Meanwhile, inside the camp.
Hasumi Ren finished treating the last wounded soldier in his care, stood up, and let out a soft exhale.
He had continuously treated over a dozen severely injured individuals, consuming a significant amount of his spiritual pressure.
Afterward, he assisted the other Fourth Division members in tending to those with minor injuries.
Now, all the wounded were out of danger. The remaining injuries were merely superficial flesh wounds, which the rest of the Fourth Division could easily handle.
Ren gently dusted off his hands, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
The corpses of the Hollows from earlier had long since dissolved into Reishi, leaving behind only scattered bloodstains and uneven fissures in the ground.
Everything appeared perfectly normal.
Except...
Ren's eyes unconsciously drifted toward the edge of the camp.
There, Aizen's illusion was still surrounded by several people.
Wearing a gentle smile, the phantom was speaking in a low voice.
Then, Ren noticed a few silhouettes slowly approaching from outside the camp.
The real Aizen, accompanied by his trusted subordinates, was strolling in from another direction.
Ren controlled his demeanor, keeping his facial expression completely neutral.
He simply continued wiping his sweat, then turned and walked toward where he had stored the medical supplies.
But in the moment he turned, he saw it clearly.
Aizen and those Fifth Division members seamlessly and silently blended into the crowd.
They walked up to the illusions and seamlessly took their places.
And the squad members who had been surrounding the illusions didn't notice anything amiss.
They just kept talking, continuing to express their admiration.
And the real Aizen naturally integrated into their conversation, picking up right where the illusion left off.
"Lieutenant Aizen, you are truly amazing."
"Yeah, I'll never forget the sight of those Hollows slaughtering each other for the rest of my life."
Aizen smiled and nodded, his tone gentle and calm.
His voice, his expression, everything about him was identical to the phantom from moments ago.
And no one was able to detect the minute shifts.
Watching this scene unfold, Ren felt that complex surge of emotion well up within him once more.
But he showed nothing on his face. He merely crouched down and began organizing the remaining medicine, checking their backup reserves.
Afterward, Ren moved a little closer to the direction of the recent battle, allowing many of the experience fragments dropped earlier to slowly drift toward him.
At that moment, system prompts flashed continuously.
Ren's movements paused slightly.
*Almost there.*
*I'm only a tiny bit of experience away from reaching Fifth-Class Spiritual Pressure.*
*Once this mission is over, if I spend some time moving between the Fourth Division and the Kido Corps, I should be able to break through.*
*When that happens, my total spiritual pressure will rise to another level, approaching the standard of a lieutenant.*
*Finally, I'll escape the realm of small fry and become a high-tier grunt.*
"Fourth Seat Ren."
Ren turned around to see a Fourth Division member standing behind him, wearing a somewhat troubled expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, it's like this..."
The squad member scratched his head.
"We've used up quite a bit of the medical supplies we brought. The herbs for treating external wounds, in particular, were depleted much faster than expected."
"I'm a little worried. If we run into another sudden emergency like this, our current stockpile of medicinal herbs..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.
Ren nodded.
"Do we need to go gather some?"
"Yes."
The squad member said.
"I think there should be some on that mountain in the distance. It's not too far, so a round trip shouldn't take much time. It's just..."
He looked around.
"It's just that it's getting late. Going out at this hour might be a bit unsafe. So I wanted to let you know, hoping we could get some Fifth Division members to escort us."
Ren stood up.
"You're right. As it happens, I'll go with you."
The squad member froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, no, no, Fourth Seat Ren. You just finished treating so many wounded and must be exhausted. We can go..."
"It's fine," Ren interrupted him. "It's better to gather extra herbs as a backup. We might need to use a large amount later on."
The squad member hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.
"Then... we'll be in your care, Fourth Seat Ren."
Ren waved his hand dismissively and turned to walk toward the center of the camp.
Over there, the crowd around Aizen had thinned out significantly, leaving only a scattered few who were still reporting on the follow-up tasks.
Ren approached and spoke softly.
"Lieutenant Aizen."
Aizen turned his head. Upon seeing him, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.
"Ren, what is it?"
Ren briefly explained the situation, concluding with:
"The Fourth Division members need to head to the nearby mountain to gather some herbs and replenish our reserves, so I came to report this to you."
"At the same time, I was hoping you could assign a few of your squad members to escort and protect our Fourth Division personnel."
"After all, having just experienced a battle, the members are still a bit on edge."
As he spoke, Ren glanced at Kiganjo in the distance.
Following the recent battle, he and the Eleventh Division members had already lain down to rest, their snores echoing like thunder.
Even though his drinking had nearly caused a disaster just moments ago, his attitude remained as nonchalant as ever.
Aizen adopted a thoughtful expression before nodding gently.
"You make a fair point. In that case, I will arrange for some members to accompany you."
Aizen then turned to the Fifth Division members behind him and gave a few low-voiced instructions.
Several Fifth Division members immediately sprang into action, preparing to escort the Fourth Division group.
Aizen looked at Ren, his gaze profound.
"What's this? Are you going as well?"
Seeing Aizen's curious expression, Ren gave a slight nod.
"Naturally. It wouldn't make sense for me to rest on the sidelines while my subordinates go out to work."
A moment later, Aizen suddenly smiled.
"True enough. Since that's the case, and I have some free time anyway..."
"I shall accompany you as well. As it happens, I have a bit of an interest in identifying medicinal herbs."
Hearing this, Ren's movements paused slightly.
He lifted his head and looked at Aizen.
Under the moonlight, Aizen's smile remained as gentle as ever, his eyes perfectly calm.
He stood there with a relaxed posture, as if he had merely made the most ordinary, offhand suggestion.
But Ren knew better.
There was a high probability this was no casual suggestion.
After all, Aizen's earlier test—that sudden, explosive burst of killing intent—was still vivid in his mind.
Ren's heartbeat remained steady, his breathing normal, and his facial expression completely unchanged.
He simply looked at Aizen calmly and gave a slight nod.
"Having Lieutenant Aizen personally accompany us would naturally be for the best."
"It's just that I feel somewhat apologetic making you go out of your way for this trip."
Aizen chuckled softly, waving his hand to indicate it was no trouble.
He turned and gave a few instructions to the others stationed at the camp, then walked over to Ren's side.
"Let's go. We'll make it a quick trip."
Seeing this, Ren nodded.
Afterward, the two of them led their respective prepared squad members, walking side by side out of the camp.