Yoruichi was in his arms, feeling the warmth and slight tingling sensation as his fingers brushed through her back fur, her golden-brown cat eyes narrowing slightly.
Hiroki had promised to let her watch with her own eyes, which indeed dispelled some of her doubts and fulfilled the mission Urahara had assigned.
She nestled quietly, enjoying the rare peace while also being full of curiosity about what was to come—what big commotion was this guy going to stir up now?
The Shihōin Clan residence was as vast and deep as a labyrinth, but Hiroki was clearly familiar with the way.
Holding the black cat, he soon arrived in front of a seemingly ordinary annex deep within the family grounds.
Several retainers wearing clothes with the Shihōin family crest were already standing solemnly at the entrance; seeing Hiroki, they immediately bowed, their eyes filled with awe.
Hiroki nodded casually and walked straight in, still holding the cat.
The interior of the annex was a world of its own; after passing through several heavily guarded corridors, the view suddenly opened up, and a massive elevator platform leading underground appeared.
Two Uchiha Clan Members were standing by the platform on standby.
As Hiroki stepped on, the platform started soundlessly, descending smoothly and rapidly.
All around were thick killing aura stone walls, engraved with countless profound spiritual runes that emitted a faint, shimmering light.
Yoruichi could clearly feel that as the depth of the descent increased, the connection of spiritual pressure with the outside world was rapidly cut off, and a powerful sense of isolation descended.
The platform descended for a long time before stopping with a slight vibration.
The doors opened, revealing a subterranean space so vast it was shocking!
The Uchiha Clan's secret training ground!
The scale and grandeur of the entire space far exceeded Yoruichi's imagination.
The dome hung high, at least dozens of meters up, and the walls and floor were all covered in dense killing aura stone that emitted a deep, dark luster!
Its sheer quantity, the tightness of the layout, and the high purity made her certain at a glance—even if the killing aura stone reserves of all divisions in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were combined, they might not have as much as this place!
The complex spiritual rune circuits flowing on the walls and floor turned the entire space into a "cage" that absolutely isolated spiritual pressure.
This space was even larger than the secret base she and Kisuke had dug under Sōkyoku Hill.
As if seeing through Yoruichi's shock, Hiroki complained habitually as he walked, "Look at these materials, this thickness! It's even more solid than the materials used in the training ground under the First Division."
Yoruichi couldn't help but roll her eyes in his arms.
Many people were already standing in the center of the training ground.
Uchiha Fugaku was as steady as a mountain as always, standing at the very front in a combat uniform suitable for movement (not a shinigami uniform), his sharp gaze sweeping over Hiroki and the black cat in his arms as he gave a slight nod of greeting.
Behind him, Uchiha Shisui stood tall with a refined air, a short blade at his waist and a calm expression.
Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekka stood on either side, the aura around them clearly more powerful and condensed than before.
Incidentally, both of them had also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Hiroki's gaze swept through the crowd behind Fugaku, and he frowned: "Where's Itachi? Not back yet?"
Fugaku bowed slightly: "My Lord, based on the timing, he should be arriving soon."
As if to confirm his words, before he had even finished speaking, space suddenly distorted violently on a killing aura stone wall in a fixed area in the corner of the training ground, and countless complex spiritual runes lit up instantly like they were being electrified!
A standard-specification Senkaimon frame shifted from illusory to real, and a powerful spatial fluctuation instantly filled the air.
To facilitate rapid assembly and deployment, a dedicated Senkaimon had been set up here.
Shua!
Spiritual light flickered, and the spatial tunnel stabilized into shape.
A tall and slender figure was the first to step out.
It was Uchiha Itachi.
He still wore his iconic high-collared clan outfit, his face handsome and calm, carrying a hint of the travel-worn air of a long-distance raid.
But compared to his usual quietness, there seemed to be an extra layer of indescribable murderous intent about him.
However, what was even more eye-catching was behind him—several Uchiha elite Ninjas were working together to carry a massive object, tightly wrapped in grey special sealing cloth, following closely behind him.
The bundle was humanoid, about three meters long, and judging from its silhouette and the trace of extremely weak but terrifyingly high-quality spiritual pressure leaking out... Yoruichi's golden-brown cat eyes suddenly contracted! She abruptly poked her head out from Hiroki's arms, looking in disbelief at the humanoid creature wrapped in sealing cloth with its four legs curled together...?!
Itachi walked up to Hiroki and bowed respectfully: "My Lord. According to your instructions, I have successfully captured the target in the depths of Hueco Mundo."
The two elites behind him carefully placed the massive bundle on the ground. One of them took out a strange spiritual tool and tapped several key points on the cloth.
The grey sealing cloth receded like a tide, revealing the scene inside.
Even Hiroki raised an eyebrow the moment he saw it, an unusual light flashing in his eyes.
Lying on the ground was indeed a humanoid torso silhouette.
But it wasn't an ugly Hollow! The skin was an exotic bronze, the body proportions were perfect, curvaceous, long and powerful, with an incredibly slender waist that looked even more sexy against the bronze skin.
Four legs stretched out naturally with smooth and elegant lines, reminiscent of the legendary... Amazoness? But that beautiful face had lost its color now, long eyelashes were tightly shut, and a head of smooth, shimmering cyan long hair was spread out slightly messily on the ground.
In the center of the forehead, only two-thirds of a trident-shaped bone mask remained, the cracks clearly visible and its luster gone.
A destructive spiritual pressure, far exceeding that of an Arrancar and as vast and deep as the ocean, was being suppressed by the powerful sealing technique Itachi had applied; only a trace of residual aura leaked out, yet it was enough to make all the Shinigami present (including the Uchiha Clan Members) feel a hint of instinctive pressure.
Vasto Lorde!
And it was a Vasto Lorde with an extremely perfect transformation, possessing a top-tier female form!
"Nelliel..." Hiroki almost blurted out, his voice carrying a bit of unexpected surprise, which then turned into a wry, troubled expression, "How did you end up catching her?"
He hadn't expected Itachi to actually bring this one back. Was it because Nelliel was prettier, or... easier to catch? (After all, Nelliel acted a bit dazed and confused in the early part of the original plot.)
Yoruichi was completely stunned in his arms!
A Vasto Lorde!
This was the top predator of Hueco Mundo!
A terrifying existence that even surpassed an ordinary Captain-level!
She was actually... captured alive by Uchiha Itachi?!
And brought back?!!!
Hiroki's gaze swept over Nelliel's beautiful face, which still bore a hint of pain in her unconsciousness, and the shattered mask, quickly evaluating the situation in his mind.
Vasto Lordes were indeed powerful, with naturally extremely high spiritual pressure levels; theoretically, a first-class spiritual pressure existed.