When Kaien Shiba woke up, he found himself in a room. The beds around him were filled with other unconscious freshmen.
"I fainted?!"
Kaien Shiba quickly remembered what happened before he passed out.
More importantly, the test seemed to be over.
Through the window, he could see the arena used for the test. It was now empty. The grading test had clearly ended.
It was over!
He had been defeated as soon as he stepped onto the stage. His score would definitely be very low!
"You're awake."
Sora entered from the door.
"Captain Katori!" Kaien Shiba said dejectedly. "I'm sorry, my performance today was too poor..."
"So, have you given up?" Sora asked.
"I won't give up!"
"I want to learn Kendo from you, Captain Katori!"
"Please give me another chance!"
"I will train hard and defeat the opponent from earlier!"
Kaien Shiba pulled himself together quickly. He was not someone who was easily defeated by difficulties.
"You have good talent. As long as you train without stopping, you will achieve something in the future."
Sora nodded gently. "Seeing your sincerity, I will give you a chance and accept you as a disciple."
"Really!" Kaien Shiba was overjoyed and immediately changed his address. "Master!"
"Mm, come back to the dojo with me. I'll introduce you to your seniors."
"Yes!"
...
Rukongai, a certain forest.
A silver-haired boy crouched in the bushes, staring intently at what was happening outside.
Outside the bushes, several Shinigami knelt before a male Shinigami wearing glasses, presenting a glass jar.
"Captain Aizen, this is what you wanted!"
The Shinigami kneeling on the ground spoke respectfully.
"Well done." Sōsuke Aizen nodded gently.
He took the glass jar and poured its contents onto the Hōgyoku in his hand.
The Hōgyoku quickly absorbed everything inside the jar.
Gin Ichimaru, hiding in the bushes, didn't dare to make a sound. He knew the gap between him and the Shinigami very well and wouldn't go out to throw his life away.
"Those are the Shinigami who took Rangiku's thing!"
Gin Ichimaru memorized the faces of these Shinigami one by one.
Not long ago, his friend Rangiku Matsumoto had been attacked by these Shinigami, and they had taken something from her.
He had followed the direction they left and found this place, wanting to remember their faces so he could help Rangiku get back what she lost in the future.
What Gin Ichimaru had stumbled upon was Sōsuke Aizen collecting Soul King fragments.
After visiting the secret vaults of the Five Great Noble Clans, Aizen's Hōgyoku was almost complete.
There were few ways left to obtain Soul King fragments, so he turned his attention to souls that possessed them.
Outside the bushes, Sōsuke Aizen suddenly looked towards the bushes. This made Gin Ichimaru's body tense up instantly.
"Crap, I've been found!"
Gin Ichimaru held his breath, trying to suppress his presence to the minimum.
A faint smile appeared on the corner of Sōsuke Aizen's mouth, but he didn't seem to care about the small figure hiding in the bushes.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
The Shinigami left the forest.
"Hah—Hah—"
Gin Ichimaru gasped for fresh air like a drowning man.
When the leading Shinigami looked over just now, he felt as if he were being strangled.
"Did they let me go?"
Gin Ichimaru frowned. He didn't believe that Shinigami hadn't discovered him.
That subtle change in expression was telling him—I found you.
Gin Ichimaru couldn't figure it out, so he didn't think about it too much. He still needed to rush back to help Rangiku.
...
Several months later, the Department of Research and Development reported good news to Sora.
Their main focus was solving the effect of Hell Phosphor on spirit bodies and developing an antibody drug against it.
Yhwach had allied with Hell, so they had to consider the issue of Hell.
Long-term exposure to Hell Phosphor would erode a spirit body and might even transform them into a Hell creature.
"Captain, the experimental results are out!"
Akon showed a rare excitement that was hard to conceal.
"How long does it last?"
"A dose of 10 milliliters can last for a month!"
"One month. That is great progress."
Sora nodded with satisfaction. One injection of the antibody lasting a month gave the Shinigami the possibility of exploring Hell.
A few days later, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni summoned the Captains to the 1st Division meeting hall.
Just recently, seven Captains—Sora, Yoruichi Shihōin, Kana Azashiro, Sōsuke Aizen, Sōjun Kuchiki, Kensei Muguruma, and Isshin Shiba—had jointly submitted an important proposal to Yamamoto.
"Release Saitō Furōfushi?"
Kyōraku Shunsui muttered.
Saitō Furōfushi was the original Captain of the 6th Division, but she was currently imprisoned in Muken.
This happened hundreds of years ago. He didn't expect Sora Katori to bring it up today.
"How did that original Captain get locked into Muken?"
Love Aikawa was a new Captain and didn't know much about this matter.
"Saitō Furōfushi... She had a conflict with the Tsunayashiro clan back then and publicly killed the head of the Tsunayashiro clan..."
Jūshirō Ukitake recalled the reason Saitō Furōfushi was imprisoned in Muken.
"Tell us your thoughts," Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni said.
"My thought is simple. The Gotei 13 lacks people. We lack Captain-class combatants," Sora said, surprising everyone.
"Isn't the Captain roster full now?"
Kyōraku Shunsui scratched his face, a bit puzzled.
"It's not that the Gotei 13 lacks Captains."
"I learned from the Soul King that Yhwach already possesses the potential to surpass the limits of a Quincy. That would be a disaster for all three worlds."
"If we can find his location in Hell and kill him... it would be a good thing for us and for the three worlds."
"But if we want to form a Hell Expeditionary Force, we need more Captain-class combatants to rotate into Hell and search for Yhwach's location."
Sora explained.
"Captain Katori's concern makes sense. The destructive power of the last war with the Wandenreich was already great enough."
"If it happens in the Soul Society, the consequences would be unimaginable. If we can stifle the crisis in Hell, that would be best."
Jūshirō Ukitake frowned. "However, will the Hell Expeditionary Force need to be stationed in Hell like the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force?"
"Shinigami bodies probably can't adapt to that environment for long."
"Captain Ukitake doesn't need to worry. The Department of Research and Development has made a breakthrough."
"We developed a Hell Phosphor antibody drug. It allows Shinigami to stay in Hell for a long time without fearing the erosion of Hell Phosphor," Sora explained.
"That's really good news!"
Kenpachi Kuruyashiki stroked his chin.
"You definitely have to count me in this time. There should be endless villains to cut in Hell, right!"
Thinking about the endless villains in Hell for him to cut, he couldn't help but laugh.
"I will submit the proposal to Central 46. The Tsunayashiro clan has no one left now, so the resistance to this matter shouldn't be great."
After pondering for a moment, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni decided to find a reason related to atonement through service to get Central 46 to release her.
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