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

The captains were quick and didn't keep Erin and the others waiting. Soon, the captains of the other squads arrived and stood in the meeting room.

"Boom!"

As always, before speaking, Captain-Commander Yamamoto tapped the floor of the captain's meeting room with his cane.

"Captains, I have gathered you all here today because of an infuriating incident that has occurred within Seireitei."

"Last night, during a patrol, the Third Seat of the 13th Division, Shiba Tou, discovered a Hollow with a Gillian spiritual pressure."

"What? A Gillian Hollow?"

Upon hearing Captain-Commander Yamamoto's words, several captains exchanged bewildered glances.

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto."

The one speaking was Shiba Isshin, the captain of the 10th Division.

Although he is the head of the branch family of the Shiba family, when the Shiba family was in danger, the branch family suffered heavy losses while protecting the main family.

Currently, Shiba Isshin only holds the title of "head of the branch family," since he is the only one left in the entire Shiba family branch.

Since they were meant to be cannon fodder to stop powerful enemies, the branch family naturally didn't have the information about those families.

So even though he has been the captain of the 10th Division for many years, there are still some things that Shiba Isshin doesn't quite understand.

“Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the size of a Gillian Hollow is usually tens of meters tall. If a Gillian Hollow were to enter Seireitei, it would be impossible for me not to have noticed.”

"Indeed, Captain-Commander Yamamoto."

After Shiba Isshin spoke, Erin's clone also adjusted the black-rimmed glasses on his face.

"We didn't receive any reports of Gillian Hollows appearing last night either..."

Then, Erin's clone looked at Jushiro Ukitake: "Captain Ukitake, please forgive us for the attack on your squad last night, as our Fifth Squad did not do a good job in the rescue."

"From now on, I will have the members of the Fifth Division increase the density and speed of their patrols, so that they can rush to the rescue as soon as a crisis is discovered."

"No, Captain Aizen, this has nothing to do with the rescue team..."

Although the Eleventh Division lost several elite Shinigami last night, Jushiro Ukitake would not attribute the sacrifice of his men to the Fifth Division's failure to provide adequate rescue.

After all, although the Fifth Division is a rescue division, without any prior intelligence, they couldn't possibly have known in advance that the Thirteenth Division would be attacked.

Jushiro Ukitake shook his head and explained to Erin's clone, "Captain Aizen, everyone, actually, it was my team members who discovered a Hollow lurking in the Seireitei last night."

"Then, under the pursuit of the team members, the Hollow revealed a spiritual pressure at the level of a Gillian, and possessed the ability to melt a Shinigami's Zanpakuto."

"In addition, this Hollow also has the ability to control Shinigami and make them puppets. Three of my team members were killed because they did not understand this ability."

"Huh? A Hollow with Gillian's spiritual pressure? Is this still a Gillian?"

Upon hearing Ukitake Jushiro's explanation, Shiba Isshin scratched his head and asked.

"Yes, as long as a Hollow possesses a Gillian-level spiritual pressure, we refer to such a Hollow as a Gillian Hollow."

"I see. No wonder the intrusion of the tens of meters tall Gillian into Seireitei went unnoticed. It turns out it was a Hollow with Gillian-level spiritual pressure..."

"Yes, after that Hollow was killed by our squad members, they notified me immediately, and I then notified Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi..."

"It seems that Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi has made some discovery."

"Otherwise, Captain-Commander Yamamoto wouldn't have convened an emergency meeting of captains."

"This discovery is truly astonishing."

"Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, please tell everyone about your discovery this time."

When Mayuri Kurotsuchi heard Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni call him out to explain, his large eyes darted around in their sockets, giving the impression that they might bulge out at any moment.

"Captains, because of the ability of the Shinigami from the 13th Division who killed the Hollow, by the time I arrived there, the Hollow's corpse had already turned into ice crystals and dissipated. So I only managed to collect some of the Hollow's spiritual particles."

"Oh? Ice crystals?"

Shiba Isshin looked at Ukitake Jushiro in surprise: "Captain Ukitake, does your squad also have someone who uses an ice-type Zanpakuto?"

"Perfect, we have one in our squad too, let's have the two of them train together."

"Haha, I will talk to her. If she wants to communicate with Toshiro Hitsugaya, the third seat, then Captain Shiba will have to ask him to speak to Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Knowing that Shiba Isshin was showing off his squad's genius boy, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Ukitake Jushiro simply smiled.

After learning from Shiba that Rukia was the one who killed the Hollow, Jushiro Ukitake was not surprised.

After all, Rukia is Captain Erin's disciple. Although she is young, her strength is much greater than that of the captains in her own squad.

Kuchiki Byakuya only asked Ukitake Jushiro to make Rukia an ordinary Shinigami because he didn't want Rukia to go on dangerous missions and encounter any danger.

But this does not mean Rukia is weak.

It can only be said that Byakuya Kuchiki's concern for Rukia caused him to subconsciously overlook Rukia's strength.

However, Ukitake Jushiro had no idea what kind of expression Shiba Isshin would have when he learned that the one in his squad who used an ice-type Zanpakuto was a disciple of Captain Erin, just like Hitsugaya Toshiro.

"Humph!"

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was very annoyed that Isshin Shiba had interrupted him.

He snorted coldly, and only continued to recount his discovery after Shiba Isshin and Ukitake Jushiro stopped.

"Everyone, I extracted the Shinigami's spiritual pressure from that Hollow Spirit."

"I suspect that this virtual creature is the product of some kind of experiment!"

As Mayuri Kurotsuchi uttered those final words, the expressions of the captains in the captains' meeting subtly shifted.

The Hollow exudes the spiritual pressure of a Shinigami.

The products of certain experiments...

Mayuri Kurotsuchi practically said "Hollowfication Experiment" outright.

Decades ago, a very serious incident occurred in Seireitei.

Kisuke Urahara, the former captain of the 12th Division, conducted an experiment on "Shinigami Hollowfication," using four captains, three vice-captains, and one vice-Kido Master of the Gotei 13 as test subjects, ultimately capturing them all.

Just as the Central 46 Chambers were judging them, former Second Division Captain Yoruichi Shihouin rushed into the Central 46 Chambers' trial room, rescued Kisuke Urahara and the great demon master Tessai Kishiryu, and escaped to the human world.

Since then, no trace of Hollowfication experiments has been found in the Seireitei.

But now, Mayuri Kurotsuchi has detected the spiritual pressure of a Shinigami from a Hollow that appeared inside the Seireitei...

Could it be that someone in the Seireitei is secretly starting a new Hollowfication experiment?

"A virtualization experiment..."

Kyoraku Shunsui lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Just as Mayuri Kurotsuchi uttered those two sentences, Kyoraku Shunsui instinctively turned his gaze toward Aizen Sousuke, the captain of the 5th Division, and Erin, the captain of the 11th Division.

Aizen Sousuke's face remained adorned with that gentle smile, unchanged even after hearing such information.

For some reason, Kyoraku Shunsui suddenly felt that Aizen Sousuke's smile was somewhat fake.

Erin's expression shifted slightly after hearing Mayuri's words, as if she had remembered something.

Could this be related to Captain Erin?

Or does Captain Erin know something?

Chapter 234 Joint Investigation

"A troubled autumn..."

With a soft sigh, Kyoraku Shunsui felt a slight headache.

Why do I always encounter these kinds of things?

In fact, Erin and his clone knew about this incident after hearing Mayuri Kurotsuchi's test results.

Naturally, both of them looked somewhat bewildered.

However, Erin's clones made people see him as Aizen Sousuke, and Kyoraku Shunsui was naturally affected by Kyoka Suigetsu's ability, only able to see what Erin made him see.

Erin made no attempt to conceal her expression, which Kyoraku Shunsui naturally noticed.

Erin probably never imagined that his heartfelt conversation with Kyoraku Shunsui, revealing all the information about Aizen to him, would instead arouse Kyoraku Shunsui's suspicion.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni scanned the captains in front of him.

Experiments like the Hollowfication of Shinigami are not something that ordinary people can do.

First and foremost, it's about strength.

Without sufficient strength, once the experimental subject goes berserk after becoming intangible, who can stop the berserk intangible experimental subject?

Secondly, there is scientific research talent.

Without scientific talent and a certain amount of scientific practice, even if you were given Hollow Spirits, you wouldn't know how to make these Hollow Spirits react with the Death God's Spirits to complete the Death God's Hollowfication.

The pursuit of increased power is human nature, and this instinct is amplified when one becomes a Grim Reaper.

However, the Grim Reaper's power increase is not so simple.

Every Grim Reaper has their own limits.

Some people are born standing in the sky.

Like Zaraki, who possessed the strongest spiritual pressure from birth, and despite not having learned swordsmanship at a young age, he was able to defeat Unohana Yachiru solely on instinct, making him a born strongest.

Some people are destined to stand in the sky from the moment they are born.

For example, Toshiro Hitsugaya was chosen by Hyōrinmaru, the strongest Zanpakutō of the ice and snow type. His limit is the limit of Hyōrinmaru.

There are also those with exceptional talent in cultivation. Although they cannot compare to the previous two types of people, they can still stand in the heavens through their own efforts.

For example, Yoruichi Shihouin did not have the strongest spiritual pressure by birth, nor was she chosen by the "strongest" Zanpakuto. However, Yoruichi Shihouin's talent for cultivation was the most outstanding. In just a few decades, she was already able to achieve what others had cultivated for hundreds of years.

Furthermore, Yoruichi Shihouin developed a technique comparable to the release of her Zanpakuto, namely "Shunho," which combines Hakuda and Kido. Her talent and aptitude are in no way inferior to others.

These types of people don't worry about their progress at all. They only need enough time to cultivate, and they will surpass many others.

However, not everyone is satisfied with their "limits".

When some people feel that their abilities have reached a limit and there is no room for further improvement, they will try every means to break through their limits.

At this point, "scientific research" became their only way out.