At the southern entrance, Ashido stood facing off against three formidable Menos Grande.
Tiruti spread her wings and fired several Cero flash bombs.
Boom boom boom! Ashido emerged from the smoke, swinging his blade to shatter the incoming white tentacles.
"This Shinigami is too persistent..."
Tiruti frowned deeply—she was starting to lose the will to fight.
The Shinigami had powerful individuals. The red-tentacled Hollow, Okhi, was much stronger than her, yet she could no longer sense his Reiatsu.
Not only that—she could no longer sense the Reiatsu of the other Menos who had been acting alongside Okhi either.
No doubt about it—they had been eliminated by the Shinigami.
A sense of retreat began to grow in Tiruti's heart.
Then, she felt Baraggan's Reiatsu rapidly fading.
"Rudbornn, Loly! His Majesty Baraggan's Reiatsu has disappeared!"
Tiruti cried out in shock.
The bull-boned Hollow Rudbornn stopped his movements and sensed the Reiatsu for himself.
To his surprise, Baraggan's Reiatsu had indeed vanished!
"Hmph... So Baraggan was slain by a Shinigami? And he dared call himself the King of Hueco Mundo with that level of strength?"
Loly sneered with disdain.
He had originally been a Hollow dwelling in the Forest of Menos, only joining Las Noches after being driven out by the Expeditionary Force.
And now, this so-called King of Hueco Mundo had been slain by a Shinigami.
"Run!"
Tiruti gave up on the dream of repelling the Expeditionary Force and reclaiming territory. She immediately took flight and escaped through the desert corridor of Hueco Mundo.
Rudbornn, after a moment's hesitation, followed.
Seeing both his companions flee, Loly naturally didn't dare face Ashido alone and quickly fled as well.
Huff— Ashido chose not to pursue. He had expended a lot of stamina fighting the three powerful Menos, and even if he chased, he couldn't take them down.
"So Baraggan was defeated by Katori-kun… No wonder they retreated."
Ashido scanned the battlefield.
"To think Katori-kun could defeat the famed King of Hueco Mundo!"
At that moment, he saw a pillar of light rising from the direction of the camp.
Every remaining active Shinigami saw the same thing.
"The Kidō Cannon has been fired."
High above the battlefield, Nanatsuki gazed into the distance.
A terrifyingly powerful orb of light shot from the top of the light pillar, hurtling toward the center of the Hollow army.
Formed from the Reiatsu of hundreds of Shinigami, this Kidō attack exploded in the midst of the Hollow swarm.
BOOOOM—!!!
Not even Gillian-class Menos could withstand it for a moment.
Hollows, Menos—all were shattered into Reishi, annihilated without a trace.
"There's strength in numbers..."
Nanatsuki sighed. The power of this strike was immense—even Danku wouldn't have been able to block it.
After the explosion, only a few scattered Hollows and Menos remained—those who had been near the edges and barely escaped.
But Isshin, the Expeditionary Force, and the 6th Division Shinigami had already surrounded them. They quickly wiped out the remaining enemies.
Except for a few stronger Menos who sensed danger and escaped, the Hollow force attacking the Expeditionary Force camp was almost entirely annihilated.
Even the so-called King of Hueco Mundo, Baraggan, had fallen to Katori Nanatsuki.
Seeing that the battle here had stabilized, Nanatsuki returned to the camp immediately.
He remembered Kuchiki Sōjun had been seriously injured, and he wasn't sure if the camp's medics could handle it.
"Katori-sensei, you defeated the King of Hueco Mundo!!!"
"Even Baraggan was no match for Katori-sensei!"
The moment Nanatsuki entered the camp, he was surrounded by Shinigami.
They had sensed from the Reiatsu fluctuations that Baraggan had fallen to Katori Nanatsuki.
"Ashido, your battle's over too?"
Nanatsuki spotted Ashido in the camp.
"The southern path was close to the camp, so I returned after the fight," Ashido said. "Katori-kun killed Baraggan, so the three enemies I was fighting all fled."
"Even Baraggan couldn't stand against you... your strength truly knows no bounds."
Ashido had been in Hueco Mundo for a long time. Though he had never fought Baraggan, he had long heard of his power.
Originally, he thought that if Baraggan appeared, he, Nanatsuki, and Kuchiki Sōjun working together should be enough to suppress him.
But Ashido got entangled with three powerful Menos and couldn't get away.
Sōjun hadn't lasted long either and was defeated by Baraggan.
Even with several 6th Division officers aiding him, they hadn't held out for long.
Their swift defeat only proved that Baraggan's strength was far beyond expectations.
Yet that same powerful Baraggan was slain by Nanatsuki alone.
"My ability just happened to counter his," Nanatsuki said with a calm smile.
At that moment, two Shinigami rushed out of the medical station.
They were 6th Division seated officers—the ones who had brought Kuchiki Sōjun back.
"Katori-sama, please save the Vice-Captain!"
"How is Sōjun's condition?"
"His internal organs are badly damaged... the medics said... they can't heal him!"
The officers' expressions were grim.
Both were nobles from branch families under the Kuchiki Clan. Their fates were tied to the clan's rise and fall.
If Sōjun died, the Kuchiki Clan would have no heir and would inevitably decline over the next hundred or two hundred years.
And in that time, their own families wouldn't fare well either.
"Take me to see Sōjun's wounds."
Nanatsuki followed the two officers to the infirmary.
Over the years, the 4th Division had stationed some medical Shinigami at the Expeditionary Force camp.
All the medics recognized Katori Nanatsuki.
Upon seeing him, they all stood and greeted him.
"Katori-sensei!"
"Vice-Captain Katori, you're here!"
Some still addressed him by the title he held when he served as Vice-Captain of the 4th Division.
"Everyone, please continue your work. Don't delay treatment."
"Yes, sir!"
The medical team responded in unison.
Ashido, following behind, was stunned by Nanatsuki's reputation among the medics.
It was no less than his own prestige in the Expeditionary Force!
Ashido and the two 6th Division officers were stopped outside the treatment room. Nanatsuki entered alone.
Kuchiki Sōjun was already unconscious.
Several medics worked busily around him.
His abdomen had been opened—damaged internal organs lay exposed.
His lungs and liver were both severely damaged, and even his heart had suffered injury.
Were it not for the stabilizing effect of Reiatsu and Kaido, Sōjun would already be dead.
Three medics were simultaneously casting Kaido to keep his heart, lungs, and liver functioning.
The camp's conditions were poor. The medics could only rely on such rough methods for emergency surgery.
Nanatsuki glanced at the scene and instantly realized the situation was grave.
Sōjun was on the brink of death.
"Katori-sensei!!!"
The lead surgeon looked at Nanatsuki as though seeing a savior.
"I'll take over."
Nanatsuki put on gloves and took up the scalpel.