Seeing that the Hollows were mostly dealt with, Toshiro released his Bankai.
Although these Hollows were numerous, most were just ordinary or large Hollows… even Gillian were rare.
Therefore, Toshiro didn't actually need to use Bankai to deal with them.
The reason he did was, besides stopping the Hollows from fleeing, mainly to show the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force his true strength and make them revere him.
Swish!
Toshiro used Shunpo to vanish from the sky, reappearing in front of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's members.
Seeing Toshiro appear before them, all Shinigami looked at him with awe and reverence.
The members of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force thought back to how they had doubted Toshiro's strength earlier and felt utterly ashamed.
Even the reinforcements from the Soul Society looked at Toshiro incredulously. Although they had heard rumors about Toshiro, few had actually seen him in action.
As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Only by witnessing it firsthand could they understand Toshiro's power.
Standing before everyone, Toshiro shouted, "Most of the Hollows that attacked this time have been annihilated by me. The remaining few hundred were intentionally left for you. Go! Let me see if your strength is worthy of being my, Hitsugaya Toshiro's, subordinates!"
"Yes, Commander Hitsugaya!" Everyone responded loudly.
Then, one by one, they fearlessly charged at the remaining Hollows.
They weren't cowards afraid of death. The reason they wanted to retreat earlier was simply because facing so many Hollows, they had no chance of winning.
But now, with the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force plus the Soul Society's reinforcements, their numbers were nearly a thousand, more than double the remaining Hollows. What was there to fear?
Moreover, even if something went wrong, Toshiro was still there. They could fight with confidence and boldness.
"Whew!"
After everyone charged at the Hollows, Toshiro, standing in place, couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, a trace of pallor appeared on his face.
Although Toshiro had displayed immense power earlier, annihilating almost all the attacking Hollows without suffering a single injury, his Reiatsu consumption had been significant.
After all, there were definitely over ten thousand Hollows earlier. Even if most were ordinary Hollows, ten thousand pigs standing still to be slaughtered would tire someone out.
Earlier, each of Toshiro's attacks swept through large swathes of Hollows, but the cost was rapid Reiatsu depletion.
Although Hyorinmaru had many wide-area attack techniques, the reason for their previous destructive power was Toshiro recklessly pouring Reiatsu into them.
But thankfully, apart from Reiatsu consumption, Toshiro wasn't injured. After all, they were just a bunch of ordinary and large Hollows.
Toshiro looked into the distance. The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force and the Soul Society's reinforcements were already engaged with the remaining Hollows.
The Shinigami from the Soul Society's reinforcements and the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force charged at the forefront, engaging Hollows in close combat, while the Kido Corps members were protected in the rear, casting Kido.
Toshiro noticed that the Kido Corps' members were killing almost as many Hollows as the Shinigami.
Moreover, the Kido cast jointly by a group of Kido Corps members was remarkably powerful.
When he first arrived, Toshiro hadn't paid much attention to these Kido Corps' members. After all, although Kido was quite powerful, with even Captain-level opponents couldn't withstand some high-level Kido, it required chanting time. Though some could cast without incantation without losing power, those were the minority.
But now, the Kido Corps' members were safely behind the Shinigami, chanting freely. At this moment, their role couldn't be ignored.
The battle ended after a while without any surprises. The result was a complete victory for the Shinigami side.
In the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force's camp.
Everyone stood in neat, orderly ranks, with Toshiro standing before them.
"Everyone, your performance earlier was quite good," Toshiro praised.
"No, no, Commander Hitsugaya, our performance was nothing," Everyone said modestly.
Although their performance was decent, compared to Toshiro, it was nothing.
Toshiro alone was far stronger than all of them combined.
"Alright, now I have an order to announce," Toshiro said.
"Everyone, the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force previously suffered heavy losses. Now, all four corps combined have less than a few dozen members. Therefore, the reinforcements I brought from the Soul Society will be integrated into the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, redistributed among the four corps. From now on, we are all one family. Get along well," Toshiro announced.
"Each corps will still be led by its original corps commander. I will serve as commander of the 1st Corps concurrently. Ando, you will continue as deputy commander of the 1st Corps, acting as my assistant," Toshiro said to the corps commanders.
"Yes, Commander Hitsugaya!" They replied.
"Good. Now, each corps, distribute the personnel," Toshiro said.
In the central tent of the camp.
Toshiro sat at the head, with the corps commanders seated on either side as before.
"Ando, continue telling me about the previous incident. You said earlier that the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force encountered a large number of Gillian-class Menos Grande and even an Adjuchas, leading to heavy losses, right?" Toshiro asked.
"Yes, Commander Hitsugaya. Moreover, based on the situation, those Hollows deliberately sought us out after searching, and it wasn't a chance encounter," Ando Akimine replied.
"So, someone specifically targeted you, wanting to eliminate the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force?" Toshiro pondered.
The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force had been campaigning in Hueco Mundo for centuries. However, since they operated in the outer circle, even the major factions in Hueco Mundo hadn't bothered with them.
After all, the outer circle was just where ordinary Hollows roamed. No matter how many ordinary Hollows died, the major factions in Hueco Mundo didn't care.
"It seems this attacking horde might also be controlled by someone behind the scenes," Toshiro said.
"It seems our camp location is exposed, Commander Hitsugaya. Should we retreat from here and set up camp somewhere new?" Amagai, commander of the 3rd Corps, asked.
"No need. Running isn't my style. Since someone is targeting the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, we'll find them and eliminate them first!" A cold glint flashed in Toshiro's eyes.
"Ando, Amagai, tomorrow, the two of you come with me to investigate the location where the expeditionary force was last attacked. See if we can find the culprits," Toshiro said to Ando and Amagai.
"Yes!" They replied.