The Espada were the strongest beings in Hueco Mundo.
Each of them possessed power surpassing that of a typical Captain-level Shinigami.
But at this moment, they could only obediently sit in their seats, awaiting Aizen's arrival.
It was clear how strong Aizen Sōsuke's dominion over Hueco Mundo was.
Aizen Sōsuke and the three others unhurriedly walked to the front of the stone table.
Tōsen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin stood on either side of Aizen.
Their positions were slightly behind Aizen's, acting as a facade, seemingly to deliberately emphasize Aizen's prestige.
Meanwhile, Aizen Sōsuke and Hinamori Momo stood side-by-side a little further ahead.
The relationship between them was self-evident.
"It's been a while, Arrancars," Aizen said in a relatively gentle tone.
"Hmph, Aizen, you just made us wait for you like this?" the Sixth Espada, Grimmjow, said with a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
However, that was all it was.
Grimmjow couldn't bring himself to rebel against Aizen Sōsuke; the power gap was simply too immense.
"No need to rush. I had you all come here not just to welcome us back to Hueco Mundo, but for another purpose."
Aizen lowered his voice. "That is to introduce you to my Vice Captain from when I served in the Soul Society."
"Pleased to meet you all, Espada. My name is Hinamori Momo."
Seeing Aizen's gesture, Hinamori Momo spoke.
"Heh heh, a Vice Captain…"
The Fifth Espada, Nnoitra, showed a mocking expression on his face. "Since when could a mere Vice Captain appear at a meeting like this?"
The Espada were not entirely ignorant of the Soul Society's hierarchy.
A Vice Captain?
Wasn't that a weakling who couldn't even defeat an Adjuchas?
And it was a woman, no less.
"Shinigami, you're relying on Aizen's favor to climb to this position, aren't you?"
Nnoitra harbored a severe prejudice against women; not only against the current Third Espada, but he had even ambushed and severely wounded the former Third Espada, Nelliel, before.
Nnoitra's slightly provocative voice did not prompt Aizen to speak up and help Hinamori Momo.
The other Espada also noticed this point. Since someone was taking the lead, they would just watch for now.
However, most of them inwardly agreed with the Fifth Espada's view.
All the Espada present, who were also Arrancar, possessed power surpassing that of a Captain.
What was a Vice Captain worth?
Although this Vice Captain seemed to hold a higher position than Ichimaru Gin and Tōsen Kaname.
But what did Hueco Mundo value?
Strength!
They acknowledged Aizen; besides a very small number who were captivated by Aizen's charisma, most were because Aizen Sōsuke possessed absolute power.
"Even if you say so, being able to gain Captain Aizen's favor is also a form of strength, isn't it?" Hinamori Momo was not angry and replied calmly.
Silence…
The entire hall fell silent.
Good heavens, someone was actually so shameless.
Even Nnoitra was a bit stuck. This Vice Captain of Aizen's had admitted that she rose to power through Aizen's favor, so what more could he say?
It was like punching cotton, which made Nnoitra extremely frustrated.
However, he didn't know how to retort.
"Captain Aizen, your Vice Captain is quite interesting!" Ichimaru Gin said, his eyes narrowed in amusement.
"Heh heh, I didn't know Hinamori Momo had this side to her. It seems she's been through a lot during the time I wasn't paying attention!" Aizen chuckled lightly, not angered.
"Woman!"
Nnoitra finally couldn't hold back, pushing his seat aside and standing up.
"You, a mere Shinigami, don't think you can act arrogantly in front of us Espada just because of Aizen's favor. You're not qualified."
"Then isn't Captain Aizen also above all of you?"
"Hueco Mundo… at its core, it's just a place kept by Shinigami."
"What did you say!?"
Not only Nnoitra couldn't hold back, but even the expressions on the faces of the other Espada became extremely ugly.
Hueco Mundo was the mortal enemy of the Shinigami; in other words, even the Soul Society wouldn't easily set foot here.
Every Hueco Mundo expedition, with its heavy losses, was a testament to their strong power in Hueco Mundo.
"Do you want to die?"
If Aizen Sōsuke hadn't been nearby, many Espada would have had the impulse to kill Hinamori Momo, but the one who spoke this was still Nnoitra.
The Hollows submitting to the Shinigami, being completely suppressed by Aizen Sōsuke, was indeed a very humiliating matter.
No one put such things out in the open; everyone pretended not to know.
But who knew that Aizen's Vice Captain would be so audacious?
"I'm just stating a fact. Captain Aizen's strength is indeed very strong, but currently, he probably can't even rank in the top three."
"Yet Captain Aizen alone can subdue all of you Espada. Do you still think you are the strongest?"
"Not even in the top three?"
Hinamori Momo's words not only stunned the Espada present, but even Ichimaru Gin and Tōsen Kaname showed confusion.
They had gone to the Great Archives with Aizen, but only Aizen had thoroughly reviewed the information.
Aizen Sōsuke listened to Hinamori Momo's words, deep in thought.
His current strength, not even in the top three?
He didn't believe he was the strongest right now, but in this world, not being able to rank in the top three was still a bit surprising.
Perhaps, not just the top three, but even fourth and fifth might be a bit uncertain.
"Interesting…"
Because she knows the future, she can say such things?
Aizen was well aware that the people he couldn't defeat right now included the Captain-Commander and possibly one or two from Squad Zero.
So who were the remaining ones?
Whoever they were, they were certainly not in Hueco Mundo.
Aizen didn't interrupt Hinamori Momo, waiting for her to continue.
Although he would eventually learn this information from the Chat Group.
But knowing it in advance was quite interesting, wasn't it?
"Aizen's Vice Captain, are you belittling us?" Baraggan's tone was quite displeased.
He admitted that he couldn't defeat Aizen.
That was a fact, but wasn't Aizen supposed to be one of the top two beings? Then wouldn't he, the former ruler of Hueco Mundo, be devalued to the extreme?
"I have no intention of belittling you, former King of Hueco Mundo."
"I am stating a fact. Whether it's you or the First Espada, you pride yourselves on your strength, but in reality, in the eyes of certain people, you are merely ants that can be crushed with a flick of a finger."
"If it weren't for maintaining the balance of the Three Realms, the Soul Society could easily annihilate all of Hueco Mundo."
"So, who do you say is stronger than Lord Aizen?" The First Espada shed his lazy demeanor, turning his head to scrutinize Hinamori Momo. "As far as I know, the only one in the Soul Society who can contend with Lord Aizen is the Captain-Commander."
"Besides him, who else? Is it you?"
Hinamori Momo shook her head: "I cannot defeat Captain Aizen, but I am certainly strong enough to defeat you Espada."
"As for who is stronger than Captain Aizen, there's no point in telling you, because even if you knew, it wouldn't be of any help to Captain Aizen."
"Weak Espada, you don't even have the qualifications to accompany Captain Aizen."