"7th Division Captain Komamura Sajin, lead all Seventh Division members, plus a portion of the Ninth Division, to guard the Red Hollow Gate!"
"The remaining divisions, remain on alert, obey orders, and be prepared to replace the front-line divisions at any time!"
"Captains not named, prepare to depart for Karakura Town."
"Alright, dismissed!"
Yamamoto said.
Under his orders, everyone withdrew.
In recent days, Hollows in the Living World had decreased significantly. Combined with what Chu An had seen, the Soul Society also understood something was happening in Hueco Mundo.
As Lieutenant of the 13th Division, Ichigo was naturally recalled to temporarily protect the Seireitei.
Simultaneously, because Aizen could head to Karakura Town at any moment,
The Seireitei Captains had to remain vigilant. So Captains like Ukitake entered a state of readiness.
Therefore, Ichigo directly enjoyed the same treatment as Shiba Kaien. Nominally a Lieutenant, he actually exercised Captain-level authority.
Leaving the 1st Division, Ichigo was still somewhat dazed.
Beside him, Rukia, now the Fifth Seat, was very worried.
"Ichigo, what's wrong? What was discussed in the Captain's Meeting?"
"No, nothing!" Ichigo shook his head.
"It's just that I'm puzzled about how Aizen plans to attack."
"Think about it..." Ichigo voiced his doubts.
At this point, the original Bleach storyline had completely changed.
The Hueco Mundo Invasion Arc directly vanished, transformed instead into a Seireitei defense battle.
The original decisive battle between top-tier fighters also became a more conventional large-scale confrontation.
So Ichigo was somewhat unclear about what Aizen intended to do after gathering the Hollows.
To be honest, the Seireitei was now on the defensive.
Like being forced to respond, forced to keep reserves, forced to prepare to head to Karakura Town.
Everything felt as if shrouded in a thick fog, incomprehensible.
The bullet comments, who had been watching, also understood Ichigo's thoughts.
"Indeed, what exactly does Aizen want to do?"
"Wasn't the plan to turn the spiritually dense area, Karakura Town, into the Oken? But why is he attacking the Seireitei now?"
"Yeah, and the Seireitei is surrounded by Sekkiseki stone. Can he really break in?"
"Didn't Ichigo earlier also need Shiba Kukaku's help to enter from the sky?"
"With the Shakonmaku barrier and the Sekkiseki stone that nullifies Reiryoku, I think Aizen is being too arrogant to attack such a Seireitei."
"Unless…?"
"Unless Aizen has already thought of other methods, ways to bypass the Soul Society's defensive measures!"
The many knowledgeable viewers in the bullet comments explained from their omniscient perspective.
Similarly, Ichigo thought the same.
For Aizen to launch such a large-scale attack,
There was only one possibility: He genuinely wasn't intimidated by these defenses!
"But... is that really possible?"
Rukia beside Ichigo found his speculation hard to believe.
"The properties of Sekkiseki stone are understood by everyone."
"Precisely because its ability to nullify Reiryoku is so powerful, it became the wall surrounding the Seireitei, only descending when the Seireitei is attacked."
"And in the past, the Soul Society was rarely attacked, so the gates rarely descended!"
"Such walls... even if Aizen is a genius, he couldn't have researched a way to break through them so quickly, could he?" Rukia said.
"That's unclear!" Ichigo shook his head.
After a brief discussion, the two quickly headed to the 13th Division.
"Everyone, assemble!"
With the assistance of the original two Third Seats, Ichigo gathered the 13th Division's members who had returned from the Living World and headed to guard the White Road Gate as arranged!
But then, Ichigo's earlier concerns materialized.
A powerful spatial fluctuation transmitted from above everyone's heads!
Boom boom boom boom-
Enormous collision sounds came from all around the Seireitei… the sound of the Sekkiseki stone walls descending!
However, compared to the shock of the stone walls descending, the abnormality in the sky captured everyone's attention!
"My god... this can't be true!"
"Something like this... how is it possible?"
Looking at the sky, Rukia murmured to herself.
Ichigo looked up, his pupils also contracting drastically!
Above the Soul Society's originally blue sky, just like the day Aizen left, a massive black crack had split open!
From within the dark crack, countless Gillians protruded their pointed noses and huge mouths!
The only difference was that this black crack was much, much larger than the one when Aizen left!
It nearly covered the entire Seireitei's sky. A black hole filled with Gillians and many weak Hollows dominated everyone's vision!
"Good lord, is this the apocalypse?"
"So many Hollows? Did Aizen mobilize the entire Hueco Mundo?"
"Astonishing, truly astonishing. We discussed before that Hueco Mundo's overall strength was greater than the Soul Society's."
"But we never expected Aizen could actually gather this many Hollows!"
In Ichigo's live stream, numerous viewers exclaimed.
At this moment, looking at the sky, very few could type normally!
Most could only frantically type [666] and keep sending meaningless strings of letters. (T/N: 666 means amazing/awesome.)
Then, an even more shocking change occurred.
As if being controlled, the gigantic crack covering nearly the entire Seireitei trembled!
A few Hollows fell from the sky, crashing onto the Shakonmaku barrier and being reduced to basic Reishi.
But those were only a few Hollows!
Adopting the same method Ichigo used to enter the Seireitei, but Aizen was not so extravagant as to provide a protective barrier for each Hollow.
He chose only the most plain and simple tactic!
Isn't your Shakonmaku barrier supposed to reduce any matter invading the Seireitei into Reishi?
Then today, let's see how much you can reduce!
Quantity is key, and I'll give you plenty!
After a few Hollows fell and were vaporized by the barrier-
From the massive crack in the sky, a huge amount of white sand fell, like the Milky Way descending from the sky!
"Sand? Going through all that trouble just to pour some sand? What does that mean?"
Rukia couldn't understand Aizen's move.
Similarly, neither could Ichigo.
The two, along with more members of the 13th Division, and everyone in the Seireitei, were all confused.