The Third Division's lieutenant was Chitetsu Iba, a mature woman who was Tetsuzaemon Iba's mother in the original timeline. Tetsuzaemon Iba had already been born, though he was still young.
After Tetsuzaemon Iba's father died, his mother, who had been a Seated Officer, became a lieutenant. That was why, in later years, she had always demanded that he become a lieutenant and not disgrace the family name...
The trouble was in the seventeenth district of West Rukongai. Three lieutenants led their forces there, numbering over two hundred in all, including Seated Officers and squad members. They stopped when they reached the sixteenth district...
"We should split into three groups, leaving only the route toward the sixteenth district open, then search inward like a fishing net."
"Right, that's a sound approach. What do you think, Vice-Captain Nangong Ling?"
Shusuke Ihana made the suggestion, and Chitetsu Iba agreed. When they turned to Rei, displeasure immediately appeared on their faces.
Rei was sitting on a stretcher made by his two sycophantic subordinates, reclining as he leafed through a textbook given to students at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy. It was for learning Kidō.
"If you ask me, we should have had the Kidō Corps teleport us here in the first place. Why did we have to run for so long? And we brought all these people along. They can't use Shunpo, so they slow us down, and they might even die at the hands of a Menos Grande!"
"Lieutenant, we're terribly sorry!"
Rei closed the book. He was a little annoyed that the mission was wasting time he could have spent studying, and his two sycophants immediately stood at attention and echoed him.
His words instantly stirred everyone's anger. The members of his own squad said nothing; they were deeply ashamed to hear their superior call them weak. But the other two squads were still there, and their members were angry but dared not speak.
Although Rei wasn't wrong, either. Against an Adjuchas, these squad members who couldn't even use Shunpo would probably only serve as cannon fodder.
But Ika, her red hair bright, came over with her hands on her hips and said angrily, "Do you mean we should only kill the Menos Grande and ignore the other Hollows? If the Hollows run rampant, what will happen to the ordinary Pluses? A Soul Reaper's duty isn't just to purify Hollows. We also have to protect the Pluses!"
"Well said, Ika... Besides, the Great Kidō Chief and the Vice Kidō Chief aren't here. Preparing the spell to teleport so many people would probably take longer than it took us to run here..."
Chitetsu Iba voiced her support and also explained why they hadn't teleported.
Ika couldn't stand the contempt in Rei's eyes. She remembered that this guy hadn't been like this before. Had he forgotten how weak he once was now that he had power?
Seeing the fierce anger in Ika's eyes, Rei hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Sorry. Even though it's been fifteen days, I haven't adjusted to my new identity yet!"
Rei also realized he was in the wrong. Ultimately, he had traveled alone for too long, gradually becoming withdrawn and no longer caring about the people around him.
But there was another important point: he couldn't keep arguing with this woman, or it might never end...
"What a strange guy!"
Seeing Rei suddenly fall silent, Ika's anger came to an abrupt halt too. Had he just accepted it so suddenly? She felt a little uncomfortable.
The other squad members looked at her with gratitude. After all, Ika had stood up for them. And now, in the eyes of the Third and Fifth Division members, Rei was a capable but arrogant and overbearing guy.
Unfortunately, they lacked the ability to do anything about it, so they could only stay angry and silent...
Although he had apologized, in Rei's eyes, the only ones he could currently call companions were Blood Drink and Yanis. Those two had shared life and death with him.
"I suggest I pursue and kill that Menos Grande alone while everyone else follows and cleans up the Ragged Hollows. What do you think?"
Seeing that Ika's anger had subsided, Rei offered his own suggestion. He was the leader of the combat unit and the strongest fighter of the three, so it was only natural for him to make a suggestion about the battle.
"Agreed!"
"Don't let the enemy get away."
The two female lieutenants exchanged a glance and both agreed. They had heard something about Nangong Ling's fighting strength.
According to reports from those who had watched him fight, Nangong Ling could easily defeat a lieutenant, and his strength had reached the Captain-level. Apparently, he had yet to learn Bankai...
As soon as the encirclement was complete, Rei prepared to show off some Kidō. "Heart of the south, eye of the north, fingertip of the west, toe of the east, gather with the wind and scatter with the rain... Bakudō number fifty-eight, Kakushitsuijaku!"
After reciting the melodramatic incantation, Rei's hand trembled. Though the spell was in danger of failing, he still completed the tracking Bakudō.
He had only recently learned it. If he hadn't been able to arrange his Reiatsu through the sequence of the Kotodama, he wouldn't have been able to cast Kidō of this level at all...
With Kakushitsuijaku cast, Rei could sense all the powerful Reiatsu around him.
His perception had never been weak to begin with, and this technique multiplied it more than tenfold, allowing him to sense every Reiatsu that was even slightly powerful.
"Found you, even though you hid yourself well!"
Rei grinned and used Shunpo to move quickly toward a location in the seventeenth district of West Rukongai. A skilled Shunpo user could move several kilometers in an almost instantaneous step.
A powerhouse like Captain-Commander Yamamoto, for instance, could probably cover the dozens of kilometers from Seireitei's east gate to its west gate in three Shunpo steps.
Boss, I know whose Reiatsu that is!
You sensed it too? Who is it?
As Rei moved, Yanis, who shared his body, also had his perception expanded by the Kidō and learned who it was.
Daruston! He's also one of Baraggan's subordinates. He can escape by splitting himself apart. As long as even a little of one of his split bodies survives and attaches itself to a Hollow or a human soul, he can revive...
As Yanis explained, Rei learned that Daruston had also come to Soul Society to gather intelligence. He just hadn't expected him to be discovered here.
This guy was also one of Baraggan's minor leaders, in charge of a small portion of the Menos Grande Forest. He was a rather powerful Adjuchas...
Daruston was sleeping at the moment. The sunlight was too intense, and he wasn't used to it after spending so many years in darkness and moonlight.
He wasn't the only one. In fact, many of the Hollow beasts from Hueco Mundo weren't used to it either, so they all liked to hide and rest in dark places during the day and come out to hunt at night.
"Mmm... Soul Reapers... Ha... Delicious Soul Reapers!"
Smack, smack~
In a dim cave, a large group of Ragged Hollows stood guard around their leader, Daruston. Their leader's sleep talking, lip-smacking and teeth-grinding filled them with fear.
They were underlings Daruston had recruited in Soul Society. They had served him for a long time and had come to know his habits well... Their leader didn't just like eating Soul Reapers; he ate Ragged Hollows like them just as readily...
"Hm? Who's there?"
Daruston suddenly opened his eyes and woke up, startled by a huge Reiatsu outside the cave. Souls with that kind of Reiatsu were exceedingly rare.
"Oh, you found me!"
Rei's contemptuous voice came from diagonally above, in the direction of the cave entrance. Daruston was trapped inside.
"Hmph, a Soul Reaper? Perfect. I feel like I'm close to breaking through and becoming a Vasto Lorde myself. Get him, boys!"
Daruston ordered dozens of Ragged Hollows to charge while he gathered a green Cero behind them. In the darkness, the Cero was clearly visible.