After finally managing to placate Soi Fon…
Watching her disappear into the distance, Shimo let out a long breath and rubbed his temples hard.
"…I'd better hurry and find Mayuri."
In the next instant, his figure flickered—and vanished from where he stood.
With Shunpo pushed to its limit, he arrived at the Department of Research and Development in no time.
Coming here again, Shimo noticed someone… distinct.
Bright, two-toned hair—gold and green—so eye-catching it was almost impossible to ignore.
Third Seat of the Twelfth Division… Akōn?
Shimo paused briefly, recalling a few details about him.
"…Another one I'll need to keep an eye on."
But Shimo didn't dwell on it.
There were more important matters at hand.
When he met Mayuri again, the man was as "normal" as ever—acting as though nothing unpleasant had ever happened between them.
"Has the Garganta stabilized?" Shimo asked, scanning the lab. He didn't see any obvious apparatus.
Mayuri tapped a long fingernail against his own temple—thunk, thunk—as if his skull were hollow.
"There's a small problem."
"Although the recon team provided precise coordinates, that point seems to be suffering reiatsu interference."
"If we can't lock on, there's a very real chance that once we enter Hueco Mundo… we'll be randomly displaced."
Shimo frowned. As someone who actually dealt with spatial phenomena, he knew exactly what "random displacement" could mean.
If they landed somewhere in Hueco Mundo, fine—dangerous, but manageable.
But if the reishi currents twisted the passage…
They could be thrown into an unknown region.
Or worse—
…into the reishi turbulence itself.
"Forget the coordinates the recon team provided." As the leader of this expedition, Shimo made the call immediately.
"Lock onto the area near the Forest of Menos."
"After I returned from Hueco Mundo last time, the Fourth Division should've handed you those coordinates. You have them, right?"
Mayuri leaned back with arms crossed, posture grotesquely theatrical.
"Seems like I do."
Then he rolled his chair to the console and began typing—fast, precise, almost like he was playing an instrument.
"Ha—found it!"
"I'll test the targeting function now."
He pressed a dark green button. Instantly, a strange spiritual pressure fluctuation appeared in front of them.
On the screen, a training field somewhere within the Twelfth Division distorted—space broke into blocky fragments that fell away like shattered tiles, revealing a black, deep Garganta.
"…Success."
Mayuri's grin split nearly to his ears.
"Training Ground No. 9 has a captain-class pressure simulation."
"This Garganta isn't just locked onto a coordinate—it can also withstand the spiritual pressure output of multiple captains."
He paused, then added quickly, "Of course, you can't fight inside the Garganta."
Shimo nodded. He was genuinely satisfied with Mayuri's work.
Maybe because he'd been exposed to Shimo's abilities, Mayuri's spatial research had advanced to the point where he wasn't much worse than Urahara Kisuke.
Shimo could open a Garganta using incantations himself…
…but why do the work when you have a perfectly usable tool?
Besides, Mayuri didn't resist at all.
If anything, he was thrilled.
"New specimens…" Mayuri stared at the black opening on the screen, his smile turning feverish. "How delightful."
---
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
At dawn—just as the sun crept over the horizon—the Hueco Mundo expedition force assembled in the Seireitei's First Division courtyard.
Shimo swept his gaze over the group, confirming numbers.
Fourth Division: Unohana Retsu.
Isane remained behind due to combat limitations, tasked with overseeing the Integrated Relief Center in Unohana's absence.
Sixth Division: Kuchiki Byakuya, and Abarai Renji.
Eleventh Division: Zaraki Kenpachi and Kusajishi Yachiru.
(The latter's combat power… could be ignored for now.)
Twelfth Division: Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu Kurotsuchi.
Shimo lingered a moment, expression turning faintly strange.
A light scan of Mayuri's reiatsu revealed something abnormal—a chaotic mixture, like a stew of incompatible spiritual signatures packed into one body.
Remembering Mayuri's obsession with self-modification, Shimo couldn't help a shiver.
So he's emptied his entire stockpile just to catch new specimens…
Nemu's spiritual pressure also felt… off.
Can't fit more into himself, so he's using Nemu as storage?
The thought alone made Shimo's skin crawl.
For this "father and daughter," he preferred to keep his distance.
Yamamoto looked over them, tapping his staff.
"Captain Kurotsuchi. The targeted Garganta—ready?"
Mayuri's grin turned sharp.
"It's complete."
"But the recon team's coordinate had interference. At Captain Shimo's suggestion, I switched the target to the Forest of Menos area."
At the mention of the location, Kenpachi responded immediately.
"Forest of Menos…"
"The place Ashido stayed, right?"
Before anyone could answer, Yachiru—perched on his shoulder—chirped excitedly:
"That's right, Kenny! Your memory's way better than before!"
Kenpachi's face darkened.
"Shut it, Yachiru."
"Too much noise."
Yamamoto considered briefly, then said, "If it is Captain Shimo's recommendation, I will not interfere."
"Then—this first expedition force to Hueco Mundo…"
"Led by Captain Shimo of the Third Division. Four captains in support, with four lieutenants accompanying them."
His staff struck the ground with a heavy THUD.
At once, Mayuri began chanting in a rasping, unsettling voice that echoed across the courtyard:
"My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair…"
"Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis!"
"Garganta—open!"
The device in Mayuri's hand—absurdly like a flashlight—lit up and shone onto the open space ahead.
Shimo wiped sweat that wasn't even there.
It really is a flashlight…
The light struck—and the Garganta fully formed.
That deep, yawning darkness sent a chill crawling up the spine.
Shimo stepped forward first, stopping before the threshold.
"Yoruichi-neesan, Nel—let's move."
Yoruichi and Nel nodded together, following at his back.
The three stepped into the Garganta as one.
The others followed in turn.
Silence hung over the First Division courtyard.
Even now, those left behind couldn't help but worry.
After all…
That was Hueco Mundo—the Hollows' home territory.
---
Hueco Mundo
Sand hissed and shifted. Dead branches and loose stones scraped across the ground. Massive rocks shed dust under the constant Hueco Mundo wind.
Small animal-like Hollows burrowed beneath the sand, searching for scraps—
Then, in an instant, they sensed something.
They fled.
Within seconds, the area for dozens of meters held not a trace of weaker spiritual pressure.
Then the spirit particles density in the air spiked sharply.
Space tore open—darkness blooming like a wound.
Shimo and the others walked out.
Captain-class spiritual pressure didn't even need to be released deliberately. Their mere presence purged the surrounding Hollows.
"This place is even more desolate than I expected," Yoruichi said behind Shimo.
"Looks like the coordinates are a bit off."
Shimo extended his senses, locating the Forest of Menos.
"The real Forest of Menos is still about ten kilometers forward."
Mayuri's targeted Garganta still wasn't precise enough.
"And the Visored?" Mayuri asked, barely containing his impatience. "I want to see those Shinigami with Hollow power already."
"No rush." Shimo exhaled slowly, voice steady.
"Before we rendezvous, I'm making one thing clear."
"This operation follows my command."
"If anyone violates orders… don't blame me for being harsh."
That was aimed squarely at Mayuri and Kenpachi.
The others wouldn't deliberately go against Shimo.
Those two, though?
They were the unstable elements of the group.
"Heh. Fine," Mayuri cackled. "Then hurry and give the orders, Captain Shimo."
"Are we fighting? Or meeting those so-called Visored?"
Kenpachi made a dismissive sound—but didn't oppose Shimo.
Shimo's eyes passed over them, then he said, "First, we check the rendezvous point."
Everyone nodded. No objections.
The Visored hadn't returned to Seireitei—they were entering Hueco Mundo through Urahara's methods.
After Shimo's message, both sides had agreed on two nearby coordinates.
If Mayuri's targeted Garganta hadn't drifted slightly, they would've linked up already.
Ten kilometers was nothing for this group.
As they moved, Shimo noticed the nostalgia in Nel's eyes.
As a former resident, she had lived in Hueco Mundo far longer than she ever had in the Human World—or Seireitei.
This place carried too many memories.
Returning here inevitably stirred complicated emotions.
"Nel," Shimo said suddenly.
She looked up with a bright smile, staying close to his side.
"Mm! I'm here, Shimo!"
Shimo smiled back.
"I'll always be by your side."
Nel's eyes lit up, and she nodded hard.
"Nel too!"
The faint melancholy vanished instantly.
Soon, they reached the agreed location.
To Shimo's surprise—
The Visored were already waiting.
But they hadn't sent everyone.
Only four had come:
Hirako Shinji.
Kensei Muguruma.
Lisa Yadōmaru.
Love Aikawa.
Three former captains among them—solid.
Shimo was satisfied.
Hirako, as always, wore a casual Human World shirt, grinning with his teeth pressed tight together in that unmistakably eerie way.
"Yo. Long time no see!"
Unlike Hiyori Sarugaki, Hirako didn't have deep hatred for Shinigami.
He could still face former colleagues.
"It has been a while," Unohana said softly. "I'm relieved to see you're still alive."
Comrades from over two hundred years ago standing before her again—her expression shifted slightly.
But Unohana's control was impeccable; she returned to calm in an instant.
Hirako's grin faded into respectful composure. He bowed his head a little.
"Captain Unohana… just like before."
He knew her seniority—and what kind of person she truly was.
So in front of her, he put away the jokes.
Shimo glanced at the residual spiritual pressure in the air and understood the Visored had arrived only moments earlier.
"Looks like Kisuke's targeted Garganta is still better than yours, Mayuri."
Mayuri's face—rarely—twisted in annoyance and anger.
"That damnable man…"
Hirako's eyes slid to Shimo.
He remembered the "negotiation" back at their base in the Human World.
Just thinking of it made his molars ache.
Shimo's strength was the biggest reason they dared stand in Hueco Mundo at all.
And so Hirako's smile returned—strange as ever.
"Captain Shimo…"
"What do we do next?"
---------------------------------///
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