Since the Hollowfication Technique was already in his hands, Hiroki naturally didn't plan to let it sit in a box and gather dust.
The "high-spec, low-efficiency" equipment Aizen gave him had a "battery" problem, but it was a way forward nonetheless.
He immediately summoned his number one enforcer—Uchiha Itachi.
"Itachi," Hiroki pointed at the box, "Aizen's 'gift' has arrived. Unfortunately, driving this thing requires the core of a Menos Grande from Hueco Mundo as a 'battery,' which needs to be replaced after each use. Now, I have a mission for you."
Itachi's silent Mangekyo Sharingan remained calm: "Please give your orders, Lord."
"You will lead a team, drawing the most elite members from the clan, and head to Hueco Mundo!" A sharp glint flashed in Hiroki's eyes. "The objective is clear: capture Arrancar-level Menos Grande, the more the better! Take their cores as energy reserves for our Hollowfication experiments. Remember, try not to alert Las Noches or Aizen's informants."
"Yes!" Itachi took the order, and his figure vanished instantly. Soon, a powerful hunting party led by a Mangekyo user and composed of Three-Tomoe elites quietly passed through the Shihōin Clan's private Senkaimon, slipping into that silent world of white desert. A hunt targeting high-level Menos Grande quietly unfolded in the shadows of Hueco Mundo.
While Hiroki was calculating how many "batteries" Itachi and the others could bring back, another thought inevitably popped up: Aizen's Hōgyoku was the perfect driver... but getting Aizen's was definitely out of the question. However, there was another one!
"Urahara Kisuke!" Hiroki tapped his finger on the desk. "That guy still has a Hōgyoku in his hands! That cat demon Yoruichi definitely knows where it is! If I could just get my hands on that one..."
Thinking of Urahara Kisuke's slippery personality and endless back-up plans gave Hiroki a headache. Taking it by force was clearly unwise; no one knew how many high-tech traps were hidden under Urahara's little shop. Cooperation? Urahara was too smart; once the information gap was leveled, he might not have the advantage.
"How can I persuade Yoruichi to help me 'borrow' it?" Hiroki muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. Although Yoruichi had temporarily become a "monthly visitor," when it came to Urahara's core secrets and her old partner's safety, beneath her bold and uninhibited exterior, she was not flexible at all on matters of principle.
Getting her to trick Urahara... the difficulty was beyond ordinary.
"Sigh, what a pain!" Hiroki leaned back in his chair, feeling the excitement of just acquiring the technology cool down by half due to the practical difficulties.
Right then—
"Ding! You have a new 'Dala Ma' mission, please check."
The cold mechanical voice that suddenly rang in his mind made Hiroki sit bolt upright!
"???" Hiroki looked bewildered. "Wait, you actually have another mission?!"
The system's voice seemed to carry a subtle hint of "emotion": "Yes, I managed to 'snatch' this one from other mission streams with great effort!"
"Is that so?" Hiroki was half-skeptical. "Let me see."
Mission Client: Kido Saori
Mission Content: The Kido Mansion is under invasion. The mansion's defensive forces are severely insufficient, with a risk of total annihilation. Requesting emergency support!
Mission Objective: Ensure the personal safety of Kido Saori.
Personnel Requirement: 50 or more combatants.
Mission Reward: 10,000 Points, Random Summoning Scroll x1.
"Hold on!" Hiroki's eye twitched. "Kido Saori? Another rich woman?"
Wait, why did I say 'another'?
"No, no! The rich woman isn't the point!" Hiroki suddenly realized, his voice rising sharply, "Damn it! You want me to fight Saint Seiya?!"
Saint Seiya! Those super warriors who wore cloths, whose fists could tear the earth, whose speed could reach the speed of light, and who protected the Goddess Athena! Especially those Gold Saints... their combat power was simply not of the human realm!
"With the nature of this dog system, if I take 50 people over there, I won't be fighting the Bronze Five; I'll definitely have to face the Gold Saints!" Hiroki felt his scalp go numb. What was the concept of a Lightning Plasma? Could the Uchiha's Sharingan see it clearly? Could Susanoo... hold up against the terrifying pressure of a punch containing the Seventh Sense?!
"Although Susanoo's physical defense is top-tier..." Hiroki calculated frantically in his head, "the opponents are Gold Saints who can crack space and shatter atoms! It depends on who it is and what move they use... I can only say, it should... be fine? Probably?"
Looking at the mission reward again, Hiroki felt even more depressed: "System, did you take a cut again?! For such a dangerous mission, you only give 10,000 points?! The last time I protected the space station, it was 500,000!"
The system's answer remained cold and logical: "The previous mission for Asta was a massive additional reward from the client based on your outstanding performance and status as a key helper. This mission's reward: 10,000 points + Random Summoning Scroll, conforms to the standard compensation for cross-galaxy conventional emergency support missions."
"..." Hiroki was left speechless.
Thinking about it, that was indeed a stroke of luck last time.
But this sense of disparity... he still had to do the mission; this was currently his only controllable source of points. 10,000 points was still something, and with the Random Summoning Scroll... what if he pulled something good? It was worth a gamble!
He carefully recalled plot fragments from 'Saint Seiya.' Kido Saori being attacked... "Is this the plot where leo Aiolia comes to clean house? But later he was stopped by Seiya wearing the sagittarius gold cloth... Since the system issued the mission, does it mean the situation might have worsened? Or other Gold Saints are involved? The difficulty must be off the charts. An ambush by two or three Gold Saints is probably inevitable... Tsk, tricky..."
The abacus in his heart clicked away, and ultimately his desire for points and unknown rewards outweighed his wariness of the Gold Saints.
He took a deep breath, instantly cleared his thoughts, and rapidly issued orders:
"Izumi!" "Present!" Uchiha Izumi, who had been standing silently in the shadows, immediately dropped to one knee. "Go! Notify the Uchiha Clan immediately! This time we're not going to Hueco Mundo to catch Menos Grande!" Hiroki's voice carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "Assemble the most elite combat forces in the clan, including all available strength! Prepare to execute a support mission in another world! Maximum combat readiness!"
"A mission in another world?!" Izumi's Mangekyo Sharingan suddenly lit up, flashing with a hint of gravity and battle intent. "Yes, Lord!"
As Uchiha Clan Members summoned by the system who knew some of the inside story, Izumi knew very well what a cross-world mission meant—it would inevitably be a bloody battle of unknown brutality! A fight that challenged the limits of their perception!
The assembly time wasn't short; the Uchiha Clan Members weren't all idle. Some were catching Hollows in Hueco Mundo, some were working in the Second Division, and others were gathering intelligence for Hiroki.
However, perhaps because the flow of time in different worlds was different, the time given to Hiroki to assemble his forces exceeded a month.
Generally speaking, the time flow in the Soul Society was likely among the slowest.
The core strength of the Uchiha Clan gathered once again. It was still a group of 50, but the quality far surpassed the previous battle at the space station:
Top-tier combatants: Four pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan.
Mainstay force: A full 30 Three-Tomoe elites—experienced, capable of performing various powerful Fire Release, proficient in Sharingan Genjutsu, and skilled in Uchiha-style Kenjutsu/Shurikenjutsu!
Basic combatants: 16 excellent warriors who had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, possessing considerable self-preservation and support capabilities.
Looking at this Ninja force before him, with their restrained murderous intent and soaring battle spirit, Hiroki felt a bit more at ease. The Uchiha had indeed made significant progress over these years. But in his heart, he couldn't help but fantasize: "If I brought 50 Mangekyo users over... any Gold Saint would be like a clay chicken or a pottery dog! What a pity..."
To give them a better chance of survival in the upcoming extraordinary battle, Hiroki immediately compressed the information in his mind regarding 'Saint Seiya'—especially core settings like the 'Sixth Sense,' 'Seventh Sense,' 'Cosmo,' 'Gold Saints,' 'Lightning Plasma,' and 'Shattering Stars,' as well as the strength of potential opponents—and transmitted it to everyone.
"Remember! You may be facing a group of monsters who can strike at the speed of light and shatter atoms! The source of their power is Cosmo! The Gold Saints are the most dangerous! Don't even think about tanking every attack; utilize Genjutsu, spatial abilities, and Susanoo's defense to the absolute limit! Staying alive and completing the mission is the primary goal!" Hiroki's voice was incredibly serious.
Upon receiving the information, even the battle-hardened Uchiha elites showed expressions of shock, gravity, and even a bit of disbelief. Speed of light? Shattering atoms? This exceeded the cognitive boundaries of their previous combat experience.
But Uchiha pride allowed them to quickly suppress their shock, and a determined fighting spirit burned in their eyes—challenging the strong was precisely the opportunity to prove the value of the Sharingan! They believed in Lord Hiroki, and they believed in the power in their own hands!
After everyone had digested the information, adjusted their breathing, and mentally prepared to face unknown powerful enemies, Hiroki took a deep breath. His consciousness communicated with the system again, extending like invisible tentacles to firmly lock onto the fifty Uchiha warriors before him.
"Mission accepted! Personnel locked! Beginning forced teleportation!"
Voom—
Blinding white light instantly swallowed everything!
In the very instant his consciousness recovered and his vision refocused, Hiroki saw the scene before him. A strong sense of frustration and absurdity made him blurt out:
"Shit! I knew it!!"
Before his eyes, the once magnificent Kido Mansion had already turned into a field of broken walls and ruins! More than half of the buildings had collapsed and were burning as if crushed by an invisible giant hand! The air was filled with thick smoke, dust, and the scorched smell of some peculiar energy.
The sounds of intense energy collisions, explosions, metal shattering, and... a sharp roar filled with anger and power (an explosion of Cosmo) were coming from deep within the wreckage!