Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 72 - Secluded Cultivation

The rest of the battle was never really in doubt. The remaining dozen-plus Adjuchas had no way to escape Wayne's forces, and after capturing the tiger-form Adjuchas alive, Wayne and Nel joined up to surround and kill the high-level aberrant Hollow. As for the tiger-form captive, Wayne intended to keep him alive, at least until he could pry Grimmjow's location out of him.

Once they returned to their territory, Wayne would have the tiger's limbs severed and the creature beaten into critical condition. His subordinates would guard the prisoner without rest. The moment he regenerated, they beat him again. Unless he self-destructed, he could sit there and wait for the interrogation.

Which brought Wayne to a genuine problem: he needed to figure out how to stop Hollows from self-destructing. Because facing enemies who would rather blow themselves up on the spot than talk, who could deal with that?

Regardless, he had to get Grimmjow's location out of someone. That name was a long-term problem waiting to bite him.

Grimmjow. Wayne had carried that name in the back of his mind ever since his lower-level days. Him and Yammy. Two Hollows who had nearly killed him.

Grimmjow was the lesser concern. Back then, after their fight, he had simply walked away, no lasting damage done. Yammy was a different story. Wayne had nearly died dealing with him. Nel had almost lost consciousness because of him too. Without Yammy, the path forward would have been a lot less dangerous.

So. Wayne was not the forgiving type. If he crossed either of those two again in Hueco Mundo, he wasn't holding back. He'd make sure they carried memories they couldn't erase.

"King, the stronghold is cleared. Should we keep it intact?"

An Adjuchas under his command stepped forward after the cleanup.

"Leave it standing. No reason to destroy it — it'll draw other Adjuchas in time. We wait." Wayne had no interest in tearing the place down. It sat at a useful distance from his own territory. Leave some personnel nearby, and any movement in the area would reach him quickly.

"Station more men here. If any leopard-form Hollows show up, I want to know immediately. They are our enemies. Our mortal enemies."

"Yes, my King."

They devoured all the Adjuchas on the spot and headed back to base. Wayne had consumed two high-level Adjuchas and several mid-level ones this time. There was a considerable amount of Reiryoku churning inside him, waiting to be refined. He could go into seclusion for a few days.

But it wasn't just the Reiryoku. As his spiritual power grew, his abilities had started branching out in new directions. Between that growth and his own deliberate development, Wayne's understanding of his concealment and spatial talents had expanded considerably.

During the Sacred War not long ago, a perception-type Adjuchas skilled in biological-wave and energy-wave detection had seen through his concealment, proof that his ability still hadn't reached true mastery. Then there was the second incident: after killing a Hollow, blood had splattered on him, and he'd failed to erase or conceal it fast enough. The enemy locked onto his position and forced him out of concealment entirely.

This time in seclusion, he was going to develop his concealment ability all the way. Complete disappearance, no trace, no signal, nothing for anyone to find.

Ability development came down to two things: control and imagination. Take a single, limited application and express it through different forms.

In the beginning, Wayne's Reiryoku could only blur his silhouette and Reiatsu signature. Now he could achieve full concealment and had formed a domain, a field within which he could suppress the Reiatsu signatures of every Adjuchas inside it.

Next step: extend that concealment to an entire squad. Their forms, their Reiatsu, all of it. Solo assassination would become group assassination.

Picture it. Dozens of Ceros materializing simultaneously across a settlement, each one targeting a different enemy. A single ambush could gut half a stronghold before anyone understood what was happening.

There was the spatial side too. Right now, using spatial abilities while maintaining concealment still leaked spatial fluctuations, hard to hide completely. But if he could merge the two perfectly, something interesting became possible. An enemy charges at Wayne. Wayne releases a concealed spatial coordinate right beside himself. The enemy keeps charging, and then they're just gone. By the time they realize they've been transposed, Wayne has already released them on the other side and put a blade in their back.

Concealment had always been a support tool, something to stack on top of other abilities. But the more Wayne thought about it, the more he wondered whether his concealment domain could produce attacks that were genuinely strange. Not just harder to avoid, structurally bizarre.

For instance: right now, his concealment released a domain centered on himself. Could further development let him center that field on someone else instead? Use it as a cage, not a cloak?

The same question applied to his spatial ability. He'd been underselling it for too long. He'd always thought of it as a movement tool, swap positions, redirect attacks, reposition. Mobility. That was it.

But what happened when he created two separate spatial nodes at the same time and forced them to intersect and twist against each other? That was a rule-level force. Could it tear an enemy apart directly?

As long as the enemy's Reiatsu couldn't instantly detonate and collapse the space, it could work.

And there was one more idea. If he applied his spatial ability to his own body and built a secondary coordinate system around himself, could he transfer his physical position instantaneously while leaving behind a void-flash double in his place? The opponent sees the double, throws their attack, it phases straight through. Then, the moment the attack ends, Wayne re-materializes and strikes.

"Holy shit — isn't that basically Kamui?"

The thought stopped him cold. He laughed at himself. But the more he turned it over, the more it seemed like it might actually work.

Thinking of that technique from one long-running shonen, his mind jumped to another one immediately. Flying Thunder God.

Both were teleportation, but different. One placed a coordinate on an object. The other built a spatial node directly. Each had its own applications.

Take the Sky-Rending Greatsword, for example. Use it as a coordinate anchor. Throw it at a target, follow up with bare-handed attacks while it's in flight, then instantly travel to the sword's location for a second slash. Effectively two full attack cycles, both hitting with compounding force. Another layer of ambush potential.

Direction confirmed. Wayne started experimenting. Concealment, spatial theory, the intersections between them, this round of seclusion was going to take a while.

On the other side of things, while Wayne was under, Nel took over his resource supply. She didn't need to hunt to accumulate Reiatsu, her absorption ability ran passively, so with Jekain and the Adjuchas working alongside her, she was already moving on the next stronghold before Wayne had been gone long.

Without Wayne's assassination capability, they stuck to targets with fewer high-level Adjuchas. There were plenty of those. Nel didn't find it particularly taxing.

Every so often, not every day, but regularly, Wayne would receive a batch of Adjuchas Hollow Masks. It kept his growth going even in seclusion: steady absorption, steady gains. Nel held down the outside. Wayne focused inward.

A year passed just like that.

"So boring. Why hasn't Lord Wayne come out yet?"

In the meeting hall of Wayne's base, Nel slumped in place and complained to no one in particular.

She hadn't been idle. Over the past year, Nel had led the forces on campaigns in every direction, taking dozens of strongholds and steadily expanding their reach. Wayne's faction now had nearly sixty mid-level Adjuchas under its banner, along with thirty to forty at the beginner level. Some had migrated from the Northern Forest. Others had come seeking to join after hearing the name. Three of their Adjuchas had advanced to high-level in that time, two of them were the veteran fighters Wayne had brought up from the Forest of Menos, and the third was Jekain himself.

Five high-level Adjuchas, well, four now, with Wayne still in seclusion. Against that kind of lineup, most ordinary stronghold forces simply didn't stand a chance. Small outposts with only ten or so Adjuchas got swallowed whole. Strongholds in the thirty to forty range with their own high-level fighters still fell, between the Hollow Beast Mines and Negación driving them to either die or run.

Within a hundred miles of Wayne's territory, nothing could stand against them. Wayne had spent a year in seclusion and come out as the ruler of a significant stretch of Hueco Mundo.

"Counting the days, it really has been a long time. He's still under." Jekain sat to the side, watching Nel draped restlessly against the armrest of the throne, not on it, just beside it, and gave a quiet, wry smile. "That said, a seclusion this long must be producing something worthwhile."

Wayne wasn't there, but no one sat in his throne. No one even leaned against it. The throne stood like an article of faith for every Adjuchas in his faction. Even Nel, who curled up closest to it, never actually rested against it when Wayne was away.

"Aaaaaghh. So boring." Nel kicked her legs. "And where is this Grimmjow person, anyway? Lord Wayne told us to extract information from the prisoner, and all that rotten tiger gave us was that Grimmjow left the stronghold to go out hunting. That was a year ago. How is there still nothing?"

"The inner circle is enormous. It takes us ten days to half a month just to travel between strongholds." Jekain smiled tiredly. "A hunting trip lasting over a year isn't strange. Not out here." He meant it, but he had to admit, without Wayne leading hunts, even he found the days dragging. Wayne was their anchor. The whole team moved differently when he was present.

"We wait. We've already waited a year. A few more days won't hurt."

"Aaaaaghh... so boring. Lord Wayne, please come out already." Nel's voice carried through the entire base. The Adjuchas stationed there had long since stopped reacting to it.

"Urgent report!"

Nel was just about at the point of rolling across the floor when one of Jekain's trusted men came sprinting in from outside.

"What is it?" Jekain turned.

"My lord — approximately half a day's travel to the east, an Adjuchas squad is moving toward us. Their heading is fixed. They're clearly coming for us."

"Oh?" Jekain's brow shifted. He sorted it out quickly enough. Nel had spent the past year sweeping through stronghold after stronghold. There were always survivors who slipped away. It wasn't hard to believe word had spread about Wayne's faction, about the Negación, about the Hollow Beast Mines. Some of those rumors were probably the same ones that had brought willing recruits. Others, apparently, had brought something less welcome.

"How many?"

"Thirteen Adjuchas. Of those..." The subordinate chose his words carefully. "Seven are high-level."

Not friendly.

Jekain's eyes narrowed behind his Hollow Mask. "Any leopard-form Hollows among them?"

"No, my lord. Almost all of them are beast-human hybrid forms, with a few aberrant types. All seven high-level are humanoid-form."

"A team of seven high-level Adjuchas is not coming here to join us." Jekain's voice was flat.

"Assemble the combat teams. Full readiness."

"Yes, my lord!" His subordinate was already moving.

Jekain turned. "Lady Nel — this may be a hard fight. Their high-level count is already double ours."

"We'll know more once we're face to face." Nel had straightened up from the wall. "The question is whether to wake Lord Wayne."

"I'll post someone outside his seclusion chamber. If the situation becomes uncontrollable, fire a signal flare."

"Then let's go meet them." Nel nodded and fell in beside Jekain. They walked out of the hall together and climbed to the high ground of the fortress, their forces assembling below, combat-ready.

A few hours later, standing on the high platform, Nel felt the enemy's Reiatsu rolling in from the east. It was soaked in killing intent. Nothing cordial about it.

"Hmph." She let out a cold breath and released her own Reiatsu in answer. Pink Reiatsu surged into the sky. Beside her, dark-purple Reiatsu climbed, Jekain. Behind him, the two other high-level Adjuchas added their signatures to the pressure. Then the mid-level Adjuchas pushed their own Reiatsu forward, pressing it toward the approaching force.

Fewer high-level fighters on their side. A lot more bodies.

"Who are you, and why are you forcing your way into our territory?" Nel stepped forward, putting herself directly in front of the enemy line. A year of campaigning had put an edge on her, her bearing had changed, her combat instincts sharper. Her natural absorption ability meant her Reiatsu had climbed almost to the peak of the Adjuchas level. Facing seven high-level opponents, she wasn't giving an inch.

The thirteen newcomers looked around briefly, then fixed their attention on the strongest Reiatsu signature.

"You're the leader here?"

"Our leader doesn't receive hostile guests. If you have business, say it to me."

"Hmph. Bold." The one at the front was a Hollow whose head was shaped like a stingray. His eyes ignited with killing intent, and a blue-gray Cero shot straight at Nel.

Pity for him, Cero was the last thing Nel was afraid of.

The blue-gray Cero hit her. She opened her mouth and swallowed it. Then a pink Cero came out.

BOOM!

A massive Adjuchas at the enemy leader's side stepped in and took the blast. When the smoke cleared, the bone shield he'd raised bore a network of hairline cracks, but the Hollow behind it was untouched.

"Interesting ability." The stingray Hollow grinned. His body vanished. One step of Sonído and he was in her face. Nel disappeared from her spot at the same moment. When she reappeared, the Lanzador Verde was already locked against the greatsword he'd manifested.

"That's the best you've got?"

Then his greatsword went black. Jet-black light spread along the blade and crept up the Lanzador Verde like a living thing.

Nel's eyes sharpened. She dropped the spear and pulled back immediately.

The Lanzador Verde, eaten by black light, went silent in her senses. Until she understood what that power was, she wasn't touching it.

"Careful, are we." The stingray Hollow's laugh was laced with contempt. "Doesn't matter. My Domain of Darkness locks onto its target."

"What—"

Black light was already spreading up from Nel's front hoof. Cold. Numbing. It climbed without pause.

Nel stomped. The black light rippled on her hoof like a liquid, and kept rising.

BOOM!

She fired a Cero straight at him through the distraction. He cut it in half. The Lanzador Verde she threw was batted aside.

The black light had already taken half her body. Her four legs were going numb. She couldn't move. All she could do was flood herself with her full Reiatsu and try to slow the spread.

"Lady Nel!" Jekain's shout cut through the chaos. He launched himself skyward toward her, and was immediately cut off by high-level Hollows.

"Useless." The stingray Hollow's voice was almost bored. "My Domain of Darkness doesn't stop until the target is fully devoured."

"Damn it — fire the signal!" Jekain spun and shouted to his Adjuchas, then drove his own strength back into the fight. The three high-level allies each found opponents. The mid-level Adjuchas swarmed the enemy high-levels in groups while the Hollow Beast Mines disrupted the six mid-level enemies. Both sides ground against each other, neither breaking, but Nel was still being swallowed, and Jekain had one goal now: stall. Hold the enemy's pressure off Nel. Hold until Wayne came.

The red signal flare climbed into the sky. Everyone was engaged. No one on the enemy side had a free hand to intercept it. The message was on its way.

"Whoever you are — release Lady Nel. Now. Or you will pay a price you cannot afford."

"Heh." The stingray Hollow spread his hands. "You're already caught in the jar and you're still bargaining? About two years ago, you people took Uteranxilu, didn't you?"

"Who?" Jekain's voice was cold.

"Won't admit it? His Reiatsu is still sitting inside that fortress behind you. Who is he, you ask? Are you really not taking me seriously?"

"Nonsense. If you want to fight, then fight." Jekain was already running through it in his head. The prisoners in their base were a short list. Most were the usual captives who hadn't known when to back down. Beyond that, two. One was a subordinate of the Skull Emperor, Baraggan. The other was a trusted aide of Grimmjow. If the timeline put the capture two years back, was this Baraggan's people?

Jekain snapped a dark-purple chain toward the stingray Hollow. His sealing power was threaded through it, maybe enough to interrupt the Domain of Darkness and buy Nel room to breathe. The stingray Hollow drew his greatsword with one casual hand, coated it in black light, and swatted the chain apart. Link by link, it shattered.

"Save your energy. My ability is consumption. Any creature weaker than me, I swallow. Even creatures stronger than me, I wear them down over time. Your Lady Nel is just barely below my level." He clicked his tongue. "Such a waste. Hahahaha, be good and become my nourishment!"

"Damn you! Who are you people?!" Jekain condensed another Cero and fired. One sword strike. Gone.

The black light was past Nel's chest now. Jekain had nothing left to throw at it, only continuous assault on the stingray Hollow, hoping his sealing ability would find a crack, something to freeze the Domain of Darkness long enough for Nel to get free.

"I already told you. Stop wasting your effort." The stingray Hollow shook his head the way someone shakes their head at an insect. "Though since you're so pitiful, I'll tell you who we are before you die." He started walking toward Nel, a black light shield spreading around him to absorb Jekain's strikes.

"My name is Stablaik. Subordinate Officer of His Majesty Baraggan Louisenbairn. The one you are holding, Uteranxilu, was an envoy dispatched by His Majesty. Capturing him was an affront to my lord's dignity. So His Majesty sent us to deal with you." He shrugged. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being too blind to know who you were grabbing."

"Baraggan's people." Jekain's eyes went cold. He'd known about Baraggan since arriving near Las Noches, a ruler at the very top of the hierarchy. He just hadn't expected this confrontation to come now. The helplessness in him was total.

"Right. Now you know." Stablaik's tone was a smear of contempt. "I'll give you one offer: surrender. Pledge to my lord. I might even say something favorable about you in front of His Majesty Baraggan. As for you leaders, don't bother. You die today."

He kept walking.

"I've said everything worth saying. So. You can go ahead and die now. Nel, was it?" He tilted his head. "A shame. A female." His voice took on a sharper edge. "But I hate female Hollows most of all. Especially that rotten shark who keeps throwing herself against my lord. So you can just go ahead and, "

A pale-gold flash crossed the battlefield.

Stablaik's Hollow Mask split apart. He was airborne before he understood what had hit him.

"You said..." The voice came from everywhere at once. Then the Reiatsu hit, savage, radiant, pale-gold light flooding every corner of the battlefield. Pale-gold hair drifted behind him. The Sky-Rending Greatsword pulsed with that same light.

Wayne stepped out of the air. Slowly. Like he had all the time in the world.

His Reiatsu detonated against the black light. It scattered. Nel's body was free.

"My lord." Nel's eyes filled with something past relief. "You finally came out."

"You did well, Nel." Wayne turned toward her, and his hand came down on top of her head. "You've all worked hard this past year."

"Mm." She let out a small, involuntary sound, something between a breath and a laugh. The attack that had nearly killed her was already gone from her mind. Just warmth, and the feel of his Reiatsu pressing outward in all directions like a tide she could rest against.

"This Reiatsu is..." Stablaik forced himself upright, Hollow Mask shattered, pain spiking through him. He stared at Wayne. His voice came out in a rasp.

"A peak-level Adjuchas—"

➤ Next: Suppression