"Roar!"
Just as Ito Makoto raised his Asauchi and began muttering an incantation, a sudden roar echoed through the area, instantly changing the expressions of all three.
"Another Hollow?"
Sensing the chaotic and violent spiritual pressure, Ito Makoto and the others immediately grew solemn.
"Why have Hollows been appearing in Rukongai so inexplicably often lately?"
Ayasegawa Yumichika frowned, following the source of the spiritual pressure with a helpless tone. If not for the familiar streets around him, he would have thought he had somehow wandered into Hueco Mundo.
Ito Makoto was equally shocked. At this moment, he clearly sensed the spiritual pressure of an Adjuchas-level Hollow, yet once again there was no sign of any spatial disturbance connected to Hueco Mundo.
That meant this Hollow, just like the ones that had appeared earlier in East District Fifty-Seven, had been born directly within Soul Society.
"An Adjuchas born in Soul Society? That's impossible!"
For a Menos Grande at the Gillian level to be born, more than a hundred Giant Hollows must devour one another. Alternatively, a Giant Hollow with sufficient intelligence must consume over a hundred of its own kind.
As for Adjuchas, a Gillian must frantically devour hundreds of others to even have a slim chance of successful evolution. That was precisely why Adjuchas were so rare in Hueco Mundo.
Of course, this excluded abnormal existences like Yekawa.
In other words, to artificially cultivate an Adjuchas-level Menos Grande inside Soul Society would require the consumption of at least tens of thousands of Rukongai residents. If so many souls vanished at once, even the Thirteenth Division, no matter how slow, would have reacted.
That was why Ito Makoto immediately judged it impossible.
The three locked onto the violent spiritual pressure and used Shunpo simultaneously, rushing toward its source.
Before long, they arrived at a heavily damaged street.
The moment Ito Makoto saw the Hollow, his body stiffened.
The Hollow before them resembled a miniature Gillian.
It was the most common, unintelligent Gillian type, yet its massive form had shrunk to barely five meters tall, far smaller than the nearly hundred-meter giants typical of its kind.
The clown-like mask on its face was only half intact. The exposed half had turned pitch-black, covered in jagged spikes. Judging from the aura emanating from its body, it had barely reached the level of an Adjuchas.
"This is… an Arrancar?"
In that instant, Ito Makoto finally understood why Adjuchas-level spiritual pressure had appeared in Rukongai.
Aizen had used more than a hundred Rukongai souls to create a Gillian, then forcibly Arrancarized it. That process elevated its spiritual pressure to the Adjuchas level, causing Ito Makoto to misjudge it at first.
However, judging from its appearance, the Gillian had not awakened any intelligence. This meant the Arrancar experiment was still crude and incomplete.
At best, it could only be called a pseudo-Arrancar.
Facing the raging pseudo-Arrancar, Ito Makoto did not move.
He knew this was undoubtedly Aizen Sōsuke's work, and there was a strong possibility Aizen himself was observing from somewhere.
Exposing his strength too early and drawing Aizen's attention would be troublesome.
Although there was a high chance that Aizen did not yet consider him important, caution was always better than arrogance.
Until this clone possessed solid Captain-level strength, Ito Makoto had no intention of entering Aizen's line of sight.
Besides, dealing with a pseudo-Arrancar comparable to an ordinary Adjuchas was more than manageable for the other two.
"Bloom, Fujikujaku!"
Ayasegawa Yumichika released his semi-Shikai and charged forward.
"A Gillian is already ugly enough, but you're even worse. How can something be this ugly? You completely offend my sense of beauty!"
Fujikujaku split into four curved blades, and Yumichika slashed at the pseudo-Arrancar's head with open disgust.
"Extend, Hōzukimaru!"
Madarame Ikkaku reactivated his Shikai and lunged in with a sneer, sweeping his spear toward the pseudo-Arrancar's legs.
Under the combined assault of two Vice-Captain-level fighters, the pseudo-Arrancar was utterly overwhelmed. Yumichika severed its neck with a single strike, while Ikkaku shattered its legs in one sweep.
"Roar!"
The pseudo-Arrancar clutched its torn neck with one hand as the nails on its other hand rapidly elongated, stabbing toward them like steel blades.
It failed to touch even the hem of their robes.
Lacking even basic Sonido, it collapsed helplessly onto the ground, roaring in fury.
"Roar!"
A black-red Cero began forming in its mouth, but Ikkaku gave it no chance. He hurled Hōzukimaru forward, cleanly severing its already unstable head.
The pseudo-Arrancar fell silent.
Moments later, its body disintegrated into dust and vanished into the air of Soul Society.
"Tch, that's it?"
Madarame Ikkaku clicked his tongue in disappointment, then turned toward Ito Makoto.
"Little Ito, come on. Let's fight again!"
Ito Makoto shook his head and returned the borrowed Asauchi.
"Ikkaku-senpai, let's spar another time."
The sudden appearance of the pseudo-Arrancar had broken his focus.
Before Ikkaku could argue further, Ayasegawa Yumichika stopped him.
"That's enough, Ikkaku. Hollows have been appearing far too frequently in Rukongai lately, and that half-masked Hollow was extremely abnormal. We should report this to the Captain."
Reluctantly, Ikkaku left with Yumichika.
Moments after they departed, light rippled across the shattered street. A curtain-like veil peeled away, revealing a Shinigami clad in black robes, with dark skin and long dreadlocks.
It was Tōsen Kaname.
…
Eleventh Division Barracks
Ayasegawa Yumichika carefully reported the encounter to a towering man wearing a Captain's haori, an eyepatch, a wild perm, and small bells woven into his hair.
Zaraki Kenpachi.
"Oh? You're saying this Ito Makoto can fight Ikkaku evenly without even releasing his Zanpakutō?"
"Yes, Captain!" Madarame Ikkaku answered eagerly from the side.
"Captain, shouldn't we report this to the Captain-Commander? That half-masked Hollow was truly abnormal." Yumichika pressed again, dark lines forming on his face.
Zaraki Kenpachi snorted, clearly uninterested in the Hollow itself.
"Hah. It's just a Hollow. No big deal. Clearing Hollows from Rukongai has always been the Ninth Division's responsibility. Go tell Kensei Muguruma what happened. That's enough."
"Yes, Captain."
…
Night, within a dense forest in Rukongai.
"Lord Aizen, the experimental subject's spiritual pressure increased significantly, nearly reaching Adjuchas level. However, it failed to regain intelligence. It was unfortunately destroyed by the combined efforts of the Eleventh Division's Third and Fifth Seats."
Aizen Sōsuke stood with his hands behind his back, listening calmly.
"It was only a low-level Gillian. Losing it doesn't matter."
He adjusted his glasses, his expression unshaken.
"Kaname, your next task is to refine your Bankai to the highest level. The coming plan will require it."
"Yes, Lord Aizen."