"Get out of here immediately!"
The proctor, sweating profusely, roared at the students before unleashing a silent 'Sōkatsui' with his palm on the clown Yaxu, cleaving the nearby wind and rain corridor in two.
Is it empty?
Before the proctor could even process what was happening, a huge mouth had already swooped down from above his head, biting him before he could even use his Shunpo.
Crunch, crunch...
The chilling sound of chewing filled the air, and the noble students stood frozen in place. Those who were usually the boldest and most fond of bullying commoner students were now the most terrified.
"Run! Run! This guy is no match for us..."
A blonde girl screamed, still holding Asauchi in her hand, and even so, she couldn't stop trembling all over... Hearing this, some students finally managed to take a step and run away.
"Escape? Hahaha, how do you think you'll escape? By splitting apart!"
The clown Yaxu split in two, and the two worked together, killing more than ten people in just a few flashes.
"Your Majesty, flesh and blood... Hadō #31, Shakkahō."
After several seconds of chanting, the girl finally released the Shakkahō, which struck one of the Clown Sub-class monsters squarely in the neck.
There were no screams. As the smoke from the Reishi particles dissipated, the clown's mocking voice followed. "With that little force, are you just tickling me?"
The clown turned to look at the girl, a cross-shaped bone blade growing from one of his hands, which he threw at her like a giant ninja shuriken. The clown called this move the 'Bone-Blade Shuriken'.
'Impossible! He's completely unharmed! He's a monster! Is he going to die?'
The girl's mind went blank, filled only with the screams of her companions and the thought that she was going to die; she didn't flinch at all.
Just as the Bone-Blade Shuriken was about to touch her, a figure darted out from the side, grabbed her, and rolled several times on the ground, barely dodging the attack.
"Gin Miyu, cheer up, and be careful to dodge."
"Um."
Rukia saved the girl. She was the daughter of Ginjiro, the Vice-Captain of the Sixth Division, and a contemporary of Rukia. Gin Miyu nodded in fear, her will to survive beginning to overcome her terror.
"Interesting. Instead of running away, you're saving your companion. Well then, let's all go inside my belly and stay together forever."
Rukia barely finished speaking when the clown-level monster appeared again, this time Bone-Blade Shuriken. The two of them dodged together.
The Clown Sub-level appeared beside Rukia with a single Sonído, punching her away. He followed with another Sonído, then laughed triumphantly, "Heh heh, die!"
But at that moment, an Asauchi came from the side, attempting to forcibly shatter the mask of the Clown Sub-level character through brute force. The Clown Sub-level character dared not take the risk and dodged it.
"Ren... ji, you idiot, what are you doing here? Run away!"
Rukia barely opened her eyes and saw Renji Abarai, with his hair tied in a topknot, standing in front of her. She was both touched and angry at his stupidity.
Adjuchas's punch was not so easy to withstand. Rukia had multiple fractures and had lost the ability to move. Renji could see that too.
"Ha, at least say something before you die! Stop talking nonsense! We're comrades..."
Renji gave a bitter laugh. He certainly wouldn't run away, and besides, he might not even be able to escape; they would only die together.
He had just witnessed the three Grim Soul Reaper came to his rescue being killed by another Clown Sub-class. He couldn't tell which of the two Hollows was real and which was fake...
The clown sub-class fighter swung his fist, ignoring Renji's raised sword as he tried to block, intending to smash him and his sword together... In that instant, a figure Shunpo in front of Renji, drew his sword, and sheathed it.
Silver-white weathered gauze fluttered as Byakuya Kuchiki arrived, his back to Renji. The number 'six' on the Captain's Haori also caught Renji's eye.
Its Reiatsu was stronger than that of Adjuchas, making it difficult for Renji to even hold a sword.
He raised his left hand, and a powerful beam of white light shot out, shattering another Clown Sub-level creature that had gone into stealth mode and was attempting a sneak attack. He didn't even need to chant.
'Is this Sōkatsui? It has such power without needing to chant? That level of Hollow only needs one strike... Is this the strength of Captain-level?' Renji was stunned. He had never seen Captain-level fighter before; this was the first time.
The clown was split in two, and correspondingly, his power was also split in two, which is why Byakuya defeated him so easily... Of course, there's also the reason that he has been improving over the years.
Defeating the mere Adjuchas didn't make Byakuya Kuchiki happy; compared to the likes of the Espada, these were just Grunts.
He walked past Renji to Rukia and asked gently, "Are you alright?"
"N-No, it's nothing. Thank you Byakuya- nii."
Rukia stood up, but needed to use her Asauchi for support; Byakuya could see her strain.
"Let's go to the Fourth Division for treatment with the wounded!"
Seeing that the large group of Soul Reaper had arrived and that he had also eliminated the powerful Hollow, Byakuya used Shunpo to leave the area. He had only come because he was slightly worried about his sister.
Renji leaned closer again and asked, "Rukia, was that the Kuchiki Clan member just now? I heard you call him 'big brother'."
"Yes, Byakuya is not only the Sixth Division Captain, but also the head of the Kuchiki Clan."
Rukia responded to Renji, and it seemed that their relationship, which had been strained by their different identities because of what had just happened, had been brought closer again.
Sizzle!
Renji was about to ask something when a tearing sound could be clearly heard. In the distance, a huge Garganta split open, a full kilometer long and more than 700 meters high.
Three Gillian appeared side by side, their shoulders entwined with white roots, and a pair of enormous eyes located hundreds of meters above their Gillian.
When they had completely emerged from the Garganta, the monitoring personnel from the Research and Development Institute exclaimed in surprise:
"Gillian's Reiatsu has been detected. Wait, not just Gillian... what is that? It's parasitizing Gillian? What a huge Hollow!"
When the Gillian fully emerged, even the Captain-level Soul Reaper were astonished. A giant, mushroom-shaped Menos Grande was using six Gillians as its legs to walk, which they deduced was due to its enormous size making movement difficult.
The Mushroom Hollow then took root in the Seireitei, continuously absorbing Reishi from the earth. Several globs of black, liquid-like Reishi then spewed from the top of the mushroom. After a struggle, these Reishi transformed into Gillian...
Here at the First Division.
"The situation is urgent. All Captains are to be deployed to the battle to eliminate the enemy."
Upon receiving the report from the Twelfth Division, Yama-jii immediately issued an order to eliminate the enemy.
The report stated that the enemies attacking Seireitei included not only Hollows, but also a large number of Arrancar, causing terrifying damage to Seireitei in the first instance, with one Blade-level Reiatsu appearing.
"Chōjirō, you should go too. Do everything in your power to wipe out the enemy. I have a feeling things aren't that simple."
"Yes, Lord Genryūsai."
Sensing something was wrong, Yama-jii's eyelids twitched violently, and he ordered his adjutant to join the Arrancar. Chōjirō Sasakibe took the initiative to confront the three Arrancar who were attacking together.
The sky darkened, thunder rumbled, and after a thousand years, the 'Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū' reappeared, blasting all the Arrancar, Menos Grande, Ragged Hollows that charged towards the First Division into dust...
"Is this Reiatsu... from the Vice-Captain Sasakibe?"
"Bankai? This is the first time I've seen it!"
"It has long been rumored that he has mastered Bankai, but refused to become Captain in order to serve the Captain-Commander."
Boom!
"What is this?"
"It wasn't caused by his Bankai..."
As the nearby Captains were all astonished by Chōjirō Sasakibe's Bankai, a sound several times louder than thunder came down from the heavens, making the Soul Reapers ' eardrums ache.
"How could they be so reckless and arrogant?!"
Yama-jii suddenly opened his eyes and shouted to a member of the Inner Court Squad, "Summon Captain Kyōraku, Captain Ukitake, Captain Shiba, and Captain Unohana to see me, quickly!"
He had long suspected that Nangong Ling might have returned alive, but he wasn't in a hurry, believing it was just a test, since only one person had detected Reiatsu at the Blade-level.
But the loud noise just now jolted him awake. Nangong Ling's target was never the Seireitei, but the Soul King Palace...
High in the sky, invisible to the naked eye, a massive spearhead pierced through space and struck a protective barrier. The situation inside the barrier was completely invisible from the outside.
Meanwhile, at the tip of the spear, Zero was leading a few people slowly approaching this place. This was the first layer of the barrier without any flaws, and it was impossible to break through it by brute force.
They only touched it; from the first barrier to the Soul King Palace, there were still thousands of spirit miles to go...
Ling slowly stepped forward, touched the barrier, and explained, "The seventy-two layers of barriers protecting the Soul King Palace are like seventy-two spheres, one inside the other."
"It's impossible to break through with brute force alone; only Ōken can forcefully overcome these things. Otherwise, even the Garganta would be blocked outside."
"The Ōken, on the other hand, requires 100,000 souls to create. Obviously, we're bypassing the Gotei 13, so we didn't create the Ōken in the Spirit-Dense Area. But now we can use something else instead..."
Ulquiorra glanced at the spear forged from Blanks at his feet and asked, "Use this thing under your feet?"
"Intelligent. These unconscious souls are called 'Blanks.' They exist outside the rules of Soul Society and are easier to control than conscious souls, and they have more uses," Zero turned to Baraggan, "Resurrección!"
Without hesitation, Baraggan performed his Resurrección as ordered, and Zero began chanting Reishi Arts —this was a pre-arranged plan.
Zero created Ōken from a portion of Baraggan's body, allowing Baraggan to force his way in. This way, they could follow Baraggan into the Soul King Palace.
As for why Baraggan was chosen, Zero's reasoning was that his abilities were the most useful. Even if the creation of the Ōken failed, Baraggan's aging ability after his Resurrección would be enough to dismantle the barrier.
It's possible that Kidō can exist for a million years, but absolutely no Kidō can exist forever. The Seventy-Two Barriers are manifestations of the Kidō... They can isolate space and prevent Reishi erosion, but they cannot prevent the passage of time.
The Omotesandō the Soul King Palace, which serves as a public mobile platform for the Soul King Palace, is where the five members of the Zero Division are gathered.
"It has begun. He must have gleaned this Reishi Arts from the Great Spirit Book Gallery."
Tenjirō Kirinji was grim; they seemed to be able to see the invaders thousands of miles away.
"Knowing something doesn't mean you can create it. Even if he had the Hōgyoku, it would be difficult for him. Right now, he has no souls to use, so he can't create the Ōken."
"That's not necessarily true. Didn't you notice? The vehicles they're using are formed from 'Blanks,' Blanks are also souls... With Nangong Ling's talent, which is unparalleled across several eras, we should prepare to fight!"
Senjumaru Shutara and Kirio Hikifune were both Soul Reaper with Zero and had even had many interactions with him. At this moment, the former believed that Zero could not create the 'Ōken', while the latter held the opposite view.
"Let's prepare for battle! Nangong Ling's Reiatsu is beyond what's expected; it seems to be caused by the Hōgyoku in his chest..."
After observing the situation by squinting his eyes using some technique, the Monk then offered his opinion.
"The work of the Hōgyoku? Interesting. I really want to see what the difference is between something made using my technique and something else." Ōetsu Nimaiya was somewhat eager to try, as he had seen through the composition of the Hōgyoku at a glance.
At that moment, as if confirming Zero Division's idea, Resurrección Baraggan, after a flash of light, had his skull turn a golden color that seemed out of place with his arm bones.
After glancing at it, Zero smiled and said, "Looks like it's finished. Well then... why don't you go in and take a look?"
"My power feels strange... but I can try it anyway."
Baraggan turned and walked toward the barrier, while the Great War Spears beneath Zero's feet shrank considerably, now measuring a maximum length of only one kilometer.
Baraggan raised her skeletal hand and inserted it into the barrier, then walked right through it with ease.
Moreover, centered on the point where Baraggan entered, a Reishi circle with a diameter of ten meters is clearly visible. This is the damage that Baraggan just caused, but it is closing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Let's go, follow them!"
Ling smiled slightly, passed through the first barrier, and entered the territory of the Soul King Palace. The others behind him followed.