An Unexpected Turn

Before long, the group arrived at the Senkaimon. This time, the students participating in the exercise were not just from Class 1. Since Ye Yang had reduced Class 1 to only 27 students, more than 50 students from Class 2 would also participate.

There were three sixth-grade students leading the team, all of whom should be top students academically, but in Ye Yang's eyes, apart from Shūhei Hisagi, the others were far inferior.

Ye Yang turned his gaze to him and said, "This exercise is in your hands. Don't help them unless it's absolutely necessary. Let them get some training; if anything happens, contact Soul Society immediately."

Shūhei Hisagi bowed respectfully. "Understood, Teacher Ye Yang." He already knew Ye Yang. As the only teacher at the Vice-Captain-level in the academy, and supposedly with Captain-level strength, Ye Yang was well-known to everyone in the Shin'ō. He also greatly regretted not being in Ye Yang's class.

Ye Yang is usually not at Shin'ō except when he is teaching, so apart from Ye Yang students, no one has much opportunity to see him. Therefore, Ye Yang is always a mysterious figure at Shin'ō.

He walked to the Senkaimon, drew his Zanpakuto, and thrust it forward, chanting, "Kaijō!" Instantly, a huge door opened. Unlike ordinary Senkaimon, the Shin'ō's Senkaimon was exceptionally large, allowing more people to enter at the same time.

Shūhei led more than eighty students slowly into the Senkaimon. Watching their backs, Ye Yang felt a nameless unease, as if they would never return. Ye Yang had a vague feeling that something was about to happen.

Having spent a hundred years in Soul Society, Ye Yang had only seen the episode Aizen betrayed them in his previous life. He knew nothing about the plot after that. Moreover, after so much time, Ye Yang had forgotten most of the plot he had seen. The only thing he could remember was that Ichigo Kurosaki returned to Soul Society to save Rukia, but he couldn't recall any of the details.

As Ye Yang thought about it, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. Maybe he was overthinking it...

Without further thought, Ye Yang headed straight for the Second Division.

Upon arriving at the captain's office, Soi Fon was still working diligently. Ye Yang slowly approached her from behind and softly said, "Still busy?"

Soi Fon put the documents aside for a moment and asked, "Why are you back so early today? Shin'ō didn't get a day off, did she?"

"Of course not. But today is the day they're going to the World of the Living for their exercise. They just left, so I came over," Ye Yang said with a smile.

"After teaching them for so long, it's time to let them experience some challenges. If their grades aren't good, it would be a waste of your hard work, Brother Ye Yang. You don't seem very happy, do you?" Soi Fon frowned slightly. Having been together for so long, she knew Ye Yang's personality better than anyone. Although Ye Yang was good at disguising himself, he couldn't fake it in front of Soi Fon.

Ye Yang's smile faded, a hint of worry appearing between his brows. "Yes. Although the Research and Development Institute is supposed to be monitoring them throughout the World of the Living, I personally experienced a Menos Grande invasion of the World of the Living. What if..."

Soi Fon comforted her, "It's alright. Besides, nothing unexpected has happened in decades. With the Research and Development Institute monitoring things, nothing will go wrong. Furthermore, Menos Grande would never invade the World of the Living without a reason. If something really happened, the Research and Development Institute would notify us immediately. What are you afraid of? So, Brother Ye Yang, you're just worried too much."

Ye Yang's expression softened considerably. Perhaps he was just worried, after all, it was impossible not to worry after watching them grow for three years, especially since it was their first time leaving Soul Society.

"Besides," Soi Fon continued, "Even if there were real Hollows, the Menos Grande of Hueco Mundo World of the Living wouldn't go to places like this where spiritual energy is scarce. There are only some low-level Hollows there. Don't you trust your student?"

Ye Yang nodded, confident in his abilities. Their strength was no less than that of the lower-level Void cultivators; a group of three would be perfectly safe. Thinking this, Ye Yang felt much more at ease and said, "Shaoling, thank you."

In the World of the Living, the live-fire exercise has begun. Renji Kira, and Hinamori were assigned to a group. An explosion rang out, and Renji jumped down from a high place, saying to Hinamori, "Hinamori, found her!"

Hinamori was already prepared. A Shakkahō shot hit directly, causing an explosion. But that wasn't the end of it; the Hollow wasn't dead yet. Hinamori shouted, "Kira, it's your turn!"

Kira had already leaped high into the air, striking the creature squarely in the forehead with his sword, cleaving it in two and destroying it.

The three of them gathered together, Renji couldn't help but say, "This is surprisingly easy."

"Thanks to the teamwork of the three of you, it wouldn't have been so easy otherwise," Kira said casually. Renji, however, said narcissistically, "Idiot, I could have handled it all by myself. I can fight a real Hollow."

Hinamori couldn't help but complain, "Here we go again, you're always so sharp-tongued... I'm leaving."

The three walked towards the meeting point when Hinamori suddenly stopped and turned around, looking at something. Renji asked, "Hey, what's wrong, Hinamori? What are you looking at?"

Hinamori turned around. "Ah, it's nothing." Then she followed them.

At the assembly point, Shūhei and his two companions stood. Most of the students had already returned. The man named Aoshika said to Shūhei, "It's almost time to assemble."

The female student named Kaniesawa said, "Anyway, it's finally over safely."

Shūhei picked up the communicator and called out, "This is the person in charge of the assembly point, the barrier team. How's the situation on your end?" But there was no response. Shūhei said again, "Hey, answer me! Barrier team, did you hear me?" But no matter how many times Shūhei called out, there was still no response.

"Strange, there's been no response from the barrier team."

Kaniesawa turned around in shock, as if he had seen something terrifying. "Hey, Shūhei Hisagi!" Shūhei turned around, his eyes filled with shock, his face pale as he looked at the giant Hollow behind him.

"Get out of the way!" Shūhei shouted, but it was too late. The giant Hollow's claws had already swept past Kaniesawa. "Ah! Ah!" With a scream, her life was taken by the giant Hollow.

The students present were too frightened to speak. It was enormous; they had never seen such a large Void before. It was on a completely different level from the Virtual Hollow they had killed before.

Shūhei was extremely surprised because he had never sensed its existence before. He should have been able to detect such a giant void in advance. Meanwhile, his other male companion had obviously lost his mind after his companion was killed and rushed forward.

"Stop! Aoshika!" But this couldn't stop him now. With a swipe of the giant phantom claw, he was completely severed. Shūhei shouted, "Aoshika! You first-years, run! Run as far away as possible!"

The students panicked and scattered in all directions. They had never seen anything like this before. The two sixth-grade students in front of them were killed on the spot. Having never seen blood before, they were so clumsy that they could barely run away.

However, a few students remained unmoved among the group. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that there were more than twenty students left behind, and they were all from Class One!

Shūhei shouted, "You guys get out of here! This giant Hollow is beyond your capabilities!"

Renji smiled slightly, "How can we back down from something like this? None of the students in our class will desert! Even if we encounter Menos Grande, we won't run away. Teacher Ye Yang said that running away is a sign of cowardice, and even if you run away, you might not find a way out. It's better to fight your way out!"

Kira also spoke up, "Shūhei Hisagi, we won't leave. We are destined to become Shinigami. If we run away from Hollows, who will protect the helpless humans and defenseless civilians? Shūhei Hisagi, please let us fight alongside you!"

All the students in Class One stayed behind. In the past, they might have chosen to leave without hesitation, but they had all been carefully taught by Ye Yang! Ye Yang's words had been deeply ingrained in their minds, and they would never back down!

At this moment, all the students shouted firmly, "Fight to the death! Never back down!" Although it was their first time facing a real ghost, they were very scared, which could be seen on their faces.

But they did not back down, and mustered their courage to face the giant void!

Seeing their resolute expressions, Shūhei stopped trying to dissuade them and gave a bleak smile, "Then let's fight side by side!" He then took out a walkie-talkie to contact Soul Society and said, "Soul Society, requesting support! This is Shūhei Hisagi, the sixth-generation leader. Location 1026 in the World of the Living, Northwest 2128, is under attack by a giant Hollow! Please send reinforcements!"

At that moment, the giant Hollow launched a Cero, Shūhei, without a word, dodged it. He then addressed the remaining students, saying, "I've already sent a distress signal to Soul Society! So all we need to do is hold out until Soul Society comes to our aid! Everyone, start coordinating your attack!"

"You ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all things. Take flight. Things bearing the name of humanity! The Heat and strife, the surging waves of the sea, advance southward! Hadō #31 - Shakkahō!"

At this moment, all the students were chanting this Kidō, and immediately more than twenty crimson fireballs shot towards the giant Hollow. This was a Kidō that everyone in the class knew. Although its destructive power was not as great as the previous Kido, the combined power of more than twenty Shakkahō was enough to make it look bad.

Fireballs exploded all over the Hollow's body, most of them aimed at its head. Hinamori's Kidō was particularly powerful, and the Shūhei clutched its head in pain. Taking advantage of the situation, Shuhei leaped high into the air and swung his Zanpakuto at the Zanpakuto's head. However, the Hollow simply raised its claws, blocking Shūhei's Zanpakuto and sending him flying.

P. S.: I'm really sorry, I forgot the exact date Gin was the captain, so both Aizen and Gin appeared as captains later on. Of course, you could also interpret it as the protagonist disrupting Aizen's plans and making Gin the captain ahead of schedule. Please don't mind these details... Also, thank you all for your continued support!