"The Ōken is the key to the Royal Palace's space. Aizen intends to destroy the Soul King and take his place." Kaien Shiba sighed. "And creating the Ōken requires one hundred thousand Souls and a Jūreichi, a High-Spirit Area, with a radius of one spirit-mile."
Muten Natsu converted it in his head. "Then Karakura Town, the neighboring land, and the people there..."
Kaien Shiba gave the grim conclusion. "Once his plan succeeds, all of it will disappear."
"No..." Orihime Inoue went faint for a moment. "We have to stop him..."
Otherwise, everything... all of it would...
Rukia Kuchiki took her hand. "That's exactly why we're here."
"Rukia..." Feeling the warmth of Rukia Kuchiki's palm and seeing the resolve in her eyes, Orihime Inoue gradually steadied herself.
The light screen before Muten Natsu flickered as Myōki calculated possible methods. "Ashido, can we still find that antelope Hollow from before?"
"She became an Arrancar, then an Espada, and went around slaughtering others." Ashido shook his head. "I haven't heard anything about her in a long time."
"If you're looking for the former 3rd Espada, Neliel Tu Odelshwanck... she's already dead." Kaien Shiba lowered his eyes slightly. "The 8th Espada, Szayelaporro, held a particular grudge against her. He joined forces with the current 5th Espada, Nnoitra Gilga, and killed her."
Rukia Kuchiki bit her lower lip. "Szayelaporro hated her because she saved us back then..."
"What you need to think about now isn't how to leave Hueco Mundo and return to the World of the Living," Kaien Shiba reminded them. "Soul Society must have made arrangements in the World of the Living. What you need to consider is... what only those of you in Hueco Mundo can do."
...
The instant Sōsuke Aizen passed through Garganta and stepped into the sky above Karakura Town, one figure after another appeared.
At the front was Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. At his side stood Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe. On the other side, 2nd Division Captain Suì-Fēng stood guard together with 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda.
8th Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku and Thirteenth Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake stood shoulder to shoulder. Behind the dog-headed, human-bodied 7th Division Captain Sajin Komamura stood 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba.
10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya and 10th Division Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, who had arrived in the World of the Living long ago, were naturally present as well.
"Sōsuke Aizen..." Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto rested both hands on his cane. "It seems your plan will not succeed."
"Will not succeed?" Faced with his former colleagues, Sōsuke Aizen showed no surprise at all. His gaze swept over the unnaturally quiet Karakura Town. "Did moving Karakura Town to Soul Society give you such a naive idea?"
...
"Before sending Captains to Hueco Mundo, Soul Society had already prepared for the possibility that the enemy would invade the World of the Living." Byakuya Kuchiki advanced toward Las Noches. "They moved Karakura Town to Soul Society ahead of time."
"They moved Karakura Town to Soul Society?" Hanatarō Yamada struggled to keep up with Byakuya Kuchiki. "How did they do that?"
"They placed Interdimensional Pillars at the four corners of Karakura Town, creating a device similar to a Senkaimon with a radius of one spirit-mile, then transported the entire town outside Rukongai," Byakuya Kuchiki explained. "After that, they replaced Karakura Town's original location with a replica created by the Research and Development Institute, so the Captains would not have to worry about the destruction caused during battle."
Hanatarō Yamada asked anxiously, "What about the original residents?"
"They put them to sleep and sent them to Soul Society along with it."
Put them to sleep... Hanatarō Yamada only had to imagine it briefly to realize that would cause a lot of trouble.
But compared to the disappearance of an entire city, trouble like that was already fortunate.
...
"My plan will still succeed. The process merely needs a slight adjustment." Sōsuke Aizen called out, "Starrk, Baraggan, Harribel... come forth!"
The sky distorted, and three Garganta appeared. Several figures stepped out from within them.
"Since Karakura Town is in Soul Society, I will eliminate you first, then go to Soul Society and create the Ōken." Sōsuke Aizen sounded as if he were both anticipating it and encouraging them. "I hope... you can hold out for a while."
...
"If this drags on too long, then once the Gates of Hell fully open, the Espada will gain power from Hell. So... we have to stop the Gates of Hell from opening!" A trace of irritation showed on Kaien Shiba's face. "I've wanted to send information to Soul Society for a long time, but Aizen built another sky inside Las Noches and even made an imitation of the World of the Living's sun. Anywhere the sunlight reaches is under Aizen's surveillance."
He tugged at his clothes. "Even this body is a manufactured clone. My real body is still inside Las Noches. As for the next part of the plan... Muten, I'm afraid no one but you can do it."
Muten Natsu paused Myōki's analysis. "What do I need to do?"
"Aizen only took the top three Espada to the World of the Living, including me. Right now, there are still seven Espada left in Las Noches. Acting rashly would not only be dangerous, the chance of success would be extremely low." Kaien Shiba took a map from inside his clothes and spread it on the ground. "This is a map of Las Noches. Come find me here."
Kaien Shiba pointed to a spot on the map. "I'll cover you and send you to the Gates of Hell. You once kept the Hōgyoku for quite a long time, and you have a connection to Hell, so you can ignore the Gates of Hell's influence, take the Hōgyoku away, and stop the Espada from gaining power from Hell."
Muten Natsu stared at the map. If everything was as Kaien Shiba said, then this really was a mission only he could complete.
"There's no time to lose. Set out immediately!" Kaien Shiba pointed at the map. For an instant, his left hand, wrapped inside a glove, warped out of shape. "This clone won't last much longer. Go through the cave in the rock ledge over there. The sand current will take you back to the surface."
Orihime Inoue raised her hand. "Maybe I can help you..."
"No need." Kaien Shiba refused at once. "Don't waste your power on this clone. You have something more important to do."
Muten Natsu looked at Ashido. "Ashido, come with us."
One more person meant one more bit of strength.
Besides, Ashido could not keep staying in the Forest of Menos forever.
"My comrades all rest here..." Ashido shook his head. "I can't leave."
Rukia Kuchiki wanted to persuade him a little more, but after a moment's hesitation, she said nothing.
Ashido had once led Shinigami into Hueco Mundo to subjugate Hollows. Now, he was the only one left.
He knew how to leave this place, but rather than leave alone, Ashido wanted to protect the comrades who slept here.
To protect... the conviction they had held when they charged into Hueco Mundo together.
Watching Muten Natsu and the others leave, Kaien Shiba asked Ashido beside him, "Are you really sure about this?"
Ashido turned to look at him without saying a word.
"I understand how you feel. Just like Muten, you're not fighting Hollows because you want to protect your comrades, or because of your duty as a Shinigami. You simply want to die here in battle the way your comrades did." Kaien Shiba's voice was earnest. "You regret the decision you made back then every moment of every day. Every time you think of your comrades, it hurts so much you can hardly bear it. Only in battle can you forget it for a while, and dying in battle would feel like release. But sometimes, people have to learn to look forward. They have to learn to make peace with themselves. If someone else had survived, would you want that person to suffer the way you do, or would you want him to leave this place and return to Soul Society?"
"I... understand what you mean. I know my stubbornness is meaningless." Ashido's voice was hoarse. "Just now, I did think about leaving with them. But... I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Everything outside." Ashido tightened his grip on his Zanpakutō. "Here, all I have to do is fight Hollows. Every Hollow I destroy here means one less Hollow in the World of the Living, and many Souls will be spared from death. That can't be wrong. But if I leave this place, what I'll have to face is far more complicated than anything here."
Kaien Shiba patiently advised him, "But outside, there are also more comrades. Comrades who want to help you, and comrades who need your help."
"But I don't know who is a comrade, and who is an enemy disguised as one..."
"Hm?" Kaien Shiba raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I've fought too many Hollows. Some of them had the ability to create clones. There's an obvious difference between a clone that can't hold on and one that's pretending it can't hold on." Ashido drew his Zanpakutō and cautiously widened the distance between them. "The destruction of a large number of Souls will cause the Gates of Hell to open. And if someone wants to destroy a large number of Hollows in a short time, the Forest of Menos is the best hunting ground. Before you met Muten, what were you doing here?"
"You suspect me?" Kaien Shiba showed a sunny smile. "Honestly, if you had doubts, you should have told them just now."
Ashido's face remained expressionless. "After I confirm it, I'll tell them."
"You didn't want to ruin the joy of your comrades' reunion. So even after you noticed something was wrong, you couldn't bring yourself to expose it." Kaien Shiba's gloved left hand writhed. "I understand that feeling very well... When something is beautiful, you don't want to risk it at all."
He reached out and pulled off the glove, revealing a twisted tentacle beneath. As it bent and writhed, a round mouthpart hidden inside was exposed, and a long, sharp tongue licked the pointed teeth around it. "That's why, even though I've wanted to devour Muten Natsu so badly I could hardly stand it, I held back. After all, compared with a clone, the main body gives me a much better chance."
"So you really were lying to him!" Ashido slashed at Kaien Shiba, or rather...
The 9th Espada, Aaroniero Arruruerie.
The tentacle looked soft, but it was as hard as steel. Aaroniero blocked Ashido's attack. "Lying? No, no, no... Everything I said was true. Aizen's plan, the opening of the Gates of Hell, the Espada gaining power from Hell. All of it is true."
Aaroniero blocked several more of Ashido's attacks in succession. "If he reaches Las Noches, I'll even cover him and take the Hōgyoku away. It's just that... I'll be covering him with my body."
"What are you trying to do?"
"My ability is Glotonería. I devour dead Hollows and take their abilities and Reiatsu for myself. This ability can only be used on Hollows, but I also possess the ability to fuse with Spirit Bodies." Aaroniero's eyes widened in excitement. "Once I fuse with Muten Natsu, I'll be able to devour his body and claim everything he has. I'll gain the power to ignore the Gates of Hell and make the Hōgyoku mine!"
Ashido forced Aaroniero back with one slash, then turned and charged in the direction Muten Natsu and the others had left.
"From the beginning, your goal wasn't to fight me. You wanted to draw information out of me." Aaroniero chased after Ashido. "Then why do you think I cooperated and told you so much?"
The cave in the rock ledge was right before him. Ashido ignored the increasingly violent Reiatsu behind him and sped toward the cave.
BOOM!
A dark red beam struck the cave and brought the rock ledge crashing down.
Aaroniero stood before the collapsed rock ledge. His body had already lost its human form, turning into a mass of twisted tentacles. Purple mucus secreted from him, further sealing the rock ledge shut. "After all, this is just a clone. It can't switch abilities as quickly as the main body. It needs time to prepare."
With the original exit gone, Ashido had no choice but to stop.
"I did want to kill you, but there was a chance I might fail." Aaroniero's twisted body fused with the collapsed rock ledge, taking on the texture of stone. "But blocking the exit? As long as I'm careful, that's absolutely foolproof."
Ashido's brow furrowed. If it were just a collapsed rock ledge, he could still carve out a passage.
But judging from the defensive power Aaroniero had just shown, even if Ashido gave it everything he had, he would not be able to break through the rock ledge fused with Aaroniero.
"Don't you like staying here? Then stay here and wait quietly..." Aaroniero's voice, which had merged into one, split into two again. "Wait for Muten Natsu and the others..." "For the moment their Reiatsu disappears."
Ashido swung his Zanpakutō at Aaroniero's hardened body. The sparks that burst out lit up the torn webbing of his hand, injured by the impact.
Although Aaroniero's body was gradually solidifying and losing the ability to fight back against Ashido, Ashido had no way to pierce through it either.
Muten... worry surfaced in Ashido's eyes.
You have to be more careful. You have to notice something is wrong with Aaroniero!
...
White sand surged up as Muten Natsu and the others climbed out of the sand pit. When they looked up, they saw a starless moonlit night.
White sand stretched all around them, and a massive pale building stood in the distance.
Muten Natsu released Spirit Ink, lifting the three of them as they moved toward Las Noches.
Staring at Las Noches in the distance, Muten Natsu's eyes flickered.
The reunion after so many years, along with the shock of Aizen's plan, had given him little chance to think deeply.
But now that he had parted ways with Kaien Shiba and was traveling through the endless white sand, the barren scenery around him made his thoughts stir on their own.
It felt like... something was not quite right.
***
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