Starrk's arrival was too violent, completely ruining all of Jun's plans. The sudden appearance of such a massive Hollow's Reiatsu in the World of the Living has kept the Second Division and Eighth Divisions extremely busy.
And Chun is also extremely busy.
"You! Go in quickly! Hurry!"
"Shimizu God, what's wrong?"
"There's no time for explanations, you all go inside first! Soul Reaper is coming, hurry up if you don't want to die!"
Chun had built up enough prestige over the past few months, and the news that the Soul Reaper was coming also put immense pressure on the Bount. As a result, one by one they quickly entered the Space-Breaking World, moving from the World of the Living into Hueco Mundo.
Following Jun's instructions, Starrk continued south for a considerable distance, only entering Garganta Hueco Mundo Nanbu Kyushu. Jun, after everyone had left, erased all traces of his existence and also entered Hueco Mundo.
Who are these people?
"Who is Chun?"
Starrk was curious about the existence of Bount, while Isuzu was terrified of both Starrk and Lilynette.
Junichi was in a real bind because Starrk's sudden loss of control over his Reiatsu field upon appearing in the World of the Living had disrupted all his plans. Jun could only rack his brains to deal with the current situation.
"I'll give you a completely satisfactory explanation later, just listen to me for now! Okay!?"
Isuzu had no objections; she always prioritized her own ideas, and besides, the current situation was beyond her comprehension.
Starrk and Lilynette had no objections; they were both trained by Chun and perfectly suited his style.
The Bount on the other side were now completely gripped by fear. The situation here was far from ideal, so the effectiveness of pure magic was currently reduced.
So Chun unleashed his long-unused ultimate move.
"You Bount! Listen to me! This place is called Hueco Mundo, the home of the Hollows. See that man? That's the strongest Hollow! One of him could devour you all! But he's my friend, so I asked him to look after you. As long as you don't wander off, you'll be fine! Wait here for me to come back and I'll find you a new home. No the Underbelly allowed!"
That settled the matter with the Bount. Now even the Kariya Jin doesn't dare to act rashly. He's so overwhelmed by Starrk's power that he doesn't know what to do; he simply couldn't comprehend such strength.
Then Chun instructed Starrk, "We can discuss your research when I return. In the meantime, take care of these Bount. When they need to eat, just catch some ordinary Hollows for them; they can handle it themselves."
"Good"
Starrk and Lilynette had absolutely no objections; they were long used to idly waiting and were happy to have something to do, though Starrk didn't show it on his face.
Jun pulled Isuzu back to the World of the Living through a Space-Breaking World, then used Shunpo to travel to his territory.
"Is he a fake?"
"Um"
"He doesn't have Hollowfication Mask! Nor does he have Hollow Hole!"
"That's Arrancar, a being even stronger than Vasto Lorde."
"What!!?"
"I'm stronger Vasto Lorde. Actually, I was planning to tell you this much later, but since you've already found out, there's nothing I can do about it."
"You last time"
"That's where I met him last time. He's a very interesting Hollow. He didn't kill me, and back then, he and Lilynette were like newborn children, so I became their mentor."
"Then how did you get so badly injured?"
"It was acting. I deliberately let him beat me up like that; of course, I didn't know it would be that bad."
"So what do we do now?"
"To deal with the Soul Society's surprise inspection"
When Jun and Isuzu returned to their territory, they indeed ran into members of the Second Division who were visiting, and it was openly acknowledged; how many were secretly visiting was unknown.
"They're here!" Chun's expression was solemn.
The member of the Second Division bowed. "Shimizu, Sixth Seat, Forty-seventh Seat of Shimizu, have you two discovered anything?"
No one asked what Jun and his wife had been doing, because it was obvious they had gone to check on the situation. Jun's expression was very serious, as he was trying to figure out how to get past the Soul Society's inspection, but the people in the Second Division assumed that Jun was thinking about the fluctuations he had just experienced.
"Hmm, I don't know how to put it, but that fluctuation was very powerful. From what I sensed, it seemed even stronger than the Vasto Lorde that injured me last time!"
"Are you telling the truth!?"
"Of course, I have no reason to lie to you."
"So, did you go to the place where Vasto Lorde stayed?"
"We went there," Chun nodded. "There's a small village there, it looks like it was recently completed, but I don't know exactly where it is. However, there are many remnants of Reishi."
"Oh? Residual Reishi?"
"Yes, there are a lot of them, and they're very disorganized. They probably belong to hundreds of people. I haven't checked them specifically because I'm afraid of danger. I'm worried that Vasto Lorde might come back. I suggest you and the Eighth Division be careful too!"
The member of the Second Division straightened his expression. "Thank you for your concern and cooperation. We'll take our leave now."
"Okay, be careful."
"Thanks"
As Chun had predicted, the Soul Society was busy with their investigation, but no reports were released. Chun, currently in the World of the Living, had little opportunity to access the data. Furthermore, Chun felt that the Bount operation had likely been exposed, but that couldn't be entirely blamed.
The fact that a large number of Bount had gathered in that village attracted the Vasto Lorde is still unknown, but in any case, since the Central 46 has already concealed the existence of the Bount, they won't let this matter be exposed again. Therefore, they will inevitably find some way to cover up this issue.
After waiting for nearly three months, Jun found an opportunity to bring Isuzu back to Hueco Mundo. All the Bount were present, and things had changed for the better.
"Thanks for your hard work, Starrk."
"Hard work? Not at all."
"Uh, okay," Chun hadn't even taught Starrk what politeness was yet.
"What are they? Bount, are they a type of Soul Reaper?"
"Uh, no."
What is that?
"I'll explain it to you later."
"Good"
Starrk didn't disturb Chun. Upon arriving at the Bount' side, Chun could already sense a noticeable difference: the feeling of Spiritual Power had decreased. Yes, some of the Bount could now control the release of their Spiritual Power.
Jun had anticipated this outcome from the beginning, because the Seal held by Kariya Jin activated Reishi. But could a small Seal be as powerful as Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, where Reishi are constantly activated?
Of course not, but could these Bount be allowed to go directly to Hueco Mundo or Soul Society? No, because without protection, they would die wherever they went—eating them in Hueco Mundo or being killed by Soul Reaper in Soul Society.
That's why the Soul Reaper named Aijima created such a Seal for Kariya Jin. Unfortunately, its power was too weak; even after holding it for hundreds of years, Kariya Jin only just managed to develop a certain degree of Reishi manipulation ability.
Now, with Starrk watching over them, and Menos Grande in the Forest of Menos in a dormant state, ordinary Hollows couldn't even get close to Starrk's oppressive aura. This group of Bount was getting the best possible experience.
They were frantically exchanging Reishi; it was active Reishi activating the Reishi that constituted their bodies—yes, the Reishi that constituted their bodies.
Like everything else in the World of the Living, the human body is composed of extremely stable Reishi. Compared to Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, things in the World of the Living are exceptionally strong and durable.
The same applies to the bodies of Bount. Although their souls are activated, they find it difficult to activate their bodies on their own because the existence of the body blocks the exchange of spiritual Reishi between the soul and the body.
This creates a vicious cycle: to gain power, one must activate their body; to activate the body, one must complete Reishi exchange; but to exchange Reishi, one must go through their body. However, because their soul strength is insufficient, they cannot mobilize the inactive Reishi of the World of the Living, preventing their bodies from passing through the Reishi.
But things are different once you arrive in Hueco Mundo. The Reishi in Hueco Mundo are in an active state, which influences their bodies. At the same time, the active Reishi are more easily driven by souls, and although it is difficult, they can still pass through their bodies. Thus, everything changes.
Many Bount who already possessed the ability to control Spiritual Power in the World of the Living were now essentially completing the complete Reishi Quality of their bodies. What would that be equivalent to? A newly awakened Soul Reaper with an innate, incredibly powerful Spiritual Pool.
This is why the Bount in the original work all have uniquely powerful Dolls; those are actually their Shikai, just like Kenpachi and Ichigo, who are born with powerful Spiritual Pools and thus possess their own Shikai.
"It looks like they'll soon be able to survive independently in Hueco Mundo."
"You want them to live in Hueco Mundo? Which one?" Starrk asked curiously.
Chun then remembered that there were now five maps, so he asked, "Which one do you think is better?"
"This place is better for now, but if the experiment succeeds, and the Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde here complete their evolution, while I conduct the experiment in the Endless Sea, they're doomed."
"You're right," Chun scratched his head in frustration. "By the way, how's your experiment going over the Endless Sea?"
"I wanted to tell you this," Starrk said, delivering a shocking message, "I've met someone like me, someone even stronger than me."
"", simply indicating that they didn't hear clearly, "Huh!?"
"His name is Zegurodo Basiroruzu, and he says he is a whale" (symbolizing the extinct Basilosaurus).
Chun fell silent; this news was truly explosive. "So, what does he think of your behavior?"
"No, after he saw what I did, he just said to do what I like. It was also the first time he had met someone like me, and he wanted to meet more people like me."
"I see. Maybe I should go and meet this person another day."
"Do you want to go? I can take you there right now."
"Uh, never mind, I'm not ready yet." I have no idea what kind of person Zegrod is. What if he has a grudge against Soul Reaper? Speaking of which, Soul Reaper doesn't know about the Endless Sea, so he probably won't have a chance to meet this guy, right?
How long will you be staying here this time?
"Well, since I'm already here, and I have less than a year and a half left, I'll try to come here as often as possible. Oh, by the way, let me introduce you to my wife, Lingling ~"
"Wife?"
"It's about having the most important partner in your life," Jun said, hugging the slightly nervous Isuzu. "You know, a partner means someone who can reproduce, right?"
"I know that all living things in the World of the Living can reproduce."
"Yes, even Soul Reaper can do it. Lingling is the one I'm with who will procreate with me. Our relationship is the closest. Procreating together is the closest relationship; that's what partners are."
Starrk nodded. "I see, I understand."
Lilynette circled around Isuzu, chanting, "Partner~ Partner~, Lilynette wants a partner too~, are Starrk and I partners?"
"We are not, we are closer than partners, we are the same person."
"Oh, right, we're closer than partners, hehehe."
Isuzu's guard has lowered considerably because this Lilynette is quite adorable, and she's been well-trained. However, she wonders if, after a few hundred years, she'll revert to the tsundere character from the original work.
Are all Arrancars like this?
"I don't know, this is the first Arrancar I've ever seen."
"Hmm, it's quite interesting, and it doesn't seem that dangerous either."
"That's because you and I aren't his enemies. He could easily beat Vasto Lorde to a pulp; it's not as peaceful as it seems to you."
"Uh, really? I can't quite tell."
"Hehe, I'll show you some good stuff," Chun said, beckoning to Starrk. "Starrk, leave a trace here so the Hollows don't get close, then take us to our usual spot."
Okay, let's go.