The Arrancar Attack

The night was as dark as ink, and Karakura Town was shrouded in deep darkness. On the second-floor balcony of Kurosaki Clinic, Liu Hao and Isshin Kurosaki's conversation had just touched upon the deepest secrets of Soul Society —the truth of Hell, the Soul King's Right Hand, and those who had sunk into eternal darkness.

Liu Hao leaned against the railing, gazing at the distant city lights, his tone as calm as if recounting an ancient legend. "Sure. Actually, the Oken is just using the Soul King's power to recast the Soul Reaper's body. We can just drag that thing out of Jūshirō Ukitake's body and use its power to create the Oken for Aizen."

Isshin Kurosaki frowned. Jūshirō Ukitake — the Captain the Thirteenth Division, his old friend—had been frail and sickly since childhood, yet he had survived to this day. There was indeed a secret hidden within him.

"What's inside Captain Ukitake's body?" he asked in a deep voice.

Liu Hao turned his head and looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "Actually, if Aizen had evolved to a certain level, he wouldn't have needed the Creation Oken at all. After all, the Hōgyoku was created from fragments of the Soul King. And the guy inside Captain Ukitake's body is called Mimihagi."

He paused, his voice growing even deeper. "It's the Soul King's Right Hand, the one who controls stillness. When Jūshirō Ukitake was young, he was dying from an illness, so his parents took him to a temple dedicated to Mimihagi, exchanging his internal organs for Jūshirō Ukitake's life."

Isshin Kurosaki gasped. Trading internal organs for life—what a cruel trade. Jūshirō Ukitake had carried this curse since childhood, yet he had never uttered a word about it to anyone.

"Alas," he sighed, his voice filled with deep helplessness, "The mistakes made by our ancestors."

"Ancestors?" Liu Hao's lips curled into a meaningful smile. "You can complain about it when you see them later."

Isshin Kurosaki was stunned, his mind filled with questions. "I can see my ancestor again?"

Liu Hao didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "You know that all those who die in Soul Society, from the rank of Vice-Captain or above, need to have a commemorative funeral, right?"

Isshin Kurosaki nodded. "What does it matter?"

"Because Soul Reapers at the Vice-Captain level and above have excessively high concentrations of Reishi after death, they cannot dissipate into the world. Therefore, a burial ceremony is held to send their undissipated Reishi to Hell through this ritual."

Liu Hao's voice grew even heavier. "And they will be reborn in Hell. I don't know exactly who will be reborn."

Isshin Kurosaki looked at Liu Hao in disbelief. The news was too shocking, overturning his understanding of life and death. Those seniors he once admired, those comrades who sacrificed themselves in battle, they had not truly disappeared, but continued to exist in Hell.

Liu Hao continued, his tone carrying a warning. "Hell should be in a state of balance with the Three Worlds. Therefore, the Soul Society must have powerful figures to govern it. Once the Soul Society lacks powerful figures, it will cause an imbalance of power, and Hell will begin to encroach upon the Three Worlds —that would be the true catastrophe for the Three Worlds."

Isshin Kurosaki's expression turned serious. "Then what should we do?"

"That's a matter for the future," Liu Hao shook his head. "First, we need to ensure that Old Man Yama doesn't die in future wars. Also, Aizen himself needs to be dealt with properly in the future; simply detaining him in the Muken isn't enough."

He turned around and looked at the distant night sky. "We're not sure how many people in Hell will be on our side by then. So we need to make sure there are several high-level fighters in Soul Society."

Isshin Kurosaki pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "It seems I'll need to return to Soul Society in the future."

"That doesn't matter," Liu Hao waved his hand. "With your strength, returning to Soul Society is certainly possible. But whether the officials Soul Society are willing to let a branch family head of one of the Four Great Noble Families, with considerable combat power, return is still uncertain."

A cold glint flashed in Isshin Kurosaki's eyes. "Then what do we do? We can't just slaughter them all."

Liu Hao looked at him, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, "That's something to consider. But now's not the time to talk about that. What we need now is to seal Aizen away as I see him do, and to win the war against the Quincy. Only then can we consider those other things."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same determination in each other's eyes—for the sake of the future, they had to win the war before them.

Just then, the two of them simultaneously sensed something.

Several powerful Reiatsu suddenly appeared above Karakura Town. Those Reiatsu were twisted, violent, and full of malice, completely different from ordinary Hollows—they were the aura of Arrancars.

Liu Hao and Isshin Kurosaki exchanged a glance.

"I'll go take a look," Liu Hao said, already jumping off the balcony.

Isshin Kurosaki wanted to catch up, but Liu Hao turned around and stopped him. "You can keep hiding."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Hao's figure disappeared into the night.

The atmosphere inside the Urahara Shop was equally tense.

Renji Abarai held back Yasutora Sado, who was about to rush out, his tone serious and firm. "Although your strength has improved, you're still no match for those guys. Let me go."

Yasutora Sado struggled, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. "But I've been training relentlessly, waiting for this very moment!"

"Renji is right." Kisuke Urahara's voice came from behind. He waved his folding fan and slowly walked up to the two of them, his expression unusually serious. "However, Renji, you also depleted a lot of Reiatsu in the previous battle. From now on, I will take your place."

Upon hearing Kisuke Urahara's words, Renji Abarai and Yasutora Sado both fell silent. They knew that this always-smiling shop owner was actually someone whose strength far surpassed theirs.

In the Visored's underground base, Ichigo Kurosaki suddenly stood up.

He could feel the Reiatsu from those Arrancar —powerful, evil, and full of malice. His body instinctively wanted to rush out and fight, but a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Calm down," Love Aikawa's voice came from behind, deep and powerful, "Isn't this the time the reinforcements from Soul Society were waiting for?"

Kensei Muguruma also came over and blocked his way. "You've only been in Hollowfication for 11 seconds, and your Zanpakuto hasn't even reawakened yet. Going there won't be of any help."

Ichigo Kurosaki gritted his teeth, his voice filled with suppressed anger. "I've trained for so long, all to deal with them! If they won't let me go now, when will they ever let me go?!"

He tried to break free, but the combined strength of Love Aikawa and Kensei Muguruma held him firmly in place.

Just then, a gentle yet firm voice rang out. "Let Ichigo go."

Masaki Kurosaki emerged from the shadows, looking at her son with complex emotions—worry, pride, and deep trust. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be at ease."

Kensei Muguruma wanted to say something, but Shinji Hirako raised his hand to stop him. The leader of the Visored looked at Ichigo Kurosaki, remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded. "Never mind, let him go. We'll intervene when necessary."

Love Aikawa and Kensei Muguruma exchanged a glance, and finally released Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ichigo Kurosaki glanced gratefully at his mother, then rushed out of the base without looking back.

On the outskirts of Karakura Town lies a vast, empty Industrial District.

The support team led by Tōshirō Hitsugaya had already formed ranks. Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Rangiku Matsumoto, and several other Soul Reaper maintained their fighting stances, vigilantly watching the front.

The space there began to distort.

A black rift slowly opened—it was the Garganta, a passage connecting Hueco Mundo to the World of the Living world. From within the rift, figures emerged one after another.

As the last figure stepped out, Tōshirō Hitsugaya's pupils contracted slightly.

Yammy Rialgo – the Espada who was once easily defeated by Liu Hao.

Luppi Antenor – a previously unseen Arrancar with a sinister smile on her face.

Wonderweiss Margera – expressionless, with vacant eyes, like a soulless Doll.

Also, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez — the Sixth Espada who once fought against Ichigo Kurosaki —stood at the edge of the group with a gloomy expression.

"They're Arrancars..." Yumichika Ayasegawa's voice trembled slightly, "They came way too fast."

Tōshirō Hitsugaya gripped Hyōrinmaru tightly, his voice calm. "It was indeed too fast. But there's no time to think about the reasons."

Yammy scanned the Soul Reapers before him, grinning with a sinister smile, "Yo, we've come at just the right time."

Ruby Luppi around, her tone as relaxed as if she were on a picnic. "These people have pretty high Reiatsu. Let's start here."

"What the hell?" Yammy's gaze swept over the Soul Reapers, his tone tinged with disappointment. "These guys are Soul Reapers."

Luppi glanced back at Grimmjow standing at the edge of the group, her tone laced with provocation. "Oh, so this is the reinforcement from Soul Society Number 6 was talking about?"

He paused deliberately, then added, "Right? Oh, sorry, it should be the Former No. 6."

A murderous glint flashed in Grimmjow's eyes, but he suppressed it. He merely gave Luppi a cold glance before turning to leave.

"The guy I want to kill isn't here." He said this and disappeared into the darkness.

Yammy watched Grimmjow's departing figure and spat in annoyance, "Hey, that brat."

Luppi shrugged, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Whatever, he's no longer Espada, so he can't amount to anything anyway."

Yammy withdrew his gaze, searching among the Soul Reapers. "The guy I want to kill isn't here."

"The guy you want to kill," Luppi laughed, a mocking smile on her face, "Is it the one who cuts off your arm, or the one who beats you up and breaks your Cero?"

Yammy's face contorted in rage, his eyes blazing with fury. "All of them."

He turned to Wonderweiss, who was standing silently to the side, and said impatiently, "Hey, newbie, get out of here! How long are you going to stand there like that?"

Wonderweiss didn't react. He stood there, his eyes vacant, as if he hadn't heard Yammy's words at all.

"Hmph," Yammy spat, "Another weirdo."

Just then, Tōshirō Hitsugaya made his move.

Without warning or hesitation, he drew Hyōrinmaru and charged at Yammy. The blade drew a cold arc in the air, aiming straight for Yammy's throat.

Yammy reacted just as quickly. He drew his Zanpakuto, and the blade collided with Hyōrinmaru in mid-air.

Clang--

The sound of metal clashing was deafening. The shockwave spread in all directions, and the ground cracked instantly.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, their blades clashing, their Reiatsu colliding.