Chapter 552 - 552 Leave Your Naivety Here

"What are you doing!"

"Stop, uncle!!"

Seeing Dordoni suddenly charge towards Toshiro with his sword raised, Nel and Rangiku were both shocked.

"Haha!! Are you scared? By healing an enemy you know nothing about, you should have been prepared for him to bite back! Isn't that right!!!"

Dordoni laughed wildly as he charged at Toshiro.

"Hey, Arrancar uncle, if you don't lie down properly, your injuries will get worse."

Seeing Dordoni charging at him, Toshiro showed no panic, remaining calm and composed.

"Hmph! As long as I have spirit, what are injuries? A will to fight is enough!!!"

Reaching Toshiro, Dordoni suddenly swung his Zanpakuto, as if to cut him down.

But Toshiro acted as if he didn't see it, standing motionless.

"Tch! You saw through it?"

Dordoni clicked his tongue in annoyance, then suddenly changed the direction of his attack, his Zanpakuto brushing past Toshiro's body.

Swish!

After the movement, Dordoni appeared not far behind Toshiro, standing back to back with him.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

Dordoni asked, his back to Toshiro.

"I could tell you had no killing intent."

Toshiro said calmly.

Of course, even if Dordoni had killing intent, with his strength, he couldn't hurt Toshiro. So Toshiro felt safe standing there without dodging or counterattacking.

"No killing intent? Making the rash decision not to resist based solely on that... that's not a good habit."

After a brief reflection, Dordoni suddenly said mysteriously, "With your strength, you should have sensed it too. Although 'they' are no match for you, they are still somewhat troublesome. So, you'd better leave quickly. I'll hold off 'them'."

"Is that really okay? You 'three-digits' were already discarded. Now, severely injured and defeated by me, you've lost most of your combat ability. If you forcefully block them and make enemies of them, 'they' will probably kill you without hesitation, right?"

Toshiro asked.

"It doesn't matter. Someone like me, discarded, who has lost his value, they won't let me go even if I do nothing. I'm going to die sooner or later anyway. I might as well die a meaningful death."

Dordoni said nonchalantly.

"Is that so? Then good luck to you."

Toshiro said with emotion.

"Nel, Rangiku, let's go."

Toshiro said to Nel and Rangiku.

"Oh..."

Nel and Rangiku responded, not fully understanding who 'they' and 'you' were in Toshiro and Dordoni's conversation. But although they didn't know what was happening, they chose to obey Toshiro's order.

Then Toshiro picked up Nel again and continued forward with Rangiku by his side.

After Toshiro and the others disappeared, Dordoni murmured, "They're gone? Good. Next, you will probably face even greater difficulties. I sincerely hope you can rescue your companions."

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Dozens of figures suddenly appeared not far from Dordoni. Based on their identical uniforms, they were clearly members of the Exequias in Las Noches.

"Welcome, members of the Exequias."

Dordoni showed no surprise at the Exequias' appearance. Instead, he greeted them proactively, as if he had known they would come.

And indeed, that was the case. Dordoni had long sensed the Reiatsu of Exequias's members approaching. That's why his attitude had suddenly changed, making it seem like he was attacking Toshiro and the others.

Dordoni's true intention was to pretend to attack, forcing Toshiro to counter and kill him. That way, after dealing with him, Toshiro and the others would naturally leave and not encounter the Exequias's members.

Although with their strength, the Exequias's members were no match for them, encountering them would still waste some of their energy and time. So, Dordoni's earlier 'attack' was actually for their benefit.

However, if even Dordoni could sense the approaching Exequias, Toshiro certainly could. He had guessed Dordoni's intention from the start.

That's why he hadn't chosen to counter when Dordoni 'suddenly attacked'.

In the end, Dordoni chose to stay behind to hold off the Exequias and cover Toshiro and the others' escape.

Although Dordoni's cover wasn't necessary for Toshiro, he didn't stop him.

As Dordoni said, he was already discarded. Now, severely injured from his fight with Toshiro, he had lost his value. So, no matter what, Las Noches wouldn't keep him anymore.

His final fate would likely be given to Szayelaporro as an experimental specimen, as Szayelaporro had long coveted the physical data of the three-digit Arrancar.

Previously, the three-digits still had value, so Szayelaporro couldn't act directly. But now, with Dordoni severely injured and defeated, if Szayelaporro acted, even Aizen wouldn't say anything.

Therefore, for Dordoni, death was inevitable. He might as well stay behind to cover Toshiro and the others, making his death meaningful.

"Dordoni, we are ordered to pursue the intruders. Are you trying to block us?"

The leader of the Exequias unit looked at Dordoni blocking their path and spoke harshly.

"Ordered? By whom? How come I don't know?"

Dordoni questioned.

"Because you don't need to know!"

The other party said rudely.

"Hmph, with your strength, you are no match for the intruders. Are you chasing after them to die?"

Dordoni said contemptuously.

"That is our business!"

The other party said stubbornly.

In fact, the Exequias's members knew they were no match for Toshiro. Their purpose wasn't really to pursue him, but to collect his data on Szayelaporro's orders.

If they could collect Toshiro's data, what did it matter if a few Exequias's members died? They were all created by Rudbornn, the leader of the Exequias, using his ability. If needed, Rudbornn could create another large batch at any time. They were worthless.

"Are you really not going to step aside, Dordoni!"

The lead Exequias's member threatened.

Dordoni gripped his Zanpakuto tightly, adopting a fighting stance. "If you want to pass through here..."

"I advise you to put away your sword. With your severely injured body, you probably can't even perform Resurrección. You are no match for us!"

The other party said contemptuously.

"Ahaha..."

Dordoni laughed ferociously. "Is that really the case, kid!!"

Having said that, Dordoni shouted and charged into the crowd of dozens of Exequias's members.

Then, severed limbs and flesh flew, blood splattered!

"Hitsugaya Toshiro... Given your status and strength, you didn't need to care about the provocations of an ant like me. Yet, you still stated your name, fought me honorably, spared me repeatedly, and even healed my wounds... Thank you very much. Consider this my thanks to you. However, your next opponents will not be as kind as me. So, when you strike down an enemy, do not hesitate! When you deliver the final blow, do not waver! Even less should you heal an enemy's wounds! Leave your naivety right here! Become a demon! As powerful as a demon! As ruthless as a demon! Otherwise, you cannot defeat Aizen-sama!!!"