Before Starrk could press him for answers, more people arrived.
No, they were Hollows.
But they all had human forms, and every one of them was a Vasto Lorde.
The first was a golden-haired woman carrying a greatsword. Though she had not yet become an Arrancar, her hair and eyes had already returned to human form, no longer covered by her mask.
Only the shark tail behind her gave away what she had once been.
The second was a centaur—or, no, more like a human antelope!
She had the upper body of a human woman, with curled horns on her head. An antelope skull covered her head, leaving most of her human face exposed.
Her lower body was entirely that of an antelope, making her look like a centaur.
But before the two female Vasto Lordes reached them, the first thing to arrive was a string of furious curses.
"You two rotten women! You actually made me into food for him! Once I break free of this seal, I'm going to—"
He never finished. That beastlike voice turned into the sound of sardines rattling around inside a can.
"He never shuts up." The antelope woman fiddled with the long sword in her hand, muttering under her breath. "It's not like we're doing anything special by making food for Yammy. Hasn't he gotten used to it by now?"
From a distance, the King of Hueco Mundo's voice reached their ears. "Yammy is a Hollow too. That scrap is afraid you'll feed him to Yammy whole!"
The two female Menos Grande heard the voice and hurried to the throne. Avoiding the Picaro trying to play with them, they bowed with a hand to their chests. "Your Majesty, we're back!"
"Good! Welcome back, Tier, Nelliel! How comfortable have you two found your jobs as heads of logistics?"
Unlike Starrk, who was free to do as he pleased, the two female Vasto Lordes were entirely subordinate to the King of Hueco Mundo.
His words sounded like a greeting to them, but there was also a hint of reproach.
They realized they had been acting a little too recklessly lately.
They felt rather ashamed.
But the King of Hueco Mundo wasn't going to punish them. They had completed all their assignments on time; it was just that because they hadn't fought on the front lines of the Hell battlefield, the losses among the Gillian and Adjuchas had exceeded the minimum.
The King of Hueco Mundo didn't care about losses of that magnitude. He just didn't want their skills to grow rusty!
There weren't many Vasto Lordes in Hueco Mundo, after all.
Every one lost was a tremendous blow.
Suddenly, a fierce wave of Reiatsu erupted from the long sword in Antelope Knight Nelliel's hand. "Y-Y-Your Majesty, King of Hueco Mundo!!"
A vicious voice burst from the sword, its resentment almost tangible as it surged toward the King of Hueco Mundo.
It was an attempt on the king's life!
But before the sword could do anything more, Antelope Knight Nelliel flicked her arm. The Reiatsu spilling from the blade was immediately suppressed.
The King of Hueco Mundo chuckled at the sight. "After all these years, you still have the same temper. Can't you keep it in check? At least remember that I rescued you from the Soul King Palace, you scrap!"
"I'm not called Scrap!" The vicious voice rang from the sword, sounding thoroughly exasperated. "My name is... My name is..."
But no matter how many times the voice repeated itself, it couldn't remember its own name.
"You can't even remember your own name, and you still say you're not a scrap? You haven't improved one bit." The King of Hueco Mundo shook his head. "Nelliel, seal him up. I don't want to hear another word from him."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Pink Reiatsu appeared in Nelliel's hand, and a long strip of cloth wrapped completely around the sword, preventing even the slightest trace of Reiatsu from escaping.
Let alone a sound.
Perfect! Even the King of Hueco Mundo himself couldn't have done a better job.
It seemed that whether they were Soul Reapers or Hollows, women were more naturally gifted at fine control of Reiatsu.
A little while later, Ulquiorra came in with Yammy, whose body had shrunk to its smallest form, leaving him only ten meters tall.
In theory, Yammy was still an Adjuchas and wasn't qualified to enter Las Noches as it was now.
But Yammy was a special kind of devouring Hollow. The strength he could wield had practically no limit, depending on how much Reishi he stored in his body.
Vasto Lorde-level attack power? He could reach that if he ate enough.
So, like the Picaro, he was allowed to attend this meeting in Las Noches despite being an Adjuchas.
It was an acknowledgment of his strength.
Just like the long sword: it couldn't speak, but it could still listen, so it counted as attending the meeting too.
As another ancient Menos Grande from the same era as the King of Hueco Mundo, he was still very useful, even though Squad Zero had subdued him and sealed him inside a Zanpakuto.
For example... well, he could make meat for the Adjuchas to devour.
The clones he created had spiritual pressure of at least the third class.
As long as he controlled them to be mindless "meat Hollows," even Gillian could come over and take a bite.
Otherwise, why would Nelliel and Tier be heads of logistics?
Without enough provisions, a war couldn't be waged!
"Master, I learned Shikai!"
At the 11th Division barracks, little Shiro, who had just joined, ran toward Aoto in a child-sized Shihakusho matching Yachiru Kusajishi's.
His smile was radiant, and he called Aoto "Master" with complete sincerity.
But Aoto, the one being called Master, looked rather worn out.
"Really? That was fast!" Aoto yawned, looking as though he hadn't slept well.
And he really hadn't.
After giving Shiro an Asauchi the previous night, he had kept watch outside the house, afraid Hyōrinmaru's power might suddenly erupt and engulf the entire 11th Division!
But in truth, Hyōrinmaru didn't seem to have much of a temper. Aoto had stood guard all night, and nothing had happened.
Now Shiro had woken from Sword Zen, and it was clear he could use Shikai!
It was hard to say whether Shiro was exceptionally talented or Hyōrinmaru was simply too impatient!
Shiro's spiritual pressure had already reached the sixth class. It looked as though it wouldn't be long before he advanced to the fifth.
If other Soul Reapers heard how fast that was, nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand would grind their teeth with envy.
But there was nothing to be done. Sometimes the differences between people—and between souls—were simply that vast.
"Master, let's train!"
Holding Hyōrinmaru, Shiro was once again eager to challenge his master.
After all, Shiro figured that since his master was a Fourth Seat and not a lieutenant, their spiritual pressure should be about the same!
Now that Hyōrinmaru was helping him, he ought to be able to win!
When Aoto heard Shiro's challenge, his eyes lit up with a ping.
Shiro, you're asking for it?
Great, great, great. Let's fight!
Let me see what you can do now!