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"Mr. Fang Mo, could it be that you..."
Kurosaki Ichigo looked at Fang Mo in astonishment, as an unacceptable truth began to emerge in his mind.
"So you've guessed it too?"
At the same time, Urahara Kisuke suddenly turned to Fang Mo: "No... it should be said that this is also a part of your plan, right? Using Inoue Orihime's special ability to accelerate the awakening of the Hogyoku."
"What!?"
Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo also showed a surprised expression.
"The awakening of the Hogyoku?" Renji Abarai, not far away, asked in a bit of surprise: "What does that mean?"
"Because the Hogyoku is currently in a dormant state."
Urahara Kisuke said: "Although I can't completely destroy it, I've sealed it as much as possible. According to the guesses from me and the Department of Research and Development... Hogyoku was expected to awaken in a few months, with the final battle supposed to be in winter."
"What about now?"
Toshiro Hitsugaya frowned, seemingly realizing the seriousness of the situation: "Will the date of the final battle be moved up?"
"Correct."
Urahara Kisuke solemnly said: "The Hogyoku is indeed in a dormant state now, but it wasn't before. So, if we use Inoue Orihime's power of rejection... it might accelerate the awakening of the Hogyoku."
Saying this, Urahara Kisuke turned his head to look at Fang Mo again.
"This is also part of your plan, isn't it?"
Urahara Kisuke asked: "I remember you said you were pressed for time, so you deliberately created pressure for Sosuke Aizen, forcing him to develop the Hogyoku as quickly as possible..."
"Don't worry, Inoue Orihime is safe."
Fang Mo waved his hand: "Aizen only wants to merge with the Hogyoku, and she is considered the strongest healer in your world, nicknamed 'Little Yomi's Soul Reaper.' Even if she loses her value after merging with the Hogyoku, the Hollows will surely protect her, not to mention... I'm not harming her, am I not planning to go save her right now?"
"But even so, you are still..."
"Or should I continue to stay in the living world?" Before Urahara Kisuke could finish his sentence, Fang Mo immediately retorted: "The thing I hate the most is boredom. If you really make me wait until winter, do you believe that in the next second I will turn the Earth back into an ice age? Then, I'll aim at your head with a bag of transformation powder and sprinkle it on you, turning you into a squirrel chasing acorns for a lifetime..."
"..."
After hearing Fang Mo's statement, Urahara Kisuke fell silent as well.
"Alright, the situation is as it stands for now."
Seeing that Urahara Kisuke had stopped speaking, Fang Mo also started addressing the people around him: "Inoue Orihime has been captured, and I expect that Aizen will soon use her abilities to awaken the Hogyoku. So, I plan to rescue her and, while I'm at it, kill Aizen. Well, I've said my piece. Who's in favor, and who's against?"
As he finished speaking, a powerful aura emerged from Fang Mo.
Under the influence of this imposing aura, everyone fell silent, essentially acquiescing to Fang Mo's words.
However, after a brief silence, Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly spoke up: "Um, Mr. Fang Mo, may I join you in going to Hueco Mundo? Inoue Orihime is my companion, and I must bring her back."
"Me too."
Tatsuki Arisawa also stepped forward immediately.
"Oh, okay."
Fang Mo nodded. After all, the main group was supposed to go to Hueco Mundo anyway: "Then get ready, and try to improve yourselves as much as possible. Then we'll go for the rescue."
"Isn't everyone going together?"
Kurosaki Ichigo turned to look at the Soul Reapers, primarily at Renji Abarai.
"We... will not be going for now."
Renji Abarai turned his head away from Kurosaki Ichigo's gaze: "Just a while ago, Captain Zaraki and Captain Hitsugaya came to relay the Head Captain's orders, telling us to return to the Soul Society first, as there seems to be a new mission."
"I see."
Kurosaki Ichigo nodded, not saying much more.
"You better not die on me," Renji Abarai then warned Kurosaki Ichigo: "Otherwise, I'll never forgive you."
"Ah, don't worry."
Kurosaki Ichigo nodded earnestly: "I've gotten a lot stronger recently.
In summary, after a brief exchange, the people from the Shinigami's side began to say goodbye. After all, they are members of the Gotei 13, and they must follow the rules. They only mentioned going back to receive new missions, not that they would ignore Aizen, so everyone quickly went back through the Dangai.
After that,
Fang Mo also chose to leave first.
"I'll take Starrk to open a door; you guys chat first."
Fang Mo was not in a hurry. After greeting everyone, he left with Starrk and Lilynette.
With the departure of the Shinigami and Fang Mo, only Chad, Kurosaki Ichigo, Urahara Kisuke, and Yoruichi, along with the always-online Vizard Corps and others, remained.
Originally, Kurosaki Ichigo also planned to quickly return to train.
But at that moment, Shinji Hirako of the Vizard Corps suddenly pulled him aside.
"You want to become stronger, right?"
Shinji Hirako looked at Kurosaki Ichigo with a smile: "Let me introduce ourselves. We are the Vizard Corps, your 'kind'. If you plan to become stronger, you can try asking us for help."
"Vizard Corps?"
After hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo was stunned for a moment and instinctively looked up at Urahara Kisuke not far away.
"Kurosaki, they are trustworthy."
Seeing this, Urahara Kisuke also spoke up: "They were all members of the Gotei 13 a hundred years ago. They became what they are now because of Aizen's betrayal. If you want to control the power of the Hollows, they should be able to help."
"But..."
Kurosaki Ichigo opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he had already mastered the power of Hollowfication, but Urahara Kisuke spoke before him: "Currently, the space in the Garganta is not very stable. Although Hollows can pass through at will, for Shinigamis... the space still needs to be stabilized. I probably need a few days to prepare."
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo could only nod: "Then, I'll be in your care, as well as everyone else."
Let's not talk about Kurosaki Ichigo's side for now.
After leaving, Fang Mo indeed took Starrk to the pure white space.
In fact, among the Espada, Starrk and Halibel are considered to have the best temperaments, almost perfectly suppressing their innate Hollow instincts, possessing a very complete personality.
During these days, Fang Mo introduced Starrk to several people living on the planet Ego, including characters previously brought from Chainsaw Man, such as Hayakawa Aki, Himeno, the Future Devil, and of course, Quanxi and her devil girls.
It's worth mentioning that Quanxi seemed to take good care of Starrk's subordinate, Lilynette, and Hayakawa Aki treated Starrk very politely, which surprised Starrk. He didn't understand why they were not afraid of him, but he was actually quite happy inside.
Days quickly passed by.
And Fang Mo, who had already grown tired of the situation, found Urahara Kisuke at the first opportunity, planning to quickly end this storyline.