"What terrifying reiatsu…"
Inside the black fissure, Rukia walked forward with her forehead beaded in cold sweat, feeling as if a raging tornado was roaring in front of her.
With every step she took,
the pressure doubled.
If the "side effects" of reiatsu alone were this frightening, there was no need to even talk about what it would be like to actually approach those two monsters.
"I… can't…"
Rukia finally stopped, panting hard as she stared unwillingly at the distant light ahead.
She wanted to go.
But the ever-growing weight pressing down on her made it almost impossible to move.
The scene before her made her think of Yamamoto Genryusai. When he entered his Bankai (Final Release) state, he'd unleashed this same kind of overwhelming spiritual pressure.
"These two monsters… could they already be close to the Captain-Commander's level!?"
Just as Rukia was hesitating about whether or not to fall back, a figure suddenly shot out of the distant light.
"Rukia!?"
The silhouette let out a puzzled shout.
"Cole!"
Rukia's eyes lit up with joy as she recognized the newcomer.
"You're alr—"
Before she could finish, Cole barreled into her like a storm wind, scooping her up with one arm and sprinting back the way he'd come.
"W-wait, Cole, if you hold me like this, you're making me look like a little kid…"
Rukia flushed bright red and flailed in his arms.
Cole had no intention of slowing down. Instead, he gave Rukia's backside a sharp smack.
"Quiet. We're running for our lives here."
"Mmph…"
Rukia stared at him in shame and anger—but then his words sank in.
"Running… for our lives!?"
Who was running for their life?
Who could possibly chase down Cole?
Even as that thought crossed her mind, a furious roar echoed from the other side of the Garganta.
"Cole—I'll kill you!!!"
Rukia turned toward the sound—and nearly jumped out of her skin.
At the far end of the fissure, a figure was stumbling after them, his body slick with some kind of white substance. An evil aura spilled off him in waves.
The presence alone screamed Hollow power.
And from the part of his face not yet covered by that white shell—
there was no doubt. This was the current king of Hueco Mundo: Aizen.
"Captain Aiz— pfft, no, Aizen…"
Rukia hurriedly corrected herself, then twisted back to Cole.
"Cole, what happened to Aizen? Why does he hate you so much? Is he… trying to complete his Hollowfication?"
Even while fleeing, Cole couldn't help but laugh.
"I broke his evolution in half—of course he hates me. If I were him, I'd probably have torn myself into little pieces by now."
Back in Hueco Mundo, he and Aizen had just finished a world-shaking battle.
True, after fusing with the Hogyoku (Breakdown Sphere), Aizen's strength had skyrocketed.
But that didn't mean Cole was helpless.
In the middle of the fight, he'd noticed white material starting to creep over Aizen's body.
The hollow mask that forms when a heart falls into darkness and gets sealed away.
Just to gross Aizen out, Cole had deliberately kept the fight going a few extra minutes.
He didn't stop until Aizen's evolution got stuck halfway—neither one form nor the other.
That was when he bolted.
After hearing the story, even Rukia couldn't help laughing. She lightly thumped Cole's back.
"You're awful. You chose that exact moment to run—so can Aizen still finish evolving?"
"I'm guessing not."
Still running, Cole rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Evolution like that doesn't happen without intense pressure. Without a life-or-death crisis pushing you, there's no motivation, no trigger."
He mentally flipped through the anime-like "record" of Aizen's evolutions. Almost all of them had happened in the middle of battle.
Especially that one strike from Gin.
It had nearly killed Aizen—and at the same time, forced him to evolve to a level that was hard to even imagine.
"So when you think about it… good thing I'm fast!"
Cole couldn't help grinning, praising himself.
If he hadn't slipped away in time, there'd be no need to wait for the Karakura Town war. Aizen might have reached that grotesque cocoon form today.
Just as Cole was basking in his own brilliance, Rukia suddenly felt something off. Cold sweat broke out on her back.
"Cole, run faster—Aizen's going to shatter the space you ripped open!!"
Cole glanced over his shoulder.
On the other side of the dark channel, Aizen stood with a face twisted in rage, arm extended.
"Hadō no 91: Kurohitsugi (Way of Destruction No. 91: Black Coffin)!"
Inside the black fissure, countless black streaks of light shot up and converged, forming a massive obsidian coffin that swallowed everything around it.
What Cole focused on, though, wasn't the kido.
It was the white substance on Aizen's face and body.
Even though it had solidified, it was now cracking apart and tumbling off him.
Clearly, his evolution to the second stage had failed.
Seeing it, Cole let out a loud, unrestrained laugh.
"Doesn't feel so good, does it, Aizen? Don't worry—this is only the beginning. It's going to feel a lot worse."
With that, he hugged Rukia tighter and shoved forward, bursting out of the Garganta just before it shattered.
Rumble!!!
The pitch-black passage collapsed.
But Cole had already landed in Soul Society. He threw his arms up in a big stretch, a relaxed smile spreading across his face.
"Ahh, Seireitei really is better. The reiryoku here is way richer than in Hueco Mundo."
Rukia glared at him, then kicked him in the shin.
"And you're still proud of yourself? Why did you disappear without saying goodbye last time—and even drag Captain Unohana to Hueco Mundo? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Mentioning that, Cole coughed twice and shrank his neck, mumbling:
"I'd just figured out how to tear open a Garganta. I was way too excited. And you ran off right after finishing my clothes…"
The moment he brought up "clothes," Rukia's expression turned strange. She muttered a few barely audible complaints under her breath before turning toward Orihime and Tatsuki.
She knew Orihime well—one of her rivals in love. She was still waiting for the day Cole died and came over to Soul Society permanently so she could finally end up with him.
But Tatsuki…
Tatsuki stared at Rukia in shock, hands flying to cover her mouth.
"Kuch— I mean, Rukia, you're a Shinigami too!?"
Rukia blinked, then looked back at Cole.
"You didn't tell her who I was?"
Cole scratched his head helplessly.
"I only told her about Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, Shinigami, and Hollows."
At the time, he'd explained all that because she wouldn't stop asking questions.
He hadn't expected her to actually set foot in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo.
Rukia nodded slowly, then muttered to herself:
"In that case, when we send her back to the World of the Living, we'll have to modify her memories."
She no longer had any duties in the Human World, so she wasn't carrying a memory-modification spray.
She'd have to go to Twelfth Division to buy a bottle later.
Tatsuki caught bits and pieces of "modify" and "memory," and immediately fixed Rukia with a wary stare.
"Rukia, what are you planning to do to me?"
Rukia flashed a sunny smile and hurried to explain.
"This is for your own good. You're just an ordinary human. If you remember all this, you'll have nightmares."
"I don't want that! I want to keep my memories!!"
Tatsuki shook her head so hard it looked like a rattle drum.
To her, this whole incident had been dangerous, sure—but it was also a beautiful memory.
Especially when Cole descended out of nowhere like a heavenly soldier, crushing those bizarre Arrancar and Hollows to save her—like something straight out of a fairy tale.
If that memory got erased,
she felt like she'd regret it for the rest of her life.
"No way. If you know this much, what if you sneak off to look for Hollows later?"
"I won't! I just think this memory is precious, that's all—I'm not interested in those monsters' power."
"Then what if you blurt it out to someone?"
"I won't tell anyone…"
While the two girls bickered, Cole yawned and waved a hand.
"You two go ahead and argue. I'm heading out for a bit."
He remembered something from a few days ago: Kyoraku Shunsui's niece—the vice-captain, shrine maiden heir of the Ise family—had promised him a little "reward."
It had been several days.
The Ise estate was probably rebuilt by now.
Perfect timing to drop in for an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"Wait—Orihime and Tatsuki…"
Rukia reached out, trying to stop him, but by the time she looked up—
Cole was already gone.
Her teeth ground together.
Again.
That idiot was ignoring her again.
After a deep breath, Rukia turned back to Orihime and Tatsuki with a helpless expression.
"Come on, I'll take you to my place. This is an isolated pocket dimension. It's not really convenient for sleeping or… anything, really."
Orihime and Tatsuki's eyes lit up.
"Right… I forgot to ask him whether Soul Society has sent anyone to Hueco Mundo…"
On the road in Seireitei, Cole reached up and knocked on his own forehead.
Right now, Aizen was so furious he'd practically "birthed the Buddha and sent the second Buddha to heaven." He was full of rage with nowhere to vent.
If the captains went over there now…
They'd probably be hacked into mincemeat.
But then he remembered—Ichigo hadn't gone over yet.
Cole relaxed slightly.
"Their speed shouldn't be that fast, right?"
At the same time—
In Hueco Mundo, in the Forest of Menos.
In the gloomy darkness, an old-fashioned wooden door opened wide from nothing.
Byakuya, Kenpachi, and Mayuri stepped through.
The latter two were especially excited as they looked around.
Kenpachi carried Yachiru over his left shoulder, while his right bore his battered, chipped sword. He let out a wild laugh.
"So this is Hueco Mundo, huh? Not bad at all—hahaha… I can already feel several strong reiatsu around us."
Mayuri let out a high, creepy chuckle.
"Indeed, indeed… so many materials… so many test subjects…"
Only Byakuya remained calm.
He spread his spiritual sense outward. After a few seconds, he spoke quietly.
"They are all just Gillian. This is the Forest of Menos—endless. We must not waste time here."
No one knew how vast the Forest of Menos truly was.
If they lost time wandering, it would only give Aizen more time to prepare.
Kenpachi and Mayuri understood that much.
Even though one of them wanted nothing more than to fight,
and the other wanted to harvest samples,
they were forced to give up for now.
Kenpachi tightened his grip on his sword, bloodlust flickering in his eyes.
"Let's go find Aizen. I hope he can take a few hits. Or maybe we'll run into a Vasto Lorde—that'd be great too."
"Heh-heh-heh… their corpses will all be mine. I must dissect them properly…"
Mayuri swallowed, almost drooling.
He'd never dissected a Vasto Lorde before.
He had no idea what this "new species" might bring to his research.
Just as the two were about to set off—
Byakuya's expression suddenly changed. He snapped his head toward the east.
"Someone is approaching. Very fast. The distance is only—"
His eyes sharpened.
"—they're here!"
Before he finished speaking, Byakuya swung his zanpakuto. His reiatsu erupted.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura (Thousand Cherry Blossoms)!"
A torrent of pink "petals" exploded outward.
Thousands of blade-like cherry blossoms bloomed in the air, sweeping toward the distant figure rushing their way.
But as the blossoms passed through the figure,
they seemed to do no damage at all.
The intruder walked straight through the storm and appeared directly in front of Byakuya.
At this range,
Byakuya finally saw his face clearly.
Most of it was still covered in white material, but as it crumbled away in flakes, more and more of the man's true features were revealed.
"Aizen… Shosuke…"
Byakuya's pupils shrank to pinpoints. He instantly tried to recall the cherry blossoms to form a defensive barrier.
He'd never imagined that less than a minute after entering Hueco Mundo,
he'd run into the king of Hueco Mundo himself—Aizen.
"Senbonzakura—!"
Before the blossoms could fully return,
Aizen swung his blade.
"Ah!"
A spray of blood burst into the air.
Byakuya's chest was nearly split open. Blood poured down in sheets as his eyes went wide and he toppled forward.
He—
hadn't even managed to block a single strike.
"Hahaha! Now this is the opponent I've been looking for—Aizen!!!"
Kenpachi ignored Byakuya's disastrous state, roaring with laughter as he charged, his chipped sword swinging down with both hands.
This time,
he was using his full strength—both hands on the hilt.
And yet, facing that fearsome blow,
Aizen simply swung once more.
Just as he'd done with Byakuya,
he left Kenpachi grievously wounded with a single cut.
Despite dropping two captains with two strokes,
Aizen felt no joy.
His fury only burned hotter.
"Where is that damn human brat!?"
He had finally shattered the barrier between Shinigami and Hollow.
He'd fused the two powers into one seamless whole.
But in the very last moment—
when he was a single step away—
Cole had kicked him away from the threshold and ruined it all.
(End of Chapter)
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