Ukitake returned to the Gotei 13 and decided to become captain of the Tenth Division.
However, there were still three captain positions vacant.
The 3rd Division, the 5th Division, and the 9th Division.
The 3rd and 5th Divisions didn't even have lieutenants.
For Soul Society, replenishing this kind of strength would not be easy.
Unlike the Wandenreich, Soul Society cannot easily produce captain-level powerhouses.
After careful consideration, Yamamoto had no choice but to send Ukitake to the Human World to establish communication with Kisuke Urahara.
Unfortunately, in today's world, they could no longer maintain the arrogance they once had.
Once upon a time, the Shinigami were the strongest force. They suppressed Hollows, defeated Quincy, and governed the order of the Three Realms.
But in recent years, they had suffered repeated setbacks.
The Hollowfication incident cost several captains their lives. After that, a mysterious Hollow King was born in Hueco Mundo and led the Gotei 13 to an overwhelming victory. If Division Zero had not arrived at that decisive moment, they would have been wiped out!
As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. As the situation across the Three Realms became increasingly unfavorable for the Shinigami, they were forced to make some kind of change.
That change began with contact with Kisuke Urahara.
Ukitake had met Urahara before, so having him reach out again was the best option.
According to information from Captain Hitsugaya, Aizen's current base of power was "Las Noches." The strongest Arrancar within it were called the "Espada," and the guards outside Las Noches were called "three-digit numbers."
"Even if the three-digit Espada have been eliminated, those eliminated Espada still possess captain-class combat power!"
"He once met a girl who looked delicate but was stronger than him. And another Shinigami—Ashido—may have died at her hands."
Everyone present was a veteran, but Ashido was, after all, a Shinigami from the 11th Division nearly 300 years ago, and no one had any impression of him.
"What a pity. If he had returned alive, he might have been able to fill one of the vacant captain seats."
After surviving alone in Hueco Mundo for hundreds of years, his strength was certainly enough for the captain's post.
It's just a pity…
"The other major problem we face," Kyōraku Shunsui said, dodging the captains' questions and raising another issue that made the three of them look grave, "is whether Aizen and his Hueco Mundo companions are cooperating with the Hollow King."
The Hollow King…
He was the true enemy. If he joined hands with Aizen—or attacked Soul Society at this timing—he would be an opponent they could not possibly handle.
He seemed to have been greatly weakened after losing to the monk, but this also happened to be the period when Soul Society was at its weakest.
Most frightening of all: if Aizen and the Hollow King truly could cooperate, did Aizen have a way to break his seal?
And there was also Yoshio, who could use Bankai to create items with special abilities—those might become the key to unsealing him.
"That's strange too," Yamamoto replied after a while. "The Hollow King's power is far above Aizen's. With that power, he could command thousands—yet he always attacks alone."
"The one who cooperated with him back then, Tokinada Tsunayashiro, was also a Shinigami. I've almost never seen the Hollow King together with other Hollows."
That was indeed odd.
Hollows often fight alone, but the Hollow King was clearly intelligent and had the ability to command other Hollows.
Yet he never attacked alongside other Hollows.
"For ten years, we have secretly investigated Hueco Mundo, yet we have found no trace at all of the Hollow King's activities. It is truly strange," Unohana said.
"Given the power present in Hueco Mundo, it should be impossible for him to completely disappear there."
"Aizen and the Hollow King are both in Hueco Mundo. Rather than cooperating, I think it's more likely they will fight each other," Ukitake said.
"In the last battle, we all came to understand Hollow King's character. He's clearly the type who believes only he matters in the world. I think he's more likely to fight Aizen."
Because Kyōraku and Ukitake had been partners for many years, Kyōraku immediately understood Ukitake's implication. In a low voice, he muttered, "Don't tell me… he isn't even in Hueco Mundo!?"
Those words made Yamamoto and Unohana's pupils widen. It was astonishing—an idea they might never have considered.
"Not in Hueco Mundo? Then where is he?" Unohana asked after a brief shock.
"Perhaps… he isn't in this world—maybe not even in the Three Realms," Ukitake said thoughtfully.
"Think about it. Everything takes time; nothing is achieved overnight."
But the Hollow King seemed to appear suddenly, without warning. If he had been in Hueco Mundo the whole time, to grow to that level he would have needed to devour a massive number of Hollows.
"We cannot monitor Hueco Mundo in real time, but we continuously monitor the state of its reishi."
"The Hollow King… indeed seems to have appeared suddenly—not from Hueco Mundo, but into the Three Realms."
Ukitake's words were sobering. For a moment, everyone fell silent, each thinking over what he said.
"But if he came from somewhere else, and normally does not remain in Hueco Mundo—if he returns to his original place… then where would that be?"
That… was another question.
After thinking for a while, Ukitake thought of someone else.
"Perhaps… there is someone in Soul Society who knows something."
"Who?"
"Mayuri…"
"If Tokinada Tsunayashiro cooperated with the Hollow King to attack Soul Society, then there must be some connection between them."
"So I think Captain Kurotsuchi—who took many things from Tokinada's base—might know something."
...
At this time, Mayuri Kurotsuchi was not in the Research and Development Institute, but in the Fourth Division.
"What is this?"
After Ichigo recovered, he discovered a caterpillar crawling on his body. The caterpillar had a human face—horrifying to look at!
Worse still, its face was twisted in pain. At first it had been climbing up his arm, but by the time Ichigo noticed, it had actually climbed up to his face!
Ichigo sprang up from the hospital bed in shock!
"Don't move!"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi's voice came from the doorway. He spoke coldly. "If you delay my research, even if you had ten lives, you couldn't pay the cost!"
"Ah!"
Ichigo was startled to see Mayuri again. Before, Mayuri had prevented Ichigo from meeting Angra. Ichigo worried that Mayuri might return to his old evils to take revenge for losing to Angra.
But he didn't seem malicious, so Ichigo calmed down. He couldn't see the caterpillar on his face, but he could feel it crawling.
The sensation made Ichigo break out in goosebumps, and he blurted, "What are you doing?"
"Hmph. You used Hollowfication in your fight with Kuchiki Byakuya, didn't you? You're merely a human and not bound by Shinigami law, so I won't kill you for it—but I will confirm your spiritual pressure."
"If your soul is in an unstable state, we will take necessary measures against you."
Hearing that, Ichigo was shocked again.
After all, he knew Soul Society's rules. Rukia had been captured and sentenced to death because of Hollowfication.
Rukia was one of the Four Great Noble Clans. If she could be caught—would I be executed too?
He had finally gotten this far to rescue Rukia. If later Rukia had to come rescue him, what then?
No way… I don't want some situation where Rukia saves me…
"Don't overthink it. I've checked the fluctuations in your soul. I don't understand the underlying principle, but your soul is abnormally stable."
"At least for now, there's no need to worry about losing control due to Hollowfication."
"Huh? It's like this right now?"
The effect of Hollow power is related to the duration of Hollowfication. When other Shinigami are Hollowfied, they enter an irreversible Hollowfied state; the longer it lasts, the greater the damage to the boundary of their souls.
"But your soul isn't constantly dominated by the power of the Hollow… Shall we try entering the Hollow state again?"
Ichigo paused, then immediately said, "You're kidding, right? I don't know how to do that!"
When he fought Kuchiki Byakuya, he had already fought Zaraki Kenpachi beforehand, so he wasn't at full condition.
Facing Byakuya, he unconsciously entered a Hollowfied state and his body was slightly weakened.
He ultimately broke free of that state by force of will, but even if he could exit it, he couldn't choose when to enter it.
"Hm? You can't even control your own power?"
Mayuri frowned. "It seems that to make you use it, we must push you to your limit."
"Don't get any funny ideas!" Ichigo shouted as Mayuri said that. "I'm still injured!"
He was a little worried Mayuri would summon other captains and make him fight again to force him into Hollowfication.
He didn't want to fight the captains again.
"I'm not that rude."
Once Ichigo's attention was diverted, Mayuri no longer cared as much about the caterpillar on his body.
After collecting data, the caterpillar leapt into Mayuri's hand.
Now that he had obtained the data, Mayuri had no intention of staying.
He turned and left at once.
Huh? He just left like that?
Ichigo was surprised, but he couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.
He was somewhat afraid of that kind of mad scientist.
After Mayuri left, another person entered.
"Rukia?"
Seeing who came in, Ichigo asked, "Are you okay?"
"What's wrong with me?" Rukia didn't look physically recovered so much as mentally fully restored.
After leaving Yoshio's house, she seemed to have forgotten what happened and returned to her usual lively self.
"Good." Ichigo sighed in relief. "I'm almost recovered too."
"I know. That's why I came. Captain Mayuri didn't do anything to you just now, did he?"
"I was shocked. I thought I'd get dissected."
Ichigo asked, "Are your brother and Renji okay?"
"Nothing in particular," Rukia said, then asked, "What about you? Are you going back to the Human World?"
"Yeah…" Ichigo said with feeling. "I came to save you. Now that you're safe, I'll go back too."
"Besides, school will start soon, so I have to get ready."
"Let's go back to the Human World together," Rukia said with a smile.
"?!" Ichigo cried in surprise. "You're going to the Human World too?"
"What's strange about that? Karakura Town is guarded by the Tenth Division and the Thirteenth Division. Now that Rangiku is injured, it's only natural for me to take over that role."
Anywhere else, any Shinigami would be enough, but Karakura Town was too dangerous—only captain-class Shinigami could guard it with peace of mind.
In the past, Rukia and Rangiku took turns guarding the area; now that Rangiku was injured, it was only normal for Rukia to continue guarding it.
Hearing that, Ichigo couldn't help saying, "Karakura Town's safety is in your hands."
"Not just mine." Rukia took out a tag she wore and handed it to Ichigo.
"What is this?"
"A Substitute Shinigami License," Rukia said. "With it, you become an official Shinigami belonging to the Gotei 13, and together with me, the stationed Shinigami here, you will work to guide souls in the Human World."
"Hm?" Ichigo looked at the Substitute Shinigami badge, weighed it in his hand, and said, "What use is this? Is it just ID?"
"When you return to the Human World, your body will change into a physical form, and you can use the license to separate your soul from your body."
After explaining, Rukia didn't even wait to see if Ichigo understood. "We leave tomorrow. Want me to show you around Soul Society?"
"No." Ichigo shook his head in panic. "Kenpachi was waiting for me to be discharged. I'm not going to fight that guy."
In fact, his injuries weren't that serious—his recovery was just naturally strong.
He suffered minor injuries in the battle with Kuchiki Byakuya, but nothing major. The real wound that brought him down was Yoshio's slash.
But Yoshio only attacked once, and thanks to Unohana's medical skill, he had basically recovered by the first day.
The reason he hadn't left was that Zaraki Kenpachi kept looking for him, wanting to fight again.
"What a shame." Rukia waved her hand. "Then I'll go. Tomorrow when I come, I'll invite you to pass through the Senkaimon and go to the Human World together."
Ichigo nodded, and Rukia left the room.
Once outside, the ease on her face vanished.
"Lieutenant Matsumoto…?"
Seeing Rangiku by the door, Rukia asked gently, "Are you feeling better?"
"I'll be okay for a while," Rangiku said, leaning on the wall, tilting her head to look out the window. She spoke softly. "It's just… I don't really want to go outside."
Rukia understood what Rangiku was thinking. Rangiku was Yoshio's lieutenant, and because the two had spent the most time together, Rangiku and Yoshio were closest.
And not only Yoshio—Rangiku and Ichimaru Gin also seemed close; the two appeared to be from the same district of Rukongai.
Also Yamiko…
She had been betrayed—yet as lieutenant, she knew nothing about it.
All three betrayed her—how big a blow must that be?
So for a moment, Rukia didn't know what to say.
"They're looking for a key," Rangiku suddenly said.
"?" Rukia was confused by the abrupt statement. "What key?"
"I don't know, but I heard Yamiko say they seemed to be searching for some kind of key."
"A key? The Hōgyoku?"
"I don't know either. I just thought that line might be useful."
"..." Rukia was still confused, and just as she was about to speak, she suddenly noticed the world in front of her blurring unbelievably.
Like when watching TV with a weak signal—the image turns snowy white, the world blurs, then becomes chaotic again.
Before Rukia could understand what was happening, she suddenly found herself lost in an unknown world.
"..."
Rukia froze for a moment, then immediately tensed.
Because she realized she seemed to be in a dark palace—and there was someone else inside.
That person was also female, even shorter than Rukia, with a slim body, squatting on the ground and staring at it.
Rukia, suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar space, hesitated but asked warily, "Where is this?"
The girl seemed startled by Rukia's voice. She turned, saw Rukia, and cried out, "Huh? Rukia?"
Hearing her name, Rukia was equally startled. "You know me?!"
Rukia didn't remember ever meeting this girl.
"Ah, you're not Rukia. No— you are that Rukia, but not this Rukia." The girl seemed not to know what to say next. She put her hands on her hips, stood up, and said:
"You're a Shinigami! My name is Lilynette Gingerbuck. How did you get into this place?"
Rukia frowned, then suddenly realized: the only "Rukia" who would be known here was… the Parasite Hollow!
In other words—
"You're an Arrancar?!"
Rukia was shocked. How on earth did she come to the Hollow world?
"Don't panic. Even if you're a Shinigami, in here there shouldn't be any distinction between Shinigami and Hollows," Lilynette said, pointing to a huge [1] hanging on the wall.
"This place is called the Tower of Death. They say it's a domain created by a Shinigami. You're a Shinigami too—do you know what this place is?"
…