A day had passed since the shinigami arrived in that world and they decided to stay in Fairy Tail so that it would be easier for them to get information about the whereabouts of the hollows.
Because they had no place to stay for the night, Makarov offered them to stay in the guest rooms.
For the sake of decency, it was decided that the girls (Rukia, Rangiku and Retsu) would stay in one room while the boys (Ichigo, Renji, Ikkaku and Toshiro) would stay in the other.
Toshiro left the room early in the morning, as he was used to early mornings due to his position as captain.
Besides, today there was something important that needed to be done and he needed everyone to be present to report back.
He went downstairs for at least a cup of coffee, but what he saw was something that made him slap his face in frustration.
Lying on the floor was Rangiku, along with Cana.
The two of them sleeping peacefully.
From what he could remember, Rangiku had spent the whole time drinking with her new drinking companion.
He had hoped she would quit and go to rest, but he could tell he was wrong and she had been drinking so much that she ended up drunk enough to sleep on the floor.
For Toshiro, it wasn't the first time he saw something like that, so he went over to her and shook her a little.
"Rangiku. Wake up." said Toshiro.
Unfortunately, all he got was a groan.
"Captain, you shouldn't act like that. That way you won't get Karin to notice you. If you take my advice, you'll make her fall at your feet." said Rangiku with her eyes closed as a sign that she was still asleep.
"She'd be the last person I'd ask for advice on that. But what am I thinking?!" asked Toshiro mentally as he blushed slightly in embarrassment.
He shook his head to shake off those thoughts before grabbing a bucket full of water and dumping the contents on her, causing her to wake up with a scream.
"Nap's over." said Toshiro.
"Captain! Haven't you ever been taught that you shouldn't treat a lady like that?" asked Rangiku.
"Yes, but you're not a lady. You're a drunk." began Toshiro, receiving a pout from the vice-captain. "Anyway, I'll go make coffee. I'll make some for you too." said Toshiro as he went to the kitchen.
"Mirajane won't be upset? I was told that she's the one in charge of the kitchen." said Rangiku as she sat at the counter.
"I talked to her about it while you were out carousing with your new friend and she said she didn't mind." said Toshiro.
"I understand. By the way, what I said before about Karin, I meant it." said Rangiku with a wink.
That made Toshiro growl in frustration as he saw that what she seemed to have said in her sleep, actually turned out that she was awake when she said it.
"What are you two talking about my sister?"
The two turned their heads to the side to see Ichigo arrive downstairs with a tired expression.
"Oh, I was just saying that…" began Rangiku before, in the next instant, Toshiro clamped his hand over her mouth.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm sure you must have heard wrong." said Toshiro.
"Mmm. Maybe. I'm kind of tired." began Ichigo as he rubbed his eyes. "I better go get some more sleep." said Ichigo as he went back to the room he was sleeping in.
"If you even think of saying anything, I'll have you take care of all the paperwork for the 10th division and without a drop of alcohol, got it?" asked Toshiro with a death stare, causing the vice-captain to nod quickly.
A couple of hours later, all the guild members and the rest of the shinigami were in the main hall going about their business like any other day.
It was then that the guild master stood over the bar counter.
"Listen up everyone!" exclaimed Makarov, drawing everyone's attention. "As you know, Captain Hitsugaya and his men came to look for some hollows that have found their way to this world. It may be about their mission, but I'm sure that, if something were to happen, you wouldn't stand by while they take care of business, would you?"
"Of course not, old man! A couple of nasty creatures like that won't make me back down!" exclaimed Natsu.
"Aye, sir." said Happy.
"I think the same as Salamander. If I ever see one of those things you say you're looking for, I'll break its bones one by one." said Gajeel with a toothy grin as he cracked his knuckles.
"That's too much even for you." said Lily with a bead of sweat.
"That's right, Captain Hitsugaya. We don't care what you say. We're willing to fight even against that arrancar who says it can be with them." said Erza.
"I know. Even though I've only been here for a short time, I could see that despite being a bunch of lunatics, no offense…" began Toshiro.
"No offense." said Gray.
"You are also a group of brave warriors, but that wasn't enough to face the hollows. That's why I told master Makarov yesterday about something that might help you in that regard." said Toshiro.
"What is it about?" asked Wendy.
"Test fights." said Makarov.
"Test fights?" asked Lucy.
"It's about fights between one of you against one of Captain Hitsugaya's team. That way, not only will it allow them to see what you are capable of, but you will also be able to see what they are capable of and thus, be better prepared for when the time comes to fight the hollows." said Makarov.
A smile of excitement appeared on Natsu's face upon hearing that.
"Great! I like that! I'm on fire!" exclaimed Natsu with excitement.
"Yeah, I admit that's not a bad idea. It might even be fun." said Ichigo with a smile.
"So, we're agreed. We'll need volunteers for the first fight. Anyone volunteering?" asked Toshiro.
"Me." began Ikkaku raising his hand. "If it comes to test fights, I want to be the first to test the strength of the people of this world." said Ikkaku with a toothy grin.
"In that case, I offer myself as well. I have unfinished business with that bald guy." said Gajeel.
"Oh, you're going to regret it right away." said Ikkaku with an anime streak in his head.
"Right. Let's go to the combat zone." said Makarov.
Later, they all went to the back of the guild, where there was a field suitable for fights like the one that was about to take place.
"Hmm. That's not fair. I wanted to go first." said Natsu.
"Well now you'll have to wait your turn, like everyone else." said Lucy.
"What can you tell us about your partner?" asked Erza.
"The only thing I can tell you is that he's pretty stubborn when it comes to fighting to the end" said Ichigo.
"Just like Gajeel." said Lily with his arms crossed.
"Something tells me they would get along if they weren't fighting." said Renji.
"I hope you're ready." said Gajeel with a smile.
"That depends." said Ikkaku with a smile.
"On what?" asked Gajeel confused.
"On whether you are prepared to die." said Ikkaku.
That alone caused a smile of excitement to form on the iron dragon slayer's face.
"Hehe. I almost feel sorry for fighting you. Almost." began Gajeel before taking a deep breath. "Iron Dragon's Roar!" shouted Gajeel shooting a tornado of metal pieces that flew towards the shinigami, but he quickly moved out of the way.
"Tsk. You didn't give me time for my lucky dance, but I guess that doesn't matter now" began Ikkaku before placing his sheathed sword in front of him. "Extend, Hozukimaru!" shouted Ikkaku as his sword took the shape of a naginata.
"Wow. Is that a shikai?" asked Wendy.
"Yes. And I warn you, it may be more than meets the eye." said Ichigo remembering his fight against him.
Ikkaku lunged towards him with his weapon raised and swiftly brought it down towards him, but Gajeel covered his arm with iron scales and used it to block the attack.
"Iron Dragon's Sword!" shouted Gajeel turning his other arm into a sword with blades that started spinning like a chainsaw and tried to hit the shinigami with it, but Ikkaku jumped back to dodge it.
"Yes! I like this better already!" exclaimed Ikkaku jubilantly before both opponents launched themselves at each other.
As they approached, they began a sword duel, trying to hit the other with their weapon, only to be blocked or dodged.
After a clash of weapons, the two pushed each other.
"Ha. Is that all you've got? Iron Dragon's Lance!" shouted Gajeel turning his arms into spears that shot like bullets at him.
Ikkaku whirled his naginata like a propeller rapidly, managing to repel the spears.
Just as he repelled the last spear…
"Iron Dragon's Club!" shouted Gajeel turning his arm into a metal pole that he quickly extended towards him, managing to hit him in the stomach and push him back a bit.
"That hurt. Looks like I'll have to take you seriously." said Ikkaku with a grin.
"Yeah, you should have." said Gajeel.
"In that case, don't regret it later." said Ikkaku before charging towards him with his weapon ready to attack.
Once again, Gajeel covered his arms with iron scales and blocked the attack.
Suddenly, however, the naginata split into three pieces linked in a chain, which shocked the iron dragon slayer to such an extent that he couldn't react when Ikkaku threw the third part to hit him hard on the head, pushing him backwards.
After recovering, Gajeel raised his head to see with surprise Ikkaku holding his weapon that had become a three-part nunchaku.
"What? Did you really think my weapon wasn't hiding anything? You apparently didn't take me seriously either." said Ikkaku.
"Interesting. I would never have guessed that his weapon could change like that." said Erza in surprise.
"I wonder how Gajeel will react to that." said Lily.
"Heh. I admit I wasn't expecting that, but it doesn't change anything." said Gajeel before covering his entire body with iron scales and lunging towards the shinigami, just as he lunged towards the iron dragon slayer.
When the two reached each other, they began to strike at each other.
Ikkaku attacked with his split weapon, managing to give him some blows in the body that he was able to resist thanks to the scales while Gajeel threw blows with his fists hardened by the scales, managing to give him some blows in the head and body, but Ikkaku stood his ground while smiling with emotion.
Finally, as Gajeel blocked a blow from Ikkaku's nunchaku with one arm, he pulled back the other fist that was covered in scales.
"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" shouted Gajeel managing to hit the shinigami in the face so hard that it pushed him back.
"Fuap. You hit pretty hard, but you're going to need a harder punch than that to beat me." said Ikkaku.
"In that case, I'll give you whatever you want." said Gajeel before lunging towards him with his fist ready to strike.
However, when he found himself close to him, Ikkaku tried to hit him with his nunchaku, but Gajeel stopped for a moment to dodge it.
Suddenly, Ikkaku turned his weapon back into a naginata and with a quick movement, he gave Gajeel a cut so hard that it pierced through his iron covering, making him groan from the pain, but he managed to resist it and give Ikkaku one last punch in the face, making him back up a little.
They both breathed heavily before smiling in excitement and preparing to fight again when…
"Enough!" exclaimed Toshiro causing him to stop. "You've fought enough! I declare this match a draw!"
"Hey, no fair captain!" exclaimed Ikkaku.
"Yes, shorty. I was just about to beat the crap out of that guy." said Gajeel.
"I'll ignore that thing he said." muttered Toshiro with an anime streak in his head. "Don't forget that this is a test fight, so there's no need to fight seriously."
"Tsk. Whatever. Listen to me good, metal punk. Next time we fight, things will be different." said Ikkaku.
"Same here, baldy. There won't be a shorty to save you next time." said Gajeel.
The two looked at each other with toothy grins as a tense atmosphere formed around them.
"T-They're a little scary." said Wendy nervously.
"It's what the saying goes. God raises them and they flock together." said Gray.
"Same here." said Rukia.
"Gentlemen, come with me if you want me to treat your wounds." said Retsu.
"May I come with you, Captain Unohana?" asked Wendy.
"Sure." said Retsu before going to the side with Wendy and the two opponents so she could heal them without any problems.
"Alright, the next fight will be…" began Toshiro.
"Me, me, me! I'm next!" exclaimed Natsu waving his raised hand.
"You could at least hide your enthusiasm." said Lucy with a bead of sweat.
"Okay. Does anyone want to fight him?" asked Toshiro.
"Actually, I already know who I want to fight." said Natsu with an excited smile.
"Against whom?" asked Toshiro.
"You!" exclaimed Natsu pointing his finger at the captain. "Toshiro, fight me!"
"Huh?" asked everyone in surprise.
"Has your brain melted, you idiot? Are you seriously planning to fight a division captain?" asked Gray.
"Same here. You don't stand a chance against him." said Rukia.
"Shut up already! I won't know until I try!" said Natsu.
"You want to fight me? All right, I'll do it." said Toshiro.
"Captain, are you sure?" asked Renji.
"This is a test fight and if he wants to fight me, I'll grant him that." said Toshiro.
"Oh yes! Let's go there!" said Natsu excitedly before going to his position just like the captain.
"Your friend is lost." said Ichigo.
"*Sigh* I know." said Lucy.
Soon after, Natsu and Toshiro found themselves in the combat zone, with Toshiro looking at him calmly and seriously while Natsu was looking at the captain excitedly.
"You must be very confident to want to fight me." said Toshiro.
"Of course I am! I'm very strong and I'll kick your ass!" declared Natsu.
"If you're so confident, I'll let you launch the first attack." said Toshiro.
"Very well. You asked for it." began Natsu before puffing out his cheeks. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" shouted Natsu shooting a blast of fire from his mouth that engulfed the captain completely, to the surprise and horror of some onlookers.
However, when the fire dissipated, Toshiro was nowhere to be seen, much to the confusion of the fire dragon slayer.
Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him and quickly stepped aside, managing to avoid a sword slash from Toshiro, who had managed to get behind him.
"How did he get there?" asked Happy.
"It was through shunpo." said Rukia.
"Shunpo?" asked Gray.
"It's a technique of the shinigami that allows us to move at a very high speed." said Rukia.
"I mean, he didn't teleport, he just moved so fast that we didn't see him move." said Erza surprised by that.
"Fire Dragon's Shoots!" shouted Natsu shooting several fireballs, but Toshiro used shunpo to dodge the balls as he was getting closer to the fire dragon slayer.
When he got close to him, he tried to hit him with his sword, but Natsu managed to dodge it, although he lost a few hairs in the process.
The next instant, Natsu lunged at him like a bullet.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" shouted Natsu wrapping his fist in fire and throwing it forward, but Toshiro used his sword to block the attack, though the force of the punch made him slide back a bit.
"I see you are more skilled than I imagined." said Toshiro.
"Thanks for the compliment." said Natsu.
"But let's see what you can do in the face of this." began Toshiro before extending his zanpakuto to the side. "Reign over the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" shouted Toshiro, causing a crescent shaped blade to form attached to his hilt by a long metal chain and, from his sword, an ice dragon with red eyes to form.
Needless to say, that came as quite a shock to the mages.
"Impossible. Does he have ice powers like me?!" asked Gray in shock.
"That's right. Captain Hitsugaya's zanpakuto is considered one of the strongest ice zanpakuto in the Soul Society." said Renji.
"I-Is it just me or is it getting colder here all of a sudden?" asked Happy shivering as he hugged himself.
"It's also a thing of Captain Hitsugaya's power. The power given off by his released zanpakuto is so great that it can actually affect the weather." said Rukia.
That only left the mages even more shocked, for that meant that the captains were truly powerful people and that their friend was beyond lost.
At least that's what they thought, because Natsu, instead…
He was laughing.
"HAHAHA. Do you have ice powers like Gray?! HAHAHA. Then this will be easier than I thought!" said Natsu as he laughed.
"You think so? Why don't you prove it?" asked Toshiro calmly.
"Of course." began Natsu before jumping high in the air. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" shouted Natsu creating two streams of fire coming out of his arms and with a somersault, he threw both streams forward like whips.
It was then that Toshiro swung his sword, causing the ice dragon to roar before lunging against the fire attack.
Natsu smiled arrogantly as he thought he would easily melt it, but then, the moment the streams of fire impacted against the dragon, they froze, much to his shock.
"What?! It froze my attack?!" asked Natsu in shock just as the dragon stood in front of him with its jaw open to bite.
Quickly, Natsu propelled himself back to the ground to avoid the dragon's bite.
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" shouted Natsu creating in his hands above his head a large sphere of fire which he launched towards the dragon, but the dragon managed to devour the attack in one bite, disintegrating it in the process, to shock him again.
With a sword swing, Toshiro made the ice dragon roar before swooping towards Natsu.
Natsu had to jump away quickly, managing to avoid the impact zone that quickly froze when the ice dragon touched it.
Before Natsu could react, the half-moon blade with chain wrapped around his leg and with a jerk, sent him upwards before sending him crashing to the ground.
As he groaned in pain, Natsu felt something familiar and looked down at his leg to see in shock that it had frozen.
"Compared to the captain-commander's, your flames are weak." said Toshiro.
"W-What do you mean?" asked Natsu in confusion.
"The power of the captain-commander's zanpakuto is fire. However, his flames are so powerful that even I can't freeze them." said Toshiro.
Natsu was shocked to hear that before he began to chuckle lightly.
"What's so funny to you?" asked Toshiro with an arched eyebrow.
"Are you saying that my power and your boss's power is similar?" asked Natsu as he started to get up despite his frozen leg. "Hehe. That only excites me more. If you say his flames are powerful, then…" began Natsu before covering his body with a large flame of fire. "I just have to increase the power of mine!"
Needless to say, that came as a bit of a surprise to the shinigami, including Toshiro, as the fire quickly melted the ice on the frozen leg.
"Unbelievable. His power has increased more than it was before." thought Ichigo in surprise.
"Hmm. You have power, I'll give you that, but will you be able to back that up?" asked Toshiro before making the ice dragon lunge towards him.
"Bring it on, I'll take that dragon of yours down!" exclaimed Natsu before shooting towards the dragon like a fireball. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" shouted Natsu heading towards the dragon's open mouth.
Just as he reached it, the dragon devoured it whole before impacting the ground, generating a curtain of steam in the process as the ice dragon retreated.
As Toshiro undid his shikai, he moved closer to the impact zone and when the steam dissipated, Natsu could be seen conscious and breathing heavily.
"Impressive." began Toshiro drawing the fire dragon slayer's attention. "Anyone who was devoured by Hyorinmaru would turn into a block of ice, but you are still conscious. If you keep training, you might actually get stronger." said Toshiro before walking away.
"T-Toshiro!" exclaimed Natsu causing the captain to stop and turn his head to see him trying to get up with difficulty. "Y-You'll see… I'll get stronger… So much stronger than you… You won't be able to freeze my flames!" declared Natsu with a look of pure determination.
Toshiro, though he didn't show it, was surprised by the dragon slayer's determination.
"I'll be waiting for that moment." said Toshiro before continuing on his way.
Natsu was about to fall to the ground when Lucy and Happy reached his side and grabbed him in time.
"Natsu, are you okay?" asked Lucy with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine." said Natsu.
"You really are one of a kind." began Rangiku as she approached him. "Not many people get a compliment from the captain. He seems to have seen potential in you."
"I agree, Natsu. Someday you'll get so strong that he'll even say you're as strong as his captain-commander." said Happy.
"Well, let's not overdo it either." said Rangiku.
"Yeah, it's one thing to surpass a captain, it's another to surpass the captain-commander." said Lucy.
"Heh. That's for you to say. I'm already looking forward to fighting that old man." said Natsu with a toothy grin.
"Only you would think of something crazy like that." said Lucy with a bead of sweat.
"That's Natsu for you." said Happy.
Soon after, they took Natsu to Retsu and Wendy so they could treat his combat-generated wounds.
"Alright. In view of the time it is, there is time left for one more fight. Any volunteers?" asked Toshiro.
"I volunteer, Captain Hitsugaya." said Erza raising her hand.
"Okay. Anyone else?" asked Toshiro.
No one raised their hand until.
"Me." said Ichigo raising his hand.
"Very well. Take positions." said Toshiro before the two chosen ones went to the battlefield.
"What can you tell us about Erza?" asked Rukia.
"Well, mainly that she's one of the strongest in the guild." said Lucy.
"Yeah, your friend will be lucky if he comes out of this fight without a scratch." said Charle.
"Ha. I think you're wrong. It will be your friend who will be lucky if she gets out of here without any damage." said Renji with a knowing smile.
That confused as well as worried the mages, as they didn't know what the substitute shinigami was capable of.
"As in the previous fight Natsu started. I'll let you deliver the first attack." said Erza.
"How thoughtful. I hope you don't regret it." said Ichigo taking his zanpakuto and raising it high. "Getsuga Tenshou!" shouted Ichigo bringing the sword down quickly, launching a huge wave of energy that destroyed the ground in its path.
Erza's eyes widened for a moment before she moved quickly to dodge the wave that left a furrow in the ground.
Needless to say, that surprised the red-haired mage to no end, as she hadn't expected such power.
"Well, do you give up now?" asked Ichigo.
Hearing that, Erza shook her head to shake off her nerves and looked at the substitute shinigami with a smile.
"On the contrary. Seeing what you can do has made it clear to me that I shouldn't take you lightly." said Erza.
"I'm glad to hear that." said Ichigo.
"Now it's my turn. Requip! Heaven's Wheel Armor!" shouted Erza as his armor changed completely.
"Wow. Truly her magic is impressive." said Renji.
"Well you haven't seen anything yet." said Happy.
Quickly, Erza took flight before several blades formed around him.
"Dance, my blades!" shouted Erza making her blades point at the substitute shinigami before shooting off.
Unfortunately, Ichigo managed to move his sword at great speed despite his size, managing to repel and block all the swords, to the surprise of the red-haired mage.
Just as he repelled another sword, Ichigo quickly disappeared.
Recognizing that technique as the one used by Toshiro in their previous fight, Erza quickly turned around just as Ichigo appeared there and gave him a kick that pushed him back.
When Erza turned her gaze towards him, she was shocked when she saw him standing in the air as if stepping on the ground.
"Can he fly?" asked Erza.
"Can he fly!" asked the others at the same time.
"All of us shinigami can fly, it's a matter of manipulating the reiryoku." said Toshiro.
"I must admit that I didn't expect that, but I'm not giving up." said Erza.
"Just as well. It would be boring if this ended soon." said Ichigo with a grin.
Summoning a sword in each hand, Erza lunged towards Ichigo, who lunged towards her and when the two reached each other, they began a sword duel, with each attack being blocked or dodged.
Everyone was surprised to see Erza, who was considered the strongest of them all, to be fighting someone who was on par with her.
Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel, who were in the infirmary with Ikkaku and Retsu were also watching the fight in amazement.
Just as Ichigo dodged another attack from Erza, he used shunpo to get behind her and hit her in the back sending her to the side.
Erza quickly turned around and charged towards him with her two swords at the ready.
"Trinity Sword!" shouted Erza launching, with a slashing motion of her two swords, a Delta-shaped wave.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" shouted Ichigo launching a wave of energy that neutralized Erza's attack and followed its path until it collided with her, generating an explosion that sent her to the ground wrapped in a smoke screen.
Ichigo dropped to the ground and when the smoke cleared, everyone could see that Erza was standing in her adamantine armor, which she had used to protect herself from the attack.
"Ugh. If I hadn't changed armor, I had been knocked down. You have a lot of power and that's because you haven't used the shikai form." said Erza.
"Who said I didn't use it?" asked Ichigo.
"What?" asked Erza.
"Let me tell you something. The size of a zanpakuto is based on the power level of the wearer. Unfortunately, I am unable to control my own reiryoku and because of that, my zanpakuto is always in shikai form." said Ichigo.
That shocked both Erza and the other mages.
They thought he was so powerful that he didn't need shikai, but now it turns out he was so powerful that he couldn't control his own power.
"T-That powerful is your friend?" asked Lucy.
"Very. Soon after he learned to use his powers, he took on Ikkaku, me, several vice-captains, and the captains of the 11th and 6th divisions. And he defeated them all." said Renji.
That shocked everyone even more.
It would be one thing to beat one vice-captain would be one thing, but to beat several of them and two captains was something completely unimaginable.
That could only mean one thing and that formulated a question in everyone's mind.
How powerful was Ichigo Kurosaki?
Even though that question was also on Erza's mind and as nervous as she was, she couldn't back down now.
"You may be, at best, the most powerful in the Soul Society, but… if I were to back down against such an opponent, I couldn't consider myself a Fairy Tail mage!" declared Erza with determination.
"That's the way I like it. Don't hesitate, don't back down, just move forward or you'll die. That's what an old friend who helped me a lot told me." said Ichigo.
"Well your friend is very wise if he gave you that advice. Now, let's get back to our fight. Requip! Flight Armor!" shouted Erza changing armor along with two swords.
It was then that Erza disappeared due to moving at a very high speed and Ichigo did the same with shunpo.
At that moment, the two combatants moved so fast that they couldn't be seen.
The only thing that could be seen of the combat were the sparks generated by the clash of weapons.
Soon after, the two reappeared at a particular point and Erza tried to slash at Ichigo with her swords, but he used shunpo to quickly disappear and appear to the side to give her a kick that sent her to the side, rolling on the ground in the process.
Erza started to get up, but the moment she looked up, she found the tip of Ichigo's sword inches from her eyes.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Ichigo.
Although she wasn't one to give up easily, her experience told her when the fight was over.
"I give up. It's clear that right now I'm not strong enough to keep fighting you." said Erza with a smile.
"Fine." said Ichigo before exchanging the sword for a hand which Erza accepted before Ichigo helped her to her feet.
"But that doesn't mean it will always be like this. Just like Natsu, I will also become strong to keep up with you." said Erza.
"I hope so." said Ichigo.
"Very well. No more test fights. You can go back to what you were doing." said Makarov.
Hearing that, everyone went back to the guild to go about their business, though Erza went to the infirmary to be treated.
"Tell me, Captain Hitsugaya, what do you think of these fights?" asked Makarov.
"They have proven to have adequate skills to fight hollows, but in the hypothetical case that we face an arrancar, that won't be enough, given what happened in my and Ichigo's fight." said Toshiro.
"Hmm. I can understand that." said Makarov.
"However, I admit that they all have perseverance in terms of continuing to fight despite how bad the situation is. Maybe they have more than they appear to have." said Toshiro.
"Yes. It is because of the bonds we form that help us to keep going and get stronger and I am sure that after this, my children will strive to get stronger and be ready for that arrancar." said Makarov.
"We can only hope that they are just hollows." said Toshiro.
Meanwhile, somewhere unknown, inside a building, there were two men walking down a stone corridor.
Both men were hooded, but on their clothes was the same symbol of a skull inside a cage that was actually a bony mouth whose fangs acted as bars.
Most striking was that between those two people was a man with his head lowered in depression and despair, with wounds and dirt who was with his hands chained and a chain attached to a collar around his neck.
The two men led the man to a door which the one in front knocked on.
A small slot opened for a while before closing and shortly after, the door opened, allowing the two men to enter.
Once inside, a throne could be seen where someone was seated, but despite the torches illuminating the place, his face could not be seen.
"Did you bring what I asked for?" asked the man sitting on the throne.
"Yes, sir." said the first man before pushing the man in chains, causing him to fall to his knees in front of him as he looked at him in terror.
"P-Please don't kill me. I'm begging you. I'll do anything." pleaded the man in an attempt to save his life.
"Relax, my friend. I'm not going to kill you." said the man on the throne.
"N-No?" asked the man feeling a little hopeful.
"No, they will." said the man on the throne before snapping his fingers.
In the next instant, the two hooded men from before quickly left the room as the sound of gates being raised rang out.
The chained man looked to both sides to see a pair of tunnels whose gates were raised and then, he saw several red eyes in the darkness of the tunnels.
"N-No, please. Please! Somebody help me!" shouted the man in desperation running toward the exit and banging on the door in an attempt to open it. "I don't want to die! I'll do anything you want! I'll serve you faithfully all my life, but don't kill me! Please!" shouted the chained man turning around and leaning against the door as snarling creatures were closing in on him like predators.
"My friend. You are wrong, I am not interested in your life at all. What I am interested in is your death." said the man on the throne as the creatures pounced on the chained man, causing their screams of pain to fill the room.