Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 77 - Negotiation

"Some things only need to be said once." Wayne's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Alright. We're heading into the city. Get all Soul Reapers out of there immediately. And one last thing — watch Sōsuke Aizen. If you get the chance, kill him outright." With that, Wayne took Nel and left in a burst of Sonído, heading back toward the city.

"Hey. Urahara." Shinji Hirako watched the color drain from Urahara's face all at once and couldn't find the words to ask. It was obvious, the Hollow called Wayne genuinely knew something. Something connected to Urahara. Something kept buried.

"What's that Hollow's ability?" Urahara didn't answer. He threw out a question of his own instead.

"Spatial. And strong. He also seems to have some kind of concealment technique. The female is harder to read. But it's obvious the male — Wayne — cares a great deal about her. Maybe..."

"Spatial." Urahara's lazy expression vanished. He burned Wayne's words and face into his memory and held them there.

On the other side of things, Wayne and Nel encountered no Soul Reaper pursuit along the way. No sign of Sōsuke Aizen either. Wayne even activated his concealment and swept the city in all directions just to be sure, the Soul Reapers had apparently received the withdrawal order for real. Only two captains who had arrived late lingered in the distance, watching Wayne and Nel from afar.

In truth, Wayne had no intention of attacking the humans regardless. He had been human before becoming a Hollow, after all. Killing without cause wasn't something he had any appetite for.

"My lord, how much are we taking?" Nel followed Wayne into the now-deserted library, a large cloth bag dangling from one hand, she'd found it somewhere along the way.

"This section, this one, and that one over there. Every book in those three areas." Wayne pointed out the relevant shelves: language, physics, communications.

A lot of physics didn't apply in the Hollow world. But some of it could still be combined with the abilities of Hollow Beasts, and that fraction was worth having.

"And this. Bring this back for Timd too. Hmm... grab two copies of this one." Wayne pulled several books on firearms from a nearby shelf. Then, from the comics section, he grabbed a stack of manga volumes.

"I wonder if Timd even cares about this kind of thing anymore." Wayne shook his head, somewhere between exasperated and sad. Thinking of how much Timd had changed, how thoroughly his nature had shifted, he couldn't help feeling a pang of something. He hoped these things might help him recover a little of what it once felt like to be human.

Nel hoisted the whole loaded bundle onto her back without complaint. Well. She was an antelope. Structurally speaking, that made her a very convenient and load-bearing species.

"All packed, my lord." She gave the bundle a firm pat.

"Good. Next we need to stop at a cell tower and take some finished equipment back for Timd. The problem is that this stuff is fragile — it can't handle our Reiatsu or our speed. So the return trip is going to be slow."

"That's fine, my lord. Wherever you go, Nel goes." The slow pace didn't bother her at all. She had even considered staying in the World of the Living for a few more days. But the Soul Reapers had eyes on their every move, and that sat wrong with her. She let the idea go.

"Alright, wait here. I'll go retrieve the cell tower and signal equipment — spatial ability makes transporting all this a lot easier." Wayne patted Nel on the head, stepped out via a spatial flash, and was gone.

"Hehe." Nel stood there for a moment, savoring the warmth of his hand, and wagged her tail. The unease of being watched quietly dissolved. Since there was no real risk of being attacked at this stage, she stopped worrying about it altogether. She walked out of the library, found a nearby fruit stall, quietly pried open the rolling shutter at the entrance, and started eating with great enthusiasm. For all her lord's talk about the wonders of human cuisine, it turned out that plain fruit was what really appealed to Nel's palate.

When Wayne returned, he was carrying a massive utility pole. He had already used his ability to relocate the cell tower and signal source, the pole was just what was left over. The problem was that his spatial ability hadn't yet formed a true domain. It couldn't function as a pocket dimension. Otherwise, neither of them would have had to trudge back loaded down like pack mules.

Back in the city, Nel had eaten through roughly half a fruit stall's entire stock. Wayne looked at the carnage with undisguised exasperation. There were fruit stalls up and down this entire street. Why had she stripped just this one?

Paying for it wasn't happening. Wayne hustled Nel away from the scene. Before they left, he packed up what remained of the stall, the other half, and handed it to Nel to snack on along the way. Half was already gone. Might as well finish the job. With any luck, the owner would wake up tomorrow, stare at the empty stall, and assume he'd simply forgotten to restock. That at least spared the other vendors any losses.

Once everything was sorted, Wayne waved at the distant captains, opened a Garganta, and stepped through. The brief excursion to the World of the Living was over. He'd have chances to come back.

"They're gone?" Shinji, his wound temporarily staunched, glanced over at Kisuke Urahara.

"Yeah. The Reiatsu detector can't pick them up anymore." Kisuke Urahara put the device away and let out a long breath.

"Your vice-captain..."

"I already had every Soul Reaper withdraw to Soul Society the moment I sensed those two Hollows approaching the city." Shinji kept his gaze fixed on the city below. "Today's conversation with those two — I think we hold off on reporting it for now."

"Yeah." Urahara agreed without hesitation. Whether it was his own Hōgyoku or the question of Aizen, both needed careful investigation first. "I'll handle the cover story when the time comes. You lost an arm — that's a solid enough excuse."

"Do whatever you like." Shinji glanced at where his arm used to be. "Do you think... what he said — was any of it true?"

"I don't know." Urahara shook his head. "Getting information from the mouth of a Hollow Beast and then turning around to suspect, let alone eliminate, a vice-captain based on that alone — no matter how you look at it, it sounds absurd."

"It does. The Seireitei wouldn't allow it anyway." Shinji looked up at the pitch-black sky. "But why do I keep feeling like something big is about to happen?"

On the other side of the Garganta, Wayne and Nel were already on their way back to Hueco Mundo. They heard none of it.

At this stage, relying on the Soul Reapers to deal with Aizen themselves, Wayne had never thought that was realistic. Once Aizen entered the Seireitei, he had used Kyōka Suigetsu on every single person there. Every Soul Reaper was already under his control. Whenever Aizen chose, he could splice his target's five senses and cut them down from the inside.

The most terrifying part was that a person under that control had no way of knowing it. No way of breaking free.

Going by the manga's history, only one captain, from the 11th Division, had ever managed to sense something was wrong through sheer force of instinct and break free of Kyōka Suigetsu on his own.

It wasn't that the other captains lacked the strength to break free. They simply never knew they'd been controlled. A problem that originated at the level of perception itself was something even Wayne had no way to fix, he was a Hollow, after all. His voice carried no more weight there than the enemy's.

So rather than placing his hopes in Shinji Hirako and Kisuke Urahara, it was better to trust himself. The way things stood, if Wayne wanted to take out Shinji, a first-round burst would be enough, taking Hirako down was entirely possible. But Aizen was a different matter. Wayne had no such confidence there. Aizen's true depth was unknowable.

At his current peak Adjuchas level, he had no real certainty against Aizen. Within the next few years, Wayne had to reach Vasto Lorde level. That wasn't a goal. It was a deadline.

The return trip was far slower than the journey out. Wayne and Nel could only move with light, restrained Sonído to keep the fragile equipment from being shaken apart.

Fortunately, Nel was still riding the lingering wonder of the World of the Living. The whole way back she talked and laughed with Wayne, sharing observations about the human world, about family bonds, even asking questions about the closeness between couples.

She couldn't fully grasp all of it. But for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she found herself drawn to understanding more about how humans lived. According to what she knew, once a Hollow Beast evolved into an Adjuchas, it could take on a humanoid form. And according to Wayne, after becoming humanoid, there was a chance to undergo Arrancarification, at which point part of their face would be exposed to open air, bringing them even closer to looking like a person.

The road stayed long. It took roughly three months for Wayne to make it back to Hueco Mundo, and then another month or more to travel back to base.

All told, half a year had passed by the time Wayne returned to his territory. Jekain had already brought Timd to the camp. When Timd saw what Wayne had carried back, both his eyes lit up instantly.

Not because of the cell tower or the signal equipment. Because of the manga tucked away in the corner of the cloth bag.

Wayne had no objection to him reading manga. He handed everything over for Timd to study and told him to finish the relevant construction as soon as possible.

This was a good moment to address something about Timd's ability. Wayne had always assumed the clone bodies were only good for escaping. He'd been wrong. Each of Timd's mature clones could learn and absorb knowledge independently.

And when they recombined, all of that accumulated knowledge fed back into the main body. Timd could effectively study multiple subjects at the same time. For researching technology, that was a godlike trick. And beyond that, Wayne had helped Timd develop a combat application as well.

The idea: divide the clone bodies down to a microscopic scale, send them crawling into an enemy Hollow Beast through its mouth and nostrils, reassemble inside the body, and then either fire off a Cero from within or detonate outright. The enemy collapses from the inside before it even knows what hit it.

When Timd learned there was a method like that available to him, he threw himself into it. Every free moment went into drilling the control of each individual clone body, pushing that mastery further and further.

To each their own specialty. Timd had discovered on his own that he could learn on a massive scale. Wayne was the one who handed him a way to fight.

As long as the Reiatsu gap wasn't absolute, Timd would no longer need to fear Hollow Beasts of the same level.

Taking on the responsibilities Wayne had entrusted to him, Timd's hundreds of clones each picked up a book and filed off toward the rooms of the base.

Wayne's base was built against a cliff face, which made it easy to carve out as many cave rooms as needed. Any time there was risk of a collapse, Mude stepped in and stabilized the rock. Among the books Wayne had brought back were a few on civil engineering, those might prove genuinely useful to Mude. And for anything he couldn't parse on his own, Timd was right there.

It had now been over two years since Wayne first entered the inner circle. His foothold in the surrounding area had largely stabilized. He could finally bring his reserve forces up and let all the Adjuchas-level members develop here in the inner circle, while leaving a contingent behind to keep lying low in the Forest of Menos.

Once everything was handed off, Wayne tracked down Jekain and asked what had happened while he was away.

Nothing major had hit the territory. Neither Szayelaporro nor Grimmjow, both of whom Wayne had been keeping an eye out for, had turned up.

The Hollow Beasts locked in the dungeon, however, had finally yielded one more piece of information. One of the prisoners had cracked under interrogation and given up the location of Baraggan's territory, the travel time involved, and even the approximate number of his forces. After that, Jekain had killed the remaining two prisoners on the spot, all except the one mid-tier Adjuchas who had talked. Grimmjow's subordinate was still in the dungeon, not because he was holding out, but because he genuinely claimed not to know Grimmjow's location. Nothing to be done about that except keep him locked up.

"My king, it's been over half a year since Baraggan last sent anyone here. By the timing, if another group is coming, it should be any day now. Should we prepare for battle?"

"Just have everyone stay focused on their posts." Wayne laid out the plan. "While we wait, everyone below high-tier Adjuchas holds at the base on standby. This time, we're not looking for a fight, unless they start one."

"My king, are you planning to...?" Jekain could already sense where this was going.

"To the north of Baraggan's territory, there's a Vasto Lorde-level ruler." Wayne let that sit for a moment. "Compared to swallowing up this little patch of ground we hold, I think Baraggan would much prefer to devour that massive target to the north first."

"You want to negotiate with Baraggan?" Jekain worked through the implication. "But, my king, our current strength..."

"It's fine. We know what Baraggan's ability is, don't we?" Wayne was completely calm. Between what the defector had told them and what Wayne already knew from the manga, he had a solid read on this Hueco Mundo ruler. With his own abilities, breaking through Baraggan's decay power was workable. So he was willing to make contact, and if it went well, the gains could be enormous.

"Understood, my king. But the journey is long. Should we bring everyone? That might get complicated."

"This time, I'm going alone."

"Hm?" Jekain blinked.

"We can't strip our foundation bare. Keep building here, keep expanding our range. Nel has reached peak Adjuchas. With her holding the fort, I'm confident that nothing short of a Vasto Lorde would dare make a lethal move against us inside the inner circle. Two peak Adjuchas retaliating is not something an ordinary force can absorb, and we still have the Hollow Beast Mines on top of that. Anything below high-tier isn't a threat. So I go alone. And if something goes wrong, one person can still run."

"My lord, I want to come with you." Nel raised her hand.

"No, Nel. You're staying here. There are still forces in the surrounding area, and if we don't leave a top-tier combatant to hold things down, I won't be at ease out there. This isn't like before we went to the World of the Living, we need our full combat strength working at maximum right here."

"This..." Nel's face fell, but she nodded. "Understood, my lord."

"While I'm gone, you and Jekain build this place up. In the next ten years or so, there's going to be a hard fight coming. Everything we're doing now is preparation for that." Wayne patted Nel on the head. "Come on. Let's go take a look at the one who leaked the intelligence."

They followed Jekain to the prison block. Two Hollow Beasts were being held in separate cells. One was a tiger-form Hollow, a trusted subordinate of Grimmjow's. The other looked like a massive vulture, a mid-tier Adjuchas, but its tail dragged and squirmed along the ground like a worm. That one had been the informant on Baraggan's location. Four Adjuchas-level guards covered both cells at all times. The moment either prisoner showed any sign of rising Reiatsu, the guards moved in and beat them back down, keeping them perpetually crippled, never allowing them to recover enough to be dangerous.

"That's him?" Wayne looked at the Hollow Beast lying flat on the ground, looking like a half-dead cordyceps fungus that a crow had dropped and abandoned.

"Yes, my king." Jekain nodded. "He couldn't hold out under interrogation. Gave up Baraggan's base location without much resistance, it's to the northeast of our territory. You'll pass through several hills and a forest along the way; those are the key landmarks. Traveling at full speed, three months would be enough. Using the Garganta could make it even faster."

"Good." Wayne nodded, then walked over to the prisoner. "Tell me your name."

"Ki..." The creature said weakly. "Kiliamera."

"Good. Kiliamera." Wayne smiled. "I'll give you one month to recover. After that, you take me to Baraggan's location. Then I let you go. Do we have a deal? Or would you rather stay locked in here?"

"I'll... I'll take you." Kiliamera's voice was raw with desperation. "Please. Don't keep me in here anymore."

"Request received. So here's your chance." Wayne upended a canister of healing powder over Kiliamera. The powder was a medicinal preparation made from a recovery-type Adjuchas that Wayne had brought up to the inner circle.

The powder settled across Kiliamera's wounds and they began to close. Slowly, but visibly. The powder could only treat injuries, though, it couldn't restore Reiatsu. He'd still need substantial time to recover his body and his spiritual pressure.

"Keep him confined. Post two high-tier Adjuchas on guard. Any sign of unusual movement, eliminate him immediately."

"Yes, my king!" Jekain acknowledged and stepped out of the prison block to arrange the personnel.

"In two months, I'll come check on you." Wayne smiled down at Kiliamera. "I hope you won't have any thoughts you shouldn't have by then." He turned and walked out.

"My lord, why not have him take you there now?" Nel tilted her head. "You could carry him through the Garganta just fine at your speed, couldn't you?"

"Because what if Baraggan's people show up during those two months?" A slow, satisfied grin crossed Wayne's face. "We get to absorb another wave of resources. And we get something to hold over Kiliamera as a show of force. Why pass that up?" His thinking was straightforward: if Baraggan sent more people his way, Wayne would take what they offered. And compared to that minor loss, Baraggan would surely prefer to devour Rod Folles' forces first, that was the real prize. As for what Wayne intended to get out of any deal between them, that would depend entirely on how much sincerity Baraggan was willing to show.

"Alright. Everyone back to their own work. We reassess in two months."

"Yes, my lord~"

And just like that, Wayne returned to his territory and everything fell back into rhythm. Every day, Jekain led a hunting party out. With both Wayne and Nel now at peak Adjuchas, their options had expanded considerably. Day by day, the territory grew stronger.

Then, just over a month later, Baraggan's messenger arrived.

Wayne had been waiting.

"You're the lord of this place?" A massive humanoid Hollow stood before him. Eight high-tier Adjuchas fanned out behind it. The Hollow itself had reached peak Adjuchas level, nearly on par with Wayne on paper. But the quality and refinement of its Reiatsu were nowhere close. That gap was obvious the moment Wayne looked at it.

"That's me. Third group Baraggan's sent now. So, are you here to fight, or to talk?" Wayne was relaxed. If it actually came to blows, he was confident he could drop two or three of them before they had time to react.

"Is Kiliamera here with you?"

"You seem to have quite a capable tracking method. Care to explain how it works?" Wayne asked instead.

"I'm the one asking questions here!" The massive Hollow had clearly spent too long throwing its weight around under Baraggan's banner. It showed Wayne no courtesy whatsoever. A Cero fired directly at his face.

"Sometimes," Wayne said evenly, not moving an inch, "knowing when to hold back is what keeps you alive."

Even as he spoke, Nel had already stepped in front of him. A Cero Doble launched toward the massive Hollow in an instant.

Wayne came in right behind it. The node of his spatial flash dropped directly above the Hollow's head. His right hand blazed with a harsh, violent light, and he drove one claw straight at its Hollow Mask.

Cero and Space-Rending Slash descended at the same time. The massive Hollow couldn't decide which to address first. It went for a full-body Reiatsu surge to try to block both at once.

It was the wrong call against Nel's Cero Doble, more than double the destructive force, and against Wayne's condensed Reiatsu technique, which hit far harder than anything at this tier had any right to expect.

One exchange.

Wayne's claw crushed the massive Hollow's head. And with its defenses stripped by Wayne's strike, Nel's Cero punched straight through its chest.

Peak Adjuchas. One hit. Done.

➤ Next: Baraggan — The Conversation