"Ah, ah, what misfortune. We thought we could complete the mission and retreat safely before alerting you, but we were discovered after all, Hitsugaya Toshiro." Shawlong Koufang said with some headache.
To monitor Toshiro's movements at all times and retreat safely at the critical moment, Shawlong Koufang and Nakeem had specifically come to Toshiro's area.
But before they even reached Toshiro's area, Shawlong Koufang and Nakeem ran into Toshiro and Rangiku, who were actively heading out, on the way.
"Hmph, knowing it's me and still daring to show yourselves, you've got quite some nerve," Toshiro said coldly.
"Well, I have no choice. It wouldn't be good if I just let you go to Grimmjow-sama's place like this."
"I've already notified Grimmjow-sama that you've discovered us and are heading his way, but... I know Grimmjow-sama too well. If he were to give up on his objective and run away without a fight just because you found out, that would be absolutely unacceptable. So..."
"We have to show ourselves. Even if we can only delay you for a moment, as long as Grimmjow-sama can kill Kurosaki Ichigo and safely return to Hueco Mundo during that time, it will be worth sacrificing our lives," Shawlong Koufang said calmly, as if he didn't care about his own life at all.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to be quite loyal," Toshiro said, unable to hide his surprise.
When mentioning Hollows, even those with high intelligence like humans, everyone's first impression is a series of negative words like cruelty, hypocrisy, and cunning. Positive words like loyalty and kindness have no connection to Hollows.
Toshiro hadn't expected that this Shawlong Koufang, knowing full well that blocking him would mean certain death, would still dare to stand in his way.
"Loyalty? Perhaps," Shawlong Koufang said noncommittally.
"Alright, enough with the chatter. I've already given you enough time to stall. Now, let's start the fight," Toshiro said with some impatience.
Toshiro knew that Shawlong Koufang was talking so much mainly to buy time for Grimmjow to kill Ichigo and the others.
Although, thanks to the presence of Sojiro, Ashido, and others, Toshiro wasn't too worried about the current situation, he had no patience to waste more time on these two Hollows.
"Nakeem, you take care of that woman. I'll handle Hitsugaya Toshiro," Shawlong Koufang said, pointing at Rangiku.
"Fine," Nakeem agreed without any hesitation.
After all, it was obvious which was easier between Toshiro himself and his Lieutenant. Besides, as a Hollow with only Lieutenant-level strength, he couldn't handle Toshiro anyway.
After confirming their respective opponents, Shawlong Koufang drew his Zanpakuto and stared intently at Toshiro.
"Toshiro-san, I'm coming!" Shawlong Koufang said solemnly.
"Snip, Tijereta!"
Without hesitation, Shawlong Koufang immediately used his Resurrección right from the start.
Because Shawlong Koufang knew very well that facing an existence of Toshiro's level, if he didn't use his full power, he would never get another chance.
Boom!
An early-stage Captain-class Reiatsu burst from Shawlong Koufang's body. At the same time, the Zanpakuto in his hand disappeared, and his left and right hands transformed into five long blades each. The thin braid behind his head also suddenly turned into a long bone blade resembling a tail.
Whoosh!
Shawlong Koufang's figure vanished instantly, then reappeared behind Toshiro, swinging the five blades on his right hand towards Toshiro's back.
Toshiro remained calm and composed, not even drawing his Zanpakuto. He simply reached his right hand behind him, seemingly slow but actually fast.
Clang—!!
Shawlong Koufang's five-finger blades clashed with Toshiro's right palm, producing a metallic clang.
"That's a pretty good speed. Compared to Byakuya's [Senka], it's not much worse. And... after your Resurrección, not only your strength, but also your speed seems to have increased dramatically. Is it an ability like Ichigo's Bankai, which greatly increases speed for ultra-high-speed combat?" Toshiro asked with interest.
"Ha, who knows..." Shawlong Koufang said expressionlessly, then vanished again, looking for an opportunity to attack Toshiro.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Rangiku was also fighting Nakeem.
However, unlike Toshiro's side, Rangiku was at a disadvantage from the start.
After the battle began between Toshiro and Rangiku, the other members of the advance team also encountered their respective opponents.
Sojiro, Ashido, and Renji encountered Edrad and Yylfordt, while Ichigo and Rukia encountered Di Roy.
"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!!"
"First Dance, White Moon!"
Rukia swung her Zanpakuto gracefully. A circle several meters in radius appeared at the feet of her opponent, Di Roy. Then, a chilling cold emanated from the circle on the ground, freezing Di Roy's legs and gradually spreading to his entire body.
Bang!
Di Roy shattered the ice crystals on his legs with a burst of Reiatsu, then leaped high into the sky.
"Haha... what a pity, Shinigami. I specialize in aerial combat, but your sword can only freeze the ground," Di Roy laughed triumphantly.
Rukia was noncommittal: "Yes, it truly is a pity..."
Boom!
The circle on the ground suddenly shone brightly. The moonlight from the sky pierced through the atmosphere and reached the circle on the ground, forming a pillar of ice connecting heaven and earth, completely freezing everything, including Di Roy inside.
Then, with a loud crash, the pillar of ice, along with Di Roy inside it, shattered.
"...Not just the ground, but the sky and earth encompassed by this circle... are within Sode no Shirayuki's freezing domain..."
At that moment, Ichigo looked on with an expression of disbelief.
"Rukia... was this strong all along...?" Ichigo asked, shocked.
"Of course she is!" Rukia's Gigai explained smugly, "Rukia-san..."
But just as they had finished off Di Roy and the three were talking, another powerful Reiatsu descended!
"Oh? You managed to take care of Di Roy. You're pretty capable. But in that case, I have no choice. I'll just have to kill you all together!" A voice suddenly said.
Hearing the voice, Ichigo and Rukia instinctively looked towards its source.
There stood a figure on a nearby rooftop, looking down at Ichigo and Rukia. He had light blue hair, sky blue eyes, a fang-like mask fragment on his right cheek, and an aura of complete rebelliousness.
"I am the Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Nice to meet you, Shinigami!" Grimmjow said with an arrogant expression.