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After passing through the Garganta, Shin finally arrived in Hueco Mundo. He had seen the Soul Society and the World of the Living—this was his first ti in the realm of Hollows.
The first thing Shin felt upon arriving was a sense of desolation. No wonder Hollows were so aggressive. Living in a place like this would drive anyone insane.
Hueco Mundo was a complete wasteland, a desert-like expanse with a few withered trees scattered about.
The area they had arrived in was devoid of Hollows. It had been scouted and cleared by Soul Reapers beforehand. Any Hollows that might have been here had already been eliminated.
"Be careful in Hueco Mundo. You never know if a Hollow is hiding underground," Kiyotaka Shihōin reminded Shin.
So Hollows were incredibly cunning and would ambush from below. Kiyotaka had learned that lesson the hard way in the past.
Shin nodded, accepting Kiyotaka's advice.
"We'll rest for now. Tomorrow, we'll use this as our base of operations and begin clearing out the surrounding nos Grande," Vice-Captain Chōjirō Sasakibe announced.
Although he was a vice-captain, he was the leader of this expedition to Hueco Mundo, and no one questioned his authority. Chōjirō Sasakibe was more than qualified. He remained a vice-captain not because his strength was limited to that level, but because he never wanted to leave the 1st Division, wishing to forever follow Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
They spent a day resting in Hueco Mundo, acclimating to the environnt. They also noticed that the concentration of Spirit Particles in the air was even denser than in the Seireitei. Though the environnt was harsh, Hueco Mundo was an excellent place for training.
The next day, all squads except for the 4th Division, the dical corps, along with the Soul Reaper forces already stationed here, chose a direction and began to exterminate Hollows.
'Regular Soul Reaper students would be completely useless here,' Shin observed.
Most of the Hollows in Hueco Mundo were nos Grande. Gillians, the lowest class of nos Grande, were cannon fodder here, but an average third seat would struggle against one. A particularly strong Gillian could even defeat a vice-captain, and they always moved in groups.
"Besides the nos Grande, there are also ordinary Hollows. The students can handle those. It's a form of training," Kiyotaka Shihōin explained to Shin.
"Everyone, spread out. Scout for any nearby Hollows."
Kiyotaka held a device and addressed the others. This device was specifically designed to find Hollows, as their Reiatsu was different from a Soul Reaper's. It was sothing created by the 12th Division, the Departnt of Research and Developnt.
Shin released his Observation Haki, also scouting for any potential Hollows in the vicinity.
However, Shin wasn't looking for ordinary Hollows or even Gillians. He was searching for Adjuchas or Vasto Lordes.
If he copied a Hollow's power, wouldn't he then possess the powers of both a Hollow and a Soul Reaper?
Though it was taboo in the Seireitei, Shin wasn't a pure Soul Reaper. He was still human. He didn't care what kind of power it was. As long as it was useful, he would take it. He didn't believe Hollow powers were inherently evil.
Power itself has no morality—it all depends on how you use it.
"They're here. Everyone, be on guard."
Just then, Kiyotaka shouted.
A group of wandering Hollows appeared in the distance. They weren't nos Grande, but a mix of powerful standard Hollows and giant ones.
Seeing these Hollows, the mbers of the 2nd Division drew their Zanpakutō and charged. Since there were no nos Grande, Kiyotaka didn't make a move.
"Captain, I think we need to be careful," Shin suddenly warned Kiyotaka.
"Hmm?"
Kiyotaka, who had been observing the battle, was startled. He imdiately took out the instrunt, and his face suddenly changed.
"Damn it."
On the detector, countless deep-red dots appeared right beneath their position.
The more powerful the Hollow's Reiatsu, the redder the dot on the detector. Deep red could only an one thing—nos Grande.
"They were hiding underground. We were careless."
Seeing at least thirty deep-red dots, Kiyotaka's heart pounded. Even a captain would have to retreat from such a large group of nos Grande.
Why hadn't they detected them before?
There was no ti to think about that. The most important thing now was how to deal with these nos Grande.
"FALL BACK, QUICKLY!"
Kiyotaka shouted to the squad mbers, but it was too late. They couldn't run fast enough. In an instant, the nos Grande burst from the ground, their terrifying spiritual pressure causing so of the squad mbers' legs to give out.
"Bakudō #81. Dankū!"
Kiyotaka cast the binding spell without an incantation. A massive defensive wall materialized, blocking the Gillians' Ceros.
As a captain, casting an 81st-level binding spell was fairly easy for him. The transparent wall was said to be able to completely defend against any destructive spell up to number 89, and its defense was extrely strong. The Gillians' Ceros struck it but failed to break through.
"Shin, you take them and leave. Uehara, you're with . We'll deal with these Gillians."
Kiyotaka began to give orders. Sending ordinary squad mbers against Gillians was a death sentence, and Kiyotaka didn't want them to die in vain.
"Then you two be careful, Captain."
Shin said to them, then led the other squad mbers away without offering to stay and help.
Even if Shin had wanted to stay, Kiyotaka would never have agreed. He didn't know Shin's true strength and would have seen it as a suicide mission.
Besides, as formidable as these Gillians were, as long as Shin got the other squad mbers to safety, Kiyotaka wouldn't need to fight. He could simply retreat. These squad mbers were a liability—unable to help and only slowing them down.
Shin led the Soul Reapers back to their base. The mbers of the 4th Division all looked over.
The mbers of the 2nd Division were a bit embarrassed. They had just set out, and they were already running back with their tails between their legs.
"What happened?" Unohana asked Shin.
"We ran into a few dozen Gillians, so we ca back," Shin explained, not hiding anything from Unohana. In fact, he had to tell her. Chōjirō Sasakibe had given orders that if they encountered a large group of nos Grande, they were not to engage and were to imdiately notify the other squads to fight them together.
"Send a ssage to the other squads imdiately. I'm going to provide support."
Unohana said to the Soul Reaper in charge of communications, then drew her Zanpakutō and walked out.
Shin, of course, followed Unohana. Whether Kiyotaka could handle thirty-sothing Gillians was still an unknown.
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