Equally shocked were the teachers and students of Shin'o Academy.
"Am I seeing this right? Setsuna is actually suppressing that Menos Grande!"
"That's a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande! Legend says they surpass even Gotei 13's Captains!"
Seeing this, Omaeda also breathed a sigh of relief. But when he turned to look at Yoruichi and Aizen, he noticed their expressions were unusually calm.
"You two expected this outcome?" he couldn't help but ask.
Aizen chuckled softly. "People cannot imagine realms they have never witnessed. I can see that Menos Grande's limits, yet I cannot even glimpse Setsuna-nii's back."
Omaeda nodded, partially understanding. Suddenly, a shocking thought struck him.
"Wait, you said you can see that Menos Grande's limits... Could it be... you can also fight against that Menos Grande?" Omaeda asked, swallowing hard.
"Of course not. I'm nowhere near that strong," Aizen shook his head with a light smile.
Omaeda immediately sighed in relief. That's what he thought. A monster like Setsuna… one was already astonishing enough.
On the battlefield, Szayelaporro collected the remnants of his alchemical devices and said coldly:
"Hah, I forgot. Now I am a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande. I no longer need to rely on such tricks to ambush other Menos Grande. Crushing you with Reiatsu alone is enough."
He brought his hands together, immense Reiatsu beginning to condense.
The sky of Hueco Mundo seemed to darken along with it. The surrounding sand dunes crumbled under the impact of this power.
Cero!
A crimson light beam over a hundred meters in diameter shot forth. Space itself distorted along its path.
Setsuna merely calmly raised his right hand, palm facing forward.
The Cero struck his palm… yet there was no explosion, no impact, not even a sound.
That crimson light beam capable of annihilating everything was absorbed by his hand like water into a sponge.
Sekishiki Meikai Ha!
Setsuna flicked his wrist, returning the Cero along its original path… but faster, more powerful.
Szayelaporro had no time to react before being struck head-on by his own Cero.
He was blasted hundreds of meters underground. A bottomless canyon split open in the land of Hueco Mundo.
At the canyon's bottom, Szayelaporro's eyes were filled with confusion, muttering to himself, "Why? His Reiatsu is clearly far inferior to mine. Why can he easily counter all my attacks? He can even reflect a Cero?"
Setsuna appeared beside him. "You rely too much on external objects. No matter how exquisite, alchemical devices are just tools. No matter how vast, Reiatsu is merely accumulated energy. True powerhouses are strong in their understanding of the essence of power, their mastery of the rules themselves."
Setsuna's words were, of course, to crush his confidence. Power and realm are mutually reinforcing. If Szayelaporro's Reiatsu were strong enough to reach a transcendent level, even Setsuna's realm might not reverse the situation.
Indeed, a trace of confusion surfaced in Szayelaporro's eyes.
'Now!' Seizing the opportunity, Setsuna struck with a Genro Mao Ken, completely seizing control of Szayelaporro's mind.
He had originally intended to taste the flavor of a high-level Menos Grande, but Szayelaporro was, after all, a rare scientific research talent.
Moreover, he could use Szayelaporro as bait to lure other Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo one by one.
Seeing Setsuna dragging Szayelaporro back to the surface, the Academy's teachers and students all sighed in relief, then erupted in enthusiastic cheers and praise.
"Setsuna, you're too amazing! You actually defeated a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande!"
"Defeated? It was a complete curbstomp!"
"In my opinion, in the entire Gotei 13, aside from the Captain-Commander, probably no one is Setsuna's match!"
Facing everyone's praise, Setsuna simply waved his hand calmly. "You're overpraising me. This guy is among the weakest of Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande. He's not as powerful as you imagine."
He turned to the supervising teacher, his expression serious. "Sensei, my exam might have to be temporarily suspended. This time, it's my turn to 'report' to the Central 46."
As soon as he finished speaking, the students became impassioned, responding one after another:
"I'll postpone my exam too!"
"Yes! Go back and settle accounts with that bastard!"
"He nearly got us all killed! We can't let this go!"
The supervising teacher looked at the indignant students, then at the Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande easily subdued by Setsuna, and nodded. "Alright, the exam is suspended. We'll return to the Soul Society first. This matter indeed requires the Central 46 to give us an explanation."
He looked at the student who carried the hell butterfly, his tone severe. "Iwasaki Hideki, you'd best confess everything you know. Otherwise, what awaits you won't just be academy discipline."
Hideki's face turned deathly pale. Trembling all over, he nodded repeatedly.
Setsuna, holding Szayelaporro, stepped into the re-opened Garganta first.
Behind him, the teachers and students of Shin'o Academy filed in. Each face was etched with anger and determination.
…
Inside the Kasumioji Clan's residence, a group of elders stormed into the meeting hall with grim faces.
Yuka rose from the main seat, her brow slightly furrowed. "Elders, what is the matter, to be in such a rush?"
The leading elder, Munetoshi, said angrily, "It's that Sato Taishi's doing! He dared collude with a Menos Grande, secretly trying to harm Shin'o Academy's students! Now that Menos Grande has been captured on the spot, caught red-handed, and is being taken to the Central 46!"
Yuka's face changed slightly. "Could there be... some misunderstanding?"
"Misunderstanding?" Another elder, Shinosuke, sneered. "Whether it's a misunderstanding, let him explain it himself at the Central 46!"
"Now the entire Seireitei knows: the Kasumioji Clan's son-in-law colluded with Hueco Mundo, intending to murder Shin'o Academy's students. Do you know what this means? It means our entire family might be branded with the crime of 'betraying the Soul Society'!"
The atmosphere in the meeting hall instantly dropped to freezing point. Yuka's fingers tightened slightly, her knuckles turning white.
Just then, Taishi walked in calmly from the side door, a composed smile on his face. "Honorable elders, there's no need for such panic. I have this matter under control. I will return safely."
Seeing him so composed, an elder asked hesitantly, "Then... you really didn't do it?"
Taishi smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over those present. "Whether I did it or not is not important. What's important is..."
He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "I will make Chiaki Setsuna personally experience the pain of being wronged by everyone, unable to defend himself no matter what he says."
He turned to Yuka, his tone gentle yet carrying unquestionable confidence. "Yuka, believe in me. This time, I will make all those who doubt the Kasumioji Clan pay the price."
Yuka's eyes were hesitant, but now she could only choose to believe. "Alright... You must return safely!"