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The other members of the upper echelon of the 8th division soon returned with Franceska carrying the bloody and bruised Shin. Ren looked between Shin and the 3 Tres Bestias as he was glad to see that none of the trio were injured.

'So they can match beat an officer even without their release as long as they work together. As for their individual strength, I can test that over time. As the ones who follow Tier I have no doubt that they can become threats to even captains.'

Franceska dropped Shin on the ground where the Kido Corps members started to heal him. Once Shin was healed enough to be conscious and move around a bit, Ren told the others to save their reiatsu.

"Now that everyone is here and no longer fighting, let me introduce what I have planned for the 8th division as well as all of you in here. Except for Tessai and you Kido Corps members of course.

I planned to create the strongest division and will stick to that. I will have two lieutenants, 3rd seats, 4th seats, and 5th seats. I expect for them all to be able to take on captain level opponent. As for the 6th-13th seat, all of them are expected to be at a lieutenant's level.

So the current ranking of our division is as follows:

Captain: Myself

Co-Lieutenant: Tier/ Franceska

Co-3rd Seats: Cyan / Emilou

Co-4th Seats: Empty/Empty

Co-5th Seat: Empty/Empty

6th Seat: Kyou

7th Seat, By default: Shin

The Arrancar have higher positions at the moment but as long as you get stronger, you can take the position for yourselves.

As for you three, I only chose Franceska because her zanpakuto makes her the most adept at direct combat. You all are pretty much at the same level of strength so you can fight it out for who gets the position of lieutenant. I really don't care which.

We still have 5 more months until we are leaving Hueco Mundo. During that time, I expect Tier, Franceska, Emilou, and Cyan to stay here or stay close to the base and train their reiatsu.

Kyou will lead half of the shinigami on an expedition to the east. Shin will take rest to the west. We will expand our domain from the current 5-kilometer radius to 20 kilometers.

I have already cleared out or scared away any Adjuchas but if anything pops up, just kill it. If you are unable to kill it before one of the top 5 arrives, that is fine. If you do kill it before one of the top 5 arrives, that is even better."

Tier raised her hand when Ren said this. He nodded toward the woman.

"Why are we being ordered to stay here? Wouldn't we be more valuable assisting the two expansion teams?"

"Yes. You would be much more valuable doing that. But the main purpose of this excursion is not to expand or make a base for Soul Society in Hueco Mundo. We are here to weed out the weaker members and train our stronger members to become even stronger."

"You are willing to throw away the lives of your men so easily?"

Kyou and Shin wanted to speak up for Ren but he held his hand to have the two not interrupt. Ren looked Tier in the eyes and spoke in a calm voice as he explained.

"Every member here is here by choice. Before we came, I gave every member of my division the choice to join another division or join me on this dangerous expedition. I told them all how long it would be, how dangerous it would, and how they might not make it back alive.

Of my 3,000 initial members, barely 700 came. The hachimaki on their heads means that they were willing to bet their lives for the chance to get stronger.

I offer no shortcut to power. I offered them the choice between two roads. One that was safe and long, the other that is dangerous but shorter.

I'm having them go after hollows because the only way to master one's abilities is through actual combat. The best and strongest shinigami are those who have gone through countless trials to have a deeper bond with their zanpakuto.

As hollows, you consumed countless other hollows and countless battles to reach the state you were in. These shinigami must also do the same."

Tier thought over Ren's words and nodded.

"I see. I'm sorry for speaking out of place."

"No need to apologize. As an officer of my division, you all are allowed to question my actions if you think I am wrong or that you have a better idea."

All the officers nodded. No one else was an officer before but Kyou was. Most higher-ranked officers had large egos and did not like to be corrected by those beneath them.

These officers would usually end up dying or killing the men under them due to their terrible attitudes and inability to be corrected. Knowing that Ren was willing to hear their opinions pleased Kyou in a way that no one would believe.

Kyou and Shin started dividing the shinigami into two groups over the next few days before they departed in their quest to conquer. Ren spent those days teaching the Arrancar about how to train their reiatsu and some of the more unique abilities of the Arrancar species before he went off to train himself as well.

For the next four months, Hueco Mundo had seen battles as it had never seen before. The hollows began forming larger groups to battle the shinigami forces while the Menos-class hollows stayed away after sensing the presence of 3 Adjuchas, a Vasto Lorde, and a monster they were unable to really process being in the center of the area where all the battles were occurring.

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