Part 7: Arrancars Vs. Soul Reapers, 4-1

It's been so long...

How many years? How many decades have come and gone since he... No, wait. It's been longer than that.

It's been centuries! I know this much: An immense amount of time has passed.

How long will it take? When will this sword go ahead and pierce my heart?

The perfect being, you said. Well...

...I have to tell you the honest truth as I see it. In this world, nothing perfect exists.

It may be a cliché, after all, but it's the way things are. That's precisely why ordinary men pursue the concept of perfection. It's infatuation.

But ultimately I have to ask myself, "What is the true meaning of being perfect?" And the answer I came up with was: nothing. Not one thing.

The truth of the matter is, I despise perfection.

If something is truly perfect, that's it. The bottom line becomes, there is no room for imagination.

No space for intelligence or ability or improvement.

To men of science like us, perfection is a dead-end, a condition of hopelessness.

The moment you started talking about perfection, you embraced an impossible concept, and had already lost to me.

That is, of course, if you are indeed a scientist at all.

Nemu, get up and come here. Nemu!

Tch...

Good grief. She's becoming more trouble than she's worth.

Ah...

Ah... Hah... Ahh...

Ah... Ahhh!

What? We were watching! How in the world did you do that?!

Unbelievable. You couldn't understand something this obvious happening right in front of you? What idiots.

Don't turn this back on us! Admit it. You did something to her just now you couldn't even show the audience!

Nemu, hold him down.

Huh?! Stop it! I won't put up with it! What are you going to do to me?!

Oh, please. I would think that would be obvious.

I'm going to fix you.

Let me go! You're not talking about healing. You want to rebuild me!

Tch...

I knew it! I'm not gonna be a guinea pig for your experiments!

Your squawking is very annoying. When it comes down to it, you're quite a coward.

Come on now. Quit fighting and think about it. You have internal injuries and if they're not tended to, you might die. I'm doing you a favor. I'm willing to fix your wounds for free.

It's reasonable to be grateful, no matter what you look like afterwards.

Well, guess what? I'm not grateful! And I'm not interested in any new look you're planning!

Captain Kurotsuchi.

Can you please heal me first?

Why?

Because I want to fight as soon as possible. I know there are still Espadas out there who are a serious threat to my friends.

I have to get back on my feet so I can help protect them.

You're not needed.

Huh?

There's only one big fight still going on, and that is Kenpachi Zaraki. He went to help Ichigo Kurosaki.

But if you want my personal opinion, I think he just enjoys stretching out the battle. You'd be no help to one who needs that stimulation.

Hm.

Stepping into the middle of a battle with someone like Kenpachi would be like throwing raw meat in front of a beast.

You get in his way, and you'll just be an obstacle to chew up.

And I'm sure you'll agree getting eaten by a beast is about as stupid a way to die as there is.