"Ishikawa-sama!"
Ishikawa and Ōmaeda walked side-by-side through the Onmitsukidō barracks, nodding in response to each Squad Member who greeted them.
"Captain Ishikawa, are you done with your work? I'm off tomorrow, if you need help, I can come help you tomorrow morning."
"Me, me, me, I can go too!"
"And me, I can also take leave here."
"..."
Ōmaeda watched the Squad Members surrounding Ishikawa, his chubby face twitching involuntarily. Ishikawa... has he become more popular?
Although Ishikawa usually received respectful greetings when walking through the Onmitsukidō, in the past few days, the Squad Members' attitude towards him had become much more cordial.
And ever since he subdued his Zanpakuto, he also felt that Ishikawa seemed to have changed.
Ōmaeda couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed, he just felt that interacting with him was much more relaxed than before.
He still had that smiling demeanor towards everyone, but for some reason, he just felt easier to get along with.
Even more bizarrely...
Most of the people who felt the same way were male Squad Members, while female Squad Members felt that Ishikawa was the same as before, only his smile had become more attractive.
After finally escaping the concerned greetings of the Squad Members, Ishikawa, who arrived at the cafeteria, couldn't help but wipe away non-existent sweat.
In fact, Ishikawa was also a bit confused. He always felt that the Squad Members' level of concern for him had been skyrocketing recently, and what made Ishikawa most speechless was... the male Squad Members of Onmitsukidō, Fourth Squad, and Ninth Squad, all seemed to suddenly have a surge in their favorability towards him.
If their names hadn't appeared on the system interface, Ishikawa might have even thought the system was planning to appeal to both genders.
However...
Although their favorability couldn't provide him with experience points.
But those concerned greetings still made Ishikawa's face unconsciously break into a smile, patiently answering every Squad Member's question.
Entering the cafeteria, Ishikawa walked directly towards his private room, with Ōmaeda following suit.
Ishikawa looked at Ōmaeda, who sat down opposite him, and asked somewhat confused, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Nonsense."
Ōmaeda glared at Ishikawa in annoyance, "Aren't I waiting to eat right now?"
"You're eating here?"
Ishikawa was startled, then his gaze became strange as he said, "Did your family go bankrupt?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, I know!"
Ishikawa said with a sudden realization, "The transfer stake you bought from Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi for a hefty price is broken, isn't it?"
"..."
Ōmaeda's chubby face twitched, "Your family went bankrupt, your whole family went bankrupt!"
"My transfer stake isn't broken, and most importantly... Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi promised me a lifetime warranty."
After Ōmaeda finished speaking, he looked at Ishikawa's bewildered expression and shook his head, "For this period of time, I've been eating at the Squad cafeteria, and I've also been staying in the Squad at night."
"Strictly speaking, not just me, but all Gotei 13 Squad Members, except those on leave, must be in a state of readiness. Even those on leave cannot leave Seireitei and must immediately return to their respective Squads upon hearing an alarm."
"Although the Zanpakuto rebellion has come to an end, there have been signs of activity in Hueco Mundo recently."
"Most importantly..."
Ōmaeda paused, "According to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute's report, the Substitute Soul Reaper who returned to the Human World three days ago, immediately slipped from the Shinigami Research and Development Institute's surveillance upon his return. It is highly speculated that he intends to go to Hueco Mundo to rescue the human named Orihime."
"His rash actions could very likely become the fuse for a full-scale war between Hueco Mundo and Soul Society."
"Captain Commander has repeatedly issued warnings, but has still lost contact with him, so Captain Commander has already recalled all the dispatched teams from the Human World, to prevent anyone from impulsively following Ichigo to Hueco Mundo."
"Even today, Captain Kuchiki and Captain Zaraki were sent together to the Human World to forcibly bring back Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji, who have the closest relationship with the Substitute Soul Reaper."
Ishikawa heard this and couldn't help but curl his lip, "Their friend was taken to Hueco Mundo, are they not allowed to go rescue him?"
"That's a separate matter."
Ōmaeda shook his head, "There are many factors to consider when going to war with Hueco Mundo. It's not like we can just decide to rush into Hueco Mundo and annihilate Aizen and the Arrancar... Moreover, given the current state of the Gotei 13, achieving that is almost impossible without the Royal Family's involvement."
"And if we choose to fight in the Human World, our preparations are not yet complete... I'm not entirely sure what preparations are being made, but it's said that all members of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute have been working overtime."
At this point, Ōmaeda couldn't help but glance at Ishikawa.
"Don't even think about it."
However, before he could speak, Ishikawa interrupted him.
"No matter what Ichigo chooses to do, I can understand it, so I won't help you persuade him to give up going to Hueco Mundo."
Ōmaeda frowned upon hearing this, but in the end, he didn't say much more.
Although Ichigo, the Substitute Soul Reaper, was nominally an unofficial member of the Gotei 13, in reality, as a human, he didn't need to obey the Gotei 13's orders at all.
So even if he went to Hueco Mundo, he couldn't be punished by Soul Society's rules, unless he did something that harmed Soul Society.
And a war between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo was inevitable because of Aizen, and this wouldn't change whether Ichigo went to Hueco Mundo or not.
Therefore, his act of going to Hueco Mundo couldn't be called harming Soul Society.
The handling of the Substitute Soul Reaper could only be restricted movement and warnings, but with him slipping from surveillance, both of these were no longer feasible.
But it wasn't entirely without a solution.
Although the specific reason was unknown, the Substitute Soul Reaper and his group held Ishikawa in extremely high regard.
Ichigo, even with his friend kidnapped, still stayed in Seireitei for four days, protecting Ishikawa, who had 'lost his Shinigami powers,' and only left Soul Society to return to the Human World after confirming that Seireitei was completely stable.
If Ishikawa was willing to step in and persuade him, it might be able to temporarily delay Ichigo's journey to Hueco Mundo.
His visit to Ishikawa today was actually at Captain Soi Fon's command, hoping that Ishikawa would persuade the Substitute Soul Reaper not to go to Hueco Mundo on his own.
"Besides, he's not someone I can persuade."
Ishikawa shook his head. The reason he had told Orihime that he would escort her when she returned to the Human World was precisely to prevent Orihime from being taken to Hueco Mundo.
As for persuading Ichigo to give up rescuing Orihime, Ishikawa had never considered that possibility from the start.
Because if he could give up his comrades so easily, then Ichigo would no longer be Ichigo.
Moreover...
After the Zanpakuto rampage incident, Ishikawa could vaguely understand Ichigo's feelings, so he hadn't thought of trying to persuade him.
Even if war broke out now, it was still too early for him!
Without his spiritual pressure recovered, if Aizen wanted to retaliate for the severe injury he suffered last time, which caused a flaw in his evolution, Ishikawa would be almost powerless to resist.
"You, you..."
Ōmaeda shook his head, picked up a large bone, and bit into it fiercely as if it were Ishikawa.
... ...
Meanwhile, Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.
On top of the pure white tower, a slender figure stood by the window, gazing out at the vast white sands.
This figure was Orihime.
And the place she was in was an extremely spacious room.
The room felt somewhat desolate; besides rows of wardrobes, there was only a magnificent, large bed, entirely pink with white gauze.
That was the bed of the room's owner.
"Would you like some tea?"
A voice devoid of any emotion came, and Orihime turned her head. What met her eyes was a black-haired girl with half her face covered by a mask.
"Thank you, Miss Loly."
This Arrancar with half a mask was not the owner of the room, but the room owner's only subordinate.
Her name was...
Loly Aivirrne.
It had been nearly ten days since Orihime was brought to Hueco Mundo, and during these days, she had also learned some things about Hueco Mundo.
Loly, though seemingly emotionless, did not instill the same fear in her heart as other Arrancar.
And during this time, she had been taking good care of her under the orders of the room's owner.
Creak—!
Just then, the room door was pushed open.
Orihime subconsciously looked towards the door. She didn't know much about the room's owner, but the other party always subtly asked her about Mr. Ishikawa. She heard that one of the Espada who had attacked Mr. Ishikawa in the Human World was her.
She must be interested in Mr. Ishikawa because of that.
Like Loly, the room's owner was also different from other Arrancar, even giving Orihime a very warm feeling.
According to Loly, she had voluntarily asked Aizen to be in charge of guarding her.
However, when she saw the people who walked in from outside, a hint of confusion appeared on Orihime's face.
Because the two people who walked in were not the room's owner, but two Arrancar girls, one with long black twin tails and the other with short golden hair.
"Excuse me, are you..."
"Are you the human named Orihime?"
Before Orihime could finish speaking, the black-haired girl among them interrupted her impatiently.
Orihime subconsciously nodded.
Upon confirmation, the black-haired girl's expression immediately turned extremely grim, and a chilling glint flashed in her eyes as she looked at Orihime.
However, just as she walked towards Orihime, a figure suddenly blocked her path between her and Orihime.
"Doll, get out of my way!"
Looking at Roka, who stood in front of Orihime, the black-haired girl said with a chilling tone.
They were no strangers to Roka; after all, before being taken as a subordinate by that well-known useless Espada, she had always been in Las Noches, responsible for miscellaneous tasks and healing other Arrancar.
And Roka's background, as those who had always followed Lord Aizen and attended to his daily needs, they naturally knew very well.
Artificial Arrancar!
As an artificial Menos Grande, Roka lacked the instincts and desires of a Hollow and did not possess the aptitude for combat. Normally, she wouldn't even qualify to be a subordinate.
Until recently, she had been doing various chores in Las Noches until her useless master took her under his wing.
"A useless master paired with a useless subordinate, you two really are a perfect match."
The black-haired girl said, reaching out to push Roka in front of her. In her opinion, such a useless person could be easily pushed away with just a light touch.
However...
She didn't budge.
The black-haired girl was stunned for a moment, then her spiritual pressure surged, but her palm remained on Roka's body, unmoving. More precisely, it wasn't on Roka's body; if one looked closely, they would see that her palm was actually a few millimeters away from Roka's body.
It was as if she was pressing against an invisible barrier.
"You're asking for death!"
This scene instantly made the black-haired girl's face turn ugly. Her spiritual pressure became incredibly violent, and she raised her hand to grab her Zanpakuto at her waist.
"Loly, don't make too much noise."
The golden-haired girl saw this and quickly reminded her.
"Shut up, Menoly!"
The black-haired girl, Loly, retorted without turning her head, "Anyway, she's just a doll, just like her dispensable useless master, completely useless." With that, Loly's gaze turned grim as she looked at Orihime behind Roka:
"If it weren't for this bitch, Lord Aizen wouldn't have been cooped up in his research lab ever since he came back, and we wouldn't even be able to see him."
"Loly, that's enough."
Menoly's face showed a hint of unease. Although the Espada all called Roka's master useless, a useless person in the eyes of the Espada didn't mean that the other party was truly useless.
Even the weakest recognized Espada's strength far exceeded that of ordinary Arrancar and subordinates!
"What if she comes back?"
Loly said with a disdainful expression. Although she had always looked down on Roka's master due to other Espada, she had no complaints before.
But after Lord Aizen returned to Hueco Mundo, his performance in several operations had utterly disappointed her.
She learned from the subordinates of other Espada that Roka's master not only didn't help much in these operations but also dragged down the other Espada, leading to Lord Aizen's failure!
She really didn't understand why Lord Aizen would allow such a person to occupy a spot among the Espada.
"Can kill you~"
Without warning, a voice suddenly sounded in Loly's ear.
A hand casually rested on Loly's shoulder, its sharp purple fingernail pointed at her throat.
Feeling the sharp edge at her throat, Loly froze completely in place.
She wanted to flash away, but that seemingly casual hand gave her a feeling of immense weight, making her unable to move even a single finger.
The shadow of death drew closer and closer!
On the other side, Menoly watched the figure that suddenly appeared behind Loly and couldn't help but swallow.
She hadn't seen when the other party appeared at all, and looking at the other party's figure, which was even more petite than Loly's, an inexplicable chill surged in her heart.
But she still suppressed her fear and said, "Lord Cirucci, please forgive Loly's rudeness. She's just a bit impulsive because she's overly worried about Lord Aizen."
This statement both explained the reason and intended to remind Cirucci that they were Lord Aizen's personal attendants, Lord Aizen's confidants.
Cirucci turned to look at Menoly and shook her head slightly.
Just because she treated them a little kindly, these two idiots actually considered themselves Aizen's confidants.
Cirucci was certain that even if she killed them now, Aizen wouldn't care, and wouldn't even remember that he once had these two 'confidants' by his side.