In Hueco Mundo, the Endless Sea has become the stronghold of the Arrancar.
Following the knowledge that Pure had taught Starrk, he investigated several other maps he knew of, as well as those known to Zegrod, and named them. Therefore, there are now nine known maps of Hueco Mundo.
Endless Sea, Earth-Rending Stone Forest, Green Grassland, Silent Sand Sea, Forest of Menos, Blazing Hell, Demon Wind Canyon, Frozen Circle, Deathmist Swamp
Because Hueco Mundo is a connection between spaces, it's impossible to explicitly state the location of the connection point unless a 3D map can be drawn and a 3D model created, a capability that no one currently possesses.
However, among the known connection structures...
The Silent Sand Sea, also known as the Upper Hueco Mundo, connects the Earth-Rending Stone Forest and the Forest of Menos.
The Forest of Menos connects the Silent Sand Sea, the Endless Sea, and the Green Grasslands.
The Endless Sea connects the Forest of Menos, the Green Grassland, the Demon Wind Canyon, the Frozen Circle, and the Deathmist Swamp.
The Green Grassland connects the Forest of Menos, the Endless Sea, the Blazing Region, and the Deathmist Swamp.
If we then rank them according to the number of Hollows surviving, among the regions that have been fully explored, the order is: Endless Sea> Green Grassland> Forest of Menos> Frozen Circle> Silent Sand Sea> Earth-Rending Stone Forest> Demon Wind Canyon. The remaining areas, the Blazing Region and the Deathmist Swamp, are not well-suited to the Starrk' environment, so they haven't been thoroughly explored.
Therefore, Soul Society's understanding of the Silent Sand Sea and the Forest of Menos is flawed. While they are correct regarding the number of Hollows living there— the Silent Sand Sea indeed have fewer than the Forest of Menos — Soul Society perception that the Silent Sand Sea are the domain of Vasto Lorde and Adjuchas, and the Forest of Menos is the domain of Gillian and Ordinary Hollows, is wildly inaccurate.
Because both in quantity and quality, there were more high- Menos Grande in the Forest of Menos than in the Silent Sand Sea. However, later on, the Silent Sand Sea did indeed have a much larger number of high-level Menos Grande, the reason being Baraggan, but the main reason being the Eighth Espada, that eunuch, who was once Vasto Lorde but later degenerated into Adjuchas.
Szayelaporro, that's the guy. He was a freak who possessed full sentience during the Vasto Lorde era, even surpassing Baraggan in cognitive abilities. He was able to conduct scientific research during the Vasto Lorde period, eventually splitting the soul of his brother from his human form to create another Hollow, which caused his own degeneration. However, even after degeneration, he retained full cognitive abilities.
This guy is a very special case. When Aizen first went to Hueco Mundo, he was the No. 0 Arrancar. After his brother split off, his strength regressed and he was kicked out of the Espada. Later, after developing his ultimate technique, he squeezed back in. He's really amazing.
This Szayelaporro was already under the command of Baraggan during the Baraggan Empire, so he was also in charge of the work on the high-level Menos Grande in the network. It was because of his centuries of hard work, and the fact that he enjoyed his research, that so many high-level Menos Grande later appeared in the Silent Sand Sea.
However, Baraggan's empire has only been established for a little over a hundred years, and it's still unknown whether this guy who changed the Hollow Empire has joined it. The known information about Baraggan is that he has truly and completely unified the Silent Sand Sea, and all the Void beings still remaining in the Silent Sand Sea are Baraggan's subordinates.
Do you know how many Vasto Lorde and Adjuchas he has?
"What's wrong?"
The Baraggan Empire is currently at war with the Soul Society.
Do you need my help?
"No need, Soul Reaper needs some pressure."
"I understand. I rarely go to the Silent Sand Sea because I really dislike that Baraggan. From what I've sensed so far, he has seven Vasto Lorde and twenty Adjuchas."
"Oh? There are quite a few Adjuchas."
"Probably some of them were eaten."
"Is that so? How many years ago was that information?"
This was a difficult question for Starrk to answer. How could a Hollow, a monster with such a long lifespan, remember the exact dates? Starrk thought seriously for a moment, then said, "Fifty years ago, I suppose."
"That means two Vasto Lorde are dead, and five Adjuchas are dead too."
"Was he killed by Soul Reaper?"
"Yeah, I even took one down myself," Chun said, as if showing off. "Let's go check on your companion."
Okay~
Starrk, carrying Pure, moved swiftly. During this time Starrk asked curiously, "Do all Soul Reapers grow this fast?"
"Hmm? You mean I'm growing up very fast?"
"Yeah, when we first met, you weren't even as good as a Gillian, but now you feel almost as good as Gillian."
"Huh? It's just a Gillian?"
"According to you, you're almost there in terms of the Spiritual Pool, but there's still some gap. However, aren't Soul Reaper stronger than Hollows in other attributes? So you already have the strength to take down some weaker Adjuchas."
"Pretty much. If it's someone who doesn't restrain me too much, I should be able to take them down."
"So you're very strong, and you're growing very quickly."
"Don't worry, in the entire Soul Society, I only know of two people who grow at this rate. One is me, and the other is someone you'll definitely meet in the future."
"I see, I understand, we've arrived."
This is the shore of the Endless Sea, an Endless Sea whose boundaries are invisible. Its exact size is estimated to be a hundred times the size of the Silent Sand Sea. After all, a creature as enormous as the Las Noches can roam freely in the Silent Sand Sea, right?
"Yo~ Zegrod, I'm here again~"
"Welcome!"
Unlike other Arrancars, Zegrod prefers to remain in his Resurrección form underwater. In his words, he had been in Arrancar for a long time and then got tired of it.
Hmm, I'm tired of it.
Then he kept his Resurrección and continued swimming in the water. He preferred this state. Just as Chun finished greeting him, a small head nudged his stomach. It was a little girl with translucent, dark blue hair, about 1.4 meters tall, lively and cute. The remnants of the Arrancar were ears, two bony elf ears, and the Hollow Hole was her navel, very small, only about the width of two fingers.
Her name is Dolphin Daphnidia, symbolized by a dolphin. After her Arrancar, she became intelligent and clever, yet still retained the characteristics of her symbol. She especially liked to bump people with her forehead and adored clinging to Chun, a little girl.
She was Lilynette's enemy because she was always competing with Lilynette for Jun's embrace. Now Lilynette ran over too, but she beat her to it and could only cling to Jun's leg.
"Yo~ Chun, what brings you here this time?"
"Oka ~ Long time no see"
Approaching Chun was a burly man, the kind with bulging muscles all over his body. He was shirtless, and the Arrancar part of his head was on top of his head, strangely shaped like a large comb, which naturally formed braids in his hair. The Hollow Hole on his left arm, at the biceps area.
Her skin was oily and yellowish with a sheen, and her appearance had distinct East Asian features; her square face somewhat resembled Yao Ming's.
His name is Orcinus Orca, and his symbol is the killer whale. Killers belong to the dolphin family and are mammals. So, although he may seem like a brute, he is actually extremely intelligent, with a learning ability even higher than that of Dolfen.
These two were already here when I last came; they were Arrancars who successfully evolved. The two from the first batch didn't stay. Starrk initially wanted to force them to stay, but ultimately gave up. Zegrod also chose to let them leave.
However, since then, Zegrod has developed a great fondness for Chun and actively cooperated with Starrk's work, even providing him with a safe haven, which is why progress has been so rapid.
At least thirty Vasto Lorde were undergoing evolution, while there were fewer Adjuchas, only about a dozen. Grimmjow was particularly conspicuous among them.
Let's mention those two Arrancar the first to successfully evolve and leave. Ta-da!
Ulquiorra Cifer
This character needs little introduction; he's an incredibly popular character from the original work, the first Vasto Lorde to be "catalyzed" (i. e., developed through a process of transformation), and the first successful Vasto Lorde. Everything about him is a first, except perhaps for one thing: he didn't survive to the end.
However, Ulquiorra's symbol is Bat, so let's try to understand that. Although Bats live in groups, they don't live with other species; they are very independent and timid. For Ulquiorra to change and integrate into a group, it will only be possible after he Arrancar for a long time and his humanity has become stronger.
The second character, who doesn't appear in the original work, is a woman, symbolized by the Black Widow spider, Natasha Titos.
The location of the Arrancar is incredibly interesting; it's the teeth. You can't see any Arrancar on her entire body, but when she opens her mouth, besides normal human teeth, two large venomous fangs protrude from a special part of her lower jaw. These venomous fangs are Hollowfication Mask of the mask, with the Hollow Hole below her chest.
Her beauty was so striking that even Starrk, Zegrod, Dolfen, and Oka were captivated by her. This was partly due to her inherent charm, but also because she was truly breathtaking.
She lived in the team for a while, but her symbolic nature made her uncomfortable. After leaving two messages—"If I want to see Chun again, then join me"—she left the Endless Sea, her whereabouts unknown.
The first and second batches each had two individuals. The first two left, but the two from the second batch remained because they symbolize social creatures. Now, the third batch is evolving, and the first one to successfully evolve is currently in its third phase.
Chun glanced over, then stared blankly, because this was someone he knew.
Shark Sister Tier Harribel
However, the current Shark Sister is completely different from the cold-blooded woman of later times. It seems that her feminine nature has allowed her to understand the essence of beauty. She is extremely embarrassed about the fact that the Hollowfication Mask remains on her jaw after Arrancar, and those huge shark teeth are simply too ugly.
So Shark Sister covered her mouth and asked in a muffled voice, "Are you pure?"
"Mm," Chun nodded with a gentle smile, as always. "And you? Would you like to introduce yourself?"
Shark Sister blushed, warmed by Chun's smile. She didn't know where to look, genuinely shy. "Um, I am Tier Harribel, my symbol is a shark, so my mouth, emmm..."
"Why cover it up? It's cool!"
"Huh?"
"That's cool, I really mean it."
What is cool?
Chun explained the meaning of "cool," and at this point, Shark Sister's hand had already been lowered. Chun went up and touched the teeth on that bone. Chun really liked this bizarre and cool feeling.
"That's really cool! Isn't your symbol a shark? Sharks are scary, you know. You should be even cooler, like saying you'd punch anyone who thinks you're ugly!"
"Haha~, Chun, you're quite the character. Tier Harribel, what did I tell you before? I said Chun would definitely make you not care about that thing, hahaha," the Orca Oka laughed loudly.
"Hmm," Shark Sister was very obedient in Plane, because it symbolized restraint; a shark is just a meal in front of an orca.
Furthermore, Oka is incredibly strong. Oka only recently Arrancar, yet his strength is already comparable to Starrk's. Marine creatures are truly formidable!
Xiao Duo'erfen ran up to Tier Harribel, bumped his head against Shark Sister's stomach with a "Duang!", and looked up with a smile, saying, "Hmm~ That's cool!"
Lilynette finally had a chance to hug Jun from the front, then turned around and said, "Jun's right, that's cool, just like Starrk!"
"Uh, thank you~", Shark Sister laughed, a genuine smile.