After Momo and the others were surrounded by Hollows, one of the Hollows suddenly attacked Kira.
"Ahhh-"
Seeing the Hollow attacking him, Kira let out a despairing cry.
"Hado #31, Shakkaho!" A sudden voice rang out.
Then a red orb of light shot towards the Hollow.
Boom!
With the sound of an explosion, the Hollow's head was directly blasted apart, turning into Reishi and dissipating.
It was the same Shakkaho. The one used by Momo and the others only caused the Hollow a little pain, but the one Toshiro used directly obliterated the Hollow.
"What a pathetic sight, Kira. Even if you can't win, you shouldn't scream in fear and do nothing." The voice still echoed in the distance, but Toshiro's figure had already appeared before them.
Seeing Toshiro appear, everyone couldn't help but sigh in relief.
"Sorry, Hitsugaya." Kira said, somewhat ashamed.
"Never mind. We can talk about it later. First, let me deal with the Hollows." Toshiro said.
With that, Toshiro used Shunpo with all his might and slashed at the Hollows.
Since Momo and the others were nearby, Toshiro was worried that using a major attack would affect them, so he could only use Shunpo to kill the Hollows at the fastest speed possible.
Toshiro's figure flickered repeatedly, and there seemed to be a Toshiro before almost every Hollow.
This wasn't some clone technique but rather the result of extreme speed.
Swish, swish, swish-
The flashes of sword light were almost blinding. Momo and the others instinctively closed their eyes.
However, a few seconds later, the countless Toshiro figures merged into one.
Boom!
The Hollows' bodies fell to the ground one after another, shattering into ice fragments.
Toshiro turned and walked up to Momo, looking at her with a cold expression.
"Toshiro, I..." Momo looked at Toshiro, somewhat at a loss. She seemed to have done something wrong.
"Idiot! What were you doing! Didn't I tell you to run first?!" Toshiro suddenly shouted angrily.
This was the first time Toshiro had been this angry, and the first time he had yelled at Momo like this.
In Toshiro's memory, although the two of them had often bickered since childhood, they had never truly fought.
Didn't she realize that her safety was the most important thing in his heart?
If something happened to Momo, Toshiro would regret it for a lifetime.
"I'm sorry, Toshiro. I just couldn't stand it... always being a burden to you, always only being able to watch you fight from behind, wuwu..." Momo cried, throwing herself into Toshiro's arms.
"Alright, don't do this again next time. Your safety is the most important thing to me." Toshiro said, patting Momo's head.
He had originally intended to harden his heart and scold Momo a bit, but seeing her like this, Toshiro couldn't help but soften.
"Hisagi, how are the other students?" Toshiro asked Hisagi.
"I told Kazuka and Aoga to take the others to safety. So far, there haven't been any casualties. We should go find the other students and then return to the Soul Society together." Shuhei Hisagi said.
"Mmm." Toshiro nodded.
Then he fully sensed his surroundings again to see if there were any other Hollows.
'None left. Could it be that there were only this many Hollows?' Toshiro wondered.
Though he thought this, for some reason, Toshiro felt a sense of unease.
'It's too simple! Too smooth! This is Aizen's scheme. Could it really be over just like this?' Toshiro found it hard to believe.
"Oh, right. Earlier, just in case, I requested backup from the Soul Society. Now that the Hollows are dealt with, should I tell the reinforcements to return?" Hisagi suddenly said.
"That's it!" A flash of insight suddenly struck Toshiro's mind.
'Even if Aizen didn't know I would suddenly join midway at first and only sent some weaker Hollows, to seize the right moment to act, he would definitely be secretly observing this place. Since he hasn't appeared yet, it means he's still waiting. That is to say, this is far from over.' Toshiro suddenly realized.
Thinking this, Toshiro felt even more uneasy. Knowing he was here, Aizen would definitely send stronger Hollows.
…
Soul Society, Research and Development Bureau.
Aizen stood nonchalantly before a display screen showing Toshiro and the others.
Not far from Aizen, members of the Research and Development Bureau passed by repeatedly, yet they acted as if they didn't see him, each busy with their own work, treating Aizen as if he were invisible and unheard.
This was naturally the ability of Aizen's Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu.
"Ara ara, what an exciting drama."
Beside him, a young man with silver short hair, squinting eyes, and a fox-like smile said.
"But the Hollows have all been killed. What should we do now, Captain Aizen?" The young man beside Aizen asked.
"No need to worry, Gin." Aizen said with a gentle smile.
The silver-haired young man beside him was Gin. Compared to Toshiro's pure silver hair, Gin's hair was silver with a hint of purple.
"They were just ordinary Hollows. We have as many as we need. Although I didn't know Hitsugaya Toshiro would appear initially, now that we know, we can simply send new Hollows." Aizen said indifferently.
"Oh? But what level should we send? This genius's strength is quite formidable. He didn't even release his Zanpakuto just now. Sending a Gillian-class Menos Grande wouldn't be of much use, would it?" Gin asked, his eyes narrowed.
"If sending a Gillian is useless, then just send something stronger than a Gillian, right?" Aizen said, adjusting his glasses.
"Ara ara, that's truly terrifying. But is it worth it? To mobilize such a force for a few students who haven't even graduated yet. Aside from Hitsugaya Toshiro, the potential of the others is, at most, to become Lieutenants." Gin asked, somewhat surprised.
Hollows stronger than Gillian-class Menos Grande would be Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde.