Infinite Anime [306-307]

Chapter 306: True Bone, Blood Rain

In the desolate great desert, gigantic stone pillars stood in ranks, enclosing a stone dais.

In the silent, barren Hueco Mundo, this ruin-like complex looked particularly abrupt.

There was no aura of grandeur or luxury—only the traces left by time. Inside this ancient "Las Noches," fresh blood splattered the floor.

Bang—

The figure seated upon the throne hammered the armrest with his hand, clearly in a foul mood. An invisible power of aging rippled outward, and the Adjuchas kneeling before him raised terrified eyes.

"Your Majesty, I…"

Before this Adjuchas could confess and beg for mercy, he was struck down by the enraged King Baraggan.

The power of aging descended—an instant turned to aeons; even an Adjuchas couldn't resist, and he crumbled into a heap of gray dust.

"Useless—every last one of you!"

Baraggan roared, smashing the golden goblet in his hand onto the floor. In the empty, silent hall, it clattered and rolled with heavy thuds.

The goblet rolled until it reached a figure's feet and stopped. That person bent down to pick it up. "Your Majesty, what could anger you so? Under heaven, all is the king's land; the entirety of Hueco Mundo is yours, the firmament is but Las Noches' roof. You sit in the seat of supreme sovereignty. To vex your august person over trifles is hardly worth it."

Baraggan's gaze fixed upon the man. The Adjuchas holding the goblet had dark green skin, a tall, slender frame, wore a white robe, and a white false mask over his face, looking every bit refined and courteous.

Hearing his words, Baraggan's fury abated somewhat. "True Bone, you do know how to speak."

"I would never dare accept Your Majesty's undue praise. Your golden words admit no error—how could there be 'undue'? Thus your servant can only accept with tearful gratitude, and strive henceforth to assist Your Majesty."

The man bowed low, voice and posture both exceedingly humble.

Baraggan nodded in satisfaction again. His gaze swept over his assembled vassals as if to say, "See how it's done."

This man had been elevated to Baraggan's side two days prior. Baraggan hadn't demanded much of his strength—he merely found him clever, smooth-tongued, and pleasing.

Whether the man's strength proved useful or not, his "emotional value" was maxed out.

"Moslan's purge unit was wiped out. Before dying, they sent word: among the enemies they encountered, there was a Shinigami."

Baraggan's skull-sockets flickered with soul-light as he spoke, anger evident. "Truly worthless—to be defeated by a Shinigami!"

On hearing this, True Bone felt the urge to quip: weren't you yourself handled by a Shinigami? And aren't you this enraged precisely because of a certain Shinigami?

But he could never say that aloud. As a seasoned "violator," he specialized in bending and stretching as needed, and in the necessary circumstances within a given world, he wouldn't necessarily go against other explorers from his own space-faction.

For instance, in the current Bleach world, there were explorers from three different spaces. His racial advantage let him ally with his own space's explorers, to wield their power against the other spaces.

Once the Chaos Space explorers had outlived their usefulness, he would sweep them up in one net—that was his usual MO(modus operandi).

Though a violator, he still received normal mission assignments from the space, and it wasn't as if a violator could reject every mission. Refuse certain tasks, and the space could erase him outright—no special enforcers required.

As one who hadn't fully slipped free of the space's control, his strategy was to clear the unrefusable missions first, then use his special abilities to reap profit.

He judged that Las Noches still held many benefits to harvest. Most importantly, he suspected that the entry of three spaces' explorers would bring a stronger hunter to pursue him.

So long as he clung tightly to the leg of Hueco Mundo's king and schemed from within Las Noches, he needn't worry, for the moment, about any hunter knocking on his door.

After all, he knew the explorers' imprint level this time wouldn't exceed level 35, while King Baraggan, the king of Hueco Mundo, was a near-tier-five super-powerhouse.

Before entering the Bleach world, True Bone had estimated the locals' power levels. He'd thought a non-Arrancar Hueco Mundo king's outward attributes wouldn't exceed 90, but seeing for himself, he realized he'd underestimated.

Once a Hollow fully evolved to Vasto Lorde, neither attributes nor abilities could be compared to an Adjuchas. And even among Vasto Lordes, there were disparities; after reaching that level, time's accumulation still stratified the magnitude of power.

Furthermore, True Bone believed that becoming an Arrancar didn't raise a Vasto Lorde's power by all that much.

Referencing the original work, some fodder Adjuchas under Baraggan, after becoming Arrancar, could fight the Tres Espada, Tier Harribel, to a standstill. That's clearly a leap. Previously, Harribel could one-shot that class of Hollow.

But for Vasto Lordes like Harribel and Baraggan, their post-Arrancarization didn't feel like a qualitative leap. There was improvement, but not to another dimension.

His analysis: A Vasto Lorde is already near the Hollow's limits. Becoming Arrancar and fusing Shinigami power only pushes that limit a step further.

In truth, Shinigami hollowfication and Hollow shinigamification both have ceilings. The weaker the base, the more dramatic the gains; for the strong, the boost is smaller.

Therefore, even if Baraggan hadn't yet become an Arrancar, his strength wouldn't differ much from his future Arrancar self—more than enough to crush all explorers presently in Hueco Mundo.

Barring some shenanigans like in canon—Hachigen Ushoda reflecting Baraggan's own power back into him—Baraggan's ability was pretty broken. With True Bone's counsel and reminders, they would be unchallenged within Hueco Mundo.

Arbiters? He didn't believe any Arbiter under this cap could defeat King Baraggan.

"Your Majesty, these traitors truly deserve death. Colluding with Shinigami, they seek to shake your supreme throne. In my eyes, they are as ants trying to move a tree—ridiculous. Yet dancing pests are an eyesore and a nuisance; they ought to be exterminated!"

True Bone advised, "Intelligence suggests the nearby rebels have been initially routed, but not eradicated. Given time to regroup, they may become a hidden danger."

Baraggan snorted. "With this King here, what danger is there? Still, you speak some sense. We shall continue the purge."

True Bone relaxed. He'd been the first to propose this grand purge of Hueco Mundo—it tied to his core ability. So long as he directed other explorers to act, he could gain world exploration progress, though a portion had to be "kicked back" to the "three parties."

If he wanted to work the Hueco Mundo board, he certainly wouldn't risk acting alone outside. If he ran into a hunter, that would be trouble. He'd already killed quite a few hunters, but his keen danger sense told him the hunters this time might be quite troublesome.

So he wished to use the purge of Hueco Mundo to flush the hunter out. He'd be the unseen hand, the hunter in the open—far easier to handle.

Conveniently, Hueco Mundo's king, Baraggan, had been fuming for years over an invasion by a certain Shinigami and was often paranoid—giving True Bone the chance to "whisper slander."

True Bone didn't understand why Aizen had come to Hueco Mundo so early or why he'd provoked the king, but that move created an opening for him to subtly steer Baraggan's behavior.

In his view, advanced bootlicking is a fresh form of Pick-Up Artist.

By his flowery persuasions, he made Baraggan believe the Hollows gathering near Las Noches weren't just fighting and devouring each other on the surface, but convening to "plot rebellion."

He didn't think Baraggan was a fool. Baraggan agreed to the purge mostly because he was hypersensitive about his status; any potential threat to the throne of Hueco Mundo would be eliminated.

Also, Baraggan was a tyrant by nature. He liked to stir trouble when bored and didn't care for the lives of other Hollows. The purge amused him, and with True Bone's flattery and remonstration, he assented.

Put plainly, Baraggan had been needled by Aizen and was venting on the surrounding Hollows.

"However, with the recent purges, my forces are insufficient—we lack living strength."

Baraggan continued. He didn't truly care how strong his subordinates were, but he relished being surrounded by many retainers as the king of Hueco Mundo. If his numbers dwindled, he felt uncomfortable.

The purge had cost him many underlings. He'd cooled somewhat and was about to rescind the order; he felt he'd had his fun and had sufficiently displayed the majesty of the Hueco Mundo King. Surely the outside Hollows would kneel at his name.

But Moslan's report mentioned a powerful Shinigami, reigniting his fury and his determination to continue the purge at any cost.

"Your Majesty, that is no trouble. I was just about to recommend a cadre of powerful Adjuchas to you. They've long wished to serve Your Majesty, but lacked an avenue."

True Bone said, inwardly delighted—this was the moment he'd awaited.

If Baraggan agreed, those explorers' hunting outside would amount to working for him. The explorers wouldn't notice; on the results screen, few were sensitive to exploration percentages without a reference.

For instance, Explorer A kills one Adjuchas and gains 2% exploration; Explorer B kills a similar Adjuchas and gets 1.5%. With no shared intel and murky criteria, they wouldn't suspect a thing.

But through the three-way systems' rake, he could siphon a portion of the exploration progress from those "bound" to him by special means.

He didn't know what exploration progress did for the "system" he'd obtained by accident, but he could indeed exchange it for many benefits.

"Oh? In that case, bring them before this King."

Baraggan found True Bone more and more pleasing: smooth of tongue and capable. If only the other vassals would learn from him.

Soon, under True Bone's introduction, more than twenty explorers entered Las Noches and had audience with Baraggan.

They had been working within Las Noches' sphere already, but they weren't counted among Baraggan's personal guard. Now, they'd gone from nameless Hollow to Hollow-above-Hollow.

As he knelt, True Bone's lips curled. Elevated status for explorers had its perks: once others saw these explorers hunting smoothly, more would seek his "connection."

Thus, he could slowly harvest every last stalk of Chaos Space's explorer "leeks."

Only that Shinigami gave him pause. A Shinigami appearing in Hueco Mundo was jarringly out of place. From the intel, he strongly suspected that was an explorer—perhaps the hunter sent to kill him.

He needed to think carefully how to remove that Shinigami efficiently while currying favor with Baraggan.

…

Hueco Mundo, on the fringe of the Forest of Menos.

A weathered tree stood like bleached bone. On its thick trunk sat a woman in an old-style crimson dress. Her lustrous white legs swung, flashing in and out of sight.

A pair of graceful jade feet were bare to the air, crystal toes wiggling playfully, proclaiming their owner's good mood.

A pink-and-white paper parasol lay across her knees; one hand pressed upon it, slender fingers tapping as if playing notes.

Four figures alighted around her, encircling the tree. Their green skin and false masks proclaimed their faction.

"My my, you managed to find me even here."

The woman smiled like a flower, showing no sense of peril at being surrounded.

"Blood Rain, you shouldn't have entered Hueco Mundo. You gave us a lock on you."

The Chaos Space explorer at their head looked at her with deep hatred. "Today, you will die."

Perched on the trunk, Blood Rain kept her legs swinging, not even assuming a fighting stance. She raised a hand to her lips and yawned elegantly. "Are you done talking?"

The explorers were clearly enraged. Gripping their main weapons, they leapt into the air toward the red-dressed woman.

Under the gray moon, within the Forest of Menos' shadow, four explorers became gray-black silhouettes—as if a scene from an old shadow play.

The picture froze in the next instant; the shadow play fell silent. After a one-second pause, the world's silence turned to sound.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

The four explorers exploded midair into an ink-splashed rain.

The woman tipped open her paper parasol at just the right moment. The spatter of blood-rain left mottled traces.

She sat there, swinging her legs lightly, like an innocent girl. A rosy smile bloomed on her face. "Now then, where shall I find my next bit of fun?"

Chapter 307: Look How You Scared the Kid

Bang—

An Adjuchas-level Hollow fell with a dull thud. Gusion flicked his blade free of blood, ending the battle.

Two more days had passed since he began moving with Nelliel.

Las Noches had indeed mobilized many Hollows for sweeping operations, and some, fearing Baraggan, surrendered during the purge, joining his army.

So as Gusion and Nel went deeper, they met strong resistance. In two days, they'd already encountered four combat detachments and slain over thirty Adjuchas.

It could be said that the closer to the center one went, the cheaper Adjuchas became. In the brutal struggle of the strong devouring the weak, many Adjuchas died every day.

Yet in a normal ecosystem, Adjuchas wouldn't grow fewer in Hueco Mundo: while Hollows devoured Hollows, new Adjuchas emerged from the Forest of Menos.

"Nel, won't you devour some? You should be close to Vasto Lorde, right?"

Gusion glanced at Ulquiorra as he devoured the Hollows Gusion had felled, then asked Nel.

Nel shook her head. "Even if they attacked first, they weren't defeated by me. I won't devour prey won by others."

"Pointless."

Ulquiorra paused his feeding and judged her words. "What meaning is there in such insistence?"

Gusion smiled at him. "You actually use the word 'pointless'?"

Ulquiorra set down an Adjuchas. "I don't understand her thinking. If evolution is the proper path, why quibble about whether the prey is of your own kill? Since Mr. Gusion has invited her, she needn't slaughter at all to obtain sustenance for evolution—why refuse?"

His tone was calm but earnest. "This mode of thought, to me, is pointless—and incomprehensible."

Nel wasn't angered. She merely looked at him with a touch of pity. "I believe the path to Vasto Lorde is the road of reclaiming humanity from the Hollow's bestial nature. As a person, I must have my own convictions."

Ulquiorra fell silent. "Then that is your heart?"

"The heart? Everyone has one. You could say that. My heart does not permit me to bully the weak, nor to engage in meaningless slaughter. So I only kill those who won't listen and attack me, and devour them according to nature's law."

Nel explained, "I believe battle should have reason. Fighting from mere animal urge is a low-grade motive for battle. I dislike bearing lives that aren't those of warriors."

Ulquiorra pondered. Clearly, Nel's words were hard for him to grasp right now.

Gusion watched with interest as the two Hollows conversed—an intriguing collision of minds: absolute, cool nihilism versus innocent, knightly righteousness.

In the past two days, Ulquiorra had spoken more to Nel than to Gusion, mainly because he couldn't make sense of many of Nel's behaviors.

For example, Ulquiorra thought Dondochakka's chance of survival was slim and didn't understand why Nel would risk herself and Pesche to go save him.

If it was about valuing companions, wasn't the still-living Pesche important too? In his eyes, Nel's move was irrational.

But Nel said even if Dondochakka had already been killed, she would still find his body.

That baffled him more. What use was a corpse? And if Dondochakka were dead, he'd likely be eaten.

In short, he couldn't comprehend Nel's many ideas—more confounding than Mr. Gusion's behavior.

"Having convictions is good. In my eyes, you're already human—and a strong one."

Gusion praised. He appreciated her view. He, too, enjoyed battle but wouldn't slaughter the weak without meaning.

"Mr. Gusion, you're quite a strange person. No—you're a Shinigami. Why are you in Hueco Mundo, traveling with Hollows?"

Nel asked curiously. Even Ulquiorra looked over, wanting an answer.

"An accident."

Gusion explained, "Decades ago, by accident, I followed some Hollows through a Garganta. I couldn't find a way back and wandered the Forest of Menos until I grew strong enough to leave it."

"I see. If you wish to return, I can open a Garganta and send you to the World of the Living."

Nel said. For a Hollow, opening a Garganta isn't difficult—let alone for one nearly at Vasto Lorde.

"After meeting Ulquiorra, I could already go back. But as a Shinigami, I want to uncover the truth of Hueco Mundo's chaos. It's a way to honor my identity."

He wasn't exactly lying. Information is life. Early on, no one has much intel; scoping things out now is comparatively safe. Later, when everyone is entrenched, the game gets trickier.

"As a Shinigami… you're the most astonishing one I've met. I've seen a few before. Though rational beings, they would attack me indiscriminately."

Nel had seen few Shinigami—she'd been in Hueco Mundo as long as she remembered, and in those long years only occasionally saw a Shinigami wander in. On seeing her, their eyes held only fear, then a strike.

"Prejudice stems from fear, and fear from the unknown. It's normal."

Gusion stretched. "I've learned enough of you in Hueco Mundo. To meet those I can converse with while wandering alone is a joy. Whether human or Hollow—what of it?"

Nel and Ulquiorra mulled his words. Ulquiorra not so much, but Nel found them quite sensible.

"Yes, we're both rational beings. If we can speak well, perhaps there's no need for slaughter. After all, at root—we are all people…"

At this, Nel grew indignant. "With Baraggan acting like this, I truly doubt he's a Vasto Lorde!"

"He is."

Gusion affirmed.

"Why? As a Shinigami, you've only been here a few decades. Have you even met the king of Hueco Mundo?"

Nel was puzzled.

"Precisely because he calls himself king and acts so brutally—that is why he's a Vasto Lorde…"

Gusion's tone was laden with meaning. "…Nel, humanity isn't only good. Baraggan's greed for power and violent nature—aren't these typical facets of humanity?"

Nel's lips parted; she was speechless for a moment. On thinking it through, Gusion seemed right. She had naively assumed Vasto Lordes should be rational and kind like her.

"So be smarter from now on. Don't think too well of others—human or Hollow—or you'll suffer for it."

Gusion advised as he rose to move on. From interrogating a Hollow earlier, he'd learned Dondochakka wasn't dead—likely imprisoned by some explorers trying to fish with bait.

Just as he urged Ulquiorra to finish feeding so they could rescue Dondochakka, Gusion's brows knit. He reached aside, catching a thread of reiatsu.

He called it a "thread" because it had form—semi-transparent ink drifting in his grasp. After he plucked it into visibility, it wriggled a few times and slowly dissipated.

"What is that?"

Nel asked curiously. Her sensing was keen, yet she hadn't felt anything approach.

"Bakudō…"

Gusion murmured. On catching that reiatsu, he recalled it swiftly. He'd used this binding spell in combat before—a tracking bakudō called Gaki Rekkō. It could sense a target's reiatsu and trace their location, though the range wasn't vast—at most covering Seireitei or Las Noches.

Now that the tracking reiatsu had been snagged, the caster had to be nearby.

An explorer? Or a native Shinigami?

Before Gusion could ponder, reality answered.

Swoosh—

A figure approached from afar, stepping with high-speed shunpo, appearing before Gusion's group.

Because Ulquiorra and Nel were keeping their reiatsu low in a noncombat state for Pesche's sake—barely leaking—the newcomer didn't perceive how terrifying the Hollows were.

Gusion blinked in brief surprise, then smiled with delight.

The man wore a black shihakushō, had brown skin, a purple afro, goggles on his face, and a tall, lean build—crisp and efficient.

"Shinigami? State your name and division."

The man looked toward Gusion's position, voice calm.

In his perception, he had locked onto a Shinigami's reiatsu. There were also several Hollows by him, but they were quiet and not raging. He assumed they were weak and wasn't overly wary.

After all, if a Shinigami stood there unharmed, the Hollows couldn't be that strong; otherwise, he'd have been eaten.

"Gusion, Fifth Division."

Gusion lifted a hand to still Ulquiorra and Nel—he would handle the parley.

Given the look, he recognized the Shinigami at once—none other than Tōsen Kaname, a century later to be a Captain. He should currently be a seated officer. Trained by Aizen, Tōsen had learned to hide his strength; his real power was decent, enough to dare range into Hueco Mundo.

"Gusion? Fifth Division? I recall Fifth's Seventh and Eighth Seats aren't that name. Who are you?"

Tōsen frowned, taking a fighting stance, wary.

He hadn't forgotten how those Shinigami dragged into Hueco Mundo had disappeared under strange circumstances. After two days searching, he had sensed only this one Shinigami. He judged the rest likely annihilated.

Sensing that Shinigami's reiatsu, he had thought it might be Fifth's two seated officers—ordinary Shinigami wouldn't last here. Yet this name was wrong.

"Mr. Gusion, shall I kill him?"

Ulquiorra spoke, and Tōsen's vigilance spiked.

As he readied to release shikai, intent on cutting down the Hollows first and interrogating Gusion later, a deep, inky reiatsu descended like rain, weighing upon him.

Even with lieutenant-level power under Aizen's tutelage, he felt tremendous pressure. Cold sweat broke on his brow.

Impossible!

That's a powerful Adjuchas—no, could it be a Vasto Lorde!?

Blind, Tōsen's perception was keen; he could "see" by feeling reiatsu. With his mindset shifting, he looked closely and realized a terrifying possibility.

The two Hollows at Gusion's side were not large—but both had humanoid forms!

Could they be… two Vasto Lordes?

But why weren't they attacking this Shinigami named Gusion? They seemed to heed his words.

For a moment, Tōsen's mind crashed. His body stiffened as he retreated. "Howl, Suzumushi!"

Seeing sweat bead on Tōsen's brow, Gusion glanced at Ulquiorra. "Ulq, rein in your reiatsu. Look how you've scared the kid."

Tōsen, braced for death and regretting he hadn't repaid Aizen's kindness, was about to fight to the death when he heard that and froze.

Had he stumbled upon some reclusive elder monster among Shinigami? No—even third-rate penny novels in Rukongai wouldn't write this plot!

"I've been stranded in Hueco Mundo for a time. It's normal you don't know me. By the way, do you know Aizen Sōsuke? He was my roommate at Shin'ō Academy. He can vouch for me."

Gusion asked, feigning ignorance.

"You know Lord—Lieutenant Aizen?"

Under strain, Tōsen almost slipped and said "Lord." He was stunned—this man knew Lord Aizen and had been his roommate?

Wait—he remembered. Decades ago, Lord Aizen had mentioned "Gusion." A few years back, he had even come to Hueco Mundo on research, seemingly to search, but found nothing and never spoke of it again.

Could this be that "Gusion" Lord Aizen had mentioned?

If so, the man had been exiled here for seventy years!? Back then, he'd have been a fresh entrant—hard to say if he was even seated. And he survived Hueco Mundo?

He had once been jealous of that "Gusion," thinking him long dead, yet Lord Aizen still remembered him—such "favor!"

He, ever loyal and efficient, had never seen Lord Aizen speak so fondly.

But now, seeing this man, he began to understand why.

Gusion was also a genius beyond his imagination—entering Hueco Mundo with a frail body, surviving seventy years, and even subduing what might be Vasto Lordes as subordinates!

Among "young" Shinigami he'd seen, none besides Lord Aizen could do that!

"Oh? Sōsuke is a Lieutenant now? Then when I go back, I'll be working under him?"

Gusion stroked his chin, then smiled. "That might be nice."