While Cyrus was taking the three women toward the approaching Shinigami, the Gotei 13 expedition had already reached the outskirts of the forest.
An operation led by five captains was extremely rare, which alone showed how seriously Seireitei regarded the sudden appearance of this enormous forest.
Hueco Mundo was dangerous, but with five captains present, the Hollows they encountered along the way posed little difficulty.
The expedition advanced without incident until the immense wall of greenery finally appeared ahead.
The group stopped beside a large dune for a brief rest.
Soi Fon climbed to the top and stared at the forest in the distance, unable to completely hide her surprise.
Hueco Mundo had always been a dead, yellow wasteland.
Endless dunes formed almost its entire landscape, and the few trees that existed were nothing more than dried husks that looked as though they had been dead for centuries.
That barren scenery had remained unchanged for so long that measuring it in ordinary years almost felt meaningless.
Yet now, wherever she looked, vibrant green filled nearly her entire field of vision.
The forest was enormous.
"Captain Soi Fon, what do you think could have caused this?"
A voice suddenly came from behind her.
Soi Fon's body tensed.
She spun around immediately.
Aizen stood only a short distance away, wearing his usual gentle expression and looking completely harmless.
Soi Fon's eyes, however, turned cold.
He had approached that close without her noticing.
It seemed everyone had underestimated Captain Aizen.
She filed the thought away, then turned back toward the forest.
"Whatever created something on this scale won't be easy to deal with."
"True."
Aizen stepped forward until he stood beside her.
"But our deployment is rather excessive as well."
He looked toward the forest before casually turning his head.
"Even if the Captain-Commander considers this important, sending this many captains merely to investigate seems unnecessary."
A faint glint crossed his glasses.
"Unless our objective involves something beyond reconnaissance. Were you given another assignment, Captain Soi Fon?"
"You only need to worry about your own orders, Captain Aizen."
Soi Fon shut the question down immediately.
"I see."
Aizen smiled as though mildly embarrassed by his own curiosity.
"I was only asking because I brought several members of my division with me. Naturally, I'd like to return them all safely."
Soi Fon frowned but said nothing more. She simply turned and descended the dune.
A moment later, Gin Ichimaru wandered up to take her place.
With his hands tucked into his sleeves, he looked toward the vast forest.
"It really is spectacular, isn't it, Captain Aizen?"
He sounded as though they were discussing the weather.
"It is."
Aizen remained calm.
"Whoever created it must possess tremendous power. I doubt this mission will be as simple as it first appeared."
"Well, we can only do our best."
Gin's familiar smile remained in place.
"Our orders are only to investigate, after all."
"That is true."
Aizen nodded.
Neither man saw much point in continuing the performance between themselves, especially when there was nothing useful to gain from it.
The Shinigami resting below could see the two captains speaking on the dune, but no one paid much attention.
Before long, Aizen descended, and Gin followed shortly afterward.
"We're about to enter an unknown forest that appeared without warning."
Unohana Retsu addressed the assembled expedition.
"We have no idea what may be waiting inside, so everyone should remain alert."
Then she looked toward Soi Fon.
"To confirm, our objective is to identify whatever created this place, correct?"
Her wording made it obvious that she had also overheard part of Aizen's earlier conversation with Soi Fon.
"Yes."
Soi Fon nodded.
"Once the source has been identified, the rest of you may withdraw."
She had specifically said the rest of you.
Meaning she herself intended to stay.
Byakuya frowned.
"Captain Soi Fon, creating something of this size would require an unimaginable amount of spiritual power, regardless of what kind of ability was used."
His tone remained controlled, but his warning was direct.
"Anything capable of accomplishing this is likely extremely dangerous."
Investigation was one thing.
Attempting an assassination afterward was another entirely.
If the target was powerful enough, Soi Fon might simply throw her life away.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that, Captain Kuchiki."
Soi Fon shook her head.
"I know what I'm doing."
She offered no further explanation.
After the short rest, the expedition resumed its advance.
The Shinigami spread out slightly as they moved quickly toward the forest.
Just as they were about to reach its edge—
A brilliant beam erupted from between the trees.
It struck the sand directly in front of the expedition.
Boom!
The explosion tore open the ground.
Every Shinigami stopped instantly and assumed a combat-ready stance.
"Shinigami."
A voice came from above.
"You are not welcome here."
Coyote Starrk stood on one of the enormous branches at the forest's edge, one hand resting against the trunk as he looked down at them.
Internally, even Starrk was somewhat surprised.
Every one of these Shinigami seemed powerful.
A force like this could move through most of Hueco Mundo almost unopposed unless a sufficient number of high-level Menos gathered against them.
"A Hollow!"
The Shinigami identified Starrk immediately.
But his almost completely human appearance made their expressions grow even more serious.
A Vasto Lorde.
One of the highest classes of Menos.
Creatures at that level were capable of fighting captain-class Shinigami, and the strongest among them could even overwhelm one.
And Starrk wasn't alone.
One figure after another appeared on the surrounding branches.
None bothered concealing their spiritual pressure.
Being stared down by so many Vasto Lorde-level Hollows placed enormous pressure on the lower-ranked Shinigami despite the presence of five captains.
"This could become troublesome."
Aizen adjusted his glasses, his voice turning grave.
"Looks like we may have quite a battle ahead of us."
Even Gin's usual smile had faded.
They still had roles to play.
But this time, it wasn't entirely an act.
Nearly every Hollow gathered before them possessed power in the same general class as Baraggan.
"I'll warn you again."
Starrk frowned when the Shinigami showed no sign of leaving.
"This isn't your territory."
"Why bother talking to them?"
A rough, impatient voice suddenly rang out.
A white blur shot from the forest.
Every time its feet struck the ground, sand exploded behind it.
The figure crossed the distance in moments and charged straight toward the Shinigami formation.
Clang!
A blade intercepted it.
Byakuya had moved first.
His Zanpakutō stopped the charging figure cold, and he immediately followed with a rapid slash.
"Bastard! You've got some nerve getting in my way!"
The white figure sprang backward, avoiding the blade.
Only then did most of the Shinigami get a proper look at it.
It resembled a large wolf, its body almost completely covered in white bone armor.
"Shoot to Kill, Shinso."
Gin spoke suddenly.
His hand had barely moved when the Zanpakutō concealed inside his sleeve extended with terrifying speed, stabbing toward the wolf-like Hollow from the side.
Clang!
Another figure appeared in front of the attack.
A young, fully Arrancarized Hollow caught Gin's extending blade and stopped it before it could reach its target.