Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 60 - Pre-Battle Integration

Wayne's method of locking down information was iron-fisted, and his talent for fabricating cover stories was nearly as sharp. Within two weeks, Atak's territory looked every bit like it had reclaimed its old vitality. His own forces were split into two groups to fight each other, a drill that doubled as theatre.

Besides Nel, two more Adjuchas-class Hollow Beasts with healing abilities had entered Wayne's territory in recent weeks. Both had only just advanced and were still at the low-tier Adjuchas stage, but drill-style combat was exactly the kind of environment where they could get solid reps, and they kept both sides patched up well enough to keep swinging.

It wasn't just combat training, either. Over those two weeks, Timd made a real contribution. He had standardized the most commonly used battle commands into written form and started teaching them to the core Adjuchas fighters in the territory. The content wasn't complete yet, but it was already functional enough to serve a tactical purpose.

At this stage, the written language was mostly symbols and short words used as tactical phrases. Given the physical structure of Hollow Beasts, Timd had dropped hand signals from the curriculum entirely, the Hollows only needed to learn the gestures of Wayne, Nel, and Jekain.

He didn't stop there. Drawing on his own observations of how the Outer Circle's environment shifted, Timd put together a crude timekeeping device. It wasn't precise, but it gave the Hollows a concept of time, which meant they no longer had to rely solely on Reiatsu depletion as their gauge for when to hunt and when to rest.

More importantly, it let Wayne issue orders tied to specific time windows, giving his Hollow Beasts enough lead time to prepare.

Around the same time, Timd produced four smoke grenades in different colors. The smoke rose vertically to a considerable height and, unlike a pillar of Reiatsu, gave away nothing about the user's presence or identity. Inside the Forest of Menos, they worked as excellent signal flares.

Getting there had taken a search across nearly half the territory to find four Hollow Beasts with the right ability types. Timd had combined combustion abilities with Mude's rock-type ability to produce them. Because the materials came directly from the Hollow Beasts' abilities, daily output was limited, but it was enough for a war.

Once the meaning of each color was locked in, Timd led his group back down to the Underground Testing Ground. The Messenger's arrival window was closing fast, and they needed to be sealed away before then to avoid any exposure.

Everything was in place. Wayne and his forces settled in to wait.

Three more days slipped by. The Messenger's Garganta opened at the edge of Jekain's territory. The moment Wayne felt the spatial disturbance, he dispatched the two lord-class Adjuchas to receive the visitor directly. Nel went with them. Only Wayne stayed behind at the Northern Alliance frontline, handling the last of the sealing arrangements. This was the critical moment, he couldn't afford a single problem at the front.

"Where is Yinfeng?" The Messenger was an agility-type Hollow Beast, its appearance something like a mantis crossed with a fishman. The moment it arrived, it went straight to the largest leader present.

"Lord Yinfeng has gone to the Northwest Alliance to gather intelligence and scout the terrain." The two lord-class fighters under Jekain answered smoothly. They knew Wayne's plan. They knew exactly what to say.

"Messenger, Lord Yinfeng's standing orders were clear — the southern front under Lord Gatmont is under strain. We have to pin down both northern alliances as quickly as possible to ease the pressure on Lord Gatmont's line. Please forgive Lord Yinfeng for not being here to receive you in person."

"It's fine." The Messenger waved a hand. "Yinfeng is out there working for Lord Gatmont's sake — that's understandable. Walk me through the current situation. I need to get back and report quickly. Lord Gatmont is already preparing to engage the Southwest Alliance, and before that happens, I need to know whether Yinfeng's side can hold the Northern Alliance in place."

"To answer you directly, Messenger — we are already at war with Atak of the Northern Alliance. I won't promise we can break them quickly, but keeping them pinned and cutting off any reinforcement to the southern line? That's not a problem."

"Good." The Messenger gave a nod. "What are our casualties so far?"

"A while back, Atak hit us with a surprise attack. We lost more than ten Adjuchas-class fighters, three of them mid-tier." Nel stepped forward to answer. When it came to spinning a convincing lie, she had been personally tutored by Wayne. "But we had several Gillians in our reserves that successfully advanced, and we've since brought in six new low-tier Adjuchas to fill the gap."

"Please don't worry, Messenger. At this point our combat strength is roughly on par with the Northern Alliance. Being defeated isn't a serious concern. The frontline is actively engaged with Atak's Hollow Beasts right now, would you like to see it for yourself?"

"Sure." After a moment's thought, the Messenger agreed. It wanted to see with its own eyes, and part of that was distrust. Yinfeng hadn't shown up in person, after all.

"Then please follow me." Nel had no concerns about the Messenger visiting the front. They had been building toward this for two weeks.

She fired off a Sonído and led the way. The Messenger, being an agility-type, matched her pace with its own Sonído without missing a beat. The two lord-class fighters fell in behind.

After roughly half a moment's travel, Nel brought the group to the stretch where Atak's territory bordered Peromon's, a natural canyon. At the far end, around twenty Adjuchas fighters from both sides were trading blows, the fight closely matched and neither side pulling ahead.

"Messenger. Over there." Nel pointed toward the distant clash. "Our forces are running the skirmish line."

"Hmm." From over a thousand meters out, the Messenger squinted at the sky full of Reiatsu flares and multicolored Cero, then gave a slow nod. "But none of these Reiatsu signatures look familiar to me. Is Atak not even present?"

Before the rebellion, this Messenger had crossed paths with Atak and his subordinates more than a few times. Now, not one of those Reiatsu signatures was anywhere to be found. A thread of suspicion curled through its thoughts.

"Months of fighting, it's perfectly normal for the enemy to have newly advanced fighters." Nel stepped in smoothly. "We've clashed with Atak multiple times ourselves, and both sides have taken losses. The older generation of Adjuchas have probably all fallen. As for Atak, he's likely dealing with something else and didn't come out personally. Lord Yinfeng isn't here either, so maybe the other side is just holding something back?"

"Fair point." The Messenger nodded, suspicion settling. "Any movement from the Northwest Alliance?"

"Nothing active yet. We know Lord Gross of the Northwest Alliance has tangled with Atak twice before. Lord Yinfeng and Lord Wayne have already gone ahead to scout, they should be back within two days or so."

"That could be a real opening. Gross and Yinfeng together might be able to catch Atak in a pincer." The Messenger kept working through it, calm and methodical.

"I'll pass your suggestion along to... to Lord Yinfeng." Nel nearly bit through her own tongue. That had been close.

"Good. I will convey Yinfeng's loyalty to Lord Gatmont. The Lord's position in the south remains advantageous. When Lord Gatmont engages the Second Alliance, Lady Nelliel, make certain you notify Yinfeng. The Northern Alliance and the Northwest Alliance must not be allowed to send even a single fighter south.

Effective now, I order you to prepare for full engagement. Approximately ten days from now, Lord Gatmont will launch a general offensive against the Southwest Alliance. Within those ten days, you must dismantle Atak's Northern Alliance and swing around to tie down the Northwest Alliance. They cannot be allowed to reinforce. If they do, Lord Gatmont will be forced to contend with three alliances at once."

"Understood, Messenger. The orders will be delivered without fail." Nel bowed, expression dead serious.

"Very good. Gatmont is fortunate to have subordinates like Lord Yinfeng and yourselves. Once the rebellion is put down, Lord Yinfeng will certainly be rewarded for his service. I'll put in a good word when I return, and I hope that when Lord Yinfeng rises, he'll remember to look after this one."

"You're too kind, Messenger. Serving the Lord is our duty." Nel wasn't one for pleasantries, and she left it at that. "Will you be staying a few days to wait for Lord Yinfeng's return? I can have a resting place prepared."

"No need, I leave immediately. The journey is long, and Lord Gatmont needs this intelligence for tactical adjustments." The Messenger declined and opened a Garganta right there at the edge of the battlefield.

Every Hollow Beast on the field glanced over. Then they turned back and kept fighting, careful not to let the Messenger read anything in the pause.

The Garganta closed slowly behind the departing Messenger. The Hollow Beasts on the battlefield quietly exhaled.

"WOOOAARRGGH!"

Nel threw her head back and let out a long howl. The message was clear: keep going. Until it was confirmed the Messenger had truly left, the fighting could not stop, today, they pushed until exhaustion before anyone stood down.

The Hollow Beasts, who had started to ease off, cranked their output right back up. In a corner of the canyon, the two healing-type Hollow Beasts who had watched it all unfold looked at each other.

Another long night ahead.

That night, Wayne returned to the territory. After Nel's report, he opened a Garganta and used the spatial properties inside to run a full Reiatsu sweep, confirming there wasn't a trace of any Adjuchas-level presence remaining. Only then did he stand down and have Jekain bring the research site's sealed occupants up from the underground space.

"Alright. Last round of playing dead is done. We're going on the offensive. Jekain, tell everyone to rest well tonight. Tomorrow at noon, we launch the general offensive against the Northern Alliance."

"Yes. My King."

"Have Timd halt Hollow Beast Mine production. Prepare thirty sets of smoke grenades and bring all the unused Hollow Beast Mines. Distribute them between the other two lords, then have the lords push them down to three mid-tier Adjuchas each, plus the individual scouts. Tomorrow each mid-tier leads their own unit. Get the formations sorted, then we march for the Northern Alliance."

"My King — are we taking both territories at once?"

"We've been ambushing long enough. Our people need a real fight. Putting the Adjuchas through actual life-or-death combat is what draws out their potential, and their will to get stronger."

"Yes, my King. I'll see to it immediately."

➤ Next: Playing the Tiger Against the Wolf