Hirako Shinji's footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He frowned, taking in his surroundings.
The settlement that once stood here was gone. The wooden houses had been completely blown away, leaving shattered planks and snapped beams scattered across hundreds of meters of ground.
Deep trenches, plowed by Ceros, scarred the surrounding earth. Each gouge was several meters long, and the acrid stench of burning Reishi hung heavy in the air.
Hirako crouched down, running his fingers along the edge of the deepest trench. The residual Spiritual Pressure was still present, but it had a texture unlike anything he had ever encountered.
"What kind of monster left these marks..."
Love Aikawa landed beside Hirako, holding his drawn Zanpakuto across his body with a deep frown.
"This kind of destruction wasn't caused by a normal battle. It looks like a rampage, a pure venting of rage."
Rojuro Ootoibashi dropped down from the right, gathering his trailing robes as they fluttered gently in the wind.
"If it is some unknown Hollow, its Spiritual Pressure class is certainly not weak..."
"Who cares what class it is," Sarugaki Hiyori said, crouching on one knee atop the highest broken wall as her eyes rapidly scanned the ruins below. "Find Kensei first. With such a massive commotion here, there's no way he isn't nearby."
Yadomaru Lisa pushed up her glasses and drew her blade, standing guard at the very rear to monitor their surroundings.
Ushoda Hachigen landed in the center of the ruins. His hands were already woven into a starting seal, spreading his perception in all directions.
Only Kuna Mashiro had not stopped moving.
From the moment she touched down, she had been tearing through the rubble piece by piece. She tossed aside splintered boards and kicked away scattered stones, sweeping through every conceivable hiding spot over and over again.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, her movements growing increasingly frantic, her breathing coming in ragged gasps.
"Kensei! Where are you? Answer me!"
No one answered.
Only her voice dissolved into the empty wasteland across the ruins.
Hirako straightened up, just about to tell Mashiro to calm down. The next second, the edge of his perception snagged on a grotesque Spiritual Pressure.
"Everyone, on guard."
Hirako's voice suddenly tightened.
Six figures shifted their stances almost simultaneously, spreading out into a fan formation with all Zanpakuto fully drawn.
Their gazes locked onto the due north. From the depths of the most thoroughly devastated section of the ruins, a Spiritual Pressure was closing in at an irrational speed.
The moment it charged out from the depths of the rubble, everyone furrowed their brows.
A humanoid Hollow.
Even though it still wore a Shihakusho, there was not a trace of a Soul Reaper left in its appearance. A complete white skeletal mask covered its entire face, leaving two bottomless black voids where its eyes should be.
Several thick bone cylinders pierced through the torn skin on its back, throbbing slightly with its heavy breathing.
"Is this the monster that caused all of this? But why..."
Love Aikawa tightened his grip on his sword hilt, his pupils trembling.
Hirako did not answer.
He stared at the approaching figure, his eyes drifting from the tattered armband on its shoulder to the bone cylinders on its back, and finally to that solid white skeletal mask.
Hirako Shinji had already recognized the person before him.
Even if he did not want to admit it.
Kuna Mashiro had already dashed forward.
Her Flash Step was faster than ever before, so fast that Hirako did not even have time to reach out and stop her.
Her figure drew a perfectly straight streak of white light through the broken walls, hurtling directly toward the white monster.
"Kensei!"
When Mashiro screamed his name, her voice was already trembling uncontrollably.
She recognized the faint residue belonging to Muguruma Kensei, buried at the very bottom beneath the mutated Spiritual Pressure—something she could only discern having stayed by Kensei's side for so many years.
How could the monster that caused all of this be...
However, Kensei detected the movement. In the next second, he instantly appeared before the group and threw a devastating punch.
Unable to dodge in time, Mashiro took the blow head-on. She was sent flying backward, crashing straight through half of a ruined wall behind her in an explosion of flying rubble.
Hirako reacted the fastest. Using Flash Step, he caught the airborne Mashiro and instantly handed her off to Lisa behind him. Then, he drew his Zanpakuto, the blade slicing a blindingly cold arc through the night.
"He can't hear you, Mashiro."
Hirako kept his eyes dead-locked on the former Captain of the Ninth Division ahead.
"Don't treat him like Kensei. He is an enemy now."
Before his words could even settle, he pressed the attack head-on.
His Zanpakuto clashed against Kensei's right arm, sending sparks flying.
Love Aikawa flanked from the left wing, swinging his Zanpakuto to hack into Kensei's back with his heaviest force.
The strike sent Kensei stumbling forward, but it left only a shallow scratch on his back.
That was not the texture of a Soul Reaper's skin.
It was Hierro.
A Cero condensed in front of Kensei. The dark red beam of light grazed past Love's shoulder, blasting a scorched crater into the ground.
"His defense is too strong!"
Love shouted, rolling away to evade.
"Normal slashes won't cut through!"
Rojuro Ootoibashi spun the Zanpakuto in his hand, thrusting the long blade straight toward Kensei's ribs, aiming for the gaps between the bone cylinders.
But Kensei's speed was faster than he had anticipated.
Using Sonido, the Hollowfied Kensei executed a knee strike directly into Rojuro's chest, sending him flying backward.
Just then, a beam of golden light shot in from the side, accurately coiling around Kensei's right ankle.
It was Ushoda Hachigen's Bakudo.
Bakudo Number Sixty-Three, Sajo Sabaku.
Kensei looked down at the glowing chain on his foot and gave it a violent yank, forcibly stretching the magical binding by several inches.
Ushoda Hachigen held his hand seals, completely motionless.
More glowing chains erupted from beneath Kensei's feet, wrapping around his legs and waist, layering over and over to anchor him firmly to the ground.
Kensei roared at the sky. The hollow, black voids on his skeletal mask turned toward Hachigen, preparing to charge a Cero.
However, his limbs were completely locked down.
Kuna Mashiro pushed herself up from the pile of rubble, a trail of blood hanging from the corner of her mouth.
She shook off Lisa's supporting grip and walked toward Kensei, who was securely restrained by the glowing chains.
"Kensei."
Mashiro's voice was hoarse.
Kensei's roaring gradually died down.
The eyes beneath the white skeletal mask aimed in Mashiro's direction. He seemed to be trying to identify something, or perhaps he was merely drawn by the sound.
At that moment, Hachigen added several more layers to his sealing spell, firmly pinning Kensei to the earth.
The situation seemed as though it was finally under control.
On a hillside hundreds of meters away from the battlefield, Aizen Sosuke watched everything unfold and spoke softly.
"It is time."
He stood in the shadows, his finger pressing lightly against the Hogyoku.
Behind him, Hasumi Ren discreetly adjusted his stance, retracting his perception from Kensei.
He had taken in the entirety of the battle just now.
The enhancement from Kensei's Hollowfication was truly astonishing. His base abilities had seen a massive boost, and his Hierro had reached the level of an Adjuchas.
High-Speed Regeneration was also rapidly repairing his damaged tissues.
But having lost his reasoning, Muguruma Kensei's attack patterns were one-dimensional. He could not coordinate the rhythmic shifts between Ceros and close-quarters combat. Facing multiple Captain-class opponents, he would only end up suppressed.
At that point, Aizen activated the Hogyoku.
Down below the hillside, Ushoda Hachigen's hands jerked violently as a grotesque sensation bloomed inside his body.
Sajo Sabaku was still active, but a layer of white bone was already seeping from his mouth.
A mask crept over his face, completely scrambling the rhythm of his Spiritual Pressure.
He clamped his jaw shut, desperately trying to maintain the Bakudo for just a little longer before losing consciousness.
But the mask soon covered his entire face.
The glowing chains snapped off Kensei inch by inch.
Kensei bellowed into the sky. The moment he broke free, he hurled a punch at Mashiro, who was closest to him.
Mashiro leaned aside to dodge, but Kensei immediately shifted into a sweeping backhand. The sheer force of the wind grazing her shoulder tore open a bloody gash.
Behind her, an equally tyrannical Spiritual Pressure erupted without warning.
Ushoda Hachigen had Hollowfied.
Shrouded in a layer of dark red Spiritual Pressure, he charged toward Mashiro from behind.
Caught in the middle, Mashiro instinctively retreated, barely evading their combined assault.
Before she could even secure her footing, a third anomaly erupted in her peripheral vision.
Yadomaru Lisa.
The blade in her hand had not yet been lowered, but a mask had already swathed her entire face.
"Everyone..."
Mashiro stood frozen in place, looking around. Masks were manifesting on the faces of several Vice-Captains as well.
She stood there trembling from head to toe. Something inside her body was waking up as well.
A mask began to spread outward from the corners of her mouth.
She felt her consciousness growing blurry, yet she bit down hard, clinging to her last shred of lucidity.
But the mask swallowed her face regardless.
In the next instant, darkness descended.
Tosen Kaname unleashed his Bankai.
Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korogi.
This pitch-black void engulfed the entire expanse of ruins, completely shattering any attempts by the Captains to back up their Vice-Captains.
Following that, Tosen advanced toward the Captains.
He needed to pave the way for Aizen's Hollowfication experiments; crippling these Captains was one of his objectives.
Hasumi Ren stood motionless on the hillside.
System notifications were flashing frantically within his vision.
Vast quantities of Hollowfication fragments poured out from the Captains' bodies, crossing the hundreds of meters to surge straight into Ren.
[SYSTEM: Detected High-Level Hollowfication Fragments x31, Hollowfication Experience +3100]
In the dark, Tosen's Suzumushi slashed down relentlessly.
Multiple Vice-Captains, completely stripped of their senses, were severely wounded one after another, the wounds rapidly accelerating their Hollowfication progress.
Simultaneously, Tosen turned his Zanpakuto against the Captain-class combatants.
Ambushed by this bizarre and sudden Bankai, several Captains failed to dodge in time and suffered injuries at Tosen's hands.
A split second later, masks blanketed their faces as well.
[SYSTEM: Detected High-Level Hollowfication Fragments x50, Hollowfication Experience +5000]
The copious fragments gushing from their bodies stacked continuously within Hasumi Ren.
Then, a crisp notification chimed in his mind.
[SYSTEM: Hollowfication Level Up ↑]
[SYSTEM: Hollowfication: lv6 (Experience: 3480/12000)]
A brand new wave of power detonated within his body.
It was not the gradual accumulation he had felt previously, but a qualitative evolution bursting straight from the very core of his soul.
His Hollowfied Spiritual Pressure skyrocketed like a bursting dam. Ren could feel that his inner Hollow power had actually surpassed his natural Rei-i level.
The bone casing no longer solely covered his face.
He could feel that, as long as he wished it, the Hollowfied bone wouldn't be restricted to a mask, but could extend over various parts of his body.
At the same time, instincts far closer to those of a true Hollow were awakening.
Hierro.
High-Speed Regeneration.
Ren slowly exhaled.
Elevating Hollowfication to Level 6 granted him a massive boost, pushing him nearly to the strength of a high-tier Adjuchas Menos.
Even though he was currently only at Fourth-Class Rei-i, his Hollowfied state meant that while he wasn't a Captain, his combat power rivaled one.
Ren redirected his attention down below.
Tosen's Bankai dissipated, as Hirako Shinji had immediately put distance between them the moment he sensed it, preventing himself from being trapped within the space.
Yet, he still could not evade the corruption of the Hogyoku. Bone material spilled from his mouth, forming a partial mask over his face. Fortunately, since he had not been injured, he was still able to suppress it somewhat for the time being.
"Just what in the world is this..."
Footsteps echoed from behind, prompting Hirako to look back.
And then he saw Aizen Sosuke.
He saw that exceptionally gentle smile.
He also saw the white-haired young man standing behind Aizen.
He wasn't surprised by Aizen's appearance, only enraged.
But when he saw Hasumi Ren, he froze for a split second.
Aizen stepped forward slowly, the Hogyoku spinning lazily in the palm of his hand, casting a deep blue glow over his smiling face.
Seeing Hirako's current state, the corners of his lips quirked upward.
As the darkness in the distance vanished, Tosen Kaname abruptly appeared in front of Hirako, rushing in for the kill with his blade drawn.
Hirako roared, demanding answers from Aizen while bringing up his sword to block. Despite the influence of his Hollowfication, he still managed to completely suppress Tosen head-on within a mere few exchanges.
The edge of his blade slashed across Tosen's ribs, leaving behind a gash so deep the bone was visible.
Using a series of Flash Steps, Tosen retreated to Aizen's side, clutching his wound with a wretched expression as he gasped for breath.
Hirako Shinji did not press the pursuit.
His left hand was trembling slightly, completely out of his control, and a mask was beginning to sprout from his brow.
He had held it back for far too long.
Planting his Zanpakuto into the ground to support a body that was on the verge of collapsing, Hirako looked up toward Aizen.
Aizen turned his head and looked at Hasumi Ren.
"Demonstrate it for them. Show them what stable Hollowfication looks like."
"This will be your declaration of allegiance."
"Kill them, and from this day forth, you shall be my trusted confidant."
"Ren, I have given you the opportunity. How you choose to act is entirely your decision."
Hasumi Ren remained silent for a breath.
Then, he drew his sword.
He walked toward Hirako Shinji step by step, his pace unhurried.
Subsequently, a Hollow mask materialized upon his face.
"Hasumi Ren..."
Clenching his teeth to forcibly suppress the growth of his own mask, Hirako swung his Zanpakuto upward in a rising slash.
The blades collided in an eruption of sparks.
Hirako's swordsmanship remained vicious. Even in a state of partial Hollowfication, the combat prowess of the Fifth Division Captain was not to be underestimated.
But every single one of Ren's strikes was faster and heavier.
The enhancements brought by his Hollowfication pushed his base stats far beyond Hirako's current condition.
Soon, Ren delivered a horizontal sweep, cleaving a massive wound across Hirako's chest.
Hirako let out a muffled groan and dropped to one knee. His Zanpakuto slipped from his grasp, hitting the dirt with a dull thud.
Blood poured from the wound on his chest, and at that very moment, the Hollow mask completely encapsulated his face, swallowing his final sliver of consciousness.
The last thing he saw before collapsing was Hasumi Ren hoisting his blade high into the air, his face utterly expressionless.
Aizen gave a slight nod, shifting his gaze from the fallen Hirako to watch Ren's movements intently.
He was waiting for the blade in Ren's hands to fall.
This was the one and only chance he would offer Ren.
Hasumi Ren was also waiting at this moment.
He was waiting for Urahara Kisuke's arrival.
Right then, a Spiritual Pressure approached at breakneck speed from the direction of the Seireitei.
Aizen halted his steps.
He looked up toward the approaching presence. The smile faded from his face for a split second, his expression turning several degrees colder than before.
'Why would she be here...'
Unohana landed on a broken wall at the edge of the ruins.
She stood tall, glancing at the Hollowfied Captains littered across the ground, and then at Aizen in the distance.
Finally, her gaze settled on Hasumi Ren, who was standing with his sword held high.