Chapter 171: The Field Trip (II)

Chapter 171: The Field Trip (II)

Guided by Shūhei Hisagi and Hotaru Kanisawa, Kazuya passed by many sections, each echoing the ensuing clash between students and dummy Hollows. Over half of the students in Class 1 struggled against the weakest of constructed Hollows, a given for students with a few months of training.

‘At least Renji is doing fine.’

{The student may not survive if Aizen unleashes his Hollows. They might if you’re not busy rawdogging Momo in the wild like dogs in heat.}

Nami’s unfiltered comments always managed to amuse him. Straightforward to a fault, she perfectly personified her destructive flames.

{But then again, he shouldn’t try something drastic this early.}

He, however, couldn’t shake off the nagging suspicion.‘Why do I have a feeling he will?’

Aizen got away with killing thousands to awaken the Hōgyoku; what stopped Aizen from making another big move? The timeline had shifted dramatically with his presence. Muramasa — whom Kazuya couldn’t find anywhere in the Soul Society — introduced so many unknown variables on his own.

{I’m a bit conflicted. On one hand, we’ll finally get some action. On the other hand... everyone we know in Karakura Town will be put at risk. Fuck, our brazen daughter is messing with my head again.}

‘Shhh. Don’t worry about anything.’

Pushing aside his worries, he followed Shūhei to a secluded part of the compound, which seemed to be a building for storing various equipment. “This is your section. Vice-Captain Ise had this prepared for you.”

Hotaru nodded, looking no less serious than Shūhei. “This is the hardest training mission in history, let alone your Class 1.”

Kazuya narrowed his eyes. Every student had to fight one dummy Hollow, where his group was given a section with about twenty dummy Hollows with more than twice the Reiatsu of the other dummies. The entire 6th year batch would struggle here, let alone a trio of 1st year students.

“I’m flattered that Nanao thinks so highly of me.” He chuckled. “But aren’t these dummies hard to make? Why waste them on our group?”

“Only the 12th Squad specialists can make them. True, it’s strange they will throw them away for your test when you’ve already been selected as a Seated Officer.”

Even Hotaru was skeptical about the arrangement. The whole trial served no purpose as he had more than proven his abilities.

"It’s just procedures," Momo whispered as she grabbed his arms and gave him a gentle push from behind. “Let’s finish this quickly. We have to check the town after!”

She couldn’t wait to be alone with him on this special trip.

Toshiro and Momo slipped from his grasp and swiveled to observe the building where the Hollows exploded.

The silver-haired boy held his chin, frowning in confusion. “What is that white liquid? Bleh, it looks utterly disgusting.”

Meanwhile, Momo silently gazed at Kazuya’s face. Observing him for a long time had given a deep understanding of his expressions. She had never seen him wear such a grave look. Her intuition told her that something was deeply wrong — the dummy Hollows weren’t meant to act the way they did. The explosion was an attempt to harm them — an attempt to assassinate them.

The fact turned her blood cold. Still, she pushed past her emotional strain to discern the identity of the person out for his life. She—she will not let the person get away with this.

“Kazuya-kun,” she whispered, tugging at his sleeve. “Could it be the nobles?”

His eyes widened at her sharp observation. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, rubbing her hair. “No, they don’t have the balls.”

“Then who?”

“I don’t know. I want you both to act like this never happened.”

The fighting happening everywhere within the power plant neatly masked the explosion sound.

Toshiro’s brows furrowed in bewilderment. “Why, Nii-san? Shouldn’t we report this incident?”

“Shiro,” he said in a firm tone. “I’ll explain my reasoning later. For now, just do as I say. Can you do that?”

Toshiro sighed and nodded. “Understood, Nii-san.”

“Momo, can you?”

Momo’s response was more visceral. She clung to him, her body pressing close, as if seeking comfort or perhaps offering it. “Your word is my command, Kazuya-kun... I’ll never disobey you.”

{Hahaha. This kinky little slut.}

“Meow.” Yoruichi landed beside him and licked his face. “What is that foul-smelling fluid?”

“You’re late to the party,” he replied, looking down at her with a look of disappointment. “Well, Yoruichi. Take Shiro and Renji to Rangiku and Nanao. I’m going out with Momo.”