Chapter 119: Setting Out

Shortly after Chojiro and his group returned, and just as the plot dictated, word came from Kisuke Urahara that Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions had ventured into Hueco Mundo without authorization.

Soul Society, however, did not express any objection to Urahara helping the group open a Garganta. Not only was everything in Soul Society currently under Yamamoto Genryusai's firm control—with even the Central 46 looking to him for direction—but if the Gotei 13 intended to wage an all-out war against Aizen, they could not afford to forgo Urahara's assistance. Otherwise, there was no location in the World of the Living capable of withstanding the spiritual pressure of so many captains clashing at once.

Yet, shortly after Ichigo and his friends charged into Hueco Mundo, news arrived that Lieutenant Renji Abarai of the Sixth Division and Rukia Kuchiki of the Thirteenth Division had also gone to Hueco Mundo without permission.

Byakuya Kuchiki showed no reaction to this.

That did not mean, however, that the rest of Soul Society remained unmoved. Just as everyone was busy preparing for the impending decisive battle, a figure quietly vanished from Soul Society.

"Gao!"

The massive body, which had just been cleaved in two, slowly began to reform, returning to its original state.

"You wretches... prepare to die!"

Runuganga opened his mouth wide in fury, glaring at the three small figures before him and the Arrancars mixed in with them, intent on wiping them all out at once.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are we supposed to do about this?"

"There's nothing we can do, because Lord Runuganga is made of sand," Nel, in her child form, replied with her hands behind her head, looking as if she wondered why everyone was making such a fuss.

"Can't you think of something?" Not expecting anything useful from Nel, Ichigo pinned his hopes on his other two companions.

"How could there be a way? Arrows would only leave holes in him," Uryu Ishida said calmly, adjusting his glasses as if the matter were none of his concern.

"I have no idea either. Even if I blow him away, he just puts himself back together," Yasutora Sado added helplessly. His brute strength was truly ineffective against the sand-based Runuganga.

"Die, all of you!"

"Boom!"

The sand beneath Ichigo and the others suddenly turned into a massive pit of quicksand. Feeling the downward pull, the group found themselves trapped with no way out.

"It's quicksand!"

"I know that!"

Ichigo clutched the small body of Nel and tried to scramble upward, but the current of the sand was too swift. They could only watch helplessly as they were dragged toward the center.

"Does he not have any weaknesses?"

"Do you think I'd tell a bad guy that?"

"Are you an idiot? If this keeps up, you're going to die too!" Ichigo pinched Nel's face, giving her a menacing, villainous look.

"Water, water! It's water!"

"Are you kidding me? Where am I supposed to find water in a desert...!"

Just as Ichigo and his friends were panicking over a solution that seemed impossible to achieve, a sudden surge of spiritual pressure nearby drew their attention.

"Dance, dance..."

"Hakuren."

"!!!"

Before anyone could react, the once-arrogant Runuganga was instantly encased in ice.

"My, my, just freezing him won't do."

"!"

Still recovering from their shock, the group froze again. They had only ever heard that slightly mocking voice from one person.

"You have to pull the weeds out by the roots."

"Swish!"

A brilliant flash of a blade cut through the center of Runuganga’s massive body, splitting it in two before it shattered into countless fragments along with the ice.

"Don't forget that, young lady of the Kuchiki house."

The signature light purple hair, the smiling eyes, the perpetual grin, and the white haori—it was enough to make Ichigo and the others nearly pop their eyes out of their sockets.

"Gin... Ichimaru!!"

"Yo, long time no see, you Ryoka brats." Gin smiled at the stunned group, waving a hand in a lazy, casual greeting.

Soul Society should have been in the midst of preparing for the final battle against Aizen—how could they have sent a captain-level Shinigami to help them here?

"How... how are you here?" Rukia, who had no idea Gin would appear, stared in disbelief alongside Renji.

At such a critical moment, they had snuck out themselves; why was this smiling fox here too? Was he here to drag them back? Did this mean they would have to fight this Third Division captain before even starting the war with the Arrancars?

"It's Captain Ichimaru, I've reminded you many times, Miss Rukia." Gin wagged his finger with a smile, then tilted his head as he looked at the still-shocked group. "What’s with those expressions?"

"You're asking that? Don't ignore the question! Why are you here?"

"Someone asked me to come, so I did." Gin shrugged nonchalantly, looking relaxed, then glanced at Rukia with intentional ambiguity.

"Asked..." Rukia paused, catching Gin's gaze. A spark of realization hit her. Could it be...

"It wasn't your brother."

"!"

Without anyone noticing, Gin had moved to stand beside Rukia. He patted the onion-haired girl on the shoulder, his smiling expression unchanged. "Your brother and I get along the least, after all."

"Then why are you here?" Ichigo still couldn't bring himself to believe that this man—who had served Aizen and then betrayed him—was truly on their side.

In truth, even Chojiro wasn't entirely certain. If anything were to happen to Rangiku Matsumoto, no one knew what this smiling fox might do.

"I told you, I was asked by someone." Gin turned to look at the orange-haired Shinigami boy, his eyes narrowing slightly, flashing with an enigmatic light. "It was Lieutenant Sasakibe."

"!!"

A vision of the silver-haired Shinigami flashed through everyone’s minds. They had long known his strength was unfathomable and his status high, but they never imagined he could freely dispatch a Gotei 13 captain to Hueco Mundo in such an emergency.

"Alright, alright, worrying about why I'm here is useless now..." Gin spread his hands and rested them casually on the hilt of his sword, a profound smile playing on his lips. "Because the situation in front of us isn't one we can just walk away from easily."