[59] Pretty Fired Up

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"Report! The 19th Squad's been wiped out by a Hollow swarm! Should we deploy the second team?!"

"The 17th Squad's mission is complete!"

"Dangai Division! Where's the Dangai team? I've lost contact with my people!"

"Forget conserving Dangai Stones at a time like this, bring out every last one we've seized!"

"Hey, you Shiba! Go coordinate with the Dangai crew!"

Senjumaru Shutara, draped in a white lab coat, stood before a massive holographic table, barking orders with relentless precision. The Research and Development Institute buzzed chaotically under her command.

She didn't care whether you were Head of the Shiba or not you followed her lead.

Even Kirio Hikifune dragged along for the ride, sported a pint-sized lab coat, her eyes swirling from the barrage of directives.

Yet, amid the frenzy, no one complained.

Troops trained for years were meant for moments like this.

Especially now, with the Genji School core zone under siege by Hollow swarms and Yamamoto whisked off to who-knows-where.

The thought gnawed at Senjumaru, her teeth itching with frustration.

And Makoto... his fate remained a mystery.

Since stepping into this office, Senjumaru hadn't left for what felt like ages.

Before she could dwell further in the brief lull...

A Dangai Division member's shout pierced the air, his face alight with joy.

"Director!"

"Massive reiatsu signature detected in Hueco Mundo's Sector 116!"

"Reishi fluctuations align closely with the Captain-Commander's!"

Senjumaru slammed the table, leaping up, electrified, "Where's the cross-world communicator?! Activate it!"

The news sparked hope in every heart.

Hands moved faster, sharper.

In this era, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's name turned despair into possibility.

For the next millennium, it would remain so.

A singular figure.

If a label must be pinned to him...

Hero or Banner fit best.

…

Hueco Mundo.

Unlike its usual shroud of eternal night, bathed in moonlight...

Today, it blazed.

No... scorched.

A tall lean middle-aged man strode forward, his traditional gatsume hairstyle neatly combed, faint bald patches at his temples. His black hair was tied into a bun, his gaze piercingly sharp.

Each step across the white desert formed of Hollow essence ignited a blazing white flame.

A microscope would reveal countless micro-Hollows charring to ash beneath his feet.

With a sword in hand, cloaked in fire, he marched. Behind him, flames trailed like a disciplined army shadowing their general.

Reiatsu, vast beyond Shinigami limits, poured outward unchecked, a deluge grinding all—fortunate or not into dust.

Even among Vasto Lordes, none rivaled his unimaginable terror.

Mindless Hollows, lured by his delectable reiatsu, charged like mad beasts. Yet within a hundred meters, primal fear seized them.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto merely passed by, and strong or weak, they erupted into blazing torches without exception.

In his other hand dangled a charred, limbless figure.

Even in this state, Tsunayashiro Ogata clung to life.

A low chuckle rasped from his throat.

"Pointless."

"Genryūsai-sama."

"By now, your precious disciples near the Genji School must've been trampled by endless Hollow swarms."

His vitality was tenacious, his reiatsu surpassing a typical vice-captain's. Even in Yamamoto's grasp, he retained shards of sanity, a will nearly unbreakable.

Ogata lifted his head with an effort, whispering, "You may know of Hollow bait, but not the kind the Five Great Noble Houses wield, bait that can draw Vasto Lordes to a degree."

"To summon enough, I embedded ten into my subordinates' bodies."

"Right now, at least three Vasto Lordes stalk your turf."

"Do you think your disciples can handle that?"

Yamamoto's face remained serene, his reply calm.

"And so?"

Ogata faltered.

Then it clicked.

Yamamoto never cared how many followed him.

He needed only a few to inherit a world cleansed of nobles.

They saw him as a flag, a symbol.

But hadn't he always viewed his followers as tools, expendable?

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto prized one thing alone, 'eradicate the nobility.'

As long as he lived, that sufficed.

"Heh… hehehe…"

Ogata's hoarse laugh broke free:

"Genryūsai-sama."

"You preach about nobles treating commoners as human…"

"But the one who values life least isn't it you?"

"…"

"Indeed."

Yet, facing the taunt, Yamamoto didn't flinch or justify, "But in this wretched age, only a bloodthirsty demon can tame demons like you, no?"

"For that, the lives of commoners, Shinigami, disciples, friends even this old man's life..."

"All are chips on the table."

"You're vile? I'm viler."

"If that alone can wipe you out…"

He lowered his gaze to the limbless youth in his hand, his voice tranquil.

"This old man savors it gladly."

Ogata froze.

Yamamoto's serene words, amid searing flames, chilled him to the core.

This man… would truly slaughter every noble.

Not out of hate or greed, but as a… mission?!

"Demon! Demon!"

He roared, sanity fraying.

Just then, Yamamoto sensed a distant reishi pulse, probing for contact.

His eyes narrowed, connecting instantly.

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto!" Senjumaru's voice rang in his mind. "Can you hear me?!"

"Yes, speak."

His tone stayed even.

He tossed Ogata aside.

Useless now.

"Head northwest immediately, straight ahead!" Senjumaru's voice crackled with urgency. "It's the nearest inter-world passage."

"Also, a massive Hollow swarm's gathered there."

"Please wipe them out too!"

"That's all we need for now!"

A faint smile creased Yamamoto's face.

After years of nurturing...

The Genji School had finally birthed figures who could stand alone.

"I understand."

Pausing, he added with approval.

"Senjumaru, well done."

Senjumaru huffed, "Just stop causing us trouble, old man!"

"Hahahaha..."

Yamamoto laughed heartily.

A man who tolerated even Makoto's quirks shrugged off a youth's grumbling.

Anger? Impossible.

But post-laugh, his foot slammed down.

Boom!

He launched skyward, too swift for eyes to track.

Across Hueco Mundo, a fiery meteor streaked beneath the moonlit dark, visible to all.

Upon landing, the desert quaked with his bellow, tremors reaching the Forest of Menos below.

"All things in creation, reduced to ash..."

"Ryūjin Jakka!"

"Ennetsu Jigoku!!!"

Dozens hundreds of towering flame pillars erupted, bathing the black night in light, engulfing a hundred-kilometer radius.

Everything within burned to blackened dust under that blistering heat.

Nothing survived.

Sure, he wasn't mad.

But…

The old man's fire was blazing hot today!

***

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