Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 97 - Nearly Had the Home Base Stolen

"You've learned how to use the Black Cero." After a brief silence, Ulquiorra's eyes regained their sight. Across from him, Wayne opened his eyes as well. "You may leave."

"Shared Vision. Not a bad ability." Wayne raised his left hand toward the sky. Reiryoku churned within him, and black energy spread across his palm. An instant later, a massive Black Cero erupted upward, blasting apart the thunderheads Ulquiorra's lightning had gathered. Moonlight spilled through the parting clouds, washing the barren earth in pale silver once more.

"Ulquiorra. I don't know what drove you to seal yourself away here." Having witnessed Ulquiorra's past, Wayne saw him differently now. That feeling of a person buried in nothingness, the loneliness of always being alone, it resonated. "But if you ever need me, bring this west. You'll find me." He tossed an emblem to Ulquiorra.

"That mark represents my faction. If you run into trouble that requires my help, show it to one of my people. They'll bring you to me."

With that, Wayne moved to Baraggan's side, ready to depart. "Apologies, Great Emperor. I dragged you out here for nothing. Next time we hunt and cross paths with a Vasto Lorde, my share is yours."

"It's no matter. This old man did not come in vain, I recalled a fair few things about Laws." Baraggan offered no objection to Wayne's proposal. He truly couldn't take another step forward, but that didn't stop him from absorbing Law power.

"Ulquiorra. I hope we meet again someday. And — be careful of someone called Ai—" Wayne's voice cut off.

"What?" Ulquiorra held the emblem, caught off guard by the strange, unfinished sentence.

"No. It's nothing." Wayne thought better of it. Meddling too much with future events might cost him the chance to learn Segunda Etapa. Aizen was an enemy, yes, but given how stiff things were between him and Ulquiorra right now, Wayne couldn't be sure Ulquiorra would even believe him. Better to say nothing at all.

"Great Emperor. Let's head back."

"Mm." Baraggan took one last look at the emblem in Ulquiorra's distant hand, then matched Wayne's Sonído, heading toward the outpost on the perimeter.

"Ace... Wayne, is it?" Ulquiorra murmured as he watched the two Hollows depart. Then he left the ruins and returned to his burial ground.

"Tia. We're leaving."

Wayne and Baraggan departed with Harribel, returning to the stronghold where Nel waited. They hadn't managed to recruit Ulquiorra, but Wayne had learned the Black Cero, the trip was far from wasted. He'd also picked up the name of a new Law from Baraggan's words. In the future, when cutting down enemies, he'd pay closer attention to Hollows who might carry fragments of Law power.

Back at the stronghold, Wayne collected Nel. No new face in tow, she understood immediately that the recruitment had failed. She also noticed no visible improvement in Baraggan's Reiatsu or her lord's. But she didn't ask publicly. There'd be plenty of time alone with Wayne on the road. She could ask then. Right now, her lord's dignity came first.

"Tiber. Tell your clan's Hollows: not one step into the depths of the Forest of Delusion. Understood?" Before leaving, Baraggan addressed the local leader. Ulquiorra's stance was unclear, and Tiber had sworn fealty. A king had a duty to warn his subjects, even if Baraggan could discard every life here without a flicker of mercy, the craft of rule still had its uses.

"By Your Majesty's command," Tiber said, bowing. Never mind why Baraggan barred them from the forest's heart, the Vasto Lorde inside was reason enough to stay clear. Still, he wanted to ask why Baraggan and Wayne hadn't simply destroyed it. But that question stayed locked in his skull. If he actually voiced it, the settlement leadership might change hands before the next breath.

As for why Baraggan didn't conscript troops here,

The truth was, if they did, Wayne would struggle to send them all back. One by one wasn't impossible, but he couldn't use Spatial Warp repeatedly in a single day. Three to five times was manageable, but each jump could only carry one or two people. A Teleportation Array topped out at five. The pace of travel would crawl. From a time-efficiency standpoint, it simply wasn't worth it.

So Wayne's group had no intention of taking a single soldier. The number who'd come was the number who'd return.

After another half-day spent engraving array talismans, they returned to the temporary camp in Hueco Mundo's Central Region. Baraggan had burned through considerable Reiatsu in the earlier battle and needed recovery. Wayne brought Nel and Harribel back to his own camp.

"My lord. You didn't kill the Vasto Lorde inside, did you?" Alone at last, Nel finally asked.

"He was strong. An Arrancar, too. Baraggan and I had to combine our strength just to barely keep him suppressed." Wayne explained the agreement with Ulquiorra and how he'd learned the Black Cero, satisfying her curiosity. When Nel heard he'd stumbled into yet another opportunity and grown stronger, she was happy for him.

"Nel. Aside from Cero Doble, your innate abilities are Super Acceleration and Absorption, right? And healing, of course."

Now that he understood four types of Laws, Wayne was ready to develop his subordinates' capabilities. Harribel was clearly suited for the Elemental Law. But Nel, from what Wayne knew, the only possibility was the Life Law. She had healing, after all. Yet the Life Law's most critical component, Ultra-Rapid Regeneration, was something he'd never seen her display. During his secluded cultivation, Nel had gone hunting with Jekain and the others. She'd taken wounds, but she always healed herself with her own ability, never Ultra-Rapid Regeneration. Even when she lost a limb, she'd treat the wound and wait for it to grow back slowly, never forcing rapid regrowth.

This puzzled Wayne. Did Nel simply have no talent for Law power? Or was she like Harribel, possessing only a lower-tier ability derived from a Law fragment, never having evolved true Law power?

"Yes, my lord. The techniques I've mastered are exactly what you've seen. I possess nothing more."

"Then from now on, when we hunt, I want you to prioritize devouring Hollows with healing, absorption, and speed-type abilities. The more, the better."

"Yes, my lord." She didn't know why, but if Wayne said it, she'd do it. "Speaking of absorption... Bawabawa seems fairly capable in that area too." Nel glanced at the little loach squirming beside her and tilted her head.

"Bawa?" The loach looked up at its master's name, and froze. Behind her mask, Nel's eyes held a glint of something hungry. The look practically said: this little thing looks delicious.

Σ( ° △ °|||)

"BAWABAWA BAWABAWA!" The loach shook its head frantically and squirmed over to rub against Nel's leg, drawing laughter from both her and Wayne.

Beside them, Harribel had watched the whole exchange in silence, head lowered, lost in thought.

"Tia." Wayne caught it.

"Eh? Yes." His voice snapped her back. "Is something the matter, Lord Wayne?"

"You seem troubled." He didn't dance around it. "The earlier battle?"

"I..." Harribel hesitated. "Yes, my lord."

"How so? You didn't perform poorly. Did something catch your attention?"

"No. Nothing." She shook her head. "It's only... I am a Vasto Lorde as well, yet I couldn't even be of help. I am... ashamed before you, my lord."

"Don't be." Wayne waved it off. "An opponent like Ulquiorra, even an old-guard Vasto Lorde like Baraggan couldn't handle him alone. You've only just reached the initial stage. No need to push yourself that hard. Besides, Ulquiorra's power might be a direct superior form of yours. He's already mastered the Thunder Law. You're still at water-type abilities. Your power gets hard-countered by his, struggling against him is normal."

"But—"

"We'll help you find Hollows with water-type abilities. When that time comes, whether you choose to consume them, that's your decision."

"I understand, my lord." She bowed respectfully. Something strange stirred in her chest.

Wayne hadn't treated her the way Baraggan treated his subordinates, no endless orders, no beatings, no insults, no blame when the battle turned. He'd simply spoken to her like a friend. Told her where the problem lay. Told her how to grow stronger.

And most importantly, he hadn't forced her. He'd left the choice to her. When they found a Hollow with a compatible ability, the decision to consume it or uphold her principle of no sacrifice would be entirely hers.

Had she... truly misjudged him? Harribel turned the thought over, then excused herself to take the night watch and left.

Wayne couldn't quite read what was going through her head, but he was certain of one thing: Harribel was not the type to harm him. The way she protected her own made that clear. Even if he'd half-coerced her into joining, she'd never betray her beliefs.

Whether she'd cause unnecessary slaughter because of him, that depended on how she was cultivated going forward.

After the great battle, Wayne rested in his camp, turning the Black Cero's usage over in his mind. Nel piled up a grass nest beside him and fell asleep clutching Bawabawa. Dozens of meters away, Harribel leaned against a wind-sheltered rock, gazing at the sky, her thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.

All in all, it was a peaceful night. So peaceful that even the Eternal Moon seemed to soften.

The next day, fully rested, Wayne and Nel rose and headed toward Baraggan's camp. For mutual convenience, the two camps had been set a fair distance apart. Not all of Baraggan's subordinates shared their lord's tolerance, accepting Harribel's presence didn't come easily. Back in the day, she'd fought them plenty.

With Vasto Lorde strength, she'd never lost. Which meant the ones left battered and bruised were always Baraggan's subordinates. On this expedition, though, they'd strictly obeyed orders not to step out of line with her. Otherwise, a single breath of Respira from their Skull Emperor, and they'd be sent back to the furnace.

The distance between camps didn't mean a long journey. Even without teleportation, Sonído alone would get them there in ten minutes or so.

But halfway there, they felt it, dozens of chaotic Reiatsu signatures erupting from Baraggan's camp. More than three of them at Vasto Lorde level. And Baraggan himself wasn't among them.

"My lord!" Harribel sensed it too, instantly on alert.

"Let's move." Wayne ordered Bawabawa to shrink, took Nel, and used his spatial ability to go ahead. Harribel brought up the rear, guarding against ambush.

He materialized at the camp's outer perimeter. The Reiatsu hit him head-on.

Three Vasto Lordes. Dozens of High-Order and peak Adjuchas-class Hollows locked in combat.

The camp wasn't heavily damaged. Baraggan had only lost about a dozen subordinates. The fight had barely begun.

Above the camp, Baraggan swung his Death Axe, parrying attacks while releasing Respira to force back the Hollows trying to flank him.

The situation was clear: they'd been ambushed by one of those Vasto Lorde coalitions from the Central Region, the ones that liked to hunt in packs.

"Didn't they say there weren't more than a hundred Vasto Lordes total? How the hell did we run into three at once?" Wayne cursed and dove into the fray. The Sky-Rending Greatsword materialized in his grip as he brought it down on one of the three Vasto Lordes above.

A new Vasto Lorde crashing in, the three Hollows' encirclement shattered instantly. Baraggan seized the opening, leaping clear to land beside Wayne.

"Who goes there!" one of the three roared, caught off guard by the sudden attack.

"Don't ask. If you've gotta ask — it's your old man!"

➤ Next: The Fog of Illusion