At Hasegawa's command, the Senkaimon emitted a blinding spiritual glow.
"Groups one through five, follow the Hell Butterflies in order! Maintain formation and keep your focus!"
Hasegawa's voice cut through the hum of spiritual pressure, reaching everyone's ears clearly.
Hasumi Ren's group moved immediately.
He glanced back at Nanao and Harada, along with the three nervous third-year students behind them. After a brief nod, he stepped into the light first.
The moment he crossed the Senkaimon, the familiar sensation of weightlessness and spatial distortion hit him, as if passing through a thick film of water.
A brief moment of darkness and silence followed, like being suspended in an infinite void.
This was the Dangai, the corridor connecting the Soul Society and the World of the Living.
Here, the flow of time differed from the outside world, and one's senses became blurred.
Only through firm willpower and stable spiritual pressure could one carve a path through the chaos and find their way.
For Ren, this was no longer unfamiliar territory.
He calmly channeled his spiritual pressure to form a path beneath his feet while keeping an eye on his teammates behind him.
Nanao and Harada managed to steady themselves without issue. Though the three third-years looked uncomfortable, they struggled to keep up with the group.
After several minutes of running, a pinprick of light finally appeared ahead, rapidly expanding until it filled their entire vision.
Their feet hit solid ground, and an atmosphere entirely different from the Soul Society rushed over them.
The World of the Living.
The first thing they noticed was the slightly thinner concentration of reishi in the air, which caused the third-years, accustomed to the environment of the Soul Society, a bit of discomfort.
What came into view next was a city block slightly different from those in the Soul Society.
Low wooden houses stretched on endlessly. The streets were quite wide but consisted only of packed dirt, with murky puddles gathered in the potholes.
As far as the eye could see, there were almost no lights; only the cold moonlight outlined the silhouettes of the buildings.
By comparison, the orderly architecture and reishi lamps within the Seireitei seemed much more advanced.
"So this is the World of the Living..."
"It seems somewhat similar to the Soul Society."
Several third-years looked around, their eyes filled with curiosity.
"Alright, focus. We can start looking for wandering souls now. Do you all remember the procedure for a Soul Burial?"
Hearing Ren's voice, the students quickly snapped back to attention.
"Yes, senior!"
"Calm the soul's emotions, confirm basic information, issue a processing ticket, then guide spiritual power to the hilt, press it against the soul's forehead, and complete the Soul Burial ritual."
"And what do you do if you encounter a soul with deep attachments who refuses to cooperate?"
"Try to resolve it through communication first. If that fails... use Bakudo to restrain them as necessary to assist in completing the Soul Burial."
"You've remembered the theory well."
Ren nodded.
"Then let your field trip begin. Do your best; we will grade you based on your performance at the end."
Having spoken, Ren gestured for everyone to concentrate their spiritual pressure on the soles of their feet. With a light leap, he landed on a nearby high roof, his field of vision suddenly opening up.
The others followed suit.
"Good. Then following the plan, we'll clear the souls in this area first. Stay aware of your surroundings and keep communicating."
Ren gave the order, and the Soul Burial work commenced immediately.
The process of guiding the souls wasn't complicated.
Most wandering souls were ordinary people who lingered aimlessly, their lingering attachments keeping them there after death.
Even the Academy freshmen could convince them to cooperate with just a few words describing the Soul Society as a wonderful place.
They only needed to tap the soul's forehead lightly with the pommel of their Asauchi and inject a sliver of spiritual pressure to complete the rite. The souls would then dissolve into specks of spiritual light.
They would then attach themselves to a prepared Hell Butterfly, which would lead them to their final destination: the Soul Society.
Ren's trio was primarily responsible for sentry duty, guidance, and handling any potential accidents.
The third-years learned the procedures and techniques through actual practice.
"Aim for the center of the forehead. Be as gentle as possible, or the soul will suffer."
"Watch your back. You must maintain basic alertness even while performing a Soul Burial."
Nanao and Harada patiently guided the somewhat fumbling students.
Ren roamed the perimeter of the group, staying alert for any nearby threats.
Under the guidance of Ren and the others, the third-years all successfully completed their first Soul Burials.
The work proceeded smoothly.
Several hours passed, and the group they led had successfully buried over ten souls. Their efficiency was quite high.
The third-years gradually relaxed from their initial tension, their words and actions becoming more practiced.
For the occasional soul that refused to leave and tried to resist, Ren used them as moving targets for his juniors to practice low-level Bakudo.
"Watch closely. For rascals like this, it doesn't matter if you're a bit rough. Remember to dump him past District 60."
Ren struck with his sword hilt so hard he nearly crushed the cursing fellow's skull.
Yet, watching Ren's brutal methods, the freshmen had stars of admiration twinkling in their eyes.
Nanao looked at the eager juniors and felt a bit helpless.
"While his method isn't wrong, try not to imitate him. Remember to be gentler..."
Much time had passed, and the juniors were starting to look tired as their spiritual pressure depleted.
Ren led them to a relatively flat roof to rest, where they ate their rations to recover their strength.
"So this is the World of the Living. It feels even less bustling than the Rukongai."
Sato whispered.
"That's because you haven't been to the higher-numbered districts. Once you see the state of those places, you won't be making such comments."
Yoshida's tone was somewhat somber.
Kobayashi didn't respond.
As one of the only two girls in the squad, she quietly leaned close to Nanao, nibbling on her food.
"Alright, hurry up and rest. We'll do one more sweep in a bit. If there are no more souls in this area, we can head back."
Ren timely cut off their sentimental talk.
"We're lucky this time. We haven't even encountered a Hollow."
Hearing Nanao's voice, Ren felt a slight stir in his heart.
The density of souls in this area wasn't low. Usually, there should have been souls turning into Hollows or Hollows being drawn here.
It was indeed a bit strange.
"No Hollows is a good thing."
Harada Peita nervously scanned the pitch-black streets, gripping his Asauchi tightly.
"But it feels... too quiet."
Ren stared into the dark night; the tension in his heart hadn't relaxed.
If today's field trip could end as smoothly as this, it would be fine.
But if something truly was going to happen, then there wasn't much time left.
Once their rest was over, they stood up, preparing for one final sweep.
Even if there were no more wandering souls nearby, their Soul Burial quota had already been met.
According to the plan, they could already start moving toward the rendezvous point.
Just then, the Denreishinki in Nanao's arms suddenly blared an alarm.
After Nanao pulled it out to check, her voice turned urgent and grave.
"Watch out! We just received a notification. There's an abnormal spiritual pressure reaction nearby... it's a Hollow..."
Before she could finish her sentence...
A roar filled with violence and hunger tore through the night sky like a thunderclap.
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