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Seireitei, Technology Development Bureau.
"Still no signal?"
Kiyohara Tsumugiya looked at the members of the Technology Development Bureau who were fiddling with instruments, her expression a bit grim: "Did the Denreishinki you gave to Ishikawa really enhance the signal? It's been five days. If it really was enhanced, why can't we locate Ishikawa after such a long time?"
"It's not that we can't find him."
A steady voice came: "It's that the Denreishinki is damaged. Please don't make me repeat the same thing over and over again."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya frowned slightly and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a young man in a researcher's uniform with three horns on his head, yawning as he walked in from outside: "The Denreishinki, with its signal strengthened by our Technology Development Bureau, would absolutely not lose its tracking signal if it wasn't damaged."
"Five days ago, when your Supervisory Team's Ishikawa arrived in Hueco Mundo, there were no signs of an unstable signal. He was under our surveillance the entire time; it wasn't until he received the Denreishinki signal from the Fujiwara siblings and rendezvoused with them that we lost track of him."
The three-horned young man looked up at Kiyohara Tsumugiya and continued: "According to our estimation, he most likely engaged in a fierce battle with someone... or with a Hollow during that time, causing the Denreishinki he carried to be damaged."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya looked at the horned young man, her eyes somewhat cold.
Although this young man named Akon was the Third Seat of the Twelfth Division, and his status was much higher than her, the Fifth Seat of the Second Division, today he was not here as a member of the Second Division, but as the Vice-Captain of the Onmitsukidō Supervisory Team.
Moreover, there was the most important point...
Although Akon was now the Third Seat of the Twelfth Division, like his Captain, Akon was once a prisoner in the Maggot's Nest, which she supervised.
"So, what's the solution?"
"There's no way."
Akon spread his hands and said: "And, before he went to Hueco Mundo, we repeatedly reminded him not to let the Denreishinki get damaged under any circumstances. This is the only way we can pinpoint his location."
Although as a former prisoner, he greatly disliked this jailer in front of him, these words were not false. He would not intentionally cause trouble for the Supervisory Team because of past grievances.
"Can't you just open a Black Portal at a random location first, and then wait for Ishikawa to come over? Or simply open the Black Portal at the location where Ishikawa first arrived in Hueco Mundo?"
"Impossible."
Akon shook his head: "Do you think a Black Portal is that easy to open? The Black Portal I designed can only last for less than a minute and is extremely unstable, barely able to allow Vice-Captain-level individuals to pass through." He paused here, looked up at Kiyohara Tsumugiya, and said:
"There's something I forgot to mention earlier. Even if the Denreishinki wasn't damaged, your Supervisory Team's Captain wouldn't be able to return through the Black Portal."
"Huh?"
"Because I installed a self-check program in his Denreishinki, originally for collecting 'Spirit Body change data' when he returned from the Black Portal. But one minute before the Denreishinki was damaged, his Spirit Body density suddenly surged for some reason, instantly reaching Captain-level, exceeding the upper limit of Spirit Body strength that the Black Portal can accommodate."
"This is a change in Spirit Body; it's not something that can be passed through by merely concealing Reiatsu. If he were to enter the Black Portal with his Spirit Body strength, it would only cause the Black Portal to instantly collapse."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya's pupils constricted sharply, wondering if she had misheard.
Ishikawa...
Reached Captain-level?
How is this possible!?
As the Vice-Captain of the Supervisory Team who had been monitoring Ishikawa since he arrived in Soul Society, she understood Ishikawa's strength better than anyone.
Even...
For a period, the Supervisory Team, under her leadership, was keen on finding every possible way to dig up dirt on Ishikawa.
Although after becoming 'one of them,' the Supervisory Team, who deeply understood Ishikawa, instantly transformed from anti-fans to loyal supporters; due to Captain Soi Fon's orders, the daily surveillance of Ishikawa did not stop, and Ishikawa was also very cooperative with their surveillance, which was a tacit understanding.
She could confirm that Ishikawa's Reiatsu had always been at the Vice-Captain-level.
However, his combat record was terrifyingly unlike a Vice-Captain. Whether it was fighting Zaraki Kenpachi or holding off Ginjō Kūgo in a limited state, it showed that the destructive power Ishikawa could unleash far exceeded his Reiatsu's apparent level.
And this guy in front of her actually said that Ishikawa's Reiatsu strength had reached Captain-level.
"...What's with that 'suddenly relieved' expression on your face?" Akon looked at Kiyohara Tsumugiya's gradually calming expression and couldn't help but say: "Don't forget, that's Hueco Mundo. Even a Captain-level individual could very well die there if trapped."
"No, Ishikawa is different!" Kiyohara Tsumugiya said.
With Vice-Captain-level Reiatsu, Ishikawa could already barely fight Captain-level individuals. So now that Ishikawa's Reiatsu strength had reached Captain-level, even if he was in Hueco Mundo, he would absolutely not encounter any problems.
One must know that whether it was Zankensoki or other combat techniques, Ishikawa possessed extremely strong proficiency.
Members of the five divisions of the Onmitsukidō, if they encountered difficulties in their training, as long as they consulted Ishikawa, any problem would become clear; moreover, Ishikawa would occasionally take time to meticulously teach the Onmitsukidō Squad Members, and even Vice-Captain Ōmaeda had received guidance from Ishikawa.
"Tsk—"
Akon looked at Kiyohara Tsumugiya with a strange gaze: "I'm suddenly curious about your Supervisory Team's temporary Captain. He can make you believe in him so much."
"Then, Third Seat Akon, besides the Black Portal, are there any other methods?"
After hearing the good news, Kiyohara Tsumugiya's tone softened considerably: "Or is there any possibility of contacting Ishikawa through other means first?"
"Bringing him back, it's easy to say, and difficult to say."
Akon paused, then continued: "The simplest method is to find a Hollow, open a Black Portal, and send him to the Human World."
"And?" Kiyohara Tsumugiya said directly.
As a Shinigami... well, although Ishikawa wasn't a Shinigami, in the eyes of Hollows, he should be no different from their mortal enemy, a Shinigami. It was absolutely impossible for a Hollow to open a Black Portal specifically for Ishikawa.
"When I say open a Black Portal, I don't mean finding a Hollow to specifically open a Black Portal for him, but rather, as he did when he went, to hitch a ride when a Hollow opens a Black Portal to the Human World."
Akon shook his head at this point: "However, without our Technology Development Bureau detecting the opening location of the Black Portal in advance for him, the chances of encountering a Hollow going to the Human World in such a vast Hueco Mundo and rushing into the Black Portal within a few short seconds are, one could say, infinitesimally small."
"And the second method... is to ask your Captain Soi Fon to apply to the First Division. After getting Commander Yamamoto's permission, we would then receive an order for our Captain to create a stable Black Portal, bringing it to a complete state, allowing Captain-level individuals to pass through freely."
"With our Captain's ability, it would probably only take two or three months to create it."
Upon hearing this, Kiyohara Tsumugiya frowned.
Because whether it was asking Captain Soi Fon to step forward or getting Commander Yamamoto's permission, neither was a simple matter, and three months was far too long!
Comparatively, hitching a ride with a Hollow seemed more probable.
"Thank you."
After a moment of thought, Kiyohara Tsumugiya nodded and said: "I'll report the information I've received to Captain Soi Fon first. If there's any news of Ishikawa, please notify our Supervisory Team immediately, Third Seat Akon."
"Alright."
...
At the same time, in the Outer Circle, extremely far from Las Noches.
Hollows ran, fought, and devoured each other on the barren white sand.
This incredibly bloody scene was a common occurrence in Hueco Mundo, constantly playing out almost every moment.
Quartz-like dead trees were interspersed among the white sand. These dead trees were actually much taller than they appeared on the surface, because all of them were actually the tips of a large tree, and the roots of these dead trees grew beneath the white sand in the Forest of Menos!
The ability to penetrate the incredibly thick white sand from the Forest of Menos and reach the surface of Hueco Mundo was enough to indicate the immense size of the trees in the Forest of Menos.
In the shadow of a sand dune, a low dead tree propped open a hole just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Deep inside the hole was a forcibly opened tunnel. Following the tunnel downwards, upon exiting, what came into view was a forest made of towering trees.
The Forest of Menos!
Unlike the surface of Hueco Mundo, there was solid soil here.
Among the tall trees, figures as tall as buildings constantly moved.
These figures all had the same appearance: dozens of meters tall, long black bodies that looked somewhat like a witch's cloak, and faces with long, clown-like noses and white masks.
These tall figures were the so-called Gillians.
Unlike the Hollows on the surface of Hueco Mundo, Gillians exhibited a gregarious state, aimlessly wandering through the Forest of Menos.
However, among the Gillians wandering at the same speed, one Gillian broke away from the group and walked in another direction, and on its shoulder sat a petite young girl.
The girl was about 1.45 meters tall, with wavy purple hair, and her pure white feet in stockings dangled back and forth on the Gillian's shoulder.
This girl was Espada No. 5 - Tier Harribel.
"Ha—"
Tier Harribel yawned, looking tired, and muttered: "Where did he hide?"
Five days ago, after learning from her subordinates that a very powerful Shinigami had arrived in Hueco Mundo, she also rushed to the reported location.
However, by the time she arrived, the battle had already ended.
But unlike Nnoitra, who was sealed for half a minute, she saw the departing back of the Shinigami who had fought Nnoitra.
However, that back only remained in her sight for an instant. When she looked for it again, it suddenly vanished without a trace. Neither Reiatsu nor aura could be detected in the slightest, as if that back was merely her own illusion.
And when Nnoitra emerged from that unknown space, he immediately spotted Tier Harribel approaching from a distance and, with an incredibly arrogant tone, questioned Tier Harribel about where that Shinigami had gone; this made Tier Harribel, who had originally not intended to tell him, even less inclined to communicate with him further.
Nnoitra, who always held women Arrancar in extreme contempt, saw this and did not inquire further, but instead returned directly to Las Noches.
Because someone he couldn't even find with his 'Search Finger Technique' couldn't possibly be known by this soon-to-be-eliminated waste in front of him.
His confidence stemmed entirely from his Search Finger Technique being different from typical detection circuits. It was a technique to search for an opponent by touching objects, such as the white sand on the ground, and could even be used to determine the opponent's potential condition and strength.
It could be said that as long as the opponent was within his detection range, they could absolutely not escape his pursuit.
And his Search Finger Technique could cover nearly half of Hueco Mundo. At that Shinigami's speed, it was absolutely impossible to cross nearly half of Hueco Mundo in just half a minute; there was only one possibility for him to evade his search: that he had left Hueco Mundo through some method after he himself was pulled into that inexplicable space.
Nnoitra's inexplicable confidence also saved Tier Harribel a lot of trouble.
After he left, she began searching in the direction where she had last seen that back, but her search area was not large, limited only to the approximate location where the back disappeared.
Because, like Nnoitra, Tier Harribel also did not believe that the opponent could disappear from her sight in an instant.
He must have used some clever method to hide and then concealed his presence.
And the result was as she had guessed; it wasn't long before she found the tunnel leading to the Forest of Menos. After arriving at the Forest of Menos, Tier Harribel, just like on the surface, did not leave this area, but instead began searching within it.
But this time, the search was not as easy as on the surface. After five days, she had almost thoroughly searched this area, yet still found no trace of the Shinigami's presence.
This made Tier Harribel wonder if she had been chasing in the wrong direction.
"Or did he still tough it out and leave this area despite such severe injuries?"
Tier Harribel frowned, hesitating whether to expand her search area.
The Forest of Menos, unlike the surface of Hueco Mundo, was extremely vast, encompassing both the Outer Circle and the Inner Circle where Las Noches was located.
If she were to expand her search area, she would have to find an accurate direction, either expanding towards the Inner Circle or towards the even more Outer Circle areas.
After all, no technique for detecting presence could find that Shinigami. All she could do was visually search every corner where someone could hide.
In the vast Hueco Mundo, conducting a large-scale visual search...
It could take her decades, and that was assuming the person hadn't been eaten by a Gillian.
Hmm?
Tier Harribel's eyebrows raised, and something seemed to vaguely come to mind.
Although Gillians could be controlled by her, an Adjuchas, most of them, except for a few, had no consciousness whatsoever, relying entirely on instinct to search for targets and devour them.
If a person with no aura whatsoever, like herself, hid somewhere on the body of a giant Gillian, that unconscious Gillian would absolutely not be able to discover the person's existence.
The time elapsed between the opponent's escape and her pursuit was extremely short.
Within such a short time, a person who could faint at any moment would want to find a hiding place that would absolutely not be discovered.
The best hiding place...
Is to hide on the omnipresent Gillians!!
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