Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 193 - Baring Fangs — Words Unspoken

Through the combined efforts of Wayne and the squad, seven of the twelve Adjuchas-class Hollows had been slain and five successfully captured. Of those, Wayne personally subdued two High-Class Adjuchas and one Mid-stage Adjuchas. The squad members captured two Mid-stage Adjuchas. The remaining seven were either killed for resisting too fiercely, or cut down in a single stroke by Aizen when they posed a lethal threat to squad members mid-battle.

"Five. Not bad." Aizen nodded, satisfied, whether with the squad's performance or Wayne's results was hard to tell.

"Begin the interrogations." Aizen ordered the five Adjuchas taken in five separate directions, preventing them from passing information to one another.

After several tens of minutes of questioning, Aizen personally knocked each one unconscious, then crippled every one of their bodies, leaving them barely clinging to life.

"You two." Aizen turned and summoned two members of the 5th Division. "Take these five bodies back to the Seireitei immediately. They'll serve as experimental material for Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Don't let them go to waste."

"Yes, Captain Aizen." The two squad members acknowledged the order, opened a Senkaimon, bowed once to Aizen, and dragged the five broken bodies out of Hueco Mundo.

Wayne stared, momentarily stunned. Two of those were clearly High-Class Adjuchas. And Aizen had no intention of using them as fuel for his Hōgyoku? That didn't add up. Even if Hueco Mundo's Adjuchas numbered in the tens of thousands, the High-Class ones in any given region wouldn't exceed a dozen or so. Within a ten-mile radius here, only these three had appeared. Yet Aizen was handing them over to Mayuri Kurotsuchi?

But on second thought, it made sense. Aizen had used Kyōka Suigetsu on Mayuri already. If he truly needed the Reiatsu of these Hollows, he could just use Kyōka Suigetsu to slip past every dungeon guard and drain the prison directly. Then he'd simply claim the Hollows hadn't survived the process. Dead was dead. No one would care.

"Hinamori-kun, your combat strength genuinely impresses me. Capturing two High-Class Adjuchas in just a few short minutes — you truly possess Captain-level power."

"Hardly. My meager abilities are nothing before Captain Aizen. At the very least, I can't kill a High-Class Adjuchas with a single strike the way you can." Wayne feigned humility, while quietly probing for Aizen's true intentions.

"From the interrogations, we've determined this region borders Hueco Mundo's central area. Captain Aizen, how should we proceed?"

"We discussed this before setting out. Right now, our priority is assessing the strength of each Hollow stronghold and feeding that intelligence back to the Seireitei." Aizen paused. "Ace Wayne's faction has collapsed. Of the remaining forces you mentioned, Hinamori-kun, Baraggan Louisenbairn's is the largest. So we'll continue advancing east."

"Yes, Captain Aizen." Wayne nodded.

If the timeline was accurate, Old Bai should already be under Aizen's thumb by now. What Wayne couldn't figure out was why Aizen wanted to bring him and the squad to see Old Bai in the first place. His best guess: Aizen was taking him to Baraggan's territory to put his own achievements on display. Or perhaps to have Wayne surrounded and killed there.

Whether Old Bai was an Arrancar yet was another question entirely. The Hōgyoku in Aizen's possession still hadn't absorbed Urahara's half, it remained incomplete. And decades ago, Wayne had drained it completely in battle. Under those conditions, Baraggan likely hadn't been Arrancar-ified yet. But if Wayne had to fight Baraggan now, he'd need Bankai and Hollowfication just to have a shot at escape. Or, after Hollowfying, if Old Bai recognized his Reiatsu, and assuming Wayne himself wasn't hypnotized, he might be able to command Old Bai to fight alongside him. But that hope was slim.

In any case, follow Aizen and see. Worst case, he'd run.

The group set out toward Baraggan's core territory. Days passed. With Aizen and Wayne providing cover, casualties stayed low. Along the way, only two unlucky souls were ambushed by Adjuchas and struck down with wounds too severe to treat. The remaining squad members had no choice but to carry the dead back to the Seireitei and report their current situation.

Unlike Wayne's previous expedition, where no one was allowed to return, this time Aizen sent squad members back to report at the slightest development. The fundamental difference was simple: back then, Wayne hadn't intended to let anyone leave alive. He didn't know which squad member might be Aizen's spy, so eliminating everyone was the safest play. It ensured his later rendezvous with his comrades wouldn't be compromised. Now? Whatever. If not for concerns about Jekain and the others' safety, Wayne might have actually called for reinforcements to ambush Aizen.

Traveling in stops and starts, the group slaughtered many Adjuchas along the way. Among them, Wayne spotted several bearing the marks of his own faction, expedition Hollows, most likely, ones who had never returned and knew nothing of his news or his standing order forbidding anyone from leaving the Forest of Menos. That was why they'd ended up in this distant eastern region.

With no other choice, Wayne ended them personally to protect his cover, then used his Zanpakutō to absorb a portion of their Reiryoku. A small comfort. Letting their power remain inside him was better than letting them die at Aizen's hands or the squad's. At least, that was what Wayne told himself.

After a full month, the group finally reached the outskirts of Baraggan's core domain. By now, six squad members remained. The death toll had risen to five. The others who'd left had either escorted remains back to the Seireitei or been dispatched by Aizen to deliver reports.

"It seems we've arrived, Hinamori-kun." Standing on a low rise, Aizen gazed at the ruined structures in the distance. Throughout the journey, they had interrogated every Hollow they killed for directions, and only today had they formally stepped into Baraggan's territory. Several of the Hollows slain along the way had claimed to be Baraggan's subordinates, further confirmation they were on the right track.

"Yeah. I can sense quite a few Hollow Reiatsu signatures." Wayne pointed toward the distant ruins, barely visible as a blur on the horizon. "It's far, but the Reiatsu coming from that direction feels chaotic — a lot of them mixed together. This should be the place."

"You." Aizen waved over another squad member. "Return to the Soul Society and report our progress. Inform the Captain-Commander: if we don't return within three months, assume the worst. They should be prepared to launch a large-scale counterattack on Hueco Mundo at any time. Mark the coordinates here."

"Yes, Captain Aizen." The squad member bowed. "I hope you and all our comrades return safely." With that, the 10th Division member opened a Senkaimon and stepped back into the Soul Society.

Now, including Wayne and Aizen, the group consisted of one 4th Division member, three from the 5th, one from the 10th, and one from the 11th. And they were about to step into the territory of Hueco Mundo's largest power: Baraggan Louisenbairn's domain.

"Rest here. What comes next will be demanding." Aizen addressed the remaining squad members.

"Yes, Captain." The squad settled in, pulling water flasks and rations from their packs. Strictly speaking, they didn't need to eat, but out here, a little food went a long way toward recovering Reiatsu and stamina.

"Hinamori-kun." During the break, squad members dozed back-to-back in pairs while others kept watch from the trees. Aizen sat by the campfire, chatting idly with Wayne. "What are your thoughts on Hueco Mundo?"

"Hueco Mundo?" Wayne blinked. "I don't have much of an opinion. It exists because the Soul Society's balance requires it — that's all. My hatred for this place has pretty much worn away over these past two-plus years. The Hollows I've killed passed a hundred long ago, probably more. If there's anything worth saying, it's that hunting Hollows here gives me some kind of meaning, I suppose."

"And the Soul Society?" Aizen pressed. "You've devoted yourself so thoroughly to it. Are you hoping to climb high enough?"

"No." Wayne shook his head. "I feel the same way about the Soul Society. It exists because the balance requires it." His face was blank. "But my little sister is there. She wants the Soul Society to be better — she wants the people of the Rukongai to live well. That's why I took the Shin'ō Academy entrance exam with her. That's why I became a Soul Reaper."

"Oh?" Something shifted in Aizen's expression. "Just... for your sister?"

"Yeah. Beyond that, I'm not interested." Wayne shrugged. "Though before we entered the Academy, I started to feel like her dream was pretty far off."

"How so?"

"Before we got into Shin'ō Academy, some noble relatives from the Rukongai bullied us. They even used their status to bring in a Soul Reaper to put us in our place. So back then, I didn't think much of nobles. Or Soul Reapers." Wayne poked at the campfire. "Part of why I entered the Academy was self-preservation. Part of it was wanting to help my sister reach her dream. But the more I learned about how the Soul Society truly works, the more I saw, beneath that peaceful surface, the dark corners run too deep and too wide. My sister alone, trying to make her dream real? Almost impossible."

"So you started pushing for more power. More status. All to help her."

"Mm. Saying otherwise would be a lie." Wayne's voice slowed, each word deliberate. "But after everything I've been through, I've come to realize, weakness is the original sin."

"Because we're weak, we get bullied. Because we're weak, we get played with. Because we're weak, we become someone else's pawn. Because we're weak, justice and fairness have nothing to do with us. So, slowly, pursuing strength became one of my goals. Only by becoming strong can I stop being controlled. An old friend once said: truth only exists within cannon range. Absolute power is the only currency that buys you a seat at the table." He paused. "But... how many times have I wished I could just be ordinary? If not for what happened with Yagami China. If not for Momo's dream. If not for those rotten, decaying nobles. Maybe I'd still be at the Academy right now, living a comfortable life, climbing up one step at a time."

"Remarkable." Aizen's voice carried genuine admiration. But beneath his glasses, his gaze had sharpened into something dangerous. Wayne felt his chest pull tight.

Aizen had used this rest to draw him into conversation. And now, it seemed, he was finally ready to bare his fangs.

"Well said, Hinamori-kun." Aizen rose slowly. His hand came to rest on the Zanpakutō at his waist. "You should know, my thoughts are exactly the same as yours. Once, I too imagined becoming an ordinary Soul Reaper, living a simple life. But when I learned a certain secret about the Soul Society, I resolved to grow strong. To become a true power in this world. And then to sever the so-called restraints. The so-called balance."

"A secret? Captain Aizen, what do you mean?"

"Hinamori-kun. Have you heard of the Soul King?"

"The Soul King?"

"Yes. The Soul King is the creator of the Three Worlds. The progenitor of all people. The supreme ruler over everything. The forms we take today, all bestowed by the Soul King. Everything we have, all directed by the Soul King's will."

"You're saying... we've been under his control this whole time?" Wayne's nerves pulled taut. He knew what this was, Aizen was laying his cards on the table. Whether this ended in death or recruitment depended entirely on what came next.

"Correct. I've combed through vast amounts of history and reached one conclusion: whether it's you, me, Hueco Mundo, or the World of the Living, our development, at its root, is tied to the Soul King's will. And I detest acting according to that will. I believe the Soul King's very existence is a sin."

"C-Captain Aizen." His words had reached every squad member. They listened to this horrifying revelation, a cold dread settling in their stomachs.

"Hinamori-kun. You possess a constitution that lets you devour the Reiryoku of Hollows and make it your own, correct?"

"Yes. A small portion, at least — I can absorb Hollow Reiryoku." Wayne nodded.

"In that case, do you know where the Hollowfication of those Soul Reapers in the past truly came from?"

Wayne said nothing. He only shook his head, barely.

Seeing his response, Aizen let out a soft laugh and removed his glasses. The eyes beneath held something unhinged. "Those... were my doing."

"What?!" The squad members recoiled in shock. But in the next instant, their bodies seized. All six clutched at their own throats, convulsing, retching dryly. Cold sweat poured down their foreheads.

In less than half a minute, clumps of white, viscous spiritual matter began erupting from their mouths, taking shape as Hollow masks, one after another.

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