Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 196 - Overpowering a Vasto Lorde

Wayne and Ichimaru stepped out of the Senkaimon and landed on a desolate dune.

They pressed on, tracking down Hollows, beating answers out of them, orienting themselves while asking whether Harribel had really been sighted in the area.

After days of searching, they finally got solid intel from a fish-type Hollow. He had only just entered Hueco Mundo from the sands, and by sheer chance had landed near Harribel's territory. The moment he arrived, three female Hollows jumped him. After some talk, he tried to join Harribel's faction for protection, only to get driven straight out by the three tyrannical female Adjuchas. So he was still wandering, looking for a new faction to attach himself to. He never imagined that crawling out of the tiger's den would drop him straight into the dragon's pool of Wayne and Gin Ichimaru. Before he could even react, the two had already pinned him to the ground.

"So if we head a bit further north, we'll see that cyan-blue mountain range — and Harribel and her Hollows are all stationed there?" Gin Ichimaru raised a hand, striking a distant-gazing pose. Shame there was nothing but a sea of sand. No mountains in sight.

"That's right. Half an hour's travel and you'll see it." The fish-type Hollow's voice trembled as he answered.

"Hmm... very well. I'll trust you this once." Ichimaru smiled at the Hollow. "You may go."

"R-really? Th-thank you." The fish scrambled to its feet and bolted, terrified the two Soul Reapers might change their minds.

Before he got more than a few steps, silver-blue Reiatsu flared around Gin's body. His Zanpakuto shot from its sheath, tip leveled at the fleeing Hollow, then stretched over a hundred meters, punching clean through the back of the Hollow's skull. Gin lifted his arm, and a fissure split the Hollow's head open. It vanished into the air.

"Just kidding~" Gin Ichimaru laughed softly.

"Mean-spirited." Wayne matched Ichimaru's tone flatly. "Why not just kill him outright? Why bother with the lie?"

"Because then he wouldn't resist." Ichimaru tucked his hands into his sleeves. "A fight you can end without burning much Reiatsu — why waste the energy? A little trick does the job just fine."

"You really are..." Wayne shook his head. "Let's go. We've got the location. It's been days since we set out — we shouldn't keep Lord Aizen waiting."

"Eh?" Gin Ichimaru blinked. "Why do you sound more and more like Tōsen? Is it the blindness?"

"I'm stating facts." Wayne's voice stayed calm. "The expeditionary force has been out a long time, and Lord Aizen's been sending people back in batches. Our numbers are shrinking. Soul Society can see that and track it. Dragging this out compromises our concealment."

"Heh... you're already thinking about all that?" Ichimaru's expression hovered between smile and smirk. "Though with your talent, once you commit, it's natural you'd lean in hard."

"I just don't want Soul Society hunting me down if this plan falls apart." Wayne offered the explanation simply. "As long as my family stays out of it, my stance doesn't matter. Following Lord Aizen lets me do more."

"And your view on Hollowfication?" Ichimaru's questions cut closer to the core.

"If I can control the power and grow stronger, that's enough." Wayne replied. "Given my constitution, Hollowfication should boost my combat strength rather than take control of me."

"Aah, able to devour Hollow spiritual power. The Hōgyoku's Hollowfication might as well have been tailor-made for you." Ichimaru shrugged with a smirk.

"That's why I'm here." Wayne let the line land with its double edge and left it for Ichimaru to chew on.

They reached the mountain range. Wayne sensed Reiatsu fluctuations, familiar ones. Harribel's, unmistakably. And the Three Beasts' alongside hers.

Setting Harribel aside, just sensing those three made Wayne go quiet. Back then, if they hadn't been so bent on running, maybe his own forces wouldn't have taken so many losses.

No trace of Nel's Reiatsu anywhere. Disappointing, and secretly a relief.

Three small figures shot out from within the mountain range, three Ceros flying alongside them.

Wayne and Ichimaru split apart, left and right, evading cleanly. Adjuchas-class Hollows couldn't touch them anymore.

"Ara ara, how dangerous. Those three down there." Ichimaru Shunpo'd back to Wayne's side.

"Who are you?" The deer-headed Apache took point, shouting. "This is Lord Harribel's territory. Unauthorized personnel, leave now."

"Trespassers die." The golden lion Mila Rose bared her fangs with a beast's growl.

"Well... that's the gist." Sun-Sun raised her upper body, serpent tongue flicking.

"We're here to see Tia Harribel." Ichimaru opened negotiations. "We'd like to discuss cooperation."

"Lord Harribel sees people when she chooses." Apache was as arrogant as ever. "Get lost. Soul Reapers aren't welcome here. Be smart and just—"

"You talk too much." It hit Wayne like a flashback, recruiting Harribel before, these same people disregarding their faction's casualties and bolting without a second thought. The flame he'd kept tamped down all this time finally surged past restraint.

He Shunpo'd forward. Reiatsu flooded his blade. A lightning slash landed on Apache before she could react.

BOOM!

Reiatsu crashed in like a tsunami. Wayne's blade bit deep, a wound to the bone tore across her elk-like body. No blood even had time to flow; her organs were already seared away by his Reiatsu. The sheer force blasted her over a hundred meters, punching through countless boulders, until she was embedded in the mountainside where Harribel's group made their home.

"Oh my. Why so violent all of a sudden?" Ichimaru tilted his head. The blind youth's sudden attack defied his read of Wayne. He didn't stop it, just drew his Zanpakuto, ready for the remaining two Adjuchas and Harribel's inevitable arrival.

"Apache!" Mila Rose's lion mask gaped wide as she lunged at Wayne, a dark-red Cero erupting from her maw. Sun-Sun became a curved streak of light and shadow, vanishing into the air and streaking toward Apache.

"Small fry." Wayne's voice was ice. He flicked his Zanpakuto and shattered the Cero, then chanted an incantation. The blade transformed into a broad, heavy greatsword.

He Shunpo'd forward, the greatsword dense with Reiatsu, and brought it down at Mila Rose's face with overwhelming force. She tried to dodge. Wayne had her locked. There was no escape.

CLANG!

Metal screamed. At the last instant, Harribel shot from the cave and caught the killing blow on the massive blade in her right hand, sparing Mila Rose from being cleaved in two.

"Who are you, exactly?" Harribel's pupils contracted behind her mask, staring at the greatsword that had already cracked her own blade. That explosive power told her this fight might already be beyond what she could bear.

"You're Harribel?" Wayne's fierce gaze didn't soften. "Any more companions? Call them all out. Pack of trash — not one of you can fight."

"Such provocation. What is it you want?" Buying time in the clinch, Harribel stole a glance toward Apache in the distance. Reiatsu still present. Not dead from a single blow.

"Just letting you know that provoking people recklessly will get you killed without ever understanding why." The cold in Wayne's voice didn't ease. Reiatsu surged back into his blade. Behind him, Levi's black Hollow shadow materialized.

Possession Synchronization activated. His Reiatsu exploded upward. A chain of pressure erupted along the blade, blasting Harribel and Mila Rose backward together.

"Answer me. Any more companions? Call them all out, I'm not repeating myself. I'll state our business once." Wayne's Reiatsu hammered out in waves, so crushing that even Harribel felt suffocated and oppressed.

"We only have four!" Sun-Sun came racing back, dragging the heavily wounded Apache with her. She knew this Soul Reaper was beyond any of them, even Lord Harribel, whom she revered most, had taken serious punishment in seconds. As the most articulate among them, and the one who cared most about this family, she stepped forward and surrendered outright. "Only four of us. I apologize on behalf of my comrades."

Wayne's Reiatsu eased slightly. Nel's absence probably let him breathe easier, otherwise she'd have been dragged off alongside Harribel. "We are Lord Aizen's subordinates, here to bring you into the fold. Submit, and I'll treat your wounded and grant you new power. Refuse, and I'll send you all off together."

"Cough, cough..." Blood seeped through the gaps in Harribel's mask, trickling down between the teeth, making her look far more savage. All four now understood: "send off" was not an offer of mercy. "We choose to submit. Lord of Power."

Perhaps Wayne's earlier impression had left its mark, Harribel was unexpectedly decisive. Faced with absolute strength, she submitted without hesitation. It made Wayne think a little less of her, just for a moment.

But he understood her predicament well enough. Once upon a time, her stubborn resistance had nearly gotten all four of them killed at his hands. Had Wayne not been short on people back then, Harribel and her three would have been slaughtered and consumed long ago.

And now the Soul Reaper before her wielded Vasto Lorde-class Reiatsu, quality far above her own. It stirred up memories of the man who had once dominated her. So without hesitation, Harribel submitted.

"Good. The wise adapt to the times." Wayne called toward Ichimaru. "Let's go. We're heading back."

"Ara. Simpler than expected." Ichimaru tilted his head, hands tucked in his sleeves, mildly surprised. He didn't say more, just drew his Zanpakuto and opened the Senkaimon. The group entered together: Harribel leading the way, Ichimaru monitoring from behind, Mila Rose carrying Wayne so his hands were free to treat Apache, and Sun-Sun's tail wrapped around Apache to keep her steady while Wayne's healing worked.

By the time they passed through the Senkaimon and returned to Las Noches, Apache's treatment had just finished. She stirred, groggy.

She stared up at the enormous palace, bewildered.

"This place is..."

"Las Noches." Aizen emerged from the palace. "Welcome, all of you, to my palace. It seems you've endured considerable hardship along the way. On behalf of my subordinates, I offer my apologies." Apologies on his lips, yet his deep, vast Reiatsu flared unrestrained, pressing invisible weight down on Harribel and the others. Then Aizen began working his personal charisma on Harribel in earnest.

His charisma was formidable. Wayne had once used brute force to bring Harribel to heel. Aizen did it with a few words. Though Wayne suspected it wasn't the words that made her waver, it was Aizen's tsunami of Reiatsu behind them.

Either way, once Harribel understood Aizen's plans for the future, she didn't say much. She joined. Wayne's mission was complete.

"My lord, we should return." With Harribel secured, Aizen ordered Baraggan, an old acquaintance, to take her around the city and get her familiar with the layout. Meanwhile, at Tōsen's prompting, Aizen opened the Senkaimon back to Soul Society.

"Lord Aizen, is there anything you need from me once we're back?" Wayne stepped forward. He still hadn't grasped the full specifics of Aizen's plan, but he knew he couldn't simply sit idle, waiting to be a combat asset.

"Continue as the Fourth Division's Third Seat." Aizen spoke calmly. "For the immediate future, our main objectives are strengthening the Hōgyoku and conducting Hollowfication experiments. We'll be moving in and out of Hueco Mundo frequently. In time, I'll find a way to recommend you for a captaincy. The Seventh and Tenth Divisions are both viable options. Lord Moon, any preference?"

"Hmm..." Wayne cupped his chin in thought. "If possible, the Tenth Division would be the better choice. The Seventh is the First Division's garrison force, while the Tenth is the patrol corps. In terms of mobility, the Tenth is better suited for action, deploying personnel, diverting attention, all of it more convenient. The Seventh's personnel losses and changes feed directly up to the Captain-Commander, which would complicate future maneuvering. I can hardly backstab the Captain-Commander, after all."

"Hmm." Aizen nodded, smiling, visibly satisfied. "Then we'll set our sights on the Tenth Division. Let's move. We're heading back."

"Yes."

➤ Next: Another Two Years