"Then what was Ukitake Jushiro trying to achieve by doing this? To expose Captain Ichimaru and make us turn on each other? Like what happened with Captain Sui Feng last time?"
Komamura Sajin didn't agree with Yoruichi's view.
If it really was Ukitake Jushiro, there would be no need for him to leave behind his own spiritual pressure and then deliberately dump the corpse in Ichigo's lounge.
It couldn't be that he did all this just to frame Ichimaru, making them think Ichimaru Gin was his and Kyoraku Shunsui's accomplice, right?
"I'll stick to my opinion, but this matter shouldn't be the same as what happened with Sui Feng."
At the mention of Sui Feng, Yoruichi's expression immediately darkened. She raised both hands, signaling she would no longer take part.
Since there was no evidence, and even if there were, it might be fabricated, then there really was no point continuing to suspect.
Sui Feng's death was the result of endless distrust.
"Since there's no evidence for now, we'll set this matter aside temporarily."
After saying that, Rosse paused when he met Ichigo's disappointed gaze, then continued, "But the fact that a corpse appeared in a captain's lounge is a provocation against us. The Gotei 13 absolutely cannot let this go. Captain Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Kurosaki, you will be responsible for investigating this matter."
"No problem! I'll definitely catch that killer!"
Ichigo was overjoyed and quickly agreed.
He really didn't have any evidence right now.
But give him time, and he would definitely uncover the truth.
Kuchiki Byakuya and Hitsugaya simply nodded lightly, accepting the task.
One of them was directly involved in the matter, and the other oversaw the Second Division's Onmitsukido. Handling this was entirely within their duties.
"Then that's settled. After this, our main focus will still be on the Hollowfication experiments. Captain Kurotsuchi, produce a replica of the Hogyoku as soon as possible, and confirm the feasibility of the Soul Reaper evolution path," Rosse continued.
"Heh! Heh! Heh! Leave it to me. At most within a month, I'll make sure the Head Captain sees results," Mayuri Kurotsuchi immediately agreed.
This was something even Kisuke Urahara hadn't accomplished. He was extremely interested in this field.
The misunderstanding seemed to have been cleared, but the seed of suspicion had already been planted.
The darkness within Seireitei didn't seem to have dissipated with the departure of Kyoraku Shunsui and the others.
Among them, there still seemed to be hidden accomplices.
And once suspicion began, even if Rosse remained fair, Soul Society would continue heading toward deterioration.
———
One month later—
While Soul Society was caught up in noise and evolution due to the Hollowfication experiments, this eternally desolate Hueco Mundo welcomed its most turbulent day since the Hollow Palace was established.
A pale crescent moon hung in the pitch-black sky, like a cold, indifferent eye watching the endless silver-white desert below.
The night wind howled, sweeping up heaps of white sand, letting out a low wail like the cries of the dead.
Buzz!
Without any warning, the once-calm space twisted with a grating distortion.
A massive Garganta was violently torn open in midair.
Immediately after, more than a dozen figures with considerable spiritual pressure stepped out one after another, setting foot in this forbidden zone of the Soul Reapers.
At the front was none other than Kyoraku Shunsui, with Ukitake Jushiro and Tsukabishi Tessai at his sides.
Behind them were the Visored, who had been exiled to the Human World for a hundred years, along with the Quincy, Ishida Uryu.
"The technology of the Las Noches is very advanced. The moment we open a Garganta, they'll detect the spatial disturbance here. They'll also activate emergency protocols."
Kyoraku Shunsui lowered the brim of his hat, his voice tight amid the blowing sand, "We have at most five minutes to prepare. In less than five minutes, the Espada will arrive. And the first one to appear will be our first hunting target."
"This time, we'll wipe out all of Rosse's claws in one sweep!"
After speaking, he turned his head and looked toward the shadow behind Ishida Uryu.
There, a thick, ink-like mass of darkness wriggled and rose like a living liquid, finally condensing into a half-body projection of Yhwach.
"Five minutes?"
Within the shadow, those crimson eyes narrowed slightly as he shook his head and spoke in a deep voice, "No. They're already here."
"What?"
Everyone's expressions changed.
"They arrived faster than I expected, as if they already knew where we would appear."
Yhwach lifted his head, his gaze seeming to cross hundreds of kilometers of desert, locking directly onto the towering Las Noches in the distance, whose grandeur could be felt even from afar.
"Either there's a traitor among you Soul Reapers, or there's a leak within my Sternritter."
Before his words even fell, at the far end of the silent desert, several terrifying spiritual pressure storms suddenly erupted.
They weren't rushing over from afar. The moment the Garganta opened, it was as if they had already been lying in ambush, rising directly from all directions.
Like a giant net that had long been spread out, waiting for its prey to walk right into it.
"All our actions… were predicted by the enemy?"
Hirako Shinji's usual mocking smile froze instantly, cold sweat sliding down his temple.
Buzz!
The next second, six pillars of spiritual pressure shot into the sky, erupting suddenly across the endless dunes.
Yellow, blue, black, green.
Several completely different colors of spiritual pressure, yet all carrying that absolute oppression that made space itself tremble, crashed down toward their position like collapsing mountains.
"H-hey… you've gotta be kidding me?"
Rojuro Otoribashi's knees went weak, and he nearly dropped to the sand.
Even though he immediately put on his Hollow mask, trying to resist with the surge in spiritual pressure, that fear rising from the depths of his soul still made his whole body tremble.
"We can barely withstand just the aftershock of this pressure, how are we supposed to fight monsters like them?"
As a former captain, his senses told him a desperate truth.
Among these six pressures, even the weakest had already reached the level of someone like Kyoraku Shunsui releasing Bankai.
As for the rest, they were bottomless black holes.
For someone like him, who only reached second-class spiritual might after Bankai and Hollowfication, he didn't even qualify to join this battlefield.
"Soul Reapers, get out of Hueco Mundo!"
A cold, proud voice like that of a queen cut through the storm of sand and echoed across the field.
Whoosh!
The violent wind stopped abruptly.
Six figures appeared directly in front of them as if teleporting.
At the front stood a woman with long golden hair, her wheat-colored skin glowing healthily under the moonlight.
What shocked the Soul Reapers present the most was that there wasn't a single trace of a Hollow on her body, there weren't even the bone remnants typical of Arrancar.
And she wasn't carrying a Zanpakuto either. She simply wore a luxurious black robe with gold trim symbolizing the Espada, arms crossed, like a true Valkyrie.
Behind her, Lilynette, Neliel, Ulquiorra, Starrk, and Grimmjow, five Espada stood in a line.
Just standing there, the immense spiritual pressure they gathered made the surrounding air thick like mercury, forcing Hirako Shinji and the others to use all their strength just to breathe.
"Tch! I remember you."
Hirako Shinji gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand straight, squeezing out his trademark sinister grin.
He stepped forward, his mask appearing on his face as his spiritual pressure burst out without reservation, forcefully propping up a barrier in front of everyone.
"That girl named Lilynette is the 2nd Espada, yet now she's obediently standing behind you."
"In that case, you must be the legendary First Espada, right?"
Though his tone was casual, Hirako Shinji's calves were already trembling slightly.
Among them, aside from Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro, only he, who barely possessed first-class spiritual might after Hollowfication, could still manage to speak clearly under this pressure.
"Correct."
The blonde woman slowly opened her eyes. In those emerald pupils, there was no emotion, only indifference toward the weak, "I am the First Espada of the Las Noches, Tier Harribel."
From beginning to end, her gaze didn't linger on the Soul Reapers for even a second. Instead, it passed over them, locking firmly onto the mass of darkness behind Ishida Uryu.
Clearly, in Harribel's eyes, these Soul Reapers were nothing more than ants she could crush at will.
The only one worth her attention was Yhwach, and the forces he was about to bring.
If not for Yhwach's presence, a group like Kyoraku Shunsui's wouldn't even be worth mobilizing them.
"It seems Rosse really is your only king."
Kyoraku Shunsui took a deep breath, a trace of complexity flashing in his eyes, "That so-called miraculous origami didn't appear. Looks like Kurosaki Masaki wasn't lying. Just like that fake version of me, she's only a projection created by Rosse."
That was good news, but only barely.
He subconsciously glanced toward the back of the group, at the tall, unshaven man who had remained silent the whole time.
Kurosaki Isshin!
At the mention of Kurosaki Masaki, his expression clearly became complicated.
Still, not encountering Kurosaki Masaki now, whether that was lucky or not, it was hard to say.
Judging by ranking, Kurosaki Masaki was only the 8th Espada, and the ones standing before them were most likely all ranked higher than her.
Aside from the blue-haired man whose spiritual pressure was slightly weaker, every single one of the others had pressure stronger than the old man after Bankai.
This time, to catch Hueco Mundo off guard, they had already used all their trump cards.
The original plan was to take advantage of Rosse being in Soul Society overseeing the Hollowfication experiments, and together with the Quincy army, sweep through the Las Noches with thunderous force, cutting off Rosse's claws.
But now it seemed…
What surprise attack?
This was clearly a trap that had been prepared long in advance, waiting for them to walk right into it.
In this situation, their chances of winning had dropped drastically.
'You predicted even this, didn't you, Rosse?'
Kyoraku Shunsui's expression grew complicated, his gaze seeming to pierce through space itself, seeing Rosse sitting in the position of Head Captain in Soul Society.
Everything they had done seemed to have been within the other party's expectations.
Against such near-omniscience, how were they supposed to fight back?
"Though I don't know who betrayed me…"
Facing this lethal situation, Yhwach's illusory figure showed not the slightest panic. He slowly raised his hand, pointing toward the dark sky, his voice grand and imposing, "But since my army has arrived, there's no need to hide."
"Descend, my servants!"
BOOM!
The moment his words fell, the previously calm night sky seemed to ignite.
Ten dazzling deep-blue pillars of light, like ten meteors falling from beyond the heavens, crashed down around the Soul Reaper forces with terrifying roars that tore through the atmosphere.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground shook violently, white sand surging up like a tidal wave hundreds of meters high.
As the ten pillars descended, the spirit particles within hundreds of kilometers seemed to respond to a powerful call, surging wildly and converging toward the pillars like rivers flowing into the sea.
This was Hueco Mundo, the region with the highest density of spirit particles.
For the Quincy, who could use environmental spirit particles in battle, this was practically their home ground.
On this land, their strength would receive an extremely terrifying boost, even forcibly raising them by half a realm or more.
Buzz!
The light faded.
Ten figures clad in white military uniforms, exuding cold auras, stepped out from the pillars.
In that instant, ten terrifying spiritual pressures no weaker than first-class spiritual might surged into the sky, forming ten blue tornadoes that clashed fiercely with Harribel and the others' Hollow pressure.
Crackle! Crackle!
The two massive energies collided midair, stirring up a storm of spirit particles, making the desert glow like a dream.
"T-this… is the power of the Quincy?"
Seeing these suddenly descended powerful allies, the nearly frozen blood of Hirako Shinji and the others finally began to boil again.
Everyone unleashed their maximum spiritual pressure, pressing toward the Espada opposite them.
If quality wasn't enough, then make up for it with quantity.
Including the Soul Reaper captains, they now had over twenty people on their side.
In terms of total spiritual pressure alone, they were not weaker than the enemy.
Rumble! Rumble!
In the sky, two torrents formed by released spiritual pressure collided, clashing without giving an inch.
But in the end, neither side could do anything to the other. It ended in a stalemate.
Seeing this, Hirako Shinji and Kyoraku Shunsui both showed excited expressions.
There was hope.
For the first time.
For the first time facing the monsters of the Las Noches head-on, they weren't completely crushed by pressure alone.
They could win… they could actually win.
"You don't seriously think…"
Just as a spark of hope ignited in the Soul Reapers' hearts, Harribel's cold voice sounded again, carrying undisguised mockery.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at the allied forces below who stood ready, a cold curve forming at the corner of her lips:
"That relying on this so-called numerical advantage is enough to defeat us?"
"Since Lord Rosse already predicted your arrival, how could you possibly have even a one-in-a-billion chance of winning?"
Harribel slowly raised her right hand. In her palm, a despair-inducing golden light began to gather.
The next moment, a golden Cero capable of piercing heaven and earth shot from her hand, blasting toward the Soul Reaper and Quincy alliance below.
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