Late at night, the streets were silent, with only the occasional cry of crows breaking through the stillness, making the atmosphere feel especially eerie.
Then, a Hollow's roar shattered the quiet.
A young female Shinigami was locked in fierce battle with a Hollow.
The two sides clashed back and forth, neither giving way easily.
That female Shinigami was Rukia Kuchiki.
She had once received guidance from Kazuma, and her current strength was already far beyond what it had been in the original timeline.
Before long, she successfully defeated the Hollow.
This was Rukia's second time being stationed in Karakura Town for a mission.
As she cautiously scanned her surroundings, she muttered to herself, "Hollows have been appearing more and more frequently lately. Something doesn't seem right. I should report this abnormal situation to Soul Society as soon as possible."
Rukia was just about to return to her station when she suddenly heard someone calling for help.
Following the voice, she saw a Plus being chased by a Hollow.
Rukia rushed forward immediately, swung her Zanpakutō, and cut the Hollow down.
After being saved, the Plus looked at Rukia with deep gratitude.
After asking a few questions, Rukia learned that the Plus was named Ryūzaki Kawaichi, an ordinary soul who had only recently died and had not yet had time to pass on to Soul Society.
He told Rukia that recently, Hollows had often been attacking newly dead Pluses in Karakura Town, and strange lights had appeared alongside those attacks.
Rukia realized the situation was becoming increasingly serious and decided to investigate further.
Following Ryūzaki Kawaichi, Rukia arrived at a nearby school.
This was the strange location he had mentioned.
However, when they entered the campus, she discovered that the area was filled with a Hollow's presence.
All of a sudden, a swarm of Hollows surged in from every direction like a tide, instantly surrounding Rukia and Ryūzaki Kawaichi so tightly that there was no path of escape.
Faced with such a situation, Rukia did not hesitate at all and immediately threw herself into battle.
However, these Hollows seemed far stronger than the ones she had encountered before.
Their attacks were unusually fierce, and Rukia gradually began to feel the strain.
Just as Rukia was resisting with all her strength, something unexpected happened.
Ryūzaki Kawaichi, who should have been fighting alongside her, suddenly attacked her.
The sudden change caught Rukia off guard.
Fortunately, her reaction was quick, and she narrowly avoided the deadly strike.
"What is this…?"
Rukia stared at Ryūzaki Kawaichi in shock, her heart filled with doubt and disbelief.
The Ryūzaki Kawaichi before her was no longer the gentle, kind Plus from moments ago.
He had turned into a hideous, terrifying Hollow.
The astonishing transformation left Rukia deeply confused.
She could not understand why Ryūzaki Kawaichi had suddenly become like this.
Rukia steadied herself, vigilance flashing in her eyes.
She questioned Ryūzaki Kawaichi, demanding to know why he had done this, but he only let out a low growl before lunging at her again.
Rukia dodged sideways.
She realized that Ryūzaki Kawaichi had already lost his mind and become a Hollow.
The battle grew even more intense.
Rukia swung her blade again and again at Ryūzaki Kawaichi, and every clash burst with dazzling reiatsu.
At last, Rukia found an opening and cut him down with a single strike.
After Ryūzaki Kawaichi fell, his body gradually scattered and vanished into nothingness.
Rukia watched the scene with a heavy heart.
Her thoughts were in complete chaos, and she could not sort them out.
Had Ryūzaki Kawaichi been a Hollow disguised as a Plus from the beginning? Or had he been assimilated by the Hollows during the battle?
If it was the former, that meant every Shinigami stationed in the World of the Living would be facing an enormous threat.
However, the current situation did not allow Rukia time to think deeply about the matter.
Several Hollows still stood before her, watching her hungrily, ready to attack at any moment.
Without hesitation, Rukia raised her Zanpakutō and moved swiftly among them.
Her movements were agile and precise, each slash striking its target cleanly.
After a fierce battle, she finally managed to eliminate all the Hollows.
Rukia took a deep breath, secretly relieved that she had finally cleared them out.
But just as she let her guard down, something unexpected happened.
The pitch-black night sky suddenly tore open, revealing a huge rift.
From within it, a giant masked Hollow poked its head out.
"Damn it! A Gillian-class Menos Grande!"
Rukia cried out in panic.
Facing the enormous and terrifying Menos before her, Rukia felt fear and pressure unlike anything before.
She gripped the Zanpakutō in her hand tightly, sweat seeping into her palm.
She knew she had encountered a truly powerful enemy. One careless mistake could cost her life.
The Gillian-class Menos Grande opened its massive jaws and let out an earth-shaking roar before suddenly lunging at Rukia.
Rukia's eyes widened, and she used all her strength to dodge sideways.
She quickly swung back with her blade, slashing hard into the Menos's body.
However, that strike did not seem to cause much damage.
The Menos became even more enraged.
It attacked again, moving as fast as lightning.
Rukia narrowly dodged left and right, desperately searching for a chance to counterattack.
But every evasion was becoming painfully difficult.
She cursed inwardly, realizing that there was an enormous gap between her strength and the Menos's.
The continuous battles that night had already consumed a great deal of her reiatsu.
Now, with the Gillian-class Menos pressing her step by step, she was being forced farther and farther back.
If this continued, she would definitely die.
Just then, the Gillian opened its enormous mouth, and a dazzling red light began gathering inside.
A single word flashed through Rukia's mind.
Cero.
Fortunately, a Gillian's Cero required a relatively long time to gather reiatsu.
Rukia immediately laid several defensive Kidō barriers in front of herself, then retreated as fast as she could.
A brilliant red beam shot from the Gillian's mouth.
Every building struck by the beam along its path collapsed, kicking up massive clouds of dust.
The Kidō barriers Rukia had set up lasted only a few seconds before being shattered by the Cero.
Rukia used every last bit of strength to avoid the Cero's attack, but her movements grew slower and slower.
Her breathing became increasingly ragged, as though she might suffocate at any moment.
Strength gradually drained from her body. Her legs went weak, and the world before her eyes began to blur.
'Damn it… Am I really going to die here?'
Rukia gritted her teeth, unwilling to accept it. Her heart was filled with fear of death and the desperate desire to survive.
But no matter how hard she tried, she could not escape the Cero's pursuit.
The Cero drew closer and closer.
Rukia's eyes widened, despair filling them.
'Damn it! I don't want to die!'
Just as the Cero was about to hit her, Rukia clenched her teeth, gathered every bit of reiatsu left in her body, and used her final move.
"Bakudō #73: Tozanshō!" She shouted with a voice filled with bitterness.
As her words fell, a powerful surge of reiatsu erupted from her body and quickly condensed into a blue inverted triangular crystal.
The Cero collided with Tozanshō, instantly triggering a tremendous explosion.
The powerful shockwave overturned everything nearby, and enormous clouds of smoke and dust filled the air.
Rukia was thrown away by the force of the blast, crashing heavily into a nearby building before falling unconscious.
"Hisana-nee… Byakuya-niisama…"
In the final moment before losing consciousness, Rukia felt as though she saw the two of them walking toward her.
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