Death is sometimes a final resting place, a blissful destination.
Di Roy's Reiatsu had completely disappeared, but Grimmjow felt no hatred or resentment in his heart. For Hollows, who were born executing the most primal laws of nature, complaining about death was truly unnecessary.
Besides, his body had long contained a part of Di Roy. Just as Kōe had said, he would firmly continue on the path the other could no longer walk.
"Di Roy was killed? Then it can't be helped. I'll just have to kill both of you together!"
Despite his words, Grimmjow's expression showed no anger. Although his smile was slightly ferocious, anyone who knew him would know he was currently delighted.
"I am Arrancar #6, Grimmjow. A pleasure to meet you, Shinigami!" His sky-blue eyes didn't rest on Rukia for even a second. The girl who had just killed Di Roy seemed nonexistent in his eyes.
Rukia also felt something was strange, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. And more than the name Grimmjow, she cared more about the number 6.
The Arrancar she had just slain called himself 16. Did the Arrancar numbers represent their strength? If so, just how much stronger was the Grimmjow before her compared to Di Roy?
If she used the Gotei 13 as an analogy, the thirteen captains would be numbers 1 to 13, so Di Roy should be equivalent to a high-ranking lieutenant, like Renji or Kaien's level.
Just as Rukia was calculating in her mind, wanting to see if she could stall for time, Grimmjow suddenly leaped down from midair. With his hands in his pockets, he landed casually in front of her and Ichigo, giving a contemptuous smile as he no longer concealed his Reiatsu.
'This person's Reiatsu... is he also an Arrancar?'
Rukia's heart tightened. It was a completely different feeling from before. The opponent clearly wasn't serious, yet the feeling he gave her was not in the least inferior to her older brother, Kuchiki Byakuya.
'Even though there's only a ten-number difference, the gap in Reiatsu levels is far too massive. Is he really of the same race as the one I just defeated?'
Rukia stared at Grimmjow, not even daring to blink. If those sky-blue eyes moved even a fraction, the next moment a heaven-shaking wave might erupt and crush them.
'Wait, his eyes!'
Rukia finally realized what was strange. It was those eyes. Even though she was the one who had killed his comrade, she had never existed in those eyes. There was only one person reflected in them: Ichigo!
"You've seen the other possibility as well. It's the scenario from when Ichigo and the others invaded the Seireitei..."
Kōe's past words finally surfaced once again, and another sentence she herself had spoken echoed in her mind simultaneously: "Six. There are six Arrancars in total."
The person before her was that sixth Arrancar. If this were the Seireitei from a few months ago, he would be the equivalent of—Lady Yoruichi!
"Ichigo!" Rukia suddenly turned her head and shouted, startling even Ichigo. "Run away!"
Ichigo was their target, from the very beginning! Rukia felt a wave of frustration. She had actually forgotten such an important detail, and even worse, she had forgotten the crucial fact that one Arrancar had yet to make a move!
Fortunately, Ichigo didn't throw a tantrum this time. Watching Ichigo turn and flee, Rukia felt somewhat relieved. At the same time, she calculated inwardly: 'As long as I can use Sode no Shirayuki to cause him some trouble, given Big Brother Chōzuka's reflexes, it won't be difficult for him to arrive in time.'
Rukia turned her head back, just about to release her Zanpakutō, only to find Grimmjow's face already right in front of hers. Immediately after, his face gradually grew distant, and the ground slowly sank away beneath her.
"I originally wanted to ask which of you two was actually stronger," Grimmjow mocked, looking at Rukia, whom he had impaled and lifted into the air with his right hand. "But looking at it now, it doesn't seem to be you, does it?"
Rukia only felt her vision sway violently. The next second, she collapsed to the ground. Bright red blood dripped from Grimmjow's fingertips—it was her own blood.
"D-Damn it."
'An opponent like this really isn't someone I can match right now.' Rukia felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, and the sound of footsteps behind her grew fainter. She couldn't help but smile faintly. 'At least that idiot Ichigo has already escaped.'
'But... why is that guy running so slowly...?'
"Rukia!"
Renji, who had been keeping an eye on the entire battlefield, naturally noticed the movement of the other Arrancar. In less than half a minute after encountering Rukia and Ichigo, Rukia's Reiatsu suddenly weakened.
In reality, it had only weakened, but to him—someone who wasn't particularly skilled at sensing Reiatsu—Rukia's Reiatsu had clearly vanished entirely. For a Shinigami, the disappearance of Reiatsu almost certainly meant... death!
Renji didn't dare to think any further. At this moment, he only wanted to rush to Rukia's side as quickly as possible. Gathering intelligence, feigning weakness to rouse Chad and the others' fighting spirit—all of that was completely thrown out of his mind.
"I didn't give you permission to leave, Shinigami!"
A slightly dark-skinned man with a bone mask on his head—featuring a single white horn on the left side—suddenly blocked his path. Wearing a contemptuous smile, he slashed his blade straight toward Renji's neck.
'It was this Arrancar who blocked me just now. Otherwise, I would be by Rukia's side right now, and I wouldn't have let her suffer even the slightest bit of harm!'
Renji abruptly bent down, the sharp blade grazing right past his scalp. He had no desire to take the opportunity to counterattack; right now, his mind was solely on Rukia, and he didn't want to get bogged down in a prolonged fight.
The one-horned Arrancar watched Renji try to slip past him. Shaking his head with a look of exasperation, he raised his wrist and brought the hilt of his sword crashing down heavily onto Renji's back.
The anxious Renji seemingly hadn't anticipated this move at all. Without even a chance to react, he plummeted to the ground like a fired cannonball, smashing a massive crater into the earth with a resounding crash.
"What's the rush, brother?"
The Arrancar landed on the ground but didn't take advantage of his vulnerable opponent. Instead, he brushed aside his blonde hair. "I was perfectly calm when that trash Di Roy died at your hands. Since he was trash, he should have been prepared to die. Seeking revenge or whatever is just too cowardly."
"W-We aren't like you people," Renji said as he crawled out of the rubble, unable to hold back a mouthful of blood. Taking an unguarded hit from an Arrancar was no trivial matter.
"Of course we aren't, and it's impossible for us to be."
The Arrancar spread his hands, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "We are the hunters, and you are merely the prey scurrying about to escape. How could we possibly be compared?"
"Of course, that trash Di Roy doesn't count. If you think I'm anything like him, that would be truly laughable, brother."
"You are prey. Prey can run away, but there is no logic in running toward the hunter. Now, you can continue trying to escape. If you want to rush over to see your comrade, I can reluctantly grant your wish. After all, once you're dead, you can all be reunited."