Las Noches.
Inside the Conference Tower.
"...So, they retreated because Ishikawa directly invaded their base?"
Cirucci, looking pale, asked Roka, who was treating her.
Cirucci and Starrk had both awakened from their unconscious state. As soon as they woke up… Roka contacted Seireitei through the Everything Store, and only then did they understand why those people left despite having the advantage.
However, this information made everyone in the conference room extremely grim.
As the only force currently engaged in battle with the Wandenreich, the Espada present were more aware of the enemy's strength than anyone else.
And now, Ishikawa was facing all the enemies alone.
This made everyone, who had initially breathed a sigh of relief when the Wandenreich retreated, feel regret… regret for allowing the Wandenreich to return to their base without fighting to stop them.
Most importantly…
All the Espada and their Fraccion present had some connection with Ishikawa. Although cross-dimensional communication was impossible, they could faintly sense that…
Ishikawa's current state was not good!
"What are you going to do?"
Just then, a cold voice broke the silence.
Following the sound, Ulquiorra stood at the exit of the conference room, frowning at the person in front of him.
"Huh? Does that even need to be said?"
Grimmjow snorted, a fierce smile appearing on his face: "Those guys treated Hueco Mundo like a sightseeing spot and underestimated it. Shouldn't we go kill them?"
Ulquiorra looked closely at Grimmjow upon hearing this, then shook his head:
"Do you know where they are?"
"Didn't Roka just say they were hidden in Soul Society?"
"…" Ulquiorra.
"Grimmjow, come back and sit down."
Harribel's voice came at the right time. Facing Grimmjow's cold gaze, she slowly said: "I know you're worried about Ishikawa, but Roka just said those people are hidden in a 'homologous space' within Seireitei, not in Soul Society."
"Who would worry about that guy? I just want to completely cut off those guys' breath."
Harribel ignored Grimmjow's words and continued: "The entire Shinigami of Seireitei, even with all their might, can only wait silently and cannot enter that space. Even if you go, you won't be able to help Ishikawa."
"Who wants to help that guy!!"
"Even if we could go to where those guys are, we would just die there with him."
Harribel continued to ignore Grimmjow's words, a strange glint in her eyes: "The reason he chose to invade their base to force them to return for reinforcement indicates that Ishikawa is very clear about their strength and their intention to attack Hueco Mundo."
Hearing this, Grimmjow didn't bother to retort, saying with annoyance: "Then why did he go through such a big detour? Why didn't he just come to Hueco Mundo with us and… Humph…" Halfway through, as if realizing his words were inappropriate, Grimmjow snorted and turned his head away.
"Probably because he wasn't confident."
It wasn't Harribel who answered, but Starrk, lying on the chair.
"Not confident?"
"Even if he teamed up with us to face the enemy, he wasn't confident he could protect us, which is why he directly attacked their base, forcing them to give up their continued assault on Hueco Mundo."
Cirucci, who had been silent, slowly said: "That guy has always been like this. As long as he thinks he's right, he won't discuss it with others, nor will he ask for help, but will act without hesitation."
"Starrk and I confronted their leader directly. The feeling that person gave me was even more terrifying than… than Aizen, so much so that it's indescribable."
At this point, Cirucci's expression was somewhat grim: "So Ishikawa must have believed that even teaming up with us wouldn't repel the enemy, and we would only die there together. That's why he chose this method to invade the enemy's base, forcing them to return for reinforcement, putting himself in danger alone to buy us time to react."
"Fleeing… more accurately, he wants us to team up with those Shinigami to face the enemy, after all, the Quincy can be said to be a common enemy of both Shinigami and Hollows."
Saying they are common enemies is not entirely accurate.
Shinigami and Quincy can be said to have different philosophies, plus past grievances, which lead to their mutual enmity; but the relationship between Hollows and Quincy, who can completely eradicate them, is like that of natural enemies.
Mutually restraining natural enemies!
They had already subtly sensed this during the previous battle.
As for teaming up, it wasn't Cirucci's conjecture, but rather the implicit meaning revealed by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute after Roka established contact with them.
After watching the combat footage, both the power displayed by Las Noches and the formidable strength shown by the invaders shocked the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, who had meticulously studied all the data. There was a faint feeling that if Gotei 13 faced the same situation, they might…
It should be said, they would only perform even worse!
"Who does he think he is? A busybody!!"
Grimmjow finished speaking and was about to continue walking out, but Ulquiorra blocked him.
"Move."
Grimmjow said in a chilling tone.
Ulquiorra said nothing, showing no intention of moving.
"Calm down."
Harribel slowly said: "You also participated in the battle, so you should be very clear about how strong those guys are. Even if you go to Soul Society, it won't help at all."
"Ha, that sounds just like something the King of Las Noches would say."
Grimmjow immediately showed a mocking expression upon hearing this: "Being attacked at our doorstep, and doing nothing? Do you want Roka to brew us some of that terribly tasting black tea?"
Harribel ignored his mockery and continued: "Even if you run to Soul Society now, you'll just wander around like a headless chicken. With your personality, you might even conflict with the Shinigami, which is definitely not what Ishikawa wants to see."
"The most urgent task now is to find a way to rescue Ishikawa from that space, not to conflict with the Shinigami at this time."
"Heh heh, easy for you to say. You just said those Shinigami couldn't enter that space even with all their might. So, just sitting here can rescue that bastard?"
"Shinigami can't, but we might be able to."
Harribel looked up at Grimmjow. Her words made the impatience on Grimmjow's face recede, and he turned to look at her.
The others in the conference room also turned to look at Harribel.
"Everyone present, after undergoing modification, has some connection with Ishikawa. When in the same plane, we can even communicate mentally."
"I heard Cirucci say that she and Picaro once used this connection to establish an anchor, thereby directly teleporting to Ishikawa's side, and after gaining our consent, provided him with power using our reconfigured spiritual nucleuss."
Cirucci's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she nodded: "Back then, Ishikawa temporarily lost his Shinigami abilities due to his battle with Aizen. At that time, Picaro teleported to his side using this method, and just as Harribel said, provided him with Reishi."
Harribel continued upon hearing this: "Ever since I received the news, I've been trying to strengthen my connection with Ishikawa, hoping to see if I can use it to open a Black Portal and establish a passage to bring him back here."
"However, the strengthening is limited, making it difficult to pinpoint his location or open a Black Portal."
Harribel paused, then turned to look at Cirucci: "Cirucci has the deepest connection with him. If we can find a way to center ourselves around Cirucci, perhaps we can forcibly pull him to Hueco Mundo, or use this connection, similar to Picaro's 'Reishi exchange,' to transmit our power across dimensions to him."
"But this requires the Picaro's help."
Hearing this, Roka immediately turned and ran outside.
The others did not stop her. Unlike Starrk and Cirucci, the Picaro, affected by fear, did not have serious physical injuries, but their childlike way of thinking made them completely unable to break free from the influence of fear.
The Picaro's strength among the Espada could be said to be second only to Starrk and Cirucci, and their abilities were extremely effective against the Quincy's Reishi manipulation.
They even managed to stall the invaders for nearly two minutes with their 'Garganta Paradise,' which surrounds an area and devours all Reishi within it, before anyone even knew what was happening.
This bought Las Noches enough time to react and gather. Otherwise, if they had been inexplicably invaded, the Espada, scattered in various places, might not have had time to gather and would have been defeated one by one.
But that guy who manipulated fear was a true natural enemy for the Picaro, whose minds were immature!
"A wise judgment!"
A voice suddenly echoed in the conference room, causing everyone's eyes to show vigilance.
In a corner of the conference room, a Black Portal gradually condensed and opened, and a figure emerged from it. When they clearly saw who it was, the vigilance in everyone's eyes receded, but their brows furrowed.
Everyone, including the usually aloof Ulquiorra, clearly showed repulsion on their faces at this moment.
"Uh…"
Urahara Kisuke looked at the disdain in their eyes and couldn't help but say: "I think there might be some misunderstanding between us."
Everyone ignored him. Ishikawa had not hidden the fact that Urahara Kisuke had tampered with the reconstructed Las Noches. And now, the fact that the other party had opened a Black Portal directly in the conference room, and clearly knew what they had been discussing, was enough to prove that…
This guy had also tampered with the conference room.
No wonder Ishikawa, who was usually gentle with people, showed such disdain and repulsion when he mentioned him.
"What are you doing here?"
Harribel asked with a cold expression.
"Uh…"
Urahara Kisuke looked at their 'give a reason or we'll kill you' stance and quickly raised the instrument in his hand: "This is a small item I temporarily made after hearing your discussion. It should allow you to strengthen your connection with Ishikawa."
Although he had long known that these Arrancar, after being modified by Ishikawa, might further increase their strength, the power displayed by the united Espada in the face of the Wandenreich invasion truly shocked Urahara Kisuke.
If the Espada were still as they were originally, with no teamwork and only raw power, he wouldn't have paid so much attention to them. After all, with some sacrifice, they could be defeated one by one.
But now, these Espada, whose strength had increased and who were united like Gotei 13, displayed a power that even Kurotsuchi Mayuri wanted to team up with.
However, among Gotei 13, only Kurotsuchi Mayuri would have such a thought.
The other Captains, including Captain-Commander Yamamoto, would absolutely not accept teaming up with Arrancar due to their pride. But Kurotsuchi Mayuri was different; as long as it benefited the upcoming war, he wouldn't mind teaming up with anyone.
And on this point, Urahara Kisuke shared Kurotsuchi Mayuri's opinion.
So he came here!
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, all somewhat hesitant.
Harribel frowned deeply. She naturally knew that to achieve her ideas, she needed help from someone in research.
But with Szayelaporro's death, Hueco Mundo no longer had anyone with research capabilities. Otherwise, Ishikawa wouldn't have invited Urahara Kisuke to assist in Hueco Mundo's reconstruction.
However, they completely distrusted Urahara Kisuke.
Because Ishikawa had reminded them more than once not to relax their vigilance against Urahara Kisuke, stating that in some ways, his nature was no different from Aizen's.
His appearance at this moment might not necessarily be to help Ishikawa.
"I admit, after Ishikawa defeated Aizen, I did have the idea of sealing him and Aizen together."
As if seeing their concerns, Urahara Kisuke said: "But that idea was completely abandoned over a year ago when I rebuilt Las Noches. Moreover, the enemy we face this time, Ishikawa's power is indispensable."
"So you absolutely don't need to worry that I'll do anything."
Urahara Kisuke paused, then continued: "From Seireitei's intelligence, that space has been completely sealed and completely cut off from the outside world. Although I don't know Ishikawa's original method of retreat."
"But it might be due to some unexpected change, his method should no longer be effective now."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't still be in that space. So the only way to rescue him is through you, who have a connection with him."
Urahara Kisuke finished speaking, a solemn expression on his face:
"So, please trust me this once. The invaders who appeared this time are our common enemy!"
He spoke these words with extreme sincerity, because this was his truest thought.
To win this war, Ishikawa's power was indeed indispensable.
And…
He wanted to verify something: whether the connection between Ishikawa and the Arrancar he modified was truly as he described… equal!
This could also be said to be his final test.
Because only if the relationship between the two was equal, could Harribel's method of forcibly pulling him to Hueco Mundo succeed.
Otherwise, no matter how much their connection strengthened, with Ishikawa as the dominant party, this goal would absolutely be unattainable.