The Human World.
Karakura Town.
A distorted ripple flashed across the sky, rapidly tearing open into a highly irregular fissure.
Behind the crack was the swirling, vortex-like void of a Garganta.
A bone-white centipede Hollow, measuring over ten meters long, crawled out from the darkness.
It was Ivan’s Adjuchas Clone.
Because this Clone had only just been created, Ivan wasn’t entirely used to piloting a pure centipede body yet.
Combined with the fact that it was his very first time using a Garganta to enter the Human World, he had ended up getting delayed in the void for several days before finally arriving in Karakura Town.
Ivan carefully surveyed the Karakura Town below him.
To his absolute surprise, the town had already stepped into the modern era.
Telephone poles lined the streets, and single-family suburban homes were scattered everywhere.
It gave Ivan a strong sense of deja vu, looking exactly like the small modern county towns from his past life.
Based on his experiences in Hueco Mundo, he had estimated that the current timeline should be at least a century, if not more, before the main Bleach storyline began.
He had fully expected the Human World to be stuck in the Sengoku or Edo period, filled with people barely over four feet tall threatening to commit seppuku at the drop of a hat.
He certainly hadn’t expected Karakura Town to already be a fully functioning modern society.
Ivan shook his massive head.
“Looks like this isn’t the feudal, sword-swinging Japan I was expecting!” He didn’t dwell on it any further.
He couldn’t wait to start executing his plan!
“Roar!” The centipede Clone reared back and roared at the sky, letting its Adjuchas-class Reiatsu sweep uncontrollably across Karakura Town.
Somewhere in Karakura Town, a balding, middle-aged Shinigami wearing a Shihakushō was currently locked in a bitter struggle against a Strong Hollow, wielding only his Asauchi.
“A Strong Hollow?
What a pain.
If I knew, I never would have taken this stationing mission!
Why is it that every time it’s my turn for stationing duty, I run into these troublesome freaks?!” The middle-aged man, Koichi Kato, was an ordinary, low-ranking member of the 13th Squad, currently assigned to garrison this district.
With his level of strength, dealing with newly transformed Newborn Hollows was no problem, but fighting a Strong Hollow was pushing his limits.
“Weren’t they absolutely certain this sector only had Newborn Hollows?
Why the hell is there a Strong Hollow this powerful?!
This thing is practically a Giant Hollow!” Koichi Kato complained bitterly as he battled the oversized, mosquito-like Hollow.
Clang!
The mosquito Hollow’s sharp proboscis clashed violently with Kato’s Asauchi, sending a shower of sparks into the air.
Losing his grip, Kato watched in horror as his Asauchi was knocked completely out of his hands, flying into the distance.
“Damn it!
Hado #3…” Just as Koichi Kato lost his Zanpakuto and prepared to throw everything he had into a desperate Kido, a suffocating, monstrous Reiatsu crashed down over the area, sending a freezing chill straight down his spine.
The mosquito Hollow, which had just been throwing its weight around, felt the oppressive Reiatsu and instantly panicked.
Terrified out of its wits, it turned and fled into the distance without looking back!
Feeling that bone-chilling spiritual pressure, Kato scrambled to pick up his discarded Zanpakuto.
He looked toward the source of the Reiatsu, his face pale with sheer terror.
“This terrifying Reiatsu!
A Menos Grande?!” For a low-ranking grunt like Koichi Kato, the specific classification of an Adjuchas was above his pay grade.
He only knew that above Giant Hollows, there were legendary monsters known as Menos Grande.
“Curse the Department of Research and Development!
How the hell do they calibrate their sensors?!
How does a Menos Grande just slip into the Human World?!
If I make it back alive, I am filing a formal complaint!” Even though just sensing the Reiatsu filled him with a crippling sense of powerlessness, Kato still gripped his Zanpakuto and cursed as he sprinted desperately toward the source of the anomaly.
“Oh, took the bait?
But this Reiatsu is way too weak.” Sensing a feeble spiritual pressure approaching his location, Ivan knew his plan was half successful.
In the distance, Koichi Kato stared at the colossal centipede and the apocalyptic Reiatsu radiating from it.
His hands trembled violently around his sword hilt.
“What class of Hollow is this…?” The Menos Grande before him was more terrifying than any Hollow he had ever seen in his entire life!
Then, he watched as the giant centipede began tearing up the street, violently uprooting telephone poles as if intent on leveling the entire block.
Gulping down his fear, Kato charged straight at the terrifying Menos, his sword raised.
“I commend your courage!” Ivan watched with amusement as this ant-like, ridiculously weak Shinigami let out a battle cry and charged at him.
He casually flicked his tail, swatting the Shinigami away and sending him flying over a dozen meters down the street.
Koichi Kato tumbled across the asphalt three times before barely managing to stabilize himself.
Naturally, Ivan had severely held back.
If he accidentally killed this weak Shinigami right now, it would completely ruin his plan.
Against all odds, the weak Shinigami dragged himself back up and began limping toward Ivan once again.
Just as Kato stubbornly readied his sword for another suicidal charge, a figure suddenly appeared right in front of him.
It was a tall, dashing young man with messy black hair and sea-green eyes, wearing a Shihakushō.
Smiling warmly, the man extended an arm to hold Kato back.
“You’ve done a great job holding the line.
I’ll take it from here!” “Lieutenant…
Shiba!” How could Koichi Kato not recognize the young man standing before him?
It was none other than the newly appointed Lieutenant of their 13th Squad, the pride of the noble Shiba Clan: Kaien Shiba!
“Oh?
Finally caught a big fish?
I didn’t expect Kaien Shiba to show up,” Ivan mused.
Ivan’s grand plan was remarkably simple.
The entire reason he had sent a Clone into the Human World was to force a Shinigami to kill it.
According to the lore of Bleach, when a sinless soul that had turned into a Hollow was slain by a Shinigami’s Zanpakuto, it was cleansed and sent to the Soul Society.
If the soul was deeply sinful, it was dragged down to Hell.
If the system judged him sinless, his Clone would regain a human form and successfully infiltrate the Soul Society.
If the system judged him guilty, well, he would just go to Hell and farm the sinners down there to power up.
Either way, Ivan couldn’t lose!
That was exactly why he had gone out of his way to forge a Clone, throw it into the Human World, and aggressively flare its Reiatsu: all to lure a Shinigami into executing him.
A Lieutenant-class Shinigami like Kaien Shiba was more than qualified to help Ivan complete this plan.
A grunt like Koichi Kato was so pathetically weak that even if Ivan stood perfectly still and let him chop away, the man probably wouldn’t be able to kill him.
“Roar!” Ivan unleashed a thunderous bellow at the tiny Shinigami below.
A moment later, dense purple-black Reiatsu rapidly gathered in front of his grinder-like mandibles.
A massive, dark-purple Cero took shape and blasted straight toward Kaien Shiba.
Kaien grabbed Kato with one hand and used Shunpo, instantly vanishing and pulling them both out of the Cero’s destructive path.
“An Adjuchas?
Why isn’t a Menos of this caliber in Hueco Mundo trying to evolve?
Why the hell did it suddenly run to the Human World to throw a tantrum?” Kaien stared at the centipede Adjuchas in genuine confusion.
Then, he glanced back at Kato.
“This Menos is trouble.
Contact the Department of Research and Development immediately and request a Limit Release!” As a Lieutenant-class officer, his innate Reiatsu was simply too powerful.
To prevent unnecessary damage to the Human World, he was restricted to just twenty percent of his full power when crossing over.
Facing an actual Adjuchas, he felt slightly pressured.
He needed his limiters removed to fight properly.
Without waiting for confirmation, Kaien raised his Zanpakuto high and chanted his release command.
“Rankle the seas and the skies, Nejibana!” The standard Asauchi instantly transformed into a spiraling, trident-like spear.
Kaien twirled the spear masterfully.
Raging torrents of water surged from the weapon, transforming into countless invisible, razor-sharp blades that tore through the air toward the massive centipede.
But in the very next second, an incredibly bizarre scene unfolded.
The giant centipede Menos entirely abandoned its defense, actively lunging forward to take the devastating, wave-crashing strike directly to the face.
“Ouch, that stings!
Wait, even without Limit Release, he still can’t one-shot me?!” Battered and sliced up by the countless water blades, looking absolutely miserable, the giant centipede abruptly used Sonido, not to dodge, but to hurl itself aggressively straight onto the tip of Kaien Shiba’s spear.
“Uh…
what?” Kaien Shiba stood there entirely dumbfounded, staring blankly as the terrifying Menos Grande willingly impaled itself on his Zanpakuto and slowly dissolved into spiritual dust.
Nearby, Koichi Kato, who had just pulled out his specialized Denreishinki to contact the R&D Department, looked equally utterly bewildered.
At that exact moment, the call finally connected, and a bored voice sounded from the device.
“Hello, Department of Research and Development here…”