"Why are you back again? Did you leave something behind?"
Seeing the madam's overly attentive, fawning expression, Kaito smiled and leaned in a bit closer. "I was just wondering... who is playing the piano right now? Is she one of your top hostesses, madam?"
The moment Kaito asked, the madam's professional smile visibly faltered, turning somewhat strained.
She quickly recovered, forcing a polite grin. "Ah, she is indeed one of ours, but I must tell you, she really isn't your type. If you are looking for someone who plays beautifully, I highly recommend you let me call—"
"No need, madam," Kaito interrupted smoothly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I only want the girl currently playing the piano. If she already has guests, I don't mind waiting."
Seeing Kaito's absolute determination, the madam had no choice but to lean in and whisper discreetly, "Sir, to be frank, this young lady only performs her music. She doesn't entertain guests, and she doesn't drink alcohol. She really isn't suited for a lively challenger like you. I have another hostess who is absolutely spectacular at both instruments and singing. Let me introduce you to her instead."
Kaito immediately leaned back, widening the distance between them, and adopted a perfectly righteous, slighted expression. "Madam, what are you implying? I happen to be a true connoisseur of the musical arts, alright?"
A true connoisseur of the musical arts?
You're just a connoisseur of premium draft beer, aren't you?
The madam felt a sudden surge of silent disdain. A dozen of her hostesses were still completely unconscious inside the banquet room upstairs; she couldn't even begin to calculate how much alcohol this man had poured down their throats. And now he was standing here claiming to be a pure lover of fine music? She had seen plenty of two-faced men in her line of work—men who acted completely refined on the surface but were ultimately just looking to get whatever they wanted.
"Sir, let me gently remind you," the madam said, her tone dipping into a cautionary register. "This is a strictly legitimate, law-abiding establishment. Forcing our girls to do anything against their will is—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Kaito casually slid his dark sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, revealing a pair of captivating, crystalline sky-blue eyes.
The madam froze mid-sentence, her breath catching in her throat.
This man is ridiculously handsome.
Her professional reservations evaporated instantly, and she smoothly changed her tune without missing a beat. "...We will personally keep watch outside your private room and absolutely guarantee that not a single word leaks out to anyone."
The sheer practical advantages of having a face like Gojo Satoru were immediately apparent.
A short while later, Kaito was shown into a quiet, premium private room. He sat comfortably on the tatami, lazily sampling the fresh fruit and sake provided by the house. Moments later, the sliding door was gently pushed open, and a graceful figure stepped inside.
"Good evening, sir. I am Kana Wakatsuki. Did you request my presence from the madam?"
The woman was dressed in a light pink kimono adorned with intricate cherry blossom patterns, standing at an elegant height of about 1.7 meters. Even with her hair styled upward into a refined traditional bun, several long, silky strands cascaded beautifully down her back. Her minimalist makeup perfectly accentuated her sharp, striking facial features, and every step she took was poised, radiating an aura of classical elegance.
To any ordinary human man, her appearance would be completely irresistible.
Unfortunately, in Kaito's eyes, she looked like something entirely different. Under the absolute perception of his Six Eyes, the elegant facade vanished. Her soul was wrapped in a dense, suffocating aura of pitch-black spiritual pressure, radiating an immense, heavy malice. Most telling of all, hidden just beneath her clothing, the distinct structure of a Hollow hole was completely laid bare to his vision.
She wasn't a human being at all. She was a Vasto Lorde—the absolute pinnacle of Hollow evolution, taking on a completely human shape.
An entity of this caliber possessed combat power so monstrous that even an average Gotei 13 Captain would struggle to survive a direct confrontation with her.
Kaito's lips curled up into a sharp, knowing smile. Fascinating.
When he had sensed that brief, microscopic fluctuation of spiritual pressure earlier in the evening, he knew an exceptionally powerful entity had to be concealing itself within the district. He had half-expected to cross paths with Soi Fon on an intelligence sweep, or perhaps even a scouting proxy sent by Aizen. He never anticipated that a fully evolved Vasto Lorde would be casually hiding out in the human world as a musician.
Kaito subtly rubbed his fingertips together, a cold, sharp fighting spirit igniting within his chest as his gaze locked onto Kana Wakatsuki.
If he were to completely exorcise a Vasto Lorde right now, how much would his fusion progress jump? They represented the absolute peak of natural Hollow strength in the Bleach universe. Defeating her might very well trigger enough of a leap to instantly unlock the Reverse Cursed Technique.
Kana Wakatsuki subtly knit her brows. The gaze of the silver-haired young man in front of her made her feel profoundly uncomfortable. Over her time in the World of the Living, she had encountered countless human men who coveted her appearance. She was thoroughly accustomed to their greedy, lustful stares. But this was the first time she had ever felt a gaze this aggressively cold.
It wasn't a look of desire. It was the gaze of a lethal apex predator eyeing its prey—a look that didn't want to possess or play with her, but simply wanted to erase her from existence.
Could this person be a Shinigami? Or a Quincy?
Kana was deeply puzzled, yet she couldn't be certain. She actively extended her senses, but she couldn't detect even a single drop of spiritual pressure radiating from Kaito's body. Given her strength, she refused to believe an ordinary spiritual being could completely hide their power from her perception.
What she didn't realize was that while Kaito possessed massive latent spiritual pressure, the absolute barrier of his Infinity continuously slowed down any external attempts to probe or perceive him. To the outside world, any scanning energy directed at him was decelerated to an infinite degree, making his true strength completely untraceable.
Lowering her guard slightly, she simply assumed the handsome human possessed some eccentric, intense personality traits. Kana took her seat gracefully, adjusting her instrument. "What kind of piece would you like to hear tonight, sir?"
Kaito looked up, completely burying the lethal intent in his eyes behind a bright, easygoing smile. "Ms. Wakatsuki, please just play whatever piece you are most comfortable with. I don't have any specific requests tonight."
Kana nodded politely. She placed her koto smoothly across her lap, her elegant fingers lightly brushing against the strings as she began to play a soft, flowing melody. The music was incredibly soothing, carrying a strange, almost magical quality that naturally calmed the mind. Kaito found himself genuinely relaxing, drifting along with the rhythm.
Since I can't guarantee a clean, collateral-free victory in the middle of a crowded district right now, I'll let it slide for today, Kaito decided, leaning back. Judging by her setup, she isn't planning to leave this city anytime soon. We'll have plenty of opportunities to cross paths later.
As the final notes faded, Kaito glanced toward the window. The sun had completely vanished below the horizon, and the night was settling in. It was time to head back to the Kurosaki residence.
"That will be all for today. Thank you for the wonderful performance, Ms. Wakatsuki. Listening to your music has truly taken the edge off my day."
"You flatter me, sir," she replied, bowing her head slightly with an elegant smile. "Please, just call me Kana. If it pleases you, you are always welcome to return for another performance."
"I absolutely will."
Walking out onto the neon-lit streets of Kabukicho a few minutes later, Kaito looked back and spotted Kana Wakatsuki stepping out of the side exit, calmly carrying her instrument case as she walked down the avenue.
He slowly clenched his fist, then released it, repeating the motion three times before finally turning away. Whether this Vasto Lorde was a rogue entity hiding in the human world for her own reasons or a chess piece in Aizen's grand conspiracy, initiating a battle right now wasn't optimal. To guarantee a swift, absolute victory against an opponent of that tier without destroying half the city, he needed to secure a higher fusion percentage and unlock his ultimate defensive and healing capabilities.
However, leaving the district, Kaito didn't immediately head home. Encountering a Vasto Lorde had given him a sharp jolt of adrenaline and the motivation to accelerate his growth. Karakura Town truly lived up to its reputation as a uniquely high-density spiritual nexus; you truly could stumble into any manner of powerful entity just by taking a walk.
"Let's pull a little overtime shift tonight and speed things up," Kaito muttered to himself.
In a flash of motion, he vanished from the street.
While the young Ichigo had inadvertently kept the immediate vicinity of his neighborhood clear of minor spirits, Karakura Town was vast, and plenty of other districts remained entirely unmonitored and fertile hunting grounds for wandering Hollows. To polish his techniques and farm more fusion percentage, Kaito decided to systematically sweep the surrounding wards.
As midnight blanketed the city, a sharp confrontation was taking place in Karakura Town's Ginza Ward.
Bang!
Sentaro Kotsubaki slammed violently into the concrete ground, his chest heaving as pure terror gripped his mind. He stared up at the massive, towering silhouette of the Hollow that had just blindsided them.
He and Zennosuke had been deployed to the World of the Living alongside Captain Soi Fon to oversee routine soul burials and field training for a group of Shinigami academy reserves. Nobody could have predicted that while performing a standard Konsō on a regular human soul tonight, a massive, highly aggressive Large Hollow would suddenly materialize out of the shadows, hunting for spiritual nourishment.
Given his current rank and Zennosuke's limited combat capabilities, the monster before them was far beyond their ability to suppress. Sentaro had already slammed the distress beacon on his Soul Society communicator, but reinforcements were still moving through the Senkaimon. It was highly debatable whether the two of them could survive long enough for a rescue squad to arrive.
Seeing Zennosuke desperately swinging his Zanpakuto in a futile attempt to hold the beast's attention, Sentaro pushed himself up, screaming through the dust, "Zennosuke! Fall back toward the riverbank! We need to draw it away from the residential zone and wait for backup! We can't take this thing—"
Before the warning could leave his throat, a tall, slender figure materialized out of thin air, hovering casually in the sky directly above the massive Hollow's head.
The stranger stood suspended beneath the bright, pale moonlight. The lunar glow washed over his silver-white hair and immaculate clothes, draping over him like a radiant coat of armor.