Though Yamamoto was stubborn in his beliefs, that did not mean he lacked sharp judgment.
When Shimo gave him the rough report, Yamamoto's first reaction was to connect it to Hueco Mundo.
From the Garganta Aizen used when leaving Soul Society, it was already enough to confirm Aizen's standing in Hueco Mundo.
Shimo pondered briefly and said,
"If nothing unexpected happens… then yes."
Yamamoto fell silent for a moment, his gaze lowered.
"I understand."
"Your Senkaimon authorization is approved."
Just as Shimo was about to leave, a figure came sprinting in at full speed.
The newcomer carried a strange device on his back, like a rolled bundle, and wore a half-mask with sealed ornaments that completely covered the eye area.
He rushed into the Head Captain's office, dropped to one knee, and reported urgently:
"Head Captain! Captain Shimo!"
"The Research and Development Institute has sent another critical report!"
"In the World of the Living, within the Shiba City and Naruki Town area, reiatsu from Menos Grande above Gillian-class has been detected!"
Shimo recognized the outfit at once.
This was a First Division courier unit, responsible for delivering urgent intelligence.
Their speed was far beyond what a Hell Butterfly could manage.
Hearing this, a heavier gravity returned to Yamamoto's lowered eyes.
This meant the situation in the World of the Living had already become extremely serious.
He looked at Shimo. The meaning was obvious.
Shimo nodded.
"I understand."
"This support operation will be led by me personally."
"We move immediately."
After taking his leave of Yamamoto, Shimo brought Nel to the Senkaimon gate managed by the First Division.
The Shinigami on watch was someone Shimo did not recognize.
Judging by the shoulder markings, he appeared to be the Seventh Seat of the First Division.
"Captain Shimo!"
The Seventh Seat lowered his head slightly in respect.
"Head Captain Yamamoto's authorization."
"Emergency rescue mission to the World of the Living. Coordinates: Shiba City."
Shimo flashed the authorization token in front of him.
The Seventh Seat did not waste time with extra checks and immediately opened the Senkaimon.
Shimo took Nelliel's hand. Guided by a Hell Butterfly, they stepped into the gate.
---
Human World, Shiba City.
The Senkaimon opened above the city center.
The moment Shimo stepped out, he immediately sensed the violent, restless Hollow spiritual pressure.
"This is absurd."
"This Hollow disturbance looks even worse than last time."
"No wonder Kaien ended up gravely injured and unconscious."
From his perception alone, there were at least twenty Hollows mixed together.
By classification, Menos are divided from low to high into Gillian, Adjuchas, and Vasto Lorde.
But a higher class did not automatically mean stronger.
Before Nel's injuries healed, she was a Vasto Lorde-class Menos.
Yet at that time, even a random Adjuchas could have killed her.
And then there was Metastacia, a Hollow Aizen created.
It was not even a Menos, yet its combat ability could still be comparable to a lieutenant.
And under Shimo's sensing, every Hollow in this group was above Gillian level.
"Another special strain?"
Shimo thought.
"Shimo… I feel a call coming from the Hollow group."
Nel suddenly stiffened and spoke.
Shimo frowned in confusion.
"A call from Hueco Mundo?"
Nel's eyes were unfocused, uncertain.
"I don't really understand. I just… heard it, like a voice in the distance."
"Something deep in my memory tells me this is a call from the Hollows."
Shimo hesitated, then said,
"First, we find out if there are any surviving Shinigami in Shiba City."
Before coming, he had prepared a Denreishinki for communication in the Human World.
It was a phone-like device that could display the positions of other Denreishinki units.
Shimo opened it, confirmed the location, then used Shunpo and vanished into the air.
Nel followed closely behind, ignoring the so-called "call" entirely.
To her, nothing mattered more than staying with Shimo.
Her thinking was that simple.
What they did did not matter, as long as she was with him.
The Denreishinki showed that three Shinigami were still alive in Shiba City.
At that moment, they were hiding in an abandoned warehouse to the north.
But when Shimo arrived, he found no Shinigami spiritual pressure at all.
"Barrier concealment?"
Shimo's eyes flickered, his tone turning meaningful.
"Or a Hollow trap?"
In the next instant, the situation changed!
Several bursts of spiritual pressure shot skyward, completely enveloping the nearby area.
RUMBLE—
A violent explosion erupted inside the abandoned warehouse.
In moments, dust filled the air and the building collapsed.
"Fresh food delivered right to our door!"
"Kek! I've missed the taste of Shinigami souls!"
"This time I'm taking the thigh! Nobody fight me for it!"
Arrogant shrieks flooded Shimo's ears.
"And there's even a Hollow that looks like a Shinigami."
"Same shape, just a mask on its head."
Those low-level Hollows finally realized something was wrong.
"M-mask!"
"An Arrancar from Las Noches?!"
These Hollows all looked twistedly in their own way.
They seemed like malformed products forced into shape.
Wait… malformed products?
Shimo's expression sharpened as he murmured,
"Nel. Isn't their reiatsu… off?"
Shimo had encountered plenty of Hollows, and he had stayed in the Human World for over a decade because of past disturbances.
But compared to him, Nel, as a Hollow herself, clearly understood the species better.
After carefully sensing them, Nel finally found the problem.
"These Hollows…"
A trace of gravity appeared on her face.
"Part of their souls is missing."
Shimo froze and instinctively asked,
"A broken soul… can still survive?"
Nel shook her head. Even her golden-green eyes showed confusion.
"I've never seen this form in Hueco Mundo."
This went beyond Nel's knowledge.
Even with her memories restored, she had no idea what this was.
"Fine."
Shimo narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I'll capture one and let Kisuke examine it."
Shimo had a vague guess, but he needed a specialist to confirm it.
As Shimo raised his hand, the Hollows howled even more wildly.
"A mere Shinigami!!"
"Tear him apart! I love hearing Shinigami scream before they die!"
"I'm taking the thigh!"
They feared Nel.
But facing Shimo directly, their fear vanished.
That strange behavior only made Shimo more curious.
"Calm in the face of death… even like this?"
Shimo extended his right index finger and flicked it.
"Hado No. 1: Shō! (Thrust)"
It should have been a small shockwave, used to pierce or knock back an enemy.
But with Shimo's spiritual pressure reinforcing it, the Kidō changed completely.
BOOM!
A massive pillar of light surged from his fingertip like a flood bursting through a dam, instantly swallowing several Hollows in front of him.
They did not even have time to scream before dissolving into spirit particles.
For a moment, the scene fell silent.
The remaining Hollows stared at the area that had been swallowed by spiritual pressure, disbelief and terror locked in their eyes.
Wherever the light had passed, everything had become nothing.
The abandoned warehouse was gone without a trace.
A huge crater now yawned in front of the Hollows.
Gulp.
One Hollow swallowed hard, and it set off a chain reaction.
The others swallowed too, no longer bothering to hide their fear.
"Split up and run!"
A Hollow shaped like an octopus roared and whipped its tentacles as it fled into the distance.
Shimo's attack had carved an unimaginable psychological scar into them.
Even if they were malformed products, fear still existed.
In the next moment, the Hollow group scattered, fleeing in different directions.
Before Shimo could even give an order, Nel used Sonido and vanished.
BOOM, BOOM BOOM!
Violent explosions erupted in multiple directions.
The malformed Hollows bloomed like fireworks in the sky.
Very quickly, under Nel's pursuit, only one malformed Hollow remained alive.
Nel gripped it in one hand and stepped through the air as she returned.
Shimo looked it over and found it vaguely familiar.
This was the pig-faced one that had been obsessing over his "thigh."
"Alright, we've got a specimen."
Shimo's brow twitched, and his expression turned a little awkward.
"But… it seems we hit a bit too hard."
Buildings within several miles had been destroyed.
Fortunately, this was the outskirts with few people around.
If it had been downtown, the Rukongai would probably see another sudden population surge.
"Whatever. Leave the cleanup to the Thirteenth Division."
Shimo waved and signaled Nel to follow.
At this point, it was clear there were no surviving Shinigami in Shiba City.
Only those strange, malformed Hollows remained.
Shimo suspected they had been catalyzed by the Hōgyoku.
As for exact intelligence, he would leave it to specialists.
"Let's go. To Karakura Town."
In the next instant, the two figures disappeared into the sky.
The moment Shimo's spiritual pressure erupted, the malformed Hollows had hidden themselves.
Only after Shimo and Nel left Shiba City did they emerge from their hiding places.
Most of them were now gripped by fear that could not be erased.
They chose to abandon Shiba City and move to other cities in search of food.
---
Karakura Town.
At Urahara Shop...
Shimo and Nel descended from the sky.
After opening a Kidō barrier, they walked straight in.
"Oh my, oh my. What rare guests."
Urahara fanned himself with a small folding fan, smiling warmly at the two of them.
Shimo hadn't hidden his reiatsu on the way over, so Urahara showed no surprise.
Shimo half-lidded his eyes at Urahara.
"It's only been half a month since we last met, hasn't it?"
Urahara chuckled.
"Half a month is still a long time."
"And what is that thing Nelliel is carrying?"
Dragged all the way here through the air, the pig-faced malformed Hollow was already terrified into collapse.
Nel casually tossed it onto the floor. It went limp, its legs trembling too weak to stand.
"A Hollow disturbance broke out in Shiba City."
"This is what I captured."
Shimo explained.
"I feel like it's different from normal Hollows."
"Nel also sensed that part of its soul is missing."
Urahara paused.
Then strong interest lit up in his military-green eyes.
"A broken soul… and it can still survive?"
"Then it's probably a special strain created by the Hōgyoku."
Shimo nudged the Hollow closer to Urahara.
"Study it."
"I need specific data."
"This disturbance isn't as widespread as last time…"
"But it's far more serious."
Urahara lowered his bucket hat, puzzled.
"What happened?"
Shimo sighed and explained.
"The Shinigami responsible for purification in the Human World, Shiba Kaien, is severely injured and unconscious."
"A joint squad from the Third and Thirteenth Divisions was wiped out."
"A Hollow outbreak spread across Shiba City and Naruki Town. Menos above Gillian-class have appeared."
Urahara's pupils tightened slightly, surprised.
"It's already that severe?"
"Looks like things are gradually slipping out of control…"
He lifted the cane that sealed Benihime and prodded the malformed Hollow twice.
Suddenly, Urahara stopped.
Shimo sensed something was wrong.
"Did you find something?"
Urahara pointed at the Hollow's neck and said,
"It's bad."
"I found the missing soul."
Shimo followed where the cane indicated and his expression shifted.
"…It has two Hollow holes?"
------------------------------///
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