Whoosh!
A vast spiritual pressure, like an entire lake, spilled outward from the Garganta.
Just this unconsciously leaking pressure alone was enough to make an ordinary person's soul fall into a faint.
"Hey! Hey! Urahara, you really went too far this time. That is definitely not a Gillian!", Yoruichi, in her black cat form, had been lazily sprawled on the wall. But the moment she sensed that spiritual pressure, her fur stood on end and she sprang upright.
"Yeah, it should be an Adjuchas. The only question is whether it's a guest from Hueco Mundo's royal palace, or just an ordinary Adjuchas. But in the current Hueco Mundo, are there really still wild Adjuchas around?", Urahara Kisuke pressed down the brim of his hat. The gaze hidden beneath it carried a hint of deep meaning.
There was no way he had miscalculated.
Under normal circumstances, the Hollow bait he secretly added could at most attract a Gillian. There was no chance a higher-class Hollow would show up.
And the absolute limit of the Hollow bait was Gillian-level.
Adjuchas all possessed extremely high intelligence, and they had long since learned to resist the urge to devour. They would never be lured by Hollow bait.
So once an Adjuchas appeared, it meant that someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
As for whether that someone was Hueco Mundo's royal palace or Aizen, he could not make a judgment just yet.
But since someone had responded, that meant this move of his had been the right one.
———
[Seireitei, Twelfth Division Barracks]
Warning alarms rang nonstop inside the Research and Development Institute. Mayuri Kurotsuchi stood before the surveillance screens, a gloomy light in his eyes.
An Adjuchas-level Menos had appeared in the world of the living. In the past ten years, this was already the second time.
The last time it was one of Hueco Mundo's Espada. So what was this one?
"Captain Mayuri, what happened?"
Beside the main screen, another screen lit up. Displayed within was the scene from the Eighth Division. Rosse and Kyoraku Shunsui were both visible, and seated quietly in the image was Head-Captain Yamamoto.
As for why Rosse was at the Eighth Division, that went back two days.
Just the day before yesterday, Head-Captain Yamamoto had suddenly awakened.
Because he had only just woken up and his spiritual pressure had not yet recovered, Head-Captain Yamamoto did not take back the authority of Head-Captain.
Rosse also waited two days, until Kyoraku Shunsui had finished explaining the general situation, before heading to the Eighth Division with sincerity, prepared to step aside and yield his position.
And the trouble in the world of the living just happened to occur at this very moment.
"Head-Captain Rosse, Head-Captain Yamamoto, Captain Kyoraku."
Mayuri swept a glance at the situation on the opposite screen. Pinching his voice into that peculiar tone, he called out once before getting down to business.
"An Adjuchas-level spiritual pressure has appeared in the world of the living. Judging by its form, it is not an Arrancar. It should be a wild Adjuchas."
If he had to choose between Head-Captain Yamamoto and Rosse as Head-Captain, he would raise both hands in support of Rosse.
Even though Rosse was not on particularly good terms with him, Rosse did not restrict his research at all. As long as it was within the Rukongai districts under the Twelfth Division's jurisdiction, he could run whatever experiments he wanted.
Of course, the premise was that the funding had to be sufficient. Otherwise, the people in the district could leave and move to areas under other divisions.
But that was already far better than before. He really did not like that old fossil, Head-Captain Yamamoto. That was a sentiment shared by the other captains as well.
"Head-Captain Yamamoto, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
Rosse humbly yielded the authority to make the decision, placing it in Head-Captain Yamamoto's hands.
The significance of Head-Captain Yamamoto's awakening was precisely to take the blame for what was about to happen.
Without Head-Captain Yamamoto as a point of comparison, how could he fully win over the hearts of Soul Society's people?
"Kyoraku, you go to the world of the living. The purification unit will follow shortly. Resolve the matter there before that Adjuchas causes any greater impact," Head-Captain Yamamoto issued the order calmly, not caring in the slightest about Rosse's show of deference, as though the one giving commands should naturally be him.
Even without spiritual pressure, he was still the pillar that steadied Soul Society.
As long as he was awake, everyone would acknowledge him as Head-Captain.
"Head-Captain Yamamoto, it seems there's no need to rush. That Adjuchas's spiritual pressure is rapidly weakening. A captain-level spiritual pressure has appeared in the world of the living. Its intensity is very high, and it's a spiritual pressure we have never detected before," Mayuri's voice carried thick astonishment.
———
At the same time, Karakura Town First High School, rooftop of the school building.
"You've got to be kidding. That's an Adjuchas! How could something of that level be attracted here? Ishida, what on earth did you throw?"
Feeling the spiritual pressure coming from above, Rukia looked at the Hollow. Its body was not large, yet it clearly possessed great intelligence. Her voice could not help but tremble.
'Adjuchas!'
'That thing up there is definitely an Adjuchas!'
A few years ago, a single Gillian nearly wiped out the Thirteenth Division. In the end, it was only after Captain Kyoraku Shunsui of the Eighth Division arrived that it was subdued.
Now what had appeared was an Adjuchas, one level stronger than a Gillian. A Hollow of this class probably required a captain to have any real chance of victory.
"Who cares what level it is. If it's a Hollow, just cut it down and be done with it," Kurosaki Ichigo, almost at full condition, scratched his ear. He glanced at Uryu Ishida beside him, who had been shaken into a daze by the spiritual pressure, and could not help but curl his lips. Gripping his Zanpakuto, he prepared to charge upward.
"Ichigo! Don't mess around. You're not a match for that Hollow!"
Rukia hurriedly spoke up to stop him. She did not want to see Kurosaki Ichigo go up there just to throw his life away.
"Tch! Whether I can beat it or not, I'll only know after I fight it. How do you know that thing isn't just all show?", Kurosaki Ichigo did not listen to Rukia at all.
Feeling the Hollow's spiritual pressure above, he was completely fired up.
Adjuchas, this was a level of opponent he had never fought before.
And he had always heard Aizen say that Adjuchas-level Hollows were at the very bottom in Hueco Mundo's royal palace.
And even that very bottom consisted of Arrancar Adjuchas, at least twice as strong as this wild Adjuchas in front of him.
If he could not get past an opponent like this, then what right did he have to cut his way through Hueco Mundo?
Whoosh!
Kurosaki Ichigo's spiritual pressure suddenly erupted. Holding the Zanpakuto in its still-Asauchi form, his figure turned into a bolt of black lightning, shooting straight toward the giant-ape-like Adjuchas in the sky.
And as he charged at full speed, he let out a roar.
"Shatter the boundary, Zangetsu!"
As the release command left his mouth, his Zanpakuto rang out with a clear, resounding clang in midair.
That plain, unadorned blade did not collapse or change shape. Instead, it seemed to split into two within the void, one becoming two, and then reformed in his hands.
The original blade had actually divided into two completely different slashers, yet both radiated the same source of power.
In his right hand was a massive blade, pitch-black and profound, with a long, narrow yet slightly heavy body.
Its edge bore several irregular, saw-like serrations, flashing with a bloodthirsty sheen. At the guard, a faint crimson vein could be seen, as though it were the manifestation of the violent Hollow power within. The handle was wrapped in coarse black cloth, exuding a primitive savagery and an untamable, violent force.
In his left hand, meanwhile, appeared a straight-edged short blade, pure white like snow, slender and razor-sharp in form.
Its tip was keen, cold light gleaming from it. The handle was designed with a simple cross-shaped guard and wrapped in flawless white reishi threads, radiating a sacred and transcendent aura.
Two Zanpakuto forged from Shinigami power, simultaneously containing the reishi of Hollow and Quincy.
This was the true Shikai form of Kurosaki Ichigo's Zanpakuto, brought forth under Aizen's guidance.
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