The war between the human nations in the World of the Living had just ended, and they were now in a period of postwar recovery.
At times like this, the population began to grow rapidly to make up for the loss of young and able-bodied workers during the war.
So the population boom would gradually start to show over the next few years.
But with more people, more people died, too!
The Hollows formed from children who died young would probably be the most numerous.
If Soul Society wasn't prepared, the World of the Living would truly become a Hollow stronghold!
After coming through the Senkaimon, Shiba Kaien ran toward the 13th Division barracks.
Aoto watched him go, holding his Zanpakuto, then found himself surrounded by the 11th Division members who had come to welcome him.
Over the past two months, no one had been more unhappy than the members of the 11th Division.
Aoto had left them food, and plenty of prepared ingredients, so the other cooks in the cafeteria could make dishes that increased spiritual pressure... but none of them tasted as good as Aoto's!
Their enthusiasm had taken a serious hit.
More importantly, without Aoto keeping things in check, someone had come to the 11th Division a month ago and taken nearly half the ingredients from the cafeteria.
So even after rationing their food, the members of the 11th Division had run out of supplies ten days ago.
Aoto's expression changed as he heard this. The Zanpakuto in his hand was about to come free of its sheath. "They were stolen? By whom?"
Who dared cause trouble in his cafeteria? Did they have a death wish?
Seeing the Fourth Seat's reaction, the members finally found someone to rely on and answered one after another, "The 4th Division!"
Aoto silently slid his Zanpakuto back into its sheath. "Oh, the 4th Division. Then it's fine!"
As if!
Even if you antagonized the First Division, you should never antagonize the 4th Division!
The 11th Division especially needed the 4th Division to save their lives on a regular basis.
Aoto had previously given an order: when they encountered 4th Division members, the 11th Division members were to help them whenever possible... Anyone caught drawing a blade on a 4th Division member without good reason would receive the harshest punishment.
So when the 4th Division's vice-captain, that big woman, had brought people to the 11th Division cafeteria a month ago to haul away the ingredients, not a single person present in the 11th Division had dared stop them.
And they'd had no reason to, either.
After all, Aoto had privately made an agreement with Captain Unohana to supply the 4th Division with enough special ingredients to nourish their patients.
Otherwise, how could the two walls between the 11th and 4th Divisions, both of which had been broken for ten years, still not have been repaired?
Even if the 11th Division hadn't fixed them, the 4th Division should have done so long ago!
But Aoto clearly remembered leaving the 4th Division enough ingredients.
At the normal rate, they should have lasted until the end of the year. How had they used them up even faster than the 11th Division?
"Ahem." Aoto cleared his throat and asked the disappointed members, "Did anything major happen over the past two months? Or were a lot of patients sent to the 4th Division for treatment during that time?"
The members of the 11th Division looked at one another, but none of them knew.
Quite a few had gone to the 4th Division for treatment during that time.
But they hadn't noticed that many patients there.
Aoto found it very strange!
Could Captain Unohana have eaten them herself?
To appease the members who had gone without food for ten days, Aoto held a party that evening.
Quite a few of the fine things he'd brought back from the World of the Living—things he should have sold—went into the menu.
It was his way of making it up to them.
There was no grudge a party couldn't settle!
And if there was, it didn't count!
Aoto couldn't afford to hold a second party right now, anyway!
At the feast, where everyone could eat as much as they wanted, all the members' resentment over going hungry for the past few days vanished... though quite a few of them ended up with indigestion and had to be sent to the 4th Division for treatment.
The feast also revealed quite a few big eaters in the 11th Division.
First place naturally went to Zaraki Kenpachi. No one could compete with him. He was a bottomless pit. If Aoto hadn't cooked as fast as he could, he never would have kept up with Kenpachi's eating.
The second-place spot, however, went to Shiro!
He was so small and skinny that no one could understand where all the food went.
The result devastated Ikkaku, who'd always thought he could eat a lot.
He didn't even come in third. That place went to Yachiru.
Two little kids had beaten him. Ikkaku wanted to crawl into a hole and shut himself away.
Aoto thought it made perfect sense.
The food he made turned into Reishi as soon as it entered the stomach. It might have looked like they were competing to see who could eat the most, but in fact, they were competing to see who could absorb Reishi the fastest.
That was where talent showed.
Looking at the Soul Reapers sprawled on the ground, stuffed and satisfied, Aoto thought that if Hollows invaded right now, they'd all be wiped out.
But at that moment, Aoto's Command Divine Machine really did receive a message from the Twelfth Division... Menos Grande had invaded!
And there were a lot of them!
Location: South Rukon District 20!
Very close to Seireitei!
"Ikkaku, Yumichika! Get up! We have a mission! Menos Grande invasion! South 20th District."
At his words, the two of them jumped up.
A number of members on the ground struggled to sit up as well.
But not many could still move freely! The members were all stuffed to the gills, while only the Seated Officers were in better shape.
"Master, I want to go, too!" Shiro, who hadn't eaten anything, stood up as well.
It had been two months, and he was already the 15th Seat!
Aoto nodded at him. "As long as you can keep up with my Flash Step!"
Then Aoto vanished from the spot, taking Ikkaku and Yumichika with him.
Shiro used Flash Step as well. He was a little slower, but still managed to follow.
Yachiru jumped onto Zaraki Kenpachi's shoulder. "Kenny, let's go too!"
Zaraki Kenpachi stood up with a hearty laugh. "Nothing beats a full meal and enemies to cut down! Hurry up—we can't let Ikkaku and the others cut them all to pieces!"
With that, Zaraki Kenpachi charged off... in a direction completely different from the one Aoto and the others had taken.
Who knew how long it would take him to find the right way?
South Rukon District 20 was filled with screams.
The 10th Division Soul Reapers patrolling nearby had mostly gathered there... but they'd already suffered quite a few casualties.
That was because the intruders weren't just Gillian. There was also an Adjuchas.
This Adjuchas seemed to be searching for something. Unless a Soul Reaper came right up to him, he had no interest in paying them any attention.
"Found it!" The giant wolf-like Adjuchas cried out excitedly. At his command, the Gillian around him fired Cero simultaneously toward a certain direction.
That direction was filled with residential areas, where more than a thousand Rukongai residents had yet to evacuate.
Rangiku Matsumoto, already in the middle of the fight, could easily dodge an attack like that, but she wasn't strong enough to block it.
Using her Zanpakuto, Haineko, to barely cut away half the head of one Gillian had already pushed her to her limit.
As she watched the other Gillian fire their Cero, Rangiku was helpless.
She had never hated her own weakness so much.
But just then, a voice brimming with fury rang out.
"Devour, Ogre!"
A gigantic spiked club abruptly blocked several Cero. Every blast that struck it vanished amid the sound of devouring!
Aoto arrived, seething with anger.
But most of his anger wasn't directed at the Adjuchas in front of him. It was aimed at the person hiding in the residential area.
"Come out!"