"Emergency Announcement-"
"A Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande has appeared in the 10th Division's area. Captain Shiba has pursued it into the Garganta to eliminate it..."
"Currently, 10th Division's Lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, acting as the Proxy Captain of the 10th Division, requests support!"
Each division of the Gotei 13 has its own duties, fulfilling their assigned tasks is the responsibility of the Shinigami.
But at the same time, the difficulty of tasks is constantly changing.
If they encounter an undefeatable enemy while performing their duties, the Shinigami will call for support.
Under normal circumstances, the support called would be stronger Shinigami from their own division, such as seated officers or even the Lieutenant.
But in case of emergencies, or if the members judge that the encountered danger might cause destruction on a larger scale, they can request support from three specific divisions: the 3rd Division's Support Team, the 5th Division's Rescue Team, and the 11th Division's Combat Division.
Based on the request for aid, the 3rd, 5th, and 11th Divisions will dispatch appropriate Shinigami.
Of course, if a situation arises that could truly endanger the stability of the Seireitei, then anyone can directly relay the information to the Gotei 13, keeping everyone alert and ready for any potential crisis.
...
"Captain Shiba chased it into the Garganta?"
In the 8th Division, Kyoraku, upon hearing the message conveyed by Rangiku, placed his hands inside his long sleeves and left the 8th Division with his Lieutenant.
"Captain Kyoraku, since that Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande has already been repelled, why did Captain Shiba still enter the Garganta to pursue it?"
Following closely behind Kyoraku, Ise Nanao, who had not been the 8th Division Lieutenant for long, asked puzzledly.
"Well, that question, Nanao-chan... Actually, if you put yourself in Captain Shiba's position, you'll quickly understand why he charged into the Garganta to pursue the Hollow even after forcing it to open a Garganta to escape."
"Put myself in Captain Shiba's position?"
Upon hearing this, Nanao also began to silently imagine under what circumstances she would encounter a Hollow opening a Garganta to leave, and would have to charge into the Garganta without even having time to send a message back.
After a moment, Nanao's face suddenly turned pale.
"Captain Kyoraku, could it be..."
"Correct."
Hearing the tremor in his Lieutenant's voice, Kyoraku knew that Nanao had probably guessed the situation on the other side of the Garganta.
"The Garganta opened by that Vasto Lorde wasn't a spatial passage leading to Hueco Mundo."
"It was a passage to the living world, and moreover, to an area populated by living humans!"
"It was precisely because he sensed the presence of living humans from the other side of the Garganta that Captain Shiba immediately charged in before the Garganta closed, wanting to purify that Hollow before it could cause large-scale slaughter in the living world."
"Additionally, the manner in which this Hollow appeared is also very concerning."
At this point, Kyoraku fell silent and did not continue speaking with Nanao.
No matter what, Nanao was only a Lieutenant.
And a Lieutenant without a Zanpakuto at that.
Nanao's strength in the 8th Division had only just reached the level of an 'upper-level seated officer'.
The reason she became Lieutenant, aside from her keen sense for handling intelligence matters, was largely due to Kyoraku's personal favoritism.
After all, Nanao was Kyoraku's biological niece.
Over a hundred years ago, Kyoraku's elder brother died due to the Ise Clan's curse. To prevent Nanao from following her own tragic path, Kyoraku's sister-in-law entrusted the Ise Clan's heirloom sacred treasure, the [Shinken Hakkyoken], to Shunsui for safekeeping, to prevent the young Nanao from being persecuted by other nobles coveting the power of the sacred treasure.
Having Nanao join the 8th Division, having his Lieutenant, Yadomaru Lisa take care of Nanao on his behalf, and promoting Nanao to be his Lieutenant after Lisa was taken out of the Soul Society by Kisuke, were all actions taken by Kyoraku to protect Nanao.
The things Kyoraku was thinking about would probably cause panic even among ordinary Captains.
Telling Nanao would only increase her panic without helping the situation in the Seireitei.
"Let's go, Nanao."
"We're going to the 1st Division."
...
"Damn it, this is a provocation against our 12th Division!"
In the 12th Division, Mayuri's hands frantically typed on the keyboard in front of him. Lines of code appeared on the screen before him, followed by countless monitoring windows popping up, all capable of observing the Seireitei.
Mayuri's eyes darted back and forth, scanning the contents of these screens.
The 12th Division is the Research and Development Division.
Over millions of years, the numerous scientific achievements of the Technical Development Bureau have been inherited by the 12th Division.
Although Mayuri had only been the Captain of the 12th Division for just over twenty years, he had already worked in the Technical Development Bureau for over a thousand years.
He was not only familiar with Senjumaru, the creator of the Shihakusho, but also participated in the research on Mod Souls conducted by Kirio.
He knew the 12th Division better than Kisuke.
Under his leadership, the 12th Division had made significant progress in its research on the Dangai in recent years.
At the very least, up until now, no Hollow that descended into the Soul Society had escaped the 12th Division's surveillance.
However, because these Hollows were quickly purified by the Revolutionary Army in the Rukongai after descending into the Soul Society, Mayuri hadn't ordered the 12th Division's researchers to report anything to Yamamoto.
But today, this record was broken by a mysterious Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande.
The problem was, the 12th Division only detected this Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande when it was captured by surveillance bacteria in the Seireitei during its fight with Captain Shiba of the 10th Division.
Without a doubt, this was a failure of the 12th Division!
No wonder Mayuri was so furious.
"Wait..."
"Aside from when it escaped, there are no spatial traces of a Garganta being opened within the Seireitei..."
"There's also no spatial fluctuation from Hueco Mundo to the Seireitei detected in the Dangai..."
Stopping his hands on the keyboard, a cold glint flashed in Mayuri's eyes.
"How interesting..."
By now, Mayuri no longer believed that the appearance of this Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande in the Seireitei was due to the 12th Division's failure.
Rather, this Hollow was originally inside the Seireitei!
Clearly, as the Captain of the 12th Division, Mayuri knew about Hollowfication.
The incident decades ago where Kisuke and others were exiled from the Seireitei due to the Hollowfication incident... Now it seems the events of that year were probably not so simple.
This also aligned with Mayuri's perception of Kisuke.
Although that guy's personality was regrettable, Mayuri still highly recognized Kisuke's scientific research abilities.
Rather, in Mayuri's view, in the entire Soul Society, only Kisuke's research abilities could rival his own.
Kisuke must have definitely completed the Hollowfication Experiment.
And, barring any accidents, Kisuke's completion of the Hollowfication Experiment did not cause any impact on the Seireitei.
Those so-called Shinigami who were said to be used as Hollowfication test subjects were, in Mayuri's view, an absolute insult to Kisuke.
In other words, besides Kisuke back then, there was someone else researching the Hollowfication Experiment.
And it was the forbidden among the forbidden… the Shinigami Hollowfication Experiment!
However, this person's research abilities were not just a little bit inferior to Kisuke's.
So in the end, they failed when using Captains as experimental material.
But they successfully managed to shift the suspicion onto Kisuke.
"Let me see who, not only fooled Urahara Kisuke, but also dared to fool me!"
"If I catch you-"
Saying this, Mayuri immediately stood up and walked out of the laboratory.
Clearly, the other party's understanding of the 12th Division was no worse than his own.
Using the 12th Division's equipment, it was fundamentally impossible to find the other party's traces.
Rather than that, it was better to go to the location where the Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande was discovered and collect the residual Reiatsu of that Hollow.
Perhaps he could find something interesting from this Reiatsu.
"Let's go, Nemu!"
"Yes, Captain."
...
In the Gotei 13, numerous Captains and Lieutenants began summoning the members of their respective divisions. For the first time in a long while, members were temporarily allowed to carry their Zanpakuto.
The temporary lifting of this ban made the Shinigami from divisions other than the 11th feel somewhat apprehensive.
Due to the existence of the Revolutionary Army, the Seireitei had been peaceful for over twenty years.
It could be said that currently, among the Shinigami of the Gotei 13, aside from the ordinary members of the 11th Division who still maintained considerable fighting spirit, the ordinary Shinigami of the other divisions were somewhat hesitant before even fighting.
The Shinigami who had enjoyed peace seemed to have already begun to forget the cruelty of battle.
However, fortunately, the [Sword Ban Decree] from the Central 46 Chambers had been in place for less than fifty years.
Among the Shinigami who had joined their divisions over fifty years ago, there were still some who maintained the will to fight.
Under their guidance, the new Shinigami who had never experienced real war barely calmed down and began, under the leadership of their seniors, to patrol with their Zanpakuto, attempting to find the enemy hidden within the Seireitei.
"Captain Kurotsuchi?"
Seeing Mayuri appear here, Rangiku asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"
"Hmph!"
Hearing Rangiku's question, Mayuri snorted coldly.
Rangiku had a close relationship with Kyoya, and Mayuri still remembered that Kyoya had once severed one of his arms.
If not for the fact that he had already invented the [Flesh-Healing Medicine] by then, giving him regenerative abilities, he would probably only have his left hand remaining now.
Currently, he couldn't find a way to get back at Kyoya, but he dared to show a displeased face to Rangiku.
"Do I need your permission to come here?"
"Of course not."
Rangiku shook her head, "If Captain Kurotsuchi can discover something more here, I would naturally be very grateful."
"However, Captain Kurotsuchi, this time a Vasto Lorde appeared in the Seireitei, and the 12th Division actually didn't detect it?"
Mayuri's expression turned somewhat ugly.
However, he also knew that because of this Hollow's appearance, the 12th Division had already faced scrutiny.
It was just that others only thought about it in their hearts, while Rangiku dared to say it out loud.
"This Hollow did not enter the Seireitei from Hueco Mundo."
For Kyoya's sake, Mayuri still gave Rangiku an explanation.
And this immediately caused Rangiku's expression to change.
Although Rangiku had already had such a suspicion before, having it confirmed by Mayuri still made her extremely anxious.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, our Captain Shiba, to prevent that Vasto Lorde from killing indiscriminately, chased it into the living world."
"Does your 12th Division have any means to contact the living world?"
"Captain Shiba doesn't know the origin of that Hollow. I'm worried he might fall into the enemy's trap."
Mayuri's movements paused.
Indeed, since that Hollow appeared within the Seireitei and coincidentally appeared in the 10th Division's patrol area, whether there was any intention to target Captain Shiba in this was highly debatable.
After all, Mayuri also knew just how much the nobles in the Seireitei wanted the Shiba Clan to disappear.
Rather, as long as the Shiba Clan held onto those naive ideas, the nobles would not tolerate a single member of the Shiba Clan surviving.
If one speculated along these lines, Isshin, who had entered the living world, was probably in grave danger.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, I beg you to track the location in the living world where that Hollow appeared after opening the Garganta."
"Captain Shiba probably needs our help right now!"
Rangiku bowed to Mayuri in request.
Indeed, Isshin's strength was not weak.
But since the enemy had already targeted him, they would naturally have means to deal with Isshin specifically.
Rangiku hadn't forgotten that decades ago, four Captains were used as material for the Hollowfication Experiment.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri frowned.
In his view, Isshin's safety was nowhere near as important as his research.
However...
"Nemu, go prepare the Senkaimon."
"Yes, Captain."
Kurotsuchi Nemu bowed slightly to Mayuri, then her figure flickered and disappeared from Rangiku's sight.
Meanwhile, Mayuri took out a test tube and began absorbing something from the surroundings.
As Mayuri worked, Rangiku could clearly see countless black and red Reishi slowly gathering in Mayuri's test tube, shining like glowing stars, bright and eye-catching.
"That's right, this is that Hollow's Reiatsu!"
Sensing the aura emitted by the Reishi in this test tube, Rangiku said solemnly.
Although she hadn't actually met White, this distance was enough for Rangiku to capture the Reiatsu emitted by White during its fight with Isshin.
'No mistake, this is that person's handiwork!'
At this moment, Mayuri didn't pay attention to what Rangiku said.
The small amount of Reiatsu he collected was already enough for him to confirm certain things.
'Shinigami's Reiatsu and Hollow's Reiatsu, actually fused together in such a manner.'
'The guy who could create this Hollow was not simple!'