"This spiritual pressure... it's vile."
"Compared to other Menos Grandes, this one isn't even in the same category."
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Kurosaki Masaki staggered under the weight of the overwhelming Reiatsu pressing down on her.
Hollows are cruel, twisted life forms.
They devour each other, prey on their own kind, driven by hatred and insatiable hunger.
But the owner of this spiritual pressure—this one was different.
Despair. Death. Defiance.
A symphony of raw negative emotion, all amplified to a terrifying extreme.
And the amount of Reiryoku—what the hell is this thing?
Even worse, it's so chaotically unstable!
Releasing this level of spiritual pressure in the middle of Karakura Town… if this continues, the entire city will become a grave.
Ordinary humans can't survive such spiritual oppression.
---
At that moment, across the streets of Karakura...
Civilians froze in place, eyes vacant, consciousness stripped away.
They collapsed like marionettes whose strings had been cut.
And soon—
Another wave of Reiatsu washed over the entire town, this time layered, controlled.
The earlier torrent of despair and darkness vanished beneath it.
"This spiritual pressure... that's Shiba Isshin."
Shihouin Yoruichi's sharp gaze narrowed. From the Reiatsu alone, she could identify the source.
Because Reiatsu is soul-based, each person's spiritual pressure is as unique as a fingerprint.
So even from far away, its signature reveals its owner.
"Yeah," Kanbaru nodded, hand on chin. "He probably suppressed the outburst just now."
If he had to guess...
The one who unleashed that chaotic, monstrous Reiatsu—
Was a Hollow.
At this time, in this place, and with that sheer scale of power?
There's no mistaking it.
They rushed toward the source, but found nothing but silence.
By the time they arrived, the white-capped pressure had already vanished into thin air.
Only the System prompt remained:
> [Baby, did you check out with him yet? Can you reply to my messages? I made pork lung soup the Sydney way—your throat was sore all night, right? Come home soon, I cracked two ribs to make this soup. Oh! I also picked up the gum you spat yesterday. It still smells like you.]
> [Wait— you saw that? That's not my diary. Trust me.]
> [This is full-blown simp behavior. Unacceptable.]
After some suspicious excuses, the System finally gave a proper update:
> [The spiritual residue here confirms it—Aizen's experiment has reached a critical phase. He's starting to create an opponent capable of surpassing even himself.]
> [Ignore the rest. Apart from two stalkers livestreaming Karakura Town via surveillance, and a blind idol trying to act mysterious, there's no useful intel here.]
...Blind idol?
Kanbaru's mouth twitched. The phrase "blind idol, online slander" sprang to mind unbidden.
Instantly, Tousen Kaname's golden mental image shattered.
It would never recover.
But this...
Has Aizen's experiment already progressed that far?
Creating someone capable of defeating himself?
That only points to one conclusion—Kurosaki Masaki is the target.
Kanbaru's gaze drifted to his adorably clueless younger sister.
Unacceptable.
He would need to find the right time to beat Xu Bai to death.
Overturn the plan? Impossible.
No matter how you slice it, there's no way a delusional hypocrite like that could overthrow someone like Kanbaru.
Not after Kanbaru had already entered the "True Honji Fusion State."
While Kanbaru plotted countermeasures...
Two more spiritual pressures arrived.
Shiba Isshin and the famously busty Matsumoto Rangiku.
"Too slow?" Shiba Isshin muttered, kneeling on the cracked pavement, examining the aftermath.
He immediately sensed Kurosaki Masaki's presence—he couldn't ignore it.
But with the current situation, there was no time for greetings.
"I suspect it wasn't restrained Reiatsu," Rangiku said, looking around with narrowed eyes.
"More like concealed Reiatsu. Completely hidden."
"As long as it doesn't willingly leak its pressure, its presence is practically untraceable."
"Sound familiar?"
"The Menos Grande that showed up during the Soul Burial Exercise had the same trait."
Kanbaru's warning was well-placed.
This Reiatsu-masking technique—
It's Aizen's signature.
With that ability, Xubai can rampage across the world unhindered.
Just imagine...
An instinct-driven Hollow that can't be sensed.
It'll seek out strong spiritual signatures in Karakura Town...
And devour them.
It's not malice—it's evolution.
"Are you suggesting," Isshin asked grimly, "that the Menos Grande that appeared here and those at the training ground all came from the same source?"
"That's a real problem."
He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, visibly frustrated.
He had hoped to coast through this world with minimal involvement.
But instead, everything spiraled out of control.
Sure, Karakura Town is a Jūreichi—a spiritually dense zone that naturally attracts Hollows.
But still, this many incidents in a row?
"More importantly…" Rangiku turned her gaze on Kanbaru. "Why are you here?"
This kid... is related to Masaki?
"The Quincy and Hollows are natural enemies," Kanbaru replied flatly. "It makes perfect sense for me to be here."
Then he looked at Rangiku dead in the eye.
"You. I remember you."
Her head tilted proudly. "Oh?"
"Who are you again?"
Kanbaru scratched his head after a beat, pretending to think.
Rangiku inhaled sharply, blood pressure rising fast.
This kid! He's doing it on purpose!
You disrespecting me?
You dare ignore me, Matsumoto Rangiku?
Fine.
Prepare to be set up.
She tossed him a seductive wink, then pointed at herself.
"Let me reintroduce myself—Matsumoto Rangiku, Vice-Captain of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13. And this—"
"No need. I remember him," Kanbaru interrupted, nodding toward Isshin.
"???"
Matsumoto's jaw dropped.
He remembers this old man but not me?
Am I chopped liver?
That's it.
Draw your blade.
One of us isn't leaving here alive.
Isshin's eye twitched too.
You remembered me, an old man? …Thanks?
But still—
Something deeper was wrong in Soul Society.
How could a Hollow capable of concealing its Reiatsu sneak into the carefully monitored training grounds?
This had inside involvement written all over it.
Isshin crushed his cigarette underfoot.
"I'm returning to Soul Society. This has to be reported."
To Yamamoto Genryūsai personally.
Anyone else… can't be trusted right now.
He gave them a nod and vanished with Shunpo.
---
"Seriously…"
"Just leaves me here like that," Rangiku grumbled.
She turned, cheeks puffed cutely, ready to bicker with Kanbaru some more.
But something across the street made her pause.
A small silhouette…
"A human child?" Rangiku murmured.
Then her eyes widened in horror.
"Wait—"
"That's… an Arrancar?!"
JOIN MY PATREON TO READ ADVANCED 30+ CHAPTERS
patreon.com/FrancisMW
Five chapters uploaded every two days on patreon.
One chapter uploaded everyday on webnovel.
patreon.com/FrancisMW