A menacing figure emerged from the shadows, his spiky hair adorned with numerous small bells, a bizarre sight.
Facial scars added to his fierce demeanor.
His white captain's haori hung down, the lower hem ragged and torn into jagged edges.
Kenpachi Zaraki stared intently at Kyōraku Callum, a hungry glint in his single eye.
"You're good!" he roared. "Come on, let's have a good fight!" Kenpachi Zaraki pointed his Zanpakutō at Kyōraku Callum, his excitement barely contained.
"Little Kenpachi, Ikkaku and the others are leaving soon," Yachiru Kusajishi said, trying to dissuade him.
"You can challenge him when they get back. Oh, what's your name?" She turned to Kyōraku Callum.
"Kyōraku Callum," he replied, exasperated. He hadn't expected to be noticed by Kenpachi Zaraki, even while trying to be inconspicuous. Should he praise the man's incredible instincts, or curse his bad luck?
Yachiru Kusajishi made a fist, tapping her left palm excitedly. "I'll call you 'Little Callum'!"
Kyōraku Callum weakly waved his hand. "Whatever makes you happy."
Finally escaping Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi, Kyōraku Callum led his squad to the spatial weak point.
"With my right hand upon the Boundary Stone of Contact, my left hand firmly gripping the Sword of Bound Reality, the Black-Haired Shepherd's Gallows Chair, gathering the colorful clouds, we hunt the crimson ibis."
The incantation tore the spatial weak point open as if two invisible hands had ripped it apart. Darkness lay before them; the path to Hueco Mundo was open!
Hueco Mundo.
Endless desert and wasteland stretched before them. Sparse quartz trees stood alone, battered by the cold wind. The occasional swirling sand added to the desolate landscape.
"Is this Hueco Mundo?" Hanatarō Yamada asked. "It looks pretty desolate."
The Fourth Division members were seeing Hueco Mundo for the first time. Even the outer reaches were strangely new to them.
"Bunch of rookies!" The First Division members clearly looked down on the Fourth Division. They respected Kyōraku Callum, but not the others.
Madarame Ikkaku remained silent, leading the exploration. Hueco Mundo was fraught with danger; caution was paramount to rescuing the trapped expeditionary force.
Kyōraku Callum used a signal detector developed by the Technical Development Bureau to search for spiritual energy signals. They followed the signals.
Three days later.
"The signal's gone," Kyōraku Callum said grimly. "The expeditionary force seems to have stopped here. Spiritual energy traces of a battle remain." The Fourth Division's analytical skills far surpassed the Eleventh Division's in this area.
"Search for any remaining traces," Kyōraku Callum ordered.
The two squads spread out.
"Ikkaku, I have a bad feeling about this," Yumichika Ayasegawa said seriously, watching the searching members. "We might—"
BOOM!
Before she could finish, a tremendous sound echoed nearby. Madarame Ikkaku instantly used Shunpo towards the sound. But a black figure was faster.
Kyōraku Callum used Shunpo, arriving at the source of the sound in an instant. Where the sunlight reached, the sand was collapsing. Spiritual energy traces indicated a Shinigami had fallen in.
Madarame Ikkaku arrived beside Kyōraku Callum, his expression grave.
"There's a large Hollow beneath the sand," Kyōraku Callum whispered. "Most likely an Adjuchas-class."
BOOM!
Another tremor shook the ground as they observed the sand pit.
"Here it comes!" Madarame Ikkaku leaped into the air, drawing his Zanpakutō.
The sand collapsed wildly, revealing a gigantic, bizarre creature made of sand.
"Pathetic insects, daring to enter the Hollow's domain! Let the great Runuganga grant you oblivion!"
A giant, dozens of meters tall, rose from the sand, its immense size visually stunning.
"Finally, a live one," Madarame Ikkaku said, his fighting spirit ignited. "I'll cut it to pieces!"
Before Kyōraku Callum could speak, Madarame Ikkaku charged.
"Teamwork with these brawlers is a headache," Kyōraku Callum muttered.
Madarame Ikkaku's frenzied attacks showered Runuganga with sand, creating a blizzard-like effect. Runuganga was defenseless against this onslaught, but Madarame Ikkaku quickly noticed something was wrong.
"Its body... it's regenerating?!"
Runuganga's emotionless mask roared. "Your arrogance will be your undoing!" Its enormous arm swung, creating a whirlwind that hurtled towards them.
Madarame Ikkaku sliced through the whirlwind.
"Runuganga is a gigantic Gillian guarding the deepest parts of Hueco Mundo, near Las Noches," Kyōraku Callum said calmly from behind Madarame Ikkaku. "Made of sand, it's called the Sand Guardian, immune to blade attacks."
"Then how do we deal with it?" Madarame Ikkaku glared at Runuganga, which had already regenerated. "This thing is the Eleventh Division's worst nightmare."
Kyōraku Callum stepped forward, pointing at Runuganga. "What's wrong with your all-or-nothing approach? Hadō #54. Hekireki!"
Spiritual pressure surged as a dark purple disc of flame shot from Kyōraku Callum's hand, engulfing Runuganga. The towering inferno shocked all the Shinigami present.
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