A Battle of Wits Between Master and Student / I, Aizen, Would Never Toy with People's Hearts

A Contest Between Master and Disciples

After sending the souls on their way, Kyouka stretched wearily.

"We didn't run into a single Hollow, but we found this many souls."

Komamura had kept a wary watch beside them the whole time, afraid a Hollow might appear.

Yet the funeral rites ended without a single Hollow in sight.

"Hundreds of us came out here, but none of us has encountered a Hollow. Doesn't that seem strange?" Komamura asked quietly.

Hollows weren't especially common, but after walking so far, seeing none at all was strange.

The three of them sat beneath a large tree to rest.

"We'll never finish the assignment at this rate. What do we do?" Kyouka looked at the two men.

As they discussed their options, a massive explosion erupted behind them. The shock wave swept over them and tore the tree up by its roots.

"What happened?" Tōsen moved to shield Kyouka at once, while Komamura stepped in front of them both.

A dark shape flew toward them from the distance. Komamura caught it and discovered it was a classmate.

The Apprentice Shinigami was covered in blood, coughing incessantly, with injuries all over his body.

"Hey! What happened?" Komamura asked in shock.

The Apprentice Shinigami kept coughing up blood. Trembling, he raised a hand and pointed into the distance.

All three drew their Zanpakuto and stared ahead. As the dust cleared, an enormous figure emerged. Its terrifying Reiatsu left them struggling to breathe.

Komamura and Tōsen were gifted, but they hadn't trained for long enough to control their power perfectly.

"You've got to be kidding! It's a Menos Grande!" Kyouka's voice shook with fear.

For Apprentice Shinigami like them, even an ordinary Hollow could be deadly unless several of them worked together, let alone a Menos Grande.

"What do