing.

That kind of perfectly righteous logic—he usually found it laughable.

But… coming from Kaelith’s mouth, it somehow carried a strange sense of conviction.

This guy—he really could live by those words and never waver.

“Damn it, I’m actually being convinced by you.”

“You really are a weirdo, Little Kaelith.”

Kaelith waved him off:

“If you had a group of troublemakers around you who needed constant care, you’d become like me too.”

In Seireitei, Aizen, Kisuke Urahara, and the others all frowned at the same time, feeling like someone had just trashed them behind their backs...

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To celebrate Kaelith’s defeat of all Royal Guard members except the Monk, the Royal Guard held a joyous banquet in the Kirio’s Palace.

Anyone unaware would’ve thought Kaelith had just taken down their mortal enemies.

After feasting and merrymaking, the group dispersed happily.

Most assumed Kaelith would take the next step and challenge Ichibe Hyōsube.

But to everyone’s surprise, after defeating Ōetsu, Kaelith chose instead to begin training.

His training ground was the Detached Hall guarded by the Monk.

This place, apart from the Soul King’s Inner Sanctum, contained the densest concentration of Reishi in the entire Soul King Palace.

For any other Shinigami—even captains—moving here would be nearly impossible.

Under such immense Reishi density, taking a step, swinging a sword, or even speaking would be a luxury for most captains.

But Kaelith entered the place without any pressure.

Led by the Monk, he arrived at the Path of Trials.

This path was originally an extreme test—its overwhelming spiritual pressure designed to suppress the challenger, who must endure and walk to the end to complete their ascension.

But Kaelith merely used it as an ordinary training ground.

Under Ichibe’s expectant gaze, Kaelith stepped into it—

And Marched forward without hesitation.

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