Nohara household.
Everyone except Uryū had gathered here.
Present were Shin, Yoruichi, Soi Fon, Kisuke, Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad.
"What's Ishida up to?"
Ichigo had returned to his usual self after completing his Hollowfication training. The melancholy on his face had vanished.
Orihime said with some concern, "Ishida said he won't have anything to do with Shinigami anymore."
"Forget it, let's not worry about him for now. When we need him, that guy will definitely show up."
Ichigo had a pretty good grasp of Uryū's personality.
Clap! Clap!
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Shin clapped his hands, signaling for silence.
"I've gathered everyone today because important intel has come from Soul Society."
"Soi Fon!"
Shin handed the floor to Soi Fon.
Soi Fon's expression was grave as she said, "Captain Commander sent a message yesterday. Since Aizen's defection, Soul Society has conducted a detailed investigation into the Fifth Division Captain's office, the Great Archive, and Seireitei's Palace of Repentance."
"According to the investigation results, Aizen not only looked up information related to the Hōgyoku, but also information on Ōken."
"Ōken?"
"What's that?"
Ichigo, Orihime and Chad had never heard of it.
Yoruichi explained, "Ōken refers to the royal key. Soul Society has a royal family. Although they are royalty, they do not manage the affairs of the Soul Society."
"The King is called the Soul King, and the Royal Palace is in another dimension of Soul Society, guarded by special royal personnel. Ōken is the key to opening the Royal Palace dimension."
"So, that means Aizen wants to kill the Soul King?"
"Exactly, killing the Soul King is probably that guy's goal."
Orihime asked, "But where is the Ōken? Does Aizen already know?"
"What Aizen saw was not information recording the location of Ōken, but rather the method for creating it."
"The creation of Ōken requires 100,000 souls and a Reishi-dense area (Jūreichi) with a radius of one spiritual ri."
Although Ichigo and the others didn't understand the concept of a Reishi-dense area with a radius of one spiritual ri, the impact of 100,000 souls was undoubtedly immense.
"A Reishi-dense area refers to a location in the Human World with a spiritual anomaly. It changes with the times. Currently, the Reishi-dense area in the Human World is Karakura Town."
"Once Aizen achieves his goal, Karakura Town and the humans on it will be wiped out."
Orihime murmured, "H-How could this happen?"
She was clearly terrified by Aizen's horrifying plan.
Ichigo comforted her, "Don't worry, Inoue, we'll definitely stop Aizen."
After growing stronger, his confidence had returned.
Soi Fon continued, "Captain Commander told us to pay close attention in the Human World. Although Aizen has the Hōgyoku, it will still take several months for it to fully awaken. Before then, we must continue to hone our powers and prepare for the decisive battle."
Kisuke opened his small fan. "Now that we know Aizen's objective, we can formulate targeted countermeasures."
...
Underground space.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Ichigo, in his Hollowfied state, was sparring with Shin.
Looking at Ichigo with his broken mask, Shin was somewhat speechless.
"Kurosaki, your strength has indeed increased after Hollowfication, but how many seconds did you maintain it for?"
A four-second man? Who could he fight with that?
Ichigo scratched his head. "Sorry, I just mastered Hollowfication, and it's still a bit difficult to maintain it."
"You still need to strengthen your Hollowfication maintenance training during this time, otherwise, what can you do in a few seconds?"
"Mhm."
After seeing Ichigo off, Shin called Yoruichi and Soi Fon over.
He revealed his plan. "I intend to make a trip to Hueco Mundo."
"What?"
"What are you going to Hueco Mundo for?"
Both of them were somewhat concerned. Hueco Mundo was Aizen's base of operations now, and going there at this time would be extremely dangerous.
Shin said, "My strength has reached a bottleneck, I must seek a breakthrough now."
"Do you have to go to Hueco Mundo?"
Shin nodded. "Yes. Only Hueco Mundo is the most suitable. Neither the Human World nor Soul Society is suitable for my training. As you know, my battles would cause widespread destruction."
"Moreover, there are plenty of Hollows in Hueco Mundo, making them excellent training opponents."
"I understand. Do you need our help with anything?" Yoruichi knew that Shin had an informant person close to Aizen, so she quickly accepted it calmly.
"Just help me cover it up. I'm afraid it might cause unnecessary trouble."
Soi Fon asked, "How long will you be gone?"
"About a week."
"Don't worry. With my strength, if I face Aizen, even if I can't beat him, he won't be able to keep me."
Yoruichi and Soi Fon nodded. They were both very clear about Shin's strength.
Shin wasn't entirely sure how long this trip would take. He was going to Hueco Mundo this time to make a big splash. As for the few Hollows in the Human World, he'd leave them for Ichigo to rack up achievements.
He had been thinking about Hueco Mundo for a long time.
...
The next day.
Shin set off early in the morning.
Arriving at the outskirts of Karakura Town, he used a Reishi converter to transform into a Reishi body, then waited quietly.
Before long, a Garganta appeared in the sky.
Shin stepped forward to greet him. "Long time no see, Ichimaru."
"Nohara-san, I went to some trouble this time to find an excuse to leave Las Noches."
The person who arrived was the smiling Gin.
After Gin defected to Hueco Mundo with Aizen, he would regularly send his subordinate Hollows to the Human World to leave information for Shin at designated locations.
This time, after Gin received information that Shin was going to Hueco Mundo, he found an excuse to go out and capture experimental Hollows, and personally came to the Human World.
Gin was a bit puzzled. "What are you doing in Hueco Mundo, Nohara-san?"
Shin replied, "To get stronger. Aizen has the Hōgyoku, so his power will definitely increase significantly. My current strength is far from enough."
Gin nodded, not pressing further.
The stronger Shin was, the more advantageous it was for him.
The two entered the Garganta. Gin constructed a path with Reishi, and Shin followed closely behind.
Shin asked, "Ichimaru, has Aizen made any moves recently?"
Gin shook his head. "The Hōgyoku's awakening is still less than 50% right now. He might have a plan in mind, but he hasn't mentioned it to us."
"Hmm... Is he still creating Arrancar with the Hōgyoku?"
Aizen possessed several times the Reiatsu of a Captain. Even if the Hōgyoku wasn't fully awakened, he could briefly fuse with it and unleash the power of its fully awakened state.
"Yes."
Shin didn't know if Wonderweiss had been created by Aizen yet. That guy was specifically designed to deal with Yamamoto. Wonderweiss could absorb flames, making him the bane of Yamamoto's Zanpakutō.
Shin estimated that his own flames would probably also be absorbed by Wonderweiss. That guy was a threat.
"Are there any special Arrancar?"
Gin pondered for a moment. "Special? No, they're all ordinary stuff."
Shin then had a sudden realization that he had been thinking about it all wrong. Since he knew Wonderweiss's ability, then not using fire against him would be enough.
As they spoke, the two had already arrived in Hueco Mundo.
(End of Chapter)
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