Within the inner circle of Hueco Mundo, white sands whipped through the air, howling as they were carried by the wind.
Shimo's group continued their advance toward Las Noches.
The moment that faint sense of being watched surfaced around him, Shimo had already reached a conclusion—
Las Noches had undoubtedly discovered their presence.
He shared this judgment with the others, and after brief discussion, they unanimously decided to press forward faster.
However, mindful of spiritual pressure consumption, their speed could only be maintained at a steady pace.
If they were to forcefully unleash high-speed Shunpo all the way to Las Noches, the drain on their reiatsu would be immense.
By the time they encountered the enemy, they would risk defeat simply due to exhaustion.
Given that they were already deep within the inner circle of Hueco Mundo, caution was unavoidable.
Shimo had no objections to this approach.
Though his current strength was overwhelming—so great that even he himself could no longer clearly define its limits—he had never once underestimated Aizen Sōsuke.
—
"Something's coming up ahead… a Hollow swarm."
Walking beside Shimo, Nel twitched her nose slightly, her brows knitting together.
Her perception of Hollows did not rely on reiatsu sensing.
Back when she had been injured, she had been forced to remain constantly vigilant—
otherwise, she would have been devoured by Hollows at any moment.
Through that ordeal, she had honed a unique instinctual ability to detect Hollows, which she herself had named Predator Evasion.
Though she no longer needed it to survive, the ability had remained.
Even now, from an immense distance, Nel could still sense Hollow movements.
Shimo nodded calmly, unsurprised.
They had already encountered several Hollow groups along the way.
Some large, some small—each one charging at them with savage roars, intent on swallowing them whole.
Yet Rōjūrō "Rose" Otoribashi—no, Kensei Muguruma needed only a single Cero to erase ninety-nine percent of them.
As a measuring stick, Kensei's strength was more than sufficient.
After all—he could handle six lanes by himself.
...
Not long after Nel spoke, a massive cloud of white sand erupted ahead of them.
A vast swarm of grotesque Hollows surged forward, far more numerous than before.
Kensei stepped out from the group once more.
He spread his hands, fingers slightly curled, as crimson reiatsu condensed violently between his palms.
BOOM!
A roaring Cero tore through the Hollow swarm, carving a deep trench into the sand.
Countless Hollows were instantly reduced to reishi, dissipating back into Hueco Mundo.
But even so—
That attack had only destroyed a small fraction of the swarm.
"Damn it…"
Kensei's face darkened.
"There are too many of them."
Shimo stepped forward, his voice calm.
"Leave it to me."
He extended his hand, fingers straightened.
A cold, indifferent voice reached Kensei's ears.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō."
In an instant, vast quantities of deep-blue reiatsu gathered before Shimo's palm.
The next moment—
A colossal blue beam, several times wider than Kensei's Cero, erupted forward.
Thunder roared across Hueco Mundo.
The Hollows at the front didn't even have time to react—their feral expressions froze before fear could surface, and they were swallowed whole by the beam.
Lightning lashed through the swarm like divine punishment.
The thunder cannon's roar echoed for dozens of kilometers.
Kensei stared in disbelief.
Only now did he truly understand the gap between himself and Shimo.
Any lingering doubts about his past defeat vanished completely.
His full-power Cero had barely thinned the swarm.
Yet Shimo—
With a single Hadō #88—
Had annihilated it entirely.
The surging density of reishi in the surroundings told the story clearly.
Ahead, a canyon-like trench split the sands, awe-inspiring in its scale.
And it wasn't just Kensei.
Everyone present was shaken by the display.
Their understanding of Shimo's strength had remained anchored in his earlier battles in the Human World.
Even at Sōkyoku Hill, where he had been overwhelmingly dominant,
his spatial abilities had masked the true scale of his power.
This single Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō completely shattered their previous perceptions.
Pssst....
Renji Abarai stared blankly, mouth agape.
"…Is this really power a Shinigami is supposed to have?"
He muttered without thinking.
Beside him, Byakuya glanced over coolly.
"When did you start laboring under the illusion that Shimo was a normal Shinigami?"
Renji fell silent.
…Right.
What kind of normal Shinigami could do this?
Perhaps Yamamoto could cause similar devastation—but the Captain-Commander had lived for thousands of years.
His existence alone rivaled the entire history of the Seireitei.
"…They're all monsters."
Renji muttered, fully abandoning any thought of ever catching up to Shimo.
Those I defeat… even if I give them time, they'll only grow farther behind.
Shimo's words from long ago had now become undeniable truth.
And it wasn't just Renji.
Only Nelliel—who had always believed in Shimo—felt no emotional disturbance.
The others merely hid it better than Renji did.
Tssss...
White steam rose faintly from Shimo's extended palm.
He flicked his hand, dispersing it.
"The Hollow swarm is dealt with."
"Let's continue."
His expression never changed, as if the devastation he'd caused had nothing to do with him.
Faced with the canyon ahead, the group decisively chose to go around it.
The scene was… simply too overwhelming at this point.
As Las Noches drew closer, Shimo suddenly halted.
"There's something I need to remind you all of."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Not long after we entered Hueco Mundo, Aizen's side likely discovered us."
The group's hearts clenched.
The Visored reacted most strongly.
"What?!"
"They already know we're here?!"
Shimo nodded calmly.
"Before the first Hollow swarm attacked, we were already within Aizen's surveillance range."
Mayuri let out a shrill laugh.
"Captain Shimo, you intentionally neglected to tell us, didn't you?"
Shimo's gaze turned cold.
"There are surveillance devices near the Research and Development Institute as well, aren't there?"
"With Aizen's level of caution, how could he not monitor his own base?"
"The moment we headed toward Las Noches, discovery was inevitable."
Mayuri fell silent.
…He had indeed prepared monitoring devices.
What he couldn't understand was how Shimo had detected them.
Shimo, naturally, had no intention of explaining.
After all, saying 'I just blanketed the area with overwhelming reiatsu and erased it'
wouldn't do much for his image.
"The reason I'm telling you this," Shimo continued, "is to make one thing clear."
"Any notion of a surprise attack is impossible."
"But a frontal clash?"
"That, we can do."
"And you're all aware of what Aizen could do right?"
"So be mentally prepared for what's coming."
Hirako's lips curled into a twisted grin, his exposed teeth glinting eerily.
"We set aside life and death before we ever came to Hueco Mundo."
"So you don't need to worry, Shimo."
Shimo looked at the Visored with faint surprise.
Their expressions were calm—without a trace of fear.
"…In that case, let's move on."
No one spoke.
Yet the atmosphere cldarly grown far heavier than before.
---
After traveling dozens of kilometers more, Las Noches still seemed distant—
When Nel suddenly stopped.
"Shimo."
He turned.
Her expression had grown serious.
"…I smell something familiar."
Shimo's brows lifted slightly.
Within his reiatsu perception—
A massive, malevolent cluster appeared.
Not one.
A group.
"Everyone—prepare for battle."
He stepped forward, awaiting the arrival of the Espada.
Lieutenants instinctively drew their Zanpakutō.
"One… two… three… four…"
Shimo analyzed the approaching reiatsu.
"Nine Espada."
"Aizen certainly thinks highly of us."
The words made everyone's hearts leap into their throats.
"Nine captain-class Arrancar?!"
Hiyori cried out in disbelief.
Unohana's expression turned solemn.
"Shimo… I think we should request reinforcements from the Seireitei."
Shimo frowned slightly.
"I doubt reinforcements will arrive."
"…Why?"
"If nothing goes wrong," Shimo said quietly,
"we're about to see familiar faces."
As the Espada drew closer, Shimo finally confirmed Urahara's hypothesis—
And marveled at Aizen's execution speed.
"To reshape the Espada like this in such a short time…"
"…Truly worthy of Aizen."
HUM—
Nine overwhelming reiatsu signatures descended.
A crushing pressure bore down on the expedition.
Several vice-captains visibly struggled until the captains released their own reiatsu to counterbalance it.
Ulquiorra.
Grimmjow.
Szayelaporro.
Zommari.
Aaroniero.
Luppi.
Yammy.
And one unfamiliar Espada—
His mask sealed with something resembling a zipper.
Likely a replacement, similar to Luppi.
Additionally—
There were two Zommari.
And two Luppi.
Identical appearances.
Identical reiatsu.
Shimo narrowed his eyes.
"So you're still alive, Ulquiorra."
"Looks like I should've hit harder back then."
Ulquiorra's expression remained placid.
"Even if you erase me completely, Aizen-sama can reconstruct me."
Shimo raised an eyebrow.
"So his modifications now reach the core of the soul."
Ulquiorra said nothing more, instead glancing toward the unfamiliar Espada.
As if waiting.
The Shinigami stood tense.
Each Arrancar before them possessed captain-level reiatsu.
"This is going to be brutal," Hirako muttered.
The unfamiliar Espada stepped forward.
His fingers brushed the zipper-like mask at his mouth.
Then—
He opened it.
Layers of fine, jagged teeth were revealed.
A hoarse voice spoke, deliberately restrained.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"I am the Tenth Espada."
"Ferdinand Mantikor."
"By Aizen-sama's command…"
"I am here to kill Kyōraku Shimo."
----------------------------///
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