Chapter 166: The Battle of "Jigokuchō" Begins
It was not just those two thousand plus Shinigami who had been intimidated.
Yamamoto Genryūsai's spiritual pressure swept across the entire Seireitei, making the very air tremble like rolling thunder.
Even the squad members stationed in their barracks were deeply shaken.
"Is that... Lord Genryūsai's spiritual pressure?"
"The Headmaster... came out of retirement?!"
"Great! With Captain Commander Yamamoto here, the rear is secure."
"Mhm. Our Fourth Division can focus entirely on providing medical support now."
"What are you talking about? Even if Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu aren't here, your General Medical Relief Station is still impregnable. Why? Because Mr. Ukitake is stationed there!"
The nurses and doctors of the Fourth Division were left speechless by the patients from other divisions.
After Yamamoto Genryūsai retired and moved to revitalize the Spirit Arts Academy, Ukitake had not stayed idle either. He had gone to the Fourth Division as a consultant.
Though he had not done anything especially flashy, he had fully used the skills accumulated over centuries as a Captain to solve countless problems for the Fourth Division.
Every matter he dealt with looked insignificant on its own.
But once they were piled together, the results became substantial.
Because of that, all kinds of positive indicators for the Fourth Division had steadily risen.
He had perfectly embodied the saying, "A true warrior leaves no dazzling achievements."
As those accomplishments, enough to make the current acting lieutenant Isane want to cry in shame, gradually entered everyone's sight, the affection people felt toward him grew day by day.
Inside the Fourth Division, his standing was second only to Retsu Unohana.
So, even though Unohana and Isane had both gone to the battlefield, the Fourth Division had not descended into chaos. Everyone remained at their post, carrying out their duties without a single person joining the crowd in Shino Ward.
"By the way, where is Mr. Ukitake?"
"He should be in the office, handling things on Captain Unohana's behalf, right?"
"...He's really working hard."
That was the truth.
Back when he was in the Thirteenth Division, he had not been this concerned with work.
That said, it was not because Ukitake had been lazy before. Rather, after retiring, the pressure on him had vanished, and he had become full of energy every day, in remarkably good condition.
On top of that, with Unohana's superior medical skills and the fact that he was recuperating in the Fourth Division, his health had remained stable.
Naturally, that left him with more than enough energy to do additional work.
At that moment, Ukitake stood by the window, looking toward Shino Ward. Although he had expected it, truly feeling his teacher's spiritual pressure still gave him a profound sense of reassurance.
"I really am pathetic... still thinking about having my teacher shield me from the wind and rain. That should have been my duty as a disciple..."
Feeling deeply ashamed, Ukitake sighed and lifted his gaze toward the sky, his expression slowly growing solemn.
The defectors had finally run out of patience.
Without question, what came next would be a decisive battle with no retreat.
What would determine victory this time would no longer be trickery or schemes.
It would be which side's limit stood higher.
What could he still do for everyone?
"If the Three Worlds are about to undergo a catastrophe, then the Soul King will surely be affected as well. Perhaps I should put aside my own wishful thinking now and begin preparing myself... When the time comes, I can only leave everything to you... Mimihagi sama."
Suddenly, the speed at which the foreign scenery was eroding the sky slowed by dozens of times.
Ukitake caught the change sharply and, after a moment's thought, immediately understood the reason.
"So the Kidō Corps has begun moving as well..."
In the Dangai, the gap between worlds.
Suspended within the vast Garganta, it was made up of countless severed layers of space and surrounded by the torrent of time itself.
It could only be described as a dangerous realm cut off from the world.
In the past, nobles who had lost political struggles were exiled into the Dangai, wandering it with no one knowing what ultimately became of them.
Yet for Yushima Ōshu, the Dangai was merely another place.
"Everyone, stay sharp! There must not be a single error with the stabilization devices! Within one hour, all twelve thousand points covering the entire corridor from Soul Society to the Human World must be secured!"
"Yes!"
The Kidō practitioners answered in unison.
"The timing is a bit tight."
Kagerōza walked beside Yushima, inspecting the work throughout the Dangai.
"I know it's tight, but this concerns the front line. We have to suppress the spread of the Jigokuchō's influence over the Three Worlds as quickly as possible and buy time for Captain Commander Takeru and the others. If we can't even manage that, Mayuri Kurotsuchi will absolutely mock us without mercy. I have no desire to listen to his incessant nagging again."
Yushima let out a cold snort.
At the mention of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Kagerōza ground his teeth as well.
"Mayuri Kurotsuchi... that bastard. Back then, he even tried to pin the Technical Development Bureau's budget deficit on me. Sure, I did misappropriate a few Ganju facilities, but compared to him, that was nothing."
"And yet he still holds a grudge. When we took over the Kidō Corps and started separating its authority from the Technical Development Bureau, he was sarcastic from start to finish, like he was tossing scraps to beggars!"
Originally, because Tessai Tsukabishi and Hachigen Ushōda had defected, the Kidō Corps, which had once stood alongside the Gotei 13 and the Onmitsukidō, had lost its leaders and could only survive by attaching itself to the Gotei 13 over time, eventually becoming little more than an affiliated department.
That alone was not necessarily a problem.
The Onmitsukidō also had its Commander in Chief, and now it was partially integrated with the Second Division.
That said, at least it was still treated as being at the "division" level.
The Kidō Corps, on the other hand, had been reduced to a subordinate branch beneath the Technical Development Bureau.
This had become a constant source of frustration for Yushima Ōshu and Kagerōza, who had taken over as Grand Kido Master and Vice Kido Master.
After all, after everything, were they supposed to end up as subordinates of Mayuri Kurotsuchi?
There was no way they could accept that.
So the very first thing they did after taking office was draw a firm line between themselves and the Technical Development Bureau.
Personnel, duties, responsibilities. They sorted them out one by one.
Because of that, the two of them had held many rounds of negotiations with Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Mayuri himself did not particularly care whether the Kidō Corps cooperated with him or not. If he had no support from them, he could simply train his own people.
However, he personally disliked both Yushima Ōshu and Kagerōza.
Thus, every meeting between them inevitably turned into an argument.
It was much like the way Mayuri and Kenpachi could never get along.
That was why, no matter what, Yushima and Kagerōza absolutely did not want to become a joke in his eyes.
"It's hard not to disappoint others. But to make Mayuri Kurotsuchi thoroughly disappointed? That's much easier, and much more interesting."
"Exactly. I'll supervise the first half of the Human World entrance. I'll leave the second half to you."
The two hit it off immediately.
Without even waiting for Yushima's order, Kagerōza took the initiative and accepted the task.
Just as Yushima Ōshu and Kagerōza were leading the Kidō Corps through the Dangai, Takeru and his group also arrived inside the Jigokuchō.
The moment they stepped through the curtain of light, they entered another world.
What greeted them was a barren landscape.
Dry air slammed into their faces.
A great many people paused instinctively, tightening their grip on their sword hilts.
And in truth, that reaction was not wrong.
They had arrived at the bottom of a canyon, with cliffs on both sides towering more than a hundred meters high and blocking out most of the light.
Their field of vision was extremely narrow, allowing them to see only the two ends ahead and behind.
And from both of those visible directions, massive enemy forces were already rushing toward them in a flood.
"Those are... Kōkon?"
The humanoid monsters dressed in white cloaks and long red horned hats were not unfamiliar to those who had researched the Jigokuchō in detail before choosing to come here.
"There are an extraordinary number of them."
Aizen muttered to himself as he adjusted his glasses.
"Their spiritual pressure is odd as well. It seems a little different from the Kōkon described in the old records."
Kyōraku picked up the thread, smiling lightly even as his eyes sharpened.
"Nemu."
Mayuri called her name softly, and Nemu immediately produced a cutting edge reishi computer.
An antenna extended from the top, sending out invisible waves of spiritual energy. Like a radar, it captured and recorded the anomalies in the enemy's spiritual pressure before analyzing them at maximum speed.
For entities like Kōkon, whose reishi composition was relatively simple, there was no need to even exchange blows to collect useful information.
In only three to five seconds, the results appeared.
"...Reii Level 20. Spirit wave analysis indicates ten percent mutated reishi. Preliminary conclusion: hybrid variants containing Quincy and Hollow characteristics."
Nemu's voice reached everyone present and caused several expressions to shift.
"I see."
Takeru thoughtfully grabbed at the air before him. Invisible reishi manifested within his palm through his Bount power, though it looked unusually unstable.
"It seems... this Jigokuchō has already been altered far beyond recognition."
"By devouring the reishi of the Garganta, as well as the potential spatial substance within the Jigokuchō, it has multiplied and expanded at a frenzied rate. The density of reishi in the air here has already reached a level comparable to Hueco Mundo."
"That means that the Kōkon, energy aggregates split off from the Jigokuchō, which is itself a collective of souls, have also mutated."
"A hybrid of Quincy and Hollow, huh... Given the Kōkon's instinct to seek out and merge with the memory aggregate, the shinenju, they may also possess the ability to absorb reishi or even souls upon contact."
As they spoke, the army of Kōkon had already rushed close.
The first to move and meet them head on were the Lieutenants and the elite seated officers.
The Lieutenants needed no introduction.
But even the seated officers chosen to enter the Jigokuchō and fight to the death against Ichimaru's group and the resurrected Espada were not weaklings.
First Division Third Seat, Yūshirō.
Third Division Third Seat, Kibune.
Fourth Division Third Seat, Hanatarō.
Ninth Division Fourth Seat, Nozomi.
Eleventh Division Third Seat, Ikkaku, and Fifth Seat, Yumichika.
Though Rukia was absent, the combat power below Captain level had increased rather than decreased, especially with Orihime joining as an outside support.
"Hah!"
Yūshirō, whose Shunpo was exceptional, plunged into the enemy ranks like a cannonball, scattering dozens of Kōkon with a single punch.
Not to mention the Lieutenants. Even the selected seated officers split into two groups and charged toward the enemy forces both ahead and behind.
In order to save as much stamina and spiritual pressure as possible for the unknown battles still waiting beyond this one, they intentionally relied on pure swordsmanship and Hakuda at first.
Yet that decision quickly proved to have drawbacks.
The Kōkon looked weak, but individually they were still on par with ordinary souls, and through sheer numbers, a few of them managed to land hits.
And every physical touch, even the slightest brush against the back of a hand, would drain away a trace of spiritual energy, leaving behind a faint but unpleasant sensation in the body.
"Damn it...! Captain Commander Takeru was right. These trash bastards really can absorb spiritual energy and even soul force through physical contact...!"
Iba, Ōmaeda, and the others all cursed inwardly.
Having spiritual energy absorbed was one thing.
But if what was stolen was soul force, then it was no different from one's own lifespan being shaved away.
Though it was not an irreversible injury, there was no time to rest and recover on a battlefield like this. Once their souls weakened, it would not matter how much physical strength or spiritual energy they still had left. They would lose the ability to keep fighting.
"...Was this part of Kisuke Urahara's scheme too? I have to admit, this move is disgustingly effective. He forces us to use our real strength to kill these Kōkon so they can't touch us. But once we start spending power, isn't the result practically the same as letting them touch us in the first place?!"
Kibune, who had once taken part in the defense of Seireitei and now wanted to continue accumulating merit on this new battlefield, was thoroughly disgusted.
The enemy ranks stretched far past the horizon. Given the current scale of the Jigokuchō, the number of Kōkon that could be generated inside it had to be astronomical.
The thousands or tens of thousands currently visible were only a tiny fraction.
Combined with their passive absorption ability, they were even more troublesome than the Quincy army.
It felt like fighting an endless swarm of cannon fodder that had no value in killing and yet simply refused to die off.
As if answering his thoughts, dense groups of Kōkon began appearing on the canyon walls and on the cliffs high above, diving down toward everyone.
"This is bad!"
Shūhei's pupils shrank.
He was just about to release his Zanpakutō and cut down the enemies descending from above when countless flower petals suddenly whistled past him, slashing every Kōkon within his field of view apart.
The same scene happened all around the battlefield.
In what seemed like a single instant, all the Kōkon that had been pressing down on them from every direction were annihilated.
"Brother Byakuya?"
Yūshirō had been just about to unleash his finishing move, only to be interrupted again. He turned around with obvious resentment.
Sure enough, Byakuya had stepped out alone from the main formation where the Captains were gathered.
Compared with a year ago, his hair had been cut shorter, just like Rukia's. He had also discarded both the Kenseikan and the Ginrei neckpiece that symbolized the Kuchiki Clan head. In their place were newly styled segmented ornaments and a high collared, embroidered captain's haori adorned with twin golden tassels, the very gift Takeru had once brought him in person.
He looked more refined and aristocratic than ever.
Exquisite petals circled him, hiding deadly intent.
And notably, he was still only holding a hilt with no blade.
That meant that the petal storm which had just wiped out the entire wave of Kōkon had been nothing more than his Shikai.
"That guy really couldn't hold back either."
Ichigo commented, resting his Zanpakutō against his shoulder.
He had been planning to switch over to his black bow and clear them himself, but Byakuya had acted first.
"By the way, Takeru... every part of what you predicted came true. The Kōkon's abilities, and even the fact that the enemy had thousands lying in wait to ambush us."
"I forgot to mention the last part. The advantage is ours."
Takeru remained calm and composed.
Ichigo, who had originally wanted to tease him a little, could only swallow his words and let the idea go.
It was true. No matter how many Kōkon the enemy sent, and no matter how troublesome they were, they could never pose a real threat to the Captains.
Unfortunately, the enemy had clearly thought of that too.
"Ha! Is there really any need to be this tense? They're just a bunch of scraps, and yet a Captain already has to step in? I've been waiting for this fight for a long time. Don't go wasting your strength at the very beginning. It'll make beating you too boring."
A wild, arrogant voice rang out from above the canyon.
Takeru merely raised his eyelids slightly and looked in that direction.
There he saw a blue haired young man wearing the familiar Arrancar uniform, one foot planted atop a rock outcropping as he looked down at them. His beast like eyes were more striking than the sunlight behind him.
"I wondered who it might be. So it was you... Grimmjow."
Ikkaku's pupils contracted, and a provocative grin spread across his face.
Grimmjow looked at him and bared a feral smile of his own.
"So it's you... you stinking bald head."
"Who the hell are you calling bald, you mangy cat?!"
"Hah?! Are you missing a brain along with your hair? This great me is obviously the King of Leopards!"
Veins bulged on both Grimmjow and Ikkaku as their insults flew back and forth.
Then another familiar figure appeared atop the canyon wall, accompanied by a familiar voice.
"Stop this meaningless bickering, Grimmjow."
Harribel stood there with her arms crossed, Apache and her other two Fracción beside her.
The moment she appeared, the expressions of Byakuya and Renji, who had clashed with her before, shifted slightly.
Ichigo also frowned and glared at her.
"You were one of the people who appeared in the Human World and kidnapped Rukia, weren't you?!"
"That's right."
Harribel answered without hesitation.
At the same moment, another voice rang out.
"Sorry. I had a hand in it too."
Nelliel appeared with a flash atop the canyon wall, accompanied as always by Pesche and Dondochakka.
"If you want revenge, then come find me first, young man."
Starrk and Lilynette casually walked to the cliff's edge like two people out for a stroll, entering everyone's view.
"Starrk..."
Ichigo's expression darkened.
With the reappearance of the same "capture team" that had taken Rukia away, as well as the restless Grimmjow, the remaining Espada emerged one after another.
"You stinking woman! You didn't think I'd still be alive, did you?"
Nnoitra rested his giant scythe across his shoulders and glared hatefully at the woman among the Captains who, in his eyes, only looked quiet and composed but was in truth monstrously brutal beyond words. Retsu Unohana.
Yet Unohana's reaction remained cold.
The insult "stinking woman" did not stir even a trace of anger in her.
And while Nnoitra was still trying to come up with another insult to vent his hatred, a giant well over five meters tall, Yammy, the Tenth Espada, roared toward Kenpachi.
"You bastard! This time I'm tearing your head off, and that pink haired brat beside you too!"
"With just you? Forget it. It's been over a year, and all you've done is get bigger. You haven't actually grown much stronger. I'm not interested. Rare opportunities like this shouldn't be wasted on someone boring. Go find someone else."
Kenpachi picked at his ear as he answered, sounding entirely uninterested.
"What did you say?!"
Yammy flew into a rage at those words.
But someone else was even angrier than he was.
Szayelaporro.
"Mayuri Kurotsuchi! The humiliation you forced upon me will be returned a thousandfold!"
"For once, I actually agree with part of Zaraki's thinking. I have no interest in experimental subjects I've already thoroughly analyzed. Unless you first go kill Kisuke Urahara and then come back afterward, I might look at you differently. But judging by things, you lack both the ability and the courage for that."
Mayuri snorted in open disdain.
Szayelaporro's face darkened instantly, his teeth grinding together.
Then Zommari and Ulquiorra appeared side by side.
They looked straight toward Kyōraku and Nanao.
Neither side seemed to see through the other's intent.
Yet before anything could be said, another voice boomed out.
"Do not create a disturbance before the King."
There was no throne, no retinue standing behind him.
And yet, the final one to appear was still the Second Espada, the former ruler of Hueco Mundo, one of the Three Kings who had once fallen at Takeru's hands.
Baraggan Louisenbairn stepped out above the canyon carrying his double bladed axe, his presence alone making all the other Arrancar lining the cliffs on both sides seem like subordinates awaiting his command.
But none of the Arrancar cared.
A great enemy stood before them.
So all they could see were the powerful opponents they had chosen for themselves.
"One, two, three, four... ten. Hmm. The Espada really are all here."
Yoruichi counted them off at her leisure before turning to look at Takeru.
"Captain Commander, we seem to be surrounded. So what now?"
Ichigo and the rest of the Captains, along with the Lieutenants, the seated officers, and the lone Substitute Shinigami, all turned to look at their commander.
Takeru gazed into the distance, completely ignoring Baraggan's existence as if it meant nothing. His focus was locked on the enormous floating city looming in the sky, as though he were carefully sensing something beyond it.
After a moment, he spoke.
"Captain Kurosaki and Captain Aizen, come with me. We're heading straight for the enemy's nest to confirm the situation. Everyone else, act freely."
"Act freely, huh... That's good. I wasn't interested in standing around guarding things anyway."
Kenpachi cracked his neck and grinned.
Mayuri also made no effort to conceal the delight in his face.
"Let's move."
Takeru leapt upward the moment he spoke, as though invisible wings carried him into the air.
Ichigo and Aizen followed him without hesitation.
"Stay here! Don't think you can simply leave with God looking down upon you!"
Seeing the two people he wanted most ignore him and focus on something else entirely, Baraggan's anger exploded. His whole face twisted, stripped of the cold arrogance and composure he had worn when he first appeared.
Yet just as he raised his battle axe and prepared to strike, an ice dragon roared upward and slammed into him.
Baraggan blocked the sharp jaws and immense force with his axe, but he was still blasted back dozens of meters, losing the perfect chance to intercept Takeru's trio.
And when he tried to pursue them, a white haired boy was already standing in his path.
"Sorry... This time, your opponent is me."
Tōshirō stood expressionless, holding his sword in both hands at mid stance.
He looked like a righteous young swordsman.
But the immense spiritual pressure pouring from him proved he was anything but an ordinary boy.
At the same time, the rest of the battlefield also exploded into motion.
The others created their own chaos almost immediately, each using it to pin down their chosen opponent.
Violent spiritual pressure many times greater than that of a normal Captain level Shinigami exploded, tearing apart the canyon itself, while figures shot out of the rising clouds of dust one after another.
As though awakened, more Kōkon began crawling out of the ground, forming an army as vast as a tide of ants and pouring in from every direction, numbering in the millions.
"They're here again?!"
Ōmaeda's face went pale.
The emerald haired girl, Nozomi, said coldly, "Isn't this still better than fighting Arrancar?"
Then she released her Zanpakutō and took the lead in charging forward, quickly seizing favorable terrain in order to harvest the Kōkon as efficiently as possible, given their relatively average mobility.
"Huh... That's actually true..."
Compared to fighting Arrancar, Ōmaeda would much rather bully these long hatted little bastards, as long as he made sure not to get touched or surrounded.
If one of the Captains ran into trouble and happened to see him cutting through enemies this diligently, they probably wouldn't have the heart to drag him into a far more dangerous fight.
Once he thought it through, Ōmaeda suddenly became full of spirit. With a roar, he charged at the Kōkon army, even overtaking Nozomi in the process.
That left Nozomi and several others momentarily stunned, and the tension in their hearts was eased just a little by the ridiculous sight.
.....
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