Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 300 - Volume Five: The Thousand-Year Blood War

Volume Five: The Thousand-Year Blood War

Chapter 300: They Surrendered That Fast?

Crack crack... BOOM!

Inside the massive underground training ground of his Innate Space, atop a mountain peak shaved perfectly flat, Wayne sat cross-legged. For several hundred meters in every direction, the surrounding space had shattered into glass-like fragments that cascaded down in layers. Beyond the falling shards, pitch-black voids of unfathomable depth flickered in and out of sight. Faint points of dim light glimmered somewhere within them.

"Finally done." Wayne let out a long breath. He felt the air rushing toward the spatial rift around him and couldn't help but smile. After a full month, he had at last anchored his spatial coordinates within the cosmos.

Yes. The cosmos.

For the past month, Wayne had been in secluded cultivation, or what passed for it. In truth, he had been developing his Spatial Law and Illusion Law, pushing to find out exactly how far he could go.

What he found was this: for his Spatial Law to create Dimensional Rifts capable of reaching into unknown territory, both ends needed a real coordinate anchor before a precise jump was possible. Because he knew Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living well enough, Wayne could jump to any known coordinate across all three worlds without difficulty. But he had always wondered, if he broke through the sky above the Three Worlds, could he reach the cosmos beyond?

So he ran an experiment. He flew continuously upward under his own power, and at the freezing threshold where he could no longer endure the cold, he launched a Beacon Station he had inscribed in advance. He wrapped it in Illusion Law to shield it from damage, then pushed it out through the atmosphere.

What he found was that among the three worlds, only the World of the Living had a cosmos above it. The skies of both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society seemed to go on without end. Even after climbing for three full days and nights, until Seireitei was no longer visible below, he still felt no thinning of the air. When he flew toward Soul Society's sun, every upward push took him farther from the ground but not one step closer to the sun. Hueco Mundo's crescent moon was the same.

Maybe he simply hadn't climbed high enough. Maybe Soul Society and Hueco Mundo were both far larger than he had imagined. But for his purposes, what he had already achieved was enough. Since he couldn't probe the specifics, he let it go, in the World of the Living, he had already successfully deployed his coordinates and set the Beacon orbiting the planet. That was what mattered.

He didn't dare launch the Beacon into the boundless cosmos and let it drift on indefinitely. That would push beyond the range where his power could reach it. This was also the first time Wayne had discovered that his Spatial Law had its own limits when it came to distance.

With the spatial Beacon secured, Wayne opened a spatial rift beside himself.

In an instant, the vacuum on the other side generated a massive suction force that pulled in all the nearby sand and air at once. Which was exactly what Wayne had wanted to see.

A spatial rift leading into the cosmic void, no Reiatsu, no air, extreme cold. If he ever ran into a powerful enemy, he could simply kick them in. It might not kill them instantly, but they wouldn't be coming back any time soon. And after probing at the mouth of the rift himself, Wayne estimated that even he could survive inside for no more than ten minutes.

The only regret was that corpses would be nearly impossible to retrieve. At least with current Hueco Mundo technology, recovery was out of the question. That meant growing stronger still required hunting Hollows and Soul Reapers the old-fashioned way. But the rift opening into the cosmos would be one of his trump cards going forward.

Wayne had turned the Spatial Law into a cheat code. The Illusion Law wasn't far behind. The fragments of Illusion Law residing within him were few, but that hadn't stopped him from developing it.

After the battle with Aizen, Wayne had come to a new understanding of how to use it. The reference point was clear: Aizen's Bankai of Kyōka Suigetsu, Fūshi Suibaku.

Strip away the five senses. Control the elements. Then destroy the enemy. The difference was that Wayne worked by directly altering the external world and physical objects rather than seizing control of a person's mind. And during that earlier deployment of the spatial Beacon, as well as the corridor linkage during the spatial collapse, half the credit had belonged to the Illusion Law. With both Laws working in tandem, Wayne's trump card could already instant-kill the vast majority of opponents at his level.

Of course, if someone insisted on measuring him against Old Man Yamamoto, as long as Wayne had the chance to send the old man falling into one of his spatial rifts, there was a real possibility of trapping him to death in the void.

Though if the old man used Ryūjin Jakka's properties to survive out there, he would certainly last far, far longer than Wayne. Add Shunpo on top of that, and as long as he could endure the burning and friction of re-entering the atmosphere, whether Wayne could actually kill him would be a different question entirely.

New techniques from both Laws, fully developed. Wayne was ready to gather his forces and move on the central region.

It was nothing like the old days. Back then, he and Baraggan had set out with a sweeping army, breaking camp with great fanfare. This time, Wayne brought only Nel at his side, Bawabawa enlarged beneath him as a mount, and a miniature Timd sitting on his shoulder to relay commands. The rest of his forces were already housed entirely within his Spatial Barrier, Tsukishiro.

The name was twofold. Part tribute to his time in Soul Society. Part genuine conviction, to make that moonlit city a creed, and let that creed live forever in the memory of every Hollow under his command.

"Lord Wayne, we've entered the central region. The territory Szayelaporro once controlled, along with the domains of the two overlords we defeated back then, have all changed hands since Aizen's actions in those days. Word from our scouts is that getting through this area will likely require us to conquer it all over again."

"Fine. We fight. That's the whole point of coming out here — conquer and hunt. Absorb whatever Vasto Lordes are left in the central region, then start looking for traces of the Hollow King and the Ancient Hollow Beasts."

"According to our intelligence, the territory we're currently in is ruled by a mid-tier Vasto Lorde called Subusulu Oborcia. Under him are six low-tier Vasto Lordes and over a dozen Adjuchas-peak Hollows."

"When we swept through here before, the ceiling in this area was mid-tier Vasto Lorde." Wayne shook his head. "All these years, and not a single step forward."

The absence of even one high-tier Vasto Lorde was unexpected. And for Wayne, who was already on the cusp of Hollow King level, it was frankly disheartening.

Consuming a mid-tier Vasto Lorde no longer gave him any meaningful leap in power. To advance by absorbing mid-tier or low-tier Vasto Lordes, the number required would be in the dozens at minimum. And how many mid-tier Vasto Lordes did Hueco Mundo even have left?

A sigh. No choice but to leave those gains for his subordinates who could still make use of them.

"Let's go take a look." Wayne spoke plainly, then patted Bawabawa beneath him, the signal to move.

Bawabawa let out a low roar, twisted his body, and pressed forward toward Subusulu's domain.

They didn't have to wait long. The moment they crossed into the territory's boundaries, the Reiatsu of multiple Adjuchas-class Hollows began converging on their position in quick succession. There was a perception-type Hollow somewhere in this territory.

"Who goes there!" Seven or eight Adjuchas surrounded Wayne and Nel completely.

Wayne's side was projecting nothing. If he had let even a fraction of his Reiatsu out, Reiatsu that exceeded peak Vasto Lorde level, it would have crushed these Adjuchas to their knees before they could get a word in.

"Tell your lord that the master of Las Noches has come to offer terms." Wayne didn't speak. It was Nel.

She had spent enough time with Wayne, and regularly gotten her hands on interesting books through Timd, that her grasp of the language of the World of the Living had grown considerably sharper.

"Hmph. Just who do you think you are? You expect our lord to come out for the likes of—"

The large Hollow never finished the sentence. Nel had already fired a Cero straight through it. A Vasto Lorde-level Cero, there was no dodging it. The Hollow's massive skull was punched clean through, and its Hollow Mask shattered into pieces across the ground.

"Send word while you still can," Nel said, raising a finger toward another Hollow nearby. "Before the rest of you are dead too."

The one she pointed at flinched hard, then bolted back the way it had come. The others scattered in every direction, fighting over themselves to get away from the death sentence standing in front of them.

The moment Nel released that Cero, the aura of a high-tier Vasto Lorde had surged out and sent their Reiatsu spinning into chaos. Not one of them dared linger a second longer. They ran like their lives depended on it, because they did.

"That was boring." Nel watched them scatter and pursed her lips, settling back down beside Wayne with obvious displeasure. "I actually thought we'd get to fight."

"After taking Las Noches, we control well over sixty percent of the major powers in Hueco Mundo. That kind of strength is terrifying by any standard here. Set the faction aside entirely — you personally are high-tier Vasto Lorde. Even if all those low-tier Vasto Lordes came at you at once, they'd probably think twice before making a move. Let alone a handful of Adjuchas." Wayne reached over and ruffled Nel's sea-green hair.

"Quite a few of the Adjuchas in our forces can still advance, though," Nel mused, running through the numbers in her head. "After they undergo Arrancarification, I think their strength could reach Vasto Lorde level."

"Sure. And if the forces here want a fight, I don't mind turning all of them into nourishment." The corner of Wayne's mouth curved slightly. He kept moving.

Word of their arrival reached the ruler of the territory before long. The mid-tier Vasto Lorde Subusulu Oborcia came to meet them personally, leading his six low-tier Vasto Lordes and over a dozen Adjuchas-peak Hollows.

"Two visitors, arriving unannounced at my territory." Subusulu's voice was measured. "May I ask what brings you here."

He was a humanoid Hollow, nearly two meters tall, with a head shaped like an ant's and four arms extending from either side of his body. This was his first time facing Wayne, and he wasn't reckless about it. His perception-type had already reported back from his lair, a high-tier Vasto Lorde had just unleashed terrifying Reiatsu nearby. By his own estimate, he would need everything he had just to hold his ground for a round or two against someone like that. And beside that high-tier Vasto Lorde stood another Hollow that was surely nothing to dismiss.

"To bring you under our banner." Wayne kept it simple. "I'll give you three days. After three days, I take over this territory."

"My lord." The eyes beneath Subusulu's Hollow Mask narrowed. His Reiatsu began to stir, slow and steady. "Arriving out of nowhere and speaking like this — isn't that a little too arrogant?"

"Feel free to attack me." Wayne stood, drifting up from Bawabawa's back, and crossed the distance to Subusulu in a single Sonído. "I was looking for a good enough reason to act. I'll say it once more — three days, and I take over this territory. Compile a full intelligence report: this domain, the distribution of your forces, every faction in the surrounding area. Have it ready for me."

"What kind of backwater thug dares talk to Lord Subusulu like—!"

Subusulu hadn't even opened his mouth to respond. One of the low-tier Vasto Lordes at his side had already erupted with its Reiatsu, leaping high, a bone shield bristling with spikes jutting from its shoulder. The intent was clear, to come down and crush Wayne flat.

"Stand down!" Subusulu barked at his subordinate.

Too late.

A pink Cero punched clean through the low-tier Vasto Lorde's midsection. As its body dropped, Wayne drew the Zanpakutō at his hip and reversed the blade through the falling form in a single slash.

A low-tier Vasto Lorde, bisected. It hit the ground in two pieces.

Subusulu's order had done nothing. Or rather, Wayne had never intended to give them the chance. A single casual slash had finished off a low-tier Vasto Lorde without effort, and every Hollow present went silent.

Was a high-tier Vasto Lorde really this powerful? Was it true, that below a high-tier Vasto Lorde, everything was just fodder?

"What, still not satisfied?" Wayne looked at Subusulu with a half-smile. The mid-tier Vasto Lorde was trembling, hatred bleeding off him in waves. "Then come try your luck."

"..."

Subusulu looked away. He let out a long breath. Then, slowly, his Reiatsu folded inward, and he sank to one knee.

"In Hueco Mundo, strength is the only law. I am willing to become your vassal. I ask only that you treat my people well."

"Oh?"

A mid-tier Vasto Lorde folding this quickly was not something Wayne had anticipated. He had been planning to use this as an opportunity to devour the entire faction and bulk up his forces. Subusulu kneeling like that had genuinely thrown him off.

"Well... you know how to read a situation. Fine, go back and get your forces in order. In three days I'll come to the core area to complete the absorption. Have all the surrounding factions mapped out by then."

Wayne casually split open a spatial rift. A low-tier Adjuchas-class clone of Timd stepped out from within.

"Timd, go with them and collect intelligence. I'll come find you in the core area in three days."

"Yes, my king." Timd accepted the order with a respectful dip of his head, then walked over to stand beside Subusulu, entirely unmoved by the pressure radiating off a mid-tier Vasto Lorde. "Let's go. Take me to your territory."

"Mm..." Subusulu looked down at the small, weak Hollow standing beside him. The gaze behind his Hollow Mask flickered faintly. Then he gave a nod and led Timd and his subordinates away.

"Lord Wayne, you're really just letting them go like that?" Nel tilted her head.

"Sure." Wayne looked completely at ease. "I gave them a chance to run. I'm genuinely hoping they take it. Otherwise I won't have anywhere left to go hunting."

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