Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 101 - The Dog-Headed Strategist

Chapter 101, The Dog-Headed Strategist

The sentinel Hollow Beast made its way steadily toward the mountain range where Saros held court. Wayne trailed behind in silence, keeping his distance. As a Vasto Lorde-class assassin and master of concealment, he hadn't been detected once from start to finish, though he kept a generous gap regardless. There was no telling whether Saros, as a faction leader, possessed some extraordinary gift for Reiatsu detection. Better to play it safe.

Beneath the eternal night, the light between the mountain peaks was dim and heavy. Only at one point along a mountainside did scattered firelight flicker, that, surely, was the heart of Saros's territory. Wayne's mouth curled upward at the distant glow. He followed the light upward and saw that the mountainside had been sheared clean away at mid-height, then cut vertically downward to form a complete cliff face. At its base, a cavern roughly twenty meters across yawned open, two Hollow Beasts standing guard at the entrance.

"That cliff really does look like Pride Rock," Wayne muttered mid-air, then Sonído'd into the cavern without disturbing the guards in the slightest.

Pushing straight into the heart of the stronghold was, admittedly, reckless. Still, he'd already carved a set of spatial coordinates into a concealed spot before entering the cave. A single flash-step and he'd be clear.

The interior layout was similar to his own stronghold, the mountain hollowed out and divided into individual chambers, easy to administer and excellent for funneling enemies. As for the mountain collapsing, every creature living here was Adjuchas-class or above. Even if the whole thing came down, they wouldn't be crushed. At Vasto Lorde strength, punching straight through an entire mountain was trivially easy.

Inside, Wayne didn't dare sweep the area with Reiatsu detection. He could only use his eyes, picking through the place piece by piece. Suddenly spreading out a probing pulse could easily give him away. After several hours, he had a rough picture of the forces gathered here.

Within this mountain, there were approximately one hundred seventy or eighty Adjuchas. Of those, roughly thirty were at the Adjuchas peak. And there were a full five Vasto-level Hollow Beasts. Combined with Kamula's three Low-Class Vasto Lordes, that brought the total to nine Low-Class Vasto Lorde-tier King Hollows. That count, of course, did not include the faction's leader, Saros himself, a mid-tier Vasto Lorde. At this very moment, Saros was convening a war council with his subordinates.

"Kamula's entire force has been annihilated. The sole survivor kept alive has just vanished under mysterious circumstances — Reiatsu dissipated, body nowhere to be found. According to the sentries' reports, no suspicious individuals have appeared in the area. There was only a faint anomalous Reiatsu fluctuation, though the sentry likely dismissed it as imagination." On the raised platform above, Saros sat gripping a long blade, looking out over the assembled Hollow Beasts below.

"Setting aside the question of that one survivor — let us focus on the force that wiped out Kamula. What are your thoughts?"

"My lord, the force that annihilated Kamula's group belongs to Baraggan. As far as this one knows, Baraggan is the hegemon of Hueco Mundo's eastern reaches, having ruled that territory for over a thousand years. True, roughly a century ago Baraggan made attempts to bring us under his dominion, but at that time our side held no small number of Vasto-level King Hollows, while his own forces had only himself as a Vasto Lorde. Because of this, every envoy he sent was killed. After that, Baraggan ceased contact with our side and turned to expanding his influence beyond the central region." One of the Vasto-level King Hollows delivered the report.

"According to our intelligence, Baraggan had long been pressing an attack against a rival power to his north — with no results for a long stretch. Yet in recent years he suddenly eliminated the northern lord, Rod Folles, and absorbed that lord's Hollow forces into his own. Even so, he still hadn't developed any Vasto-level combat power. Yet Baraggan, who had abruptly surged forward, was able to instantly crush an old nemesis he'd been unable to defeat for so long. That may well be connected to Lord Kamula's defeat as well."

"And according to the intelligence brought back by the messenger, two Low-Class Vasto-level Hollows have suddenly appeared at Baraggan's side. That is what caused General Kamula's defeat. It is perhaps precisely the appearance of those two Vasto Lordes that allowed the northern lord Rodfolles to be killed instantly."

"Two Low-Class Vasto Lordes and one mid-tier Vasto Lorde. Hmph." Saros let out a cold snort. That kind of fighting strength wasn't enough to frighten him.

"We've had no dealings with Baraggan to begin with, and now he dares to kill the strong among our people. This cannot simply be let go. My lord, this one believes we should immediately dispatch our warriors to punish this enemy and avenge Lord Kamula." Below the platform, a loyalist from Kamula's faction stepped forward and spoke plainly.

"Oh?" Saros looked at the Hollow who had spoken. "Then — Kamulin. Are you willing to step forward and avenge your brother?"

So the one who had spoken was Kamula's younger brother, Kamulin.

"This one would die ten thousand deaths without complaint." Kamulin spoke without hesitation. "However, Lord Saros, this subordinate's strength is meager, only Adjuchas peak. I imagine I would be no match for Baraggan."

"Then shut your mouth!" Saros's long blade struck the ground, sending a shower of stone fragments flying.

"This, yes, my lord." Kamulin was furious, but there was nothing he could do. His ability was only Adjuchas-level, insufficient to inflict harm on a Vasto Lorde.

"Killing my people naturally demands an explanation." Saros rose to his feet. "But, for someone who would style himself King of Hueco Mundo, he must have genuine ability. Add to that the two Vasto Lordes who appeared out of nowhere. Directly clashing with them head-on offers us no obvious advantage."

"My lord, at present we still have five Low-Class Vasto-level Hollow Beasts. In a direct fight, we may take damage. Once our side loses too many Vasto-level Hollows, the other two factions in the central region may not simply sit and watch, they will certainly seize the moment to swallow us up." A Vasto Lorde wearing a dog-like Hollow Mask spoke up. "This one believes that rather than a head-on confrontation, it would be better to use the tiger to devour the wolf."

"Oh? What is your thinking?" Saros tilted his head at the subordinate, gesturing for him to continue.

"This one believes that what brings Baraggan here is simply the desire to expand his own power. If that is the case, why not feign offering him our support, and have them help us deal with that old fox Susbus together?"

"Hmm." Saros fell into thought. "You mean, we stage a false surrender, then cooperate with them to take on Susbus together?"

"At present, with the enemy incursion, our side is down three Vasto-level Hollows, and we've quietly become the weakest of the three factions in the central region in terms of Vasto-level numbers. This imbalance in combat power will make it difficult for us to hold our footing in the central region. This one does believe that feigning cooperation to create greater advantages is a viable strategy."

"Unacceptable!" Kamulin stepped forward. "My lord, the enemy is about to press in with a full army. If we keep hesitating and flinching like this, won't we just be looked down upon by everyone!"

"Fighting, we can certainly fight. But if our combat power is weakened from dealing with two Low-Class Vasto Lordes and one mid-tier Vasto Lorde, then what follows will be attacks from Susbus and Szayelaporro. If we take heavy losses, there is a very real chance we get devoured by them entirely. That is an incalculable loss we cannot afford!" The Dog-Headed Strategist shot back loudly.

"You! You clearly have a personal grudge with Susbus's people, you're trying to exploit this for your own ends!"

"Enough!" Saros cut off the quarrel between the two. "Facing them head-on, we don't fear that. But if we can seize this chance to destroy Susbus's faction in the process, that benefits us considerably. I've had my eye on that sly fox's ruins for a long time. Besides, that fox specializes in mental-type attacks. Against an ability like that, we need to tread carefully. If Baraggan can help us clean them out, that is no bad thing." Saros thought it over.

"Doghand, I'm giving this task to you. Can you do it?"

"Yes, my lord. This one is willing to go." The Dog-Headed Strategist accepted immediately.

"Then that's how it will be. Doghand, bring the Vasto-level Hollows along when you go. Feigning defeat is acceptable, but never look weak in formation. And facing three Vasto-level Hollows, we must ensure our own combat strength holds."

"Yes, my lord."

With that, the Dog-Headed Hollow departed the council chamber. And there in the corner of that chamber, Wayne had been sitting with his chin resting in his hand, watching their little performance the whole while.

"Quite the Dog-Headed Strategist, that plan of his is rotten to the core." Wayne glanced instinctively up at Saros on the platform.

"These Hollows supposedly grew all the way to Vasto Lorde level, so they shouldn't be stupid. How does someone who made it that far still land on a strategy like making peace with the enemy to fight a third party together? Or does that skeleton ruin of Susbus's really have something that extraordinary?" Wayne found himself puzzled, but he didn't dwell on it. Sooner or later he'd be pushing through there himself, he'd find out when the time came.

Actually, going by what the Dog-Headed Strategist had just said, if Baraggan truly came only to expand his territory and build his reputation, then the alliance just described had a very real chance of coming to fruition. However, this time Wayne had marched out alongside Baraggan not only to help Baraggan expand, but also to develop his own power, specifically to recruit followers and strengthen himself directly.

And so, the false surrender the Dog-Headed Strategist had proposed turned out to be entirely pointless. Because Wayne had intended to take them all in from the very beginning. As for this overture of goodwill, Wayne only needed to play along with their scheme to net every one of them in a single sweep.

With the outcome of the council in hand, Wayne saw no reason to linger. He slipped quietly out of Saros's stronghold and teleported back to his own camp.

He relayed everything he had heard and seen to Baraggan, and the two discussed it together.

"Hmph. How amusing." Baraggan's skull tilted slightly upward. "Still, being willing to submit to this King is no bad thing. Only, now that this King knows the purpose behind their submission, those rabble are in for some very bad days ahead."

"Your Majesty, since that is the case, why not play along with their scheme?"

"Knew you'd have something up your sleeve, kid. Let's hear it." Baraggan wasn't surprised. If Wayne could bring back the intelligence, of course he could bring back the answer to go with it.

"In the coming days, Saros will send his Vasto-level Hollows to negotiate. When they arrive, we can seize the opportunity to exchange blows with them, and I will slip the Death Sigh and spatial crystals into their bodies during the exchange, then conceal them using the Power of Nihility. After that we can agree to their proposal and go together to strike against Susbus — probe her faction's true strength — while developing our own forces covertly in the meantime. At the same time, we approach Szayelaporro and open talks about dividing up the resources of both factions."

"Szayelaporro?" Baraggan naturally knew that name. He had actually planned to bring Szayelaporro under his banner for some time, but the opportunity had never arisen. He hadn't expected that Szayelaporro had by now become one of the Three Great Lords of the central region's Hollow Beasts. That was somewhat outside of Baraggan's expectations.

"Can you convince Szayelaporro?"

"No certainty, but the odds are there." Wayne had the look of someone who'd already worked it all out.

"Besides, even if Szayelaporro refuses, I'm confident I can make a clean exit. And with the Death Sigh as insurance, instantly eliminating Saros's subordinates would only take a moment. Yes, it means losing those resources, but weighed against the greater gain, five Vasto-level Hollows lost is just lost."

"Hmph. You really have no problem throwing things away, do you, kid." The Skull Emperor ran a hand over his withered jaw. "Fine. If this campaign can take the central territory, then the remaining northern and southern regions stop being a threat. Good, this old one will play along with you young ones for a while."

After Wayne finished laying out the plan, he and Baraggan advanced together with the camp. Three days later, five Vasto-level King Hollows under Saros's command arrived at the door simultaneously.

"Your Majesty Baraggan, we have come under Lord Saros's orders to seek terms of peace with Your Majesty."

"Hmph. Shameless curs. You were always under this King's sky to begin with, what is there to seek terms over? Get over here and kneel!" Baraggan's arrogance was on full display once again.

"Your Majesty, we have followed Lord Saros for many years, please don't make such jokes." The Dog-Headed Strategist Doghand stepped forward. "Your Majesty, the reason for our visit today concerns the recent matter between Your Majesty and our side's Kamula."

"Hmph. Those who launched a surprise attack deserved to die." Baraggan let out a cold snort. "Did this King not send one tongue back for you to pass on the message? Must this King say it a second time? Or have you come here today to pick a fight with this King?"

"Your Majesty, you seem to have misunderstood. Our visit this time is to seek peace with Your Majesty. Our lord has long heard of Your Majesty's name, and it is for that reason he sent us to pay respects. As for the earlier matter of Kamula, that was purely a misunderstanding."

"You killed dozens of my people, and now you come to tell me it was a misunderstanding?" Baraggan's Death Axe swung down hard through the air, and the thunderous impact instantly shook the eardrums of every Hollow present.

"Receive one move from this King's subordinate, let this King see whether this is truly a misunderstanding or not!"

With that, Wayne flash-stepped out from among the Hollows below and landed directly in front of the five Vasto-level opponents. Without another word, he pushed his Reiatsu to its absolute limit.

A pale gold light radiated from both of Wayne's eyes as his Reiatsu surged skyward all at once, the clear night sky rapidly filling with a darkening overcast.

ZERO STORM.

➤ Next: Building Alliances