Hearing this, Ren Kurogane frowned. "Is the issue that they can't be merged, or that they simply can't be forged into blades?"
"They cannot be forged into blades," Szayelaporro replied.
"..."
"Get out!"
After leaving Szayelaporro's quarters, Ichigo followed behind Ren Kurogane, his voice filled with curiosity. "Brother, are you guys actually researching the souls of Soul Reapers?"
"Yeah."
"Are you kidnapping Soul Reapers for experiments?"
"Of course not! How could we possibly target Soul Reapers?" Ren Kurogane replied quickly. "We only gather souls from the Rukongai—the ones with no combat potential. Even if they die, the Seireitei won't care. We can experiment on them as much as we want!"
After that day, Ichigo became somewhat quiet. It wasn't until Aizen called for another general assembly that Ichigo, along with Orihime and Chad, attended the meeting.
Seeing Ichigo and the others, Aizen did not drive them out. He got straight to the point. "Tomorrow, I will open the passage to the Soul Society. The Espada will hold off the Gotei 13 for me. Do not let them interfere with my battle against the Zero Division."
"OK, no problem." Ren Kurogane gave a hand gesture and then turned to Ichigo. "Kenpachi is yours!"
"Eh? Me?" Ichigo pointed at himself. After a brief moment of daze, he nodded. "Alright, I'll stall that guy."
Kenpachi's strength was decent, but in Ichigo's eyes now, the man was definitely no longer his match.
When the meeting concluded, Ren Kurogane immediately summoned the Espada for a separate briefing.
"I'll handle the Captain-Commander myself," Ren Kurogane instructed the ten Arrancars. "The rest of the Captains are up to you ten. Remember, your own safety comes first. We only need to stall them. Furthermore, the abilities of Soul Reapers are strange and varied; stay alert. It's best to pick opponents who match your own strength."
"I'll pick my opponent first!" Grimmjow shouted, raising his hand without hesitation.
"Fine. You guys can choose your targets when the time comes, but remember: know your limits," Ren Kurogane warned. "We are only in a cooperative relationship with Aizen. There's no need to throw your lives away."
Ren Kurogane planned to develop Hueco Mundo in the future, so he naturally wouldn't allow its top combat power to be decimated. He intended to save as many Espada as possible.
"Once this business is finished, we're going to vigorously develop Hueco Mundo's civilization. We can't stay savage like we were before."
However, to achieve this, they had to solve the issue of Hollow evolution. If they could resolve the problem of how Hollows increased their strength, they would no longer need to slaughter one another. In a short time, they could complete their civilizational evolution and officially step into a structured era.
The night passed quickly.
The next day, the top combatants currently in Hueco Mundo assembled. In reality, it was just Aizen's trio, Ren Kurogane's Espada, and Ichigo's group.
The total count didn't even reach twenty people.
Ren Kurogane did not let the Espada bring their Fracción. Those weaker Hollows would essentially be fodder; they would likely be vaporized by an AOE attack or the mere shockwaves of the battle.
In the laboratory, Aizen tore open a rift in space. On the other side, the desolate scenery of the Soul Society came into view.
The Captains of the Gotei 13 were all present, standing in the air, waiting for Aizen's arrival.
Notably, it wasn't just the Gotei 13 members present; Shinji and the Visoreds were there, along with Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi, and Isshin Kurosaki.
Seeing this, Aizen's expression didn't change in the slightest. He turned to Ren Kurogane. "I'll leave these people to you."
Flash!
Aizen's trio turned into dark blurs and vanished.
"Don't you dare leave!"
On the opposite side, Old Man Yama saw that Aizen was completely ignoring them and flew into a rage. The disguise of his cane stripped away, revealing a tachi with a purple hilt.
The blade unsheathed, and scorching flames erupted, forming a prison of fire that lunged toward Aizen's path.
"Old man, don't ignore us!" Ren Kurogane extended a finger, a brilliant white light gathering at the tip. "Cero!"
Boom!
The white Cero collided with the Captain-Commander's flames, triggering a massive shockwave of air.
Aizen didn't even spare a glance at the exchange. He led Gin and Tōsen straight toward the heart of the Seireitei.
Originally, he had planned to create the Oken in Karakura Town to strengthen his body before attacking the Royal Palace. But after evolving once, Aizen realized that plan was no longer necessary. If he insisted on destroying Karakura Town or any city in the Living World, Ichigo Kurosaki would definitely not stand by.
Having such a powerful combatant pushed into the opposition wasn't a good thing for him.
Furthermore, after completing one evolution, Aizen discovered to his horror that he could understand Ren Kurogane even less than before. Previously, Aizen could lie to himself by saying he hadn't started his evolution yet. However, during this time, Aizen had secretly evolved three times while observing Ichigo, yet he still couldn't sense Ren Kurogane's spiritual pressure. That was terrifying.
If Ren Kurogane knew Aizen's current thoughts, he would probably laugh and tell him, "Kid, my energy is pushing five black holes. How does someone with an energy level of less than 0.3 black holes have the courage to dance in front of me?"
Ren Kurogane didn't know Aizen's thoughts, though. Right now, he was putting his full acting skills to use, feigning a struggle against the Captain-Commander. Facing the several-thousand-degree heat of Ryūjin Jakka, Ren Kurogane held a spirit-particle sword and stood in the old man's way, appearing shaky and unsteady, yet refusing to retreat an inch.
"Boy! Move!" the Captain-Commander squeezed the words through gritted teeth.
"Old man, don't even think about breaking through my line today!" Ren Kurogane replied, also gritting his teeth.
Seeing Aizen and the others moving away, the rest of the Gotei 13 naturally wouldn't sit idle.
Second Division Captain Soi Fon immediately entered her Shikai state and used Shunpo to give chase.
However, in the next second, her steps were forced to a halt.
Barragan stood before Soi Fon with a grim face. "Little girl, it's best if you don't act rashly."
Soi Fon's expression soured, and she lunged at Barragan immediately. When she reached a distance of ten meters, a smirk played on her lips. The golden stinger on her right middle finger glistened coldly.
Soi Fon's Shikai was Suzumebachi. If she hit the same spot twice, the opponent would die instantly. This was her pride—Nigeki Kessatsu (Death in Two Steps).
In her eyes, Barragan was already a corpse.
But the moment she neared the skeleton, a sensation of impending death washed over her.
Soi Fon's heart trembled. Without hesitation, she chose to widen the distance between her and Barragan. Only when she was ten meters away again did the alarm in her heart fade.
"Damn it! What was that just now?" Soi Fon's face was ugly. She glared at Barragan, temporarily pushing Aizen out of her mind.
Simultaneously, the other Captains trying to give chase were intercepted one by one.
Ichigo faced off against Kenpachi. Kenpachi was delighted by this.
Lilynette stood before the trio of Urahara, Yoruichi, and Isshin. Nel and Halibel faced off against the Visoreds.
Ulquiorra blocked Byakuya and Tōshirō.
Grimmjow, who had claimed he would pick his opponent first, actually ended up a step behind the others, finally facing off against the giant dog, Sajin Komamura.
Szayelaporro faced Mayuri Kurotsuchi. However, Szayelaporro wasn't very interested in Mayuri right now; he sent a few weak Arrancars to stall the man while he watched the drama from a distance.
Finally, the dark-skinned Zommari, covered in eyes, teamed up with Aaroniero to fight the sickly Jūshirō Ukitake.
For a moment, Yammy was left in an awkward position.
"What about me? Why don't I have an opponent? Leave one for me!"
After scanning the battlefield, Yammy set his sights on Ulquiorra's fight.
"It's too unfair for you to fight two people alone! Let me take one off your hands!"