Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 200 - Found You

This time, Wayne stayed in Hueco Mundo for nearly a full year. During that period, both Tōsen and Ichimaru had returned to the Soul Society at various points. After all, if only Aizen were absent, it could be managed, but with all three captains gone for so long, even with Kyokasuigetsu as cover, slip-ups were inevitable.

In that year, Aizen had preliminarily completed the experiment of Shinigamification on Hollows. He was already able to produce the first batch of the Arrancar army. Among them, the first group used as test subjects included Dordoni, Alexandria Del, Cirucci, Sanderwicci, Gantenbainne, Mosqueda, and others Wayne recognized, along with some whose names Wayne could not recall. They were all fortunate enough to survive Aizen's experiments and successfully became the first generation of the Espada.

Before Aizen, seven humanoid Hollows knelt on one knee, awaiting his orders.

"Congratulations to all of you on successfully evolving into Arrancar." Aizen's lips curled slightly upward. This was the result of a year of work by him, Wayne, Tōsen, Ichimaru, and Szayelaporro, tuning all parameters into balance and successfully completing the Shinigamification of Hollows.

"Next, it is time to demonstrate your strength." Aizen sat on his throne, resting his cheek on one hand as he looked down at his creations.

"As expected, you can't wait to find someone to test them on, can you?" Wayne stood off to the side, thinking to himself. He had originally believed he could use the opportunity to get close and use the Hōgyoku to restore his own Reiatsu. But he had not expected that, throughout this entire year, Aizen had never once let the Hōgyoku leave his hand. The closest Wayne had ever gotten to the Hōgyoku was that one time he had picked it up and then turned around to hand it back to Aizen.

However, the instant he touched the Hōgyoku, Wayne had felt a power seep in from his palm and flow toward his Zanpakuto without the slightest pain. Although it was only for that one instant, Wayne had truly felt that power, which shared the same origin as his own. It was just a shame that he had virtually no other opportunity to touch the Hōgyoku.

He had deliberately dragged the research out over a year precisely to have more time to get near the Hōgyoku. Unfortunately, Aizen had not given Wayne that chance. In that case, Wayne would have to keep waiting and figure out a way to create an opportunity for himself. But staying hidden at Aizen's side meant that each day he remained, he had no freedom and could not go into Hueco Mundo to do what he needed to do. In truth, it was not worth it for Wayne — whether for improving his own strength or searching for Nel, all of it was time wasted in vain. Yet when it came to the Hōgyoku, even if there was only a sliver of hope, Wayne could not let it go. After all, only by reclaiming the power within the Hōgyoku would Wayne have a chance to start over and take down Aizen.

"But... where exactly did Nel go?" Wayne pondered. "Not with Harribel, nor here with Baraggan. Nel hasn't returned to her own territory either. Could she really have died out there? Because I changed the original story?"

"Tōsen, go bring her here. It's time for her to contribute." Just as Wayne was thinking, he heard Aizen speak to Tōsen.

"Yes." Tōsen's face was expressionless, but through the faintest fluctuations of Reiatsu, Wayne sensed Tōsen's secret delight. Wayne also wanted to know — just what kind of Hollow could make Tōsen hate her to this extent?

"Let's go. We'll move to a more open area as well." Aizen rose and led the group to an empty space outside Las Noches. This was the area outside Las Noches that Aizen had set aside for the Hollows to move about freely and fight. After all, these Hollows were all battle-hungry creatures, and specialists like Szayelaporro, who focused purely on research, were exceedingly rare. So, outside Las Noches, beneath the dome of the sky, Aizen had covered an extremely vast stretch of land. The purpose was to allow the various Hollows sufficient relaxation and prevent disputes over territory.

"Tsuki, you seem preoccupied?" Aizen turned his head toward Wayne, who had been silent the whole time.

"Hm? No." Wayne snapped back to attention. "I was just wondering what kind of existence that Vasto Lorde-level Hollow is, the one that's had Tōsen grinding his teeth in hatred."

"Her, huh..." Gin Ichimaru chimed in with his hands tucked in his sleeves, looking like he was enjoying the show. "She was the helper of the person who nearly took Tōsen's life decades ago."

"Nearly took Tōsen's life?" Wayne was slightly puzzled, but an answer quickly came to him. "Decades ago, the one who nearly took Tōsen's life... that would be..."

Whoosh. Whoosh...

Two figures appeared one after the other on the open ground. The one in front was Tōsen, and following behind him was a creature with four hooves on the ground, a beast's body and a human torso, with two curled antelope horns atop its head.

Behind her antelope-like mask, a long mane of lake-blue hair swayed in the wind. The faint Reiatsu radiating from her gradually probed the surroundings.

When that surging Reiatsu washed over Wayne's body, he froze in a daze.

"Nel... I've finally found you." Wayne clenched his jaw, desperately suppressing his emotions, terrified that Aizen beside him might notice something.

The Vasto Lorde that Tōsen had brought before them was none other than the Nel Wayne had been searching for all this time. Compared to when she and Wayne had parted ways, the curves of her upper body, her human torso, were even more graceful, and the sheep-like lower half of her body had shed its thick fur, transforming into armor wrapped in Hierro. Only around her four hooves did some of the Hollow beast's fur remain.

All of this was the transformation that came after becoming a Vasto Lorde.

Wayne remembered that before his reincarnation, Nel had only been an Adjuchas. In the decades since, she had finally become a Vasto Lorde as well.

But why had she been captured by Aizen?

Wayne began to recall the earlier conversation between Aizen and the others. It seemed Nel possessed some kind of special ability that made Aizen unwilling to kill her?

"What special ability? Absorption? Healing? Hyper-acceleration? Or Cero Doble?" Wayne ran through the possibilities again and again, but he still could not get to the root of the question. But that didn't matter. Nel appearing before him safe and sound was already the best possible outcome.

"Nelliel, you've come." Aizen looked at Nel with an ambiguous smile.

"Who do you need me to fight?" Nel's tone was icy. She had no desire to exchange more words with Aizen.

"Ara ara, as cold as ever." Gin Ichimaru spoke up. "Lord Aizen is greeting you, you know."

"I once promised you: you spare my life, and I obey your commands in battle. Beyond that, we seem to have no terms of transaction."

"Obeying commands does not necessarily mean only fighting." Aizen's gaze remained unchanged. "There are other duties that require you as well."

"Providing blood for your research, you mean." Nel's voice dripped with contempt. "Take it, then."

"Lord Aizen granted you freedom and life. You should be grateful." Tōsen's voice carried anger.

"The one who granted me life and freedom was Lord Wayne." Nel shot Tōsen a sideways glare. "The last command Lord Wayne gave me was to stay alive. So I cannot die. I will do whatever it takes to stay alive. But if you insist on taking my life, I will gladly oblige you."

So that's how it was...

Wayne felt a sudden clarity in his heart. He recalled the words he had spoken before his death. It seemed that in the final moments of that battle, he had pushed Nel into a spatial rift, letting her land somewhere in Hueco Mundo. In the days that followed, Nel had lived desperately, all for those last words of Wayne's. And the reason she had appeared here was probably because Aizen, in his subsequent explorations, had discovered Nel. By then, Nel had likely already ascended to Vasto Lorde. Considering her combat strength, Aizen had absorbed her into his faction. And the reason Aizen had not simply turned Nel into nourishment for the Hōgyoku was presumably because of her ability.

After becoming a Vasto Lorde, Nel must have gained a new ability. That was what had stayed Aizen's hand. As for what ability it was, Wayne still did not know. Perhaps he would find out soon?

"I'm merely asking you to assist in the combat testing of my experiments." Aizen glanced sideways at the assembled Arrancar behind him. "They were originally Adjuchas-level. After my experiments, they have mastered a stronger form and greater power. I called you here to test their capabilities."

"Oh." Nel answered indifferently, then shifted her gaze to the seven Arrancar.

"Can I kill them?" She cast a flat glance at the Hollows before her, each of whom now looked much like a Soul Reaper, then turned her head back toward Aizen.

A single sentence, yet it provoked the displeasure of the seven Arrancar behind Aizen. Clearly, they felt scorned by this creature standing less than two meters tall before them. This made them exceptionally furious. Their Reiatsu gradually turned violent and agitated.

"As long as you have the ability." Aizen did not hinder Nel. He simply let her act freely. On one hand, he wanted to test how much power initial-stage Adjuchas would possess after undergoing Arrancarification. On the other, he wanted Nel to suffer a little.

As soon as Aizen's words fell, the seven newly promoted Arrancar, carrying seven distinct Reiatsu signatures, drew their swords and charged at Nel simultaneously.

Just before the seven could touch her, Nel used Sonído to retreat, and at the same time, Lanzador Verde materialized in her hand. She prepared to fight the enemies.

"Damn you, don't underestimate us!" one nameless Arrancar roared.

"Let me show you my newly acquired — Uwaah!"

Before this Arrancar could finish speaking, Nel had already impaled his chest with her lance. Dragged along by the spear, he was ultimately pinned to the wall of a nearby tower. Before the dust could clear, Nel had already conjured another lance and hurled it, directly piercing through the Arrancar's skull. In an instant, one of Aizen's test subjects was gone.

This girl's combat ability had grown considerably stronger than before.

Wayne silently affirmed this in his heart.

Whether in terms of Reiatsu level or battle prowess, Nel's growth was enough to make Wayne marvel. Even though Nel was still at the initial stage of Vasto Lorde, Wayne believed that within a few more years at most, her Reiatsu would surpass Harribel's.

As for combat, that went without saying.

Facing a simultaneous siege by seven Arrancar, Nel had directly employed the method of "better to break one finger than to injure five." Before the enemy could react, she had instantly annihilated one Arrancar, reducing the pressure of being surrounded.

"You bastard!" The remaining Arrancar felt a measure of fear. In an instant, the six remaining Arrancar all released their Resurrección. Among the six Reiatsu signatures of initial-stage Adjuchas, three instantly surged to the power of initial-stage Vasto Lorde. Of the remaining three, one reached the peak of Adjuchas level, and the other two entered the high-tier Adjuchas range.

"Before releasing, their abilities hadn't improved much, but after releasing, they've basically all risen by two to three levels of Reiatsu. Not bad."

Aizen expressed moderate satisfaction with this round of Hollowfication experiments. He himself knew that this was not the final form of the Arrancar; he could continue to refine it. Having achieved these results already was quite good.

The battle on Nel's side continued. Wayne observed in silence, on one hand confirming Nel's current capabilities, and on the other pondering just what ability Nel had acquired that made even Aizen reluctant to kill her.

The six Hollows erupted with intense Reiatsu and rushed toward Nel. Nel reacted very quickly, using Sonído to create distance and Lanzador Verde to disrupt the enemy's movements. She did not actively engage in close combat, instead leveraging her superior Reiatsu to force the enemies back time and again.

ROAR!

A Cero shot toward Nel. She opened her mouth directly and swallowed it, then immediately fired back an even fiercer and more rapid Cero at the enemy.

With one Cero landing on target, Nel did not hesitate to hurl Lanzador Verde at the enemy, once again impaling and killing an Arrancar whose Reiatsu was at peak Adjuchas level.

However, this momentary delay allowed the three Arrancar who had brushed the edge of Vasto Lorde-level to surround Nel.

"Stinking woman, die!" A male Arrancar, his fist charged and ready, unleashed a punch wreathed in scorching flames from his hand. It formed a massive fireball, hurtling straight toward Nel.

WHOOSH!

Nel used Sonído to ascend into the sky, but in the air, another Arrancar with a bird-like appearance had risen at the same time, sealing off Nel's escape route. At the same time, he shook his wings, releasing feather-like blades of Reiatsu.

Nel raised her lance to block, but there were simply too many blades. The spear in her hand could not parry them all. In the end, several blades broke through her defense and slashed her body.

Before Nel could react, a third Arrancar, who had been lying in ambush behind her, had already closed in. A heavy punch charged with Reiatsu slammed directly into Nel's shoulder. The crisp sound of snapping bone rang out instantly, followed by the deafening crash of Nel being smashed into the ground. Even the soft sand was pounded into a massive, sunken crater.

"Three Arrancar are enough to subdue an initial-stage Vasto Lorde-level Hollow, it seems." Gin Ichimaru analyzed with his hands still tucked in his sleeves. "Which means, if we had thirty — oh no, twenty-seven — Arrancar of this level, they could rival the nine captains, excluding the Captain-Commander, right?"

"You can't calculate it that way." Wayne spoke flatly. "The fact that you didn't include the Captain-Commander means you acknowledge that his Reiatsu is several times that of the other captains. And you yourself have complained that Tōsen can't beat a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow. It's not that he's weak, it's just... well, okay, it's that he's weak."

Tōsen:?

"Ahem, what I mean is, the Reiatsu of the other captains can't simply be measured by using six-car — er, by using some fixed-Reiatsu Arrancar as a yardstick. For example, the captain of the 8th Division, Shunsui Kyōraku. As a captain-class figure who has been at the Captain-Commander's side from the very beginning, Kyōraku's Reiatsu and combat experience are surely higher than Komamura's. And the captain of the 11th Division, Kenpachi Zaraki, his combat power absolutely wouldn't lose to Kyōraku's either. Moreover, each captain excels in different abilities. If you send Captain Soifon to fight Captain Komamura, Captain Soifon could beat ten Captain Komamuras. But if you send Soifon to face off against Captain Zaraki, then Captain Zaraki could be said to take down one kid per punch."

➤ Next: The Law of Devouring