As he spoke, he looked at the feeds and asked, "Where's Hollow White?"
Tōsen frowned. "Isn't he your subordinate?"
"He's always out hunting. I'm not going to tail him for that."
Yoshio stepped to the console, tapped a few keys, and the screen switched to Hollow White.
"This guy…"
Yoshio frowned. Hollow White wasn't in the Human World, but in Hueco Mundo.
Apart from the Hueco Mundo Dispatch Team, there were no other Shinigami in Hueco Mundo.
Yes, the second Hollow White had also encountered Shiba Kaien.
Too coincidental—as if fate decreed Kaien must die, dragging him repeatedly into peril.
The second Hollow White was created by Aizen with more advanced tech, but the creation time was still too short. Though his combat power was decent, he wasn't gaining the upper hand against the Hueco Mundo Dispatch Team.
Kaien had trained in Hueco Mundo for years; his strength had improved, and with Eleventh Division Shinigami reinforcing him, Hollow White could only stalemate them for now.
"Oh?"
Tōsen noticed the scene as well and said coldly, "Those are your friends, aren't they? Not going to help?"
Hearing the sneer in his tone, Yoshio shrugged.
"I said before, these people are just my subjects of observation. I've already mapped their behavior patterns—meaning they're no longer useful to me."
He actually didn't think Hollow White could kill them. Though they were in enemy territory, they had the ability to return to the Soul Society at any time.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's gate wasn't permanent, but it allowed a one-time in-and-out.
If they truly faced danger, they could simply return to the Soul Society.
If they chose death before retreat, there was nothing Yoshio could do.
You can't save someone determined to die.
Yoshio switched the feed back to Las Noches and said, "Though those Shinigami don't matter much, Hollow White's actions will certainly be reported to the Soul Society and provoke a stronger backlash."
From the Soul Society's perspective, they didn't know the first Hollow White had entered Rukia's body. They would assume the second Hollow White evolved from the first.
The first was already strange. Now a second, even stranger. Even if they weren't considered the same entity, they'd be seen as a special group.
If it's a group, the Soul Society will pay more attention.
In short, what went unnoticed in the original timeline—Hollow White—will be noticed by more and more people this time.
"So what?" Tōsen's voice dripped disdain for the Soul Society. "Even if they discover Hollow White, they won't catch him."
Yoshio nodded agreement.
Though a Hollow, White wasn't like blunt Menos Grande. After every battle with Shinigami, he changed in some way—growing stronger and smarter.
For the Soul Society, catching him would indeed be difficult.
With Aizen absent, there was no point staying, so Yoshio prepared to leave.
…
Back at Fifth Division, he found Hinamori at the office door.
"Senior Yoshio, did you just go out?"
"Yes, I took a stroll near Rukongai," Yoshio said casually.
He knew that when he wasn't in Seireitei, Aizen would have used Kyōka Suigetsu to have someone impersonate him.
And as for his return: though Aizen wasn't in the lab, he certainly knew, and would have canceled the Kyōka Suigetsu.
"Here to report something?" Yoshio asked curiously.
"Oh, Kuchiki said she wanted to see you, Senior Yoshio."
"Kuchiki? Rukia?" Yoshio was a bit surprised.
After falling into a coma, Rukia became reclusive. For the first few months she never left the Kuchiki manor. Even after returning to Thirteenth Division, she seldom went out.
Yoshio felt Hollow White might have had some effect on Rukia, but it wasn't obvious enough for the Kuchiki clan to pinpoint.
If Rukia Kuchiki had truly hollowfied, the Kuchiki would never have kept her.
At this time, Kuchiki Byakuya had not yet been "awakened" by Kurosaki Ichigo; he had sworn at his parents' graves never again to break the rules.
So if Rukia had truly hollowfied, even with his deep love for Hisana, he likely wouldn't hide her condition.
And now Rukia had come to see him?
This was the first time since that battle. Had Rukia's abnormalities vanished?
Yoshio asked with some curiosity, "Mm… where is she now?"
"She didn't find you and went back to Thirteenth Division—said she'd come again next time."
"I see." Yoshio said. "In that case, no need for next time—I'll go to Thirteenth Division in a bit."
For now, he needed to see Aizen.
After bidding Hinamori goodbye, Yoshio entered the squad office and found Aizen at his paperwork.
It had to be said, as a captain, he truly was diligent and responsible—the Fifth's efficiency was the highest among the thirteen squads.
"You're back?"
Though phrased as a question, it sounded like a statement. Yoshio nodded. "Yeah. Hueco Mundo is too stuffy—I need to come back once in a while."
"Want to look at the drafts I wrote in Hueco Mundo first?"
Yoshio pulled a stack of documents from his person and set them on Aizen's desk.
They were his updates from Hueco Mundo, enough for the next issue of Seireitei Communication.
Then he asked, "What's up with Rukia?"
He knew Aizen must be monitoring her; after all, Hollow White transferring into her was an unexpected development.
Even if she were sequestered in the Kuchiki manor, Yoshio believed Aizen had a way to observe her.
"Take a look at this."
Aizen placed a photo in front of Yoshio.
Yoshio picked it up, and his pupils dilated.
It was indeed Rukia in the photo—but not quite.
Her hair was no longer black, but gray-white, even shading toward deep violet. Her clothes were no longer the black Shinigami uniform, but a white long coat.
Her features were identical to Rukia's, but her skin was paler, her eyes crimson—evoking wickedness, but more so, an inscrutable mystery.
Especially… her Zanpakuto had changed into a massive purple-black scythe.
This…
Looks a bit like the movie's Dark Rukia.