Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 188 - Night Talk

Wayne didn’t let the two weeks after his return go to waste. He spent the first two days resting at home, then headed back to the division barracks. There were still plenty of people he was close to who deserved his time.

Ikkaku and Iba, for instance, they’d been ready to drag him out for drinks the very day he got back, eager to hear every detail about Hueco Mundo. But they’d held off. They knew he’d need time with his family first, and besides, everyone had the next couple of days off for rest leave anyway. Better to wait until they were all back at the division.

Sure enough, the moment those two days were up, the group reconvened and raised their cups in earnest. Rangiku and Kira had joined them. Kira hadn’t seen Wayne in so long that the moment he’d heard the news, he’d wanted to rush straight over and ask his mentor everything about the mission. But he’d reached the same conclusion as Ikkaku and the others, so he’d forced himself to wait two days before taking leave from the academy. He arrived just in time for the drinking to start.

“I’ve got to say it, Hinamori — that trip to Hueco Mundo was one hell of a gamble, and one hell of a payoff.” Ikkaku hoisted his jug and gulped down several mouthfuls. “I heard the day you got back, you fought our captain to a standstill. The lieutenant also mentioned you’ve mastered Bankai?”

“Mm. Though that’s only because Captain Zaraki was holding back.” Wayne smiled lightly. “He never fully released his Reiatsu. If he had, I doubt I’d have lasted a single exchange. I was in real combat the entire time I was in Hueco Mundo — my experience and Reiatsu kept climbing without pause. The more life-or-death fights I survived, the stronger I became. Then, during one battle against an Adjuchas, I was pushed to the absolute limit. At that critical moment, Bankai awakened. You could call it luck.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Hinamori.” Iba spoke bluntly. “What you’ve achieved didn’t come from nowhere. Every time we’ve seen you outside of division duties, you’ve been home grinding away at your training, building up your Reiatsu. Plenty of times we passed by your place and didn’t feel right interrupting. We’re just glad you never cut ties completely.”

“Ha, that’s on me. I’ll drink to that.” Wayne raised his cup and drained it in one go. “In any case, mastering Bankai really was something I never expected. But it’s exactly because I did that I could hold my ground in Hueco Mundo at all. Otherwise, my body would’ve been sitting in some Hollow’s stomach for the past year.”

The table erupted in laughter at his self-deprecation.

“Then let’s drink to Tsuki-chan’s return, cheers, everyone!” Riding the evening’s momentum, Rangiku raised her cup and pushed the welcome party to its peak. For the next hour or so, everyone ate, drank, and listened to Wayne recount what had happened inside Hueco Mundo.

He told them about the strange Hollow beasts he’d encountered and the bizarre abilities some of them possessed. After all, within all of Soul Society, there were very few who could claim to have spent more time in Hueco Mundo than Wayne.

The group listened with sharp intakes of breath and long, drawn-out sighs. It felt as though they were right there beside him, and they felt a deep sympathy for everything he’d endured along the way.

Alone. Fighting through enemy territory for over a year. That kind of willpower wasn’t something just anyone possessed. Hours slipped by without anyone noticing.

“So, not long after I mastered Bankai, I captured an Adjuchas and used every method I had to force him to open a Garganta and send me back to Soul Society.” Wayne took a small sip from his cup, setting down the final period on his Hueco Mundo account. “I’d already mastered Bankai, and I still couldn’t open a Senkaimon on my own. Honestly, it was pretty embarrassing.” His parting self-mockery drew another round of laughter.

“What does it matter?” Rangiku laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Now that you’ve got Bankai, Tsuki-chan, you can start preparing to aim for captain.”

“Ha. I actually have no intention of becoming a captain.” Wayne shook his head. “The Captain-Commander’s order was for me to continue leading the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force. He said the next time I go, I can bring whoever I choose.”

“You’re going back?” Everyone stared at him.

“Hey, hey... you’re really that devoted to the place?” Rangiku’s expression was pure exasperation. No matter how much you miss Yagami Kina, you don’t have to keep going back there. You’ve already been risking your life for over a year.

“It’s not that.” Wayne shook his head. “Hatred doesn’t lead anywhere good. It’s just that during my time in Hueco Mundo, I discovered a lot of things that have never been known before.”

“Oh?” Everyone’s attention snapped back to him.

“The truth is, before the Hollow I captured brought me back, I’d taken many others prisoner. Some would rather die than talk. Others begged for their lives. The temperament of Hollows, compared to us Soul Reapers, may lean more toward bloodlust and savagery, but they do possess individual consciousness. Group consciousness especially.” Wayne spoke with measured pauses between each sentence.

“They, ” Wayne was about to continue, but he sensed an unmistakably familiar Reiatsu drawing closer. Within seconds, the others at the table sensed it too. Everyone instinctively rose to their feet and waited in silence as the door to their private room slid open.

“Well, well. Sorry to intrude.” A figure in a flowing cherry-blossom pink robe appeared in the doorway, Shunsui Kyōraku, fresh from handling his division’s affairs. “Sounds like you’re all in the middle of a very enjoyable conversation. Mind if I join?”

“Of course, Captain Kyōraku. Please, sit.” Everyone cleared the head seat. Kyōraku settled into it with his usual languid ease, picked up a cup, and took a long, satisfied sip.

“Ahh... as expected. Nothing beats a drink after a full day of work.” His relaxed manner put everyone else at ease. It seemed this was like the other times, Kyōraku had simply come to freeload. Though as a captain, he certainly wouldn’t leave without paying his share.

“Captain Kyōraku, you’ve worked hard today.” Wayne raised his cup and offered a toast alongside his colleagues.

“Not at all. It’s all of you who’ve worked hard.” Kyōraku waved it off with his characteristic laziness. They belonged to different divisions, but in private they were all drinking buddies, free to trade gossip and stories from each other’s squads.

“Just now outside, I caught something about Tsukishiro and... Hollow beasts?” Kyōraku set his cup down and reached for his chopsticks.

“Mm.” Wayne nodded. “Behavioral patterns I observed among Hollow beasts during my time in Hueco Mundo.”

“Oh?” Kyōraku looked genuinely interested. “You wouldn’t mind if this old intelligence captain had a listen, would you?”

“Of course not.” Wayne smiled and spoke plainly. “I was already planning to compile everything into a proper report for the various divisions. Talking through it now, you might actually be able to give me some input on how to structure it.”

“Happy to be of service.” Free intelligence was something Kyōraku was always pleased to receive. And the help he’d offer, weighing the words and phrasing, was exactly his forte. He might even write the thing himself and distribute it, provided Wayne’s intelligence was worth anything.

“During my time in Hueco Mundo, I captured Hollow beasts on many occasions. Most were low-rank Adjuchas, ordinary Reiatsu-level Hollow beasts were relatively rare. According to their accounts, Hueco Mundo is divided into an inner zone and an outer zone. The outer zone is where I operated. The inner zone is where weaker Hollow beasts grow.”

“That information is on record, in the Twelfth Division’s archives.” Kyōraku was direct. He was hoping the young man in front of him could provide something more interesting.

“Yes. Beyond that, I learned that the so-called inner zone contains the Forest of Menos, a gathering place for Gillians, and that within each Forest of Menos, a group of Adjuchas-class Hollow beasts reign as kings.”

“Oh?” Shunsui Kyōraku’s interest sharpened. He knew of the Forest of Menos, more than that, he’d been there himself several times. But the fact that every Forest of Menos had an Adjuchas-level ruler was something he was hearing for the first time.

“From what I gathered, there are three Forests of Menos in total, south, north, and center. Each has an Adjuchas presiding over it. The northern one is ruled by an insectoid lord, the southern by an aberrant-form lord, and the center by a humanoid.” Wayne began drawing on the history he’d accumulated during his time in Hueco Mundo, sharing what he could.

“Mm...” Kyōraku furrowed his brow, uncertain where Wayne was going. “Three lords, with their subordinate Hollow beasts divided into insectoid, aberrant-form, and humanoid respectively. In other words, there are different racial divisions among Hollow beasts.”

“Now that is interesting.” Kyōraku clearly hadn’t known this.

“I never witnessed it firsthand, but I questioned at least three different Hollow beasts, and their answers were all consistent. I consider the credibility high.” Wayne spoke with certainty, and of course he was certain. All three Forests of Menos were his now. No one knew better than he did what those forests had been like before.

“Mm. But what does that tell us?”

“Working from the assumption that Hollow beasts congregate along racial lines, I moved through Hueco Mundo extensively. I observed quite a few communal strongholds. They displayed a variety of forms, but the majority within each group were dominated by one particular type. Given that, can I not conclude that when a high-ranking Adjuchas appears in Hueco Mundo — or something even higher, like a Vasto Lorde — they would assume an emperor-class role and rule over the Hollow beasts beneath them? At that point, Hollow beasts would no longer be scattered and disorganized. They’d engage in collective activity with tribal consciousness.”

“For example?”

“For example... hunting prey. Seizing enemy strongholds. Perhaps even... launching organized counterattacks against Soul Society.”

Kyōraku went quiet. After a long pause, he spoke softly. “That kind of thing has indeed happened. Over two hundred years ago, a Hollow beast named Szayelaporro launched an assault on Soul Society. Soul Society at the time was not yet at its peak, but it still possessed considerable fighting strength. Szayelaporro led several hundred Hollow beasts in the attack. They were repelled, but we suffered no small number of casualties, including some of our most promising talents.”

“At the Vasto Lorde level and above, they will indeed gather large numbers of Hollow beasts as subordinates and develop into formidable forces. Fortunately, Szayelaporro’s offensive wasn’t particularly powerful at the time. But if a Hollow beast organization of comparable size were to emerge again... that would not be good news for Soul Society.”

“That’s exactly what I’m getting at.” Wayne steered the conversation to the main point. “Based on my investigation, there are four more Vasto Lorde-level organizations with significant power.”

“What?!” Shunsui Kyōraku’s pupils contracted. The vastness of Hueco Mundo was impossible to fully gauge, and it was apparent that the Twelfth Division’s surveys didn’t cover the entirety of it. Outside the range of their detection, a number of Vasto Lordes had already established their own powers. Their intentions were unknown, but it was enough to genuinely unsettle him.

“Could you be more specific?” Kyōraku’s expression turned grave.

“What follows is all based on reports from Hollows. I can’t guarantee it’s entirely accurate, but it’s certainly worth referencing.” Wayne organized his thoughts and began. “First, the largest power, the Great Emperor of eastern Hueco Mundo, Baraggan Louisenbairn. He controls most of the western territory. When I entered Hueco Mundo as leader of the Expeditionary Force, we landed in his jurisdiction, and the Hollow beasts that attacked us were in all likelihood his subordinates.”

“Mm... Baraggan’s name I have heard before.” Kyōraku nodded.

“The second power is in the north, Tia Harribel. A peculiar Vasto Lorde-class lord. She once operated within Baraggan’s territory but was later driven out. She went west and joined some faction, then somehow ended up in the north.” Wayne gave a casually fabricated account of Harribel. He intended to use the Soul Reapers’ resources to track her down, not for any other reason, but to ask whether she knew Nel’s whereabouts. He knew that at one point, Harribel’s subordinates had attempted to recruit Nel. It was only under his own Reiatsu pressure that the group had been forced to join his faction instead.

“Now that is a new piece of intelligence.” Shunsui Kyōraku stroked his stubble and nodded.

“The third power is in the center of Hueco Mundo — Szayelaporro’s territory.”

“Oh?” Kyōraku’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Yes. Not only is Szayelaporro not dead, he’s actually expanded his territory. Rumor has it that a considerable number of Vasto Lorde-class Hollows inhabit the center of Hueco Mundo, but Szayelaporro has now become the preeminent power there. His sphere of influence rivals Baraggan’s. If he launches another attack... the number of Vasto Lorde-class Hollows that come with him may not be just one.”

“Mm...” Shunsui Kyōraku adopted a contemplative expression. This intelligence was critical. A way would have to be found to verify the facts.

“The last power is located in the west, Ace Wayne’s territory. However, as I mentioned earlier, Ace Wayne has fallen. His former forces are now occupied by a group of unknown Hollow beasts, and because his sphere of influence was so vast, the western region is now home to several competing organizations, all jockeying to carve out a share for themselves.”

“I see.” Shunsui Kyōraku nodded. “Whatever the case, all of this intelligence is extremely useful. Here’s what I propose.” He thought for a moment. “Within the coming week, Tsukishiro, please get all the finer details down in writing. Nanao will help you with the drafting. As for this matter, I need to go brief the Captain-Commander right now. My apologies for interrupting your drinking party.”

“Understood, Captain Kyōraku.”

➤ Next: The Applicant