Reunions in Hueco Mundo were never allowed to last.
A violent tremor split the artificial heavens above Las Noches.
The painted sky cracked.
Stone fractured outward in cascading rings as the upper dome ruptured, massive alabaster slabs plummeting toward the palace below.
The chamber housing Kurotsuki Renya began to crumble.
"Nelliel back."
Without hesitation, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanckleapt between falling debris with effortless Sonído, landing lightly upon fractured stone as boulders crashed around her.
At the same moment, oceanic torrents surged through broken corridors, the lingering influence of Tier Harribel's Resurrección spreading uncontrolled through the damaged structure.
Water roared toward the throne chamber.
Renya stepped forward.
His Reiatsu expanded outward in a precise spherical barrier.
The incoming sea struck the invisible wall
and split apart instantly.
Boulders that neared him were deflected mid-air, hurled aside as though repelled by gravity itself.
The flood gradually receded.
Then
Figures entered through the shattered archway.
Harribel and her Fracción.
Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.
Ulquiorra Cifer.
Several Fullbringers.
Each carrying unconscious captives.
The moment Grimmjow crossed the threshold
Renya lifted two fingers.
A fine filament of reishi pierced Grimmjow's right eye.
Grimmjow recoiled, dropping to one knee.
"What the hell?!"
"Remain still," Renya said evenly.
A pulse of controlled spiritual force shattered a microscopic construct embedded within the Arrancar's optic nerve.
"It was surveillance," Renya explained. "Installed during combat."
Grimmjow growled, then stilled.
When the sensation faded, he stood upright again.
"Shinigami tricks."
Renya did not respond.
His gaze shifted to the captives.
Renji Abarai.
Rukia Kuchiki.
Ichigo Kurosaki.
Yoruichi Shihōin.
Lisa Yadōmaru.
Kaien Shiba.
Others followed.
All alive.
All unconscious.
Soi Fon stepped closer, scanning their breathing patterns.
"They're weakened."
"Not critically," Renya replied. "Reiatsu depletion and shock trauma only."
She exhaled quietly.
"You defeated them all."
Renya's expression did not change.
"They were not my enemies."
Silence lingered briefly.
Then Soi Fon's eyes shifted toward the gathered Arrancar women surrounding him.
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"You recruit selectively."
Renya blinked once.
"That was not intentional."
She folded her arms.
"It appears consistent."
Nelliel merely tilted her head, uninterested in the exchange.
Renya exhaled.
"This is not the time."
He turned toward the open ruin beyond.
"It begins."
He stepped forward into the central plaza of Las Noches.
With a single motion, he tore open space itself.
A Garganta split the air black and spiraling, edges lined with unstable reishi.
The Arrancar gathered without hesitation.
Renya looked once at Soi Fon.
"I must disappear for now."
She did not ask where.
"I understand."
Their eyes held for a brief moment.
Then he stepped backward into the Garganta.
One by one, his subordinates followed.
The rift sealed.
Moments later
The subterranean chamber housing the residual passage collapsed entirely, burying all traces of their departure beneath white ruin.
Aftermath
Groans echoed across the shattered plaza.
Yoruichi stirred first, pushing herself upright amid debris.
She assessed the surroundings instantly.
The ocean was gone.
The enemy Reiatsu had vanished.
Soi Fon stood alone in the center of the ruins.
"Where is he?" Yoruichi asked quietly.
"Gone."
"To Hueco Mundo?"
"I don't know."
Yoruichi studied her face.
"He chose distance."
Soi Fon did not answer.
Renji forced himself upright nearby.
"Captain… Renya?"
"He left," Soi Fon repeated.
Disappointment rippled through the group.
They had entered Hueco Mundo to retrieve him before Seireitei escalated into full confrontation.
Instead
They had been defeated.
And he had vanished.
Kaien steadied himself against broken stone.
"Then we return."
Garganta technology provided by Kisuke Urahara allowed their passage back to the World of the Living.
From there
The Senkaimon returned them to Seireitei.
They had been gone less than twenty-four hours.
It did not matter.
They were already expected.
Judgment in Seireitei
Within the outer district of Rukongai, captain-class Reiatsu descended simultaneously.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood at the forefront.
Beside him:
Shunsui Kyōraku
Byakuya Kuchiki
Tōshirō Hitsugaya
Kenpachi Zaraki
The returning group halted.
Yamamoto's cane struck the ground once.
"You departed without authorization."
His voice carried no volume yet the air itself seemed to burn.
Rukia bowed her head.
"We intended to retrieve Renya before escalation."
"Did you succeed?"
Silence.
"No," Kaien answered.
"Where is he now?"
"He has left Hueco Mundo," Renji replied.
Yamamoto's eyes hardened.
"You provoked movement without strategy."
His Reiatsu flared briefly, oppressive and absolute.
"Lieutenants and seated officers involved three months confinement within your divisions."
His gaze shifted.
"Captains involved six months confinement within the Senzaikyū."
Soi Fon did not object.
Neither did Yoruichi.
The decision was final.
Guards stepped forward.
One by one, they were escorted away.
As the plaza emptied, Kenpachi scowled.
"He ran?"
Byakuya's tone was calm.
"You would not have prevailed."
Kenpachi's grin sharpened.
"Then I'll just get stronger."
Yachiru tugged his ear lightly.
"Ken-chan, don't start."
"Yeah, yeah."
He turned and left.
Only Yamamoto and his senior captains remained.
Kyōraku adjusted his hat.
"What now, Head Captain?"
Yamamoto's eyes remained fixed on the horizon.
"Dispatch reconnaissance across all realms."
His voice was iron.
"Find Kurotsuki Renya."
The wind shifted across Seireitei.
War had not been declared.
But the board had been set.
And the next move
Would not be hidden.
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