Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 177 - Return to Hueco Mundo

Not long after Wayne's deep talk with Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the Seireitei finally issued the order for the Hueco Mundo subjugation. Soul Society would dispatch an elite force: ten from the 11th Division, five from the 10th Division, five from the 4th Division. Twenty in total. The 4th Division contingent included Mizusue and Wayne. He didn't know any of the others. That was deliberate, Wayne had requested it. When the time came for his revenge, he didn't want anyone he knew trying to stop him.

The old man handling the assignments raised no objections. He understood what Wayne was carrying, even if Wayne had never spoken of it. But the old man was no indecisive fool. If he were, a certain white-clad organization would have destroyed Soul Society years ago.

After selecting the advance party, Wayne split them into five squads, each with a medic. Small-unit tactics. Each squad had a leader. Wayne took command of his own; Mizusue led another.

Twenty fighters moving together, covering each other, engaging Hollow Beasts in squad formation and only dispersing when numbers demanded it. Wayne designed the team compositions himself. He investigated each member's capabilities, built the rosters, then taught them coordinated tactics and told them to work out the finer points on their own. After a week of drilling, they were ready. Hueco Mundo awaited.

"Fellow soldiers." Before departure, the Captain-Commander himself came to address them. "You are Soul Society's finest. You carry the duty of protecting this realm from crisis, and the hopes of every comrade behind you. Complete your mission swiftly — and return victorious."

"Yes, sir!" they answered as one.

"Move out!"

At his command, they opened the Senkaimon and stepped through.

An odd detail: of the twenty, only two couldn't use the Senkaimon. One was an 11th Division soldier with a physical-type Zanpakutō and abysmal Kidō talent, he'd never mastered the technique. He was here because his blade was defense-oriented, useful for protecting teammates. The other was Wayne, who simply couldn't use it at all.

They raced through the Dangai. According to 12th Division's calculations, no Kōtotsu would manifest for the duration. They could move without worry.

Half a day later, they arrived in Hueco Mundo.

The moment his feet touched the sand, Wayne felt his Zanpakutō vibrate faintly, like a traveler coming home. Instinctively, he gripped the hilt and drew the blade, scanning his surroundings as he did. The motion let the sword leave its sheath, return to Hueco Mundo, and drink in the realm's Reishi. He kept the soul absorption minimal, just a trickle. Anything larger would draw attention.

Wayne's Zanpakutō was himself in Hollow form. This realm was where it would grow fastest.

Seeing him draw, everyone else unsheathed their blades and went on alert.

Hueco Mundo was nothing like Soul Society. Enemies and traps lurked everywhere. No one knew which sand dune hid a man-eating Hollow Beast. Wayne ordered his squad to draw steel the second they landed. The other squads followed suit.

After two or three minutes, Wayne relaxed slightly and addressed the squad leaders. "My recommendation: we scout ten kilometers in five directions, confirm the surrounding area is clear, then regroup. First priority is making sure our current position is secure."

"Why not just move together?" countered another squad leader, the current 11th Seat of the 10th Division. "Several squads advancing in one direction. Avoid getting isolated."

"I agree with Squad Leader Hinamori," an 11th Division squad leader said. "We confirm no Hollow Beasts are tracking us, then advance toward the objective. No pincer attacks."

They voted. Wayne won, three to two. The dissenters fell in line without argument. Five squads, five directions.

"If you hit trouble, fire a signal," Wayne reminded them. Then they split, Shunpo carrying each squad toward its assigned heading.

Wayne led his team forward, scanning constantly for Hollow Beasts. But this region was unfamiliar. He needed a guide, someone to point him toward his old territory, his former stronghold. Heading that way, there was at least a chance of running into old subordinates.

Ten kilometers passed quickly at Shunpo speed. Nothing. No Hollows. No distress signals behind them. Wayne had no choice but to turn back. When they reached the rendezvous point, two other squads had already returned. The remaining two were silent. No signals. No word.

Ten minutes passed. Then a few more. People started to shift uneasily. Less than two hours in Hueco Mundo, and two whole squads had gone dark.

"This is why I said we should move together." The 10th Division soldier from earlier fixed Wayne with a sour glare, as if the whole thing were his fault. "We barely arrive, and already a squad is missing."

Maybe there was personal resentment behind it. Soul Society's opinion of Wayne had split down the middle, those who admired his strength, and those who envied him, still bitter over the bets they'd lost because of him. This soldier was the latter. Wayne didn't have the time or patience to manage it. He needed every moment to grow stronger, to pave the road ahead.

"If there were no surprises, why would we be here?" Wayne's voice was flat as still water. "Two squads lose contact simultaneously, neither fires a distress signal. They clearly ran into trouble. We should—"

Reiatsu flared in the distance. Wayne looked up. Mizusue's squad.

"Report," he said.

"Ran into a low-tier Adjuchas-class Hollow Beast. Cut it down." Mizusue shook out her hand. "Four-man squads are effective. One of ours took a hit — broken ribs. I treated him on the spot. He was back in fighting shape immediately."

"New tactics ought to serve some purpose." Wayne nodded, burying his disappointment at missing the Adjuchas entirely. "One squad left. Let's move." He pointed toward the last squad's heading.

"Tch. Acting like he's really in charge here." The hostile soldier's face twisted. A teammate nudged him, shut up.

Wayne ignored him and led the group after the missing squad, leaving the bitter man standing there with venom in his eyes.

They found traces quickly. Behind a low dune: pools of blood. A severed hand, still gripping a Zanpakutō. The blade's shape marked it as one of the 4th Division medics. Torn apart.

"Bad odds," Wayne said, staring at the arm, brow tight. This was just the medic, the other three were unaccounted for. "Two squads per search unit. Anything abnormal, fire a signal immediately." He led his own squad forward past the dune. Mizusue followed without hesitation. The other two squads exchanged a glance, sighed, and sped off in another direction.

Following a faint, lingering trace of Reiatsu, Wayne reached a Quartz Tree Forest. More blood inside. They were on the right track.

Whoosh!

A Shakkahō shot skyward, Mizusue's signal. The other unit, eight strong, arrived at Wayne's position within moments.

"Trail ends here." Wayne had used the wait to search the forest. Nothing but blood. No other clues.

"Tsuki." Mizusue stepped forward. The man who had once been her subordinate — Tsukishiro Hinamori, now had every qualification to lead her. Wayne still called her "my lady," but she knew the truth. She had no power to restrain this avenger from doing whatever he pleased in this wasteland.

"Two choices," Wayne said, turning to her. "One: hold position, establish a temporary camp, keep searching for survivors. Two: press on. Our mission is to subjugate Hueco Mundo."

Mizusue said nothing. She looked at Wayne, then at the Soul Reapers behind her.

The soldiers glanced at each other. No one knew what to do.

A long silence. Then Mizusue sighed softly and met Wayne's eyes again. "I don't want to give up on anyone."

Wayne nodded, silent, and vanished with a Shunpo.

Mizusue turned to the group. "Establish camp here. Two squads search for clues and Reiatsu traces. Fire a signal the moment you find anything. Five hours. If we have nothing by then, we withdraw."

Whoosh!

The Soul Reapers scattered in an instant. Mizusue alone remained, pulling firewood from the supplies, building a campfire.

Wayne perched atop a Quartz Tree. He removed his sunglasses and stared into the distance, using sight and perception to search for even a single Hollow with consciousness.

Three hours later, kilometers away, a Shakkahō lit the sky.

Wayne and the others Shunpo'd toward it instantly.

Minutes later, they arrived. Before them stood a massive Hollow Beast, centipede-like in shape, but upright.

Nearly ten meters tall. Four sharp scythe-blades jutted from its sides at the waist, two on each flank. Eight limbs supported its towering body. Two of those front scythe-blades were occupied, each had a Soul Reaper impaled on it. One was nothing but a torso. The other had lost his head.

"Mid-tier Adjuchas," Mizusue identified immediately. She looked at Wayne.

"Captain-class equivalent. Training exercise, or we run." Wayne's voice was ice. "Your call."

Every Soul Reaper stared at him, brows drawn tight. This was their first real squad-level engagement against a Captain-class opponent. Now they understood why a four-man team had been wiped out without even managing to fire a signal.

"Avenge them!" someone roared.

Blades drawn. Three groups formed automatically. Wayne's four squad members positioned themselves in front of him, ready to enter the fight at his word.

The three groups coordinated, relying on each other, combining their abilities. When the Adjuchas's merciless scythe-blades swung down, they deflected with precise defensive work, medics providing support behind them. Together, they wore the beast down.

Wayne stood motionless. Watching. Not the Soul Reapers, the Hollow. Searching for a familiar mark. The Great Sword Emblem.

Minutes passed. He'd scanned every inch of the creature. Nothing.

"...Ah." A soft sigh. He drew his Zanpakutō.

The blade hummed with excitement, almost speaking to him: cut down this Adjuchas, and I grow stronger.

Wayne gripped the hilt, aimed the tip at the Adjuchas, and moved, Shunpo layered with Shadow Step, a single thrust. The blade punched clean through the beast's chest. He pressed down hard, carving a long, deep line. Crimson sprayed, painting the backdrop to the Hollow Beast's dying shriek.

HUM!

The blade-song wrapped around a burst of sword light. One stroke. The beast split in two. Its Hollow Mask shattered, dissolving into wisps of pale smoke.

Gulp.

The Soul Reapers behind him panted, swallowing hard. They barely knew Wayne. They hadn't known he could be this decisive, this merciless, against Hollow Beasts.

Not far behind, Mizusue watched the man's back. Her brow furrowed. In that moment, he felt like a stranger.

"Let's go." Wayne glanced back at them. "That was only the first. Our mission has just begun."

➤ Next: Half a Year