After Yamamoto Shigekuni finished speaking, the Captains immediately sprang into action.
Hirako Shinji walked at the forefront, his long blonde hair trailing a sharp afterimage under the midday sun.
Love Aikawa followed closely behind.
Rojuro Ootoibashi's steps remained elegant, but his speed was not the slightest bit slow.
Sarugaki Hiyori curled her lip, then turned and chased after them.
Yadomaru Lisa pushed up her glasses, gave Kyoraku Shunsui a slight nod, and her figure vanished at the end of the corridor.
Urahara Kisuke stood by the pillars of the Captain-Commander's assembly hall, watching the figures of the Captains and Lieutenants vanish one by one using Shunpo.
The emergency support squad departed, and the remaining Captains dispersed under the Captain-Commander's gesture.
After the meeting was adjourned, the Captains left through the assembly hall exits one after another, their steps hurried and their expressions grave.
Only Unohana remained in place, whispering a report of some kind to Yamamoto Shigekuni—most likely the Fourth Division's preparatory plans for receiving the wounded.
Urahara stood where he was, his fingers hidden in his sleeves clenching slightly.
He originally had something to say.
His previous statement about needing to proceed with caution was interrupted before he could fully elaborate.
And what interrupted him was precisely the disappearance of Muguruma Kensei's spiritual pressure. It was truly... too much of a coincidence.
Consequently, he was unable to continue questioning the Hasumi Ren standing behind Unohana.
He had no justification to stop and interrogate a Lieutenant in front of the Captain-Commander.
But now, things were different.
The meeting had ended. The corridor was a public space; anyone walking together for a stretch after an assembly was perfectly normal.
Urahara waited until Unohana finished discussing with Yamamoto Shigekuni and came out with that strange Hasumi Ren, then quickly followed them.
"Captain Unohana." Urahara caught up to the two of them at the corner of the corridor. "Is it convenient to have a word in private?"
Unohana stopped in her tracks and turned around. Her expression was calm, tinged with a hint of curiosity.
Urahara knew that this First Generation Kenpachi's perceptive abilities were far beyond that of an ordinary Captain.
He didn't need to beat around the bush in front of her. A simple hint... would be enough.
"Third Seat Urahara, what is the matter?"
"There is indeed a matter I wish to confirm with you."
Urahara walked up to her, his gaze shifting from her face to the person behind her.
That person looked back at him, his eyes calm, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Captain Unohana, although I haven't formally communicated with you before, there is some level of acquaintance between us."
Unohana didn't speak; she merely looked at him quietly.
"The underground training ground at Sokyoku Hill is the exclusive sword practice area for you and Hasumi Ren."
"Hasumi Ren receives your Kendo instruction there. You both release your spiritual pressure and clash with everything you have."
"That place was provided to Hasumi Ren by me."
Urahara's voice was not loud, but every word was clearly discernible in the quiet corridor.
"You know about the matters between Hasumi Ren and me."
"I also know about the training between you and Hasumi Ren."
"There are some things that I can speak openly with you about."
"For example..." He raised his hand, pointing at the person behind Unohana. "Have you really not noticed?"
"This person behind you... he is not the real Hasumi Ren."
Unohana's gaze darkened, and an indescribable pressure enveloped Urahara Kisuke.
"What are you talking about, Urahara Kisuke."
As Unohana's words fell, the temperature in the corridor seemed to suddenly drop a few degrees.
The sunlight shone on her face, but it could not dispel the chill slowly seeping out from her body.
"Captain Unohana." However, under this indescribable pressure, Urahara Kisuke was actually able to remain completely composed.
His gaze passed over Unohana, looking at the fake Hasumi Ren who was staring at him warily from behind.
"Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu can completely hypnotize anyone who has seen his Zanpakuto's Shikai."
"But if this is an illusion from Kyoka Suigetsu, unless Aizen is nearby, this Hasumi Ren wouldn't be able to exhibit such precise expressions and reactions."
"Therefore, I am more inclined to believe that you were constructed using an actual, existing person as a base."
"Through Kyoka Suigetsu, Aizen made your spiritual pressure signature, appearance, and voice identical to the real Hasumi Ren."
"However, your interaction with me failed to replicate the reactions the real Hasumi Ren should have had."
Urahara looked at that person, his tone turning cold. "Your identity is already exposed."
"I'm afraid Aizen didn't calculate that Captain Unohana and I could have a connection on this level."
That person stood in place, the expression on his face changing.
His brows shifted from a perfectly feigned confusion to stiff tension, and the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched slightly.
A fine layer of sweat even began to bead upon his forehead.
"This is slander." He tried hard to keep his voice steady, seemingly trying to think of a way out of this situation.
"Third Seat Urahara, I don't know why you are targeting me like this, but I..."
He couldn't finish his sentence.
Unohana's hand rested on the hilt of her Zanpakuto.
The moment the hilt was gripped, an icy spiritual pressure erupted from her body, surging silently between the stone pillars of the corridor.
Her thumb pushed the tsuba, popping the blade half an inch out of its sheath.
The blade flashed, and then was re-sheathed.
The next moment, that Hasumi Ren's voice slowly stopped.
A crack as thin as a hair ran straight down his face, from his forehead to his jaw.
The corpse slowly collapsed, still maintaining Hasumi Ren's face.
Unohana turned around. She looked at Urahara, the coldness in her gaze undiminished.
"It seems it truly isn't Hasumi Ren."
"Where is he."
Urahara pondered for a moment.
"Aizen wouldn't let Hasumi Ren out of his line of sight."
"There's a high probability he is currently near the location where Muguruma Kensei's spiritual pressure vanished."
As soon as his voice fell, Unohana's figure had already vanished from the spot.
Urahara Kisuke wanted to stop her for a second, but Unohana left too quickly.
He took a deep breath.
It was fine. With Captain Unohana heading there, Hasumi Ren's safety at least had some guarantee.
For Aizen to choose to make his move at this time, Urahara Kisuke already had a premonition in his heart.
Perhaps, Aizen was choosing to make a move on Hasumi Ren.
And those Captains who headed out were even more likely the true targets in Aizen's plan.
Now, he needed to go fetch some things.
He had prepared those things for a long time; although they were still a bit immature, it was time to put them to use.
Urahara turned around and walked briskly towards the Second Division.
After taking only a few steps, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Urahara-dono."
Urahara Kisuke's footsteps paused.
Tsukabishi Tessai stood at the other end of the corridor, his tall, massive frame almost blocking the entire width of the passage.
The eyes behind his glasses were staring at the corpse on the ground, his brows furrowed tightly.
"What is going on here."
Urahara stopped in his tracks.
"There's no time to explain in detail."
"The Hasumi Ren on the ground is a fake."
"The real Hasumi Ren is very likely by Aizen's side right now, north of the Rukongai, and quite possibly in the area where Captain Kensei disappeared."
Tsukabishi Tessai's gaze lingered on the corpse for a moment.
Then he looked up, gazing in the direction Unohana had disappeared.
"Aizen, Hollowfication experiments, spatial Kido... The matters you and Hasumi Ren have been secretly investigating, the things you've been worried about—have they happened?"
"Yes." Urahara sped up his speech.
"The situation has now exceeded our previous estimations."
"Aizen's movements were faster than we anticipated."
Hearing this, Tsukabishi Tessai fell silent for a moment.
"Are you going as well?" Tsukabishi Tessai asked.
"Of course."
"Even though Aizen caught me off guard, I am not completely unprepared."
"Hiding in the lab all this time, the things that needed to be made are mostly finished."
"Although they aren't fully mature yet, they should be of use."
Tsukabishi Tessai quickly followed, leaning on his Kido staff, his footsteps heavy and steady.
"When I taught Hasumi Ren spatial Kido before, I thought I was just helping him solve technical issues with the Garganta."
"I didn't expect this matter to involve so much."
"Quincies, Hollowfication... now even the Captains are wrapped up in this."
He paused. "Captain Unohana seemed... quite angry just now."
Urahara Kisuke nodded. "She is worried."
"Alright, I need to go do what I have to do. Grand Kido Chief, please do as you wish."
Tsukabishi Tessai looked at Urahara Kisuke, who was about to turn and leave, and likewise followed behind him.
"Urahara-dono, for a matter like this, I naturally must go with you."
"Do not forget our camaraderie from working together at the Shihoin clan back then."
"What's more, with Hasumi Ren being dragged into this, I absolutely cannot sit idly by."
Urahara looked at Tsukabishi Tessai catching up and gave a gentle nod.
The two of them rushed at top speed toward the Second Division, in the direction of Urahara Kisuke's laboratory.
Meanwhile, outside the Rukongai.
Hasumi Ren stood half a step behind Aizen.
The Hogyoku emitted a faint blue glow in Aizen's hand, while Muguruma Kensei lay collapsed at his feet.
Even though the piercing wound on his chest was still seeping blood, he barely managed to keep his eyes open and raise his head.
Before his consciousness completely faded away, he stared dead-on at the slowly rotating Hogyoku in Aizen's hand.
"What are you... trying to do..." Kensei's voice was hoarse and weak.
Aizen looked down at Kensei and slowly raised the Hogyoku.
Under the urging of Aizen's spiritual pressure, the faint blue light reflected in Kensei's gradually dilating pupils.
The blue halo inside the prism suddenly surged.
A power entirely different from a Soul Reaper's spiritual pressure poured out from within the crystal, guided by Aizen into the wound on Kensei's chest.
The Hogyoku's energy seeped into Kensei's body through the wound, permeating his muscles and bones, reaching into every structural layer of his soul.
Then, it began to alter something on a much deeper level.
Kensei's body convulsed violently. A series of low growls erupted from deep within his throat.
Beside them, Tosen Kaname intensely monitored Muguruma Kensei's changes, the device in his hand recording the fluctuations in Kensei's spiritual pressure.
As the Hogyoku's power flooded in, the boundary between Soul Reaper and Hollow within Muguruma Kensei was gradually being shattered.
The next moment, a large amount of white bone-like structure surged from Kensei's mouth, covering his entire face and forming a complete white bone mask.
Subsequently, the bone matter continued to grow backward from the edges of the mask, piercing through the skin along the direction of his cervical spine to form several thick, sturdy bone pillars on his back.
Kensei's spiritual pressure had changed.
The steady, composed spiritual pressure carrying strong personal characteristics unique to Captain-class Soul Reapers had vanished.
At this moment, Muguruma Kensei's spiritual pressure was more frantic, much closer to the primal and savage aura of a Hollow.
Hasumi Ren stood in place, watching this scene motionlessly.
He could sense that even though Tosen Kaname was recording data beside them, a portion of his attention remained fixated on him.
Even Aizen was doing the same.
But Hasumi Ren made no movements; he simply stared quietly at the changes occurring on Kensei's body, like a bystander.
Right when the Hogyoku was activated by Aizen, system notifications constantly flashed across his vision.
As the Hogyoku's energy was guided out by Aizen and entered Muguruma Kensei's body, a large number of fragmented motes of light drifted out and poured into Hasumi Ren's body.
[SYSTEM: Detected High-Level Hollowfication Fragment x23, Hollowfication Experience +2300]
[SYSTEM: Hollowfication: lv5 (Experience: 3380/8000)]
The changes on Muguruma Kensei's body ceased. Although he still maintained a humanoid form at this moment, the mask on his face and the texture of his spiritual pressure made him no different from a true Hollow.
Aizen withdrew the Hogyoku and took a few steps back.
Standing outside a safe distance, he admired his handiwork, the curve of his lips mild and serene.
Even though Muguruma Kensei underwent Hollowfication after sustaining severe injuries, his strength had not decreased.
A Captain-class Hollowfication retained Captain-class combat prowess.
It was even superior in certain aspects.
"Complete Hollowfication is the ultimate goal of the Hogyoku." He turned his head sideways to look at Hasumi Ren.
"But at this current stage, the power of the Hogyoku is still incomplete, and achieving perfection is not yet possible."
"This full coverage of a mask and the localized appearance of Hollow traits on the body is already the limit of what can be achieved at this stage."
"Later on, if the two Hogyoku are fused, it will make the Arrancarification much more stable."
He paused, his gaze shifting to Hasumi Ren's face.
"In comparison, Hasumi Ren, your Hollowfication is quite a bit weaker."
"Your mask only covers half of your face, and the bone structure hasn't extended to other parts of your body."
"Both the magnitude and depth of the amplification fall far short of the result presented today."
"You still have plenty of room for improvement."
Hasumi Ren didn't speak; he just quietly watched Kensei's body undergo drastic changes.
Aizen was correct.
The Hollowfication he mentioned was the version Hasumi Ren had demonstrated in front of him.
A lv1 level Hollowfication, half a mask.
Aizen believed that Hasumi Ren's Hollowfication was at this level.
But that was merely the result Hasumi Ren had gradually acted out in front of Aizen step by step.
Hasumi Ren's true Hollowfication level had long since surpassed this stage.
It even exceeded the level Muguruma Kensei was currently demonstrating.
A moment later, Kensei's body stopped convulsing.
He slowly climbed up from the ground and stood with his face turned upward, like an empty shell driven anew by some primal instinct.
The two dark holes on the white mask held absolutely no emotion.
The next moment, a deep, low roar emanated from the depths of Muguruma Kensei's throat.
Aizen let out a light chuckle.
At his signal, the group retreated behind the rocks higher up the hillside, quietly watching as Muguruma Kensei began to frantically attack everything around him like a madman.
A long while later, Aizen seemingly sensed something and looked up towards the southern sky.
There, several Captain-class spiritual pressures were approaching this side at extremely fast speeds.
The spiritual pressure taking the lead was exceptionally familiar to him.
It was exactly his Captain, Hirako Shinji.
The corners of Aizen's lips curled up slightly, and he gently stroked the Hogyoku in his hand.
The development of events was exactly as he had predicted.
The real show was about to begin.