The subsequent experiment proceeded extremely smoothly. The Reishi converted from the Menos Grande by Uryū's Sprenger could likewise be modified by Urahara. However, it first had to be collected and gathered using Tsunayoshi's Earth Flames. Otherwise, once the scattered Reishi dispersed, later operations would become difficult.
"Complete! The rest depends on how many Menos Grande you can wipe out in one go." Urahara withdrew Benihime and casually dispersed the Reishi gathered in front of him.
"We will do what we can. With Ichigo and Uryū here, this is already the limit of what we can accomplish."
Tsunayoshi had no intention of dragging the other Quincy from the World of the Living over here. This was merely a transaction. There was no need to gamble every foothold the Quincy had in the World of the Living.
As for whether the completed Jūreichi would be enough for Aizen to use, Tsunayoshi's stance was simple: that was Aizen's problem to worry about.
"Now it is time for the real business, is it not?" Mayuri asked. He had not forgotten why Tsunayoshi had brought him to Hueco Mundo.
"Mm. We set out now. Our destination: Las Noches." Tsunayoshi lifted his chin toward Grimmjow, indicating that they would still need Grimmjow to lead the way from here.
Grimmjow scratched the back of his head and stepped forward. They had finally reached the final moment: returning to Las Noches to face Aizen's judgment.
"Eh?! Ichigo, you're going to Las Noches?!" Hearing Tsunayoshi's words, Nel immediately shouted at Ichigo.
"Nel, you know about Las Noches?" Ichigo had not expected this seemingly silly little girl to understand Hueco Mundo so well.
"Huh? I don't." Nel expressionlessly picked her nose, then suddenly made a huge fuss. "But Pesche and the others said that place is really scary!"
Ichigo looked at the slightly panicked Nel and fell silent for a moment. Knowing Nel's past identity, he understood why those two Fracción had frightened her with stories like that. They were probably trying to keep Nel from putting herself in danger again.
Ichigo rubbed Nel's head with a faintly indulgent expression.
"Nel, after we leave the Menos Forest, go find your friends and play with them. Once I come out of Las Noches, I'll go find you."
Ichigo had not forgotten that he still needed Orihime to heal Nel's injuries. Since Nel was afraid of going to Las Noches, he could only take her to the World of the Living for treatment after he came back out.
Listening to Ichigo comfort her, Nel's eyes somehow began to fill with tears again. She could clearly feel Ichigo's concern for her, and she immediately threw herself onto Ichigo's leg and shouted,
"I'm going too! I'll protect you, Ichigo!"
"You damn brat! You got snot on my pants!" Unfortunately, Nel's emotional display did not resonate with Ichigo. Ichigo merely kept pressing down on Nel's head, trying to pull her away from his pant leg.
Watching Ichigo and Nel interact, Ashido, who was sitting nearby, could not help laughing aloud. After surviving in the Menos Forest for so many years, he had never believed that Hollows and Shinigami could coexist peacefully.
And yet the scene before him forced Ashido to break through that fixed perception. Perhaps there were different kinds of Hollows too. Perhaps not all Hollows were evil.
The instant that thought appeared, Ashido himself was startled. The belief he had held for so many years had actually begun to crack after only this short time spent with Ichigo.
Talking with Ichigo had been very enjoyable. While teasing Nel, Ichigo had also told Ashido about what had happened in Soul Society.
When Ashido learned that Ichigo had charged into the Seireitei without hesitation to save Rukia, he once again thought of his past self. In order to protect his comrades' graves, he had resolutely remained in the Menos Forest for more than two hundred years.
Ichigo's burning passion, that willingness to give everything for friendship and bonds, once again ignited Ashido's nearly dead heart.
After packing everything up, Tsunayoshi walked toward Ashido.
"Mr. Ashido, Ichigo should have already told you about the objective of this operation, right? I would like to ask what your choice is. Will you come with us, or will you stay here?"
"If you intend to stay, I suggest that you leave the Menos Forest for the time being. As you saw, we may take action against the Menos Forest next, and I would rather avoid accidentally injuring you."
Tsunayoshi had no intention of forcing Ashido to leave. As long as it did not involve a crisis that could destroy the world, he had always respected the other party's choice.
"Are you going to deal with that great villain who defected from Soul Society?" Ashido suddenly asked.
Tsunayoshi's vision nearly went dark. Barring any surprise, Ichigo must have filled Ashido in using nothing but his own subjective opinions.
In Ichigo's eyes, Aizen was the man who plotted against his family and Rukia. That made him a villain. And for that sort of person, Ichigo had always had only one method of dealing with them: cut them down.
"We are not going there to deal with him. We are going there to make a trade. As for whether he is a villain, Aizen is indeed in that position as far as the Kurosaki family is concerned. But regarding what he did in Soul Society, in a certain sense, he also pushed Soul Society's development forward."
"This trip to Las Noches is not to kill him. If things go smoothly, we will return to Soul Society very soon. You only need to consider whether you want to return to Soul Society."
Aizen cutting down the entirety of Central 46 was his greatest contribution to Soul Society. Yamamoto could also use that opportunity to reclaim power from the nobles, allowing the Gotei Thirteen to truly become the Gotei Thirteen that protected Soul Society.
Ashido did not refute him. Several centuries of life had long since taught him that right and wrong were not absolute. They depended on one's position.
As for whether to return to Soul Society or continue silently guarding the Menos Forest, Ashido's newly stirred heart had already given him an answer.
"I will go with you. I also want to see whether the current Soul Society is truly as open-minded as you say."
A faint look of relief appeared on Ashido's face. If Soul Society truly could not tolerate even a trace of Hollow power, then at worst, he would die. Having long since severed all attachments, he did not fear death.
"Before that, though, may I first go collect my comrades' graves? They are only cenotaphs, so there is nothing much there. I will be back quickly," Ashido hurriedly said.
"Of course. Ichigo, go with him. That way, you can look out for each other."
Ichigo, who had been listening from the side, naturally had no objections. He readily took responsibility and set off with Ashido. With Ichigo's strength, there should be no Hollow in the Menos Forest capable of threatening him.
Nothing melodramatic happened during their separate operation. From the moment they set out, Ichigo and Ashido had both put on their Hollow Masks. Their powerful Reiatsu severely intimidated the reckless Adjuchas, and as for the Gillians, creatures that only followed instinct would never provoke two walking disasters.
Logically speaking, everything should have continued smoothly like this.
However, neither Ashido nor Ichigo noticed that when they returned, a small white snake was following behind them.
Far behind the little snake, two pale figures trailed after it. They were a man and a woman. Tattered white robes were loosely tied around their bodies, and their bare feet made them look somewhat destitute.
"Sister, are we really going to make a move?" asked the tall, thin man with dark-blue hair. He looked somewhat dispirited and gloomy.
"Of course we are. After finally seeing her again, this is the perfect opportunity." The other person was a woman with short emerald-green hair and a streak of red-dyed hair above her forehead.
Compared to her quiet younger brother, the older sister was livelier and more decisive. Between the two siblings, she was the one who made the decisions.
"But didn't you already make a plan to go to Soul Society?"
"Shizuku, why are you so rigid? She finally came to Hueco Mundo on her own to find us. Isn't dealing with these people in front of us easier than making an enemy of all Soul Society?" the older sister said irritably.
"We need to hurry. If we don't act soon, they will leave the Menos Forest," the younger brother urged.
"Wait. We strike the instant they leave the Menos Forest. We can't let these Hollows hurt Rukia!"
The older sister's gaze locked firmly on the figure at the very back of the group. The two of them had come precisely for Rukia. After hundreds of years, they had finally seen Rukia again.
"I understand, Homura. We promised that we would always be together," the younger brother, Shizuku, softly replied.
The siblings, Homura and Shizuku, had originally been staying deeper within the Menos Forest. Just earlier, they had encountered Ashido as he was gathering his comrades' belongings.
They knew about Ashido, that strange Shinigami. They had no intention of provoking this killer of the Menos Forest. They only wanted to hide quietly in the shadows and wait for Ashido to leave.
But just after Ashido and Ichigo left, Shizuku told his sister Homura that his scythe had informed him there was a faint scent belonging to Rukia on Ichigo.
Without the slightest hesitation, Homura immediately decided to follow Ashido and Ichigo. However, because they feared Ashido, that dangerous killer, they only dared to condense a tiny white Reishi snake to track them while they themselves followed behind the snake.
Unexpectedly, they had truly found Rukia.
The moment she saw Rukia, Homura's eyes changed. Within them were three parts longing, five parts obsession, and finally, two parts madness.
In Homura's eyes now, there was nothing to fear. As long as she could be together with Rukia, she did not care about anything else.
The siblings hid very well. Their spying gazes were fixed only on Rukia. As for everyone else, they did not even spare them a glance.
It was precisely because of this that people with sharper perception, such as Tsunayoshi and Urahara, did not notice that two tails were following far behind Ichigo and Ashido.
"Everything packed up?" Tsunayoshi asked.
Ashido touched the fur bundle he had made and hung in front of his chest.
"Everything is packed. No problems."
"Then there is no time to waste. Our next stop is Las Noches." Tsunayoshi turned his head and called out to Grimmjow, "Grimmjow , I'll have to trouble you to lead the way."
"Tch!"
Grimmjow was both angry and helpless. He could only use Sonído and fly silently toward the outside of the Menos Forest.
The others hurriedly used their own high-speed movement techniques to keep up with Grimmjow. The journey was very smooth. In the endless desert, with Grimmjow in the lead, one figure after another emerged from the great hole.
As expected, Rukia was still at the rear of the group.
Just as she was about to leave the Menos Forest, she suddenly heard an inexplicable voice calling her name.
Rukia…
Rukia…
Rukia…
Rukia's steps slowed. She turned back and looked into the deep pit, as though something within it were calling to her, lending the dark, secluded abyss a mysterious air.
Suddenly, Rukia saw a pale-skinned woman appear before her. The woman wore a bright smile and called her name, yet Rukia realized that she did not know this person at all.
But before Rukia could think further, behind her, a crimson scythe had already swept through her body.
Author's Note: The author is not a yuri-shipper. Or rather, when it comes to Bleach, I basically do not ship the pairings much. Whatever the original work's pairings are, that is what I follow. I also have no interest in breaking them up.
So among the four theatrical films, Fade to Black: I Call Your Name is the one I feel the least strongly about. This plotline will not be very long.
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