Chapter Eighty: A Battle Between Life and Death

“I thought so too…”
Gin’s smile faded a little, though not enough to be obvious; overall, his foxlike grin still made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Clang!”

Two white figures vanished from their original spots and then reappeared at the exact midpoint between them, their blades colliding in the air.

“Pa.”

In the instant their swords met, Gin took a subtle half-step back, causing Nagatsuro’s force to overshoot, sending him lunging forward. Gin seized the opportunity to slip out of Nagatsuro’s attack range, his short blade already arcing toward Nagatsuro’s unbalanced head.

“Thud!”

Nagatsuro instantly shifted his weight downward, accelerating his fall to dodge Gin’s strike. Propping himself up with one hand, he steadied his body, gripping his sword tightly with the other as he stabbed at Gin’s head.

“Whoosh!”

Gin deftly leaned back, dodging the attack with ease. His short blade remained still in his hand, yet at some point, its tip had already aligned with his opponent’s head.

“!”

Shinso extended silently and without warning. Had Nagatsuro not been secretly on guard against Gin’s sword, this blow might have left another hole in his skull.

“Hiss!”

The razor-sharp blade pierced straight through the wooden floor, embedding itself into the soft earth beneath, missing only the target it was meant to impale.

“… ”

Gin squinted, glancing behind him, where a white figure had just landed, back facing him.

“Hiss… crack!”

An enemy with his back turned, only just regaining his footing—this was the perfect chance to strike. Gin would never let such an opportunity slip by. He spun around in a flash, his sword dragging along the floor and ground, carving a deep groove.

“Shunk!”

Shinso’s tip burst from under the floorboards, aiming straight for Nagatsuro’s neck as he turned.

“… ”

Underestimating Shinso’s length and sharpness was Nagatsuro’s mistake. Left with no choice, he arched backward to dodge the attack, planted one hand on the ground, and somersaulted away to widen the gap between them.

But for Nagatsuro, increasing the distance put him at a clear disadvantage. With their zanpakuto, at this range, Gin could skewer him like a kebab with Shinso, while Nagatsuro wouldn’t even be able to touch Gin.

So it was certain—he had to close the distance.

While Nagatsuro was pondering how to get closer, Gin provided him with just such an opportunity.

“!”

Gin shot forward like a bullet from a barrel, his short blade aimed straight for Nagatsuro’s chest.

“How annoying… Close combat was my idea, you should at least pay me royalties!”

Grumbling irritably, Nagatsuro used his elbow to force aside Gin’s thrust, then swung his blade down at Gin’s head, now only inches away.

“Shhk!”

Which is more important, your head or your arm?
It’s a foolish question.

So Gin didn’t hesitate—he instinctively raised his arm, taking a not-so-shallow cut to his forearm to keep his head safe. The move sent him flying backward, widening the distance again.

“Oh my, now look at this…”

Gin glanced at the wound on his right arm, grinning. He had little interest in pain, but the person who could inflict pain on him—now, that was interesting.

“In terms of swordsmanship alone, you’ve already surpassed most captains.”

“Pa.”

Gin flicked his wounded arm, seemingly without care, the white sleeve fluttering, tinged with a hint of crimson.

Blood…?

“!”

The moment Nagatsuro realized it was blood, he cursed inwardly and leapt back. At that instant, Gin’s attack arrived.

A rapid flurry of thrusts—this was a style only Gin, among all the captains, could execute to perfection with a short blade, and his favorite way to attack.

“Damn…”

Such a relentless barrage was hard to dodge completely, even for Nagatsuro, though not impossible. He evaded each thrust, and when the timing was right, launched a powerful counterattack with his sword.

“… ”

Gin sidestepped Nagatsuro’s attack, and his short blade immediately slashed down.

“Pa.”

His own attack missed, and lingering would only be disadvantageous, so Nagatsuro instantly used shunpo to dodge Gin’s strike, appearing this time in midair.

He raised his zanpakuto high, and as he descended, brought it crashing down on Gin with all his momentum.

“Clang!”

Their blades collided once more, but this time, Gin’s eyes flew open in surprise.

At some point, Nagatsuro’s jet-black zanpakuto had transformed into a silvery rapier, its flexible blade crackling occasionally with flashes of lightning.

“!”

Gin tried to retreat, but Nagatsuro had no intention of giving him the chance.

“Boom!”

The ground where they stood exploded.

Nagatsuro emerged first, holding his smoldering Yanlingmaru, waving away the lingering smoke.

“Not bad—the damage from ‘Yanling Thunderburst’ was so limited on you.”

He hadn’t expected that his powerful shikai technique would have such little effect on this man. Was Gin’s body just that monstrous, or…

“Oh come now, Vice Captain Jakabuki, there’s no need for that,” Gin’s lighthearted voice drifted out from the smoke, but his appearance was anything but carefree.

His captain’s haori and shihakusho were tattered, his silver hair singed, his foxlike face smeared with dust. The only thing unchanged was Gin’s ever-smiling expression, though now it seemed tinged with a trace of anger.

“This is the first time I’ve been in such a sorry state.”

“You should count yourself lucky—most don’t live to be so disheveled.”

“Ah, is that so? Well, that’s really—!”

Before Gin could finish, a white figure stepped between him and Nagatsuro.

Spiky white hair, a short stature, and a zanpakuto on his back as tall as he was—
Captain of the Tenth Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

“What a day—why do I keep running into troublesome people?”

Gin sighed helplessly. The genius boy before him was clearly here for him.

Those emerald eyes seemed to blaze with fire as they fixed on Gin, and Gin didn’t believe for a moment that this boy had any affection for men.

“Sorry, Vice Captain Jakabuki. I have no wish to interfere in your fight, but this time is different…”

Hitsugaya gripped the hilt of the sword on his back, his gaze icy as he stared at Gin.

“May I take over from here?”