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Chapter 362 B
🕑 Added 2025-05-29 15:03:02 +0000 UTCChapter 362
2-in-1 chapter: Extra big chapter to make up for some that were a little short.
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Kaelith didn't respondâhe simply looked at him with a slight shake of the head, almost pitying.
That look seemed to set something off inside KagerĆza.
âSo it was all a lie earlier, wasnât it?! You were just trying to trick me!â
âPeople like you always say nice things, worm your way into someoneâs life, never once caring about how they feelâand when you realize theyâre not as useful as you imagined, youâre the first to walk away!â
âThose damn nobles were like that! Those trash Shinigami were like that! And youâre no different!!â
Seeing Inaba KagerĆza suddenly break down into a manic outburst, Kaelith raised his eyebrows.
It sounded like he was a hurt, withdrawn childâa classic villain backstory.
He shook his head.
âWell, I wasnât exactly lying⊠I just promised SĆsuke that only people he approves of can examine or study my body.â
âIâm not picky about stuff, but once Iâve made a promise, I donât break it lightly.â
Inaba sneered.
âWhat a pathetic excuse.â
âBut it doesnât matter anymore⊠Kaelith, Iâve been waiting for you here for a long time!â
âIf youâd stayed hiding in the World of the Living, maybe you couldâve kept dodging. But since you walked into my trap, donât blame anyone else!â
With a sharp shing, he drew his ZanpakutĆ:
âDance madly, RaikĆ«!!â
A flash of lightâand the blade transformed into a long staff-like weapon, with chopping blades at both ends. With the twin-bladed polearm in hand, Inaba twirled like a stage performer.
As he spun, a rift in space appeared.
From within, five figures surged forth.
Yoruichi ShihĆin, RĆjĆ«rĆ Ćtoribashi, KyĆraku Shunsui, Zaraki Kenpachi and Ukitake JĆ«shirĆ.
Five captain-level powerhouses, standing before Kaelith!
Seeing the summoned Captains, Inaba smiled smugly.
âWell? What do you think, Kaelith?â
âI know you can fight, but what does that matter? Iâve got five Captainsâtwo of them veterans, top-tier Soul Society elites!â
Kaelith folded his arms and nodded.
âIndeed. Quite formidable.â
Judging by their spiritual pressure alone, these copies were actually stronger than the originals.
Absolutely ridiculous.
How the hell did he even make these things?
Inaba smirkedâthen frowned again.
Why wasnât Kaelith worried? The man still looked like he was evaluating from on high.
This guy⊠doesnât realize how screwed he is.
He pointed Raikƫ forward:
âKill him!â
The five Captains drew their ZanpakutĆ without hesitation and lunged.
In the narrow lab space, Kaelith moved through them like windâtwisting his waist, ducking his head, dodging every slash.
After several steps, he suddenly reached out and grabbed RĆjĆ«rĆâs throat.
Crack!
Inabaâs eyes widened as Kaelith gave a sharp twistâsnapping his neck like a twig.
RĆjĆ«rĆâs body slumped and crumpled to the floor, his neck grotesquely bent.
Snap!*
His body shattered into dust, leaving only a glowing red Reigai pill.
Without pause, Kaelith surged forwardâhis body twisting into a strike.
Double Bone: Ikkotsu!
Ukitake flashed forward to block.
He raised his arms, conjuring over a dozen spiritual pressure barriers.
Kaelithâs fist crashed into themâcreating a shockwave, but failing to break through.
Kaelith didnât seem surprised.
Among the Captains, Ukitake was easily one of the strongestâif his lungs didnât act up, his combat power rivaled KyĆrakuâs.
Many believed Yamamoto held back during the SĆkyoku Hill battle, thinking he went easy on his former students. But the truth is, that was one of the rare times he fought seriouslyâ and even then, he couldnât beat them quickly.
As Ukitake blocked him, Kaelith sensed the incoming danger and leapt back.
SHINGâ KyĆrakuâs black blade swept past where heâd just stood.
âOho~ Still as slippery as ever, little brother.â
KyĆraku adjusted his hat and smiled.
âSorry, Kaelith. We didnât want this either.â
Ukitake gave a conflicted look and nodded apologetically.
Kaelith stared at the two of them, unsure how to feel.
Intuition told him they were fakes.
But visually, spiritually, even in mannerisms, they were nearly identical.
Inabaâs technology was truly terrifying. It seemed that a mad scientist could never be underestimated in any world.
Kaelith drew his ZanpakutĆ and raised it overheadâ
CLANG!!!
Zarakiâs booming laughter roared as his monstrous strength poured down through the blades, slamming into Kaelith.
Behind him, Zaraki grinned like a beast, forcing his blade down in a power struggle.
Kaelith remained calm, bearing the weight of the blow as he turned to KyĆraku and Ukitake.
âWhereâs the teacherâs copy? Not here?â
KyĆraku blinked. But he didnât answer.
Ukitake looked like he wanted to explainâbut stayed silent.
Kaelith nodded slowly.
âAh, I see. You couldnât copy him.â
At that, Inaba snapped.
âThatâs because of materials!! My tech is flawless! But Yamamotoâs spiritual pressure is too overwhelmingâno material can contain his soul!â
Kaelith chuckled.
âHonestly, I had no idea if theyâd answerâbut you just gave yourself away.â
â?â
Inabaâs face darkened. He had that feeling again. A feeling that he was about to have an aneurysm again.
Before he could argue, Kaelith suddenly pausedâhis gaze locking on Inaba.
Among all the captains, there was one he could always tell apart from a fake: Ukitake JĆ«shirĆ.
The real Ukitake had a unique energy protecting his lungs.
In his past lifeâs forum-lurking days, Kaelith had learned fragments of loreâlike how Ukitake housed the Soul Kingâs right arm.
Its aura was similar to the Soul Kingâs fingertip heâd seen in Rangiku.
This copy didnât have it.
Yet suddenly, Kaelith felt a faint trace of the Soul Kingâs essence but not from Ukitake. It was from Inaba himself.
Still fighting off the captains, he scanned Inaba.
Nothing. No trace on his body.
Then⊠there was only one possibility!
Seeing Kaelith distracted, Yoruichi pounced.
In a blur, she crossed half the room.
Lightning crackled around her as she aimed a crushing punch at Kaelith.
KyĆraku and Ukitake unleashed bakudĆ.
Zarakiâs spiritual pressure crushed down.
Five captains. One strike.
Even Hinamoriâthe meat shield of Soul Societyâwould fall.
And yet, facing this overwhelming joint assault⊠Kaelith didnât move.
He simply opened his mouth:
"Bankai."
BOOM!!!!
A pillar of Reiatsu erupted, shattering the lab ceiling, piercing the clouds.
The shockwave sent Yoruichi flyingâslamming her into the wall.
KyĆraku and Ukitakeâs spells shattered.
Even Zaraki stumbled back.
Pushing them all back, Kaelith grinned and surged forwardârushing straight at Inaba KagerĆza!
With a roar, he drove his massive metallic claw at Inabaâs chest.
â!!!â
Inabaâs face twisted.
He tried to reactâbut his untrained body couldnât match Kaelithâs speed.
Before he could even lift his ZanpakutĆ halfway, Kaelithâs claw had already closed in on his chest.
ButâŠ
The pain he expected didnât come.
The claw stopped just short of his chestâblocked by an invisible force.
Kaelith froze mid-strike.
ThenâWHAM!
He was blasted backward as if struck by an unseen force, crashing through the wall into the adjacent chamber in a storm of debris.
KagerĆza stared, eyes wide with disbelief.
He looked at the direction Kaelith had flown.
He glanced between Kaelithâs landing site and his own chest.
Then suddenly, like heâd discovered gold, his eyes lit up.
âKaelith⊠was blown away by my surge of spiritual pressure in a moment of crisis?!â
âHahaha!!â
âSo thatâs itâIâve become that strong?!â
Inaba cackled with glee.
KyĆrakuâs clone frowned.
âLord Inaba⊠I believe this might be a trick.â
As the strongest among the replicas, he hadn't sensed any such power from Inaba.
To him, it looked like Kaelith had intentionally pulled back, despite clearly having the chance to end things.
Inaba scowled.
He thought Kyorakuâs clone was spouting nonsense.
He was the one behind this entire scheme. Killing him would unravel everything.
Kaelith wasnât an idiotâwhy would he hold back at such a moment?
Clearly, this was a miraculous momentâhis own body breaking through, an emergency awakening under pressure!
He opened his mouth to boastâ
Then froze.
âWait. That room isââ
âQuick! After him! Stop that bastard!!â
The four captain copies charged through the hole.
Inaba followed.
He waved away the dustâthen froze in horror.
A tall glass incubation chamber stood in the room, connected to a web of cables and machinery.
But the subject inside the chamberâwas gone.
The outer glass had been smashed open, and nutrient fluid spilled all across the floor.
The girl that had been inside⊠and Kaelith⊠had both vanished.
"KAAAEELIIIITH!!!!"
Inaba's furious roar echoed through the lab.
---
*Eleventh Division, secret lab.*
Built by Aizen and Kaelith after their return.
Because of Inabaâs unknown reach, Aizen had abandoned all former labs.
Now, he sat reviewing dataâwhen the door opened.
He reached for his sword without turning.
âYouâre back?â
âIâm Kaelith.â
âWhat?â
âThis is my first time in Seireitei.â
Hearing the nonsense, Aizen relaxed and took his hand off his blade.
He turnedâand frowned.
Kaelith had a girl slung over his shoulder.
She wore a simple white dressâwrinkled and recently dried with spirit pressure.
She was unconscious, hanging like luggage.
What the hell did you do?
âAnd this is?â
Kaelith grinned.
âHeh heh. Prepare yourself. This here is⊠the mastermind behind the entire incident!â
â?â
Aizen blinked.
Hadnât Kaelith already identified Inaba as the culprit?
Now this girl?
But Kaelith continued:
âWell, to be precise⊠a key figure in the plot.â
The memories had come flooding back during their chat.
And the green-haired girl confirmed it.
âShe and Inaba are two halves of the same soul. Like Starrk and Lilynette.â
âWhen the Vanguard Project was shut down, a researcher split their soul to evade captureâhiding in plain sight.â
âInaba is the dark, ambitious side. This girl is the kind, gentle side.â
Aizen raised an eyebrow.
Impressive. Typical of someone qualified for the Vanguard Project.
He stood, checking her vitals.
âSheâs weak. Seems she was on sedatives for a long time. Poor health.â
âI have a life-support pod. Originally for Inaba. She can use it first.â
They placed her in the pod.
Kaelith explained what had happened while Aizen monitored the readings.
Aizen hadnât bugged Kaelith, suspecting Inabaâs lab tech might detect it.
But when Kaelith mentioned the Soul King fragment in Inabaâs body, Aizenâs eyes lit up.
âThat explains everythingâŠâ
He leaned back and thought.
A few minutes laterâ
âBased on your description, whatâs in Inaba⊠is the Soul Kingâs Breath.â
âBreath?â
Kaelith blinked.
Even that could be a fragment?
Aizen explained.
âThink of it simplyâhis lungs.â
âAs the worldâs creator, the Soul Kingâs breath can absorb and release reishi freely.â
âInaba mustâve used that ability to inject absurd amounts of reishi into his Reigaiâcreating beings stronger than the originals.â
Kaelith nodded.
Aizen looked at the girl in the tank and smiled.
Inaba⊠youâre such a helpful guy.
Everything youâve done has only benefited me.
Once I get my hands on you, Iâll put you in the best tankâwith the finest nutrient mix.
.........................
............
.
In a haze, KujĆ Nozomi slowly opened her eyes.
What appeared before her was not the dark, damp lab, nor the bubbling tank of nutrient fluid. Instead, it was a strange, unfamiliar ceiling.
Suddenly, a face popped into view.
âOha~~yĆ, Onee-chan~~ Time to wake up!â
âIf you donât get up, Iâll have toâŠâ
He grinned evilly.
She startledâbolting upright, shrinking into a corner and clutching her blanket.
Then something occurred to her, and she immediately glanced beneath the blanket.
Thankfully, her clothes were intactâclean and neat.
Wait⊠not the clothes she was wearing in the tank.
Who changed her?!
Kaelith smiled.
âDonât worry. I changed your clothes. No one else saw.â
YOU were the one I was worried about!
Nozomi gawked, speechless.
Then noticed his Captainâs haori.
Was he the real one�
No, maybe he was a fake too. She frowned, clearly uncertain.
Kaelith pointed toward a tray on the nightstand. âEat something first. SĆsuke said after being in the tank for so long, your digestive system might not handle solid food well. I asked someone to make porridge.â
With that, he walked over to a chair, sat down, and picked up a handheld game console, casually immersing himself in the screen.
Nozomi turned to glance at the tray. The aroma of food wafted over, and her stomach quietly growled in response.
But despite her hunger, the trauma of confinement had left her unable to trust her surroundings so easily.
She took a deep breath and stared at Kaelith.
âWho⊠exactly are you? And why am I here?â
Without even looking up, Kaelith replied smoothly, âI am the all-knowing, all-seeing, peerless genius, the unmatched paragon of wisdom and talent, the Captain of the Eleventh DivisionâKaelith!â
His intro ran on autopilot while he gamed.
She froze.
âYouâre Kaelith?!â
âIndeed.â
âThen⊠can you show me your ZanpakutĆ?â
Kaelith drew Rixiang Jimie. Twin blades ignited in blue fire, glowing with unmistakable energy.
At the sight of them, Nozomi visibly relaxed. Her eyes lit up.
Then, with a serious expression, she stood up.
âCaptain Kaelith, I have critical intel to report!â
Kaelith sighed and put down the controller. He then summoned a pen and paper from his shadow.
âSpeak.â
Under his watchful gaze, Nozomi recounted everythingâInabaâs history, his abilities, the details of the Vanguard Project, and every fact she could remember about the conspiracy.
She didnât hold back. It was clear she had made up her mind to reveal everything.
ââŠThatâs everything. Captain Kaelith, right now, only youâsomeone Inaba canât replicateâhave the power to stop him. Please, you have to stop his plan.â
âPlease, you must defeat him!â
Kaelith looked down at the paper in front of him. It was blank. Not a single word was written.
Damn it, moss head. He already knew everything she just told him.
Still, listening to her calmly explain it all had its own kind of charm.
After thinking for a few seconds, he put on a more serious expression.
âStopping Inaba⊠isnât impossible. But it depends on your sincerity.â
âMy⊠sincerity?â
She blinked in confusion.
Kaelith was just about to elaborate when a new figure appeared in the room.
Soi Fon, cold-faced and expressionless, reported flatly, âSir. A disturbance has broken out at the First Division headquarters. Several Reigai Captains are confronting the originals.â
Nozomiâs heart sank.
Inaba had made his move.
Of courseâher escape must have triggered him.
As two halves of the same soul, Inaba could only unlock his full power by becoming whole again.
He would never let that potential slip away.
She now faced a choice.
Keep running and survive aloneâor sacrifice her safety to buy time for Kaelith and the others to act.
She glanced at him.
Kaelith was grinning.
âGood. Perfect, even. Everythingâs going according to plan⊠and this victory, Iâll be taking for myself.â
He laughed loudly, almost theatrically.
Watching him burst into exaggerated laughter like a comic book villain, Nozomi was momentarily unsure.
Had she⊠really trusted the right person?
