Mayuri Kurotsuchi, inside the Laboratory, immediately noticed the commotion outside the Seireitei and pulled up the surveillance footage from West Rukongai.
Aizen stood suspended in mid-air, looking down at the nobles gathered in West Rukongai.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen figures were throwing iron bars at the ground. The noble Guards Corps on the ground were also resisting, but a group of Arrancar and a group of White-Clad Skeletons were constantly killing the resisters.
As if sensing something, Aizen's purple eyes looked towards the surveillance camera, his pupils flashed slightly, and the camera shattered instantly.
In the Laboratory, Mayuri Kurotsuchi exclaimed in surprise, "Sōsuke Aizen! He's not dead? Not only is he alive, but he seems even stronger than before. His posture and appearance... he looks like Nangong Ling. Is he also Hōgyoku Power?"
"His current lack of involvement in the Seireitei suggests he doesn't want to get involved in this war, or perhaps he's taking advantage of our distraction to attack the Soul King Palace's Palace. Those small iron pillars seem to be preparations for that attack."
"He planned to settle things with the winner after we've both finished fighting—a very clever calculation..."
"In that case, we'll have to throw all the reserve troops into the war against the Quincy and win as quickly as possible."
"Given the abilities of those guys at the Soul King Palace, they might not be able to break through."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi acted on his thought. He picked up the Denreishinki, dialed the number, and said, "Gentlemen, the situation inside the Wandenreich is dire. The original plan has been changed. Please provide support first. I will arrive shortly."
On the other end of the Denreishinki, Yoruichi's voice came through. "Are you sure? If the Soul King Palace is breached, it will create an irreversible situation."
"Is there a better way? Fighting on two fronts will only lead to a quicker demise," Mayuri Kurotsuchi retorted.
Seemingly persuaded, Yoruichi and the others immediately opened a spatial passage and entered the Soul King Palace.
Meanwhile, Mayuri Kurotsuchi began manufacturing a drug that would allow the Captains to regain their Bankai, while secretly using devices installed on the Captains and team members to gather intelligence on the enemy.
West Rukongai.
Led by Rudbornn Chelute, an Arrancar wearing a bull-horned skull mask, a group of Skeleton Soldiers continuously herded people into the iron bar enclosure.
Many noble Guards Corps resisted, but were defeated by the Skeleton Soldiers' life-or-death fighting style. Some powerful figures, including Arrancar, would also Arrancar to deal with them.
Szayelaporro personally intervened, selecting a few of the more formidable individuals and ordering the Skeleton Soldiers to escort them back to his Hueco Mundo Laboratory.
At this point, he went from being Aizen's ally to being subservient to Aizen... but how much of that loyalty he actually had is hard to say...
Amagai and Gin Ichimaru arrived together, followed by Kanui Hanza. From today onwards, they no longer needed to pretend to be undercover agents.
Upon hearing Mayuri Kurotsuchi's order, Aizen smiled and said, "What an astonishing decision. I thought at least a couple of Captains would try to stop us, but I didn't expect them to decisively and fully attack the Wandenreich."
Gin Ichimaru laughed, "Isn't this perfect? No one will bother us now."
Before long, Yushima Oko and Tōsen returned. After bowing respectfully to Aizen, Tōsen reported, "Lord Aizen, the entire Shiba Clan has been captured."
Aizen nodded slightly. "Thank you for your hard work. We can begin here now."
Now, reaching the Soul King Palace is even more difficult than before. Not to mention the increased barriers that Aizen is unaware of, there's simply no way to find the Soul King Palace from within the Dangai.
After being invaded by Zero once, the Soul King Palace has become even more secretive about its spatial layout.
As for Kūkaku Shiba, only she knew the exact entrance to the Soul King Palace's barrier.
Of course, you also need the Ōken to pass through the barrier entrance normally; otherwise, you will be blocked outside.
The Wandenreich.
After Askin seized Byakuya's Bankai, he used it immediately, and the order for Byakuya to temporarily retreat was also relayed.
However, Byakuya, who was under the influence of Askin Schrift ability, couldn't even run away.
Seeing that Byakuya wasn't leaving, Askin asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Are you too scared to move? Fine, I'll Bankai!"
Faced with the flying blades, Byakuya was unable to even unleash his Kidō due to the influence of the Schrift.
Fortunately, seeing that the Captain couldn't leave, Ginjiro didn't leave either. With his superb Kidō skills, he used "Tōzanshō" to surround Byakuya.
The blade shattered the 'Tōzanshō' into pieces, but it managed to barely defend against the attack, allowing Byakuya to regain his senses.
He suddenly swung the knife and slashed his leg; the instantaneous pain made him temporarily forget his fear...
"You're so eager to die in your Captain?"
Askin waved his hand, and the blades, resembling pink cherry blossom petals, changed direction, surrounding Ginjiro.
"A single tree can form a forest, like spring vines!"
With Zanpakuto of his Ginjiro, Ginjiro instantly transformed into vines. The ends of the vines rapidly grew and extended, forming a thick vine shield that blocked the impact of the blade.
But it wasn't over yet; some of the blades bypassed the rattan shield and were about to surround and kill Ginjiro.
At that moment, the tattered 'Tōzanshō' shattered instantly from the inside out, unleashing a pillar of lightning that shot straight toward Askin, whose attention was focused on Ginjiro.
Askin instantly gathered the Senbonzakura blades around him into a wall, but it was to no avail. The wall of blades was blasted apart, and he was sent flying nearly a thousand meters away.
Byakuya swayed, and after Hadō Eighty-Eighths of his Hado technique, fear surged within him once more... He witnessed his wife's gruesome death after their defeat, and then suddenly saw his son being tortured by Quincy Wraiths; he was overcome by all sorts of inexplicable fear and terror...
Ginjiro ran over anxiously. "Captain!"
Byakuya suddenly froze and shouted, "Don't come any closer, let's go!"
Askin, dressed in tattered clothes, returned in an instant. With a wave of his hand, the Senbonzakura Blades that had just shattered the 'Tōzanshō' beneath Byakuya's feet rose up, surrounding him completely, and then suddenly contracted and slashed.
"Asshole!"
Seeing Byakuya bursting into clouds of blood mist, Ginjiro once again swung the vine in his hand, forming hundreds of sharp spikes about half a meter long, which shot towards Askin.
But the mere rising pink Senbonzakura wall shattered all those spikes.
After being struck by the 'Gokei' slash, Byakuya tried to rush forward to counterattack, but a second wave of Senbonzakura waves pushed him back, and a third wave sent him flying backward, disappearing into a pillar.
Ginjiro, who wanted to come and save Byakuya, was sent away by Senbonzakura with just one attack.
Askin slowly walked towards Byakuya. When he got within ten meters, he saw that the blade of Byakuya's Zanpakuto was nowhere to be seen, and the hand holding the hilt suddenly trembled.
Startled, Askin tried to retreat, but his foot slipped, preventing him from escaping immediately. Meanwhile, hundreds of cherry blossom blades rose around him, slashing down towards his head...
Drip, drip... Blood dripped down, Byakuya was covered in blood, and Askin's mouth and face were exposed, also cut and bleeding profusely.
Just a moment ago, Askin Nott felt the fear of death again; even his Blut Vene couldn't completely withstand the attack from Captain-level enemy.
After losing her Bankai, Soi Fon attempted to fight using Shunkō, but Nianzol didn't give her a chance. After creating distance, Neoso unleashed her Bankai directly.
When she collapsed to the ground, Nianzol showed no mercy, piercing her Saketsu with a Heilig Pfeil.
Similarly, after losing his Bankai, Sajin Komamura did not retreat as ordered and instead engaged in a desperate battle with Wenlai.
With his Shikai alone, Wenlai was simply not strong enough to contend with Brunei, whose strength in all aspects was no less than his and who could also use his own Bankai.
Within minutes, he was already bleeding and lying on the ground... Fortunately, he had an incredibly shrewd Vice-Captain who rescued Komamura just as Wenlai was about to launch the final attack.
Tetsuzaemon Iba's Zanpakuto can release a large amount of mist, which can not only block vision but also senses.
After he Shikai, he did not engage in battle. Instead, he quickly carried the still-breathing Komamura on his back and ran away.
They might look disheveled, but the Iba doesn't care about that; only by staying alive can they have the strength to continue fighting.
"Reporting, Captain, the Reiatsu of Captain Kuchiki, Captain Komamura, and Captain Soi Fon has disappeared; they are tentatively considered dead..."
Upon hearing Akon's personal report, Mayuri Kurotsuchi immediately cursed, "Idiots, a bunch of idiots! We told them to wait for me to prepare, but they wouldn't listen and insisted on waiting to die. Humph..."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi was no longer willing to complain about these brainless guys.
He was already rapidly preparing the targeted drug according to the formula given by Urahara, but the Captains couldn't wait even for those few tens of minutes.
Now he could only pray that Captain-Commander Yamamoto wouldn't act impulsively.