Following the departure of Urahara and Mayuri, Las Noches returned to silence.
However, everyone's expressions were somewhat grim at this moment.
Although everyone except Grimmjow could see that most of Mayuri's words were just a distortion of facts, there was one point he didn't get wrong.
They were indeed too weak, so weak that Ishikawa had to protect them.
Aizen would never have protected them because, in his eyes, only the strong were worthy of following him; he didn't need useless people who would drag him down.
Ishikawa, however, was different. Although they initially couldn't quite grasp Ishikawa's intentions, as they spent more time together, they lost interest in probing what Ishikawa was truly thinking. They simply felt that their current way of life was more comfortable than when Aizen was around.
This also caused them to relax, or rather, become complacent, losing the most fundamental aspect of a Hollow: the sense of crisis that 'if you don't evolve, you will degenerate.'
Keeping Ishikawa was something they could easily do.
But they weren't confident they could protect Ishikawa when the Quincy attacked again, nor could they resolve Ishikawa's predicament. This left everyone feeling incredibly frustrated and angry.
The entire conference room fell silent. Cirucci looked at Harribel and Starrk, then broke the silence: "What was that state you displayed in battle? A three-stage Cero?"
If this were the old Las Noches, questions about personal abilities, which were the Arrancar's own secrets, would be absolutely forbidden to explore.
But for the current Las Noches, such barriers no longer existed.
At these words, everyone couldn't help but look at Harribel and Starrk. The power they displayed in the previous battle felt completely different from before, entirely unlike what a two-stage Cero could present.
"I'm not entirely sure either."
Harribel shook her head, her brows furrowing slightly: "But it shouldn't be a three-stage Cero, or rather, there's no such thing as a three-stage Cero at all. That state felt more like an evolution at the root."
An evolution at the root?
Everyone paused slightly, somewhat confused by Harribel's meaning.
However, they didn't doubt Harribel's words in the slightest, even though they seemed somewhat inconsistent with what Ishikawa said when he created the Reiatsu Crest.
But honestly...
Ishikawa's understanding of the Arrancar he modified was not as good as that of the modified subjects themselves. He didn't even know to what extent the Arrancar could grow after his modifications.
"Do you still remember the effect of the Hōgyoku?" Harribel suddenly asked, seeing the confusion on everyone's faces.
Everyone was startled by her words, somewhat confused as to why Harribel suddenly brought up the Hōgyoku.
But Cirucci seemed to have thought of something, a strange glint flashing in her eyes: "It materializes what one desires in their heart, but the condition is that one must possess the foundation to realize that wish?"
"Exactly."
Harribel nodded: "The spiritual nucleus, after being restructured by Ishikawa, is precisely what gives us similar possibilities, but how to realize these possibilities, I myself have no idea."
"Perhaps it's a change in the symbolic meaning?"
Starrk, who had been silent, suddenly stood up and said: "Aizen once assigned us our respective symbolic meanings. That meaning could be said to be something we lacked, or something we pursued."
"The characteristic of a Hollow is a hole in its chest, representing the emptiness in our hearts, and no matter how we evolve, this emptiness cannot be filled. Therefore, this Hollow hole is our root."
"Harribel was given the meaning of 'sacrifice,' but her sacrifice, in my opinion, was a meaningless sacrifice."
Starrk glanced at Harribel, and seeing no strong reaction from her, continued: "The former Harribel held the idea of 'not wanting to become stronger through power gained by killing others,' and thus, even when wanting to harm her enemies, she still chose not to kill and devour opponents."
"She also believed that pursuing sacrifice would inevitably incur the cost of sacrifice. This was undoubtedly a meaningless sacrifice, moving towards an impossible goal. It could be said to be a belief, where one would abandon certain things for what they wished to protect, meaning to become stronger and more powerful."
"So our symbolic meaning is also our way of death in Aizen's prophecy. It's not that that adult saw the future, but that he understood our essence better than we did ourselves."
"With the spiritual nucleus restructuring, the changes brought by Ishikawa-sama, and becoming the King of Hueco Mundo... under the combination of various factors, this root did not disappear, but underwent a transformation. What she pursues is no longer meaningless sacrifice, having abandoned her belief, but rather prioritizing inclusion, or protecting those she wishes to protect."
"To achieve her highest priority, her attitude towards enemies will also change."
Starrk said this, a thoughtful expression on his face, as if recalling something:
"And when I was defeated by that person named Yhwach, like Harribel, I also felt that possibility, but it was two possibilities."
Starrk paused, then continued, meeting everyone's gaze:
"One is the possibility of filling the Hollow hole, compensating for 'emptiness,' which would make us more inclined towards Shinigami; the other is not to fill the Hollow hole, but to amplify our own 'emptiness,' allowing our root to undergo further transformation."
"And I chose the latter, amplifying my own loneliness to completely merge with Lilynette, indistinguishable from each other. Two Hollow holes appeared on my body, no longer a pack of wolves, but becoming a lone wolf."
"But this amplification of loneliness is not a pursuit of loneliness, but like Harribel's clearer understanding of the symbolic meaning of 'sacrifice,' a clearer understanding of 'loneliness,' to explore the correct way to avoid loneliness, no longer like a headless fly, aimless, without goals, without pursuit..."
Starrk spoke a lot in one breath, then took a deep breath:
"The feelings I experienced in that state are roughly these. I don't know if they can help you."
Everyone frowned upon hearing this. Some things can only be deeply understood through experience, but without experiencing them, no amount of thought will help.
Cirucci, on the other hand, showed a wry smile, not because of Starrk's words, but because...
Possibility!
She felt no sense of the possibility that the two spoke of.
And the reason, she had a faint inkling of it...
Because, like the Hōgyoku, to realize the possibility Ishikawa bestowed upon them, one needed to possess the foundation to realize that possibility.
She was different from the Espada present. The reason she could sit there was entirely because she was the first Arrancar to encounter Ishikawa, and also the first Espada to undergo modification.
Compared to the other Espada present, her foundation was far from sufficient. The reason she possessed her current strength was entirely due to the accumulation of time, and this accumulation had now reached its limit.
In other words...
Even if Ishikawa had given her this possibility, she completely lacked the foundation to realize it.
She had reached her limit.
Harribel looked at the wry smile on Cirucci's face, vaguely discerning something. She frowned slightly, but ultimately said nothing more.
Some things are only useful when one realizes them oneself; reminders from others are difficult to help.
Cirucci, along with the present Fracción and the two eliminated Espada, Dordoni, indeed lacked the foundation to realize the possibility.
But Cirucci and the current Fracción and Dordoni had a fundamental difference!
Neither the Fracción modified by Ishikawa, nor Dordoni, the two Espada who, like Cirucci, had been eliminated, grew to Cirucci's extent after being modified. They stagnated early on, and this gap could not be compensated by 'time accumulation.'
And the reason for this was simple...
The predecessor of Reiatsu Crest, the Hollow Mark, was created by Ishikawa for Cirucci, perfectly fitting her.
Cirucci didn't even realize...
Neither Picaro, who was the second to be modified after her, nor they themselves, could use Hollow Mark like she could.
It could be said that Cirucci was Ishikawa's first work, and also the root from which that possibility was born. Her not feeling the possibility was more due to her own mindset and her inability to clearly understand the meaning of what she pursued.
...
Within the Dangai.
Dozens of people dressed in Kidō Corps uniforms gathered within the Dangai, continuously pouring their spiritual pressure along the ropes wrapped around their hands into the surrounding flowing currents.
This caused the mudslide-like liquid on both sides of the Dangai to completely solidify at this moment.
And in the center of the dozens of Kidō Corps members was a golden translucent bowl-shaped shield, covering Ishikawa, whose body glowed with a purple light.
However, at this moment, the purple branch-like patterns formed by Ishikawa's Reiatsu Crest were incredibly dim, as if they could disappear at any moment.
Outside the shield, Mayuri looked at the timer in his hand, his eyes filled with surprise.
Three minutes.
It had been three minutes since he brought Ishikawa into the Dangai and placed him in the spiritual nullification zone.
And in the Dangai, which had undergone 'Boundary Stabilization,' one minute outside was equivalent to two thousand minutes inside. This meant Ishikawa had been in a state of spiritual body disintegration for 6000 minutes, 100 hours, over four days...
A spiritual body solidified to such an extent was somewhat beyond Mayuri's imagination, making him even have the urge to take Ishikawa back to his research lab for dissection while he was in his self-sealed state.
However, he ultimately suppressed this urge. There would always be a chance later; the immediate priority was to bring Ishikawa back to Soul Society.
Buzz~
Just then, a wave of fluctuation spread out.
Mayuri looked up and saw that the purple patterns on Ishikawa's body, who was inside the barrier, completely disappeared after dimming to the extreme.
As the patterns dimmed, Ishikawa opened his eyes immediately.
Where is this?
A flicker of vigilance flashed in Ishikawa's eyes. When he saw Mayuri outside the shield, his vigilance receded. He didn't ask why he was there, but instead asked: "How long have I been self-sealed?"
"From when you left that space until now, exactly ten minutes."
Ten minutes?
Ishikawa was startled. How was this possible!?
However, when Ishikawa clearly saw his surroundings, he immediately realized why such a short time had passed.
"Since you're awake, let's go back."
Mayuri didn't waste words. He directly took out his commanding shinki and ordered the Shinigami Research and Development Institute to open a pathway.
Ishikawa, meanwhile, turned his head and glanced towards Hueco Mundo. When he confirmed that the individuals connected to him had not disappeared, he let out a slight sigh of relief.
Although the process was somewhat perilous, he had ultimately achieved his goal. Now, he only needed to return to Soul Society and oversee things.
Ishikawa and the others returned to Soul Society smoothly, without encountering any obstacles.
However, there could be no obstacles.
After all, Yhwach also expended a great deal of energy in his battle with Ishikawa. Within just ten minutes, the effects of his forced eye-opening could not be eliminated.
But after this battle...
Ishikawa looked at the familiar streets around him, his brows furrowed.
The upcoming battles would likely become even more difficult. Having clearly recognized his threat, Yhwach probably wouldn't easily initiate another war without complete certainty.
While this gave Soul Society time to prepare, preventing the Gotei 13 from being attacked without warning as they originally were.
But it also meant...
When the Wandenreich invaded again, their preparations would undoubtedly be more thorough.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
As soon as Ishikawa stood still, figures broke through the air and arrived.
Soi Fon led a group of Onmitsukido members to appear around Ishikawa. She first observed Ishikawa's condition, then nodded: "Come with us. Captain Commander is waiting for you."
"Mm."
Ishikawa nodded. This battle was not without gains, as Ishikawa could use it to inform the Gotei 13 of all the intelligence he knew.
As for how the subsequent battles would unfold, that was entirely none of Ishikawa's business.
Let the cheaters deal with the other cheaters.
Ishikawa had no intention of invading the Wandenreich again. More strictly speaking, if it weren't for Cirucci and the others, he wouldn't care about the Wandenreich at all.
As long as his friends didn't die, Ishikawa didn't really care how many people the Gotei 13 sacrificed.
Ishikawa's next goal was only one...
That was to let everything unfold according to his memories as much as possible, without his friends sacrificing themselves.
In short...
Yhwach, that cheating player, should be left to Ichigo to deal with.
...........
At the same time, within Muken.
"Has Ishikawa returned?"
Aizen looked up and glanced upwards, a faint smile on his face: "It seems it won't be long until we meet again."
Listening to Aizen's murmuring, Azashiro Soya frowned slightly, then shifted his consciousness to the outside world, or more strictly speaking, to the First Division.
He wanted to hear the intelligence Ishikawa had brought back.