6-1...

By the way, are you still connected to those Arrancars in some way?

Well, if you want to preserve the peace, it's better to have several channels of negotiation prepared.

Unlike Quincies, whose principle is Hollows' eradication, Soul Reapers aim to maintain balance, after all.

That being said, they're the same ones who caused a massacre here before. Will it really be okay?

For now, the ones running Hueco Mundo are the moderate Halibel and Nelliel.

I admit Grimmjow can be hostile, but he's not the type to act for no reason.

Honestly, it's quite complicated.

Hollows aren't necessarily unconditionally evil, but as Soul Reapers, we were taught that their souls must be purified.

Are you saying that doesn't apply to the Arrancars who were pawns of Sosuke Aizen?

It's not that black-and-white. Whether they're humans, Hollows, or Soul Reapers...

They're the ones who sided with Aizen and tried to make a mess of the world.

The Arrancars of prominence in Hueco Mundo are an amalgamation of tens of thousands of souls.

Perhaps the wills of those souls all mixed together, or maybe one particularly strong conviction consumed the rest.

Either way, the resulting Arrancars are born with their own beliefs.

That's why, if we can understand how they think, if we can find even a small fragment that we have in common, we can converse with them.

Of course, even if you do understand them, you have to kill them without hesitation if they become your enemies. That's the teaching of 13 Court Guard Squads, right?

Yes, that's right.

............

You don't regret it, do you? Killing Kaname.

No, I do not.

If I regretted it, I would have laid down my Zanpakuto by now.

It's just, even now I think about how I might have been able to persuade him.

I don't have regrets, but I don't want to repeat the same thing again.

I hate to say this, but if it were someone other than me, then maybe...

Let's stop there. It's true that considering different outcomes is tied to how you'll act in the future.

But it's meaningless to seek that from others.

Someone other than you wasn't there.

Only the people who were there have the privilege of changing anything.

You did what you thought was right. There's nothing wrong with that.

............

Well, it's true that people like Ichigo and Orihime may have different principles than the 13 Court Guard Squads.

I think that's the distinctive strength only they have.

It's fine to be different. If you can protect what you want to protect, that's all that matters.

(What I want to protect, huh?)

(What I wanted to protect wasn't Captain Tosen, it was his teachings.)

(As a member of the 13 Court Guard Squads, he taught me the way a Soul Reaper should be.)

No, being different was my weakness. I owe an apology to Ichigo and...

Kisuke?

Sorry to interrupt you, Shuhei.

Are you prepared for Gentei Kaijo?

Is it an enemy? If it seems like a tough one, I can request a Gentei Kaijo right away.

I'm not sure yet if they have evil intentions, but I think we're surrounded.

This store is?

No, if they had come that close, I would've realized much sooner.

This store isn't what's surrounded.

All of Karakura Town has just been quarantined by something.