"C-Captain?!" "Captain Segawa!" "Why did you come here personally...?"
When Shigure arrived at the Senkaimon, all the 5th Division squad members wore puzzled expressions on their faces.
After all, this was different from when the Ryoka had left before. For Soul Reapers like them, opening this Senkaimon didn't require the captain's personal assistance.
Shigure walked toward them while speaking in a calm voice:
"The mission has changed slightly. I'll be accompanying you to the World of the Living."
"What?!"
All the squad members, including Rukia, instantly showed shocked expressions.
"Wh-what exactly happened..." "To require Captain Segawa to go personally...?!"
Ninth Seat Fushimi Shion asked in disbelief.
Shigure walked forward, raised his hand to open the Senkaimon, and said calmly:
"Grand Hollows have appeared in Tsukizuki City."
"!!"
In that instant, the air froze. The scene fell into deathly silence.
Although they had been to the World of the Living on missions many times, they had never heard of Grand Hollows appearing in such a place!
Every squad member's body completely stiffened in that moment.
Before the absolute power of Grand Hollows, they had no possibility of fighting at all!
Shigure noticed the squad members' reactions and felt a stir in his heart.
Then he stopped, turned around, and showed a gentle smile:
"Everyone, don't be nervous. After entering Tsukizuki City, I'll deal with the Grand Hollows immediately."
"Your duty is only to provide temporary aid to the 13th Division members."
"Leave everything else to me."
Hearing Shigure's words and seeing his smile, all the squad members not only calmed down completely but some even became excited.
They were actually fortunate enough to fight alongside Captain Segawa!
And he was right—with his strength, dealing with Grand Hollows... wouldn't be a problem at all!
So from the beginning, they had no reason to worry.
"Then, let's depart."
Shigure smiled as he turned and walked steadily toward the Senkaimon.
"Yes!!"
The squad members responded in unison with high spirits, their voices deafening.
Even Rukia, watching Shigure's back at this moment, had excited light flickering in her eyes.
After all, this was also her first time participating in a battle alongside Shigure.
Inside the Senkaimon, Shigure led the squad members, following the Hell Butterfly's guidance as they moved forward.
Tsukizuki City was southeast of Karakura Town, with three entire cities between them.
This was the strangest point about this mission for Shigure.
So far, the most suspicious person for causing such incidents was still Aizen Sosuke.
But he had absolutely no reason to choose such a meaningless city.
This place wasn't a spiritual hotspot, nor did it have Urahara Kisuke or Kurosaki Ichigo and others he was concerned about.
Causing Hollow chaos here couldn't bring any help to his Ōken creation plan.
However, Shigure knew that with Aizen Sosuke's personality, he would never do something meaningless.
"Could it be that the purpose of his strange actions this time..." "Is to lure me to the World of the Living...?"
Thinking of this, Shigure's eyes flashed.
This possibility was indeed very high.
Ahead was the end of the Senkaimon. The Hell Butterfly turned into black spirit particles and scattered away.
Then, the tea-colored giant doors opened, revealing the scene of the World of the Living.
But this time, it felt completely different from all previous times.
The moment the Senkaimon opened, before they even stepped out, they could already feel the dense and chaotic spiritual pressure of a Hollow swarm.
Shigure's eyes narrowed slightly, but his steps didn't stop.
However, the squad members behind him froze completely upon feeling this spiritual pressure.
Many even felt dizzy and nauseous.
Such thick Hollow spiritual pressure—they had never encountered it before!
But at this moment, they couldn't stop.
If warriors on the battlefield didn't even have the courage to step forward, they would become complete laughingstocks.
Therefore, despite their inner fear, not one of them retreated.
Rukia took a deep breath and was the first to quicken her pace, following Shigure as she stepped out of the Senkaimon.
But when she saw the situation ahead clearly, her expression instantly became dazed.
Then it quickly changed from shock to deep fear.
The squad members who followed her out also repeated the same expressions.
They felt chills rising up their backs, their scalps already tingling.
Ahead... there were actually three Grand Hollows!!
The aura that had penetrated through the Senkaimon wasn't from some Hollow swarm at all—it was completely from these three Grand Hollows!
"How... how is this possible... You've got to be kidding..." "Why would three Grand Hollows gather at the same time...?!" "Do the 13th Division members... still have any hope of survival..."
Squad members one by one let out trembling murmurs.
Their psychological defenses were completely breached at this moment, leaving only fear.
Rukia stiffly raised her head, slowly looking toward Shigure, asking somewhat tremblingly:
"Ca-Captain Segawa... this..."
Shigure heard this, turned his head slightly to look over, showed a smile, and said calmly:
"Didn't I already say... there's no need to panic."
As his words fell, spiritual pressure gently surged from his body, instantly covering all the squad members behind him.
In just an instant, it completely isolated all the Grand Hollow spiritual pressure pressing down on them.
Only then did the squad members jolt awake and hurriedly look toward Shigure.
They saw his face bearing a faint smile, still unchangingly composed.
He turned his head and said softly:
"What you need to do is watch carefully, because..."
"Ending their lives is just a matter of an instant."
As his words fell, Shigure lightly stepped forward.
But in the next moment, that white haori-clad figure actually appeared directly in the center of the three Grand Hollows!
"What?! The captain... is he really going to fight three at once?!" "That can't be possible... no matter what..."
BOOM!!
A thunderous explosion suddenly erupted, brutally interrupting their thoughts.
Immediately after, everyone froze.
Their heartbeats seemed to stop in that moment.
The three Grand Hollows ahead just suddenly collapsed downward simultaneously!
Their bodies had even begun continuously turning into spirit particles!!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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