Shūhei Hisagi looked utterly dejected.
Several team members searched Morty's house thoroughly, but found no trace of Morty. They even questioned nearby residents, but he was nowhere to be found.
"The heart of the south, the pores of the north, the fingertips of the west, the toes of the east, gather with the wind, scatter with the rain, the Bakudō No. 58: Kakushitsuijaku."
Shūhei Hisagi tried to use Bakudō to search for Morty's Reiatsu, but obtained no useful clues.
That person's Spiritual Power was far too weak, like a grain of sand thrown into the ocean—it certainly existed, but it was almost impossible to detect.
Shūhei Hisagi stood up and had to call the Research and Development Institute, "Why didn't you notify them when someone came to Morty's neighborhood?"
"Huh? The screen shows nothing wrong."
"They've all run away." Shūhei Hisagi muttered, hanging up the phone. His usually serious expression grew even more grave. Had an inside man leaked the information?
But from the time they received the mission until their departure, they didn't tell anyone. Was it an internal problem within the Shinigami Squad?
Shūhei Hisagi was reluctant to believe this fact.
The Shinigami of the Gotei 13 are all people who have fought to protect the Seireitei, and many of them fought bravely when the Quincy attacked.
Even now, thinking back to that war that happened so many years ago, Shūhei Hisagi still feels a sense of fear.
Unlike the death of humans in the World of the Living world, the death of the soul itself means the complete disappearance of an individual's memories and experiences, turning into dust called Reishi and embarking on a journey to nothingness.
No one knows where any journey will lead.
Shūhei Hisagi was so terrified that every time he thought of it, the most vivid image of death, imprinted deep within his soul, would resurface.
For example, when facing ferocious Arrancar or powerful enemies like Aizen, or the Quincy from last time, the fear would inevitably surface in Hisagi's mind whenever he fought against such powerful enemies.
For him, death was something truly terrifying.
This terror wasn't inflicted when I was attacked by a Hollow in my childhood, nor when I was knocked down by a three-digit Arrancar, nor when I was nearly attacked by Quincy hiding in a child.
Instead, she was attacked by Menos Grande and lost her companion named Kanisawa. At that moment, witnessing her vibrant face turn lifeless, the dream she once spoke of shattered.
Fear gripped his heart, and his impaired vision seemed to constantly remind him of that.
He was able to overcome that fear not because of anyone else, but thanks to Kaname Tōsen's teachings.
He who does not know fear is not qualified to wield a sword.
Shūhei Hisagi was thus changed, and he regarded the Ninth Division as his own home, taking each member seriously. He was unwilling to doubt them, and he felt disgusted with himself for hoping that there would be traitors in other divisions.
While he was struggling with his inner turmoil, he received a friend request. He glanced at it and was surprised to see it was from Hanatarō Yamada, the Third Seat of the Fourth Division...
Who was it? Shūhei Hisagi couldn't remember, so he clicked confirm.
" Lieutenant Hisagi, I just saw a black car without license plates heading out of 302 Avenue. I wonder if it might be helpful to your investigation."
Upon receiving this message, Shūhei Hisagi immediately called the Research and Development Institute, "Find me a black car without license plates on 302 Avenue, around 10:30 or 11:00 AM. Keep a close eye on where they are."
"Yes, I checked, there is a car that turned from 302nd Avenue onto 402nd Avenue, and it's currently on 506th Avenue."
Upon hearing the Research and Development Institute's reply, Shūhei Hisagi immediately said, "Stop looking here, come with me."
"Yes, sir." The four team members responded and headed out together.
They rushed towards 506 Avenue. On the way, Shūhei Hisagi didn't forget to send a thank you message to Hanatarō Yamada, and then left his crew behind to quickly reach the destination using Shunpo.
The car's speed is definitely not as fast as his.
People soon spotted the black sedan speeding along the deserted road.
After hanging up the phone with the Research and Development Institute, Shūhei Hisagi leaped onto the roof of the car, concealing his Reiatsu and landing silently.
He sensed that there was still Spiritual Power comparable to that of the house, so he didn't take action, intending to follow the clues.
The Silver Trident was founded by Aura Michibane and Loly in collaboration with Alexander. They used their abilities to cover for Alexander, amass great wealth, and gradually erode Shinigami's power.
However, all of this was just a cover.
While Shūhei Hisagi destroyed a Trident hideout in the morning, Shiraishi was busy dealing with Alexander and the corruption issues he caused.
As dusk fell, Aura Michibane transformed into a wisp of smoke and silently infiltrated the Shin'ō Underground Great: The Jail, appearing at the very bottom level—no, the current Muken can no longer be called new; it has existed for ten years.
The Muken was the first prison built to hold the Captain-level the Wandenreich, followed by the Jail above.
Aura Michibane solidified into human form and landed on a man who was sealed in layers, sitting on a chair. His golden hair appeared dull in the darkness.
Shinigami did not seal his facial features, but in this dark space, whether he had eyes or not, whether he had a voice or not, was equally unimportant.
Haschwalth couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a human, so much so that he squinted and stared for a moment before realizing the other person was indeed human. "If you're not Shinigami, then who are you?"
"An enemy of Shinigami," Aura Michibane replied flippantly. After all these years in the world, his heart hadn't changed much; his expression now held a hint of provocation. "What a pity, someone as handsome as you is going to die here."
"What's the point of my death?" Haschwalth wondered. In the Muken, whether he lived or died seemed to make no difference to the outside world.
"To open the gates of Hell, we must increase the power of Hell. You, Bazz-B, and that Giselle will all die."
Aura Michibane spoke his mind, then pulled a bottle from his robes containing a highly concentrated Reishi liquid, perfect for drawing spells.
Haschwalth frowned slightly but said nothing; he was incapable of fighting back in his current state. " Aizen, does that man have the value you're doing this for?"
"If I don't do this, what should I do? I don't know. It's precisely because I don't know that I want to give it a try and see what the result will be."
Aura Michibane began to describe Haschwalth, "Recently Soul Society has been developing very rapidly. Everything is being innovated. They've even started making cars, movies, entertainment, and comedy variety shows."
Everyone seemed so happy, and that's when I started to wonder, where's my enjoyment in all of this?
I thought and thought, but I still couldn't find an answer. I have nothing, so why do others have all that joy?
Aura Michibane gazed upon the bustling Soul Society and the joyful people celebrating the New Year, a feeling of jealousy, or perhaps hatred, gradually arose within his empty heart.
They wanted to destroy everything with a war.
Only that man could wage a war that would make the current Seireitei feel a sense of impending destruction.
So she wants to bring that man back.
As for Loly, it's simply a matter of obeying orders.
That person, with a similar personality to hers, was empty inside, so she would desperately cling to any bit of pity she received.
She quickly drew the spell on Haschwalth's body, then moved on to Bazz-B and Giselle.
After finishing the drawing, she returned to Haschwalth, the array being cast with the man at its center.
" The Muken isolation of internal and external Reiatsu has been a tremendous help."
Aura Michibane clapped his hands together, channeling Reiatsu into the ground as he chanted, "A bridge between heaven and earth..."
Haschwalth's eyes widened suddenly, and his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably as his Reiatsu was drained by the spell. "Aaaaaah!"
He roared, and as the chanting of Aura Michibane grew weaker, the magic on the ground shone with a silver light.
Meanwhile, in the Shiraishi District above Seireitei, a massive door seemed to emerge from thin air.
Despite its enormous size, it didn't attract much attention.
Then, the door slowly opened.
Black phosphorus gas drifted down from the sky.
"Ah!" Ichika Abarai cried out, stopping on the roof and rubbing her ears. "Boss, did you hear anything?"
"Huh?" Hakuhō stopped her Shunpo, turned around with her sword slung over her shoulder, and said, "A voice? Kumane Shishihara, have you given up?"
"No way! How could I possibly fart!"
Kumane Shishihara quickly punched her with her little fists.
"I know, if you didn't put it in, you didn't put it in."
Hakuhō muttered, " Kazui, is that you, kid?"
Kazui Kurosaki shook his head and said, "I don't think so. There seems to be something strange over there. I'll go check it out."
"Stop acting like a big shot, kid."
Hakuhō muttered a complaint, then her eyes suddenly caught sight of black raindrops falling from the air. Kazui Kurosaki was about to reach out and catch one when she yelled, "Idiot!"
With one hand drawing his sword and the other pulling Kazui back by the collar, he said, "Don't touch anything that looks suspicious."
"What is this? The entire Seireitei is floating?"
Kumane Shishihara said this, he looked around and said, "Let's hide in a house."
"Hmm." Hakuhō agreed with the decision, and dragged the unruly Kazui into the house.
"Phosphorus from Hell."
The black liquid falling from the sky was immediately recognized by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. He pulled out his phone and sent a message in the group chat, but the internet connection was lost.
His eyes darkened. "Could it be... no, impossible... Aizen... has that guy come back?"
" Captain-Commander Yamamoto." Retsu Unohana Shunpo, her long hair flowing over her shoulders, her face cold and icy. " The Hell Butterfly have stopped transmitting. The only people capable of doing something like that are probably from Hell."
"Prepare the Tenteikūra." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said in a deep voice, intending to use the Tenteikūra to contact the others.
"Hi." Retsu Unohana raised her hand, "The Black and White Web! Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowns, footprints, distant thunder, peaks, return to the earth, night lurking, sea of clouds, azure sequence, full of the Great Circle, straight to the sky."
Bakudo #77: Tenteikūra!
A surge of Reiatsu appeared, and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto realized something was wrong. He quickly dodged, but although the short blade didn't pierce his neck, a portion was sliced off, and blood gushed out. "This is..."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto knew very well whose ability this was, so he stared in shock and disbelief, asking, "You're Kinroku Izuhara?"
"That's right, we're back from Hell, you little devils."
Retsu Unohana's body suddenly changed, transforming into a gaunt man with a slicked-back hairstyle. Half of his face was bound by black Hell chains, and the ground began to drip, quickly solidifying into an inky disc.
Black phosphorus gas floats in the air.
"You current Gotei 13 brats, let us Original Gotei 13, give you juniors a run for your money!"
"Also, it's been a long time, Unohana and Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto."
Kinroku Izuhara stopped Tenteikūra's conversation, twirled the golden needle in his hand, and sighed, "You've really gotten old; you actually got ambushed."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto, I once respected you from the bottom of my heart, admired you, and regarded you as my role model.
If it were the old you, no matter who came near, the moment you tried to attack, they would be Ryūjin Jakka. You would never trust anyone.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was panting, a deep gloom in his eyes. He missed the days when he started the business with this group of people, but he didn't want to see them again.
This group of vicious villains is utterly incapable of being governed.
Lie, he was originally the most ferocious among them, but as time went by, the two changed.
Retsu's change of heart stemmed from being defeated by the young Kenpachi, leading him to believe he was no longer suited to be Kenpachi and to focus on his work in the Fourth Division.
He poured his heart and soul into educating the Gotei 13, and that's how the change happened.
The first captains who survived that bloody battle did not choose to change, so they were eliminated by the times.
"You cannot forgive this old man."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto ripped his smoky purple kimono top to shreds, revealing his muscular physique, and said, "I know perfectly well, but I will not beg for your forgiveness, Izuhara!"
Are you sure you want to start a war here?
Kinroku Izuhara said, spreading his hands, "They will die."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto paused in his hand as he drew his sword. If the students of the Shin'ō Academy were to get involved in their battle at such close range, they would definitely be doomed.
Kinroku Izuhara noticed this moment of hesitation and immediately closed in.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto remained calm and didn't use Ryūjin Jakka. He could still fight using only his Hakuda, first knocking the guy into a position where he could easily use his Bankai.
" Ikkotsu!"
A simple straight punch can be thrown out in the fastest possible time, sending the enemy flying.
Kinroku Izuhara's appearance suddenly changed into that of a child, and not just any child, but an outstanding student at the Shin'ō Academy.
In a flash, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto couldn't help but have the feeling that Yūta had been captured, but he immediately dismissed it. However, Kinroku Izuhara wanted that moment of hesitation.
The blade tore through Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's chest, and he retreated, his body leaning against the wall.
Kinroku Izuhara showed no joy. Looking at the blood on the ground, his expression and eyes were filled with sorrow. "Ah, Genryūsai, have you fallen to this state? I should have killed you sooner."
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto was panting heavily; his heart had been slashed.
"Die!" Kinroku Izuhara forward.
Bang!
The wall was kicked open from the side, and the dark-skinned beauty twisted her waist, sending Kinroku Izuhara flying outside. " Hiyori, Captain-Commander Yamamoto is yours now. Take him to the Fourth Division."