Chapter 375: BSUS - 378: Fighting for Every Chance

The apocalyptic scene wasn’t limited to the underground; on the surface, Karakura Town looked as if it had been cleaved by an invisible, giant blade. Countless houses were reduced to rubble one after another, and an ugly trench ran straight through nearly half the city.

Hiroe watched the commotion erupting from the Visored base, his heart filled with unprecedented complexity. He even began to doubt whether he had truly broken free from Kyōka Suigetsu’s control.

This doubt lasted only a brief moment. He knew very well that he couldn’t let Kyōka Suigetsu’s ability interfere with his thinking, or else he would inevitably fall into an infinite loop of truth and falsehood.

Getsuren Reikiri’s ability could definitely sever Kyōka Suigetsu’s influence over him. This was not only a trust in his own Zanpakutō, but also a trust in his own judgment!

Someone had miraculously infiltrated the Visored base and completely repelled Aikawa Love and Ushōda Hachigen, who were guarding it, in an instant. Aside from the influence of Kyōka Suigetsu, there had to be another reasonable explanation for all of this.

And of course, there was indeed a reasonable explanation.

Although the route to the Visored base was heavily guarded with layers of defense, it was ultimately just a net designed to detect enemy movements.

And this seemingly airtight net actually relied on two foundations: first, Reiatsu perception, and second, the detection of traces, including spatial fluctuations.

Whether it was Hiroe’s unparalleled Reiatsu perception, Roka’s astonishing neural network, or the multi-point, close-range reconnaissance distributed among Ginjō and the others—who were completely immune to Kyōka Suigetsu’s influence—none of these methods could escape those two foundations.

However, there was a massive loophole in this: Hiroe’s vision and spiritual sense were separated. As long as someone could deceive this net that he personally operated, breaking through the blockades of the others would be much simpler.

To be more specific, if someone could evade Hiroe’s meticulous Reiatsu perception and pair it with some means of concealing their figure, they could approach Inoue Orihime’s location completely unnoticed.

This was certainly difficult, but not impossible. Looking further back, Azashiro Sōya could merge his Reiatsu with spatial objects using Urozakuro; looking closer, the Arrancar he had personally created, Seth, could achieve this level of stealth.

Therefore, it wasn’t that only eight Espada had invaded Karakura Town, but rather that everyone—including the Department of Research and Development far away in the Seireitei—had only *discovered* eight!

This Arrancar, who might possess an ability similar to Azashiro Sōya and Seth, or perhaps an entirely different type of ability, had simply swaggered in, stepping right past the ’impenetrable fortress’ everyone had prepared, and struck straight at the soft heart beneath the armor!

Just what kind of ability was this? Not only did it possess exceptional concealment capable of shielding against his Reiatsu perception, but it could also silently destroy Ushōda’s barrier. This was not something ordinary techniques could achieve.

Even a Kidō master like him, Chōzuka Hiroe, would have to rely on Getsuren Reikiri to accomplish the same feat. Measured solely by Bakudō or barriers, Ushōda wasn’t much inferior to him.

That would mean this Arrancar’s ability leaned more toward technique. Yet, paradoxically, he was able to instantly crush Aikawa Love in an extremely exaggerated manner, sending him flying across nearly half of Karakura Town. Such physical strength was not something just anyone possessed.

The manifestation of an ability was connected to one’s own inclinations. It was just like how the Zanpakutō wielded by the brawny Komamura Sajin also possessed mountain-shattering momentum, much like the man himself.

Thinking from this perspective, that Arrancar was either a Komamura Sajin wielding Senbonzakura...

Or, his inherent ability balanced both strength and technique, which could be described as bizarre yet possessing thunderous might?

It was hard to imagine what kind of ability could balance these two completely mismatched traits.

There were still many questions regarding this mysterious Arrancar, but right now, there were more important matters that deserved his attention.

Did Aizen really send out all his forces just for Inoue Orihime?

If so, then he could start his plan right now. In that case, should he abandon Inoue Orihime?

But if not, could this also be a feint—a feint aimed at him! What was that guy Aizen’s true objective?

And could he afford to leave his current position?

There were many questions, and even more possible answers. Hiroe’s thoughts raced like lightning, wanting to deduce all possible scenarios as quickly as possible, and then find a solution that, even if imperfect, would be as advantageous to their side as possible.

In truth, he was already thinking very fast. He had started pondering the moment Love was defeated, and in just a few short seconds, he had thought through more things than an ordinary person would in a day, or even several days.

But it was still too slow. To speed up, he had to focus all his attention. The exclamations and inquiries from Roka and the others echoing in his ears seemed to cease to exist, and the map of Karakura Town formed by Reiatsu fluctuations in his mind slowly closed. It had been a long time since he had experienced such intense concentration.

*The plan? Aizen!*

Hiroe felt as if he had grasped a thread—a thread he had constantly overlooked but was extremely logical. He had ignored it in the past simply because it was neither crucial to Aizen, nor did Aizen have any interest in it.

*But is Aizen really not interested in it? If he is, then his interest lies in...*

The stalled hands of time began to turn once more. Hiroe suddenly snapped back to reality. He had thought of a possibility—a possibility that made him want to laugh and cry, but definitely left his heart heavy!

"Chōzuka-sama, Chōzuka-sama!" Roka’s anxious voice finally broke through. "What do we do now? Do we initiate the operation? Chōzuka-sama!"

The voice pierced his head, causing a slight ache, but Hiroe didn’t answer immediately. The spatial fluctuation in the distance, like a curtain being torn open, made him realize that time hadn’t actually paused just now.

The air seemed to vibrate under Hiroe’s steps. His current position was the closest to all the various battlefields, but at this moment, he somewhat hated this distance, because it wasn’t the closest to the place that had already caught fire!

"Can you seal the Garganta near Inoue Orihime? Even just interfering with it is fine!"

He didn’t name anyone, but Roka knew the question was directed at her. "I can’t seal it! We can only interfere with it to make it close as slowly as possible!"

Inoue Orihime had already been taken inside! Hiroe gritted his teeth and swung his moon-sickle downward. An arrow-like beam of Reiryoku shot diagonally toward the abandoned warehouse right before his eyes, and he followed the fired Reiryoku beam, charging straight underground.

"Initiate the operation! Everyone else, assist Inex with all your might. If another Garganta opens, you must seal it!"

"Another Garganta is opening, Chōzuka-sama!"

Hiroe and Roka spoke almost simultaneously. After a slight hesitation, Roka exclaimed from the other side, "They are interfering with the space right now! We can’t open our Garganta for the time being!"

Underground beneath the warehouse, that ugly Garganta was slowly closing. Hiroe only needed to take one more step to chase after them, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Things had indeed progressed to this point. He had thought of it, but he had thought of it too late!

*Should I give up? If I give up, there might still be a chance on the other side?*

With a complicated heart, Hiroe looked into the Garganta, meeting Inoue Orihime’s tear-filled eyes, which seemed to be begging him to abandon her.

"Fight for every chance!"

Hiroe issued the command, a command that also felt like it was meant for himself.

His roar still echoed in the empty underground cavern, but he had already charged into that pitch-black, bottomless abyss.