"A dark crisis…?"
Yoruichi frowned slightly after hearing Gosuke Shigure's words.
"The threat you're talking about…"
She paused, then spoke the name without hesitation.
"…Aizen Sōsuke?"
The moment that name was uttered, the atmosphere changed.
Hirako Shinji and the others instinctively focused their gazes.
Unconscious tension surfaced on their faces, accompanied by traces of lingering hatred and unease.
There was no need for explanation.
Everything that had happened to them
their fall, their exile, their forced Hollowfication
All of it traced back to Aizen.
It was precisely because they had personally experienced Aizen's schemes that they understood just how terrifying he was.
That was why none of them were foolish enough to rush blindly toward revenge.
They had chosen instead to hide, to endure, to accumulate strength
waiting for the moment when vengeance would truly be possible.
Yet Yoruichi had spoken Aizen's name openly, without restraint, directly in front of Gosuke Shigure.
That alone conveyed something important.
It meant that Gosuke Shigure already knew the truth about Aizen.
It meant that this former Kenpachi was not their enemy.
That realization caused subtle shifts in the hearts of Hirako Shinji and the others.
Perhaps…
their situation was not as hopeless as they once believed.
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Gosuke Shigure shook his head calmly.
"Aizen is indeed a threat," he said.
"He single-handedly orchestrated the Hollowfication incident and drove all of you into your current state."
"But the danger I'm referring to
is not Aizen."
The words landed like a thunderclap.
Urahara Kisuke's expression changed immediately.
He knew Gosuke Shigure was not someone who spoke lightly or exaggerated danger.
The fact that Gosuke Shigure had willingly relinquished the captaincy, chosen to retreat into obscurity, and acted from the shadows
That alone proved that the enemy he referred to was something far beyond ordinary imagination.
Urahara couldn't help but ask,
"Sensei… then what exactly is this threat?"
Gosuke Shigure answered without hesitation.
"The Quincy."
"The Quincies?!"
Hirako Shinji and the others couldn't hide their shock.
This answer was completely unexpected.
They had assumed the greatest danger lay within Aizen's hidden forces
but Gosuke Shigure had named an entirely different existence.
A third power.
Neither Shinigami nor Hollow.
Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi immediately thought deeper.
"The Quincies you're referring to…"
Yoruichi said slowly,
"…the ones from the spirit subspace?"
She recalled an incident from years ago.
That space had been discovered by Urahara Kisuke during his tenure as captain of the Twelfth Division
a hidden dimension isolated from the normal flow of the worlds.
Although Yoruichi and Urahara had been ordered to remain outside when Genryūsai Yamamoto personally led the assault, they later learned the details.
That space had been constructed by Quincies.
Within it existed a large, organized Quincy force, far more powerful than the scattered remnants the Soul Society believed remained.
At the time, the Gotei Thirteen had intended to exterminate them completely.
But the outcome had been far from ideal.
Under the command of their leader, the Quincies had executed a large-scale evacuation, abandoning the subspace entirely and vanishing without a trace.
Afterward, the Gotei Thirteen launched repeated searches.
They found nothing.
Which meant only one thing
Those Quincies were still alive.
Still hidden.
Still waiting.
Back then, the Soul Society had briefly classified them as a latent threat.
But before they could be dealt with properly, another disaster erupted
Aizen's Hollowfication incident.
Only now, with Gosuke Shigure raising the issue again, did Yoruichi fully grasp the weight of what had been overlooked.
"Yes," Gosuke Shigure said.
"It's them."
Yoruichi frowned.
"But Sensei… they fled."
"Even if their numbers were considerable, their retreat proved they weren't ready to face the Gotei Thirteen head-on. Why do you consider them a greater threat than Aizen?"
Gosuke Shigure replied calmly,
"The fact that they retreated does not mean they were defeated."
"It means the time was not right."
"They chose to withdraw because it was not yet the moment to wage war."
"And if we fail to prepare
then when that moment finally arrives…"
His voice grew heavier.
"What awaits us may not be a battle
but a catastrophe."
Yoruichi's confusion deepened.
"How could that be…?"
Urahara Kisuke also grew serious.
"Sensei," he said quietly,
"what do you know?"
Gosuke Shigure looked at them steadily.
"I know far more than you think."
Silence fell instantly.
Everyone present fixed their eyes on him.
If anyone here could reveal truths hidden from the Gotei Thirteen
it was Gosuke Shigure.
Feeling their anticipation, Gosuke Shigure allowed a faint smile to appear before speaking again.
"I have been to the Zero Division."
For a brief instant
No one breathed.
Most of those present had once been captains of the Gotei Thirteen.
They all knew of the Zero Division's existence.
As for Yadōmaru Lisa, Mashiro Kuna, and Sarugaki Hiyori
although they hadn't known about it during their vice-captain days, Urahara Kisuke's later explanations had given them some understanding.
The Zero Division stood above the Gotei Thirteen.
Those selected were elevated beyond ordinary captains.
Hikifune Kirio
a captain deeply respected by Hiyori
had been promoted there.
Yet hearing that Gosuke Shigure himself had been to the Zero Division
That was shocking.
"Sensei…"
Yoruichi stared at him in disbelief.
"You really never stop surprising people."
Ordinary captains knew only that the Zero Division existed.
But Yoruichi, as both a former captain and the head of the Shihōin Clan, knew far more.
She knew the truth of the Soul King Palace.
She knew that the Zero Division resided there.
Which meant
Gosuke Shigure had stood within the realm of the Soul King itself.
Gosuke Shigure did not elaborate on how or when he had gone there.
Instead, he continued calmly,
"The structure of the Zero Division is entirely different from the Gotei Thirteen."
"Even including the newly promoted Hikifune Kirio, there are only five members."
"Each one is a captain-class existence."
"And unlike us
they have no subordinates."
Without realizing it, everyone fell silent.
To glimpse even a fragment of the Zero Division's secrets was something exceedingly rare.
And so they listened
with absolute focus.