A dilapidated street in Rukongai; the ground was littered with Hollow corpses, nearly twenty in all. For Soul Society, primarily populated b
A dilapidated street in Rukongai; the ground was littered with Hollow corpses, nearly twenty in all.
For Soul Society, primarily populated by ordinary souls and Shinigami, the sudden appearance of so many Hollows in Rukongai was highly unusual.
Near the Hollow corpses, several Gotei 13 Shinigami were resting. Their armbands identified them as members of the Third Division.
Leading the group was Nagato Yū, the Third Division's vice-captain.
"Looks like Hollows aren't so tough after all. When they meet me, they're just asking to be slaughtered," Renji Abarai said smugly, sheathing his Zanpakutō.
Momo Hinamori, however, looked worried. "We've killed hundreds of Hollows these past few days. It's just too abnormal. I've lived in Rukongai my whole life, and I've never seen so many Hollows."
Shortly after Renji, Momo, and Kira Izuru began their internships in the Third Division, a massive influx of Hollows appeared in Rukongai. These Hollows were unusually aggressive, relentlessly attacking the wandering souls in the area.
Not only was the Thirteenth Division, responsible for extermination, overwhelmed, but the Third and Fifth Divisions, responsible for support and rescue, had also deployed nearly all their personnel to eliminate the Hollows.
Among the probationary Shinigami, Renji, Momo, and Kira Izuru performed exceptionally well, with Renji, a natural combatant, proving to be the most outstanding of the three.
Through actual combat experience, the three were rapidly growing in skill. In a short time, they had begun to demonstrate the capabilities of Gotei 13 seated officers.
Nagato Yū, their supervising vice-captain, highly approved of their performance. Although she showed no outward expression, she was inwardly very pleased.
This sudden Hollow surge was actually caused by Gonaldo and his accomplices, who had escaped from Hueco Mundo.
Having mastered the use of the Dōgyoku, they discovered that while fusion with the Dōgyoku was necessary for Arrancarification, the fused individuals could then use the Dōgyoku's power to amplify the potential of other Hollows, making them stronger but also driving them into a frenzied rage.
Nagato Yū was aware of the cause of the Hollow surge, but as Yusuke's subordinate, she naturally wouldn't explain this to others.
As the Third Division Shinigami rested, a sudden surge of spiritual pressure, indicating a battle between a Shinigami and Hollows, emanated from nearby.
The Third Division members were startled, and Vice-Captain Nagato Yū immediately led them towards the source of the spiritual pressure.
Upon arriving, they found dozens of frenzied Hollows attacking Shinigami from the Thirteenth Division.
These Shinigami were from the Thirteenth Division, led by their vice-captain, Shiba Kaien.
The Third Division had been assisting the Thirteenth Division in eliminating Hollows, so they were relatively familiar with the Thirteenth Division's members. Seeing this situation, Nagato Yū immediately led her team into the fray.
With the Third Division's reinforcements, the Thirteenth Division members, who had been on the defensive due to their numerical disadvantage, were revitalized and launched a counterattack.
"Yū, you came at just the right time! Twisted Flower (Nejibana)!"
Shiba Kaien laughed, releasing his Zanpakutō, transforming it into a trident-like polearm.
Shiba Kaien had been unable to fight freely to protect his teammates. Now, with Nagato Yū and the Third Division joining the battle, he could unleash his full power!
He charged into the Hollow horde, his trident moving with sweeping power, unleashing waves of spiritual pressure.
Under Shiba Kaien's attack, the Hollows near him were crushed, squeezed, or sliced by the blade-like waves.
As a genius Shinigami of the Shiba clan, Shiba Kaien's spiritual pressure was approaching that of a captain-level fighter. Among the current Gotei 13 vice-captains and seated officers, he is among the strongest.
However, compared to Shiba Kaien, Yū, as the Third Division's vice-captain, was in no way outmatched.
Unlike Shiba Kaien's fighting style, Yū rarely relied on her Zanpakutō's released abilities, preferring instead to use swordsmanship.
She skillfully used her superior spiritual pressure and mastery of Kidō, constantly using Hadō spells to eliminate the frenzied Hollows.
Under Shiba Kaien and Yū's combined assault, the dozens of frenzied Hollows were quickly eliminated, and the beleaguered Thirteenth Division members breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yū, you really came at the perfect time! It would have been quite troublesome otherwise! I'm not afraid of these guys, but my team members might have been in danger, especially with the new probationary Shinigami among them,"
Sheathing his Zanpakutō, Shiba Kaien, with a cheerful smile, approached Yū.
Among the current Thirteenth Division vice-captains, Shiba Kaien and Nagato Yū were the most popular.
Shiba Kaien is the epitome of a straightforward, masculine figure—cheerful, helpful, and easygoing. Almost all the Thirteenth Division members respect him greatly.
Nagato Yū, on the other hand, is the outwardly cold but inwardly warm type. Though she treats everyone with the same impassive demeanor, she often secretly helps others. Coupled with her cute appearance, many in the Gotei 13 find her a charming contrast, and she is surprisingly popular.
Hearing Shiba Kaien's words, Yū impassively adjusted her glasses. "Vice-Captain Shiba, please address me as Vice-Captain Nagato. Thank you."
Shiba Kaien smiled and nodded. "Got it, Yū! But Yū, you're so incredibly strong, yet I've never seen you fight with your Zanpakutō released. If you used your Zanpakutō's abilities, maybe I wouldn't even be your match. Wouldn't you say, Yū?"
Seeing that Shiba Kaien continued to call her "Yū," she didn't bother arguing about the title, simply replying, "None of your concern."
Shiba Kaien laughed. "As cold as ever, but…"
At that moment, a powerful spiritual pressure descended upon them, causing many of the Shinigami to show fear.
The Thirteenth Division's probationary Shinigami were unable to stand under this pressure, collapsing to their knees in terror.
Everyone looked towards the source of the spiritual pressure above, seeing a humanoid figure with a Hollow-like bone mask standing in mid-air, observing them.
Sensing the immense and strange spiritual pressure emanating from this unknown individual, Shiba Kaien's expression turned grave.
"Who is this… Hollow or Shinigami?" Shiba Kaien muttered gravely.
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