(The novel is under contract. Please enjoy reading!)
Aoto suddenly appeared and blocked the Cero, prompting the residents of Rukongai below to cry out in relief at having escaped disaster.
But they hadn't expected the Soul Reaper to suddenly shout at them afterward.
What did he mean? What should they come out for?
When five seconds passed without any response, Aoto didn't waste any more time. He withdrew his Zanpakuto and spoke a different Shikai incantation.
"Slaughter the darkness, Shakukuro!"
The club transformed back into a Zanpakuto, which suddenly radiated an intense black light, shrouding all of South 20th District!
The change astonished not only the residents of Rukongai but also the Adjuchas across from him.
After the Soul Reaper released his Shikai, his Zanpakuto had changed again... So was this Bankai?
But it wasn't!
A Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto could develop different abilities through training.
Even without achieving Bankai, one could still add abilities to a Shikai.
Rukia's Sode no Shirayuki, for example, had at least three different forms.
The Soul Reaper with the most forms was Captain Tosen Kaname of the Ninth Division. His Zanpakuto, Suzumushi, was said to have ninety-nine different techniques!
Aoto only had thirty so far.
That was because thirty demons lived inside his Zanpakuto. In the nearly two hundred years since he had gained Shikai, Aoto had trained each one according to its personality, giving them different abilities.
Hungry Ghost, which he used most often, was one of them. Blue Oni was another, and Shakukuro was one too!
Hungry Ghost devoured all targets within the area where its own spiritual pressure spread... provided it could bite through them, of course.
Blue Oni unleashed blue light in an all-directional beam attack. It was fast, but prone to hitting allies by mistake.
Shakukuro's effect was to create a battlefield as dark as this one.
Any being weaker than Aoto would be "captured" by him and then dealt with as he saw fit.
Whether he released them beyond the battlefield or kept them inside to fight him was entirely up to Aoto.
In any case, the battlefield couldn't be breached from within unless Aoto was defeated.
When Ikkaku and Yumichika arrived, they saw the dark battlefield and nearly cursed.
Aoto was trying to hog all the kills again!
But in the next moment, a large number of Rukongai residents and the 10th Division Soul Reapers who had been fighting the Menos Grande were "released."
They appeared out of nowhere beyond the dark battlefield, safe from danger.
Having experienced firsthand how powerless she was, Rangiku Matsumoto still felt a little shaken.
But she had no time to dwell on it. The injured squad members needed treatment.
Just then, a Gillian suddenly appeared in an empty space nearby.
Aoto had "released" them too.
Seeing the terrifying Menos Grande, the residents of Rukongai cried out in alarm again.
But Ikkaku and Yumichika charged forward excitedly.
Yumichika came over to Rangiku Matsumoto, who was directing the 10th Division squad members, and asked her how many Hollows had invaded.
When he heard there had been one Adjuchas leading ten Gillians, Yumichika nodded and ran toward Ikkaku.
Ikkaku had already killed the Gillian that had suddenly appeared. Then two more Gillians were released.
"Bloom, Fuji Kujaku!"
After releasing his Zanpakuto's Shikai, Yumichika began competing with Ikkaku for the Hollow kills.
Three! Four!
Before long, they had killed all ten Gillians.
But it was obvious Aoto had no intention of releasing the remaining Adjuchas for them to share!
However, unlike the fierce battle Ikkaku and Yumichika had imagined, the fight inside the dark battlefield had already ended.
The wolf-like Adjuchas had left its two hind legs behind and fled into the Garganta.
Aoto didn't pursue it. Instead, he went to a residential area.
Now that the pursuing Menos Grande had all been driven off, the person hiding there finally emerged!
A figure dressed as a member of the Punishment Force jumped onto the roof of a residential building.
Judging by the figure, it was a woman.
But after coming out, she said nothing and headed for the edge of the battlefield.
She assumed Aoto would dismiss the battlefield once he saw her uniform.
But Aoto did the exact opposite of what she expected. He crooked a finger, and she was pulled back onto the roof she had just left.
"Didn't you hear me tell you to come out?"
Aoto's expression was blank.
The woman had clearly been hiding in the residential area and using the many Rukongai residents as shields while evading the Menos Grande pursuing her.
Aoto no longer cared about the ordinary deaths of Rukongai residents or even Soul Reapers, but he detested deliberate acts like this.
The Punishment Force member was taken aback by Aoto's actions, but still spoke as though it were only natural. "The Punishment Force has its duties..."
"To hell with the Punishment Force. You're doing a private job, aren't you? A noble's assignment? They must have paid an enormous sum to buy off someone at your level!"
In theory, Soul Society still hadn't mastered the technology to travel to Hueco Mundo.
Only Hollows could open a Garganta. It was an instinctive ability that even ordinary Hollows possessed.
So if Soul Reapers wanted to go to Hueco Mundo, they could only follow a Hollow inside when it opened a Garganta.
There were many recorded cases of Soul Reapers getting carried away while killing Hollows and following fleeing ones into the Garganta.
Those Soul Reapers never returned. After all, even if they killed Hollows in Hueco Mundo, they had no way back.
What Hollow would be kind enough to open a Garganta for them to return through?
In reality, though, some nobles of Seireitei possessed objects capable of opening passages to Hueco Mundo.
Their history might even go back to the time of the Soul King.
The Punishment Force had the Shihoin Clan's support in obtaining divine gifts, so it could indeed possess such an object. They might also have confidential business to handle in Hueco Mundo.
But in that case, the hidden Garganta would only be opened beneath the Punishment Force's headquarters. The defenses there were extremely powerful. An Adjuchas wouldn't stand a chance of breaking through, let alone a Vasto Lorde.
Aoto had served in the 2nd Division. Although he had never joined the Punishment Force, he knew all about this sort of thing.
The only explanation for this woman's situation was that she was doing private work... and had opened the Garganta in South 20th District, where the population was dense.
She'd planned ahead before setting out!
What a schemer.
The woman looked at Aoto and said in a low voice, "Since you know, why are you still stopping me? Besides..."
The woman's spiritual pressure was at the fifth level, putting her at lieutenant level. That was why Aoto had said it would take a lot of money to win her over.
She had clearly been indoctrinated with the idea that nobles were untouchable, and believed Aoto wouldn't dare antagonize her even if he knew what she'd done.
But... the nobles were the nobles, and she was herself.
She seemed not to understand the difference.
Aoto's Zanpakuto pointed at her again.
He only had to make sure he didn't kill her!
That way, no one would speak up for her.