"How could that be…?"
Yoshio ruffled Lilynette's hair and said softly, "He's the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. How could he be killed so easily?"
Lilynette slipped out from under Yoshio's hand, then asked:
"Can a Hollow… really become Shinigami?"
Yoshio fell silent for a moment, recalling the ancient Menos Grande that attacked the Soul Society but was sealed by the Monk and Ōetsu Nimaiya. He couldn't help but say, "It should be possible. After all, Arrancar themselves possess Zanpakuto formed from their hollowed selves."
"In that case…"
He paused again. "It's time for the Arrancarization experiments."
"Arrancarization experiments?" Lilynette asked in surprise. "Yoshio's going to turn other Hollows into us?"
At first, they didn't even know what they were. Other Hollows all wore masks; only hers and Starrk's were broken.
Though just a small fragment of their masks remained, the other Hollows still wore full masks.
Yoshio kept saying the word "Arrancar," which defined what they were.
"How about this…"
Yoshio thought for a moment. "You and Starrk go back first. I've got something to do—I need to return to the Soul Society. When I'm back, you'll have more companions."
"You're going back to the Soul Society?" Starrk, following behind, heard Yoshio and said, "I thought Shinigami can't travel freely between Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. Need a hand?"
Yoshio couldn't help but smile. "You're talking about mere Shinigami. Don't forget Captain Aizen can traverse between Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. As his Lieutenant, how could I be the same as mere Shinigami?"
As soon as he finished, Yoshio's aura shifted.
A spiritual pressure entirely different from a Shinigami's rose from him.
Yoshio pressed a hand to his face and drew it diagonally from upper left to lower right; with the motion, a Hollow mask manifested.
"!"
The sudden change startled both Starrk and Lilynette.
"Alright—help me look after Roka Paramia. I'll be right back."
With that, Yoshio opened a Garganta.
Normally, a Shinigami's hollowfication cannot use Garganta.
Even the Visoreds and Kurosaki Ichigo cannot use Garganta—but Yoshio's hollowfication is different.
Yoshio's hollowfication is a true hollowfication. Once a Hollow, he can wield nearly all Hollow abilities: not just Cero, super high-speed regeneration, and Sonido, but even sensory and Garganta.
This is the aristocracy of Souls Ability—do you have hollowfication like this?
Yoshio finished speaking, opened the Garganta, and vanished into the darkness.
"…So… Yoshio is actually a Hollow."
Lilynette stared wide-eyed in shock.
Even Starrk was surprised, though he quickly thought of himself.
"...Perhaps it's not that simple."
If they, as Hollows, could break their Hollow masks, then Shinigami acquiring Hollow masks seems plausible too.
He'd just never heard of such a thing.
Yoshio Kamado…
Aizen Sōsuke…
Who are they really?
Even after spending a month with Yoshio, Starrk still didn't fully understand Yoshio's group, its origins, or its aims.
However…
It didn't matter.
What did their goals mean to him?
"Let's go. By the time Yoshio returns, Hueco Mundo will likely be very different."
...
Yoshio used the Garganta to return to the Soul Society.
However, he encountered a problem: Seireitei was covered by a barrier membrane.
That meant he could only reach the Rukongai via Garganta, not enter Seireitei directly, because it was wrapped in a massive barrier that was difficult to breach by force.
Unless… he had Aizen's technique.
With Aizen's technique, one could indeed open a Garganta inside Seireitei.
Otherwise the Hollows would be too dangerous—open a Garganta, rampage through Seireitei, then open another to flee as reinforcements arrive—repeat a few times and Seireitei would be ruined.
You hit him, he vanishes; he strikes, he descends like a divine weapon—impossible to guard against!
What kind of battle would that be?!
Therefore, "Garganta" cannot enter "Seireitei."
Normal travel cannot pass through the barrier membrane—this is why, when the Quincies later moved freely in and out of Seireitei, the captains were shocked.
The Quincies were clever—simply hide inside Seireitei. The barrier defends from the outside, not the inside.
But Yoshio wasn't truly a Hollow; once he released hollowfication, he was a bona fide Gotei 13 Lieutenant and could slip back into Seireitei from Rukongai.
"Hey, long time no see, Jidanbō."
Yoshio greeted the gatekeeper at the White Road Gate.
"Lieutenant Yoshio?"
Jidanbō looked at him in surprise. "When did you go out? I didn't notice."
"You looked distracted when I left, so I didn't say anything."
Yoshio waved. "Alright, I've got business back with my squad—won't chat."
But instead of returning to his division, he went to Aizen's secret lab.
Aizen wasn't there, but Tōsen Kaname was.
The four of them basically kept one man in the lab at all times. Previously, Yoshio had spent most of his time there. Now that he'd gone to Las Noches, someone else naturally filled his slot.
"Why are you back?"
Tōsen Kaname looked coolly at Yoshio. In front of him, feeds from the Las Noches surveillance were live.
He knew Yoshio had returned from the monitors.
Tōsen Kaname had always had a poor attitude toward Yoshio. He hated Yoshio's carefree, seemingly sloppy demeanor, and Aizen's bottomless "indulgence" of it.
It was an insult to his ideals.
Even Ichimaru Gin, at least, had betrayed the Gotei 13 alongside them. Yoshio had done almost nothing.
But since Tōsen cared nothing for Souls Ability, Yoshio had no interest in his attitude either.
"When did you install surveillance? That was quick."
So Yoshio didn't answer his question—just asked one of his own.
He didn't answer Tōsen; Tōsen didn't answer him.
He simply continued, "Aizen-sama wants you supervising Las Noches. You did almost nothing this past month, didn't you?"
"Mm… not bad." Yoshio shrugged. "There wasn't much to do. They didn't rebel, and Captain Aizen issued no orders—what did you expect me to do?"