It was night here as well, a night just like the one in Hueco Mundo.
Grimmjow sat on a rooftop overlooking Karakura Town below. The moonlight stretched his shadow long, as if it intended to swallow the city whole.
"Lord Grimmjow."
"You're all here." Grimmjow looked toward the voice. Five men of varying appearances, all dressed in white, stood before him. "I assume you weren't spotted."
"Of course," the lead man replied confidently, completely unaware that they had been detected the very moment they stepped into Karakura Town.
"On the way here, we sensed multiple powerful Reiatsu signatures. Ulquiorra's report was completely wrong."
Grimmjow let out an irritated scoff. He knew it would be like this. Even if that piece of trash did nothing, he could still stubbornly cling to his own incompetence, because there would always be someone coming to protect him.
"Open your sensory nerves to the maximum!"
"Yes, sir!"
Unlike Shinigami, Hollows seemed to possess a natural advantage when it came to perception. Shinigami did not have a specific organ dedicated to sensing Reiatsu; their so-called Reiatsu perception generally relied on their five senses, yet lacked any absolute connection to them. For instance, Zaraki Kenpachi's Reiatsu perception was so abysmally poor that it was practically nonexistent.
Hollows, on the other hand, relied on their nervous system to perceive Reiatsu. As long as their nerves were undamaged, they retained the ability to detect Reiatsu. While the strength of this perception varied, it would never drop to near zero.
Behind Grimmjow's tightly shut eyes, numerous white orbs of light representing Reiatsu began to flare up. Some flickered like candles in the night wind, while others shone like dazzling streetlamps, noticeably stronger than the rest.
"They really did call for reinforcements from Soul Society. If he had just killed him from the start, we wouldn't have to deal with this hassle now." Grimmjow suddenly opened his eyes, seemingly confirming the locations of those specific, powerful Reiatsu signatures. "Do you all have their locations?"
"Loud and clear."
"They're too obvious."
"I can't wait to kill them."
"Good! Don't hold back. Kill them all on sight!" Grimmjow waved his hand dismissively. "And not just them. Anyone with even a sliver of Reiatsu—don't let a single one go. Slaughter them all."
"Yes, sir!"
"Move out!"
At Grimmjow's command, the other five darted off in different directions. A heavy, chaotic Reiatsu instantly blanketed Karakura Town.
"Lieutenant Shiba."
"I'm heading to Inoue Orihime's location!" After saying that, Kaien sprinted toward Orihime's residence. Without needing to exchange another word, Renji already knew where he had to go—Sado Yasutora's house.
Elsewhere, Ichigo also sensed it. That Reiatsu, brimming with aggression and the dread of death, was very similar to the two guys who had shown up yesterday. It was the Reiatsu of Arrancars.
"Rukia!"
"I know!" Rukia interrupted him. She needed to concentrate to perceive the enemy's numbers and movements. "One, two... six of them. That's a lot!"
"Are they heading our way?" Ichigo asked urgently. Judging by yesterday, the Arrancars' target was him, but he was worried—what if their target wasn't just him?
"No, they're scattering, but none are coming toward us." Rukia tried to calm herself down so she could formulate a better response, but her panicked expression completely betrayed her. She might be able to come up with a decent plan, but she was far from calm.
"What does that mean?"
The core principle of a surprise attack was to end the battle quickly. That meant concentrating one's forces to achieve a set strategic objective before the enemy could react. Scattering their combat strength in this situation completely contradicted the purpose of a raid. If they were doing this, there were a few possibilities. One was that their targets were inherently scattered, which could also mean they had more than one target...
Trying hard to recall what Kōe had once taught her, Rukia explained with a hint of uncertainty, "It means they're hunting for anyone with Reiatsu. They don't have a specific primary target. From the strongest to the weakest, they're going to kill anyone who possesses Reiatsu."
Ichigo's expression changed drastically. He hadn't yet used his Combat Pass to leave his human body, and in order to stay at his house, Rukia had switched into a special Gigai. Both of their Reiatsu signatures were completely masked, which was why the Arrancars hadn't found them.
But it was different for the others. They were all people capable of using Reiatsu while in their human bodies.
"Ishida shouldn't have any Reiatsu right now, but what about Chad and Inoue?"
"Lieutenant Matsumoto is right beside Inoue, and Mr. Madarame and Mr. Ayasegawa are nearby too. She should be safe. I can sense Renji rushing toward Chad's location, so he should also..."
Rukia paused mid-sentence and quickly corrected herself. "No, wait! Renji has been intercepted, and another one is heading straight for Chad!"
"Then let's go to Chad's first!"
"Right!"
After a brief discussion, Rukia and Ichigo confirmed their destination. Even as they left, Rukia didn't feel there was anything wrong with her analysis. Their response seemed perfectly logical.
However, in her anxiety, she had completely overlooked a crucial detail and forgotten the other possibility Kōe had mentioned back then.
*'You've seen the other possibility before. It's similar to when Ichigo and the others infiltrated the Seireitei. Deliberately scattering forces during a surprise attack could also be a way for the enemy to conceal their true objective. When the king makes his move, it must be a guaranteed one-hit kill!'*
If Rukia had remembered those words, she would have realized what a massive mistake she was making. She had clearly sensed six Arrancars, so why was one still remaining in its original position?
What exactly was he waiting for?
If the Arrancars' goal was truly to slaughter everyone with Reiatsu, then why was he just standing there?
"It seems the target is still Ichigo. He's using Ichigo's friends to force him out into the open. He seems quite confident that he can kill Ichigo before we arrive."
Yoruichi was naturally very familiar with the tactic of creating chaos to land a fatal strike. The only difference was that if it were her, she would never expose herself before locating her target. That unknown Arrancar was making absolutely no effort to hide his presence. As for the reason...
"He's making a statement. Scattering his personnel isn't just a feint; he genuinely intends to wipe out everyone with Reiatsu." Urahara seemed to think of something amusing. "Of the two Arrancars from yesterday, one was extremely calm, while the other was exceptionally short-tempered. This one seems to be a combination of the two—arrogant and confident, but not entirely reckless."
Kōe smiled and nodded in agreement. Not finding Grimmjow earlier while in Hueco Mundo had always been a regret of his. In Kōe's own words, Grimmjow was a manic guy who somehow wasn't annoying—someone who was scheming, yet surprisingly simple-minded.
But then he thought about the people on his side, and Kōe's face instantly fell. They weren't exactly innocent, and when it came to scheming, they were so terrible it was beyond saving.
*'They all still need more training.'*