Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.
The three groups led by Unohana, Byakuya, and Zaraki fought their way through, defeating one guard post after another in Las Noches, unswervingly heading towards the Fifth Tower.
As for Mayuri, he was still studying the structure of the Garganta, trying to analyze it as quickly as possible to break the deadlock of being trapped in Hueco Mundo.
Meanwhile, in a certain dimensional space attached to Hueco Mundo.
A colossal iceberg, over a kilometer high and several kilometers long, stood quietly at the center of the entire dimensional space. And at the very center of the iceberg was Toshiro, trapped in the dimensional space by Aizen.
"I wonder how much time has passed... Has the decisive battle between the Gotei 13 and Aizen ended yet..." Toshiro murmured to himself, somewhat confused.
Because he was frozen inside the colossal iceberg formed by Absolute Zero, the concepts of time and space had become blurred inside the iceberg. Therefore, Toshiro could not even sense how much time had passed outside. He only felt that since being frozen, it seemed as if tens of thousands of years had passed, or perhaps only an instant.
Moreover, although Toshiro had barely survived inside the iceberg under the state of Absolute Zero, with the erosion of the ice-cold power, he felt his consciousness becoming increasingly blurred. If this continued, Toshiro felt that he would definitely fall into eternal slumber.
In such a state, although Toshiro would not lose his vital signs, he would sleep forever like a vegetable, falling into a 'half-dead, half-alive' state.
"Yo, can't hold on anymore? My master, this miserable look of yours is still quite unsightly..." A teasing voice suddenly sounded in Toshiro's heart.
"What!? This voice is... Hyorinmaru?!!" The sudden voice made Toshiro shudder, and his gradually fading consciousness cleared up considerably.
"Ah, that's right, it's me..." Hyorinmaru replied.
"How is this possible? I tried to contact you at the beginning when you were sealed, but you never responded. Now, how can you communicate with me again?" Toshiro couldn't help asking.
"The reason you couldn't contact me at the beginning was because you were too careless, which led to me being sealed by the Arrancar Aizen created. That's why I couldn't respond to your call."
"But that guy named Phoenix was ultimately just something Aizen created using the Hogyoku. However, I evolved from the Ice Dragon Pearl and your soul's power. My level of existence is much higher than Aizen's Hogyoku, let alone just an Arrancar created with the Hogyoku. So no matter how much that Arrancar's ability is amplified, it cannot completely seal me."
"So, I was just temporarily sealed by him because I was caught off guard. In fact, if you had continued fighting Aizen and delayed a little more time, I could have broken the seal on my own using my own power, and you could have continued using my power."
"But unfortunately, you were later locked in this dimensional space by Aizen. And when that Arrancar absorbed your ice-cold power and self-destructed, the power far exceeded imagination, and even I was affected. I could only contact you now." Hyorinmaru explained.
"I see..."
After hearing Hyorinmaru's explanation, Toshiro's somewhat dazed consciousness cleared up a bit. He calmed his mind and prepared to enter the inner world where his Zanpakuto resided to have a detailed face-to-face exchange with Hyorinmaru.
Inside Toshiro's Inner World.
A vast, endless ice plain, with a giant iceberg towering into the sky. And atop that iceberg stood a magnificent ice crystal palace.
Inside the ice crystal palace, Hyorinmaru in human form was leaning on an ice-blue throne, propping his chin with his right hand, eyes closed as if resting.
"You're here, Toshiro." Hyorinmaru suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at the empty hall below the high platform.
Whoosh!
Before Hyorinmaru finished speaking, a flash of blue light passed through the empty hall, and then Toshiro's figure appeared in the hall.
Tap, tap, tap...
Toshiro ascended the steps and walked to the throne on the high platform.
"How rude. Since you know your master has arrived, why don't you quickly give up your seat?" Toshiro said to Hyorinmaru, who was lounging casually on the throne.
"Are you okay, Toshiro? You look a bit pale?" Upon hearing Toshiro's words, Hyorinmaru did not get up to give him his seat, but looked at Toshiro with concern.
Toshiro was pale and looked weak, as if suffering from a serious illness.
Seeing Toshiro like this, Hyorinmaru couldn't help but reach out with a tender hand, sympathetically pulling Toshiro to lie down on her knees, then massaged his head.
Fortunately, the throne was spacious enough, like a long couch, and Toshiro's height was relatively short, so he could completely lie down.
Toshiro closed his eyes, quietly enjoying Hyorinmaru's head massage. The tiredness on his face also seemed to fade somewhat.
Then Toshiro couldn't help sighing: "Well, it's not okay. In the environment of Absolute Zero, my body is constantly being eroded by the ice-cold power. Although I can immunize against most ice-based powers, ultimately it's impossible to be completely immune. So if this continues, I'm afraid I will fall into eternal slumber..."
"Don't worry." Hyorinmaru rarely comforted in a soft voice. "The current situation hasn't reached a dead end yet... maybe this is even a good opportunity. If used well, not only can you take a step further in your strength, but breaking out of this dimensional space and escaping your predicament wouldn't be difficult either..."
"Huh? What do you mean by that? A good opportunity? What kind of good opportunity is this?" Toshiro asked in confusion.
"What kind of good opportunity? Naturally, an opportunity for training." Hyorinmaru said matter-of-factly.
"Training?"
"Correct. As long as you take this opportunity to continue absorbing the divine power from the Ice Dragon Pearl and comprehend the [Ice Law], your strength will definitely take a step further. It might even be possible to directly break through to the [True God level]. Then, you will be the veritable King of Ice. All ice-attribute powers in the world will be under your control. Even the iceberg formed by Absolute Zero that now traps you will be within your command. So, naturally, breaking free will not be difficult!"
"But... my strength has already reached the limit of a Shinigami. Increasing it even a little is extremely difficult. Although absorbing [Divine Power] and comprehending the Ice Law can indeed bring some growth, wanting to increase significantly, even break through to the True God level, is not something that can be done in a short time, right?" Toshiro frowned.
"If it can't be done in a short time, then what about a long time?" Hyorinmaru said matter-of-factly.
"Isn't that nonsense? If it takes a long time, not to mention the decisive battle with Aizen, even Yhwach would have come out to cause trouble, right? No! I've been trapped for so long, I'm afraid even if I could break free right now, I would have missed the decisive battle with Aizen!" Toshiro sighed.
"Heh..." Hyorinmaru suddenly chuckled softly. "Have you misunderstood something, Toshiro? This is a world under Absolute Zero! Under these conditions, time and space are still. Logically speaking, there should be unlimited time. However, because you survived the Absolute Zero environment, the Absolute Zero is no longer pure, and time has begun to flow again. But the speed of time flow is also extremely slow. In short, the flow of time here is much slower than outside. Why don't you guess how much time has passed since you were trapped..."
Toshiro hesitated: "Well... since being trapped, my concepts of time and space have become blurred. Just from my own feeling, it seems as if tens of thousands of years have passed. However... the actual time probably hasn't been that long..."
"Correct, of course it hasn't been as exaggerated as several thousand or tens of thousands of years. In fact, since you were trapped here, in the outside world... only a few minutes have passed!" Hyorinmaru said.