The night was profound; beneath the black curtain, dense clusters of buildings stretched endlessly.
Although it wasn't his first time in the World of the Living, seeing architectural styles that clearly belonged to a completely different era than the Soul Society still made Naraku Sora sigh with emotion.
The technology tree of this world had gone completely off the rails.
Even though the modern era was still a century or two away, the World of the Living had already developed to a rather prosperous stage.
However, considering that the human species had existed for millions of years, it was barely acceptable.
It was nothing more than being locked down by Sophons.
It didn't stop certain evil schemers from carrying out the Human Instrumentality Project.
"By the way, why did you tag along?"
Naraku Sora quietly dropped back, arriving beside Aizen, and asked curiously.
"I recall you aren't a lieutenant yet, right?"
Aizen shot him a sidelong glance. "You aren't even a member of the Gotei 13, yet aren't you still in charge of the Preliminary Spirit Binding Rite for this festival?"
Sora paused for a moment. "Fair point."
"Our lieutenant suddenly fell ill. Captain Hirako witnessed me releasing my Shikai a while ago, so he entrusted this mission to me," Aizen explained calmly.
*'?'*
Sora practically had a question mark stamped on his face.
*Did Aizen just say something absolutely terrifying without batting an eye?*
*What did he mean by Hirako Shinji had already witnessed his Shikai?*
*Were there even any surviving members in Squad Five right now?*
It was worth noting that Aizen had confided in him a long time ago, explicitly explaining the Shikai ability of Kyōka Suigetsu.
He specifically mentioned that his public explanation was that Kyōka Suigetsu was a water-type Zanpakutō, and its ability used the chaotic reflection of mist and flowing water to confuse enemies, causing them to kill each other.
He had specially instructed him to keep this a secret and never carelessly reveal it to anyone else.
Sora had gladly agreed.
He was probably the very first person in the Soul Society whom Aizen treated with such complete honesty.
While the two chatted, Sasakibe Chōjirō had already begun searching for traces of Hollows not far away.
Unlike Hueco Mundo.
Although Hollows in the World of the Living transformed from human souls, their numbers were relatively small due to the lower density of Reishi.
Compared to Hueco Mundo where Hollows could be seen everywhere, finding Hollows of an appropriate strength in the World of the Living was sometimes a bit difficult.
Fortunately, they had made ample preparations before coming.
Sasakibe Chōjirō took a white pill from his sleeve, immediately drawing Sora's attention.
"That little thing is..."
"A Hollow Bait kindly provided by Prison Warden Shutara. It's one of the spoils of war from back in the day, used to lure ordinary Hollows."
Seeming to notice Sora's concern, Sasakibe Chōjirō smiled and explained.
"Its upper limit is luring ordinary Hollows. It has already been tested in the World of the Living several times without any issues."
"With the strength of everyone present, there won't be any accidents."
Even though the Soul Burial Festival had been moved up, the Soul Reapers' preparations were still extremely thorough.
Seeing that the lieutenants had taken their positions, Sasakibe Chōjirō applied pressure with his fingers and crushed the Hollow Bait.
In an instant, a faint fragrance that only Sora could smell permeated the air.
Everyone stood ready in full battle formation.
Before long, chaotic and tyrannical Reiatsu surged from all directions of the city. The lieutenants took their stances, releasing their own Reiatsu.
At the edge of their vision, dense black clouds pressed down toward the Soul Reapers' location, and an unexpectedly heavy sense of oppression suddenly struck them.
Sasakibe Chōjirō frowned slightly, subconsciously glancing at the powder stuck to his fingertips.
It was the same as last time, so why was the number of Hollows several times larger?
Deafening roars echoed as ordinary Hollows of various shapes launched a suicidal charge toward the Soul Reaper camp.
The ground trembled, kicking up layers of dust that swept into the sky.
Seeing this, the first to strike was the Squad Two Lieutenant, Ōmaeda Marechinmoshin, whose seniority among those present was second only to Sasakibe Chōjirō.
His strength was unquestionable.
He opened with a multiple combination of high-level Bakudō. Golden chains wrapped in dazzling shards of light descended from the sky like divine punishment, instantly obliterating several crow-shaped Hollows at the edge of the horde.
Then, like a python covered in scaled spikes, the attack plunged into the Hollow horde and wreaked havoc.
In an instant, the massive Hollow horde was thrown into complete disarray, utterly routed.
Following closely behind was the Squad Four Lieutenant, Yamada Seinosuke, a somewhat gloomy-looking man whose brow carried an unsettling darkness.
"[Hadō #58・Tenran]!"
Bringing his five fingers together and thrusting them forward, his Reiatsu transformed into a fierce gale. As it blanketed the Hollow horde, it wove through the massive creatures like slicing blades.
The sound of tearing flesh rang out endlessly.
The other lieutenants also joined the fray. Bakudō and Hadō spells appeared one after another, blooming continuously across the city like brilliant fireworks.
A Hollow horde like this, which didn't even have a single Menos Grande, was cleanly and efficiently dealt with without Sora needing to lift a finger.
Fortunately, they hadn't forgotten their duty for this trip. While purifying the ordinary Hollows, they made sure to use Bakudō to capture a few suitable ones for the sacrificial rites.
Soon, the grand ceremony was drawing to a close.
Marechinmoshin handed the restrained Hollows over to Sasakibe Chōjirō for him to check if they met the standards.
But right at that moment, a deafening roar that sounded like tearing silk erupted in the sky not far away.
Everyone looked up.
The pitch-black curtain of the sky was suddenly torn open, revealing an even deeper darkness. Immediately after, pale skeletal hands pried the shattered sky apart, and a terrifying bone-white face slowly emerged from the rift.
A heavy, oppressive presence instantly swept across the entire battlefield.
Tyrannical, chaotic, and viscous Reiatsu, accompanied by a deafening roar, enveloped everyone present.
"It's actually a Menos Grande!"
"A Gillian, something I've only ever seen in records!"
"The Hollow Bait's effect seems to have overperformed a bit."
Faced with the sweeping sense of oppression, the expressions of some newly appointed lieutenants immediately grew tense.
Due to their short time in office, they had never seen a Gillian-class Menos Grande before.
Usually, enemies of this caliber were handled by captains.
Furthermore, the textbooks at the Spiritual Arts Academy stated that Menos Grande-level enemies should be dealt with by the Royal Guard, the legendary Zero Division.
Watching the colossal beast gradually squeeze its way out of the rift, Sasakibe Chōjirō sighed helplessly. His ominous premonition before departure had come true after all.
The Hollow Bait, which had been tested over a dozen times, still malfunctioned at the critical moment.
Not only did it lure an unusually large horde of Hollows, but it even attracted a Gillian from Hueco Mundo.
Although with his strength, taking down a single Gillian wouldn't be difficult.
But who knew if an even more serious problem would follow? After all, since a Gillian had been summoned, the appearance of an Adjuchas wouldn't be entirely out of the question.
As long as a Vasto Lorde didn't show up, it would be fine.
Thus, Sasakibe Chōjirō looked toward Naraku Sora, who hadn't made a move yet, and was just about to speak.
However, he saw the guy give him a thumbs-up. The next moment, his vision blurred, and the figure vanished without warning.
By the time he reappeared, Sora was already standing right in front of the Gillian.
A terrifying Reiatsu erupted like a bursting dam, crushing the Gillian's oppressive presence and the heavy atmosphere with overwhelming force.
Drawing his blade, slashing, shaking off the blood, and sheathing!
The seamless strike, executed in the blink of an eye, surpassed the limits of the naked eye. From dozens of meters away, he unleashed a sword pressure capable of severing anything.
*Slash!*
The sound of tearing flesh echoed across the towering, dozens-of-meters-tall body. Under the horrified gazes of over a dozen people, a top-to-bottom fissure appeared on its long, straight black torso.
The white bone mask suddenly cracked and split apart. Viscous blood sprayed out from within. Before it could even let out a wail, it dissolved into Reishi and completely vanished in an instant.
The group of lieutenants watched, dumbfounded, completely forgetting that they were on a bloody and brutal battlefield.
At this very moment, a single word simultaneously surfaced in all their minds—
*Monster!*
With just a single strike, he had cleaved a Gillian—an enemy that lieutenants needed to face in full battle formation—in half. It was so clean and effortless that it looked like he was chopping vegetables.
No wonder he had become famous throughout the Soul Society at such a young age, even personally ending the Tsunayashiro clan, the head of the Five Great Noble Families.
So everything was built upon this suffocating, terrifying strength.
However, the situation was far from over. As the first Gillian's body turned into Reishi and dissipated into the atmosphere, a new Gillian emerged from the rift in the sky behind it.
Immediately after, a second one, then a third...
The sky shattered, revealing profound darkness. An endless sea of colossal beasts crowded outward, instinctively surging toward the Soul Reapers who possessed abundant Reiatsu.
Sasakibe Chōjirō's face instantly turned extremely ugly.
The good news: no Adjuchas had appeared.
The bad news: they had poked a Gillian nest.
Even if they crushed a Hollow Bait in Hueco Mundo, it would be hard to encounter a Gillian horde of this scale, right?
Seeing that the city was about to be overrun by Gillians, the other lieutenants couldn't sit still either. Squad Three Lieutenant Iba Chikane and Squad Eight Lieutenant Yadōmaru Lisa were the first to charge forward.
They prepared to fight alongside Naraku Sora and share some of the pressure.
Meanwhile, Ōmaeda Marechinmoshin chanted a Kidō incantation on a rooftop, gathering scorching flames around himself.
"Sora, my boy, you focus on attacking..."
Before Iba Chikane could finish her sentence, the figure beside her had already vanished.
Cloaked in crimson Reiatsu, he streaked across the sky like a meteor, violently plunging into the Gillian horde.
The next moment.
A scalp-numbing pillar of fire erupted from the ground, recklessly piercing the shattered firmament and dyeing the entire sky blood-red.
Under the shocked gazes of the lieutenants, the Gillians radiating tyrannical auras couldn't even hold on for a single second before being swallowed by the scorching heat.
Their massive bodies evaporated and disintegrated at a visible rate, turning into fine Reishi that returned to the atmosphere of the World of the Living.
In an instant, the Reishi density of the entire city rose significantly.
The lieutenants who were still making pre-battle preparations didn't even get a chance to strike before Sora completely ended the match.
If his previous performance was shocking, then this display of strength left them feeling somewhat numb.
The way everyone looked at Sora had completely changed.
They didn't believe they could survive an attack of that magnitude.
This guy was truly a monster!
Just as Sora stood up from the ground and instinctively looked toward Aizen's direction, ready to properly show off, he was met with a shocking sight.
Behind Aizen, high in the sky, a massive skeleton comparable in size to a Gillian slowly materialized. A chilling oppression suddenly descended, causing the earth to creak.
Yet, to this terrifying scene, Aizen was completely oblivious...