Soifon and Rangiku Matsumoto stepped on the spirit particles in mid-air, tracking the hidden Adjuchas at a low altitude just a few meters above the ground.
The withered trees on both sides receded rapidly, and the fishy stench of decay grew thicker and thicker.
Suddenly, within Soifon's spiritual sense, a wave of Reiatsu carrying malicious intent shot toward the two of them.
"Rangiku!"
She quickly grabbed Rangiku Matsumoto's arm and instantly activated Shunpo, shifting dozens of meters to the side!
Vroom—
A dull tearing sound rang out from thin air as a thick, crimson Cero swept past their previous position, eventually turning into a red speck and vanishing into the Soul Society sky.
"Oh? You dodged it?"
A raspy, cold voice with a metallic quality—resembling the hiss of a snake—came from ahead.
The two of them focused their gaze.
A bizarrely shaped Hollow slowly emerged from the depths of the withered forest below. It had humanoid limbs, a flattened head like a cobra, and a crack in its bone mask that revealed a single yellow eye.
Its arms were long, but the hands were gone, replaced by two hideous snake heads covered in white bone armor that constantly dripped purple venom.
As the venom hit the ground, it immediately made a sizzling corrosive sound, sending up white smoke that chilled the heart.
'An Adjuchas like this would still be a drooling mess even if cured; its quality is just too poor.'
Soifon frowned with a hint of disgust. The Adjuchas's appearance was genuinely nauseating to her, especially with her heightened spiritual senses from the Spirit Body Strengthening, which made the sickening, fishy stench of its venom even more pungent.
"Finally, someone has arrived... who looks a bit less boring."
The cobra-like Adjuchas flicked its scarlet tongue, its lone eye locking onto Soifon beside Rangiku Matsumoto.
"Are you the one responsible for the souls and Shinigami disappearing from the Rukongai?"
Seeing that the opponent could speak and communicate, Soifon signaled Rangiku with a hand gesture behind her back, telling her not to act rashly.
"Jie-jie-jie, the energy provided by Shinigami is truly not bad at all."
A classic villainous laugh.
"But your mask is already broken. Can you even still evolve?"
Soifon tapped her forehead with a finger, wondering if she could coax some information out of it.
"Ignorant Shinigami... what do you know?!"
"Hiss—hiss—"
The Adjuchas seemed insulted by those words. It wanted to explain, but appeared hindered by the thought of some terrifying existence, and could only hiss in angry frustration.
'So it won't talk after all?'
Soifon was somewhat disappointed. Even though it was so angry, it didn't even try to argue back by saying something like 'I'm an Arrancar created by Aizen.'
Instead of answering Soifon's question, it suddenly raised the snake head on its right arm, spraying a shower of purple venom toward Soifon and Rangiku Matsumoto like a downpour.
"Rangiku, get back."
Soifon took half a step forward, shielding Rangiku Matsumoto.
"Captain Soifon! You don't need to do this for me—"
Before her words could finish, a massive, translucent spirit-particle barrier rose in front of them, blocking all the venom.
The venom slammed into the Dankū, creating violent corrosive sounds, but it could not penetrate.
Wait, did Rangiku Matsumoto say something just now?
The sound of the venom corroding the Dankū happened to mask her cry, and since her sentence was cut short, Soifon indeed couldn't hear clearly.
"Rangiku, did you say something?"
Soifon asked without turning her head, her eyes still fixed on the Adjuchas before her.
"..." Realizing she had misunderstood the situation, Rangiku Matsumoto's cheeks flushed crimson. "I was just telling Captain Soifon to be careful."
"Stay far back and record all the forms and techniques of this Adjuchas for the files."
Soifon didn't suspect anything else and simply gave her instructions.
In the distance, the duo in black robes watched the battle, somewhat surprised by Soifon's performance.
"Bakudō #81, cast without incantation..."
"Captain Aizen, it seems Captain Soifon truly is a genius."
"Should we recruit her?"
"She won't work." Aizen glanced at Gin Ichimaru. "Soifon is ultimately someone bound by emotion. She cannot understand me."
After all, in Sōsuke Aizen's eyes, Soifon had only begun to work hard to become stronger because of the betrayal of the person she admired. While such people are easy to use, they are difficult to truly control.
Furthermore, Soifon's strength wasn't yet great enough to ignore this flaw, so there was no need to recruit her.
Though both were driven by revenge, she couldn't compare to his friend Kaname Tōsen when it came to the grander vision.
After all, Tōsen was the man who would stand with him to overthrow this decayed world.
...
Back to the battlefield.
"I just need to cut off both of your snake heads, right?"
Soifon drew her Zanpakutō and pushed off the spirit particle floor in the air with her toes, shooting toward the snake Adjuchas like a bullet.
Swish—
There was no sensation of cutting through flesh; Soifon's blade whistled through the air as the Adjuchas vanished before her eyes.
Thud—
A dull boom sounded, accompanied by Rangiku Matsumoto's startled cry.
"Captain Soifon! Watch your back!"
Almost the moment the voice reached her, the Adjuchas appeared behind Soifon. The snake head on its right arm opened its maw, its venom-dripping fangs snapping toward Soifon's neck.
"I've got you! You fool!" the Adjuchas's voice rang out triumphantly. "Never seen speed like this before, have you? You country-bumpkin Shinigami! This is Sonído!"
The sharp fangs pierced through the air, and the Soifon they bit into became blurry and distorted, like a reflection in water.
Finally, it dissipated into the air.
"It seems your Sonído isn't fast enough. You can't even tell the difference between me and a Shunpo afterimage."
A cold voice came from behind it, and in its peripheral vision, the Adjuchas could see a golden finger-blade...
"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi."
Stab.
Stab.
Using Suzumebachi, Soifon struck the exact same spot on its back shoulder twice in rapid succession.
Suddenly, two clear piercing sounds rang out, and a distinct black butterfly pattern—a Hornet's Crest—bloomed on the Adjuchas's back.
Its body began to tremble violently as the toxin of the Hornet's Crest eroded and disintegrated its spirit body at an incredible speed.
The flesh and spirit particles constituting its body began to collapse, spreading from the point of the stabs until it finally turned into grey ash.
"Hiss—Wh... y..."
After stuttering out half a sentence of last words, the Adjuchas vanished without a trace into a cloud of dust.
[Mission Triggered: The Failed Arrancar]
[Mission Completed]
[Mission Reward: Combat Instinct]
Before Soifon could confirm what this 'instinct' actually was, Rangiku Matsumoto rushed forward and pulled Soifon into a hug, a direct 'full-contact' collision.
"That was amazing! Captain Soifon!"
"I really thought you were going to be ambushed just now!"
Her tone carried a hint of the satisfaction that comes with a long-awaited revenge.
"Mmph... mmph..."
Held in the other woman's embrace, Soifon—due to the height difference—was forced to bury her face into a place radiating a truly 'wicked' aura.
'So... tight...'
'Am I going to suffocate to death?!'
When faced with a desperate situation, humans always explode with their physical potential, and Shinigami are no exception.
Soifon manifested a platform of spirit particles beneath her feet and kicked off with both legs, pulling her upper body out of the embrace.
Resting her chin atop Rangiku Matsumoto's chest, Soifon looked her in the eye from a level position.
"You idiot! Are you trying to smother me to death?! Rangiku Matsumoto!"
____
New Story: Bleach: Dominating Soul Society in One Sting
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead of everyone else.
✅ Get cool exclusive stuff and updates!
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!
🚀140 MEMBERS = 5 extra chapters on all stories for supporters!
👻 P - Walnutchan