Smack—!!
After Aizen's words, Isane seemed to guess something as well. She quickly bent down, pressed her right palm to the ground, and closed her eyes, carefully sensing something.
A network woven from Reiatsu continuously spread outward from Isane's palm. After a long while, Isane suddenly opened her eyes, her expression very ugly: "...The passage we used to come to Hueco Mundo has been completely blocked!"
Another location in Las Noches.
"Is... is there really no other way to open the passage again?" Renji asked Mayuri anxiously.
After carefully sensing the condition of the passage once more, Mayuri sighed and said: "It's impossible! The entire space of Hueco Mundo has been sealed by Aizen with a special kind of power. Moreover, this special power seems to have been specifically developed to target Soul Society's Senkaimon. That means, until we find a way to release this power, no Senkaimon from Soul Society will be able to enter or exit Hueco Mundo."
"Then is there no way at all?" Renji said urgently.
"There are ways... As everyone knows, unlike the Senkaimon used by Shinigami, when Hollows want to enter or exit the Living World or Soul Society, they usually directly use Garganta. Since Aizen wants to attack the Living World, he would definitely use Garganta to get there first. So, although Senkaimon can no longer be used in Hueco Mundo, Garganta should still work." Mayuri Kurotsuchi explained.
"Then let's use Garganta..."
"It's impossible!"
Renji was interrupted by Mayuri before he could finish.
"There isn't a single person in all of Soul Society who knows how to use Garganta. And the only person who can analyze Garganta, in the entire Living World and Soul Society combined, is Urahara Kisuke. That means, if we can't contact Urahara Kisuke... we can never go back. Hmph! How infuriating!" Mayuri said with an unhappy expression.
It was unclear whether he was unhappy about not being able to go back, or angry that Kisuke's research on Garganta was better than his own.
"The greatest strength of the Gotei 13 is that each of the thirteen Captains can be a main combatant..."
Aizen said as he stepped into the Garganta and walked towards the Living World on the other side.
"However... now three Captains have betrayed, and five Captains are trapped in Hueco Mundo. Soul Society's combat power has been weakened by more than half, no longer sufficient..."
Aizen walked to the exit of the Garganta and looked down at the 'Karakura Town' below.
"We will destroy Karakura Town, create the Oken, and then attack Soul Society. As for you people... wait until everything is over, then I will come back to play with you..."
"Destroy Karakura Town?!" Upon hearing Aizen's words, Rangiku and Ashido, who were with Zaraki, were shocked.
"What... what should we do now? If we continue forward to save the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force and Nel's companions, then Karakura Town will surely fall victim to Aizen's evil plans..." Rangiku was panicked and confused, her expression flustered.
On one hand, there were the lives of hundreds of thousands of humans in Karakura Town. On the other hand, there were the lives of hundreds of Shinigami in the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force. Rangiku was caught in a dilemma.
"Hey! Calm down. Whether Karakura Town will be destroyed or not is a major issue that doesn't need someone of your rank, a mere Lieutenant, to worry about!" Zaraki said in a deep voice.
"But... Captain Zaraki! This is a matter concerning the lives of countless humans! How can I possibly calm down?" Rangiku said.
"Really, didn't Toshiro tell you about this?" Zaraki said with some impatience.
"Captain? Did Captain tell me something?" Rangiku asked, confused.
"Hmph, it seems Toshiro really didn't mention this to you."
Zaraki explained to Rangiku and Ashido: "Even before Toshiro came to Hueco Mundo, he had already seen through Aizen's conspiracy and anticipated that Aizen might take the opportunity to launch a decisive battle against Soul Society. He told the old man Yamamoto about this. So now, Soul Society is already prepared for battle against Aizen. If I calculate the time correctly... the remaining Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 should have already arrived in the Living World by now."
"Well, I see. So that's how it is. That Captain really is something, not even telling me about it, making me worry for nothing." Rangiku complained dissatisfiedly.
In fact, it wasn't that Toshiro deliberately hid it from Rangiku and the others. He just hadn't found the right opportunity to tell them.
Toshiro had only shared his deductions with Yamamoto after learning about the events in Hueco Mundo through Nel. At that time, Rangiku and the others were not by Toshiro's side, so naturally, they didn't know about it.
After that, Toshiro went to Kisuke to use his power to open a Garganta to go to Hueco Mundo alone with Nel.
Although Rangiku and the others later caught up and came to Hueco Mundo with Toshiro, Toshiro was focused on rescuing the Shinigami of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force and Nel's companions, and didn't have the chance to tell Rangiku and the others these things.
So Rangiku, Ashido, Sojiro, and the others had no idea that Soul Society was already prepared for an early decisive battle with Aizen.
"By the way!" Rangiku suddenly spoke again. "If the battle takes place in Karakura Town, even the residual effects of the Reiatsu from the Captains and Aizen and the others would probably turn Karakura Town into ruins, right!"
"Naturally, Soul Society has considered this. In fact, not long after Aizen's betrayal, this matter was already discussed in a Captains' Meeting."
Zaraki continued explaining to Rangiku: "At that Captains' Meeting, Toshiro proposed replicating an identical Karakura Town in a vast, uninhabited area of Soul Society, and then using some space-related method to replace the real Karakura Town in the Living World with the replicated fake one. So, by now, the Karakura Town in the Living World has certainly already been transferred to Soul Society..."
Although Aizen had betrayed them, no one could be sure whether he had left any hidden assets in Soul Society. So, to prevent Aizen from obtaining any information, apart from the Captains who attended the meeting and the personnel responsible for related tasks, very few others, even Lieutenants, knew about the decisions made at that Captains' Meeting.
…
Living World, 'Karakura Town'.
Aizen stepped out of the Garganta, stood proudly in the void, and looked down at the scenery of the entire 'Karakura Town'.
"Hmm... it seems... we made it in time..." An aged yet authoritative voice suddenly rang out.
Aizen looked up and saw the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai, standing in the void not far opposite him, surrounded by the Captains and Lieutenants of the entire Gotei 13.
"Made it in time?" Aizen said expressionlessly. "What reason do you have to say such things with such confidence?"
"I know very well that this is not the real Karakura Town. But... this will not hinder us in any way!" Aizen said with immense confidence.
Then Aizen waved his hand lightly and said: "Stark, Baraggan, Harribel..."
"Come out!"
Hum-
Hum-
Hum-
As soon as Aizen finished speaking, humming sounds echoed in the void. Then, Garganta appeared in the air, and the Espada and their Fracción walked out from them.