As soon as these words were spoken, a dead silence fell over the meeting room.
Muken was the place where the most vicious criminals in the history of the Soul Society—those who could not be executed—were incarcerated.
It was reinforced by countless seals, to the point where not even light could escape. How could anyone possibly break out?
Head Captain Yamamoto gripped his walking stick tightly, looking genuinely angered. "All members of the Kanritei responsible for guarding Muken have been confirmed dead in the line of duty."
"And the Eighth Kenpachi, Soya Azashiro, who was imprisoned there... is missing."
Any Captain with a bit of seniority experienced a drastic change in expression upon hearing that name.
Soya Azashiro.
That was the Soul Reaper who had defeated the Seventh Kenpachi, Captain Kuruyashiki, and inherited the title of Kenpachi.
It was said that during their battle back then, Kuruyashiki could not exert his power at all and was instantly rendered powerless.
What terrifying strength...
Furthermore... that guy once promoted the [Vanguard Project] in the Rukongai, intending to transform all its residents into weapons to attack Hueco Mundo.
Although it was eventually halted and he turned himself in to be imprisoned as a result...
His experiments had actually succeeded.
To some extent, if he truly managed to transform all ordinary souls into elite forces capable of fighting Hollows, the entire order of the Seireitei would be overthrown...
Head Captain Yamamoto's gaze shifted to the vacant spot belonging to the Eleventh Division.
Kenpachi Zaraki should have been standing there, but now, that beast who only knew how to slaughter had been defeated by a Ryoka due to some inexplicable self-imposed combat restrictions.
Subsequently, his eyes landed on the Captain of the Fourth Division, Retsu Unohana.
The medical Captain, who usually wore a kind smile, currently had her head slightly bowed and her hands tucked into her sleeves, obscuring her expression.
However, the Captains standing beside her could clearly feel it.
A freezing, murderous intent was faintly radiating from her body.
"There is no need for me to elaborate on the danger Soya Azashiro poses," Head Captain Yamamoto said in a deep voice, withdrawing his gaze. "His escape is a hundred times more troublesome than the Ryoka invasion."
"If he joins forces with the Ryoka, or if he is secretly plotting some conspiracy... the Seireitei will face an unprecedented threat."
"Central 46 has decided to move up the Sokyoku execution!"
"Pass down the order! Enter the highest state of alert immediately!"
"All Division Captains, aside from the task of hunting down the Ryoka, must strictly monitor any abnormal Spiritual Pressure within the Seireitei!"
"Should you discover Soya Azashiro's whereabouts, you are permitted to execute him on the spot without seeking prior approval!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Captains shouted in unison.
After the meeting concluded, the sky remained pitch black.
The Captain of the Tenth Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya, walked alone down the street.
He kept his head down, a gloomy expression clouding his brow.
"What's wrong, Captain Hitsugaya?"
A lazy voice called out from behind him.
Shunsui Kyoraku, wearing his flashy pink haori and a bamboo hat, leisurely caught up to him.
"Seeing you look so preoccupied, are you worried about the casualties in the Tenth Division?"
Shunsui adjusted his hat, his tone carrying a hint of comfort. "Don't blame yourself too much. The Ryoka's strength truly exceeded our expectations."
"Even Zaraki fell. For your Tenth Division's first battle, you all did quite well under the circumstances."
Toshiro stopped in his tracks and glanced back at this senior, who appeared frivolous but was actually unfathomably deep.
"Captain Kyoraku..."
He hesitated, swallowing his words.
He was indeed worried.
The Tenth Division had suffered heavy losses due to an inexplicable internal conflict during the battle at Hakutoumon, which made him, a newly appointed Captain, feel both frustrated and angry.
However, that was not what truly made him uneasy...
"No, it's nothing."
Toshiro shook his head, burying the doubts in his eyes deep within.
"Thank you for your concern... I was just thinking about how to reorganize the Tenth Division's morale," Toshiro replied in his usual polite yet aloof tone. "Farewell, Captain Kyoraku."
With that, he departed using Shunpo.
Watching Toshiro's retreating back, the smile on Shunsui's face slowly faded.
"My, my... the youth these days are getting less and less cute."
He sighed, his gaze shifting toward the still-oppressive atmosphere of the First Division barracks, remaining silent for a long time.
The night was quiet.
Although the entire area was under martial law, avoiding the eyes and ears of the patrol squads was not difficult for Toshiro.
After parting ways with Shunsui, he did not return to the Tenth Division. Instead, he quietly made his way to the base of Sokyoku Hill.
After pondering for a long time, he hesitantly began searching for the secret passage leading to the underground space, just as that person had instructed...
Meanwhile, deep beneath Sokyoku Hill, in the Underground Training Ground.
A long time ago, long before Kisuke Urahara defected from the Soul Society, even before he became a Soul Reaper.
The childhood friends, Kisuke and Yoruichi, had secretly built an underground training ground beneath Sokyoku Hill.
This place was where they had shed their youthful sweat, serving as a secret base where they frequently sparred and trained together.
But now, it had another use.
"Weave fate, Tsumugi..."
Following a clear chant, countless motes of light flew toward the orange-haired boy in front of her.
They were Reishi insects.
Obeying their master's will, they quickly covered his wounds and Spirit Ribbons, repairing the boy's body.
"Hiss..." Ichigo Kurosaki drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
It wasn't because it was particularly painful, but rather that the sensation of being densely covered in crawling insects was truly bizarre.
"Shinobu, no matter how many times I see your Zanpakuto's ability, I still find it miraculous..." Yoruichi marveled as she watched Ichigo's wounds rapidly heal.
The petite Shinobu Kocho, with her shoulder-length hair, shook her head helplessly. "Miss Yoruichi... the patient needs to rest. He's been training until the middle of the night."
She wore a gentle smile on her face, but there was little mirth in her purple eyes. "Besides, I need to go back and keep an eye on the children. Otherwise, I really can't set my mind at ease..."
"Children? They're grown women in their forties and fifties!"
Yoruichi completely disagreed with this point, her expression turning serious. "Regardless, you have to help me this time. Ichigo is out of time."
Earlier today, she had suddenly shown up at the Fourth Division dragging a heavily injured Ichigo, nearly scaring Shinobu to death.
Although she and Kisuke were considered allies, that did not include supporting Ichigo Kurosaki's invasion plan...
But since they were already there, she had bitten the bullet and treated Ichigo's injuries.
She just hadn't expected Yoruichi to latch onto her like this, insisting that she tag along to the underground training ground just for that one thing—
Bankai.
"There are over a dozen others as strong as Kenpachi. With your current amateur skills, you won't be able to save Rukia. You must master Bankai!"
"Under normal circumstances, even a talented Soul Reaper needs decades, or even centuries, to comprehend it."
"But right now, you don't have that kind of time. Not even ten days."
After Shinobu revived Ichigo, Yoruichi didn't let him rest for a single minute, immediately explaining the gravity of the situation to him.
"Three days! You have three days at most!"
Having set the goal, Ichigo threw himself wholeheartedly into his training.
In the clearing behind him stood a bizarre, human-shaped wooden dummy: the Tenshintai.
It was a special spiritual tool that forcibly extracted a Zanpakuto's true form, materialized it, and summoned it into the real world.
He had to subjugate the extracted Zanpakuto spirit to have any chance of learning Bankai within this extremely limited timeframe.
Because Shinobu was present, they didn't hold back in their battles at all, solely to continuously squeeze out the absolute limits of Ichigo's potential.
After all, Shinobu's miraculous healing could bring him back.
"...Sigh, staying up late causes wrinkles," Shinobu complained with a smile, sheathing her Zanpakuto after confirming that Ichigo's body had fully recovered.
Ichigo bowed deeply to her and prepared to immediately dive into another round of training.
However, before Shinobu could figure out how to extricate herself from this situation, an unexpected figure appeared in her line of sight.
Toshiro Hitsugaya.