"Hahahaha, I didn't expect that what Lord Baraggan said was actually true!"
"So many Shinigami gathered in one place… today I can finally kill to my heart's content!"
The speaker was the leader of the Hollow group that had appeared before the expedition unit.
A red griffin flew through the sky, with a skeletal mask shaped like a rooster's crest on its head and a pair of wings slowly beating.
"Abirama, stop babbling. I can't wait to crush them all!" roared the gaunt tiger‑shaped Hollow excitedly.
His name was Ggio Vega, one of the Adjuchas warriors under the king of Hueco Mundo.
He was also a subordinate of Baraggan, together with the red griffin Abirama Redder.
"Little ones, kill as much as you want!"
At Abirama's command, numerous Adjuchas behind him surged forward and charged toward the expedition formation like a pack of wolves pouncing on a flock of sheep!
The approaching mass of Hollows surged like a black wave, mixed with the spiritual pressure of more than twenty Adjuchas‑level Hollows.
"Damn it! How did so many Adjuchas‑level Hollows suddenly appear?!" Soi‑Fon reacted extremely quickly and intercepted the attack of the scorpion‑like Hollow that leapt toward her.
"Everyone, disperse! Form a defensive formation!"
Amagai Shusuke roared with all his strength, but his voice was almost drowned out by the shockwaves of spiritual pressure coming from the Hollow group.
The Zanpakutō in his hand was immediately released, blazing lightning and fire dancing along its blade.
But before he could strike, a shadow rushed in from the side!
It was a scorpion‑shaped Adjuchas, its legs scraping against the sand with a teeth‑grinding sound.
"Fire Geyser!"
A heated sphere of fire gathered at the hook‑shaped tip of his blade, and Amagai drove it into the ground, instantly forming a massive fissure of flame that spread rapidly toward the scorpion.
Boom!
The blazing spiritual pressure shot into the sky like a volcanic eruption, swallowing that Adjuchas in flames in an instant.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
However, before he could catch his breath, a horrifying scream rang out from the edge of the battlefield.
A large number of lesser Hollows, led by Adjuchas, had broken through the outer defensive line and rushed straight toward the area where the students were located.
"Shūhei!"
Kanisawa Hotaru let out a sharp scream.
Hisagi Shūhei had been stabbed through the shoulder by the foreleg of a mantis‑shaped Hollow, blood dyeing half of his shihakushō red.
Aoga was desperately trying to use Bakudō to stop the enemy in front of him, but because of that, he let the other side slip past, a blow from the tail of a snake‑like Hollow sent him flying. No one knew whether he was alive or dead.
Just as Kanisawa was about to be torn apart by the mantis Hollow, Arata, who had been fighting an Adjuchas in the middle of the chaos, suddenly froze.
His vision darkened, and in the next moment he turned into purple‑black lightning, rushing at high speed in Kanisawa's direction.
However, something even faster came first, a golden flash, Zaraki Kenpachi landed directly on the head of the mantis Hollow, and his long blade pierced precisely through a crack in its mask.
"This is an Adjuchas? Trash like this isn't even worth the wear on my blade."
The mantis Hollow let out a hideous screech, but the moment its mask cracked, Kenpachi had already yanked out his jagged sword and stopped another attack from behind.
"Oh? Where'd this big kitty come from?"
"Hahahaha, you kill a piece of trash that barely scratched its way to the Adjuchas level, and you dare insult me like that?" Ggio Vega's claws were dripping with blood as he arrogantly provoked the tall Shinigami in front of him.
"I hope your strength is at least half as sharp as your tongue."
Kenpachi grinned from ear to ear, a hunger for battle flashing in his eye as he stared at Ggio.
Behind him, Arata immediately lifted the injured Shūhei and the other two onto his back and rushed them toward the medical zone without stopping.
There, Unohana Retsu and Izumo Shin Aritsuki were protecting the area, and since it was relatively far from the main battlefield, there were not many casualties yet.
Both were exceptional in Kidō, and they had accurately cut down nearly every Hollow that managed to break through the defensive line before they could cause major harm.
After handing the three injured to a medic, Arata cast a quick glance at Unohana Retsu amidst the chaos, then immediately turned back toward the front lines.
"Arata‑kun, it seems you've long since grown to the point where you no longer need my protection…" Unohana Retsu watched his departure quietly, her thoughts complicated.
…
On the other side, Arata returned to the front line and instantly became a one‑man firefighter.
His figure flashed continuously among the troops, his purple‑black spiritual pressure tearing through the chaotic battlefield like a dark comet.
Every swing of Meigetsu claimed another Hollow's life.
From the start of the battle until now, he had already saved at least twenty Shinigami and students from deadly situations.
"We need reinforcements! Three Hollows have broken through the left defensive line!"
Hearing the call for help from a distant Shinigami, Arata immediately changed direction.
Four members of the 11th Division were surrounded by a small group of Hollows.
One of them was already wounded and lying on the ground.
Arata focused, performed a single Shunpo, and appeared in the middle of the Hollow group a heartbeat later.
"Dark Flame Slash!"
A purple‑black crescent blade of energy shot forward and split into several smaller crescents mid‑air, flattening all the surrounding Hollows.
The injured Shinigami, hearing the blast, looked up and saw Arata's tall figure sheathing his sword.
For a moment, he felt as though he was looking at his own captain.
"Thank you… thank you…" he stammered weakly.
"Don't mention it, just carry the wounded back to the medical tent."
Arata gave a brief instruction, then immediately rushed off toward another part of the battlefield.
There, several officers were being cornered by a huge rhino‑shaped Adjuchas.
Sharp bony horns protruded from its nose, and each charge carved deep trenches into the ground.
As the rhino Hollow charged again, ready to trample one of the officers, Arata shouted from afar:
"Down!"
He then gathered all his spiritual power and locked onto the target in front of him.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
The blue thunder cannon struck the rhino's mask precisely. The explosive shockwave knocked several officers to the ground, but it also successfully halted its charge.
"Moooo—!"
"Damn you, Shinigami! You've enraged Lord Vina!"
When the smoke cleared, the rhino Hollow, though hit directly by a chantless Raikōhō, had only a few new wounds, not serious at all.
Arata narrowed his eyes an Adjuchas truly wasn't something to be compared with ordinary trash.
"You all retreat, leave this one to me."
"But we…"
"Don't waste time, this is not an opponent for you." Arata raised his voice, giving them a sharp reprimand.
Their spiritual pressure barely reached the level of lower officers.
An Adjuchas might not be terrifying before evolving into an Arrancar, but it was certainly far beyond what ordinary lower officers could handle.
To fight one, you needed at least the strength of Ayasegawa Yumichika or Madarame Ikkaku.
If they stayed, they would only hinder him.
Seeing how firm Arata was, the few officers stopped arguing and quickly retreated from the battlefield.
However, Arata's actions soon drew the attention of several Adjuchas.
"That Shinigami… he's a bit unusual." The red griffin Abirama circled high in the sky, his sharp gaze fixed on Arata's figure.
"Hmph, just a slightly stronger bug." The spider Adjuchas sneered.
This was the key figure in the ambush, Tuumba Alanya, a Hollow specializing in underground movement and tunnel digging.
It was thanks to his special ability that they managed to leave Las Noches and silently approach this Shinigami unit's camp.
"Tuumba, call Motifil and Kadavil, you three go take him out together!"
"If we suffer too many losses this time, Lord Baraggan will definitely not forgive us!"
Abirama issued the icy command.