"Sōsuke, watch your back!"
Naraku Sora's expression changed drastically, and he immediately shouted a warning.
Hearing his voice, the others finally snapped back to reality and looked behind them.
A massive creature, no smaller than a Gillian, materialized in an instant. Its thick, pillar-like arm swung down violently.
*Boom!*
Buildings collapsed, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Shockwaves exploded outward layer by layer, the turbulent aftermath causing the ground to cave in.
Aizen, having instinctively activated Flash Step the moment Sora warned him, dodged the unprovoked attack.
He stood on a nearby rooftop, his brows furrowed as he stared at the pitch-black behemoth.
It looked almost exactly like a Hollow. The only difference was the ink-like black markings covering its body, resembling chains.
Furthermore, it was exceptionally tall, towering among the buildings like a small mountain.
Additionally, ring-like tissues were embedded on the outside of its body, making it look incredibly bizarre.
The strangest part was that despite looking right at it, they couldn't sense any Reiatsu coming from it.
It was as if it didn't possess Reishi, the fundamental building block of souls.
"What in the world is that thing?"
Even the knowledgeable Aizen voiced this question, let alone the group of sheltered lieutenants.
Sasakibe Chōjirō was completely dumbfounded.
In his thousands of years of life, this was the first time he had seen such a terrifying creature that looked like a Hollow but wasn't quite one.
Judging solely by the power of that single strike, its strength was absolutely on par with the horde of Gillians that had appeared earlier.
Sora arrived with a Flash Step and brought his blade down. Ink-like blood sprayed out as the behemoth crashed to the ground, dissolving into black sludge.
However, the situation was far from over. One bizarrely shaped behemoth after another continuously appeared.
First came the hideous bone armor, followed by the filling of flesh and blood, and finally, the drawing of black chain-like patterns.
The ring-like tissues grew on their skulls, around their waists, or embedded in their arms—each one completely unique and varied in shape.
It was like an enlarged horde of Hollows, but with their Hollow holes ripped out and embedded onto the surface of their bodies.
Sora furrowed his brows. He had a nagging feeling that he had seen similar creatures before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
*Forget it, it doesn't matter.*
*Since they attacked Aizen, they're definitely enemies. I'll wipe out a batch first and leave a few to take back to the lab in the Soul Society.*
*A quick dissection will tell me exactly what the hell these things are.*
Seeing their comrade instantly killed by a Soul Reaper, the other bizarre Hollows turned to look at Sora, instantly locking onto his presence.
Immediately after, one by one, they opened their gaping maws.
Black spheres of light instantly formed and took shape!
The profound black light dyed the night sky, as if instantly stripping the entire city of its light sources. The scorching shockwaves erupted wildly, even blurring and distorting the scenery.
Dozens of Ceros fired simultaneously. The field of vision was reduced to pure pitch-blackness and an unavoidable, surging pressure.
Sora stood his ground, blade in hand. His mist-like, blood-red Reiatsu illuminated his face as he stared fearlessly ahead. Right as the pitch-black curtain of light approached...
He drew his blade.
"Bakudō #81・Dankū."
The perfect fusion of the strongest defensive Bakudō and Zanjutsu was displayed in the skies above the World of the Living at this very moment.
The pitch-black curtain of light was sliced cleanly in half, like a hot knife through butter. It shattered and melted in an instant, scattering countless fine Reishi particles that filled the battlefield like black rain.
Correspondingly, an ink-black line appeared across the massive bodies of the bizarre Hollow horde gathered in the distance.
The expressions on their hideous faces suddenly froze, as if someone had hit the pause button.
Under the shocked gazes of over a dozen onlookers, their skyscraper-like upper halves slowly slid off and collapsed, crashing into the ground and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
At the edge of their vision, the clouds were suddenly shredded by the residual sword pressure of Dankū, clearing the sky to reveal a canopy of stars.
It was as if this single strike had cleaved heaven and earth apart.
Watching this exaggerated scene, Chōjirō felt shivers down his spine.
As someone who frequently interacted with Yamamoto and Sora, even though he rarely watched them fight outside the dojo, he could still sense the changes in the nature of their Reiatsu from within the courtyard.
Yet, Sora's performance still left him feeling incredibly shocked.
*Even Lord Genryūsai wasn't this terrifying back in the day, was he?*
Chōjirō's expression was somewhat dazed.
After completely wiping out this batch of bizarre Hollows, Sora finally noticed that a massive, circular mud pit had appeared on the empty ground at some point.
Countless pitch-black substances churned within it, and black chains writhed continuously like living creatures.
Seeing this, an ominous premonition welled up in his heart. He immediately turned his head to look at Chōjirō, who had been practically standing by idly the entire time.
"Sir Sasakibe, as the commander of this mission, I order you to open the Senkaimon immediately and return to the Soul Society with the offerings!"
"What about you?"
The battle-hardened Chōjirō had grown somewhat indecisive in his old age, unable to bear watching a junior stay behind to cover their retreat.
"I'm obviously going to... Hurry up and leave, a big one is coming!"
On the ground.
While the two were speaking, the black mud pit churned madly. The chains moved several times faster than before, churning up countless ink-like drops that splashed across the ground.
Seeing this, Chōjirō immediately made up his mind. He drew his Zanpakutō backhanded and pierced the air. With a twist of his wrist, the ancient Senkaimon materialized before their eyes.
"Everyone, evacuate!"
But right at that moment, several chains shot out from underground, embedding themselves into the nearby buildings. With a sudden pull, an unexpected figure rose from below.
He had dark skin and a row of bone spikes embedded on the top of his head.
He possessed golden eyes, wore a pair of skull-shaped earrings, and had a thick bone necklace.
A massive ring hung behind his back like a halo, and pure ink-black spots adorned his body, outlining chain-like patterns.
When he saw this person, Sora froze, completely not expecting him to appear here.
Moreover, his appearance was somewhat different from what he remembered.
"Zommari Rureaux?"
"Oh?"
Hearing someone call out his name, Zommari revealed a surprised expression. He carefully examined the figure standing not far away, the corners of his mouth curling up.
"I truly didn't expect a mere Soul Reaper to know my name."
"It's surprising, yet somewhat delightful."
"Not being forgotten means I haven't completely died. To celebrate this joyous occasion, please, you and your comrades, just die."
Seeing this guy's condition, combining it with what he had just said, and finally considering the perspective of a dead man...
Finally, a look of realization dawned on Sora's face.
"So, who killed you?"
"?"
Zommari lowered his gaze, the smile vanishing from his face, replaced by a trace of unconcealable anger.
"After I was killed by Arturo Plateado, I fell into Hell!"
"But because of that, I was completely liberated from the shackles of being a Hollow. My Hollow hole detached from my flesh."
"Pain and hatred continuously overflow from my brain like tears!"
The moment his voice fell, a terrifying Reiatsu crashed down like a collapsing sky. The bone spikes on top of Zommari's head grew outward madly, bending, and finally—
Pierced through his skull, completely imprisoning it like a cage.
Even without saying a word, a sense of extreme madness rushed forth. His cold gaze locked onto Sora in front of him, and his trembling lips curled up.
"Now, all I have left is—"
"Love!"
Before his voice had even completely faded, his figure vanished from the spot.
It was still Sonído, but its speed surpassed the limits of what the naked eye could observe.
The hideous figure instantly appeared right in front of Sora. Surging phosphorescent aura gathered and wrapped around his massive fist, continuously amplifying before he violently punched out!
Sora's pupils shrank, and he backhandedly raised his blade to block in front of him.
In an instant, the surging power crashed into him like a tidal wave. Caught off guard, he was instantly sent flying backward, crashing straight through several buildings and dragging a wake behind him before plummeting into the ground.
*Boom!!*
A deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield as dust shot upward, obscuring half the sky.
"Naraku!"
"Sora!"
Exclamations erupted from the crowd. Marechinmoshin immediately activated Flash Step, rushing straight toward the center of the dust cloud. However, just halfway there—
A scorching aura suddenly swept out, dispersing the dust. Endless radiance instantly illuminated the darkness within the wasteland, as if a blazing sun had risen.
It radiated boundless light and heat.
Wreathed in blazing flames, Sora walked out of the deep crater. His highly aggressive gaze instantly locked onto the black figure in the distance.
Under Zommari's somewhat astonished gaze, his vision suddenly blurred, followed by an extreme heat that rushed at his face.
"I'm not entirely sure why you've appeared at this point in time, but dead men should just obediently stay dead."
Brilliant golden lightning wrapped around the blade. The dancing arcs of electricity seemed to distort space itself as he viciously slashed downward.
Zommari's expression shifted slightly. The chains wrapped around his body gathered in front of him like tentacles, instantly forming an indestructible pitch-black shield.
The moment they collided, countless sparks burst forth, followed immediately by an ear-piercing shattering sound as a sky full of ink-black raindrops exploded outward.
Right at that moment, Aizen appeared in front of Chōjirō.
"Lieutenant Sasakibe, hurry and retreat to the Soul Society. If we stay here, we'll only be a burden to Naraku."
Chōjirō's expression was complicated, but for the sake of the bigger picture, he still gave the order to evacuate.
For a moment, everyone's faces turned extremely grim.
Compared to Naraku Sora, they were the seniors. Yet, in a moment of danger, they were actually letting a junior risk his life to save them. This couldn't help but fill the lieutenants' hearts with shame.
They wanted to rush in and help.
But the commotion from the battle between the two in the distance was clearly not something they could interfere with.
If they got dragged into it, Sora would likely have to divert his energy to protect them.
Marechinmoshin cast a complicated look into the distance, gritted his teeth, and was the first to rush into the Senkaimon.
His Flash Step was the fastest; he had to report the situation in the World of the Living to Head Captain Yamamoto immediately so he could come to the rescue in time.
The others also filed in, following closely behind him.
Watching the last youth named Aizen walk into the Senkaimon, Chōjirō looked troubled. He shook his head helplessly and dashed toward the Soul Society with all his might.
When the Senkaimon closed, Aizen stepped out from the shadows and sheathed his blade.
Just now, while everyone's attention was drawn to Sora—
He had released Kyōka Suigetsu on Chōjirō, placing him under Complete Hypnosis and successfully slipping by unnoticed.
Aizen stood under the moonlight, looking toward the intense battlefield, a trace of anticipation surfacing in his eyes.
"A Menos Grande named Zommari Rureaux, an entity killed by Arturo, was actually able to return to the World of the Living from Hell..."
"An existence that completely exceeds my understanding... I absolutely cannot let this slip by easily!"