First Arrival in Hueco Mundo

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Ye Yang got up, picked up his Zanpakuto, and went to the meeting point Yamamoto had mentioned. When Ye Yang arrived, almost everyone was already there—about fifty people in total. They were all part of the Expeditionary Force heading to Hueco Mundo. Most of them were from Rukongai; even the few nobles were from fallen noble families. Their eyes held a degree of hatred, after all, they hadn't volunteered for the army—who would go to Hueco Mundo for no reason?

They were all forced into this situation, either because they made mistakes or offended certain people, which is why they were sent to the Expeditionary Force. You should know that the mortality rate of the Expeditionary Force is extremely high!

Sometimes, a young nobleman might go to Hueco Mundo for training, but their stay would never exceed ten years. This group of people, like Ye Yang, would stay in Hueco Mundo for fifty years.

When Ye Yang arrived, all eyes were on him. Most of them knew Ye Yang as the vice-captain of the Second Division, but they didn't understand why Ye Yang, the eldest son of the Shihoin Clan and vice-captain of the Second Division, had returned here. Was he part of the Expeditionary Force with them? They couldn't understand the thinking of these nobles.

Ye Yang slowly walked to the front of the line and stood there. Soon after, Captain-Commander Yamamoto arrived, accompanied by his two prized disciples Ukitake and Shunsui. The two of them looked at Ye Yang in surprise, never dreaming that Ye Yang would appear here.

Ukitake stepped forward first and said, "Good morning, Ye Yang, what are you doing here?"

"Captain Ukitake, Captain Shunsui, isn't it obvious that I'm here? I'm also a member of this Expeditionary Force. Didn't Captain-Commander Yamamoto tell you?" Ye Yang asked. Logically speaking, Yamamoto shouldn't have kept it from his two prized disciples, but then he thought about it and realized that if he told them, he wouldn't be able to explain why, so it was better not to say anything.

Shunsui adjusted her straw hat with her right hand. "Oh my, oh my, I never expected you, Ye Yang, to join the Expeditionary Force. Why is that?"

Ye Yang smiled, "Just some experience."

"Are you really worried about your little girl? You should cherish a cute little girl, shouldn't you?" As expected of Shunsui Kyōraku, whom Yamamoto called unable to resist women, frivolous in manner, but meticulous in mind and more knowledgeable about human relationships than anyone else, she immediately noticed Ye Yang's concerns.

Ye Yang smiled and said, "To paraphrase the Captain-Commander's words, if a fledgling is not allowed to fly, it will forever remain a fledgling."

"Oh?" Shunsui glanced at Yamamoto not far away. "What the Old Man Yama said makes sense, but if the timing isn't right, the fledgling might not even be a fledgling anymore." His tone was tinged with sadness, it seemed that the matter of Yadōmaru had greatly affected Shunsui.

The short sentence, "I believe her," stopped Shunsui in her tracks. She had trusted Lisa back then, but it had led to this outcome. She didn't expect that this Shunsui would still make her feel a tightness in her chest.

Ukitake, sensing the tense atmosphere, coughed twice. "Ye Yang, Hueco Mundo is dangerous. Are you really sure about this?"

"Of course," Ye Yang chuckled, otherwise why would he be standing here?

"Is that so? Then we won't offer any more advice. Just be careful on your way through Hueco Mundo," Ukitake said.

Shunsui said, "Oh dear, I finally have a drinking buddy who's leaving. From now on, I'll only be able to drink with you, Jūshirō." Indeed, among them, only Ye Yang could rival Shunsui in drinking.

With a heavy tap of Yamamoto's cane, everyone on the field immediately lined up. Ye Yang also joined them. Yamamoto began, "All of you who have joined the Expeditionary Force, from today onwards you will fight on the front lines. Behind you stand your families and friends, so fight for those you protect! The peace of Soul Society is the result of your efforts! You are all heroes of Soul Society! Today you are heading to the battlefield, go! Make the Hollows tremble with fear! Now, Vice- Shihoin Lieutenant Ye Yang, who is in charge of you, will say a few words."

Ye Yang walked up to them and said, "The Captain-Commander has said what he needed to say. I'll just say one thing: once we're in Hueco Mundo, I need absolute obedience from all of you! You must carry out my orders! You all know how dangerous Hueco Mundo is, and I don't want any situation where orders are constantly being issued. Alright, that's all."

Then, a black opening appeared in front of them—this was the Garganta, the passage to Hueco Mundo. Seeing that the Garganta was open, Yamamoto said, "Everyone, your time has come. Go."

Ye Yang looked at the enormous Garganta in the sky and led the Expeditionary Force into it. Inside was just a Garganta space. Ye Yang pointed ahead. "Everyone, immediately form units of ten, and the rest of you form teams, arranged in a vertical line. The person at the front will use their Spiritual Power to condense Reishi to pave a path for everyone to walk on. When the person at the front has used up most of their Spiritual Power, they will automatically retreat to the back to Spiritual Power. The person at the front will then continue paving the path, and so on, until we reach the Hueco Mundo. Everyone, move out!"

They quickly divided into six teams as Ye Yang ordered. The last team had only five people. Ye Yang stepped forward and said, "Let's go!"

As Ye Yang spoke, the people in front began to run, but it was obvious that their Spiritual Pressure was not strong enough. The paths they had paved were generally narrow and unstable, and because of the insufficient Spiritual Pressure, the paths would quickly disappear. Therefore, in groups of ten, those behind tried to stay as far forward as possible. After only a few steps, one person almost fell. Ye Yang shouted, "Stop! You all need to form groups of five!"

The ten people then split into groups of five, which solved the problem. Ye Yang said to the five people behind him, "Let's go too."

Ye Yang then paved a wide and solid road (see the road trodden by Sister Retsu for details). Everyone looked at Ye Yang in astonishment. His Spiritual Pressure and control were far beyond their reach. Ye Yang's small display of skill had truly impressed them.

Nothing unexpected happened along the way, and Ye Yang didn't ask to be replaced even after arriving in Hueco Mundo, which shows that his Spiritual Pressure was astonishing.

The group finally arrived at Hueco Mundo, where a desolate desert stretched out before them. The sand was white, with only a few withered trees scattered about. The sky was a hazy gray, with only a crescent moon hanging in the sky. The place could only be described as barren, and there wasn't a single living creature in sight.

"Is this Hueco Mundo?" Ye Yang Soi Fon to himself, thinking of Soi Fon, far away in Soul Society. "I wonder how she is doing..."

Back in Soul Society, not long after Ye Yang left, Yamamoto and Ukitake Shunsui were still watching the spot where Ye Yang had disappeared when a girl suddenly appeared, her face filled with anxiety, and asked, "Captain-Commander, where's Brother Ye Yang?"

Yamamoto glanced at her. "They're already gone."

Soi Fon shuddered, knelt on the ground and muttered to herself, "Why, why does even Brother Ye Yang have to leave me? Waaah..." She began to cry, tears streaming down her face.

"Why didn't you take Soi Fon with you... Brother Ye Yang, you don't want Soi Fon anymore either..."

Shunsui stepped forward and said, "You're the only little girl Ye Yang is worried about, right? Do you know what he said to me before he left?"

Soi Fon stopped crying and asked, "What?"

"He said, 'I believe she can do it.'" After saying that, Shunsui left with Yamamoto Ukitake, leaving her alone. Shunsui knew that she needed a quiet environment to calm down.

Soi Fon sat there for a long time without saying a word. At first, her face was full of disappointment, but as time went by, her disappointment gradually faded, and was replaced by a resolute expression.

Soi Fon secretly vowed in her heart that she would definitely become strong and would not let Brother Ye Yang down, because he always believed in her and that she would become stronger!

Ye Yang, far away in Hueco Mundo, was naturally unaware of these things. He carefully observed everything in Hueco Mundo, then addressed the whispering crowd, "Everyone, we have now arrived in Hueco Mundo. I believe this is the first time for most of you, just like me. Now, please listen to me. Our first task is to find the nearest Expeditionary Force veterans and have them lead us to our base camp in Hueco Mundo. Everyone will search in groups of five as before. Meet back here in half an hour. Let's move out, everyone."

"Yes!"

Ye Yang stood alone in place. The density of Reishi in Hueco Mundo was no less than that in Soul Society, except that the Reishi here seemed to be a bit more violent. Ye Yang searched for a long time, but he couldn't find a single Soul Reaper, let alone a Hollow. Afterwards, he returned to the meeting point to wait for them to come back.

When they all returned, they found the same result as Ye Yang: they didn't find anyone!

Suddenly, a violent Spiritual Pressure appeared in the air—it was a Hollow! And of a high level. Ye Yang shouted, "Everyone, follow behind me, let's go take a look."

Ye Yang led the group towards the direction from which the Spiritual Pressure was coming from, but the Spiritual Pressure was getting stronger and stronger. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the Spiritual Pressure emitted by Adjuchas- level Menos Grande. These Shinigami were just ordinary members, with very few possessing the strength of Seated Officer. Naturally, they were somewhat afraid of being oppressed by this level of Spiritual Pressure.

"Captain, let's not go. That level of Spiritual Pressure is beyond our capabilities," one of the team members said, but he voiced the sentiments of most of them.

Ye Yang looked at them. If they couldn't even withstand this much pressure, what kind of future could they possibly have? Only a very few people remained calm.

His eyes turned cold. "I told you, you must absolutely obey orders! Do you understand? You're afraid of even this little thing?"

"Of course you're not afraid because you're strong, but we're just ordinary team members. I think you just want us to be cannon fodder!" one of them jumped out and said.