Chapter 384 - 383: Lethal Dose
"What a... surprise!"
Inside the grand hall of Las Noches—its towering pillars gleaming under the cold, artificial moonlight—Ichimaru Gin’s ever-slitted eyes widened slightly as he stared at the image projected before him.
The screen displayed Tousen Kaname standing amid a smoking crater, his Zanpakutō lowered calmly beside the corpse of Mask "The Superstar".
Gin’s grin curved wider, but for once there was a trace of honest surprise in it.
He hadn’t expected this outcome.
When Kariya Jin—who once held the upper hand—had begun faltering, Gin assumed the five warriors Mazuru had dispatched would lose across the board. Even Ulquiorra’s duel against Askin didn’t look promising; one glance was enough to tell that the tide was turning against them.
And yet, here it was. Tousen Kaname had delivered an unexpected reversal.
A rare glimmer crossed Gin’s eyes. "Well now," he muttered under his breath, "the blind monk still has a few tricks left."
He didn’t particularly care about victory or defeat in this round of clashes. Even if all five of Mazuru’s combatants had fallen, it would not have disturbed him.
Because one look at Mazuru told him everything.
The man seated upon the obsidian throne at the heart of the chamber remained utterly composed. His crimson eyes flickered with quiet amusement; his reiatsu radiated control rather than concern. There was no anxiety, no tension—just certainty.
For Mazuru, these quincy invaders were not a threat. They were an experiment.