Bleach: The Path to Transcendence

“Whirr!”

A crisp sound echoed out, and the previously calm space rippled with intense fluctuations.

In the void, a tear suddenly appeared, revealing a Garganta.

Ginjo Kugo's expression faltered as he saw the Garganta appear out of nowhere.

“Bang!”

From behind, Tsukishima Shukuro unexpectedly kicked out, sending him squarely into the Garganta.

“Shin….”

Inside the Garganta, Ginjo Kugo, looking bewildered, was about to speak when he heard Tsukishima Shukuro's voice drifting in:

“Go forward, don't look back, someone in Hueco Mundo will meet you!”

A moment later, Tsukishima Shukuro nodded in satisfaction, watching the now completely closed Garganta.

“Bang!”

Above the originally peaceful sands of Hueco Mundo, a spatial rift tore open without warning.

In an instant, a green flash shot out from the rift, none other than Ginjo Kugo.

As soon as Ginjo Kugo landed, he quickly scanned the desolate sand sea before him.

“Hoo~ What dense spiritual energy!”

Even though he possessed a fragment of the Hogyoku, Ginjo Kugo was still shocked by the extremely dense spiritual energy in Hueco Mundo.

He greedily inhaled the ubiquitous free-floating spiritual particles, lost in his delight.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out.

A young man in a white robe appeared, his dark brown hair slightly curled, his grey-blue eyes carrying a hint of languor, and a bit of stubble on his chin.

It was Stark, who instantly appeared before Ginjo Kugo.

“You…”

Ginjo Kugo's expression instantly turned wary as he saw the newcomer, filled with vigilance towards Stark.

He immediately recognized that this was the guy who had broken into his room and implanted the Hogyoku fragment in him.

Seeing Ginjo Kugo looking like he was facing a great enemy, Stark couldn't help but sigh softly, shake his head, and slowly say:

“Let's go, everyone is waiting for you at the Ranking Battlefield!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Stark used Sonido again, transforming into a pale blue stream of light, rushing towards the sky.

Seeing this, Ginjo Kugo immediately used Sonido, turning into a green flash, closely following behind.

He discovered that in the spiritually dense environment of Hueco Mundo, using Sonido was much easier and more convenient than using Fullbring.

“Hmm, Sonido?”

Stark, in front, was slightly surprised to see Ginjo Kugo using Sonido in a human body, but he quickly understood and muttered to himself:

“As expected of the person favored by the King, to be able to use Sonido in a human body.”

Before long, Stark led Ginjo Kugo to a giant transparent glass pillar.

This was the Hueco Mundo elevator built by Rudbornn, reaching directly below the Sky Top and extending deep into the Forest of Menos.

Stark extended his right palm and gently stroked the glass wall.

Instantly, the glass wall bloomed with a radiant light, sucking Stark and Ginjo Kugo in together.

In an instant, the two rode the elevator, directly reaching the Ranking Battlefield above the Sky Top.

“After you fight my Septima to Primera Espada one by one, and defeat them all, then go back to the World of the Living!”

Hearing this, Ginjo Kugo couldn't help but swallow, a hint of bitterness appearing on his face.

He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

Then, he obediently transformed into a green flash, landing on the Ranking Battlefield.

His first opponent was a small boy wearing a bone crown, with bright yellow hair and some freckles on his face, none other than the Septima Espada, Wonderweiss Margela.

Arranging for Ginjo Kugo to come to Hueco Mundo and fight with his Espada one by one was an idea that Yhwach had planned long ago.

After all, letting Ginjo Kugo fight them was both a training for Ginjo Kugo and a way to hone his Espada.

After all, both sides were whetstones on the road to growth for the protagonist, Kurosaki Ichigo.

Strengthening them was also indirectly adding weight to Kurosaki Ichigo's growth.

… …

At the same time, in a wasteland on the outskirts of the Rukongai in Soul Society, a square black barrier completely enveloped the surrounding hundreds of meters.

Inside the barrier, two figures were fiercely clashing, none other than the newly appointed Captain of the Tenth Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro, and Ito Makoto.

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

The sound of metal clashing constantly rang out.

Ito Makoto wielded his sword with one hand, fighting Hitsugaya Toshiro in close combat as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Unlike Ito Makoto's composure, large beads of sweat rolled down Hitsugaya Toshiro's forehead, his hands tightly gripping Hyorinmaru, his breathing also slightly rapid, forming a stark contrast between the two.

“Ito-sensei, why did you refuse to become the Captain of the Tenth Division?

You are clearly much stronger than me.”

Obviously, as the newly appointed Captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro already knew that he was not the first choice of Captain-Commander Shunsui Kyoraku.

Before appointing him as the Captain of the Tenth Division, Shunsui Kyoraku had gone to find Ito Makoto.

Hearing this, Ito Makoto only smiled faintly, saying with a gentle expression:

“Toshiro, it's not that the stronger you are, the more suitable you are to be a Captain.

You have been in the Tenth Division for many years, you are already familiar with the daily operations of the Division, and you are deeply loved by the members.

You mastered Bankai at a young age, and in my and everyone's hearts, you are the best candidate for the Captain of the Tenth Division.

As for strength, you are still young, and I believe that after a hundred years of accumulation, you will definitely reach my current level.”

After hearing this, a relaxed smile appeared on Hitsugaya Toshiro's face.

“Alright, Toshiro, enough idle talk, let's see the real deal.

Haven't you already mastered Bankai?

Use it and let me see!”

Bankai? Right here?

My Bankai has a great impact on the surroundings, will directly using Bankai have an impact on Soul Society?

Hitsugaya Toshiro raised his head, looking at the Square Barrier that enveloped them.

Ito Makoto couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Hitsugaya Toshiro's words:

“Don't worry, with your spiritual pressure, you can't break through my Square Barrier, just use Bankai directly.”

After hearing this, Hitsugaya Toshiro no longer hesitated:

“Ito-sensei, be careful!”

Then, he held the long sword in his hand horizontally, and let out a low roar:

“Bankai—Daiguren Hyorinmaru!”

In an instant, a pure white spiritual pressure soared into the sky, almost breaking through the blockade of the Square Barrier, but in the end, it was still firmly sealed within this barrier.

“Huff!”

In the next moment, Hitsugaya Toshiro's ice wings fluttered behind him, and holding Daiguren Hyorinmaru, he turned into an afterimage and attacked Ito Makoto fiercely.

“Whoosh!”

Unexpectedly, Ito Makoto was faster than him, and Shunpo directly avoided this powerful blow.

Seeing that the attack missed, Hitsugaya Toshiro immediately withdrew and retreated, constantly waving the Daiguren Hyorinmaru in his hand.

Every time he swung his sword, a frosty spiritual pressure would escape from the tip of the sword, and then turn into countless ice blades, attacking Ito Makoto from all directions.

However, these ice blades were all shattered by Ito Makoto with a casual swing of his sword pressure, seeing this scene, the corners of Hitsugaya Toshiro's mouth unconsciously rose slightly.

When Ito Makoto was covered in shattered ice crystals, Hitsugaya Toshiro raised his long sword high and shouted:

“Thousand-Year Ice Prison!”

In an instant, countless cold air in the air gathered and turned into ice pillars, and in a very short period of time, these ice pillars began to close, turning into a square giant ice prison, as if to burst the Square Barrier.

“Rekkijō!”

However, at the moment before the Thousand-Year Ice Prison was formed, a strong black aura emerged from Ito Makoto's blade, turning into six interlocking black rings, shooting towards the giant ice prison that was about to take shape.

Since the spiritual pressure of the Shinigami clone broke through to the Second Seat, Ito Makoto can now release six rings of Rekkijō with his own power.

“Whirr!”

The giant ice prison, as majestic as a mountain, came into contact with the seemingly small black rings, a force of indescribable shock spread out, instantly turning the ice prison, as majestic as a mountain, into dust.

In the next moment, Ito Makoto, holding Annihilation, directly pressed it against Hitsugaya Toshiro's throat.

“So, the gap between me and Ito-sensei is so big?”

Hitsugaya Toshiro showed a frustrated expression, he never expected that he had already made a full effort without reservation, but was still so easily resolved by Ito Makoto.

Originally, he thought that even if he was not as good as Ito Makoto, he should at least have the power to fight.

As a result, he couldn't even force the opponent to use Bankai.

“Good job, Toshiro!”

But Ito Makoto encouraged him, in Ito Makoto's view, the combat power he had just shown was not a problem to beat Kensei Muguruma.

The reason why he performed poorly in the original work was mainly because he was basically fighting high-end battles.

According to his current level of strength, according to Ito Makoto's speculation, given him three to five hundred years, it would be very possible to grow to the level of Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.