"Hmph." Grimmjow shrugged off Kaname Tōsen's hand, the mockery on his face completely undisguised. "What you're best at is using righteousness to crush people."
"That's right. Righteousness. That's exactly what your actions lack. Justice without righteousness is nothing more than slaughter." Kaname Tōsen rested a hand on the hilt of the Zanpakutō at his waist, his voice calm and unwavering. "But slaughter founded upon righteousness... that is justice!"
His Zanpakutō left its sheath and shot straight at Grimmjow.
The blade flashed, then stopped abruptly.
Ulquiorra raised a hand and blocked Kaname Tōsen's Zanpakutō.
Kaname Tōsen had moved to carry out the execution, intending to sever Grimmjow's arm, but Ulquiorra stopped him. A note of doubt entered his voice.
"Hm?"
"Outside of battle, I can observe more clearly." Ulquiorra's voice was calm. His left eye socket was empty, while the dark green eye in his right socket reflected Kaname Tōsen's stern face. "Grimmjow's actions were all reflected in my eye."
That much was true. Kaname Tōsen had also seen the entire course of Grimmjow's battle through Shared Vision just now.
But that was not the point.
Kaname Tōsen's expression turned cold.
"Was it you who told him about the mission?"
If it was, then Grimmjow did not need to be punished. As long as the mission had been completed, defeat was not such a serious issue.
If it was not, then Grimmjow had acted on his own, and punishment was still necessary.
Ulquiorra lowered the arm that had blocked the Zanpakutō.
"Choosing the right person to bring along was also part of the mission."
Kaname Tōsen turned. Though his eyes could not see, his icy Reiatsu locked with perfect accuracy onto one particular figure among the crowd, the relatively tall and thin one.
"That's enough, Kaname."
Sōsuke Aizen's voice came from the throne.
"Don't take it to heart. It's nothing more than some trivial... small matter."
"...Yes, Aizen-sama."
Kaname Tōsen sheathed his Zanpakutō and released the Reiatsu lock.
In Kaname Tōsen's view, anyone who made a mistake had to be punished.
But before punishing them, he first had to determine exactly who had committed the mistake.
Ulquiorra had not answered his question directly.
But that in itself was an answer.
Clearly, Ulquiorra had not told Grimmjow about the mission beforehand.
And yet Grimmjow knew.
Someone had leaked the mission Aizen-sama had entrusted to Ulquiorra, and used that to incite Grimmjow into acting on his own.
Kaname Tōsen did not know why Ulquiorra was protecting Grimmjow, but he was certain of one thing. The one who leaked the information had committed a far more serious offense.
Stealing secrets and leaking them. Once pursued, that was no small matter.
But if Aizen-sama said it was a small matter, then Kaname Tōsen could only treat it as one.
He could not make too much of it.
In the corridor that seemed to stretch on without end, Ulquiorra stopped beside an arched window.
Outside, white sand extended endlessly, sharply divided from the black sky above. The pale light of the crescent moon fell across the sand, covering it in a faint silver haze.
Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow, who had asked the question, his dark green eyes empty and hollow.
Grimmjow still looked just as battered as before, his flesh bloodied and torn.
"Why did you say that?"
Grimmjow hated Ulquiorra.
Every time he saw Ulquiorra, Grimmjow was reminded of what those five pieces of trash had looked like after they regressed into Gillians.
They knew nothing, wanted nothing, and simply lived without purpose, waiting for orders.
And when something like that stood above him, it only made him hate it more.
That was why, when he heard Ulquiorra had been entrusted by Aizen with an important mission, Grimmjow had acted before him, taking his subordinates to the World of the Living first.
But the result...
Ulquiorra turned and walked away.
"You have nothing left."
"Are you pitying me?" Grimmjow's eyes turned vicious. "You..."
He had meant to chase after him, but his body stiffened for an instant.
In the end, he had taken a Bankai attack head on. It was only natural that his movements were impaired.
"You should get treated quickly."
A tall, thin figure appeared behind Grimmjow.
"Need some help?"
"Szayelaporro..." Grimmjow said the name as if chewing it up.
The tall, thin man had the broken remains of a mask across his face like a pair of glasses. He lifted a hand and tucked the hair at his pink sideburn back behind his ear.
"Actually, Muten Natsu should be much weaker than you. He just has more tricks. If you used Resurrección, you could kill him easily."
Grimmjow stared at the one who had leaked the mission to him.
"Happy now?"
"Even if I said I wasn't..." Szayelaporro narrowed his golden eyes. "There isn't anything you can do about it now, is there?"
"Hmph." Grimmjow snorted coldly and turned away.
As he watched Grimmjow leave, Szayelaporro knew perfectly well that this was not the end of it.
Beasts held grudges.
Especially wounded beasts.
Whether it was the trap that had harmed the beast or the hunter who had wounded it, both would end up on the beast's list.
But what did that matter?
To Szayelaporro, a beast was still just a beast.
It could be tamed and used as a tool, or slaughtered and eaten for meat.
In the end, it was all just a matter of exploitation.
Szayelaporro let out a mocking laugh, but halfway through it, he suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.
A gleaming blade had pierced through his chest and entered his sight.
"This is the second time, Szayelaporro." Kaname Tōsen twisted his wrist and wrenched the hilt, shredding Szayelaporro's internal organs. "Remember this pain. This is punishment born of justice."
When he pulled out the Zanpakutō, blood poured after it. Kaname Tōsen flicked the blood from the blade and returned it to its sheath.
"There won't be a next time."
Szayelaporro collapsed to the floor, a vague rasping sound escaping his mouth as his body trembled weakly. The pool of blood beneath him slowly spread wider.
"My, that was a pretty harsh blow."
A flippant voice rang out. Gin Ichimaru, wearing a white robe over his Shihakushō, clapped with a smiling face.
"As expected of a Captain."
"Ichimaru..." Kaname Tōsen's voice was cold. "You should have noticed what they were doing."
"Didn't Aizen-sama already say it?" Gin Ichimaru's smile looked as it always did. "It's just some trivial little matter."
Kaname Tōsen stated the seriousness of it plainly.
"We lost five Arrancar."
"They were only the lowest class of Gillians. Aizen-sama's plan hasn't been disrupted." Gin Ichimaru tucked his hands into his sleeves. "Besides, Szayelaporro and Muten Natsu go way back. There's nothing wrong with old friends catching up once in a while. Isn't that right, Szayelaporro?"
"Exactly so." Szayelaporro climbed up from the pool of blood and looked at the bloodstains on his chest with clear displeasure. "Even if it's punishment, don't get my clothes dirty."