Boom!
A loud crash suddenly erupted from the open space in front of Urahara Shop, tucked away in a corner of Karakura Town. Immediately after, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's resentful voice rang out:
"Fūjin Taichi! You arrogant, despicable, low-life bastard!! I... I will definitely beat your brains out and study them piece by piece, aaaagh!"
"Oh my? And you are..."
Startled awake from his nap under the shop's eaves, Kisuke Urahara sat upright. With a snap, he opened his folding fan to cover half his face, his army-green eyes beneath the fisherman's hat staring in surprise at the suddenly appeared Mayuri.
"Tch! So this is the 'old flame' that guy was talking about? Turns out it's you—a rickets-ridden parasite!"
Mayuri brushed dust off himself while sneering at the storefront.
"Tch! Even after being expelled from the Seireitei, your taste and standards haven't improved at all, have they, Urahara?!"
"Oh? That fellow really did give me quite the surprise—sending over such an unpleasant face."
Urahara adjusted the brim of his hat against the bright sunlight and smiled.
"Good morning, Mayuri-san~ What wind blew you to my humble abode?"
"Hmph, Urahara! I don't have time to play the 'old acquaintances reuniting and reminiscing' farce! I—"
Mid-sentence, Mayuri's expression shifted. He turned to the east, hesitating.
"What? That spiritual pressure feels like…"
"An Arrancar!" Urahara abruptly stood up, gazing toward eastern Karakura Town. His face grew serious.
"And they're at least Menos-class… Mayuri, care to take a look with me?"
"Urahara, don't assume that just because we haven't seen each other in years, we're close enough to set aside past grudges!
So please—don't address me in that tone as if we're 'friends.' It's disgusting."
With that, Mayuri vanished.
"Hehehe… he hasn't changed at all."
Urahara lightly waved his fan, then turned toward the shop's interior.
"Well then, Yoruichi-san, finished your meal?"
"Mm… you're so noisy!" Yoruichi Shihōin walked out carrying a huge bowl of rice, shoveling mouthfuls in as she spoke indistinctly:
"Was that Mayuri Kurotsuchi just now? Why would he suddenly show up in the Human World?!"
"Partly because of Fūjin Taichi's Zanpakutō ability. The rest… likely has something to do with the Arrancar created by Sōsuke Aizen."
"I see."
Yoruichi quickly finished the rice, patted her swollen stomach, and grinned.
"Then let's go see how terrifying Aizen's little toys really are. Let's move, Urahara!"
"Ah, right…" Urahara nodded and followed her toward eastern Karakura Town, his thoughts turning inward.
Aside from those two unknown Arrancar… it seems Ichigo Kurosaki has already encountered the Visored.
Aizen… less than half a month has passed, and you're already sending two Arrancar into the Human World. Is it to divert Soul Society's attention?
Or do you still harbor doubts about the Soul King? Is that why you remain in Hueco Mundo… preparing to lead all Menos-class Arrancar in an assault on the Royal Palace?
…
BOOM!
A sudden pillar of white light descended from the sky, crashing heavily into Shigaraki Park in eastern Karakura Town. Sand and debris scattered in all directions as thick smoke billowed upward.
"What was that? Something just fell from the sky!" a resident named Hiashi cried out, pointing at the smoking crater.
"A meteorite? Or... did the Prime Minister's plane crash again?" another woman asked in alarm.
"I don't think so..."
The surrounding residents all gathered closer. The Delenis Fountain that once stood at the center of the park had already turned into a massive crater, from which gray smoke continuously billowed.
Voom!
Suddenly, everyone felt as if the air around them had frozen solid. Breathing became extremely difficult, and their bodies grew heavier and heavier.
"Hey, hey… even back when I was just a low-level Hollow and came to the Human World a few times, it felt boring and dull. The spirit particles are so thin here I can barely breathe!" Yammy Llargo complained as he looked around.
"Stop whining. I told you I could handle this alone. You insisted on coming, and now you're complaining?"
Ulquiorra Cifer tugged down the zipper of his white high-collared jacket slightly, revealing the pitch-black Hollow hole beneath his neck. He then extended his pesquisa to sense the surroundings.
"Hmph... my bad, my bad!"
Yammy offered a perfunctory apology without sincerity. He stepped up the slope and out of the crater, glaring at the short, powerless humans gathered around.
"What the hell? What are these spiritually powerless trash doing crowding around here?!"
"Ignore the garbage. Our target is a human named Ichigo Kurosaki. Don't waste time here, Yammy."
"Tch! But being stared at like some zoo animal really pisses me off! Fine—let's hand out a little punishment!"
With that, Yammy pursed his lips and activated Gonzui. Within several kilometers, humans began collapsing one after another, countless blue souls ripped from their bodies and devoured by him.
"..."
Ulquiorra paid no attention to Yammy's slaughter. As Adjuchas-class Hollows, they stood at the very top of the food chain.
A mere few thousand humans were nothing more than breakfast in their eyes—hardly worth mentioning.
"Pah! This tastes terrible!" Yammy spat, making a gagging face as he patted his chest.
"Alright, the eyesores are gone. So how do we find this Kurosaki Ichigo?"
"Hm… it seems we won't need to," Ulquiorra said, suddenly stopping.
His green eyes had already locked onto a figure approaching in the distance—
A Shinigami wearing a black Shihakushō with a deep purple collar, a white captain's haori draped over his shoulders, and a black-and-white mask covering his face.
"Oh? That guy… is he one of those captains who represent the peak of the Shinigami? He looks pretty scrawny to me," Yammy scoffed.
"Don't underestimate him, Yammy."
Ulquiorra fixed his gaze on the mysterious, smiling Shinigami and spoke slowly:
"He isn't our target, Ichigo Kurosaki… but we'll treat him as an obstacle to eliminate. Stand back, Yammy."
"No way! I'll take this one. Nice change of flavor."
Yammy strode forward toward the Shinigami.
"Kukukuku… Near-human appearance, spiritual pressure and density stronger than ordinary Hollows… and quite the sense of dark humor too."
Standing before the two Arrancar, Mayuri Kurotsuchi's yellow eyes gleamed under the setting sun.
"So you must be the Arrancar created by Sōsuke Aizen… How very interesting!"