A black-haired girl with a distinctive onion-shaped haircut leapt out of an Senkaimon that opened in the sky.
Her petite figure was dressed in a black Shihakushō, and a long sword hung at her waist.
The girl's name was Kuchiki Rukia, a member of the 13th Division of the Gotei 13 in Soul Society. She had been assigned by the Seireitei to station herself temporarily in Karakura Town.
Her primary duties were to perform Konsō (Soul Burial) on wandering human souls, guiding them to Soul Society, and to eliminate Hollows that might invade the Human World, thereby protecting Karakura Town.
"Strange… the Human World doesn't seem as dangerous as the rumors say."
Rukia landed lightly on the street, a trace of confusion between her brows. She could not sense any Hollow Reiatsu anywhere in Karakura Town.
This was completely different from the terrifying stories about Hollow extermination she had heard at the Shin'ō Academy.
Rukia wandered aimlessly along the streets.
There were no Hollows attacking humans, and not even wandering spirits. Karakura Town seemed too clean. For a moment, Rukia found herself at a loss.
Where should she go?
Since she would be stationed here for a while, she needed somewhere to stay. She had heard that some shrines in the mountains were uninhabited…
Maybe she should check those out.
What Rukia didn't notice was that in the alley behind her, tiny objects the size of grains of rice quietly shattered one after another.
"Hello? Mr. Tsunayoshi, we've discovered that not only the sky above Karakura Town, but even the street corners show signs of Garganta openings."
Urahara Kisuke's voice came through the communication channel.
"You mean the ones in the sky are just meant to distract us?"
While casually using illusions to wipe out the lesser Hollows in the sky, Tsuna activated his Fullbring.
"Demon Spade's Demon Lens."
Scanning the streets of Karakura Town with the magic mirror, Tsuna quickly noticed faint traces of Hollow power scattered around.
To Hollows, this kind of energy was irresistibly attractive—deadly bait.
Tsuna looked up at the sky again.
The traces of bait were even clearer there. He could clearly see tiny insects carrying small pellets in their grasp.
Those pellets were Hollow Bait.
With a flick of his hand, Tsuna eliminated the insects he had spotted and spoke into the channel.
"It's Hollow bait. Tiny insects are crushing bait pellets in the sky. There are some in the streets too, though the affected area is smaller—just enough to trap Ichigo."
"Insects?" Urahara replied.
"Hirako, Mr. Ishida—please prioritize clearing those insects."
"Tsuna, you're saying that way too late! I'm surrounded by Hollows here!"
Ichigo shouted in frustration.
With only Orihime's abilities supporting them, the two of them couldn't break out easily. They were forced to keep running while being driven back by the Hollows.
"Ah? Ichigo, you should've said so earlier," Tsuna said calmly.
"Though even if you had… none of us have the time to help you."
"Just keep running. There shouldn't be any Hollows fast enough to catch you."
"Damn it! Easy for you to say!"
Roaring angrily, Ichigo wrapped an arm around Inoue Orihime, relying on her Shun Shun Rikka shield to block the Hollows' attacks as they charged forward.
"Don't worry, Ichigo," Tsuna added.
"Do you feel that Reiatsu not far from you? Move toward it. That's your reinforcement."
"Reiatsu?! Tsuna, can you be a little more reliable?! You want me to trust some random Reiatsu at a time like this?!"
Even as he complained loudly, Ichigo still headed toward the source of that Reiatsu.
His mouth protested—but his body trusted Tsuna's judgment.
Tsuna made no attempt to assist him.
The director behind this grand performance had clearly gone to great lengths to arrange the situation. The meeting between Ichigo and Rukia had already become inevitable.
Since Ichigo wasn't in real danger, Tsuna chose to focus on protecting Karakura Town instead.
Meanwhile, the Shinigami who was about to meet Ichigo—Kuchiki Rukia—was not doing well at all.
Originally she had been leisurely searching for a place to stay.
But suddenly, countless Hollows appeared in the sky.
Rukia's expression changed completely.
Since becoming a Shinigami, she had never seen such a massive number of Hollows.
Was the Human World really this dangerous?
Even the numbers in Hueco Mundo didn't seem this absurd.
But after only a moment of hesitation, Rukia drew her Zanpakutō.
She was the only Shinigami stationed in Karakura Town.
She couldn't run.
If she fled, this city in the Human World would truly be doomed.
Rukia quickly used her Denreishinki to send an emergency message to Soul Society.
Then she gathered strength in her legs, preparing to charge toward the swarm of Hollows in the sky.
Even if she could only delay them for a while…
At least she wouldn't disgrace the teachings of Kaien-dono.
But before she could act, a claw suddenly slashed toward her.
Rukia quickly dodged and cut the Hollow's claw off with a single strike.
Only then did she realize—
At some point, she had already been completely surrounded by Hollows.
There was no space left to move.
Rukia swung her sword repeatedly, cutting down several Hollows in succession.
Fortunately, they were only lesser Hollows, so dealing with them wasn't too difficult.
But there were simply too many.
If this continued, she would eventually be overwhelmed.
She couldn't just sit and wait to die.
From the corner of her eye, Rukia noticed a small gap in the swarm of Hollows.
That might be her chance.
Holding her sword in one hand and raising her other palm forward, she chanted:
"Hadō #31 — Shakkahō."
A crimson blast of spiritual energy shot into the opening within the Hollow swarm, exploding violently in their midst.
Using the smoke as cover, Rukia immediately broke through their encirclement.
"What on earth is going on…?"
Looking back at the pursuing Hollows, Rukia felt a lingering chill.
She had nearly died back there.
Her gaze dropped to the Zanpakutō in her hand.
Her expression became even more serious.
At the moment, her only reliable abilities were Zanjutsu and her still-imperfect Kidō.
Fortunately, these enemies were only lesser Hollows.
If it was just that, she could still handle them.
Suddenly—
A terrifying Reiatsu descended from the sky.
Rukia's footsteps froze instantly.
Looking up, she saw massive Garganta opening in the sky.
From within them emerged towering figures.
Menos Grande — Gillians.
"How…? Why would Hollows that only the Royal Guard deals with appear in the Human World?"
Rukia's mouth hung slightly open in shock.
If enemies at the level of Menos were appearing in the Human World, there was no way ordinary seated officers—let alone regular soldiers like her—should have been sent alone.
At the very least, captain-class Shinigami should have been deployed.
Her hands turned cold.
She didn't dare imagine what would happen to Karakura Town if this many Hollows invaded at once.
But there was no time left to dwell on it.
While she hesitated, the lesser Hollows surged forward again.
Rukia had no choice but to slash and use Kidō to force an escape.
No matter what—
Running came first.
Whenever she found a brief moment of space, Rukia desperately tapped her Denreishinki.
But why?
Why couldn't she contact Soul Society at all?
Meanwhile, Ichigo and Rukia, chased by swarms of Hollows, unknowingly ran closer and closer together.
Under someone's deliberate manipulation, the fated encounter between them was about to unfold.
Ichigo possessed explosive Reiatsu, and with Orihime's shield protecting them, the two of them looked somewhat miserable—but they weren't truly injured.
Rukia wasn't so fortunate.
While fleeing from the Hollows, her right shoulder had been wounded.
Two long claw marks ran across it, making it difficult for her to exert strength.
Her Zanjutsu ability was effectively reduced by half.
She could only rely on low-level Kidō to create escape opportunities.
At this point, Rukia had already realized something.
She might have fallen into a massive conspiracy.
Her Denreishinki couldn't contact Soul Society.
Her Zanpakutō couldn't unleash its true power.
Otherwise—
How could she possibly be reduced to such a miserable state?
After crossing two more streets, Rukia suddenly stopped.
The intersection ahead had been completely blocked by lesser Hollows.
And when she looked up—
Two flying Hollows were diving toward her from above.
Was this the end?
Despair crept into her heart.
The pain in her shoulder constantly reminded her of her injuries.
This was a dead end.
"Bakudō #4 — Hainawa."
But instead of aiming the spell at the Hollows, Rukia directed it toward her own hand.
Because of her injury, her right arm was gradually losing strength.
So she used Hainawa to bind her Zanpakutō tightly to her hand.
At the very least—
In the final moments of her life, she would fight with everything she had.
Just like Kaien-dono.
With that thought, Rukia accelerated and charged straight toward the Hollow swarm ahead.
A golden arc of light suddenly cut across the intersection from the right.
The Hollows in front of Rukia were instantly obliterated.
A hint of joy flashed across her face.
Using Shunpo, she immediately dashed toward the right-hand street.
It didn't matter what she encountered there—
As long as it was an enemy of the Hollows.
Ichigo and Orihime also felt a surge of relief.
That unfamiliar Reiatsu had finally appeared.
They had a new ally.
But the next moment, Ichigo froze.
A wounded girl in a kimono-like Shinigami uniform appeared in his sight.
This was the "reinforcement" Tsuna mentioned?
She was already injured!
Could someone like that really protect them?
The girl looked at them with similar surprise.
Seeing a man and woman suddenly appear—
As long as they weren't Hollows, that was good enough.
And they seemed capable of fighting.
Their eyes met.
Suddenly, Ichigo's face twisted in alarm.
This new arrival was staring at them without noticing that the Hollows behind her were already attacking!
"Look out!"
Without thinking, Ichigo opened his black spirit bow.
Pulling back a green Reishi arrow, he shouted:
"Get down!"
His voice carried undeniable authority.
Startled, Rukia instinctively ducked.
The arrow shot over her head with unstoppable Reiatsu, the violent wind from it ruffling her onion-shaped hair.
The domineering arrow instantly cleared an entire street of Hollows.
Rukia stood there in stunned silence.
That casual attack was at least seated officer level.
When had someone this powerful appeared in the Human World?
But the shot didn't completely solve the problem.
After the arrow struck, the remaining lesser Hollows' eyes turned blood red.
They began shrieking horribly.
Every Hollow nearby suddenly went berserk.
"Hey! Why are you standing there?! Work together with us and break through!"
Ichigo shouted anxiously.
Rukia didn't bother asking why this human could see her.
She dashed to Ichigo's side and quickly replied,
"Understood. I will create an opening for your attack."
Gathering Kidō Reiatsu in her palm, Rukia prepared to cast Shakkahō again.
But Ichigo's next sentence nearly caused her to lose control of the spell entirely.
"What are you talking about?! I don't have any attacks left! Aren't you supposed to be the strong reinforcement?!"
Ichigo shouted in frustration.
He had fired his last arrow precisely because he thought Rukia was powerful support—and because she was in immediate danger.
Now—
Ichigo had completely lost his ability to fight.
In fact, his actual combat power was now worse than the Orihime he was carrying in his arms.
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