At this moment, Harribel, who was barely standing in the sky, looked at Aizen with his hands in his pockets, and a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes:

"Why didn't we get the relevant intelligence about Uehara Shiroha before? With his strength, his information should have been absolute top priority. Why did Lord Aizen just stand by and watch without using Kyōka Suigetsu to help us? Is it that he can't, or that he simply doesn't want to? Or perhaps..." her thoughts darkened, "the Ten Espadas are about to perish, but he remains indifferent. What are we truly to him?"

Logically speaking, illusions of Kyōka Suigetsu's caliber should have the greatest advantage in a chaotic melee. Even if Aizen couldn't directly control that terrifyingly strong man, he should be able to kill with a borrowed sword—manipulating the battlefield like the master strategist he claimed to be.

As long as he used other Shinigami to attack Uehara Shiroha, he could have saved them from this humiliating defeat. For someone of Aizen's capabilities, this should have been child's play—a mere afterthought in his grand design.

But the other party didn't do it. He stood by and watched as they were systematically dismantled.

Thinking of the careless words that Uehara Shiroha had casually dropped before, Harribel's heart sank like a stone in water. But she still kept hope alive in her chest and didn't believe that the facts were really so grim.

She didn't believe that Aizen would be so ruthless—so coldly calculating with their lives. But the evidence was mounting, and faith was beginning to crumble like sand between her fingers.

Meanwhile in the Hueco Mundo, the battle of the three giants had finally concluded.

Kuchiki Byakuya and Zaraki Kenpachi were panting heavily, and the captains' haori on their bodies was already in tatters, white fabric stained with blood and dirt. The noble's usual pristine appearance was marred by battle, while the wild captain's grin remained unchanged despite his wounds.

The two looked at each other very unconvinced, obviously neither had fought enough and both wanted to have another all-out battle. Their eyes locked in a silent challenge that spoke volumes about their competitive spirits.

Although they looked a little embarrassed and injured, covered in cuts and bruises that would have felled lesser warriors, they were in much better shape than the once-mighty Cero Espada.

Yammy, in his rage-enhanced form, had his massive head cleanly chopped off. The gigantic body was now turning into Reishi particles and slowly dissipating, but the process was excruciatingly slow given his enormous size. Only his loyal dog was still guarding beside him wholeheartedly, waiting for the master who would never wake up to open his eyes again.

This little dog is Yammy's only true subordinate, the only creature he showed genuine affection toward.

Although Yammy killed people like crazy and slaughtered innocents indiscriminately with his tremendous power, he loved the dog very much and chose it as his only trusted companion. This concept of valuing a dog's life more than human life was already ahead of its time—an ironic twist of compassion in an otherwise monstrous being.

It's a pity that he met the "loveless" duo of Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki, and could only meet his end against their combined might. Even rage incarnate couldn't withstand the precision of Senbonzakura and the raw power of Kenpachi's blade.

"I can't wait to study this magnificent harvest," Kurotsuchi Mayuri said as he glanced at the corpse of Zero Espada Wrath Beast Yammy and rubbed his hands together excitedly, gold teeth gleaming in a maniacal smile.

This harvest was truly enormous, making him nearly giddy with anticipation. The research potential of an Espada corpse of this magnitude had him practically salivating. So many experiments to conduct, so many secrets to uncover!

It's a pity that Kenpachi Zaraki survived their encounter. The other party's body—comparable to that of a supernatural beast—would have made an equally fascinating specimen. That abnormally strong vitality and monstrous Reiatsu were clearly not the power of an ordinary shinigami.

Zaraki Kenpachi's talent was really visible to the naked eye, as he was able to suppress all challengers and be competent for the position of captain of the combat squad with just his raw strength, not even requiring Shikai for the longest time.

Moreover, this guy's permanent Shikai Zanpakutō was also intriguing, and it didn't seem simple to Mayuri's scientific eye. Could it be that this guy's soul contained some fundamental anomaly?

Mayuri Kurotsuchi really wanted to know what kind of secrets were hidden in Kenpachi's body. As long as he put this guy on the dissection table, he would surely uncover answers to questions that had plagued Soul Society for generations.

What a pity! The living Kenpachi Zaraki would not cooperate with his research obediently, and had absolutely no spirit of dedication to scientific advancement. How foolish of him to value his life over Mayuri's curiosity!

Unohana Retsu looked at the garganta slowly opening in the distance and asked, her voice calm but carrying undeniable authority:

"It's finally opened. Can we set off now? The captain-commander needs our support."

She always had a bad feeling about Aizen. That man was hiding too deeply behind layers of deception, and Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnotic ability was almost unsolvable in a direct confrontation. One look, and you were already caught in his web of lies.

Kurotsuchi Mayuri replied with his usual clinical detachment: "This garganta is not entirely stable. It can only support two captain-level beings to enter at this time."

And this limited functionality was all thanks to Uehara Shiroha's powerful Reiatsu permeating the area. The Hueco Mundo dimension was notoriously unfriendly to the spatial channels created by Shinigami technology.

The technological solutions developed on the Shinigami side were difficult to implement here, and even when they worked, the results were often unstable at best, catastrophic at worst. Kurotsuchi Mayuri had done his absolute best under the circumstances, pushing his inventions to their limits.

Over there, Kuchiki Byakuya spoke coldly, his aristocratic voice cutting through the tension:

"Since the garganta has been opened, let's send Ichigo Kurosaki and Captain Unohana to the battlefield first. Then, let Ichigo Kurosaki deal with Aizen. Captain Zaraki and I have unfinished business to attend to."

He and Kenpachi Zaraki have been at odds for a long time, their conflict legendary among the Gotei 13. However, Byakuya understood that this wasn't even a personal grudge in the traditional sense.

The other party did not dislike him because of his noble background, widespread fame, political power, or considerable wealth. It was purely because of his combat strength. Because his power was qualified to be a worthy opponent for the battle-hungry madman, Zaraki would continue to provoke him at every opportunity.

It's that simple. No politics, no history—just the primal desire to test one's strength against an equal.

Kuchiki Byakuya knew this very well. However, he would never back down from a challenge. His pride as head of the Kuchiki clan wouldn't allow it.

"Me?" Kurosaki Ichigo standing nearby was a little surprised at the nomination. His eyes widened as memories flooded back.

He vividly remembered the overwhelming fear of being completely dominated by the captain of the 5th Division, Aizen Sōsuke. At that time, Aizen still wore scholarly glasses and his hairstyle was not so sharp and slicked back—the perfect disguise.

Back then, Aizen "stood like a humble servant," gentle and refined, spoke softly, and looked like the quintessential good guy that everyone would trust without question.

However, it was this unassuming "good guy" who didn't even seem to have the presence of a strong warrior, who had casually pinched his Tensa Zangetsu with just one finger, rendering his ultimate attack completely useless.

By the way, Aizen also gave his kidney a close encounter with a sword. Thinking of this, Kurosaki Ichigo felt a faint phantom pain in his lower abdomen where the blade had pierced him so effortlessly.

Pain! It hurts so much even in memory!

And now Aizen is not alone—he has the support of the Ten Espadas, his army of arrancar, and who knows what other monstrosities he's created with the Hōgyoku.