Ulquiorra walked slowly down the absurdly tall white corridor. In the room at the end, a slender female Arrancar was unwinding the bandages from Yammy's body layer by layer, revealing the grotesque, twisted scars across his waist and abdomen.
"Ulquiorra?" Yammy tilted his head. "What is it?"
"Intruders have arrived." Ulquiorra looked at the stitches circling Yammy's waist and abdomen. "It seems you're fine now."
Previously, Yammy had been torn in two by Muten Natsu's Rin'en Bokukō, his upper and lower halves completely separated. If not for the exceptional regeneration he possessed in his Resurrección state, he would likely have died long ago.
"If my body could heal itself as easily as your eyeballs do, this would be a lot easier!" Yammy rolled over, letting the female Arrancar cut the stitches on his lower back. "Is that brat among the intruders?"
"Do not act rashly unless your actions serve the execution of Aizen-sama's master plan," Ulquiorra warned. "You were already lucky enough. If it had been anyone else, they would have been removed from the Espada by now."
"Hmph!" Yammy snorted and sat up. "Got it."
"The treatment... is finished." The female Arrancar cut the final stitch. On the right half of her face, partly hidden by her mask, a clumsy smile appeared. "How does it feel? Is it any different from before you were injured?"
"Oh!" Yammy twisted his waist, and his massive fist swung with the motion, smashing the Arrancar into the wall.
Blood sprayed from her slender body, and her bloodstained smile twisted beyond recognition.
"It's still no good." Yammy stared at his own fist in dissatisfaction. "If this were before, her whole body should have shattered."
"Boring. Time to go." Ulquiorra turned around. "Aizen-sama is looking for us."
...
In a vast black chamber, ten long chairs surrounded a long table, and ten Arrancar took their seats one after another.
"It seems we have intruders."
"Intruders?"
"They're scattered all over. The closest one is in Tunnel 22."
"Their entry points are really far out."
"Well, they were attacked, after all... I suppose the turbulence still can't be controlled."
"Did you do something unnecessary again?"
"Hahaha! It would've been more interesting if they'd broken straight in here!"
"You're all so loud... I'm sleepy. Could you keep it down..."
The ten Arrancar sat in their respective seats as three figures entered through the main door.
"Good morning, Espada." Sōsuke Aizen, who stood at the front, smiled. "The enemy has arrived, so first... let's have some black tea."
The Arrancar poured tea for everyone. Sōsuke Aizen sat on the highest chair at the far end of the long table and breathed in the fragrance of the black tea.
"Has everyone received theirs? Then... drink while you listen to me."
Despite his words, not a single person touched the teacup in front of them.
"Kaname," Sōsuke Aizen said to Kaname Tōsen, who stood behind him. "Play the footage."
"Yes." Kaname Tōsen pulled a lever, and a hole spiraled open in the center of the long table. Light surged out, forming several images.
"There are many intruders." Sōsuke Aizen narrowed his eyes slightly. "Among them, there should be some familiar faces you've seen before."
"Muten Natsu, Muten Natsu..." Szayelaporro, with his pink hair, pushed up his glasses-like mask, his voice lifting with interest. "How nostalgic."
"Yammy!" A man even taller and slimmer than Szayelaporro, his left eye covered by an eyepatch, glanced at Yammy with his narrow right eye. "I heard he tore you apart with his bare hands!"
Yammy snorted coldly.
The instant Grimmjow saw Muten Natsu's image, he stood up and headed straight for the door.
"Where are you going?" Kaname Tōsen called out. "Grimmjow."
"I'm going to kill them and wipe out the bugs that crawled in here." Grimmjow shot back irritably. "Got a problem with that?"
"Aizen-sama has not given the order." Kaname Tōsen's voice was cold and firm. "Return to your seat!"
"I'm doing this for Aizen-sama. That's why I'm going to kill him!"
"Grimmjow." Aizen's voice rang out.
"...Yes!" Grimmjow forced down the anger in his voice.
"I'm pleased that you wish to act on my behalf, but I haven't finished speaking yet." Sōsuke Aizen's voice remained calm and unhurried. "Please return to your seat now, all right?"
Grimmjow said nothing.
"What's wrong?" Aizen tilted his head. "I didn't hear your answer, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
An abyssal Reiatsu crashed down on Grimmjow in an instant. Grimmjow staggered, trying to steady himself, but his body refused to obey and dropped to its knees.
"Hmm?" Sōsuke Aizen chuckled softly. "It seems you understand."
Only when that terrifying Reiatsu receded did Grimmjow regain the ability to breathe.
"Espada, you've all seen it. The enemy is numerous, and they are scattered everywhere. Eliminating them will take a great deal of time." Sōsuke Aizen lifted his teacup and took a small sip of black tea. "So... why are they scattered everywhere?"
Ulquiorra's dark green eyes turned toward Szayelaporro.
So that was it...
Only now did Ulquiorra understand the purpose behind Szayelaporro's series of actions.
When they had gone to the World of the Living to investigate, Szayelaporro had urged Grimmjow to act before Ulquiorra.
Once Grimmjow acted, he would inevitably bring five Fracciones with him.
Among those five Fracciones was Yylfordt Granz, Szayelaporro's older brother.
Through Yylfordt, Szayelaporro had tampered with the other Fracciones.
As for why he had not tampered with the Espada themselves, ever since Szayelaporro and the Eighth Espada ambushed the former Third Espada, every Espada had been wary of him.
So Szayelaporro could only work through the Fracciones. During the battle, he used those Fracciones to mark the enemies.
After the enemy entered Garganta, Szayelaporro used the marking to pinpoint their location and set up an ambush.
Ulquiorra thought back to Muten Natsu's Hell Flames, which could reduce everything to nothingness.
Clearly, Szayelaporro had meant to place a mark on Muten Natsu, but the Hell Flames burned even Muten Natsu himself, to say nothing of Szayelaporro's mark.
Nothing but... completely pointless actions.
"It was me!" Szayelaporro stood up. "Aizen-sama!"
Sōsuke Aizen set down his teacup. "So it was you, Szayelaporro..."
With a thud, Szayelaporro dropped to one knee. "I am truly sorry! I meant to destroy Garganta, scatter them across different locations, and defeat them one by one. I acted on my own to eliminate them faster... Though I did it for Aizen-sama's sake, I acted without your orders. I am prepared to accept any punishment!"
Szayelaporro's body trembled. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his voice carried a timid edge. His breathing was much quicker than usual, and anxiety made him speak faster.
Gin Ichimaru's eyes curved into crescents, and the smile tugging at his lips held a trace of disdain.
Szayelaporro... his acting was terrible.
There was no way he could fool Aizen like that.
"No," Sōsuke Aizen said gently. "I don't mind."
Szayelaporro looked up, disbelief far too obvious on his face.
"As long as you had a reason, I won't blame you for an act of loyalty."
Szayelaporro lowered his head again. "Tha... thank you for your mercy, Aizen-sama!"
"However, you did make one mistake."
Szayelaporro's body jolted violently.
"It should not be that we scattered them to eliminate them more quickly. It should be that they scattered themselves to delay us, so we wouldn't eliminate them too quickly." Sōsuke Aizen tapped the table lightly. "We could have wiped them out all at once. Now we have to split up to face them."
"I am deeply ashamed..."
"You misjudged the gap in strength, Szayelaporro." Sōsuke Aizen extended his hand. "No matter what happens, as long as you advance with me, there will be no enemy before us."
...
"The enemies behind us are catching up!" Uryū Ishida glanced back. An absurdly long hand was reaching toward them.
Yasutora Sado smoothly hoisted Uryū Ishida onto his shoulder and threw a punch behind them.
A torrent of Reishi particles roared out, and the recoil sent them flying into the hall.
Uryū Ishida climbed down from Yasutora Sado's shoulder. "Aren't you a little too used to doing that?"
The burly Yasutora Sado carried the slender Uryū Ishida as easily as a child.
The last time they went to Soul Society, back in Dangai, Yasutora Sado had picked up Uryū Ishida and run then, too.
And just now, when they arrived in Hollow Realm through Garganta, Yasutora Sado had sensed something was wrong and immediately hoisted Uryū Ishida up.
That was exactly why the two of them had ended up here together.
Yasutora Sado shook out his arm. "...Force of habit."
"...It really doesn't need to be that much of a habit." Uryū Ishida scanned their surroundings. "There's a staircase over there. It may lead outside..."
A figure landed lightly in front of them, its face hidden behind a bird-beak mask, with four feather-like spikes extending from the back of its head. "Where do you think you're going, intruder?"
A bird-shaped Arrancar blocked the stairs ahead. Behind them, from the corridor, a long-armed Arrancar with both hands dragging along the ground slowly emerged.
"A pincer attack?" Uryū Ishida pushed up his glasses. "I asked Urahara-san about Arrancars. When Menos undergo Arrancarification, they usually take on a human form, but only the highest-ranked ones can become fully human. Those with lower intelligence tend to look closer to Hollows."
Armor surfaced over Yasutora Sado's arm. "So that means these two Arrancar are..."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Sharp sounds tore through the air as the bird-shaped Arrancar's fingers stretched out, their pointed ends stabbing straight at Yasutora Sado.
Yasutora Sado raised his arm to block, but the tentacle-like fingers slipped right around the armor on his forearm and aimed for his throat.
A deep-blue flash streaked past. Uryū Ishida drew his Reishi Bow and fired a Reishi Arrow, forcing the tentacle-like fingers back.
He was about to gather Reishi and draw his bow again when the long-armed Arrancar swung a hand at him.
Uryū Ishida turned, only to see the already-formed Reishi Arrow shatter suddenly, caught in the long-armed Arrancar's palm.
Reishi surged in that palm as the long-armed Arrancar slammed it down, smashing the brick and stone apart.
"Demoura is one thing," the bird-shaped Arrancar said as his fingers retracted, "but you actually dared to say I, Aisslinger Wernarr, have low intelligence?"
"I am not one thing!" Demoura protested in a thick, booming voice. "I'm very smart!"
"Smart people..." Uryū Ishida reminded him, "are humble."
Demoura said, "What's humble?"
Aisslinger snapped, "Humble means he's messing with you!"
"You're messing with me... You dare mess with me?!" Demoura reached out and swatted at Uryū Ishida. "You think I didn't notice?"
Uryū Ishida dodged, trying to put distance between them, but the opponent's arms were too long. With one swing, he could cover a huge area.
Aisslinger's fingers stretched out again, closing in on Yasutora Sado. This time, though, they did not thrust forward. Instead, several Reiatsu bullets shot from his fingertips. "Hard to become human? We gave up human form to preserve our great power!"
Yasutora Sado tried several times to close the distance, but the Reiatsu bullets fired from Aisslinger's fingertips forced him back each time.
At this rate...
"Sado!" Uryū Ishida dodged Demoura's attack and called out to Yasutora Sado. The moment Yasutora Sado looked over, Uryū Ishida signaled with his hand.
Yasutora Sado's eyes widened slightly. At the same time as Uryū Ishida, he gave up on the enemy pursuing him and rushed toward the other opponent.
Boom!
Demoura brought his palm down, but the shield on Yasutora Sado's arm blocked it easily.
Aisslinger fired several Reiatsu Bullets. Uryū Ishida raised his Reishi Bow and loosed an arrow.
The Reishi Arrow split into several streams in midair, striking the Reiatsu Bullets with precision and canceling them out.
"Uwaaaaaah!" Demoura roared in frustration, lifting his fist and smashing it viciously toward Yasutora Sado.
Bang!
Before the fist could touch Yasutora Sado, Demoura's massive body suddenly lurched to the side.
The punch that struck his face slammed his head hard into the wall.
"Looks like Uryū was right," Yasutora Sado said as the pattern on the shield over his forearm changed into the shape of a fist. "I really am better suited to taking you down."
A terrifying torrent of Reishi particles surged into his clenched fist, expanding in the air into a huge Reishi fist that struck Demoura and drove him completely into the wall.
Ignoring the battle on the other side entirely, Aisslinger looked at Uryū Ishida with disdain. "By human standards, you're not bad."
"By human standards..." Uryū Ishida gave a soft laugh. "You, an Arrancar, don't even qualify."
"Arrogant!" Aisslinger's figure flickered, appearing behind Uryū Ishida. "A mere human is practically motionless before an Arrancar's Sonído..."
Aisslinger's voice stopped abruptly. Uryū Ishida had somehow vanished from right in front of him.
"A mere Arrancar's Sonído," Uryū Ishida's cold voice sounded from behind him, "is worse than standing still before a Quincy's Hirenkyaku."
"Impossible!" Aisslinger whipped his head around, firing several Reiatsu bullets from his fingertips. "How could a human possibly keep up with Sonído's speed?!"
"Never heard of a Quincy?" Uryū Ishida raised his hand and fired a Reishi Arrow. "Then I'll teach you."