The Hollowfication Incident
"Everything is going as planned, Teacher Shihoin."
Aizen slowly raised his hand, adjusted his glasses, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
Just then, a gentle breeze swept by, and a figure wearing goggles silently appeared behind Aizen.
"Lord Aizen."
Kaname Tōsen lowered his head slightly and reported in a low voice:
"The arrangements in Hueco Mundo are complete. All valuable combat forces have been hidden as you instructed. Those left in the open to incite riots are merely low-level cannon fodder devoid of reason."
Upon hearing this, Aizen nodded slightly and said, "You've worked hard. Now that the biggest 'variable' on this chessboard has been successfully removed, it's time for our plan to officially begin."
After speaking, Aizen once again turned his gaze to Shihoin Genshin, who was stepping into the Senkaimon directly below, his tone exuding an air of complete composure.
Then, Aizen didn't glance at the departing troops below again, turned around, and walked into the shadows.
Just as Aizen turned around...
His gentleness and humility, hidden beneath his black-rimmed glasses, vanished in an instant. In their place came an extreme coldness and arrogance that seemed to freeze the very air around him.
On the rooftop of another towering building in the distance, a figure with golden bangs stood quietly in the night.
He casually shoved his hands into the pockets of the Captain's Haori, his posture seemingly nonchalant, but his eyes were fixed on Aizen beside him, who shouldn't have been there at Kaname Tōsen.
Shinji Hirako unconsciously rubbed his cuffs with his fingertips, his eyes filled with vigilance, and a hint of joy at having found a weakness.
A massive conspiracy targeting the captains of the Gotei 13 has finally unfolded amidst the undercurrents of everyone harboring their own ulterior motives.
Chapter 74 Hollowfication Incident
After Xuanxin led the team through the Senkaimon, the pale moon still lingered in the sky year after year, and Hueco Mundo remained that same pale expanse.
Seeing this, Xuanxin took a deep breath, glanced around, and prepared to lead the team to the designated encampment. However, at that moment, a rustling sound came from not far away.
Soon, low-level Void beings wearing white masks began to emerge, as if they had been deliberately placed there.
"Quickly! Enemy attack!!"
Without any preparation, the vanguard was caught up in a battle with the Void.
Faced with the sudden, overwhelming attack, these young members of the team, who were entering Hueco Mundo for the first time, couldn't help but feel a little flustered.
"Everyone, do not panic. Shrink your formation and form a circular defensive line, with the Seated Officer as the node. Without my order, no one is allowed to leave the main force to pursue."
Xuanxin's calm yet reassuring voice acted like a stabilizing force, instantly calming the entire army.
The 11th Division members quickly formed a battle formation, like a precise and ruthless meat grinder, mercilessly crushing the lowly nihilists who rushed at them.
Seeing that the situation was gradually stabilizing, Xuanxin slightly turned his head and said to the scout accompanying him:
"Go out and scout around, see what the situation is like around us now."
"Yes!" As soon as the words fell, several black figures quickly flew away into the distance.
Half Tokiomi later, several scouts returned to the position covered in sand and dust.
"Report to the captain! A large amount of Reishi has been detected in the underground stone forest fifty miles ahead. It is suspected that there may be a large number of Gillian troops there, and there may even be Adjuchas- level Menos Grande!"
Upon hearing the scout's report, the surrounding Seated Officer exchanged glances, their eyes revealing a serious expression.
Unexpectedly, during this Hueco Mundo Expedition, the troops were forced into combat mode as soon as they entered Hueco Mundo, with no time to adapt.
After pondering for a moment with his arms crossed, Xuanxin waved his hand and said, "All troops, listen up! Clear out the void around the Senkaimon, then set up camp and construct a defensive Kidō array. We'll make this our encampment!"
"Yes!"
With Xuanxin's command, the entire force rapidly expanded outwards. After clearing out the surrounding void swarms, the entire force became like a nail, firmly anchored around the Senkaimon.
In the following days, things seemed to enter a period of calm, and the intensity of the attacks by the enemy did not change much.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the gate in Soul Society, everything continued to operate smoothly.
Because the troop's current location is near the coordinates of the Senkaimon, information can be transmitted between the two sides more smoothly, so the 11th Division can receive one intelligence report per day.
Although everything was running so smoothly, this smoothness made Yoruichi feel somewhat uneasy.
And as it turned out, Yoruichi's intuition was correct.
Just when everyone thought the Hueco Mundo Expedition would soon end smoothly, a large-scale "Rukongai Soul Disappearance Incident" broke out once again within Seireitei.
However, the main fighting force of the 11th Division has now been deployed to the Hueco Mundo Expedition.
Therefore, Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered that this investigation mission be assigned to the Ninth Division, led by Kensei Muguruma.
The gears of fate have finally begun to turn madly toward the abyss.
Meanwhile, an unsettling feeling permeated the woods on the outskirts of Rukongai.
Captain of the Ninth Division Kensei Muguruma of the Ninth Division, along with Vice Captain Mashiro Kuna and several elite Seated Officers, are conducting a search in this area.
Soon, the group found something at the spot where the soul had disappeared: a fragment of a Death Armor.
Seeing this, Kensei Muguruma quickly realized that the Rukongai Soul Disappearance Incident was orchestrated by the Shinigami within the Gotei 13.
After Kensei Muguruma figured out the various points involved, he turned to ask Vice Captain Mashiro Kuna to bring Third Seat Kaname Tōsen and quickly relay this crucial information back to the First Division.
But before Kensei Muguruma could finish speaking, a blade pierced through his chest.
"Pfft--!"
Kensei Muguruma turned his head with difficulty and looked at the honest man standing behind him, Kaname Tōsen was now holding a bloodstained Zanpakuto and standing expressionlessly behind him.
"Tōsen... you bastard... why?"
However, Kaname Tōsen did not give any answer. Instead, he silently took out a vial of liquid that Hōgyoku with the same light as the Hogyoku in Xuanxin's hand and injected it into Kensei and Mashiro Kuna.
Then, the bleeding from the wound stopped, and a bone mask similar to the Hollow's gradually covered their faces.
Far away from the two, a figure atop a treetop silently watched all of this.
It turns out that after hearing about the large number of missing souls in Rukongai, Gin Ichimaru immediately thought of the group that had previously captured Rangiku.
So Gin Ichimaru began investigating on his own, but to protect the information and Rangiku's safety, Rangiku Gin Ichimaru it.
Sure enough, he witnessed this astonishing scene today.
Gin Ichimaru gripped the hilt of his sword, suppressing the urge to rush forward.
Recalling Xuanxin's warning to him, Gin Ichimaru took a deep breath, concealed his presence like a ghost, and returned to Seireitei.
Soon, news of the disappearance of the Reiatsu of all members of the Ninth Division reached Seireitei.
Upon hearing this news, Captain-Commander Yamamoto was furious. Such a situation had never occurred since the formation of the Thirteenth Division.
Therefore, he immediately ordered the dispatch of a formidable rescue team led by the Fifth Division Captain, Shinji Hirako, to rush to the scene.
However, when these captains and vice-captains arrived at the forest sealed off by the barrier, what awaited them was a meticulously planned "Hollowfication" nightmare!
When Shinji Hirako and the others arrived at the scene, all they saw were two wild beasts who only knew how to fight. The only way they could recognize them was by their clothes.
While Shinji Hirako and the others were still reeling from the shock, two figures dressed in Shinigami uniforms emerged from the shadows of the woods behind them and said, "Everyone, do you like the gifts I prepared for you?"
As the words fell, wisps of dark blue mist suddenly appeared around them without warning, quickly enveloping them and causing a strange feeling to surge into their hearts.
It was only then that Shinji Hirako realized that they had been standing in this dangerous fog for a long time, and that everything they had realized before was just Aizen's illusion.
As the drug took effect, everyone could only lie helplessly on the ground, watching as the pale mask gradually covered them until they completely lost consciousness.
But unbeknownst to them, Aizen and Kaname Tōsen had already reached the top of the tree, smiling as they admired the 'feast of evolution' unfolding below.
When Kisuke Urahara realized something was wrong, Shinji Hirako and the others were still on the verge of collapse.
Seeing this, Kisuke Urahara no choice but to take out the dormant agent and stabilizer he had prepared for the Hōgyoku and inject them into everyone as a last resort.
Although these two medicines cannot completely cure the group, they can at least temporarily alleviate their symptoms of Hollowfication. However, to completely cure them, it would probably be necessary to rely on the power of the Hōgyoku in Xuanxin's possession.
Just as Kisuke Urahara was about to send a message to Xuanxin, the arrest warrant from the Central 46 and the men of the First Division stormed into Kisuke Urahara's basement.
Seeing the captains fading into Hollowfication, and then looking at the syringes carelessly piled up to the side, Kisuke Urahara was caught red-handed.
This time, the Central 46 changed its previous procrastination and completed the entire process of evidence collection, trial, and sentencing at an astonishing speed.
Kisuke Urahara was stripped of his captaincy and his Shinigami powers on charges of "conducting forbidden Hollowfication Experiment." He was sentenced to death along with the other captains and eliminated.
But on the eve of her execution, Yoruichi Shihōin broke into the Underground Great Prison.
She rescued Kisuke Urahara and Kidō Tessai Tsukabishi, who were about to be executed, and then, taking the eight unconscious "Visored" with her, she fled Soul Society under the cover of night without hesitation.
Meanwhile, in Kisuke Urahara's laboratory, Aizen searched everything alone, but he didn't find what he was looking for. He only found some data that Kisuke Urahara hadn't had time to destroy.
At this moment, after Kaname Tōsen suddenly brought news that Yoruichi had kidnapped everyone, Aizen sighed and said:
"Central 46 is still just a bunch of insects, unable to even keep an eye on a few useless people. It seems that thing was brought to the World of the Living along with it. Well, let's wait and see. Anyway, this data might be of great help to me."
Meanwhile, Xuanxin in Hueco Mundo hadn't received any messages from Soul Society for several days, which made him somewhat puzzled.
Just then, several Hell Butterflies brought news from Soul Society over the past few days: "Eight high- Thirteenth Division have been Hollowfication," "Kisuke Urahara," and "Yoruichi has broken out of prison and defected to Soul Society."
Each piece of news was impacting Xuanxin's nerves; he never imagined that so many major events could happen during his absence.
Now he had to return to Soul Society to get to the bottom of this. Thinking this, Xuanxin took a deep breath and asked his vice-captain, "How much of our target are left?"
Hearing Xuanxin's question, the vice-captain, though still somewhat puzzled, took out the statistics and looked at them before saying:
"Captain, we still have about two thousand to eliminate. At our current pace, we can complete the mission in about fifteen days. Of course, if you order us to speed things up, seven days will be enough."
"Seven days?" Xuanxin asked after a moment's thought.
Xuanxin took a deep breath, suddenly opened his eyes, and said, "Pass down the order: everyone withdraw from the battlefield, return to camp within one Tokiomi, and take a headcount."
"Huh? It's the captain! But why?"
The vice-captain was puzzled for a moment, but still passed on the order. Upon hearing this, Xuanxin did not offer much explanation, only telling him that he would find out soon.
As Xuanxin's orders were quickly relayed, the members of the 11th Division immediately abandoned the battle and returned to their camp. Although everyone was still full of doubts, they all resolutely carried out their mission.
The planned one- Tokiomi assembly time was completed in just half a Tokiomi. Soon, the teams began to count the number of people. After confirming that everyone had assembled, Xuanxin stood up and looked into the distance amidst the puzzled gazes of the crowd.
"Bankai: Six Paths and Five Wheels - Kurikara!"
For most of the members of the 11th Division, this was the first time they had witnessed their captain's Bankai, and their initial confusion was instantly replaced by curiosity and longing.
Unfortunately, Xuanxin didn't explain his feelings about Bankai to his team members at this moment. Instead, he slowly walked to the camp gate with the phantom of the Myō-ō behind him. The low-pressure aura emanating from Xuanxin made everyone realize that something major must have happened.
Xuanxin brought his two swords together in front of his chest, then swung them down fiercely into the distance.
This was the first time Xuanxin had used his full power in a sword strike after Musashi began using the Hōgyoku Xuanxin strengthen him.
As Xuanxin swung his sword down, the entire group of soldiers felt the world fall silent, and they could even clearly hear their own heartbeats.
What followed was a white light that pierced the heavens and the earth, and then a golden pillar of light rose in the distance.
Under this light, countless primordial Void and Gillian, and even a few Adjuchas that couldn't escape in time, were completely wiped out without even a chance to struggle, turning into Reishi and returning to this world.
When the light faded and their senses returned to the team members, the scene before them was like a red-hot branding iron, forever imprinted in their hearts.