Genji Takamitsu addressed everyone, saying, “The reason why the siblings’ souls were lost… is mainly because a Hollow has been secretly devouring souls in this area! And it must be a Grand Hollow that has developed intelligence!”
“Grand Hollow?!”
For a moment, everyone’s expressions turned panicked.
After all, Grand Hollows were beings that the Zero Division was responsible for exterminating, a fact known to very few. Ordinary Shinigami rarely had the opportunity to encounter them.
Now, the very area they were all in had a Grand Hollow. It could be said that there was nothing more terrifying than this!
“Ugh…”
Clenching his fist, Longchuan Yusuke gritted his teeth and said to Genji Takamitsu, “Hopefully it isn’t true!”
Then, Longchuan Yusuke formed hand seals and chanted, “South heart, north eye, west fingertip, east toe, gather with the wind and disperse with the rain!”
“Binding Spell Number 58, ‘Grasping Toe Pursuing Sparrow’ (Kakushi Tsui Jaku)!”
Spiritual pressure surged from Longchuan Yusuke’s body, attempting to locate the spiritual pressure of Mousougawa Retsu within his reach.
As time slowly passed, sweat continuously trickled down Longchuan Yusuke’s forehead.
“No way… I’ve reached my limit… Captain… Captain Mousougawa doesn’t seem to be within my reach!”
Seeing that Longchuan Yusuke’s spiritual pressure was nearly depleted, Genji Takamitsu made up his mind and decisively acted.
Genji Takamitsu’s right hand rested directly on Longchuan Yusuke’s shoulder. Immediately, a continuous flow of spiritual pressure passed through Genji Takamitsu’s hand and into Longchuan Yusuke’s body.
Longchuan Yusuke’s heart shuddered. Although he was somewhat surprised by Genji Takamitsu’s spiritual pressure concentration, he prioritized the matter at hand and didn’t pay it much attention. Instead, he focused on locking onto Mousougawa Retsu’s spiritual pressure, continuously expanding the exploration range of “Grasping Toe Pursuing Sparrow.”
“Found it!”
Longchuan Yusuke’s eyes lit up, and the movements of his hands began to change!
“Black and white net, twenty-two bridges, sixty-six coronets, footprints, distant thunder, peak returns to earth, night sleeps in cloud sea, azure queue, draw the Grand Garden full, and charge directly toward the heavens!”
“Binding Spell Number 77, ‘Heaven-Piercing Empty Net’ (Ten Tei Kuura)!”
“This is Longchuan Yusuke, Squad Four’s Medicinal Team! A suspected intelligent Grand Hollow has been discovered in the Western District 23 area! Present personnel include former Squad Four’s Fourth Seat Longchuan Mu, current Fourth Seat Genji Takamitsu, and Medicinal Team member Longchuan Yusuke. Requesting backup!!”
…
At this time, Mousougawa Retsu, on her way to Squad Four, felt a sudden intuition. After carefully listening to the report, she was startled.
But upon recalling that Genji Takamitsu was there, she felt a sense of relief, though a thread of tension remained in her heart.
In an instant, Mousougawa Retsu made up her mind and ran towards Western District 23!
Because there was no confirmation of a Hollow intrusion into Soul Society, Mousougawa Retsu didn’t report to Squad One but instead went straight to the scene.
At the very least, if she were already there, there wouldn’t really be any safety concerns, as long as she could arrive in time…
…
“Whew…”
Longchuan Yusuke collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, “The Captain has given a reply! She’s on her way here!”
Genji Takamitsu nodded, then suddenly remembered something and instantly turned to Hiyori Ayumi, asking, “Ayumi, when during the day do you feel the coldest?”
Hiyori Ayumi bit her lip, her hands behind her back as she shook her small head, thinking, then replied, “It’s probably during the night! It seems like it’s sometime before the sun rises!”
“Dawn, huh?” Genji Takamitsu pondered for a moment, then said, “We should have some time. Longchuan Senpai, you and the Hiyori siblings stay at the Hiyori residence! Yusuke-kun and I will investigate the surroundings first.”
“Understood!” Longchuan Mu nodded solemnly.
After giving some instructions, Genji Takamitsu and Longchuan Yusuke headed towards the depths of Western District 23.
As they ventured further, Genji Takamitsu noticed that the people in this area seemed very sorrowful, and there were more and more corpses on the streets.
When they reached the center of this area, Genji Takamitsu stopped.
He knew that if he went deeper, there would be more and more corpses in front of him!
Genji Takamitsu thought, “Control it! Ten no Mitsume!”
“Ten no Mitsume” was the most convenient ability for obtaining information, without a doubt!
As “Ten no Mitsume” began to take effect, Genji Takamitsu finally saw the face of the Hollow!
It was a Grand Hollow with a rather large centipede body!
Perhaps due to devouring high-quality spiritual pressure-filled souls for a long time, even though the centipede Hollow had become an intelligent mid-level Grand Hollow—an Arrancar, it still retained the size of a Gillian Grand Hollow.
The centipede Hollow’s location was the very western edge of Western District 23.
It was a desolate wasteland, rarely visited by people. But it was also the closest point to Western District 23.
Whenever dawn arrived, which was also when people were sleeping most soundly, the centipede Hollow would reveal its form, its spiritual pressure surging. Its mouth would open wide, and countless souls containing high-quality spiritual pressure would be swallowed by it.
The reason why the Hiyori residence was not greatly affected was because it was the furthest distance that the centipede Hollow could reach.
“It invaded Soul Society through a Garganta from Hueco Mundo! But Soul Society didn’t receive any abnormal reports! This must mean something.”
Suddenly, in the midst of all the data in his mind, Genji Takamitsu saw a familiar figure, one he could never forget.
“Aizen Sousuke?!”
Genji Takamitsu exclaimed in surprise, “Why would he be here? Could it be that…”
As layer after layer of data was analyzed by Genji Takamitsu, he was able to confirm that this area was indeed Aizen Sousuke’s experimental site.
Because of the complete hypnosis of his Kyoka Suigetsu, the patrolling Shinigami completely failed to notice the anomalies here.
If it hadn’t been for Hiyori Ayumi, Genji Takamitsu might not have stepped into this place connected to Aizen Sousuke.
…
“An unexpected person has intruded. Aizen-sama!” Tousen Kaname reminded Aizen Sousuke, who was unconcerned beside him.
Aizen Sousuke pushed the frames of his black glasses, confidently saying, “It’s alright! Perhaps this is an opportunity to release that toy early! Test its ability against Shinigami. After all, we have already gathered complete experimental data on devouring souls! Next, it’s time to prepare for the next stage of the operation.”
“Yes!”
Having spoken, Tousen Kaname proceeded to activate a certain mechanism. The Garganta opened!
…
“Boom…”
Abnormal spiritual pressure fluctuations immediately caught Genji Takamitsu’s attention.
Genji Takamitsu grabbed Longchuan Yusuke’s arm and used Shunpo to leap back, dodging the attacks of several claws.
“Bang!”
The missed claws directly slammed into the ground, causing the earth to shatter!
Seeing the enormous Grand Hollow before them, sweat began to bead on Longchuan Yusuke’s forehead.
“This is… how is this possible? There’s actually such a huge Arrancar!” Longchuan Yusuke said nervously, sweating profusely.
“Yeah… Its size is over the top,” Genji Takamitsu didn’t marvel at the luck of avoiding the fatal blow but instead muttered to himself.
“Aizen Sousuke… has he made a move? What for…”
Gripping the Zanpakuto in his hand, starlight flickered in Genji Takamitsu’s eyes.
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