Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

For Resen, submitting to Kōe wasn’t too hard to swallow. To him, it was just swapping one boss for another. As long as he didn’t die inexplicably like his kin, adding one more rule—or even ten—was no problem at all.

Kōe didn’t expect to build his Hueco Mundo faction relying on Hollows like Resen and Seth anyway. It was only because Resen’s ability seemed related to space; otherwise, Kōe would have simply executed him after the interrogation.

Right now, finding Roca took priority. Hearing from Resen that her situation was dire—having been reduced to a mere test subject—forced Kōe to temporarily shelve his plans of tracking down Neliel and Starrk along the way.

”Is this Szayelaporro famous around here?”

The mention of experiments coupled with the name Szayelaporro naturally reminded Kōe of the future 8th Espada. Although Kōe wasn’t entirely sure what this renowned Hueco Mundo scientist had actually researched, he figured the man couldn’t be much worse than Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He was also one of Kōe’s targets for this trip to Hueco Mundo.

”He is one of Lord Baraggan’s most capable subordinates. Unlike us, he is a Vasto Lorde-class Menos.”

”Baraggan?!”

”He is also a Vasto Lorde-class Menos.” Thinking Kōe didn’t know, Resen hurriedly explained, ”We are already nearing the center of Hueco Mundo. That Baraggan built Las Noches in the center and proclaimed himself the Emperor of Hueco Mundo. He commands countless Adjuchas, as well as Vasto Lorde-class Menos. The Szayelaporro you just asked about is one of them.”

Kōe didn’t answer, falling into deep thought instead. Seeing this, Resen kept his mouth shut and waited quietly to the side.

Baraggan Louisenbairn, the future 2nd Espada and self-proclaimed Emperor of Hueco Mundo. It was through him that Aizen would rapidly conquer Hueco Mundo.

His ability was senescence. This aging wasn’t limited to living things; even Kidō and a Zanpakutō’s Bankai would be rotted away by it. Perhaps without Aizen’s intervention, Baraggan’s current abilities hadn’t yet reached such a terrifying level, but his formidable strength was entirely foreseeable.

Although Baraggan was powerful, he was an arrogant existence who refused to bow to anyone. Even if Kōe wasn’t afraid of his betrayal, he knew the man’s usefulness to him would be extremely limited. After all, Kōe’s goal wasn’t to conquer Hueco Mundo.

Therefore, Kōe had never included Baraggan in his list of targets to recruit. Even knowing of Baraggan and Las Noches’ existence, he had originally planned to avoid alerting the Emperor as much as possible. But looking at it now, there was no bypassing him.

Handling just Szayelaporro was doable, but adding Baraggan to the mix, along with potentially other Vasto Lordes and the vast sea of Adjuchas in Las Noches... rescuing Roca under these circumstances would be exceptionally difficult.

Kōe silently weighed his options. With his current strength, defeating the Szayelaporro from his past life’s memories shouldn’t be an issue. As for Baraggan, he had never personally experienced that aging ability, which could prove to be a massive headache.

However, if his theory on Hollow evolution was correct—that evolving into a Vasto Lorde-class Menos was essentially becoming a Shinigami with a different appearance—then Baraggan’s aging ability could be classified as a Kidō-type Zanpakutō. In that case, Kōe could very well be Baraggan’s natural nemesis.

The existence of Baraggan and Las Noches was the biggest wildcard, and currently Kōe’s biggest headache.

...

A few days later, in Las Noches. Although it bore the name of a palace, compared to the Las Noches Aizen would build in the future, the current iteration was nothing but ruined walls and rubble—a complete wasteland.

From these remaining ruins, one could imagine that magnificent architecture on par with Seireitei once stood here, only to be practically razed to the ground for some unknown reason.

Huge circular stone pillars leaned haphazardly in the center of the ruins, resembling the remains of some ancient temple. Yet, the intermittent chiming of a broken brass bell made anyone listening feel as though they had stepped into a small church.

At the end of the stone pillars, beneath the crescent moon, a figure wearing a purple, black-collared cloak lounged lazily on a white throne seemingly forged from bone.

”Has Szayelaporro headed over yet?” an ancient voice echoed from the throne. The figure enveloped in the cloak was actually a skeleton, wearing golden bracelets on its wrists and a broken golden crown atop its skull.

”Lord Szayelaporro has already departed, Your Majesty,” a massive Adjuchas closest to the throne replied respectfully.

This inconspicuous skeleton on the throne was named Baraggan, the King of Hueco Mundo who occupied Las Noches, and the monarch to whom they had pledged their loyalty.

”This time we must make those four stinking bitches obediently submit to Your Majesty. They really don’t know what’s good for them. Refusing Your Majesty’s gracious invitation and forcing Lord Szayelaporro to make a trip—they’re just asking for trouble!”

”But with Lord Granz stepping in, they might not even get the chance to submit.” A bat-like Adjuchas sneered, then turned to Baraggan on the high seat and asked, ”Your Majesty, should we have Lord Granz restrain himself a bit? After all, one of those four bitches is a Vasto Lorde; she could still be of use to Your Majesty.”

Baraggan waved his hand, resting his skull against his right hand as he spoke lazily, ”Let him decide for himself. I trust he knows how to restrain himself. Besides, Szayelaporro might not necessarily gain the upper hand this time. He is very patient, and I shouldn’t be anxious either.”

”Your Majesty is wise!”

Baraggan chuckled and waved his hand, stopping his subordinates from continuing their flattery. He then leaned back against his chair and muttered to himself, ”This Hueco Mundo is my Hueco Mundo, and all within it are my subjects. But right now, there are a few too many little ones who don’t seem to realize this. What a headache.”

About thirty kilometers away from Las Noches, the ruined buildings were even sparser. Although still within the territory of Las Noches, it was already considered the outskirts.

Kōe swiftly claimed the lives of two Adjuchas with two quick strikes, then walked alone to the edge of a depression. The Kōki mask already concealed his face. In his eyes, the seemingly empty underground beneath this depression was quite interesting indeed.

Meanwhile, Resen, who had been forcibly subdued by Kōe, was also about thirty to forty kilometers away from Las Noches, just in a different direction from Kōe.

At this moment, Resen was extremely nervous. He pushed his stagnation ability to its absolute limit. At the slightest sign of trouble around him, he had to relocate immediately. But there was one strict requirement: he couldn’t go beyond fifty kilometers from the center of Las Noches. This was the order Kōe had given him.

At the same time, Resen was stagnating something else—something he hoped would never be broken. Otherwise, according to Kōe, he would have to endure at least three minutes of fleeing for his life, and whether he lived or died would be entirely up to fate.

So he could only pray in his heart, hoping that the lord’s plan would go smoothly.

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