"What!?"
"Hueco Mundo is invading!?"
"That's impossible!"
"Who's responsible for Karakura Town? Why didn't we hear about this sooner?!"
A wave of shocked voices echoed through the room after Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni made his announcement. All the captains were visibly shaken and immediately began talking over one another.
In the chaos, Byakuya Kuchiki, captain of Squad 6, suddenly remembered something. His expression grew tense as his eyes narrowed.
Karakura Town... that's the area where Rukia is stationed.
Near him, Ichimaru Gin, captain of Squad 3, glanced curiously toward Aizen Sōsuke, captain of Squad 5.
Gin was clearly surprised—he hadn't heard a single thing about Menos Grande attacking the human world.
Aizen, always calm, adjusted his glasses with his usual soft smile. But behind those lenses, his eyes briefly flashed with suspicion.
This wasn't part of my plan, Aizen thought silently. I didn't order any attack on Karakura Town. Could it be... Baraggan acting on his own?
Baraggan Louisenbairn—the former king of Hueco Mundo, now the second Espada under Aizen—was still a dangerous threat. Though he had been forced into submission, Baraggan had never truly accepted Aizen's rule and likely still wanted to kill him.
Shihouin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke are in Karakura Town too, Aizen recalled. And Yoruichi... that traitor...
Sui-Feng, captain of Squad 2, narrowed her eyes, voice sharp and cold:
"Captain-Commander, let me handle this. I'll go personally!"
"No," Byakuya Kuchiki interrupted in his usual calm but icy tone. "Since Rukia Kuchiki is stationed there, and she is a member of the Kuchiki family, I should be the one to go."
"Hahaha! This is getting fun," Zaraki Kenpachi laughed, grinning wildly. "I hope there's something strong for me to fight!"
"Be serious," Tousen Kaname said with a scowl. "As captains of the Gotei 13, we must act with responsibility. This is not the time for games."
"What was that?" Zaraki snapped, glaring at Tousen. "You want me to cut you down first?"
"Alright, alright, everyone chill out a little," Aizen said gently, trying to ease the tension. "We still don't have the full picture yet."
"SILENCE!"
Yamamoto suddenly slammed the end of his cane on the ground.
Instantly, the room fell quiet.
As the most powerful Shinigami in a thousand years, his command was absolute. No one dared to disobey.
With the room silent, Yamamoto turned toward the back of the hall and said firmly:
"Kurotsuchi Mayuri, bring in the device."
"Yes, Captain," came a raspy voice.
Wearing his twisted smile and a bizarre mask, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, captain of Squad 12, wheeled in a large, strange-looking machine.
"Is that… a world detection device?" asked Kyoraku Shunsui, his eyes narrowing with interest.
He stepped closer to examine the screen — and what he saw shocked him.
"There are so many Hollows…"
The screen showed a dense field of glowing dots. Each one represented a Hollow. There were tens of thousands.
"And these three spiritual pressures in the middle… two of them are as strong as high-level lieutenants, and the other is slightly weaker," said Jūshirō Ukitake, captain of Squad 13, between coughs, his expression growing more serious.
"Is Rukia in danger?" he asked aloud, deeply concerned.
Although Rukia had ties to Squad 6 through her adopted brother Byakuya, she was officially a member of Ukitake's Squad 13.
He had recently tried to contact her but hadn't received any reply. That worried him more than anything.
After watching the screen carefully, Ichimaru Gin turned toward Kurotsuchi Mayuri with his usual sly grin.
"Captain Kurotsuchi," he said, "aren't those Reiatsu readings from Sarugaki Hiyori, Yadomaru Lisa, and the others?"
Gin was referring to former captains and lieutenants who had gone missing after the Hollowfication incident a hundred years ago. They had been branded as traitors.
Kurotsuchi made a strange clicking noise with his tongue.
"They've never been detected until now," he muttered in his creepy tone. "Which means... there are unknown individuals in the human world. People we've never seen before."
Suddenly, Kyoraku Shunsui's face changed.
"Wait a second…" he said, staring more intently at the screen.
Something wasn't right.
"The number of Hollows is still going up," he warned. "And these aren't just regular Hollows..."
"No… these two spiritual pressures… they're growing," a Shinigami murmured in disbelief.
"They've surpassed vice-captain level—they're approaching captain-class!"
"And the number of Gillians… there's too many!"
"What are those two… monsters!?"
Karakura Town, Present World.
Amid the crumbling streets, Ishida Uryū stood, cloak fluttering in the wind. He had already dropped his concealment spell and now stood panting, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He turned, staring at the two figures beside him: Kurosaki Ichigo and Nanaya—both now radiating overwhelming spiritual pressure.
"Their Reiatsu... it's still growing?!" Uryū exclaimed.
High above them, twin pillars of energy—one red, one blue—pierced the sky like heavenly spears. Their glow thickened by the second, blindingly bright and violently intense.
All around them, Menos Grande swarmed toward the epicenter of the clash, drawn like moths to a flame. The streets of Karakura Town were quickly flooded with the grotesque giants. There were nearly 10,000 of them converging.
Nanaya's lips curled into a cold smirk. Bathed in red Reiatsu, he slowly raised his head.
"Almost…" he whispered.
His eyes changed.
Both Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin violently.
"Amaterasu.""Flame Control."
From his left eye, the inextinguishable black flame erupted, consuming the nearest Menos Grande.
From his right, he seized the blaze and guided it, sending it roaring through the streets like a tsunami of hellfire.
The ground trembled.
The Menos realized too late—they had walked straight into a trap.
As the black fire spread uncontrollably, a wave of screams filled the air.
Boom—Boom—BOOM!
One after another, flaming Menos crashed through buildings, toppling structures, spreading the inferno.
Karakura Town, or at least this part of it, became an apocalyptic vision: a sea of black flames, smoke, crumbling buildings, and monstrous howls.
Fortunately, Nanaya had selected an abandoned street—any civilians would have been incinerated within seconds.
Still, he wasn't done.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!""Hadō #4: Byakurai!""Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
Again and again, bolts of white lightning arced through the smoke, puncturing skulls, collapsing bodies, until…
Nothing moved.
Ten minutes later, not a single Menos remained.
Only rubble.
Only black flames.
Only scorched earth.
"Is… is it over?" Ichigo asked, gasping.
Uryū staggered forward, placing a hand on his chest.
Both teenagers were covered in grime, shaking, the adrenaline finally wearing off.
Without Nanaya, this would've been a massacre.
Nanaya, however, didn't relax.
He stared skyward, Mangekyō eyes still active, still alert.
"No. Look up. See that long crack?"
Ichigo and Uryū followed his gaze.
Their jaws dropped.
A rip in the sky—a literal, jagged tear—stretched across the heavens. The black flames around it seemed drawn inward, vanishing into the void.
And within that rift…
Pure darkness.
From inside the void, glowing eyes stared out.
Hundreds of them.
Watching.
"Is… is that the sky being torn open!?" Ichigo muttered.
The crack ripped wider, like someone was tearing open reality itself.
Then came the sound.
"ROOOOOAAARRRR!!!"
A monstrous cry erupted from beyond the veil.
Two giant, clawed hands reached through the black chasm.
"TSSSSHRRIIIP!"
The hole exploded wider—now spanning the size of hundreds of basketball courts.
The creature that emerged was something out of a nightmare.
A towering monstrosity, cloaked in shadows like a black witch's robe, its long white mask shaped like a jester's, with a grotesque, protruding nose.
It moved slowly, almost clumsily.
But its presence radiated pure dread.
Its Reiatsu swept across the landscape like a hurricane of malice.
And behind it—
Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands.
More of the same kind, staring through the portal.
Hungry.
Eager.
"They're coming," Nanaya said quietly, his eyes burning like blood-soaked flames.
"This… is only the beginning."
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