— — — — — —
Sinners were everywhere.
There was no doubt about it—they were completely surrounded.
"Captain, what should we do?"
Marechiyo Omaeda cowered behind Soifon, his throat bobbing nervously. He was clearly rattled by the sheer number of enemies.
Soifon shot him a look of disdain."Pathetic," she muttered.
How did she end up with this guy as her lieutenant?
"YAAAAAH!!"
Before she could scold him further, a sinner let out a piercing shriek and lunged straight at her!
Standing on a white platform, Soifon's lips parted as if to say something—but she held her words back. In a blink, she vanished with a Shunpo, dodging the attack effortlessly.
Reappearing in a new spot, she raised her gaze and scanned the battlefield.
The sinners filled her vision like an unending tide.
"Tch."
Even for the 2nd Division, known for its speed and agility, charging through this kind of crowd was going to be impossible—not without heavy losses.
Forget investigating anything.
Well… maybe she could make it through alone. Her Shunpo was fast enough to outmaneuver them all.
But her team? No chance.
And she wasn't the type to abandon her squad just to complete the mission.
She inhaled deeply. There was only one option left—Break through by force.
Soifon drew her Zanpakutō. In an instant, her captain-level Reiatsu surged out like a wave.
"Sting all Enemies to Death— Suzumebachi!"
Without hesitation, she released her Shikai.
Buzz
Her sword twisted and reshaped itself into a small, golden finger-mounted stinger.
The weapon was delicate and deadly, with gold-plated segments on her first two fingers, black stripes near the end like a bee's abdomen, and a thin chain connecting it to her glove.
This was her Zanpakutō—Suzumebachi.
Unfortunately…It wasn't exactly ideal for crowd control.
But even if it wasn't made for AOE attacks, she'd make it work. She'd just move fast enough to turn it into one.
Soifon vanished again, leaving behind only a fading afterimage.
A second later, she reappeared behind the sinners.
Shlick!
The golden stinger pierced into the first sinner.
A butterfly-shaped black mark bloomed instantly. Without missing a beat, Soifon landed a second strike—faster than most could follow.
The marks overlapped, forming a distinct honeycomb pattern.
The sinner let out a scream and collapsed, lifeless.
She wasn't done.
Without stopping for even a breath, she flash-stepped again, closing in on her next target.
Within moments, her afterimages spread like shadows across the battlefield, dancing behind sinner after sinner.
Seeing this, her team quickly followed up with supportive Kidō spells to cover her assault.
---
Elsewhere, deeper in Hell—
Shihoin Yoruichi suddenly raised her cat head. Her golden eyes flickered with a strange light.
"That Reiatsu… is that Soifon?"
She tilted her head, a bit surprised.
What the hell was that girl doing here of all places?
"Lord Lynn, I'm heading out for a bit."
"Hmm…"
She hesitated briefly, then added, half-joking, "Maybe I'll bring back a recruit for the Familia?"
Soifon!
She'd probably qualify, right?
Wait, hold on—Why was she already thinking like a full-fledged member of the Familia? Recruiting people already?
Yoruichi blinked, a little stunned at herself.
But still, being new here, in unfamiliar territory, it might be nice to have someone she already knew around.
Yeah, that didn't sound too bad.
She'd already asked Lynn before— but he wasn't open to accepting men into his familia yet.
So yeah, pulling Kisuke Urahara in was off the table.
But Soifon is ok.
Lynn fully supported Yoruichi's enthusiasm in growing the Familia.
Once she left, Lynn narrowed his eyes slightly.
Of course, he'd sensed that burst of Reiatsu too. He flicked a finger, using his authority over Hell to locate the source.
Soon enough, a petite woman with short black hair appeared in his view.
"Ooh~ Soifon."
No wonder.
He watched her performance for a moment, confirmed her potential, then turned his attention back to Kikyo, Miko, and the others.
— — —
Hueco Mundo
After some trial and error, the team had figured out the power levels of the various Hollows they'd encountered.
Miko even used her Soul Devour skill to condense an Adjuchas-level Hollow into an experience orb—and casually popped it in her mouth like candy.
"Whew…"
She exhaled softly, her golden eyes glowing with satisfaction.
"With these Hollows around, I might reach Ultimate-Class Devil rank real soon."
Here, Hollows were pretty common—plentiful and powerful spirit bodies like these weren't rare.
Coming to the Bleach world? Absolutely the right call.
"Alright then!" Miko clapped her hands. "Let's keep moving!"
With a confident swing of her arm, she led the group deeper into the vast white sands of Hueco Mundo.
They planned to explore the entire realm.
Oh, and while they were at it— Might as well find Las Noches too.
Strangely though, they hadn't come across a single humanoid Hollow yet.
Scanning the desert, Miko frowned slightly.
"Oof!"
A soft, high-pitched voice suddenly came from not far ahead.
"Huh?" Miko paused, turning toward the sound.
She spotted a half-buried Hollow mask wiggling through the white sand.
With a puzzled expression, she walked over and picked it up—
And found herself staring at a tiny girl with green hair, bright gold-green eyes, and a crimson line that runs across her face.
The little thing squirmed in her grip, eyes shut tight, muttering muffled sounds.
Kikyo and the others quickly gathered around, their eyes lighting up.
"She's adorable!"
Yotsuya Miko poked the girl's cheek with her finger and muttered, "Wait… this place—Hueco Mundo—has cute creatures like this?"
The group blinked, then exchanged confused looks.
"…This might be one of those humanoid Hollows," Kikyo said, a bit unsure.
But honestly… She didn't seem dangerous at all.
In fact—She was kinda… precious?
Miko's eyes turned serious for a moment.
"I can sense a really powerful energy coming from inside her," she said quietly. "This little one's not as simple as she looks…"
The voices around her finally roused Nel from her daze.
"Huh…?"
She blinked, looking up at the group crowding around her with a blank expression.
Then her eyes widened.
Panicking, she started flailing.
"D-Don't take me back!!"
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