Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

”Is this Las Noches?”

Tōsen Kaname’s sudden words pulled Ichimaru Gin from his thoughts. Without realizing it, they had followed those few Adjuchas all the way to their destination.

Although he was blind, Tōsen Kaname seemed able to see every detail of Las Noches in the distance. His expression, which rarely changed, now twisted into a complex knot of disgust and restraint.

The wind carried white sand, sweeping recklessly through the low air. The neatly arranged square stone pillars were not enough to halt its advance.

This was a palace without walls or a dome. A flat expanse of white stone flooring, along with a raised white stone platform in the center, stood as the only symbol of civilization in this desert beneath the night sky.

Strangely, mixed within the sobbing and roaring that sounded like wild beasts were words that humans could easily understand. Pleas and threats coexisted, only to quickly vanish into cold, heavily mocking laughter.

Upon this sole surviving soil of civilization in the wasteland bloomed the simplest yet most complex, the most detestable yet pitiable flower of savagery.

”Let me guess which one of them is the master of this... palace.” Ichimaru Gin placed a hand over his brow, gazing out at Las Noches ahead. Even saying the word ’palace’ felt ridiculous to him. The place was as noisy and chaotic as a trading market.

His gaze quickly swept over the horde of Menos in the open-air palace. A few of their Reiatsu signatures were indeed prominent, but their strength was limited. If Hueco Mundo didn’t have a special custom of building such makeshift palaces, Ichimaru Gin didn’t think any of those Menos had the qualifications to sit on the throne atop the central stone platform.

”It seems the master isn’t home,” Ichimaru Gin muttered to himself. He then turned to Aizen and asked, ”Shall we keep waiting, Captain Aizen?”

According to Aizen’s plan, although the three of them had come to Hueco Mundo to conquer it, the actual enforcers wouldn’t be any of them. Hueco Mundo was simply too vast; they couldn’t waste their time walking to every corner of it.

They just needed to conquer the existing factions of Hueco Mundo, usurp their positions, and then continuously expand their territory until it encompassed the entirety of Hueco Mundo.

Based on this principle, the stronger the faction they started with, the smoother the subsequent steps would be. If they only had a couple of weak subordinates, the results wouldn’t be much better than walking through Hueco Mundo themselves.

Of course, this sounded a bit like relying on luck. After all, there was no guarantee they could quickly find a powerful faction in Hueco Mundo, or even if a sufficiently powerful faction existed at all.

But was Aizen someone who relied on luck? The answer was naturally no. Therefore, before heading to Hueco Mundo, the three of them already had a clear target.

According to the Seireitei’s records, over two hundred years ago, the Rukongai had suffered an invasion by Menos.

In the Soul Society, although Menos invasions were rare, they had occurred countless times throughout its long history, so the Seireitei didn’t deliberately keep detailed records of such events.

The reason that particular invasion was recorded was twofold: First, aside from the common Gillian and the rare Adjuchas, a top-tier Menos—a Vasto Lorde—had appeared.

Second, this invasion occurred only a few days after another Menos invasion incident, making it easy to associate the latter as seeking revenge for the former. After all, the first Menos that was slain had shouted a certain name right before its death.

Yes, the Menos invasion recorded by the Seireitei was exactly when Szayelaporro led Roca into the Soul Society, and the one who repelled them was the now-deceased Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.

It was also Kuruyashiki Kenpachi who had slain a lone invading Menos a few days prior. At that time, the Menos had shouted ”Lord Baraggan” before dying.

Initially, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi only thought Baraggan was some powerful entity in Hueco Mundo, and the Seireitei thought the same. But after Szayelaporro’s retaliatory invasion ended, the name Baraggan finally drew serious attention.

How many Vasto Lorde-class Menos did he have under his command? And were the Vasto Lorde under him the entirety of Hueco Mundo’s forces?

Both questions pointed to the same conclusion: there was at least one massive faction in Hueco Mundo. And if this faction was the only one, it was not good news for the Seireitei or the Soul Society.

The Seireitei was tense about this for a long time, constantly preparing for crazier retaliation and a potential war between the two worlds!

Neither the retaliation nor the inter-world war ever came. After the Seireitei conducted a few small-scale reconnaissance missions into Hueco Mundo and confirmed that most Hollows were still in a state of infighting, they dropped the matter. However, all the details of that Menos invasion were completely recorded and circulated among the various squads of the Gotei 13.

A faction with at least two Vasto Lorde-class Menos, even if not the largest in Hueco Mundo, was definitely one of the top-tier ones. After all, there was a saying in the Seireitei that ten Vasto Lorde-class Menos could destroy the entire Soul Society.

Of course, this saying was deliberately fabricated by the Seireitei to ensure the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 would act cautiously when facing Menos, including the newly appointed young captains. The actual situation wasn’t that severe.

But tactical intimidation couldn’t be allowed to literally scare their own people silly. If ten Vasto Lorde actually popped up in Hueco Mundo, would the Gotei 13 collectively commit seppuku?

The number of Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo definitely wouldn’t be too high. Some truth could be deduced from the Seireitei’s fake intelligence.

If ten Vasto Lorde had absolute crushing power against the thirteen captains of the Seireitei, yet the Soul Society remained safe and sound, it meant the Seireitei estimated that the number of Vasto Lorde in Hueco Mundo likely didn’t exceed five, or at most seven.

Therefore, before setting out, Aizen had locked his target onto Baraggan. An entity capable of making Vasto Lorde bow and serve wouldn’t take long to find in Hueco Mundo.

Transitioning from the World of the Living into the lower levels of Hueco Mundo, Aizen didn’t stop but went straight to the upper levels. The first group of Adjuchas they encountered were actually shouting ”Lord Szayelaporro.” Their luck was quite good.

The invasion records Aizen had seen weren’t the incomplete versions circulated within the Gotei 13, but the detailed records stored in the Great Spirit Book Gallery. Szayelaporro Granz—that was the name of the Vasto Lorde-class Menos who invaded the Soul Society back then, and also the known Vasto Lorde subordinate to Baraggan.

Ichimaru Gin and Tōsen Kaname were also aware of this name. They had originally planned to observe this long-famous Baraggan upon arriving, but who knew the throne would be empty.

Should they continue waiting and gather some necessary intelligence? Or should they go over, ask around, and actively seek out the master of Las Noches?

Ultimately, it all depended on Aizen’s decision.