Chapter 396 BSUS Chapter 399: Shackles or Persistence?

Aizen used the humans in Karakura Town as hostages to force Hiroe’s side to divide their forces. As long as Karakura Town was not brought back to the World of the Living, this hostage tactic would always be effective.

Turning the tables to regain the initiative was simple: abandon the minority, or even prepare to bring back only a small fraction of Karakura Town’s residents. From Hiroe’s perspective, this was also the best choice.

The problem was that such an abandonment would not be accepted by many. Ichigo and Kaien were not like Tōsen and Ichimaru Gin. Hiroe and Aizen were also different; he was not a truly heartless person.

No matter how one exploited the rules, they would simultaneously be bound by them. He believed this was the principle Aizen wanted to convey to him. A person’s recognition of the outside world stems from their true nature; different natures lead to different recognitions. If one wished to proceed unhindered, they either had to change the world or disguise themselves.

*Is he certain that I will eventually drop my disguise?* Hiroe smiled disdainfully. *I am nothing like you, Aizen-san.*

“Let’s move out, Ashido.”

“If that projection from just now was visible in every outpost, I’m afraid we won’t have time to regroup.” Ashido quickly caught up with Hiroe, adding, “Furthermore, there’s no need to regroup.”

“Exactly. That’s why we first need to confirm whether this is a psychological trap the enemy set exclusively for you and me.”

The two of them hurried out of the outpost. Hiroe looked up at the sky, as if waiting for something.

Naturally, such a projection was not only delivered to Hiroe. Looking at the cage that treated human lives as mere toys, Kaien gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

According to their original plan, after transferring the humans from the outposts, the squads were supposed to quickly regroup using the Boundary-Breaking Talismans. However, the current situation seemingly did not allow for this step. Even if they did regroup, they would have to immediately split up again upon entering Las Noches, making it a futile effort.

“Everyone, follow me into Las Noches immediately!”

Just as the words left his mouth, Hiroe’s voice echoed in Kaien’s mind, speaking of the very projection he had just witnessed.

“If the other squads have encountered a similar situation, signal with red within five seconds!”

As Hiroe’s voice faded from his mind, Kaien immediately rushed outside. Raising his right hand, he fired a red Kidō signal into the sky.

One after another, red signals appeared in the air, proving that the previous projection was not an isolated incident. Advancing immediately was the only choice left for every squad.

Sure enough, Hiroe quickly relayed orders to all members: maintain their current squads, enter Las Noches from six different directions, rescue as many humans inside as possible, and then regroup in pairs.

This was somewhat redundant. Under the current circumstances, any other order would likely have been met with open defiance from the squads. For instance, Renji, who was bold in his judgment and overly swift in his reactions, had already led his team out long ago; his signal flare had been fired halfway through their advance.

However, there were indeed those who wished Hiroe would order them to abandon some of the humans and regroup as quickly as possible. To Tsukishima, aside from Ginjō—who had taken him in when he was a child—there was nothing in this world that could not be discarded.

Sprinting down the seemingly endless corridors of Las Noches, Tsukishima glanced at the walls on either side from time to time, appearing somewhat restless.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t sensed any Reiatsu around us other than our own.”

Ishida assumed Tsukishima was worried about a potential ambush. After all, as the enemy’s main stronghold, Las Noches seemed far too empty so far.

Although the corridor before them was somewhat dim under the glow of the torches, it would still be quite difficult for anyone to hide here.

“We still need to stay vigilant, Ishida. There was an Arrancar in Karakura Town before who managed to evade Big Brother Chōzuka’s perception. We can’t let our guard down,” Rukia spoke up to remind him.

Ishida replied, “If they launched an attack now, it’s entirely possible we could just retreat from Las Noches. Even if this is a trap, letting us walk right into it ourselves is obviously much less effort for them. We still need to find the location of the cage from the projection as quickly as possible. We don’t have much time.”

Hearing this, Rukia nodded. The two turned their gazes toward Tsukishima, only to see him smiling as he said, “It seems I was overthinking things. Let’s stay alert and keep moving forward.”

This three-person squad had maintained a fairly equal dynamic since their assault on the outpost. Rukia and Ishida hadn’t stripped Tsukishima of his command authority just because they didn’t know him well, nor did they blindly follow his every word. They were bold and willing to voice their own thoughts.

Of course, Tsukishima himself didn’t care about his status as commander. He had no intention of earning their trust, nor did he want to go all out to rescue the humans. If possible, he even wanted to cause some trouble for Hiroe and the others. For him, the Arrancars and Shinigami mutually destroying each other would be the best outcome.

Although Hiroe hadn’t said anything explicitly, in Tsukishima’s eyes, delegating command authority to him and Ginjō separately was a test—and more importantly, a warning.

The paths he and Ginjō took into Las Noches were situated exactly on either side of Hiroe’s position. If the area of effect of the detection Kidō Hiroe had used earlier was viewed as a circle, then he and Ginjō had been under his surveillance from the very beginning.

Therefore, Tsukishima had actually been testing Hiroe along the way as well, which was why he hadn’t directly participated in the battle at the outpost earlier.

Assuming Hiroe had been keeping an eye on him the entire time, he could deduce the man’s bottom-line attitude toward them: whether they contributed or not wasn’t crucial, but they couldn’t cause trouble or drag the team down.

This seemed quite lenient, but as they delved deeper into Las Noches, they—as humans—were no different from Shinigami in the eyes of the Arrancars. They were all just enemies.

Tsukishima understood that when the time came, whether he contributed or not would no longer be up to him. Danger was equal for everyone.

Ironically, to resolve his current predicament, he could only hope for a perilous situation severe enough to distract that man. Yet, given the terrifying combat prowess Hiroe had displayed earlier, the first ones to crumble under such peril would undoubtedly be him and Ginjō.

Tsukishima had now personally experienced Hiroe’s adept manipulation of the situation. Despite being surrounded by a group of people with divergent loyalties, he forced them into a position where they couldn’t cause any severe negative impact, and in their actions, they had no choice but to become assets to his side.

And just how dangerous was Aizen, who could oppose such a man and even gain the upper hand in their previous encounter?

Being here, Tsukishima knew they could no longer sit back and reap the spoils as a third party. The only choice left was to pick a side.

This was equally difficult. After all, the Arrancar named Roka had yet to show herself, and Hiroe’s forces in Hueco Mundo were definitely not limited to just her.

The price of choosing to turn against them would inevitably be heavy, and it was highly likely to be an exercise in futility. Tsukishima pondered for a long time. In theory, both he and Ginjō had the potential to defect to Las Noches, but the problem lay in what Ginjō would choose.

Actually, it wasn’t a problem at all. Even if Ginjō harbored hatred toward the Shinigami, he would never side with the Hollows because of it.

On this journey, they no longer had a choice!