"Hitsugaya..."
Ashido had just exhausted himself to kill Teres Holcan and was about to tell Toshiro when he turned and was immediately stunned by the scene before him.
For miles ahead, the area had completely transformed into a vast, icy world. Countless Hollows, now ice sculptures, stood within it.
These lifelike ice sculptures shimmered with crystalline blue light, appearing beautiful yet emitting an extremely dangerous aura. Earlier, Ashido was fully focused on dealing with Teres Holcan's attacks, completely unaware of this development.
But Ashido never expected that in such a short time, the thousands of Hollows surrounding them had been dealt with by Toshiro.
"Hitsugaya... did... did you use Bankai just now?" Ashido asked, looking at the shocking scene before him.
"No, it was just Shikai," Toshiro said nonchalantly.
"Shikai?! Just Shikai has this kind of power?! Then how strong would Bankai be?" Ashido exclaimed in astonishment.
"Well, normally, Shikai's power isn't this strong. I just increased my Reiryoku output earlier. It took quite a bit of energy to achieve that effect," Toshiro explained.
"Even so, it's incredibly impressive," Ashido praised.
"Hitsugaya, it seems your strength is far greater than I imagined. You probably aren't much inferior to Captain Kuruyashiki," Ashido said after some thought.
"The 7th Kenpachi? Compared to him, my current self is indeed slightly inferior," Toshiro mused.
Before coming to Hueco Mundo, Kyoraku had told Toshiro about the 7th Kenpachi, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.
According to Kyoraku, several hundred years ago, Kuruyashiki's strength was immense, far surpassing Kyoraku's own at the time. Aside from the Captain-Commander, Kuruyashiki was almost undisputedly the strongest Shinigami.
'Almost', not definitively, because Unohana existed.
Kuruyashiki never fought Unohana, so it was impossible to determine who was stronger. But it was certain they were on the same level.
At that time, aside from the Captain-Commander, the strongest in the entire Soul Society were Kuruyashiki and Unohana.
Kuruyashiki even received an invitation from the Zero Division, which he declined.
Although Toshiro hadn't seen him personally, his strength definitely surpassed Toshiro's current level.
"By the way, Hitsugaya, you mentioned earlier that besides being the current commander of the Menos Grande Expeditionary Force, you're only the Third Seat of the 10th Division. But with your strength, becoming a Captain shouldn't be difficult, right? Or has the Gotei 13 become so strong that even someone of your caliber can only be a Third Seat?" Ashido asked, puzzled.
In Ashido's view, Toshiro's strength was more than sufficient to be a Captain. Yet Toshiro said he was only the Third Seat.
If in just a few hundred years, the Gotei 13 had progressed to the point where someone like Toshiro could only be a Third Seat, that seemed like an overly rapid advancement.
"No, the Gotei 13's current strength hasn't increased compared to centuries ago… it has actually declined considerably," Toshiro said.
"Declined considerably? Did the Gotei 13 face some major crisis?" Ashido asked with concern.
"Well, although some incidents occurred, that's not the only reason," Toshiro said.
"Due to various reasons, most Gotei 13's Captains are newly appointed in recent years, with generally lower strength. There aren't even many Captains who have served for over a hundred years, so compared to centuries ago, the strength has declined significantly," Toshiro continued.
In ordinary Shinigami's eyes, Captains stood at the pinnacle of the Shinigami hierarchy, and distinguishing who was stronger was difficult. But Toshiro clearly understood that the veteran Captains' strength far surpassed that of the newly appointed ones.
Of course, Aizen and such were exceptions.
Kyoraku once told Toshiro that among all generations of the Gotei 13, the strongest was the first generation.
But afterward, due to various events, the first-generation Captains gradually faded. Now, among the Gotei 13 captains, only Yamamoto and Unohana remained from the first generation.
Compared to past generations, the current Gotei 13 was almost the weakest.
"Since the Gotei 13's strength has declined compared to the past, and with your strength, few among the Captains could be your match, why haven't you become a Captain?" Ashido asked.
"No particular reason. It just so happens all the Captain's positions in the Gotei 13 are filled, and I have no desire to challenge other Captains," Toshiro said casually.
"Besides, I graduated from the Shin'o Academy less than a few years ago. Gaining more experience and familiarizing myself with Shinigami duties is good," Toshiro added.
Just as Ashido was about to continue the conversation, Toshiro suddenly raised a hand to stop him.
"Ashido, more Hollows are coming. Let's leave the Forest of Menos before we talk further. This isn't a place for conversation," Toshiro said seriously.
Although Toshiro had frozen all the Hollows surrounding them earlier, due to the Reiatsu emitted during the battle, countless more Hollows were being drawn here and were now very close.
"Mm, in that case, Hitsugaya, follow me. The exit of the Forest of Menos is still some distance away. We should hurry," Ashido said, also sensing many Hollows approaching. They needed to leave quickly.
"No need to run far looking for an exit. We'll leave the Forest of Menos from here," Toshiro said casually.
"From here? Is there an exit here?" Hearing Toshiro, Ashido carefully looked upward but saw no exit.
"Don't worry. There isn't one now, but there will be soon," Toshiro said with a mysterious smile.
"Bankai! Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"
Toshiro suddenly chanted softly.
Boom!
Powerful Reiatsu erupted from Toshiro's body. Simultaneously, his body began rapidly growing, transforming into an adult's physique.
Ashido stared in astonishment at Toshiro's dramatically changed appearance, sensing his strength had increased immeasurably compared to before.
Toshiro had no intention of explaining to Ashido now.
"Ice Dragon Flash!"
Turbulent Reiryoku converged into Hyorinmaru.
Then, a massive ice-blue slashing attack shot directly towards the ceiling of the Forest of Menos.
Booom!
An earth-shattering roar. Toshiro's Ice Dragon Flash directly pierced through the unknown thickness of the sandy soil layer above. A large hole appeared in the Forest of Menos's ceiling, leading to the surface.
Then, a blue radiance shimmered behind Toshiro's back, and massive frost wings appeared.
Toshiro grabbed Ashido with one hand, flapped his wings, and soared upward.