Soifon leaned against a withered, gnarled tree, her gaze calm as she watched the battle unfolding a short distance away.
Momo Hinamori and Rukia were currently tangling with a Gillian dozens of meters tall. They had just barely managed to dodge a clumsy, lumbering stomp from the beast, only for a crimson Cero to immediately follow, scouring the earth.
Seizing the opening after the Cero was discharged, the two of them activated Shunpo simultaneously. They blinked directly in front of the Gillian's porcelain clown mask and sliced it in half from top to bottom.
Momo and Rukia dropped back to the ground, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from the strands of hair near their ears.
They looked utterly bedraggled. To be covered in dust just from fighting a single, mindless Gillian felt like a pathetic showing.
Soifon shook her head helplessly.
However, before they could even catch their breath, a suffocating Spiritual Pressure erupted from the dark, dense woods behind them like a crashing tsunami!
The two girls spun around, their faces turning pale instantly.
Behind them, within the Forest of Menos composed of countless ghastly white trees, dense clusters of crimson light began to ignite. They looked like a multitude of demonic eyes snapping open in the dead of night.
Beneath every single red dot, the pale clown mask of a Gillian was faintly visible... and they were all currently condensing Ceros.
Against such a concentrated barrage of Ceros, there was simply nowhere to hide.
Despair, like a cold viper, instantly coiled around the hearts of Momo Hinamori and Rukia.
"I forgot to tell you," Soifon said, walking in front of the two girls with her Zanpakutō held in her arms. "The Gillians of the Forest of Menos are social creatures."
The sheer size of the Gillians was still too overwhelming for rookie Shinigami. In their hearts, the threat level of these beasts had already far surpassed the failed Arrancar they had encountered during their previous Konso internship.
"Soifon-sensei..."
Momo spoke with a clear, despairing sob in her voice. "It looks like we're going to die together today. I have something I want to say to you, Sensei..."
At this point, neither Momo nor Rukia believed they could survive. Even for someone as strong as Soifon-sensei, escaping unscathed from such an overwhelming number of Ceros seemed impossible.
Momo summoned her courage. She decided to confess the hazy, burgeoning emotions in her heart to Soifon. She didn't even care if Rukia laughed at her.
—If she didn't say it now, she would never get the chance!
"Soifon-sensei, I think I like—"
Crackle—
Suddenly, Momo's words caught in her throat. She was stunned into silence by the massive Spiritual Pressure radiating from Soifon-sensei beside her.
Soifon raised her arm, her palm crackling with blue-white lightning and terrifying Reiatsu.
"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
This was the first time Soifon had output her Spiritual Pressure at maximum power. A surging beam of blue-white light erupted from her palm.
The azure lightning beam collided with the hundreds of crimson Ceros screaming toward them. The clash held for less than half a second before the lightning overwhelmed the red light with crushing dominance. The moment it touched the first Gillian, a mushroom cloud erupted.
Rumble—
Wherever the lightning swept, a charred vacuum zone was plowed into the landscape for hundreds of meters ahead.
Momo Hinamori and Rukia stood frozen in place, their mouths hanging wide open.
After taking a moment to steady her breath, Soifon walked over to her two students. She first confirmed they weren't injured before belatedly looking at Momo.
"Momo, what were you about to say just now?"
Because she had been busy casting the Kidō without an incantation and the commotion had been so loud, she hadn't quite heard Momo's words.
"Soifon-sensei, Momo seemed to say she liked... mmph! @#$"
Rukia had just started to repeat it when her mouth was firmly covered by a hot hand, the palm feeling rough with traces of sand.
"Mmph! Mmph—!"
There's sand in there! You idiot, Momo!
While forcefully holding down the struggling Rukia, Momo gave Soifon a smile that radiated extreme guilt.
"Sensei, you definitely misheard..."
"I just wanted to say that before I died, I wanted to eat one of the peaches you brought me, ahaha~~"
Her eyes darted around, not daring to meet Soifon's gaze.
Soifon decided not to press the issue. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
She scanned the surroundings. The commotion in the Forest of Menos had been massive; it was likely that the residents of Las Noches had already noticed.
"That's enough actual combat for today. I'll open a Garganta to send you back."
Soifon produced the Kikaigai and made a slash through the air, summoning the Garganta. She signaled for Momo to let go of Rukia.
Taking down a Gillian together was already a respectable achievement for fresh graduates.
"Pah! Pah!"
"You idiot Momo! Don't you know how dirty your hands are!?"
The moment Momo let go, Rukia frantically spat out the sand in her mouth.
"If you hadn't been such a blabbermouth, Rukia, I wouldn't have..."
Look at them, bickering again.
"You two seem to have plenty of energy left. Should we go kill another Gillian?"
Soifon maintained the Garganta, watching them bicker with a cold, fake smile.
*
Meanwhile, in the monitoring room of Las Noches.
Szayelaporro opened the surveillance feed based on the red dots flashing on the map alarm, discovering the ruins of the Forest of Menos that Soifon had just decimated.
"Hmm?" His fingers tapped rapidly on the console. "There are still lingering traces of Spiritual Power from a Garganta being opened in the air..."
Which Arrancar was being this tedious?
Or was his leader, Aizen, conducting some other shady experiment again?
Regardless, he had to record it and report it. Szayelaporro understood the corporate culture of 'leaving a paper trail' all too well.
He quickly typed up a field report, attached photos of the scene, and packaged the data. This detailed investigation material was soon delivered to Sōsuke Aizen.
"An unusual intruder?"
Aizen flipped through the report, narrowing his eyes.
Charred ground, severed tree layers, sunken craters...
A Spiritual Pressure strike with elemental attributes, combined with such immense destructive power. Aside from the Espada under his command, perhaps only a wild Vasto Lorde could achieve this.
But why would a wild Vasto Lorde take action against Gillians in the Forest of Menos?
It was no different from going out of one's way to bully ants.
Furthermore, there were no traces of an evenly matched battle at the scene; it was complete, one-sided annihilation.
Add to that the detected residue of Garganta spirit particles... it was truly perplexing.
However... that's what made it interesting.
Aizen adjusted his glasses, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
"What a fascinating individual. Can we deploy more surveillance in Hueco Mundo?"
"Also, I would like to add a video recording function."
It sounded like a polite request, but in reality, he gave Szayelaporro no room to refuse.
—Even if it's impossible, make it happen.
"Of course. I will see to it immediately."
Szayelaporro bowed and took his leave.
*
Inside the Second Division Captain's office, three figures stepped out of the Garganta one after another.
Feeling the familiar environment of the Seireitei, both Rukia and Momo Hinamori breathed a sigh of relief.
The sun, the breeze, and the aura of life—these things were truly precious.
The eternally oppressive atmosphere of Hueco Mundo, thick with the scent of death, had placed them under immense pressure even during their short stay.
Watching the two girls slumped on the floor, greedily inhaling the fresh air, Soifon helplessly flicked Momo Hinamori's forehead.
"Ouch!" Momo looked up piteously. "Why did you only hit me, Soifon-sensei?"
"You dummy, Momo!" Rukia followed up with a flick of her own. "It was your idea to go to—"
Rukia bit back the words 'Hueco Mundo' just in time.
In the Seireitei, they were not allowed to mention they had been to Hueco Mundo. That was the agreement they had made with Captain Soifon.
"Alright, alright, Rukia."
Squatting down, Soifon gently wiped the dust from Rukia's face.
"I have some tasks to take care of and need to head back for a moment. You two go get some rest, alright?"
Perhaps because Soifon rarely gave such gentle instructions, both Rukia and Momo were momentarily dazed. They could only manage a blank "Okay" as they watched Soifon's silhouette vanish back into the Garganta.
____
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