Hirako Shinji's consciousness blurred as he faltered before the overwhelming force of Gojo and Kaname Tōsen—two captains who had long hidden the depth of their true strength.
Just when Shinji believed his end was certain, two unexpected figures appeared and shattered his despair.
"You two… would you care to tell me exactly what you're doing here?"
Draped in a black cloak, Kisuke Urahara stepped forward, accompanied by the great Kidō Master, Tessai Tsukabishi. Together, they confronted Gojo and Tōsen.
"As expected," Gojo said with a faint smirk. "Just as our lord predicted, Kisuke Urahara—you couldn't resist showing up."
There was no surprise in his voice. If anything, there was the smug satisfaction of someone whose expectations had been perfectly met.
Urahara frowned beneath his cloak. From their words, he could tell that the two were being directed by an even greater power—someone capable of commanding two captain-class Shinigami as mere subordinates.
"Gojo, you talk too much."
Tōsen's face creased in annoyance at his partner's chatter.
"Hahaha, fine, I'll stop." Gojo shrugged, then looked back at Urahara. "So then, Captain of the Twelfth Division… what will you do? Will you rescue these comrades tainted by Hollow power? Or will you fight us here to the death?"
"Gojo…" Urahara muttered through clenched teeth, fury in his tone.
Before he could act, Tessai suddenly shoved him aside and raised his hand.
"Get back, Kisuke! Hadō #88—Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
With no incantation, Tessai unleashed a devastating torrent of blue lightning, a dragon of raw destruction roaring toward Tōsen and Gojo.
"Pointless."
Gojo sneered, raising his hand.
"Bakudō #81—Danku!"
A shimmering barrier materialized instantly, halting the colossal blast in its tracks.
Boom!
The earth shook with the collision.
Tessai's eyes widened behind his glasses. "To block an incantation-less level 88 Hadō with nothing but Danku… as expected of a former Kenpachi. I underestimated your Kidō mastery."
Gojo merely smiled, though a trace of strain flickered across his features.
"Well then, this is goodbye."
He and Tōsen turned and departed casually.
But as soon as they were a short distance away, Gojo's body convulsed. Blood spilled from his lips.
"You're injured." Tōsen glanced at him, expression unreadable.
"It's nothing… That was the power of a famed Kidō Chief. More than I expected, honestly." Gojo wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes darkening. No matter how much he trained, the gap in natural talent couldn't be bridged so easily.
"Then let's keep moving. We mustn't keep that man waiting."
With grim resolve, the two vanished into the mist.
Back on the battlefield, Tessai surveyed the fallen captains and lieutenants, all afflicted by Hollowfication.
"What do we do with them?" he asked Urahara.
"If we were in my laboratory, I could stabilize them using my equipment… but here, I…" Urahara's voice faltered. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he looked at his afflicted comrades.
"In that case, leave it to me." Tessai raised his arms with determination.
"Forbidden Kidō—Time Stop!"
A barrier of frozen time enveloped the victims, halting the Hollowfication process.
Urahara's eyes widened. "Such power…!"
"Space Transference."
Reality distorted as Tessai warped them all into Urahara's underground lab.
"I'll leave them to you, Kisuke."
"Of course." Urahara nodded, already moving swiftly among his instruments. His hands betrayed no hesitation—he had prepared for this possibility long ago.
Tessai's eyes narrowed. "You seem… unusually familiar with this phenomenon."
"Mm." Urahara nodded. "I've seen it before. Someone close to me once suffered the same affliction. A coexistence of Shinigami and Hollow powers… I call it Hollowfication."
His tone sharpened. "It's not inherently a curse. If they can tame and control the Hollow within, they'll gain strength beyond their limits. So… let's begin."
But as Urahara worked, Central 46 passed judgment. A capture order was issued for Kisuke Urahara—and an extermination order for all Shinigami infected with Hollow powers.
Events unfolded exactly as Aizen had planned. Branded as criminals, Urahara was forced to flee Soul Society with the Hollowfied captains and lieutenants. Thus, the Visoreds were born.
Yet the scandal didn't end there.
The true shock came when Yoruichi Shihōin, head of the Shihōin clan, Captain of the Second Division, and Commander of the Onmitsukidō, betrayed Soul Society to help Urahara escape.
The entire Seireitei quaked. For the first time, Central 46 seized the chance to strip the Five Great Noble Clans of power. With Yoruichi's betrayal, the clans had no choice but to surrender more authority. From that moment, their glory began to wane. Even the textbooks at Shin'ō Academy were rewritten:
Old Version:
"Do not seek beauty in the clash of blades.
Do not revere death as virtue.
Do not guard only your own life.
To protect the King and the Five Lords, slaughter every enemy from the shadows."
New Version:
"Do not seek aesthetics in battle.
Do not pursue virtue in death.
Do not live only for yourself.
If you wish to protect what matters, strike down your foe—even from behind."
The honor of the "One King and Five Lords"… was already being forgotten.
Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo—
Tier Harribel arrived and sought out Szayelaporro's hidden contact, Ilforte Granz, a battle-mad warrior who shared his brother's features. After three days and nights of fighting, she finally won his cooperation to establish contact with Szayelaporro.
Soon, by his transmissions, allies began to converge on Hueco Mundo.
"So… what about Lilynette?"
Sōgo asked as he looked around at Zaraki Kuruyashiki, Harribel, Szayelaporro, Tokinada Tsunayashiro, and Suzumebachi Ayame.
"Apologies, Lord Sōgo… I couldn't reach her. It's as if she blocked my signal entirely." Szayelaporro spread his hands helplessly.
"So we have to track her down one valley at a time? Headache…" Sōgo muttered.
"Not quite. If we have her reiatsu, my device can locate her instantly." Szayelaporro grinned, rummaging through his pack to reveal a strange contraption.
"Oh! Nice one, Szayel-bell!" Sōgo cheered.
"But… I don't have Lilynette's reiatsu data."
"…Then what's the point of that toy?!" Sōgo's eye twitched.
Szayel smirked again. "Don't worry—we have Loca."
At his words, a plain-looking woman appeared before them.
"An Arrancar?"
Sōgo blinked in surprise. To his shock, she was a Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar—proof that others besides Harribel and Lilynette had reached such heights.
Loca said nothing, merely nodding once before standing silently at Szayel's side, her eyes empty of expression.
"Loca, bring up Lilynette's reiatsu profile." Szayel commanded.
Her eyes glowed faintly—and suddenly her body radiated Lilynette's exact reiatsu signature.
"Perfect. With this imprint, we can locate her position." Szayel immediately set to work with his device.
Sōgo eyed Loca curiously. "You can store and copy others' reiatsu data? Fascinating… Can you copy me?"
Loca's gaze locked onto him.
Parsing… Data too large.
Redirecting storage to all of Hueco Mundo…
Parsing complete.
Full copy estimated time: 110 years.
Entering hibernation…
Boom!
Loca suddenly self-destructed, vanishing before their eyes.
"…"
Everyone was stunned into silence.
"Incredible, Lord Sōgo! You destroyed a Vasto Lorde with just your gaze!" Zaraki Kuruyashiki said with mock admiration.
"I didn't! Don't spout nonsense—how could I kill someone with my eyes when I'm wearing an eyepatch?!" Sōgo groaned in exasperation.
"…My computer…" Szayel's face twisted in despair. All that precious data, gone in an instant. He almost regretted introducing Loca to them in the first place.
"Ehehe… Well, what matters is we've confirmed Lilynette's location. Let's just go find her." Sōgo scratched his head awkwardly, pretending the whole scene hadn't just happened.
And so, the search for Lilynette began.
...
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