Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 102 - Building Alliances

Chapter One Hundred and Two

Inside the Zero Storm, countless ribbons of Reiatsu howled like a gale, carving into the bodies of five low-class Vasto Lordes. The five channeled their own Reiatsu to resist the blade-storm bearing down on them. But they were all low-class Vasto Lordes, and Wayne's Reiatsu density far outstripped theirs. They couldn't fully withstand his assault. Wound after wound opened across their bodies. Nothing lethal. A light chastisement, nothing more. But riding Wayne's momentum, the spatial crystals carrying Death Sigh drove themselves deep into their flesh, planting seeds of death within.

"Baraggan — you've gone too far!" The five Vasto Lordes fell into combat stances, ready to fight Baraggan and his group. One of them could no longer contain his rage and was on the verge of attacking.

"We are subordinates of Lord Saros, ruler of the Central Region! Since you insist on being so ungrateful, don't blame us for being impolite!" A crab-headed Vasto Lorde conjured two massive hammers and made to charge straight at Wayne.

"Hold!" Doghand called out, stopping the Hollow in his tracks. He stepped forward and gave Baraggan a slight bow. "Your Majesty. You have vented your anger. Perhaps we can now sit down and talk properly?"

"Hmph." Baraggan let out a cold snort, but raised a hand and gestured Wayne back. Wayne executed a Sonído and returned to Baraggan's side. The first act was complete.

"Your Majesty, Kamula's ambush earlier was truly a misunderstanding. You have already executed him on the spot, and you have taken your due satisfaction from us. May we now move on to a real conversation?"

"Speak." Baraggan stowed his great axe, adopting the posture of one laying down arms. Seeing this, the dog-headed strategist stepped forward again.

"Your Majesty, I humbly venture that your purpose in coming to the Central Region is to expand your territory and recruit allies. If that is indeed the case, we are willing to represent Lord Saros and offer you our friendship — to form an alliance with you, the Great Emperor."

"Oh? One moment you're pointing blades at this king, and now you come fawning. Do you take this old man for a fool!"

"Great Emperor, that is not the right way to look at it," Doghand said. "Had we not demonstrated our capabilities, how could we possibly have the standing to become your allies?"

"This friend of yours just unleashed his techniques — and we withstood them. Consider it our way of giving account to the Great Emperor. Now we represent Lord Saros and once again offer our friendship, hoping to form an alliance with you."

"Hmph." Baraggan scoffed.

"Your Majesty, why not hear them out," Wayne said, stepping forward to play his part. "We came here to expand our territory as well. One more ally means one more share of strength. Once the Central Region is pacified, we can divide a portion for them to help us administer. The territory of Las Noches is vast — we cannot bear to have Your Majesty manage all of it alone."

"Hmm..." Baraggan appeared to mull it over. "Hmph. Then speak. What is it you have in mind."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Doghand gave a slight bow. "Your Majesty, are you aware of the Bone Ruins?"

"This king is naturally aware."

"To the north of our Central Region, the faction under the command of the mid-class Vasto Lorde Susubus Aureya controls one such set of Bone Ruins. And according to our intelligence, the Ancient Hollow Beast within those ruins has not yet died."

"Oh?" Baraggan feigned interest. "Continue."

"In truth, the other two major powers of the Central Region both hold an extremely strong interest in that Ancient Hollow Beast. However, Susubus's ability is mind control — a truly troublesome power. Neither Lord Saros nor Lord Szayelaporro has ever managed to gain an advantage over Susubus. Of course, Susubus would never leave the perimeter of the ancient beast's ruins either. Without that enhancement, she would have no way to face two mid-class Vasto Lordes alone." Doghand continued.

"As Susubus continuously absorbed Reiatsu from the ruins, there were faint signs she was approaching the level of a high-class Vasto Lorde. Lord Saros naturally would not sit by and watch Susubus grow stronger. Yet, for reasons unknown, Lord Szayelaporro suddenly lost all interest in the Ancient Hollow Beast, sealed himself within his own territory, and has not shown himself for a very long time. No one knows what he has been doing. If not for the fact that his Reiatsu has remained present, we would have all assumed Lord Szayelaporro had died suddenly."

"Without Lord Szayelaporro as a balancing force, Susubus continued to harvest the Ancient Hollow Beast's Reiatsu. Her power has grown increasingly formidable. Though the pace is slow, every time Lord Saros clashes with her, he feels that she has grown stronger. This has made all of us increasingly uneasy."

"So — you want this king to help you eliminate Susubus together," Baraggan said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Doghand spoke respectfully. "Susubus's ability is strange and unpredictable, but Your Majesty's ability seems to have a certain countering effect on it. If Your Majesty would join us in taking down Susubus, then as for that Ancient Hollow Beast, Lord Saros would surely not be stingy."

"Hmph. Do you take this king for a child?" Baraggan feigned anger. "That ancient beast is the prize all three of your factions are fighting over. Would he really be so generous as to hand it to this king?"

"Your Majesty, if you have no interest in it, you may name your price. As long as Susubus can be brought down, from that day forward we will be your eternal allies, and we will gladly help you truly attain the imperial throne."

"Have your leader come and say that himself. What you say carries no weight." Wayne cut in at the right moment. The dog-head had been doing all the talking from the start, a mere strategist speaking on behalf of a liege showed no respect whatsoever. "Go back and report to your leader. His Majesty will continue advancing northward. If you truly wish to cooperate, within five days, have him come in person to invite His Majesty. If after five days there is still no sign of you, we will raze your territory to the ground for His Majesty!"

The eyes beneath Doghand's Hollow Mask narrowed slightly. He gave a light bow and led his men away. The negotiation ended with Wayne and Baraggan's plan succeeding exactly as intended.

"Boy, why five days? In five days, we could march all the way to Saros's stronghold," Baraggan said, puzzled.

"I need to go and persuade Szayelaporro. It's a long journey. I need time."

"Oh? Are you confident you can get Szayelaporro to cooperate?" The ghostly flames in Baraggan's eyes flickered faintly.

"How would I know without trying? Even if the persuasion fails, we can fight Susubus on our own. With Your Majesty's power combined with my spatial abilities, unless we run into someone who commands the Law, escaping our attacks would be nearly impossible. Of course, I can't entirely rule out that Susubus's mind control is truly fearsome. But to stand as an equal to a physical-type like Saros... I don't think her ability is all that exceptional. Unless she has been hiding the power of the Law herself."

"Hmm..." Baraggan seemed to weigh this and tacitly agreed.

"Considering the possibility of Saros turning on us, our fight with Susubus would essentially be a one-against-one-against-one. But if Szayelaporro is brought in, a four-way free-for-all might actually produce a better result." Wayne continued.

"If possible, Your Majesty, we can first help Saros pin down Susubus. Szayelaporro remains hidden as a wild card, ready to strike at Saros at any moment. If Szayelaporro suddenly turns on us instead, with my spatial abilities in play, getting away would still not be difficult. So for us, the ideal outcome is a four-way brawl: eliminate Susubus first, then finish off Saros. As for Szayelaporro, bringing him under our banner would be ideal. If not, the next best thing is to reach an alliance with him. We don't need too much of his direct power. What we need is his research framework and Hueco Mundo's technology tree."

"It sounds reasonable enough. But actually pulling it off seems far from easy." Baraggan considered. "This king is not afraid of those rabble. But as for the seal on that Ancient Hollow Beast, this king has no confidence. If Susubus is able to release the ancient beast, with its strength unknown, we may not come out of it well."

"If it truly comes to that, we simply flee. Resources are a minor thing, our own lives are what matter most. Though it would likely cost us all the elites we brought along. After all, my spatial abilities can only carry a handful of people at most."

"Boy, have you forgotten the most fundamental skill of us Hollows? The Garganta," Baraggan said, amused.

"The Garganta? Right. Of course." The realization hit Wayne. Ever since he had refined his spatial abilities, he had barely used the Garganta. While opening and closing a Garganta was quite slow, if used in conjunction with Negación, it would still be possible to evacuate a large number of Hollows. Though that would depend on Wayne and Baraggan being able to hold the ancient beast long enough for such a plan to work.

"In that case, Your Majesty, I will go to Szayelaporro's territory first and have a look. If the persuasion succeeds, all the better for us. If it fails, we lose nothing, the fighting will simply be a bit harder. Of course, our most important priorities remain the contest for Hollow resources and the expansion of our territory. As for the ancient beast, if we can obtain it, all the better. If not, let's not sacrifice the greater for the lesser."

"This king does not need a little brat like you to explain these things," Baraggan said with a touch of proud petulance.

"Ha. Then Your Majesty, I will head off first. I will return within five days. Your Majesty, just continue advancing."

"Hmm." Baraggan's skull-head gave a slight nod, acknowledgment enough.

Afterward, Wayne walked over to Nel and Harribel. "Nel. Tia. Come here." He waved them over.

"My lord."

"My lord."

"Nel, I'll be making a trip to Szayelaporro's territory. Neither of you needs to come with me. Stay within Baraggan's forces. If an emergency arises, notify me immediately using the badge. I will come back at once."

"Yes, my lord." Nel nodded.

"Tia, I'm leaving Nel and the others in your care. From the moment Nel sends me the signal to when I can actually arrive, at the very least it will take over ten seconds. Under normal circumstances, around thirty. So if something happens, no matter what method you use, buy me at least half a minute. Can you do that?"

"Yes, my lord. I will do everything in my power to keep everyone safe." Harribel bowed her head.

"Thank you. I'm counting on both of you. I will be back within five days." With those words, Wayne casually drew a spatial rift in the air and teleported directly out of the camp.

In the Far West, at the core of Wayne's territory, inside the Council Hall, Timd and Jekain were together deploying battle plans. Then they sensed a sudden surge of familiar Reiatsu at the Throne, Wayne, returning to his territory through a teleportation coordinate.

"My King? Why have you returned?" Jekain hurried forward.

"Ah. Came back to pick something up." Wayne brushed the dust off himself.

"Something? More badges?" Timd asked first. As Hollows, they still did not have many tools at their disposal.

"Sure. Grab a few of those too." Wayne walked up to stand before Timd. "Timd, split off a clone that carries your ability and consciousness. Pack up all of your technological creations and come with me."

"Huh? My King, where are we going?"

"To pay a visit to Hueco Mundo's foremost scientist."

"Wh-what?" Timd looked completely bewildered, but still obediently did as Wayne said. He split his body in two, then ordered the Hollows under his command to fetch his research creations one by one, from large items like Reiatsu Spectral Analysis equipment down to small things like Reiatsu Monitoring Devices, Tracking Devices, and various everyday-use inventions.

"Ah. Things like Hollow Beast Mines with no real technological sophistication, no need to bring those." Wayne raised a hand. "The person we are going to meet is a mad scientist reincarnated from an alchemist. Bringing something with no technical merit in front of him would only embarrass us."

"Yes. Understood, my King." Timd's rat-like head bobbed up and down, and he set about sorting and packing his things.

Sorting and filtering took no small amount of time. It was roughly half a day before Timd had all of his research achievements packed up and Wayne stored them into his Innate Space.

"My King, so we are going to..."

"Resource-sharing and alliance. The one we are about to face is a mad scientist whose tier is higher than mine. Be careful. Do not carelessly expose your core nature."

"Ah. Understood." Timd seemed to grasp what Wayne had in mind.

Afterward, Wayne traced out an array, setting the destination at a position not far from the outer edge of Hueco Mundo's Central Region. He activated the teleportation, bringing Timd to the outskirts of the Central Region.

After locating scattered Hollows in the vicinity to ask for directions and get his bearings, Wayne set off toward Szayelaporro's territory.

Finally, after a full day of travel, Wayne found his way to the mountain range where Szayelaporro resided.

Unlike Saros, Szayelaporro's mountain range was concealed within a dense, lush forest. As Wayne flew above with Timd, he could already sense faint Reiatsu fluctuations from below sweeping across them.

"My King, this is a Reiatsu-detection device." As a later-rising scientific researcher, Timd naturally recognized the sensing wavelength and its direction.

Following Timd's guidance, Wayne soon arrived over a section of the forest. But there was nothing there at all.

"My King, it's nearby, I can feel it. Perhaps they've used some kind of method to conceal it visually?"

"Hmm. That does seem likely." Wayne was no stranger to Szayelaporro's abilities; producing this kind of optical camouflage was entirely within his range. Wayne immediately triggered a spatial vibration across the surrounding area, and very quickly, within those tremors, he caught a trace of something anomalous.

Directly to his north, a light screen was faintly emitting an illusory ripple. Behind that screen should be the location of Szayelaporro's base.

➤ Next: Szayelaporro