At dawn, when the first rays of sunlight spilled over Seireitei—

Shimo had already assembled the entire Sixth Relief Unit.

"Everyone, our special training has gone on for a full year now."

Shimo looked around at them with a solemn gaze, his tone serious:

"I'm sure you've noticed the changes in yourselves."

"Compared to a year ago, you've all undergone tremendous growth."

"And now… it's time to prove it."

The members of the Sixth Relief Unit exchanged glances, their expressions visibly excited.

"Yesterday, Captain Unohana entrusted me with a mission."

Shimo's eyes were deep and unreadable as he shared the details of the rescue operation in Hueco Mundo.

To his satisfaction, none of his subordinates showed any fear at the mention of the mission.

Each of their gazes remained steady—undaunted.

"All that effort over the year hasn't gone to waste."

Beside him, Tsuyone Rika couldn't help but smirk at that comment.

After all, Shimo had spent most of that year simply beating these team members into shape—he hadn't done much else.

"Well then," Shimo declared. "Let's move out. Time to rendezvous with the Eleventh Division."

Under Shimo's lead, all twelve members of the Sixth Relief Unit marched toward the Eleventh Division barracks.

A year ago, the Sixth Relief Unit had 36 members.

As the training intensity escalated, most of them had been weeded out by Shimo and reassigned to other units.

Naturally, those who remained were the most talented—at the very least, their aptitude for Kaidō was commendable.

---

Eleventh Division Barracks

Ikkaku Madarame was handpicking members for the upcoming mission.

"Yumichika, you're coming too."

At those words, Ayasegawa Yumichika smirked with satisfaction.

"Looks like you do need the help of someone as beautiful as me."

A vein twitched on Ikkaku's forehead as he made a concerted effort to ignore the narcissist's comment.

If it weren't for the fact that Yumichika was the strongest in the squad after the captain and lieutenant, he absolutely would not have brought this vain peacock along.

Slap! Slap!

"Baldy! Do your best out there!"

Before anyone noticed, Yachiru Kusajishi had appeared right above Ikkaku's shiny head.

Her pink hair fluttered as her sparkling eyes lit up with glee.

Yachiru playfully patted Ikkaku's bald head enthusiastically to encourage him.

"Ken-chan and I will be waiting for you to come back!"

Ikkaku was practically fuming, but couldn't do anything.

As a bald man, the one thing he hated most was people slapping his head.

Yet Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi seemed to have a strange fondness for just that.

"If you hit my head again, I swear I'll cut you down!"

Ikkaku roared.

Yachiru hopped off his shoulder with a mischievous giggle and darted back toward the barracks.

Smack!

"Yo, Ikkaku! All set?"

Ikkaku instinctively grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakutō and spun around, ready to slash whoever had just smacked his head again into minced meat—

But when he saw who it was, his face froze and his sword refused to budge.

"…That face—what's with that look?" Shimo asked, confused.

"N-nothing."

Realizing it was Shimo who had patted his head, Ikkaku instantly backed down.

Sure, he loved fighting strong opponents—but that didn't mean he enjoyed being utterly humiliated.

After their previous encounter, Ikkaku had learned exactly how vast the gap between them was.

A gap that couldn't be crossed no matter how hard he trained.

"I smell power on you."

At some point, Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru had appeared nearby.

With his wild hair like a hedgehog, tied with bells, and his cruel face marked by a long scar, Zaraki looked like a demon out of legend.

The edges of his white captain's haori were jagged and torn like teeth.

Now, he was staring intently at Shimo, a fire of desire burning in his single eye.

"You're not bad…"

"Let's fight to the death!"

Zaraki pointed his Zanpakutō straight at Shimo, the excitement on his face practically overflowing.

"Ken-chan! Ikkaku and the others are about to leave," Yachiru reminded him gently. "You can challenge him after they come back. Hmm… what's your name again~?"

She turned to Shimo with curiosity.

"Kyōraku Shimo," he replied, feeling slightly helpless. He had done everything he could to keep a low profile, and yet still ended up attracting Zaraki's attention.

Should he be impressed by the man's animal-like instinct?

Or just admit that his own luck lately had been plain awful?

Yachiru made a tiny fist and tapped her palm, eyes lighting up.

"Then I'll call you Shimo-chan!"

Shimo waved weakly. "Whatever makes you happy…"

Finally managing to escape from Zaraki and Yachiru, Shimo led his squad to the weak point in space.

He raised his hands and completed an incantation.

With the final word, the thin spot in the air tore open like it was being ripped apart by invisible hands.

Darkness loomed beyond the rift.

The path to Hueco Mundo—was now open.

------------------------///

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