I'm in Bleach, starting with Unlimited Blade Works.

In particular, the Technology Development Bureau has replaced its bulky machines with computers with monitors, and various locations have been equipped with Lingzi monitoring devices that can directly display the monitored videos on the computers, making things much more convenient than before.

In addition, Kisuke Urahara invented the "Command Machine," which has both communication and scanning functions. The appearance of this Command Machine was a great treasure to the Shinigami of the Thirteenth Division stationed in the human world, greatly reducing the time they spent searching for Hollows in the human world.

It seems that everything is moving in a positive direction.

However, beneath the calm surface of Soul Society lies an incredibly turbulent undercurrent.

In recent years, even if Erin hadn't actively paid attention, he knew that the Hollows entering the Soul Society and the human world were basically only small and medium-sized Hollows.

No more Hollows of Gillian rank or higher have appeared since.

Over time, for the new students of the Shinigami Academy and the newly recruited Shinigami, the Gillian Hollows had become a "legendary" existence.

Some less knowledgeable Shinigami, upon learning of the existence of the Royal Special Agent Zero Division, actually imagined it to be a Hollow of at least Gillian rank, an enemy that only the Royal Special Agent Zero Division could handle. They then spread this as gossip to attract some ignorant young girls.

Surprisingly, this kind of claim has quite a following.

Some captains had heard such rumors, but to them, it was just a joke.

If even a Gillian Hollow requires the Zero Division to be deployed to resolve, then the Gotei 13 must be far too weak, right?

You should know that the Forest of Menos Grande in Hueco Mundo contains hundreds of thousands of Menos Grande. If only the Zero Division could handle it, how many members would the Zero Division need?

There are more than all the Shinigami in the Gotei 13 combined.

Thus, the captain's wry smile became the strongest evidence for this "news," allowing this rumor to quickly take over Seireitei and become a "legend" accepted by the new recruits and newly joined Shinigami.

Generally speaking, unless a Hollow of Gillian rank or higher descends, the casualties of the Shinigami should be kept under very effective control.

However, what is puzzling is that as Hollows that enter the human world and Rukongai become weaker, the casualties among Shinigami are increasing.

For those in the upper echelons, the number of ordinary and elite Grim Reapers who died was of no concern to them.

If Erin hadn't been paying attention, he probably wouldn't have known how many Grim Reapers had died in the past few years.

But Erin knew that Aizen had successfully completed the creation of the half of the Hogyoku in his possession!

……

"Bang bang bang bang..."

On this day, the emergency assembly signal for the captains rang out once again within the Seireitei.

After telling Haruko, Erin quickly headed to the First Division.

Before long, all thirteen captains of the Gotei 13 were lined up in the captains' meeting room of the First Division.

"Wow, it feels like it's been over ten years since I last received an emergency assembly signal. When I heard it today, I almost thought the First Division had dialed the wrong signal."

Kyoraku Shunsui, wearing a straw hat, said.

Erin, standing beside Kyoraku Shunsui, remarked upon hearing this, "Haha, Kyoraku Captain, the fact that we haven't received the captain's assembly signal for so long only proves that Seireitei is safe and sound."

"If Seireitei reaches the point where it needs to hold captain meetings every day, I think Seireitei is probably already on the verge of destruction..."

"Indeed, this is how Seireitei has always maintained its peace..."

"However, this is the very meaning of our existence."

"quiet!"

Seemingly hearing Erin and Kyoraku Shunsui's hushed conversation, Captain-Commander Yamamoto instantly shouted, and at the same time, he slammed his cane heavily on the floor of the conference room hall.

"Boom!"

"The reason we have summoned all the captains here today is that the 12th Division discovered some Rukongai residents and Shinigami clothing while monitoring Rukongai."

"Captain Urahara, please share the results of your squad's investigation into this incident with everyone."

"Yes, Captain."

Kisuke Urahara stepped forward from the captains' ranks and began in a deep voice, "Captains, according to the investigation by professionals from the Technology Development Bureau, the owner of these clothes had their soul completely devoured in a fleeting instant, leaving only the clothing behind..."

"We suspect that some kind of Hollow with strange abilities has evaded the Seireitei's monitoring and is openly attacking the residents of Rukongai and the Shinigami who come to subdue them."

"Furthermore, it took this Hollow quite a long time to arrive in Seireitei."

"Because, according to our final in-depth investigation, the number of Shinigami casualties in Seireitei has been steadily increasing since thirty years ago..."

"However, according to our monitoring data, there have been no Hollows of Gillian or higher in the past thirty years, whether in the Soul Society or the human world. Such casualties are very abnormal."

"Indeed, in theory, if there were no more dangerous attacks from Hollows, the casualties among the Shinigami should have been reduced."

"Judging from the number of Shinigami and Rukongai residents who have already died, this Hollow's strength has probably surpassed that of Gillian and reached the level of Adjuchas..."

"Alright, now that Captain Urahara has finished his explanation, are there any captains who would like to take the initiative to investigate this matter, find this Hollow hiding in Soul Society, and purify it?"

After listening to Captain-Commander Yamamoto's question, the captains remained silent.

If the Hollow's activity range had been determined, the captains present were all eager to run around and destroy it.

Even with Adjuchas, none of the captains present felt they were weaker than a mere Adjuchas.

However, whether this virtual entity even exists is still highly questionable.

Having accepted this task, I have to investigate personally. Who knows when I'll be able to find out the truth?

That's so troublesome...

The team leaders either smiled and remained silent, closed their eyes and pretended to sleep, or simply pretended not to hear.

The main idea is that if you don't take the initiative, I won't either.

"Humph!"

Seeing the captains' expressions, Yamamoto snorted angrily.

Then, he called out names directly.

"Captain Rojuro of the Third Division, Captain Shinji Hirako of the Fifth Division, Captain Rabu Aikawa of the Seventh Division, and Captain Kensei Rokusha of the Ninth Division."

"Captain."

Called out by Captain-Commander Yamamoto himself, the four captains stepped out of the ranks and stood in the center of the conference room.

"I'm going to hand this over to you four captains."

"Of course, considering that you may not be suited for search-type tasks, I have also found two powerful assistants for you."

At this point, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's voice rose slightly: "Come in."

As soon as Captain-Commander Yamamoto finished speaking, the door to the First Division Captain's Meeting Room suddenly opened, and two figures stepped into the meeting room in the sunlight.

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto."

At this moment, the two people who entered through the gate, the one in the lead had a mustache and a serious expression. He was wearing a purple "Oni-doro robe," which, like the captain's haori, represented the captain's status and position.

He was also leaning on a staff, which represented the Great Demon Taoist Priest, in his right hand.

Behind him stood a large, fat man dressed in red, whose size surpassed even that of the strongest member of the Qiu Dao family in the neighboring five-village melee.

Like the other captains, Erin also carefully examined the now imposing Wokishi Tessai.

However, the other captains were seeing the Great Demon Master and Deputy Demon Master of the Ghost Path Clan for the first time, while Erin knew what Tetsuzai looked like and knew that every time he saw him, it would be the last time.

After this incident, the domineering Taoist priest will transform into an all-around butler with a comedic personality.

"Everyone, these two are the current Grand Master of the Demonic Path, Tsukabishi Tessai, and the Vice Master of the Demonic Path, Arishoda Hachigen."

"This time, these two will assist you in investigating the 'soul disappearance' case in Soul Society and strive to kill the Hollow that devours souls as soon as possible."

"Yes, Captain-Commander Yamamoto."

"and many more……"

Just as Hirako Shinji and his group were about to leave, the captain of the 8th Division, Kyoraku Shunsui, reached out his hand.

"Everyone, you might need our Eighth Division's intelligence support to investigate this Hollow."

"Alright, I'll have my vice-captain, Lisa Yagimaru, go with you to investigate this incident. I think with Lisa's intelligence support, we'll definitely be able to find this Hollow hiding in Soul Society sooner."

"Yes, you've been a great help, Captain Jing Band."

After thanking Kyoraku Shunsui, Hirako Shinji and the other captains went to the waiting room of the First Division and called on the vice-captain of the Eighth Division, Yashimaru Lisa, to go to Rukongai to investigate.

During this time, the vice-captain of the 9th Division, Kunan Shiro, and the captain of the 12th Division, Sarugaki Hiyori, insisted on going along as well. Reluctantly, Hirako Shinji took them with him to investigate Rukongai.

After the captains had all left, Aizen Sousuke, the vice-captain of the Fifth Division, gave a gentle smile and pushed his glasses up slightly.

Fish, you're hooked!

……

Chapter 140 Hollowfication

Kisuke Urahara returned to the 12th Division with a furrowed brow.

This incident is truly unusual.

Logically speaking, the number of deaths and injuries among the Grim Reapers has been surging for the past thirty years, and it would be impossible to hide such a situation.

But that's the strange thing about this.

For more than thirty years, everyone took the sacrifice of these grim reapers for granted, and no one found it strange.

It seems that everyone unconsciously ignores the number of deaths caused by Death.

The fact that the Twelfth Division was able to discover the abnormal number of Shinigami sacrifices over the past thirty years is as if someone deliberately lifted a veil covering this matter, and only then was this fact discovered.

It feels very abrupt.

"Something's wrong..."

Kisuke Urahara, with a somber expression, entered the Technology Development Bureau, went to a computer, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.

Then, Kisuke Urahara retrieved the number of deaths and injuries suffered by Shinigami over the past century.

"This is……"

Looking at the casualty data on the computer, Kisuke Urahara's expression changed.

Over the past century, the number of Shinigami who died in Seireitei has remained relatively consistent each year, with the highest and lowest numbers differing by less than a hundred.

This cannot possibly be normal data.

Someone is manipulating the number of deaths, perhaps...