Ashido's pale sword descended from above like the scythe of the god of death, slicing the fleeing Hollows one by one in half.
Soi Fong's Shunpo abruptly stopped in midair, and she cautiously stared at the red-haired figure who had suddenly appeared before her.
"You're wearing a Hollow mask, yet you're helping us kill Hollows. Who are you?"
Ashido didn't give a direct answer, but simply continued swinging his sword.
"If I were you, I wouldn't waste time talking here."
At those words, Soi Fong was speechless for a moment, but ultimately decided to follow his rhythm and precisely locked onto Abirama, who was fleeing ahead of them.
He was the leader of the Adjuchas in this Hollow group, so naturally she understood the principle of capturing the leader first.
Using all her strength to execute captain-level Shunpo speed, Soi Fong caught up to Abirama in just a few breaths.
The small yellow-black blade attached to the tip of her finger stabbed into the red feathers of his wings, and in an instant, a black bee-shaped seal quickly appeared on both the front and back.
Abirama only sensed that a Shinigami was chasing him from behind, but his mind hadn't yet grasped what was happening.
When he came to his senses, he realized his body was already beginning to fall apart and scatter.
"I…"
Until he completely turned into spiritual particles and dispersed in the air of Hueco Mundo, Abirama never figured out how he actually died.
After that, the remaining fleeing Adjuchas also lost their will to fight and were wiped out in a joint siege by several captains and vice-captains.
When the last Hollow turned into spiritual particles, Ashido finally returned his sword to its sheath.
Soi Fong stood in front of him and cautiously stared at the red-haired figure who had suddenly appeared.
"Who are you? You're wearing a Hollow mask, so why are you helping us kill these Hollows?"
Faced with her questioning, Ashido simply slowly removed the mask, revealing a face weathered by time, a handsome red-haired man.
"My name is Ashido. I was once a member of the 5th Division of the Gotei 13, part of the 3rd Battalion of the Expeditionary Unit to Hueco Mundo."
That name was like a bolt from the blue in the heart of Unohana Retsu.
She quickly stepped forward, disbelief flashing in her eyes.
"Ashido… you're still alive?"
"Captain Unohana, it's been a long time." Ashido looked at Unohana Retsu, and a flicker of nostalgia briefly flashed in his eyes.
"Um… what's going on here?" Amagai Shusuke and Soi Fong exchanged glances.
Seeing that everyone was confused, Ashido told them about the experiences he had endured in Hueco Mundo over all these years.
As a member of the expeditionary unit, he and his comrades went to Hueco Mundo to participate in a Hollow suppression operation.
However, during a pursuit of a Hollow, they fell into a trap, and he accidentally ended up in the Forest of Menos.
His comrades died one by one, as there were too many Hollows, and in the end, he was the only one left alive.
In order to protect human souls and fulfill the promise he made to his comrades who had fought with him in this place, he continued fighting alone to this very day.
Everyone present could barely believe it.
If everything Ashido said was true, didn't that mean he had lived and fought completely alone in Hueco Mundo for hundreds of years?
"By the way, Captain Unohana, may I ask… how has Captain Kuriyashiki been all these years?" Ashido slightly raised his head, an elusive emotion appearing in his eyes.
Unohana Retsu gently shook her head.
"We'll talk about that when Captain Zaraki arrives."
At that moment, Kenpachi Zaraki had just finished his battle with his opponent and approached them.
He looked at Ashido with interest.
"Hey, your zankensutsu is pretty good. Wanna fight?"
"Ken-chan, now's not the time for a fight~" Yachiru slapped Kenpachi on the head.
Ashido looked at this strange, tall man, and doubt flickered in his eyes.
"Who is this?"
Unohana Retsu sighed softly and explained.
"Allow me to explain. This is the current captain of the 11th Division, Kenpachi Zaraki."
"Kuriyashiki… sacrificed himself long ago."
Ashido's body trembled slightly, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression briefly became completely lost.
But hundreds of years of solitary life in Hueco Mundo had made his spirit extremely strong, and he quickly regained his composure.
"I see… Looks like Soul Society has changed quite a bit during the years I've been gone."
Amagai Shusuke stepped forward and bowed seriously to Ashido.
"Thank you for lending us a hand, Ashido-senpai."
"Think nothing of it." Ashido shook his head. "I only did what a Shinigami should do."
At that moment, Kotetsu Isane ran up to them in a panic.
"Captain, bad news! While counting the dead and wounded, we discovered that Saito-san is missing!"
"What?!"
Unohana Retsu's expression, which had been calm just a second earlier, instantly stiffened.
She quickly looked around, but she truly couldn't sense Arata's familiar spiritual pressure.
"This is bad…"
Soi Fong also realized how serious the situation was.
If some average students were injured or killed, it would already be tragic, but Saito Arata must not be harmed in any way!
"Captain Unohana, we'll immediately organize a search and rescue mission!"
"Captain Soi Fong, I'm counting on you!" Unohana Retsu said in a serious tone.
Many captains suddenly began issuing orders, and the entire camp became a flurry of activity.
The remaining capable fighters among the Shinigami split into groups and set off in different directions to search for Arata's trail.
Ashido listened to their discussion and suddenly spoke.
"This Saito you're talking about… is he the young Shinigami who uses a Zanpakutō with purple-black flames?"
All eyes immediately turned to him.
Unohana Retsu impatiently asked:
"Ashido, did you see Arata-kun?"
Ashido nodded.
"After the battle began, I saw him lead three Adjuchas away by himself. They went in that direction."
He pointed toward a direction deep into the desert.
Unohana Retsu quickly made a decision.
"Ashido, can you help us and lead the way?"
"Of course." Ashido put the bone mask back on. "I know this area very well."
Shortly after, they found an answer.
Behind a sand dune, everyone saw signs of a fierce battle.
The sand was crisscrossed with sword marks and massive craters.
Suddenly, Soi Fong shouted:
"Look, blood!"
Everyone immediately rushed over and saw a puddle of dried purple-black blood on the sand, with several scattered bone fragments around it.
"This blood… is poisonous." Unohana Retsu's fingers trembled slightly.
"There appear to be dragging marks over there!" Ashido, thanks to years of survival experience, was the first to notice new tracks.
When everyone reached that spot, they saw a clear human body imprint in the sand and several strange footprints beside it.
"This size doesn't look like a Hollow's footprint." Ashido observed carefully. "It looks more like… a human footprint?"
"How could humans even exist in Hueco Mundo?" Amagai Shusuke asked in confusion.
Just as they wanted to find more clues, they discovered that the footprints ahead had already been erased by the sand, leaving only a few scattered prints behind.
"Damn it, how could the tracks just disappear like that?" Soi Fong spat in frustration.
Unohana Retsu's heart sank to the very bottom.
However, even in such a situation, she was not ready to easily conclude that Arata was dead.
She would rather believe that someone else had reached Arata before them and taken him away.
Unohana Retsu took a deep breath, and determination flickered in her eyes.
"Whatever happened, we must find a trace of Arata-kun!"