[10 Minutes Earlier]
Karakura Town, beside a stream embankment.
Mottled raindrops fell from the sky, making the world look even more gloomy.
Kurosaki Masaki and Matsumoto Rangiku each held an umbrella, walking along the path by the embankment.
Beside Masaki's ample thigh stood a lanky orange haired little boy.
Suddenly, lightning lit the dim sky, and in an instant a white light shone before the three of them.
"Mom, what is that little girl doing?"
Young Kurosaki Ichigo tugged at Masaki's sleeve, pointing to the stream where a little girl stood as if about to jump in.
"It's nothing. Stay right here. I'll go check over there," Masaki shook her head with a smile and handed her umbrella to Ichigo.
"Mrs. Kurosaki, you two go first!", Rangiku frowned slightly and exchanged a look with Masaki.
Both of them could tell immediately that a hollow was hunting.
From the spiritual pressure, that hollow did not even reach Vasto Lorde level. It was trash they could easily kill.
Encountering such a hollow in the living world was perfectly normal.
But because Kurosaki Ichigo was present and she had promised her captain, Rangiku felt obligated to protect this mother and son.
"Don't worry. Don't underestimate me."
Masaki smiled brightly, "Ichigo, stay by Aunt Rangiku and don't look over here, okay?"
"What are you two talking about? Fine, got it!"
Ichigo pouted but did not press the matter.
He had always been straightforward. Once he decided someone or something was right, he would follow through.
He trusted his mother, so whatever she said or did, he would believe without question.
"Don't worry. It will be quick!"
Masaki smiled slightly, patted Ichigo's head, and strode into the rain, spiritual energy gathering in her hands.
Seeing this, the hollow that had been preparing to hunt immediately wanted to flee.
It only wanted to prey on ordinary tasty souls, not provoke a powerful monster.
But before the hollow could escape, a faint wave of spiritual energy swept through. The subtlety of that wave was such that even Aizen and Head Captain Yamamoto would not notice it.
This was Yhwach's Auswahlen. All mixed-blood Quincies who possessed Yhwach's power would have their powers reclaimed at that moment.
Only Rosse, with his Observation-layered perception, could detect the spiritual wave precisely.
When the wave passed, the spiritual energy gathered around Masaki went out of control. She clutched her chest in disbelief and slowly collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, Rangiku's pupils shrank and she suddenly unleashed her spiritual pressure.
"Mrs. Kurosaki!"
"Perfect opportunity!"
The hunting hollow saw its chance and moved to ambush the severely wounded Masaki, but before it could act, a Garganta opened next to it.
Hum!
Gold spiritual pressure vast as an ocean spread out from the Garganta. Within nearly a hundred meters, all living beings were affected.
Ordinary souls disintegrated instantly. Only someone as young as Kurosaki Ichigo could barely survive.
Even so, Ichigo fainted and fell to the ground. His last conscious image was his mother collapsing.
And he could do nothing...
"What a joke. This scale of spiritual pressure is already stronger than the captains, right?", Rangiku broke out in a cold sweat, but she still cradled the fainted Ichigo and rushed to Masaki's side.
After setting Ichigo down, she stood between the mother and child and the enemy.
Even facing an invincible enemy, she would not retreat. She had promised her captain to protect this family.
Besides, this mother was the wife of her old captain.
"Nice spirit, but if you don't want her to die, you'd better step aside."
Harribel stepped out from the Garganta and walked slowly to Rangiku's front.
As she advanced, Rangiku felt her body tremble involuntarily.
The gap was too large.
The opponent only needed to release spiritual pressure and Rangiku felt paralyzed.
She had never faced the spiritual pressure of those ancient captains, but to her those five-hundred-year captains' strength must be about this level.
"What... what do you mean?", Rangiku's voice trembled. She could only pray her captain would arrive quickly.
Otherwise she could not hold out.
"You can sense your life slipping away, right? You should know why. You are no longer pureblood and no longer under someone's protection," Harribel ignored Rangiku and instead turned her gaze to Masaki, playing out her script as best she could.
"I... I can feel it. But what... what does it matter?", Masaki could feel her life ebbing, a sense that she was about to die.
She was truly unwilling.
She hadn't seen her son grow up or find a girlfriend, hadn't watched her daughter become an adult.
There were so many things left to do, but she could clearly feel that as the Quincy power faded, her life was reaching its end.
"I can give you a chance to live, but you must join us and follow our path," Harribel said calmly.
"You appeared from a Garganta just now. Are you a hollow or a shinigami?", Rangiku gritted her teeth and asked the question Masaki also wanted to know.
"I am a hollow. I am the opposite of the Quincy, and I am the only one who can save you," Harribel explained.
"I can't... I can't believe... a hollow!", Masaki's voice was weak but determined.
"Then do you want to watch that child be crushed under my feet, or do you want me to kill those two men who are coming? One of them is indeed strong, but those you care about all seem very weak," Harribel stood not far from Masaki, but her words chilled Masaki to the bone.
This was a naked threat.
If she refused, not only would she die, but her whole family would.
No way. She might die, but whatever happened, her family must not be harmed.
"I... I agree!"
Masaki glared at Harribel in hatred but gave in.
She was already near death. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain by agreeing.
"A wise choice!"
Harribel smiled and nodded. The sky tore open a Garganta and countless Gillians surged out.
These large hollows gathered inside the Garganta and projected a yellow light downward, which fell directly onto Kurosaki Masaki.
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