Chapter 389: BSUS Chapter 392: Reunion, Ashido

Plunging headfirst into the cluster of light at the end, Ichigo was the first to break free from the dark, shattered space behind them, arriving in the Hueco Mundo they had been discussing along the way.

However, after hearing so much about Hueco Mundo, the world before his eyes still defied his expectations. The gloomy Forest of Menos? The moonlit desert? Neither of those were anywhere to be seen.

“Huh? Are we… inside a building?”

Ishida’s voice rang out from behind. Everyone else raised their heads and began to take in their surroundings. To their left and right were monotonous white walls, and there was a clear corner up ahead. It seemed they were in an enclosed corridor.

“Where the hell are we?!” Renji exclaimed loudly, looking completely bewildered. Where was the desert? Where was the moon?

“Keep your voice down!”

Rukia turned and scolded Renji for his careless behavior. Although her own voice wasn’t much quieter, she successfully got him to cover his mouth.

Could the previous information about Hueco Mundo have been fake too? The two of them shared a telepathic understanding and cast questioning glances at Hiroe at the very back of the group. To their surprise, he just threw his hands up, looking just as clueless.

“Who knows what bizarre things Aizen has built in Hueco Mundo. If we want to find out, our best bet is to grab someone and ask,” Hiroe said, pointing in the direction Ichigo was facing. “There’s a faint clash of Reiatsu over there. Let’s go check it out.”

As the leader of the team, his words carried weight. With Ichigo still taking the lead and Hiroe bringing up the rear, the group tried to make as little noise as possible, cautiously advancing toward the end of the corridor.

In truth, the moment they intruded into Hueco Mundo, the subtle spatial fluctuations combined with the exaggerated Reiatsu spilling from the rift had already alerted the enemy. Luppi was one of them.

After returning from Karakura Town, the glory of the 6th Espada had once again returned to Grimmjow. After all, his own incompetence had nearly caused an accident in Lord Aizen’s plan to capture Karakura Town.

But who was to say this wasn’t also part of Aizen’s plan? In Luppi’s eyes, the previous mission was a test Lord Aizen had set up for him and Grimmjow. Unfortunately, he had utterly failed that test.

Fortunately, Lord Aizen didn’t seem to have completely given up on him, merely stripping him of his status as an Espada and administering punishment. Of course, that punishment was by no means light.

He was tasked with assisting the underground outposts responsible for guarding the perimeter of Las Noches. Even with those three elusive, wretched women around, this kind of job should have been handled by the Exequias. For someone like him who had once been an Espada, it was an absolute disgrace.

This was originally a tedious and uninteresting chore, but it was a different story now that the internal enemies of Hueco Mundo and those damn Shinigami from the outside had overlapped.

Taking this opportunity to wipe out all those annoying pests, Luppi sprinted toward his destination with an excited expression. This time, he wouldn’t be careless!

Past the long corridor was a spacious, circular room with a high ceiling. At the other end of the room was a staircase leading upward, its end out of sight even where it met the ceiling.

This was a building buried deep underground. Ishida once again confirmed his deduction, which also explained why the petite Hollow in the room seemed somewhat restricted while fighting. If the battle grew any more intense, this place would surely collapse.

The Hollow in the center of the room was covered in brown fur, with what looked like elongated white masks on both shoulders, and a giant mask resembling a crying face on its back. It looked rather bizarre.

By the time Ichigo and the others arrived, he had already elbowed a large brute unconscious. Another Arrancar with a beak-like mask was quite agile, costing him a bit more time.

Of course, it didn’t take long before this human-sized figure seized an opening, pinning the Arrancar to the ground until it, too, seemingly passed out.

Suddenly, the figure turned its antelope-skull-like face toward them. It was impossible to tell who those hollow eyes were staring at, yet everyone felt as if they were being targeted.

“Careful!”

Ichigo warned, drawing Zangetsu from his back and pointing it warily at the figure across from them, unsure if it was friend or foe. The others either clenched their fists or gripped their sword hilts.

Only Hiroe wore a smile. Not only did he refrain from attacking, but he also reached out an arm to block the group.

“Don’t worry. He’s not a Hollow; he’s a Shinigami.”

“A Shinigami?!” the group exclaimed in unison. They watched as the figure across from them reached up and removed the menacing antelope mask, revealing a human face without a single trace of a mask. Unless a Menos could become an Arrancar without retaining any Hollow remnants, this person had to be either a human or a Shinigami.

Faint traces of a Shihakushō could be seen at his collar. Although it was hard to believe, this red-haired man standing before them was indeed a Shinigami—and one they had never seen before!

Ichigo instinctively looked at Rukia, who in turn cast a pleading glance at Kaien. To their surprise, Kaien looked just as bewildered; he truly had no recollection of this person.

If even Kaien didn’t know, then the only person who might have seen him was the oldest among them, Hiroe. But judging by the way he was studying the man, he didn’t seem to recognize him either.

“Excuse me, were you a member of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force? What is your name?”

Sure enough, he didn’t recognize him. But Hiroe’s words pointed the others in the right direction. A Shinigami appearing in Hueco Mundo whom even he didn’t know could only be someone from the original Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force.

Realizing this, Kaien and the others couldn’t help but stand at attention, their gazes toward the unknown man filling with respect.

“My name is Ashido, a member of Squad 11. I wasn’t part of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force; I merely chased a Hollow into Hueco Mundo alongside my comrades.”

Ashido was also sizing up the bizarre combination of Shinigami, humans, and even a Quincy standing opposite him, especially Hiroe.

Although this encounter had been deliberately arranged and the two had known each other for a long time, this was his first time seeing Hiroe’s true appearance. He was surprisingly young.

“You’re a Captain? May I ask which Squad?”

“Captain of the Fifth Division, Chōzuka Hiroe. I never expected to find such a valiant Shinigami in Hueco Mundo.”

Hiroe gave a slight nod of respect, while Kaien and the others bowed to show their reverence for their senior.

“Lieutenant of the Fifth Division, Shiba Kaien. It is an honor to meet you, Ashido-senpai!”

“Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, Abarai Renji. It is an honor to meet you, Ashido-senpai!”

“Thirteenth Division member, Kuchiki Rukia. It is an honor to meet you, Ashido-senpai!”

It wasn’t just Shinigami like Kaien; Ichigo, Chad, and Inoue all held deep respect for this man who had fought in Hueco Mundo for who knew how many centuries. Although Ishida Uryū didn’t say anything, his eyes were filled with acknowledgment for Ashido.

After Ashido responded to each of them, his gaze returned to Hiroe. “While I don’t know why Captain Chōzuka brought people to Hueco Mundo, it’s best we leave here first.”

“Why?”

“This is an underground outpost on the perimeter of Las Noches. The commotion you made entering here will likely draw a response from them soon, and once someone comes, this place will easily…”

Tiny pebbles fell from the ceiling as the entire room suddenly began to tremble. Cracks started to form on the floor beneath their feet. Ashido’s final words were the perfect description of the current situation.

“…collapse.”