"You're here much earlier than expected."
Four Arrancar suddenly tore through the void and appeared. The Twelfth Division's spiritual pressure detection system flashed red—indicating Espada-class enemies. Leading the Seireitei's advance unit, Hitsugaya Toshiro clenched his fists involuntarily.
It was a reminder of last month's humiliation. A reminder to never forget his own inadequacy for letting Shawlong—a valuable intelligence source—and Ulquiorra escape.
And it was also a manifestation of his boundless fighting spirit, hoping for an end to the days of mounting frustration fueled by that childhood friend's painful message.
"Dark-skinned. Huge. You're the Arrancar called Yammy who was with Hinamori, aren't you?"
"Heh, silver-haired midget ice user. Yeah, I know about you too. You're that brat captain Hitsugaya that Hinamori asked Ulquiorra to deliver some message to, right?"
"We'll see if I'm a brat once you test me with that huge body of yours—Bankai!"
There was no limited spiritual seal holding him back like last time. So he held nothing back. From the very start, he went all-out with Daiguren Hyorinmaru, pressing the attack to extract as much information as possible before any unnecessary interference arrived. That was all Toshiro wanted.
"Tch. Not bad, kid."
"That spiritual pressure... you're one of the Espada, aren't you?"
"So you know that much, huh? I'm the Tenth Espada, Yammy Llargo!"
"Captain of the Tenth Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro!"
After exchanging blows countless times and steadily cornering his opponent, Toshiro still bit his lip at his own powerlessness.
The enemy was incredibly strong. But this was number ten—the lowest-ranked Espada. Hinamori, who commanded them, must be even stronger. And Aizen Sosuke, who controlled and tormented her, stood far beyond even that.
And as Toshiro grew more impatient, another trial arrived.
"Yammy, let me have that kid instead."
The one who suddenly interrupted the boy's battle was another Arrancar who should have been occupied by his subordinates Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika. The guy who called himself Luppi Antenor had the number "6" tattooed on his hip—a number signifying an Espada ranked higher than Yammy.
From there, the situation descended into further chaos.
Luppi in his released sword state versus the four members of Hitsugaya's advance unit. Urahara Kisuke, who had rushed in as reinforcement, versus Yammy and a third, slender blond Arrancar. In the distance, Kurosaki Ichigo was engaged with the last enemy. And then there was the appearance of a death god with captain-level spiritual pressure whom Toshiro didn't recognize. In such a situation, capturing Yammy for interrogation was impossible.
But the hot-headed Toshiro, surprisingly, instinctively chose the correct answer in the midst of this chaos.
(This guy really underestimates his opponents—Luppi Antenor.)
Taking advantage of the enemy's arrogance, the boy decided to finish the Arrancar with a single powerful technique. After sending a wordless signal to his vice-captain, Matsumoto Rangiku, who understood him perfectly, he deliberately pretended to be defeated to prepare his attack.
And then.
"What? You're still alive!"
"You let your guard down too much against opponents you've already attacked once."
He wouldn't waste the time his subordinates had bought by being toyed with. The moment the technique activated, several massive pillars of ice rose from the earth.
"Y-you bastaaaard!"
"Sorry, but eight wasn't gonna be enough for you."
The shocked Arrancar was full of openings. At Toshiro's command, which controlled all the water contained in the atmosphere, those ice towers attacked Luppi all at once.
The deadly Sennen Hyoro successfully defeated the sixth-ranked Espada.
"What?! Hey, what the hell are you doing getting beaten, Luppi! Damn it... at this rate, I won't be able to face Miss Hinamori!"
"So even Arrancar organizations are cutthroat, huh? Well, we'll get all the details out of you later."
Though anxiety showed on his fierce face, Yammy tried to rush to the rescue, but Urahara Kisuke wouldn't allow it. Slashed by Benihime, the massive Espada was forced onto the defensive. Urahara seemed to have restrained the blond Arrancar with kido as well.
"Sorry, Arrancar. You look strong, so... I won't hold back."
"Damn it alllllll!"
Looking into the distance, the battle between Kurosaki Ichigo and that one-armed Arrancar was also reaching its climax. Though he seemed to be struggling at first, the mysterious reinforcement's power had turned the tide in his favor. Toshiro didn't recognize the man who appeared in modern world clothing, though Kuchiki Rukia, who had rushed from the Soul Society, was familiar. But that battle was also tilting in their favor.
The battle was tipping toward their side. The only way for the enemy to overturn this was to use their trump card—Resurrección.
But just as he grew wary, far beyond Toshiro and the others' detection range, the Arrancar's spiritual pressure surged around Kurosaki Ichigo's battlefield.
"Creak...!"
And at that very moment when that one-armed individual, who had probably reached the same conclusion, showed signs of releasing his sword as a last resort—
—Mission complete.
Along with four pillars of light, a tremendous force crashed down on Toshiro and the others, as if an ocean had fallen from the sky.
***
No one there could have immediately recognized that otherworldly phenomenon as oppressive spiritual pressure.
Bodies crushed from all directions, Rangiku and the others were frozen in shock, their souls nearly blown away. Only three people remained standing: the mysterious masked man, Urahara Kisuke, and himself. Even those who were unharmed were trembling with terror, able to do nothing but stand frozen.
"Sorry about that..."
"Tch..."
"Ugh, we're gonna get lectured when we get back."
"Ah..."
Pillars of light poured down. Protected by Negación, the Espada withdrew. One apologetic, one dissatisfied, one sulking, one frightened. Though each frowned with incomplete combustion, the emotion uniformly reflected in their eyes was sympathy and pity toward those on this side.
As if they were seeing off livestock being sent to the slaughterhouse—with such compassion even bleeding through.
"Well then, death god folks. Hope at least a finger of your corpses remains after the Legion Commander's Plum Flame!"
With those parting words, the four Arrancar vanished into the void.
—After bowing to a single human figure standing in the air.
Silence dominated the area. Not a single person cared about the departing enemies.
Because everyone's consciousness was completely captured by the petite girl who had suddenly appeared.
A white dress-style death god uniform with bare shoulders. Her loose black hair danced in the wind—a sight hardly anyone remembered. Such a subtle change in appearance had completely transformed her atmosphere, making her seem like an entirely different person.
"What the hell happened to you...?"
"Is that really the former vice-captain...?"
Rangiku and the others, battered by spiritual pressure, were terribly shaken. Though it was spiritual power they'd been familiar with for years, its overwhelming magnitude distorted everyone's perception, making them unable to accept that the girl before them was the same person from their memories.
And Hitsugaya Toshiro felt the same way.
A reunion with the girl after two months. But this overly sudden encounter might have come too soon for Toshiro, whose only thought had been to retrieve his abducted friend.
The pitiful girl he'd met before he could steel his resolve had her fate twisted by Aizen's malice... and appeared before them as a clear enemy of the Seireitei, commanding the Arrancar's retreat.
Even so.
No matter how much the overwhelming spiritual pressure he felt differed from the person he knew.
No matter how much those cold eyes looking down, those tightly pressed small lips, were crafted to play the perfect "villain." Hitsugaya Toshiro would never, ever mistake the warmth she gave him.
Yes, that's her...
"Hina... mori..."
Whether it was unconscious anxiety or perhaps it represented the fragility of his remaining hope—the voice that slipped out seeking his reunited childhood friend, Hinamori Momo, was surprisingly thin and weak even to himself.
"..."
The only word she returned was wordless silence.
But contrary to the silence that seemed to reject Toshiro, her lips were bitten white, and her fist clenched tightly at the chest of her dress, reflecting the intensity of the emotions swirling in the girl's heart.
It wasn't an illusion or bias. Having glimpsed the affection she still directed toward him, Toshiro couldn't contain himself anymore.
"Hinama—"
"Seireitei Thirteen Court Guard Squads and everyone in the living world!"
But as if to stop Toshiro from rushing over with a smile, Hinamori raised her voice, echoing throughout the town. Her bell-like voice, heard for the first time in so long, trembled—more dried out and painful than it had been at the Hill of Two Deaths.
"In three days at noon! We, the Arrancar army, challenge you to a decisive battle here to offer victory to Lord Aizen!"
It was the most half-hearted, most tragic declaration of war the Soul Society had ever received.
Her haggard face, as if urged by something fatal, told of her despair.
"Hinamori, you—"
"If you want to stop it!"
Hinamori's scream, halting the boy's instinctively extended hand, echoed in everyone's ears.
"If you want to stop it... defeat me here and now!"
Her wavering eyes released her zanpakuto from its sheath. A provocation filled with the fear and anguish of crossing a point of no return. Overwhelmed by such brutal resolve, Toshiro couldn't even breathe.
But then.
"So... that's how it is."
Someone had understood something from Hinamori's determination. The research inventor feared as a genius—Urahara Kisuke.
Another person joined them—that mysterious man Toshiro didn't know.
"That spiritual pressure level ain't normal for a regular death god."
"Indeed. But Mr. Hirako, it's also different from you Visored."
"Which means it can only be that one thing... Aizen really has terrible taste."
Unable to bear the ominous conversation with the mysterious bowl-cut man named Hirako, Toshiro interrupted, demanding, "What do you mean?"
"Mr. Hitsugaya, you're her childhood friend, right?"
"So what? What did you two notice about her? Answer me!"
But in response to that question, the two narrowed their eyes pitifully at Toshiro and gripped their zanpakuto tighter.
"We'll do our best."
"What—"
The answer Toshiro wanted was obscured, and simultaneously Urahara and Hirako took positions surrounding Hinamori. Their intention was clear. The two planned to fight Hinamori.
"Wait, you two! Hinamori isn't the enemy!"
He wouldn't let anyone hurt her. But just as the boy stepped forward in a panic to chase after Urahara and the others, four new intruders appeared around Hinamori.
"Vice-Captain Hinamori!!"
The ones who appeared with ragged breathing were Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo from Hitsugaya's advance unit. From the south came Abarai Renji, also from the same unit, and... that was Shihoin Yoruichi, Urahara's companion, wasn't it?
And that meant the living world's strongest forces, scattered in various directions, had all assembled in the sky above Karakura Park.
"What the hell is that spiritual pressure... is that your real power, Hinamori?!"
"Vice-Captain Hinamori... Miss Hinamori! Please sheathe your sword!"
"Ichigo, Rukia! You fools, stand back!"
"Why?! I've got a mountain of things I need to ask this person!"
"Everyone lower your swords! Don't you dare touch Hinamori!"
Toshiro desperately stood in front of everyone, shouting to stop them. His friends Kuchiki and Abarai trying to demand an explanation from Hinamori even under crushing spiritual pressure. Shihoin and the battered Kurosaki, who seemed to have some grudge. On top of that, Rangiku, Madarame, and Ayasegawa, who had barely managed to stand, joined in, and the situation grew chaotic centered around Hinamori.
Ignoring all of them, Urahara and Hirako quietly searched for an opening in the girl, raising their fighting spirit. Naturally, Toshiro, wanting to protect his childhood friend, didn't miss that threat.
However. At the very moment the boy reached out to grab the two during the confusion—
—Hirako was dyed in blood spray.
"Gah..."
"Huh...?"
Suddenly, the blond bowl-cut man fell to the ground right before their eyes, drawing a red spiral. Everyone stared with blank faces, and Urahara and Shihoin, who came to their senses first, instantly grabbed Kuchiki and the others nearby and took distance.
And when everyone looked up, Hinamori Momo stood there—blood dripping from her zanpakuto.
No one had seen anything. Not a single person could move a finger.
Witnessing the fleeting moment where not even arm movement, let alone a spark of lightning, was visible, everyone froze in tension.
In the tense atmosphere, only Hinamori slowly held her sword horizontally.
"I already told you. I can't..."
—Stop anymore.
And the zanpakuto she swung down transformed into four treasure swords wreathed in brilliant peach-colored flames.
A silent Shikai release. It was a zanpakuto release method permitted only to death gods who had reached a special pinnacle. Knowing the sole condition for it, Toshiro widened his eyes along with Urahara, Shihoin, and the others who stood at the same level.
"Hinamori, you..."
He'd been told about it. He could have guessed from the power of that Black Coffin and her abnormal spiritual pressure. But the shock of witnessing it directly was far greater than he'd imagined.
So she really has been, all this time...
"Hiding it from us!"
Though he complained in dissatisfaction, those who'd heard the circumstances from Aizen couldn't strongly blame the girl. Even so, the fact that even after all their long relationship, she didn't have enough trust to tell them weighed heavily.
"That's right, Abarai. Ever since coming to the Soul Society and being called a 'monster' by the neighborhood kids, Hinamori Momo has been deceiving everyone and pretending to be weak."
"Hinamori...!"
"But that's... over now."
The girl who hid her talent to avoid being rejected stopped hiding it. As if conveying that Toshiro and the others were no longer precious enough to keep that power secret for.
"Today, I came to be called a 'monster' by everyone again... like in the old days."
Hinamori's resigned, worn voice tightened everyone's chests.
No, don't say that. Though he opened his mouth to shout those words, only voiceless breaths rose from his throat.
The girl's boundless spiritual pressure, heightened by releasing her zanpakuto, had finally reached a level that even a captain's Bankai couldn't deflect.
"So if you don't want to be killed by this monster..."
And immediately after those dark words reached their ears—
—Come at me with killing intent and try to kill me.
All of Toshiro and the others' vision was swallowed by a pale peach-colored tsunami.
***
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